“I have to apologize to you, Big Sister Ling.” Yang Kai scratched his head and took out the broken High-Grade Spirit Purifying Array base and flags awkwardly, “I broke it.”
Ling Yin Qin looked at it and realized that her Spirit Purifying Array was in fact badly damaged and it couldn’t be used again. She could not help a downcast gaze from flashing past her eyes, as well as some reminiscence and pity.
“If it’s broken, then it’s broken,” Ling Yin Qin forced herself to smile, and consoled. “It’s just a High-Grade Spirit Purifying Array. Don’t worry about it.”
Yang Kai said, “How many Source Crystals is this worth? I’ll repay you.”
Ling Yin Qin waved her hand, “No need. It’s a pity it wasn’t able to offer you any help.” While speaking, she took out a Wooden Token and passed it to Yang Kai.
“What’s this?” Yang Kai asked, puzzled.
“This is a Clear Sky Island Identity Token. You’ll be needing this if you want to get into Clear Sky City.”
Yang Kai reached out and accepted it, but then he came to a realization and raised his brows, “Is this from those Profound Cloud Pavilion guys? Will there be any issues if I use this to enter the city?”
“No, there won’t be. These two are only low-level Identity Tokens so no information is recorded on them. It’d be different for the high-level ones as those can’t be imitated,” Ling Yin Qin explained.
“Many thanks, in that case.” Yang Kai was overjoyed. He was still worrying over how he and Liu Xian Yun could safely get into Clear Sky Island, but he didn’t expect these people from Profound Cloud Pavilion to take the initiative to deliver these Identity Tokens to them. This was simply like delivering charcoal in a frigid winter.
“I’m a bit tired so I’ll go back and rest. Brother Yang, please make yourselves comfortable.” After that, Ling Yin Qin turned around and headed for the cabin.
Liu Xian Yun leaned over and whispered to Yang Kai, “Senior Brother, that High-Grade Spirit Purifying Array is something that Big Sister Ling’s partner left her before he passed on, it holds a lot of meaning to her.”
This was what she heard from Jiao Yi, and from the changes she saw on Ling Yin Qin’s face earlier, she knew that what Jiao Yi said was true. This High-Grade Spirit Purifying Array was indeed exceptionally important to Ling Yin Qin and held her memories for that person.
Only then did Yang Kai realize how valuable the thing he damaged was and quickly shouted, “Sister Ling! I’ll definitely find someone to fix this Spirit Purifying Array for you.”
The Spirit Purifying Array was only damaged and not completely ruined. Yang Kai had originally thought of compensating Ling Yin Qin with some Source Crystals or buying her another set when they arrived at Clear Sky Island; however, knowing the sentimental significance of this Spirit Purifying Array now, compensating her or buying another set would be inappropriate. The best solution was to find someone to repair the array base and flags.
When she heard this, Ling Yin Qin’s steps wavered, but she did not turn back, only waving her hand lightly. Then, with a desolate back, she slowly walked away.
“Senior Brother Yang, do the two of you want to go back and rest as well?” Jiao Yi came over with a fawning smile on his face. His attitude was no longer casual like before and he was now acting more cautiously, “The ship will set sail soon. It’ll take less than a month for us to arrive back at Clear Sky Island. Old Jiao will call you once we’re there.”
“Alright, I’ll have to trouble you then, Brother Jiao,” Yang Kai nodded his head and went with Liu Xian Yun towards their room.
Soon after, the ship set sail again.
Inside the compartment, there were several times where Liu Xian Yun wanted to ask Yang Kai about his current situation, but she ended up swallowing her words back when they reached her lips. Yang Kai’s failure to break through to the Emperor Realm must have been a big blow to him, and if she asked, then Liu Xian Yun believed that it would definitely make him even sadder.
She also had no idea how to comfort Yang Kai, so she simply sighed in her heart and felt that Heavens was unjust to let Yang Kai perceive his opportunity for a breakthrough in this damned place.
The speed of the ship was not slow, and the cultivators on the ship were able to deal with the occasional attacks by Sea Beasts on the way. Regardless of their cultivation level, it was clear that Ling Qin Yin’s subordinates were all extremely seasoned cultivators who had a lot of experience on how to take care of these Sea Beasts.
So, they didn’t encounter any dangers on the way back.
About twenty days later, Yang Kai suddenly heard a commotion from the deck. Perking up his ears and listening in, he found out through the joyful conversations of the crew that they were nearing Clear Sky Island.
The cultivators on Clear Sky Island had to search for cultivation resources at sea, and every trip out was accompanied by great risks. Oftentimes, only half the number who departed would return.
But this time, Ling Yin Qin’s ship was different. However many went, however many returned, not a single one becoming lost at sea. Not only that, they had a great harvest, so the crew members were naturally overjoyed.
Sure enough, it didn’t take long before the speed of the ship began to slow and very soon, it came to a complete halt.
A bunch of noise suddenly came about. Releasing his Divine Sense, Yang Kai found that the ship had reached the edge of a huge island and stopped at a place similar to a pier.
Before Ling Yin Qin and the others arrived, there were already a few ships waiting to dock. From time to time, cultivators would fly out of those ships and land on the ground.
As soon as these cultivators landed, many people would gather around them as if every cultivator who returned from the sea was a sweet and ripe fruit.
Yang Kai saw a cultivator who had just returned from sea exchanging a few words with another person, then he followed that person and left quickly.
“Senior Brother Yang, we’ve arrived at Clear Sky Island.” Ling Yin Qin’s voice emerged from outside the room.
Yang Kai and Liu Yian Xun exchanged glances, then the two of them quickly stood up.
When they arrived on the deck, Jiao Yi and the others were already waiting eagerly. Once they saw Yang Kai, they all nodded at him with reverence.
“Are these people purchasing the harvest from the sea?” Yang Kai went up to Jiao Yi and asked while pointing at the bargaining cultivators down below.
Jiao Yi nodded, “That’s right, any returning ship will more or less have some kind of harvest with them, and there will be a few people waiting at the pier to try to purchase that harvest. Once they negotiate a price, they’ll make a deal, then they won’t have to waste any time looking for a buyer in the city. Many stores in the city have people waiting here, and they’ll rush over like madmen every time someone comes back. It’s a fierce fight!”
When he heard Jiao Yi’s explanation, Yang Kai knew that his guess was right. This was what he thought too when he first saw this scene.
“Let’s go,” Jiao Yi called out to everyone, and many of the crew members activated their Movement Skills and flew towards the shore. Yang Kai and Liu Xian Yun also followed closely behind them, but Ling Yin Qin stayed back, forming a few hand seals as she prepared to put the ship away.
As soon as the crew came ashore, they were immediately greeted by many merchants who surrounded them and offered them prices for what they obtained during the trip.
Jiao Yi and the others were undoubtedly very familiar with this and all of them acted aloof and put on airs while they negotiated the price with the merchants. Soon after, someone offered them a good price and they went over to the side to make their trade.
Jiao Yi and the others had a really big harvest this trip. Not mentioning the more than 100,000 Grey Feather Corals and the Twelfth-Order Monster Beast’s carcass that they found, just the spoils they seized after Yang Kai killed the cultivators from Profound Cloud Pavilion alone was many times more than what they usually got.
The harvest was so big that it was impossible to sell it off all at once, so the dozen crew members prepared to split up some of the harvest amongst themselves to be traded for useful cultivation goods, such as Source Crystals, Spirit Pills, and whatnot. The rest of the harvest would be sold off next time when they had the chance. They’d definitely attract some unwanted attention if they take out so much good stuff at once.
Whether inside or outside the Solitary Void Sealed World, Source Crystals were the hard currency, while another popular item was Spirit Pills. All useful Spirit Pills could be converted into the corresponding amount of Source Crystals or used as direct currency.
While Yang Kai was browsing rare commodities, a beautiful middle-aged woman suddenly appeared in front of him. This beautiful woman was wearing a long turquoise dress and had an enchanting and plump body. She had a bulging chest that stretched her clothes out so much that they could almost rip, which was extremely eye-catching. Her cultivator wasn’t low either, being at the Second-Order Dao Source Realm.
But, even though she had enchanting looks, she had a very dignified bearing. It was not known whether she was too slow earlier or couldn’t be bothered about competing with the others, but she didn’t go over to greet the returning crews like the others. However, when she saw Yang Kai and Liu Xian Yun standing there without being bothered by anyone, she took the initiative to go over to them, smiled, and cupped her fists, “Little Brother, greetings.”
“Do you need something, Madam?” Yang Kai swept his eyes over her.
The beautiful woman smiled, “This Mistress is Deacon Fan Xin of Ice Heart Pavilion.”
“Ice Heart Pavilion?” Yang Kai raised his brows and couldn’t help but take a look at this beautiful woman called Fan Xin.
Fan Xin asked suspiciously, “What’s wrong? Does Little Brother not know of my Ice Heart Pavilion?”
She thought this was very strange. Even though Ice Heart Pavilion only occupied a small piece of land on Clear Sky Island, they were definitely well-known. As long as someone lived on Clear Sky Island, it was impossible for them not to know about Ice Heart Pavilion, but seeing Yang Kai’s reaction just now, he seemed very surprised, as if he had never heard of Ice Heart Pavilion before.
Yang Kai said calmly, “Of course I have heard of your noble Ice Heart Pavilion before, but I never expected that Ice Heart Pavilion would also be buying things here.”
This was, of course, nonsense. It was indeed Yang Kai’s first time hearing about Ice Heart Pavilion, but he also knew that his performance earlier had aroused the beautiful woman’s suspicion, so he quickly tried to dispel her doubts through misdirection.
Sure enough, the beautiful woman smiled bitterly and replied, “Doing business is difficult, there’s competition everywhere. This Mistress also has her hands tied.” She turned the subject back on track quickly after, “I wonder if Little Brother has made any gains during this trip out to sea? If so, could you show it to me? This Mistress will definitely offer you a satisfactory price.”
“I have their share of our harvest. If you need to talk about anything, you can discuss it with me.” Ling Yin Qin came over from a short distance away to help Yang Kai with his predicament.
Of course, he wouldn’t have any goods on him. If he had known the situation would be like this at the docks, Yang Kai would have left some stuff in his Space Ring after killing that group of people from Profound Cloud Pavilion.
When she heard this, Fan Xin looked puzzlingly at Yang Kai. She had no idea why he had left his goods with Ling Yin Qin; after all, the dozen people who came down from the ship earlier all brought something with them.
Yang Kai shrugged and smiled, “I tend to get a bit carried away when I see a beautiful woman. Big Sister is worried I’ll suffer a loss, so she’s acting as my agent. Now, it seems like this was a smart move.”
Fan Xin covered her mouth and laughed, “Little Brother really is interesting.”
Fan Xin of Ice Heart Pavilion soon buddied up with Ling Yin Qin and they secretly communicated with each other through Divine Sense.
Soon after, Ling Yin Qin looked up at Yang Kai and asked, “This Junior Sister Fan has a very good offer. I’m going to sell the goods to her. What do you say?”
When she asked this, it was clear she was just making a show for Fan Xin. What’s more, her cultivation was a little higher than Fan Xin, so there was no problem with calling her Junior Sister.
Fan Xin immediately looked at Yang Kai with an expectant face. She had been here for almost half a day and didn’t manage to purchase anything. Now, she finally saw a glimmer of light. As long as Yang Kai nodded, she would be able to receive a lot of goods, so she was naturally excited.
Yang Kai smiled, “Sell it to her then.”
Fan Xin instantly beamed, “Many thanks to this Senior Sister and Little Brother. Please rest assured, we at Ice Heart Pavilion always do fair business and will offer appropriate prices.”
Ling Yin Qin lightly agreed, “I’ve long heard of Ice Heart Pavilion’s famed name, otherwise, I wouldn’t have sold everything to you so readily.”
While speaking, the two of them exchanged goods and money quickly. Yang Kai peeped over and found that in addition to Source Crystals, Fan Xin also handed some Spirit Pills to Ling Yin Qin.
After receiving the goods, Fan Xin looked extremely happy and her attitude also became more and more enthusiastic, “Little Brother, if you have anything to sell in the future, don’t forget about this Mistress. The price is negotiable.”
Yang Kai nodded, “Of course.”
“Let’s go,” Ling Yin Qin called out to them and led Yang Kai and Liu Xian Yun towards the front.
After walking out from the noisy docks, the three of them stopped and waited for the others to arrive.
After about an incense stick of time, the dozen crew members all returned, each of them exuberant and joyful. Their harvest was obviously not small, and what they sold just now was only a small portion of their harvest this trip. There was still a lot that had not been taken out.
The 100,000 pieces of Grey Feather Coral were too large an amount, so it was obviously not suitable for them to sell it at the docks. Ling Yin Qin was going to wait until they returned to Clear Sky City to process it.
The harvest from this trip alone would be enough to keep them well-fed for the next three years, and they could also move to a better place.
After a short walk, a huge city appeared in front of them. Even the gates were huge, looking like the jaws of a beast, ready to find someone to devour. Right above the gates were three characters, ‘Clear Sky City’!
There were guards stationed outside the city and whether they were going in or out, anyone passing by would have to pay a Low-Rank Source Crystal or something of corresponding value before they could pass.
When Yang Kai saw this, he frowned.
Source Crystals were very valuable in this Solitary Void Sealed World. He thought he could enter and leave as he pleased as long as he had an Identity Token, but he didn’t expect that he would still have to pay Source Crystals. One piece of Low-Rank Source Crystal was nothing for him, but for the poor cultivators who had lived here for so long, it was no doubt a great fortune.
There weren’t many people in front of the gates, only the cultivators who had returned from the docks earlier and were lining up to enter the city. From how no one was leaving the city, it was clear that the cultivators in Clear Sky City didn’t want to spend that one Source Crystal to come and go as they pleased either, only when they had to go out to sea or absolutely had to leave the city.
Ling Yin Qin’s group of a dozen easily entered the city after paying the dozen Source Crystals and verifying everyone’s Identity Tokens.
Yang Kai was a little worried that his identity as a newcomer would be exposed, but when he saw how simply everything went, he realized that he was worried for nothing.
A lively scene unfurled once they were inside the city. There were many cultivators in the city with shops lining both sides of the street and an endless stream of cultivators brushing past each other’s shoulders.
But Yang Kai soon found some parts different from normal cities. Many cultivators were sitting cross-legged on both sides of the street, gazing vacantly ahead.
There were quite a few of these cultivators, but regardless of their cultivation level, their auras were extremely weak. It seemed like all of them had not cultivated for a long time and were just sitting there, not moving.
Not only that, but there were also many people dressed like beggars on the streets, constantly begging for something, but they hardly got anything.
Yang Kai frowned. He did not expect the inside of the seemingly prosperous Clear Sky City to be so depressing.
“These are all pitiful people,” Ling Yin Qin sighed. “Without cultivation resources, their cultivation drops day after day, and they can’t even go out to sea to look for harvest anymore. So, other than begging, all they can do is wait for death.”
Hearing her say so, Yang Kai realized why the streets were like this now. Having to see this after he had only just entered the city, who knew how many people were waiting to die in the entire Clear Sky City just like this?
“Is there really no way to get out of here?” Yang Kai asked.
Ling Yin Qin shook her head, “I’ve never heard of anyone leaving here successfully.”
As the two were talking, an angry shout suddenly sounded from not far away, “You little rat, how dare you steal from me!”
The shout was accompanied by the commotion of a crowd nearby, and occasionally the sounds of fighting.
Yang Kai released his Divine Sense and immediately found out what was going on. It seems that a cultivator had been robbed, and the person being robbed was a First-Order Dao Source Realm, while the person robbing him was only a Second-Order Origin King. Not only was his cultivation much weaker than the other person, but his aura was so weak that he may not even be able to bring out his real strength.
This kind of death courting act would definitely never happen outside this Small Sealed World, but it seemed to be common here in Clear Sky City.
With two bangs, the robber was immediately killed and the cultivator got his Space Ring back. That First-Order Dao Source Realm cultivator was about to start hurling insults when countless people with vacant expressions on their faces suddenly came over. The originally hollow eyes of these guys were currently bloodshot and all of them were eyeing the cultivator’s Space Ring. It wasn’t long before a fight broke out.
The owner of the Space Ring was a First-Order Dao Source Realm cultivator, but two fists can’t block four strikes. Even though he managed to kill several of them in quick succession, no one was deterred and he was soon swamped by the crowd.
*Shua shua…*
While they were engaged in a heated battle, two figures suddenly descended from the sky. These two men had imposing auras and were dressed in black fitted robes. With a cold sneer on their faces, they watched the fight ahead, without any intention of stopping it.
“Those guys are from Clear Sky City’s law enforcement team,” Jiao Yi whispered to Yang Kai beside him.
“And they don’t care about this?” Yang Kai asked, surprised. Since they were from the law enforcement team, then naturally they should want to maintain the peace of the city, so why were they acting so indifferent when there was a fight happening right in front of them?
Jiao Yi sneered, “You’ll see.”
*Peng peng!*
Another two robbers were sent flying by the ring’s owner, but that man also seemed to be growing exhausted. Even though his situation was better than those who were either begging or waiting for death, his cultivation had clearly regressed a lot since arriving on this island. There was simply no way for him to display the full might of a Dao Source Realm cultivator now and was already battered, bruised, and exhausted from this brief fight.
When he looked up, he just so happened to see the two black-robed law enforcement officers and quickly shouted, “Sirs, please help me! These people are lawless and dare they rob people in broad daylight! Please sirs, deliver justice here!”
The two enforcers did not move, but instead watched on coldly.
The owner of the ring shouted again, “Sirs, please do something! This humble one is willing to pay half of what he has in his Space Ring as a reward!”
Upon hearing this, one of the enforcers sneered, “Only half?”
The owner of the ring gritted his teeth and said bitterly, “I’ll offer all of it to the two Sirs…”
He knew that if he didn’t get help now, then he may end up killed by these lawless people. Compared to his own life, what was everything else worth?
Only then did the two enforcers walk forward lazily. The person who spoke earlier grunted, “Little Brat, since you’re so sensible, we’ll give you a hand.”
After he said this, the two people moved in unison, greeting the crowd with ruthlessness. With a surge of energy, they blasted out the robbers directly, causing countless casualties and creating a strong smell of blood around them.
As soon as the two of them attacked, the cultivators around them turned silent out of fear. The robbers who were lucky to still be alive immediately scattered as they didn’t dare to remain any longer.
The only person left on the ground was the cultivator who was being robbed. He was lying there covered in blood, looking to be in a miserable state.
One of the enforcers walked over and raised his hand to suck the fallen man’s Space Ring into his palm. After searching it with his Divine Sense, he frowned and spat, “Broke bastard! Is this all you have?”
After saying that, he spat in disgust at the cultivator once more before walking off.
“This guy will also have no choice but to wait for death from now on.” Jiao Yi sighed.
The cultivator who was robbed probably didn’t have much in the first place, but now he had even lost his Space Ring, unless he could find a ship he could follow out to sea soon, he would definitely be reduced to just waiting for death here like those guys who were robbing him earlier.
“This place is such a mess.” Yang Kai’s face sank.
Ling Yin Qin said, “When one reaches the end of the road, one is capable of doing anything. Those people were forced to this point.”
Yang Kai felt silent as he knew what Ling Yin Qin said was correct.
These robbers were already waiting for death, what else could still scare them? But what Yang Kai could not believe was the fact that even the law enforcers in Clear Sky City were so dirty.
To put it nicely, what happened earlier was adding salt to a wound, in frank terms though, it was blatant robbery.
It seemed like Clear Sky City was without laws. It must have been hard for Ling Yin Qin and the others to have stayed here for so long.
“Things are a little more chaotic out here in the Outer City, but the Inner City is safer. Things like this won’t happen there,” Ling Yin Qin explained.
“Do you stay in the Outer City or Inner City?” Yang Kai asked.
Jiao Yi answered, “Outer City, but we’ll be able to move to the Inner City in just a few days.”
Their harvest was not small this time, and it was enough for them to rent a pretty good cave mansion in the Inner City. Even though life was generally more expensive in the Inner City, it was safer, so the cost was worth it.
Ling Yin Qin advised, “Senior Brother Yang, you just arrived so it’s best you rent a cave mansion to stay in. Then you can slowly get familiarized with this place.”
“That’s what I was planning to do.” Yang Kai nodded. He had no idea how long he would have to stay in Clear Sky Island, but he had to find a place to stay regardless.
“This must be where secluded homes can be rented, right?” Yang Kai asked as he stood in front of a large building at the intersection between the Outer and Inner City. After raising his head and looking around for a while, Yang Kai said goodbye to Ling Yin Qin and walked inside.
He was able to find this place quickly thanks to the guidance of Ling Yin Qin and the others. Jiao Yi had originally wanted to accompany him here, but he was politely declined by Yang Kai. As Jiao Yi and the others had just returned from sea after such a long time, they definitely had their own things to deal with. Moreover, he was just renting a secluded home and not anything too troublesome. Yang Kai believed he could handle it himself.
Before parting, Jiao Yi gave Yang Kai a Communication Bead and told him to call anytime if he needed help.
There were not many cultivators coming and going from the large hall, but they weren’t few either.
When Yang Kai arrived, there were already a few people waiting in front of him, all of whom seemed to be here to rent secluded homes. He silently watched the scene from the side and quickly learned of the renting process.
An hour later, it was Yang Kai’s turn, so he walked straight up, tossed a bag of Source Crystals onto the table, and said to the cultivator in charge, “I’d like to rent a medium-sized secluded home for one year.”
“Outer City or Inner City?” The cultivator glanced up at Yang Kai and said indifferently.
Yang Kai coldly snorted, “Would I give you this many Source Crystals if I was renting a home in the Outer City? Are you taking me for a fool?”
But the person in charge wasn’t bothered, he just smirked and picked up the bag of Source Crystals, weighing it in his hands before putting it away and pointing to the diorama at the side, “Pick for yourself.”
This diorama looked like a model of the entire Clear Sky City, only scaled down countless times; however, each building was crafted exquisitely. There were two major residential areas, one in the Outer City where prices were relatively low, and one in the Inner City, where the prices were higher. There were small flags erected outside most of the secluded homes, indicating that they were already rented out. Only a small number of the secluded homes were still vacant.
Yang Kai was just looking for a place to settle down and did not really care about the grade of the Spirit Purifying Array installed or the density of World Energy inside, so he just swept a gaze at the diorama and pointed to a relatively isolated home, “I’ll take this one.”
The person in charge glanced over, then with a toss, a token flew straight towards Yang Kai. Without even lifting his head, the man explained, “This is the Access Token. Keep it safe, no subletting, and no replacing the Spirit Purifying Array as you please. There will be no amnesty for those found violating the rules.”
Yang Kai caught the token and only briefly examined it before putting it away. Then, bringing Liu Xian Yun along, he left.
…..
An hour later, Yang Kai and Liu Xian Yun arrived in front of that secluded home. This secluded home was located in a mountain range within the island where big and small cave mansions were opened right into the mountainside. The environment here was not bad in general.
The World Energy had always been dense in the Solitary Void Sealed World, but it was all mixed with an endless stream of Disruption Force, making it so that cultivators could not absorb it at will and could only set up Spirit Purifying Arrays before they cultivated. Depending on the grade of the Spirit Purifying Array, the efficacy of a cultivator’s cultivation also varied greatly.
However, in general, cultivators could barely keep their cultivation from deteriorating while cultivating in this damned place even with a Peak-Grade Spirit Purifying Array. There was simply no way for them to increase it.
The Spirit Purifying Array setup within this medium secluded home that Yang Kai rented was naturally a Mid-Grade Spirit Purifying Array.
After entering the secluded home with Liu Xian Yun, the two of them looked around and found that the size of the secluded home was decent. There were three rooms, an Alchemy room, an Artifact Refining Room, and even a living room-like area.
Compared to the secluded home that Yang Kai rented in Maplewood City, this place was definitely much better despite the price being about the same.
Source Crystals are extremely valuable in the Solitary Void Sealed World though, so the same number represented a whole different value in this place. The Source Crystals of the same grade were naturally worth much more in the Solitary Void Sealed World.
“Go and pick out a room for yourself, Junior Sister,” Yang Kai said to Liu Xian Yun.
“What about you?” Liu Xian Yun asked.
“I’m going to familiarize myself with the environment and find an Artifact Refining Grandmaster to fix Ling Yin Qin’s Spirit Purifying Array.”
Liu Xian Yun said, “Then please be careful, Senior Brother.”
“I know. If you have nothing to do, you can fortify the seals around the secluded home. We may have to stay here for quite some time.”
“En. Come back soon,” Liu Xian Yun said meekly. After saying that, she blushed a little because she suddenly felt that she and Yang Kai were living like husband and wife and she was worrying about her husband before he left the house.
When this thought arose, it instantly caused her cheeks to burn, but when she looked up again, Yang Kai was already long gone.
Yang Kai had to take several twists and turns around Clear Sky City and ask many people for directions before he arrived at a certain alley.
He looked around with a confused expression on his face while muttering to himself, [I didn’t get lost, did I? That Artifact Refining Grandmaster lives here?]
When he separated from Jiao Yi and the others, Jiao Yi had given him a Communication Bead. Then, he had secretly sent Yang Kai a message telling him to go to Inner City to find Grandmaster Sang De if he really wanted to repair the High-Grade Spirit Purifying Array for Ling Yin Qin.
Grandmaster Sang De was the best Artifact Refiner on Clear Sky Island, and it was said that he had already vaguely touched upon the realm of Emperor Artifact Refining. At least eighty percent of the High-Grade Spirit Purifying Arrays on this island were refined by him.
Since this person could refine High-Grade Spirit Purifying Arrays, then he should have no problems repairing one.
Jiao Yi also knew how much that High-Grade Spirit Purifying Array meant to Ling Yin Qin, so he secretly helped Yang Kai, hoping it could be repaired.
Yang Kai wasn’t very familiar with Clear Sky City, but Grandmaster Sang De had a resounding reputation here, so he only had to casually ask a few people on the streets before he managed to find this place.
Yang Kai just couldn’t believe that a man who was almost an Emperor Artifact Refiner would actually be living in a rough location like this though. But recalling that some Grandmasters like this tended to be eccentric and acted beyond people’s expectations, it wasn’t that surprising anymore.
He walked straight towards the end of the alley and came upon a large door that was wide open. Yang Kai looked inside and found a spacious courtyard that looked empty and spotless.
There was a boy dressed in the clothes of a servant who was currently sweeping the floor with a broom.
Yang Kai went up to him and cupped his fists, “Greetings, Little Brother.”
The boy completely ignored Yang Kai as if he were deaf and just continued sweeping the floor as if there was a magnificent beauty lying there.
Yang Kai cleared his throat and asked, “Excuse me, is this Grandmaster Sang De’s workshop?”
Only then did the boy look up and said with an impatient face, “Since you have already found your way here, why are you still asking?”
When he heard him say that, Yang Kai instantly knew he was in the right place. He quickly asked, “Is the Grandmaster available right now? There is an item that I need the Grandmaster’s help in repairing. I don’t know if…”
“Where did you come from? Don’t you know the rules?!”
“Rules? What rules?” Yang Kai looked confused.
The boy swept his eyes over Yang Kai and sneered, “You found your way here without even finding out about the rules? What an interesting person. You want to see the Grandmaster with that attitude? Maybe in your next life.”
Yang Kai humbly asked for his advice, “I hope Little Brother can give me some pointers.”
The boy looked up at the sky and stood there with his broom in his hand, twirling rapidly between his fingers.
[He wants a tip!] When he saw his attitude, Yang Kai knew that this boy wasn’t new to this. No wonder they say that standing in front of the King of Hell was easy, but dealing with his henchmen was not. This brat really was one of those henchmen.
Yang Kai held back his displeasure and took out a cloth bag from his Space Ring, handing it to him, “Now, you can talk, right?”
The boy weighed the bag in his hand and only then did he show a satisfied smile, beckoning Yang Kai over condescendingly, “Grandmaster’s time is precious, how would he have so much free time to bother himself with people like you? But the Grandmaster’s old heart is kind and he also worries over how difficult life is for people like you, so he specifically allocates some time to help refine artifacts for you lot.”
Yang Kai’s mouth twitched like mad when he heard this. This boy made it sound as if he wasn’t trapped on Clear Sky Island like them. Utterly shameless.
“Remember this,” The boy’s face turned serious and he quickly said, “Every month the Grandmaster will only open his door three times, so there will be three opportunities for him to help refine artifacts for the common man. If you want to ask the Grandmaster for help, then it’ll depend on your luck. Of course, in addition to those three times, the Grandmaster may make an exception and open his door once more if he’s in a good mood. Every time he opens his door, he will only help ten people, so if you come late, you will have to wait until next time.”
“Three chances and ten spots each time?” Yang Kai frowned, thinking that this Grandmaster Sang De was really quite arrogant, even setting up so many strange rules. But then, Yang Kai understood why there was nobody here at Grandmaster Sang De’s place. It clearly wasn’t time for him to open shop yet, or he had already missed it.
“You learn quickly! That’s exactly how it is!” The boy smiled and nodded.
“How old are you? How dare you talk to this Sir like this!” Yang Kai’s face dimmed and he sent a strike at the boy.
The boy shrunk his head, but he still failed to dodge it. His cultivation wasn’t high, only Origin Returning Realm, so how could he evade Yang Kai’s blow?
“You… You dare to hit me?” The boy took a few steps backwards and shouted with his hands covering his head, his eyes already turning red from fury.
“That was barely anything. Be careful, if you dare disrespect me again, I’ll really hit you.”
The boy seemed really frightened now. He worked for Grandmaster Sang De, so everyone who came here was always polite to him and nobody dared to offend him in the slightest. It was the first time anyone dared to teach him a lesson, so he was so shocked that he turned his head towards the courtyard, as if expecting Grandmaster Sang De to stand up for him, but there weren’t any sounds of movement coming from inside at all.
“What’re you looking at! Barely a beanstalk and you’re already acting big. What’s going to happen when you grow up? I asked you a question so answer me honestly!” Yang Kai coldly snorted.
The boy did not look happy, but he didn’t say anything.
“How many times has the Grandmaster opened his door this month?” Yang Kai asked.
“Twice!” The child grumbled.
“When’s the next one?”
“That I do not know. The Grandmaster opens his door randomly. He helps people like you refine artifacts whenever he’s in a good mood, so you just have to wait!”
“If you’re thinking of getting the Grandmaster to refine an artifact for you, then there’s no chance for you today.” The boy snorted, “But you’re lucky you ran into this Young Master! If you don’t mind, you might as well take out the materials and I’ll help you refine what you need!”
“You’re also an Artifact Refiner?” Yang Kai looked at him in surprise.
The boy turned up his nose and puffed up his chest, flipping his hair back in a dashing manner and spoke with arrogance, “What’s so difficult about something as trivial as Artifact Refining? This Young Master is gifted and has been under the Grandmaster’s tutelage for so long. I can help you for sure, but the reward…”
Yang Kai spat disdainfully and left without even turning back.
The boy was only at the Origin Returning Realm, so even if he really was an Artifact Refiner, how good could he be? He was seeking out Grandmaster Sang De to repair a High-Grade Spirit Purifying Array, which was even more difficult than refining one in a certain sense. Yang Kai was sure this boy didn’t have the skills to do this.
“Hey, don’t go! Are you looking down on me? Let me tell you, this Young Master is a Saint-Grade Artifact Refiner! Miss out now and you may never get another chance, so don’t regret this later!” The boy was stamping his feet, seemingly feeling deeply humiliated by Yang Kai.
…..
For several days, Yang Kai would visit Grandmaster Sang De’s place every day. According to what the boy told him, the Grandmaster had already opened shop twice this month, so there was only one more opportunity left, but he did not know the exact time so Yang Kai could only try his luck.
Unfortunately, after a few days, Yang Kai was still left with no harvest.
On the other hand, he had been walking around the streets these past few days, so Yang Kai had almost gotten a complete picture of Clear Sky City and was getting a good grasp of the local customs.
Seeing that there weren’t many days left in the month, Yang Kai was worried that he might be late and miss out on one of the Grandmaster’s opening days, or that he might not be able to squeeze into the ten spots, so he simply decided he would stop running around and went straight to the Grandmaster’s residence and began squatting there.
He thought he had gone early enough to find a good spot, but when he arrived, Yang Kai realized he was wrong.
There were already many cultivators waiting in line outside Grandmaster Sang De’s residence.
Yang Kai was dumbfounded at the sight.
But after some thought, he realized these people must be thinking the same thing as him. There wasn’t much time left in the month, but there was still one more chance for the Grandmaster to open his doors, so they came early to wait for him.
After counting them carefully, he found that there were nine people ahead of him, making him the tenth.
So, without saying anything more, Yang Kai silently stood at the end of the line.
The floor-sweeping boy seemed a little animated with the presence of this crowd. When he saw so many people come, he tried his best to market himself and boast about his skills, hoping these cultivators would give him their materials for him to refine.
But the cultivators living here were obviously aware of this boy’s skills so the crowd did not utter a single word in response to his chattering and did not pay any mind to his extravagant and colourful words either.
The boy seemed to be exasperated.
Yang Kai scoffed, “If you have the time to run your mouth dry, why don’t you just find some materials to practice on? You must have been following the Grandmaster for some time. Hasn’t the Grandmaster taught you that you have to take everything one step at a time and not be overly ambitious?”
The boy muttered, “Stop running your mouth and just stand in line properly!”
But after Yang Kai taught him a lesson, he also felt too embarrassed to latch onto those cultivators anymore. He turned around and went inside, shutting the door behind him. What the eyes do not see, the heart does not grieve.
The cultivators who came here were all waiting for Grandmaster Sang De to open his doors so they could request his help in Artifact Refining. As none of them were familiar with each other, none of them participated in idle chatter. The ones who were bored from waiting all day just sat down cross-legged and began to meditate.
No one dared to be unruly in front of the Grandmaster’s door, so there was no need to fear some scoundrel without eyes stirring up trouble.
And, as time went on, more and more people came.
But when these cultivators saw ten people waiting here, most of them shook their heads in disappointment and left. They knew Grandmaster Sang De’s rules and knew that they would just be wasting their time if they stayed here. They could only wait for next time.
But some had clearly made preparations and took out Source Crystals hoping to buy a spot from the ten people in line, including Yang Kai, but few were successful. Only two spots managed to be bought.
Naturally, Yang Kai was also approached by the people who wanted to buy a spot with Source Crystals, but did he lack Source Crystals? In response, Yang Kai just shook his head.
After waiting for two days, the front door suddenly opened and the boy came out with his head held high and cleared his throat in a pretentious manner, announcing aloud, “The third Artifact Refining of the month will now begin! Please come inside with me if you are among the first ten guests in line!”
The crowd was overjoyed by his words and all stood up. After waiting for so long, the Grandmaster finally opened his doors for the third time this month. These people felt that it was worth it because Grandmaster Sang De rarely made any mistakes with his Artifact Refining. Even though the fee was slightly more expensive, he was truly skilled. Essentially, as long as they request it, the Grandmaster would be able to fulfil it.
“Hahaha! Why come early if you can come just in time!?” A loud laugh suddenly rang out, followed by a figure that shot forward from behind. Domineeringly, the man squeezed into the queue, occupying a spot, the strong wind invoked by his powerful aura causing everyone to frown in displeasure.
But after checking his cultivation, their displeasure turned into fear.
Reason being that the person who arrived was a Third-Order Dao Source Realm Master.
Among the ten waiting here, excluding Yang Kai, only one well-dressed woman was at the Third-Order Dao Source Realm. The rest were all First or Second-Order Origin Dao Source Realm cultivators, so they naturally did not dare to offend this man.
The newcomer was dressed in purple robes that look extremely conspicuous. He was born with a dignified appearance, but there was a strong look of superiority in his eyes, as if no one in this world was worthy of his attention.
After he snatched a spot arrogantly, Yang Kai, who was originally at the end of the line, had inexplicably become the eleventh person.
Grandmaster Sang De only opened his doors to ten people at a time, so if he stood at the eleventh place, would that not mean that he would no longer have the qualifications to enter and waited all these days for nothing?
Yang Kai was instantly irked and he shouted at the boy from the shop, “Brat, are you just going to let that happen?”
“What? I didn’t see anything!” The boy tilted his head away and almost rolled his eyes back into his head.
It was quite apparent that he still held a grudge over Yang Kai beating him on the head. When he saw Yang Kai being squeezed out of the last spot, he was secretly feeling giddy, so of course he wouldn’t help Yang Kai.
Yang Kai’s face turned grim, “Are you blind? Can’t you see that this person just cut in line?”
The boy fumed, “My eyes are perfectly fine! You’re the one who’s blind!”
Yang Kai sneered, “Acting so unruly in front of the Grandmaster’s door, could you be any more unreasonable?”
“Unreasonable?” The cultivator who cut in line scoffed at this, “You want to talk reason? This King is reason here. Let me reason with you then, you said that I cut in line, but are there any witnesses? Whoever saw me do such a thing can stand out and announce it loudly, and I, Yu Le Ping will immediately give up this spot!”
As he spoke, he turned his head to look around, but the remaining nine were silent, none of them spoke a word. They all seemed very afraid of this guy called Yu Le Ping.
“I saw it!” Yang Kai glared at him.
Yu Le Ping coldly snorted, “Don’t try to start trouble if you came late. If you dare slander this King like this again, dare you believe that I will gouge your eyes out?”
“You can try.” Yang Kai was so angry that he could laugh. This guy called Yu Le Ping was simply shameless. It was clearly he who came late and cut the queue, but now the thief was crying thief instead. Yang Kai had never seen such a thick-skinned person in his life.
“You’re courting death, brat!” Yu Le Ping seemed to be angered by his words. He did not in the slightest expect that Yang Kai would dare rattle against him in such a manner. Enraged, his feet moved and he had directly turned his hands into claws and slashed towards Yang Kai.
Before his attack could even arrive, an overwhelmingly strong gust of wind had already been stirred up by it.
From this scene, it seemed like he really did intend to gouge out Yang Kai’s eyes without mercy.
A few of the weaker cultivators were affected by his aura and their faces changed as they retreated backwards.
Yang Kai stood still where he was and looked coldly at the boy, “Do you also not care that someone is starting a fight outside the Grandmaster’s door?”
The boy sneered, “It’s your business, you should settle it yourself.”
“Well said!” Snorting coldly, Yang Kai turned his eyes back to Yu Le Ping.
Yu Le Ping, who was originally taking on an aggressive stance instantly had a bad premonition when he received this stare from Yang Kai, a chill running through his body. However, he was a Third-Order Dao Source Realm Master, and other than a few powerhouses on Clear Sky Island who could strike fear into him, who else could fight him?
So, after just a short moment of hesitation, he made a ruthless move.
Yang Kai raised his head and threw a fist out, causing a surge of Source Qi that was like a violent volcano, so powerful that it shocked everyone.
*Pa…*
Yu Le Ping claw met Yang Kai’s fist as he smirked viciously. Just as Yu Le Ping was about to try and crush Yang Kai’s hand, he was shocked to find a tsunami of power gushing over him. This power was so strong that he was unable to resist it even with his Third-Order Dao Source Realm cultivation. The protective Source Qi around his body quickly dissolved just like a snowflake under the sun.
That gush of power travelled from the palm of his hand all the way through his arm, bursting his sleeves open. His flesh was splayed apart, tendons and bones separating.
*Hong…*
The raging Yu Le Ping flew out as if he had been hit by a huge lightning bolt, landing directly into a corner of the wall.
*Wa…*
A large spurt of blood splashed out from his mouth as Yu Le Ping’s arrogant aura withered away in an instant, face becoming ashen and bloodless.
“My arm!” In the next moment, he bellowed. Looking down, the arm he used to attack Yang Kai had been destroyed, laced with blood. White bones were poking out from the skin, it was a shocking sight.
The boy’s face was instantly frozen. The other nine in line were also horrified at the scene as each of them looked at Yang Kai with overflowing fear in their eyes.
Yang Kai looked harmless before he made any moves, and even went as far as to ask the boy for fairness, so never would they have expected him to be so vicious and ruthless. Just one punch and he was able to cripple Yu Le Ping, a Third-Order Dao Source Realm Master, without even a change in his demeanour.
[He… He can’t be one of those Emperor Realm Masters who were secretly hiding their cultivation to play the pig to eat the tiger, right?]
This thought emerged in each one of the people present, and the shop boy even began dripping with cold sweat.
“You… You crippled my arm!” Even now, Yu Le Ping was unable to accept the reality that one of his arms had been wasted and glared hatefully at Yang Kai while he hissed at him with his all, face almost completely distorted from the pain.
“Scram!” Yang Kai bellowed.
To think a petty Third-Order Dao Source Realm cultivator would dare act so arrogantly in front of him, it was simply ridiculous. Yang Kai had not been in a good mood these days since he ended up on Clear Sky Island during this tragedy. Now that someone had taken the initiative to stumble right into the tip of his spear, he naturally took advantage of this situation to vent his anger.
Yu Le Ping seemed to only have realized now that Yang Kai wasn’t an easy man to pick on, so he gave him a vicious glare before scurrying away while holding his injured arm.
There was still silence in front of the Grandmaster’s door and the rest of the crowd stood there pale, chills running down their backs.
“Hasn’t the Grandmaster opened his doors? How much longer do we have to wait?” Yang Kai immediately urged the boy when he saw the latter standing there like a fool.
“Yes yes, follow me!” The boy shrunk his neck, not daring to dally any longer and hurriedly led the way.
From the hot temper and ruthlessness that Yang Kai just displayed, the boy estimated that if he was not Grandmaster Sang De’s apprentice, then this guy may even turn his fists to him.
After all, he didn’t speak out for him when Yu Le Ping stole his spot.
In just a short while, the group of ten was led by the boy into the inner hall where he pointed to a side door, “Enter one by one. The Grandmaster is right inside. You know the rules, so please.”
After that, he quickly slipped out of sight.
After he left, the first cultivator looked cautiously at Yang Kai and found that the latter had already found himself a place to sit down. Only then did this man realize that Yang Kai had no intention of stealing the first spot and couldn’t help breathing a sigh of relief as he hurried inside to seek out the Grandmaster for Artifact Refining.
The other eight who came to see Grandmaster Sang De also found a place to sit down, but they were all on guard against Yang Kai, so they sat as far away from him as possible.
It made it seem like Yang Kai was hogging the place as the rest were all crowded together.
But Yang Kai was not bothered, simply shutting his eyes to rest.
“That Yu Le Ping is no ordinary man. This Senior Brother should be careful.”
A gentle voice suddenly came into Yang Kai’s ears.
Yang Kai opened his eyes and swept his gaze over, soon fixing his gaze on a beautifully dressed young woman.
Among the ten here to seek out the Grandmaster, only two were Third-Order Dao Source Realms. Other than Yang Kai, it was this young woman. The others were all in either the First or Second-Order Dao Source Realm.
Even though this young woman was dressed in simple clothes, it was still hard to cover her natural beauty. Yang Kai gave her a glance before no longer paying too much heed to her. Nonetheless, he did not expect to receive a message at all from her.
When she saw Yang Kai looking towards her, the young woman just nodded lightly before averting her gaze.
In this inner hall, Yang Kai’s and her cultivation were the highest, so were their Divine Senses; therefore, there was no need for them to worry about their conversation being discovered by others. However, as she was acting so secretively, it was clear she did not want to get herself into trouble.
“Many thanks to this Junior Sister for the warning. I will remember it,” Yang Kai responded.
Seeing that he still looked uncaring, the young woman urged once more, “This Senior Brother, you must not be careless. Yu Le Ping is someone from the City Lord’s Mansion. He acts domineeringly in Clear Sky City because he has the City Lord’s protection and never places anyone else in his eyes. You caused him such a huge loss this time so he will surely not just let it go.”
“If he wishes to court death, I do not mind fulfilling it.”
When she heard Yang Kai brushing it off so simply, the young woman instantly broke out in cold sweat, “That must not happen! If you kill him, you will no longer be able to find shelter on Clear Sky Island.”
Yang Kai smirked, “The tree wishes for silence, but the wind does not let up. What can I do?”
Listening to this, the young woman sighed. She knew that what Yang Kai said was right. Yu Le Ping was already let off easy by Yang Kai during what happened today, but with his usual character, he would not just let matters rest. When the time came, Yang Kai would either have to surrender without a fight or resist him.
He also did not look like the type of person to just swallow his anger.
“Many thanks to this Junior Sister,” Yang Kai gave her a simple thank you.
Even though this young woman did not help him in any significant way, she still warned him in secret with good intentions.
The woman no longer spoke, but her eyes were filled with sympathy when she occasionally glanced over at Yang Kai, as if she could already foretell his tragic future.
The inner hall remained silent. Nobody had any intentions of speaking with each other. Those who came here all came to seek out Grandmaster Sang De for Artifact Refining services, so how could they have the mood to chat while they waited impatiently?
About half an hour later, the first person to walk in through the side door suddenly came out. Everyone turned towards him only to see a happy look on this person’s face, as if he had encountered something good. After he came out, he left directly without a single word.
The second cultivator quickly stood up and went towards the side door.
Just like that, Yang Kai waited all the way until dusk. The nine people went up one after the other, all coming out with different looks on their faces. Some happy, some reserved, but none of them came out dejected.
When he saw this, Yang Kai knew that Grandmaster Sang De was the real deal. He was probably successful in refining the artifacts for all nine of these people without a single failure.
It seemed the rumours that Grandmaster Sang De had vaguely touched upon the mysteries of Emperor Artifact Refining were not false.
When the ninth person came out from the side door, Yang Kai stood up and walked in lightly.
Once inside, Yang Kai saw that the room was dim without any light, but there was a slither of brightness coming out from up ahead. Yang Kai followed the light and came into a burning hot room after a short while.
Looking around the secret room, Yang Kai could see the light from the flames dancing around. A huge Artifact Refining Furnace was placed right in the middle of the chamber, and next to it was a figure who was sitting down cross-legged. As the flames danced about, the vague figure also seemed to flicker in a bizarre and illusory manner.
Even though it was quite dark in here, Yang Kai could still see Grandmaster Sang De’s face at a glance.
To his surprise, this Grandmaster looked just like an ordinary old man. There was nothing distinctive about him, but Yang Kai could still vaguely sense that this old man was not to be messed with. He sat there like a silent volcano with a huge amount of energy hidden within his body.
In addition to being an excellent Artifact Refiner, this man’s strength was definitely not low either.
“Greetings, Grandmaster!” Yang Kai cupped his fists at him.
“Sit!” Sang De raised his eyes and pointed to a cushion in front of him.
Yang Kai sat down obediently.
“What do you wish to refine? Bring out the materials and name your request,” Sang De told him.
Yang Kai quickly took out the High-Grade Spirit Purifying Array, handing it over to Sang De, “I would like to ask Grandmaster to please repair this set of array base and array flags.”
Sang De took it from him and examined it carefully for a while before nodding, “This set came from his Old Master’s hand, so it is not difficult to repair.”
Yang Kai was overjoyed to hear that. He had guessed before that this High-Grade Spirit Purifying was refined by Sang De himself, and now, it seems he was right.
Since he was able to refine it, then it must be no problem for him to repair it, “I have no idea what materials you need, so I did not prepare anything. If Grandmaster has any suitable materials, I will pay for them. Source Crystals are no issue.”
Sang De struck the Artifact Refining Furnace and the cover immediately flew up. Then, he threw the array base and the banners straight inside. Only then did he turn to Yang Kai and said, “Do I look like someone who is lacking in Source Crystals?”
Yang Kai did not know what he meant by this and had no idea how to answer for a while.
“I do not want Source Crystals!” Sang De continued.
“Then what does Grandmaster want?” Yang Kai’s heart clenched as he thought to himself, [you threw the High-Grade Spirit Purifying Array into your Artifact Refining Furnace without even asking, and now you tell me you don’t want Source Crystals? Are you trying to raise the price right in the midst of a transaction?]
[What if I can’t afford to pay? What happens to the High-Grade Purifying Array then?]
If this Spirit Purifying Array was his own, then it wouldn’t have mattered; however, it belonged to Ling Yin Qin, and it held great significance to her. If this wasn’t the case, why would Yang Kai go through so much trouble? He could have just spent enough to purchase a new array and give it to her.
It was because this Spirit Purifying Array held Ling Yin Qin’s memories of her fallen partner that Yang Kai went through so much trouble to seek out Sang De here to have him repair it.
“That depends on what you can give me,” Sang De said indifferently.
Yang Kai could not help but feel a little annoyed. [I can’t just hand over my life if you decide to ask for it, right?] Sure enough, if the upper beam is crooked, then the lower beam would be too. That boy had an unagreeable character, and it seems Sang De was the same.
Seems like his name was not wrong. Sang de, ‘Sang De… Death to virtues’!
He suppressed the displeasure welling up inside of him and quickly said, “What does Grandmaster want? If I can provide it, I will offer it freely.”
His words implied that if it was not possible, then he would not try.
Sang De’s lips curved into a strange smile.
Just as Yang Kai had his mind focused and was ready to hear his demands, a pure surge of Spiritual Energy suddenly came from Sang De, converging into the shape of a spear and stabbing straight towards Yang Kai’s Knowledge Sea.
Even though Yang Kai was taken by surprise, his reaction was not slow, quickly pushing his own Spiritual Energy to meet this attack.
*Hong…*
The silent collision shook both Yang Kai and Sang De.
There was some surprise in Sang De’s eyes as a scary light suddenly replaced their former indifference. With eyes that looked like he wanted to devour Yang Kai, he stared at him as if he had just found a rare treasure.
Yang Kai on the other hand got up in a flash. He had been hit with a sneak attack earlier, but he did not fully release his Divine Sense. It wasn’t that he did not want to release it, but he was afraid of hurting Sang De. If his Soul were to become heavily injured here, then nobody would be able to fix the Spirit Purifying Array for him.
But Yang Kai was still enraged that Sang De would attack him without saying a word. He decided that if this old man did not give himself a satisfactory explanation, then he would point a knife to his throat and force him to repair this Spirit Purifying Array that he created so that it was as good as new.
“What are your intentions here?” Yang Kai eyed Sang De coldly.
“Do not be nervous, Little Brother,” Sang De didn’t seem guilty about attacking him at all and looked at Yang Kai with a cheerful gaze, “This Old Master just wanted to give you a small test. There is no malice behind it.”
“Is that some kind of bad joke? What kind of test would require sneak attacking someone? And using a Spiritual Energy blast no less!” Yang Kai’s stomach was full of grievances, but fortunately he was strong enough to take the attack. If it were someone else whose Soul was not as strong as his, then they might be lying on the ground half dead by now.
An injury to the Soul was no small injury, so Sang De had immediately left a bad impression on Yang Kai.
“Because this Old Master needs someone with a strong Soul. If this Old Master had not seen Little Brother deal with a cultivator at the same level as you so easily outside my door, then this Old Master would not have bothered to test you.”
Yang Kai coldly snorted, “So, should I be feeling honoured?”
From what he said, it seemed Sang De knew all about his fight with Yu Le Ping outside.
“Do not worry, Little Brother, listen first to this Old Master’s story,” Sang De reached out to comfort him.
Yang Kai glared at him for a while but he was helpless now. Since he was here to request this old man’s services, he had no choice but to wait for that Spirit Purifying Array to be fixed even if he was unhappy with Sang De’s approach.
Only after Yang Kai sat down did Sang De put on a smile, “This Old Master wishes to ask Little Brother, how long have you been trapped in this damned place?”
Yang Kai’s heart suddenly jumped. [This old fart couldn’t have realized something, could he? Does he know that I’m new here?] However, thinking back to how he said he had no lack of Source Crystals, there was no reason for him to attack him. Despite his inner turmoil, Yang Kai’s expression remained unchanged during these thoughts and simply asked back, “Why do you need to know?”
Sang De smiled, “If you do not wish to tell me, so be it. This Old Master has been trapped here for nine hundred years.”
Yang Kai sneered inwardly, thinking to himself that it would be good if he was trapped here until he died.
Sang De sighed, “Nine hundred years ago, this Old Master was a Third-Order Dao Source Realm cultivator. Nine hundred years later, this Old Master is still a Third-Order Dao Source Realm! My skill in Artifact Refining kept on improving in that time, but so what? Even if I can refine artifacts, I still can’t leave. If I can’t leave here, then I’ll never be able to break through to the Emperor Realm. I will sooner or later die here.”
Yang Kai frowned. He had no idea what Sang De was saying this for, but he suppressed his urge to ask and just listened for now.
“No matter how long Little Brother has been trapped here, this Old Master only wishes to ask…” Sang De’s face suddenly turned serious, eyes brimming with light, “Do you want to leave this place?”
Yang Kai was shaken. He stared at Sang De and asked, “Do you know how to get out of here?”
Sang De smiled, and instead of answering, he responded with a question, “Do I? Heh heh heh…”
This irritable answer filled Yang Kai’s stomach full of grievances again. He couldn’t want for anything more than to grab Sang De right here and now, then use a Soul Searching Technique to see what was going on inside his head.
He originally planned to stay here for a while then slowly search for a way out, but how could Yang Kai not be moved when he found a hint from Sang De?
He pondered for a moment before asking, “Grandmaster, honest people should not resort to insinuations. You say you know the way out, but I do not believe you. Several Emperor Realm Masters are still trapped on this island. If there was a way to leave, then would they still be here?”
“They are them, and this Old Master is this Old Master. Do not mix the two up!” Sang De curled his lip and said proudly, “What’s more, the method that this Old Master has discovered, an Emperor Realm would not be able to achieve it even if they knew about it.”
Yang Kai frowned, “If even an Emperor Realm Master is unable to leave, how are you going to achieve it?”
“Naturally, that is this Old Master’s business!” Sang De grunted a little impatiently, “Since this Old Master has sought you, then take this as an opportunity. Whether you can grasp this opportunity or not will depend on your own ability.”
It seemed that Sang De was prone to shifting moods. Yang Kai was sure that he would definitely kill him to silence him if he refused his offer. Even though this old man was an Artifact Refiner, he was already a Third-Order Dao Source Realm cultivator nine hundred years ago. Sang De had raised his Artifact Refining level on Clear Sky Island over the years as well, so his strength must definitely not be weak.
For him to reveal this information to Yang Kai here left him with only two options. Either cooperate with him or fight!
“If there really is an opportunity, then I will not let it pass, but how do I know if what you’re saying is true?” Yang Kai looked reluctant to believe him, “At the very least, you should tell me how we can get out of here.”
Sang De smiled, “Little Brother is a cautious person. This Old Master likes working with cautious people.” After a pause, he said, “The key to leaving here is the Solitary Void Sea.”
Yang Kai curled his lips at this answer, as it was essentially saying nothing at all.
He had experienced just how big the Solitary Void Sea was, and that was all he told him, so how was he supposed to confirm if it was true or not?
Sang De continued, “This Old Master will tell you honestly. This Old Master is not the only one who knows of this exit. Two other people know!”
“Who?” Yang Kai raised a brow.
“The Clear Sky Island’s Island Lord and the Pavilion Master of Ice Heart Pavilion!” Sang De coldly snorted, “These two are the strongest Masters on Clear Sky Island.”
Yang Kai was stunned as he thought that Sang De would be the only one to know about this kind of secret information, but now it seemed that was not the case. The Clear Sky Island’s Lord and Ice Heart Pavilion’s Master knew of it too.
Yang Kai had heard about the Island Lord from Jiao Yi before and knew that this person was a Third-Order Emperor. However, since he lived and cultivated on Clear Sky Island, he would be unable to bring out the peak of his strength. Even though Yang Kai was not too sure about the Ice Heart Pavilion’s Master, their situation should obviously be about the same as the Island Lord.
In other words, both of them should be peak Emperor Realm Masters, but were unable to bring out their full strength now.
“Since they know, then why don’t they leave? With their ability, there shouldn’t be anywhere they can’t go, right?” Yang Kai wondered.
“Anywhere they can’t go?” Sang De scoffed at Yang Ka’s words, “That is not necessarily the case. If it were the outside, then such strong cultivation would indeed allow one to roam the world freely, but this is the Solitary Void Sealed World. If the two of them dared to stay outside for long enough, they would still be courting death!”
“Because they would be unable to replenish their strength?” Yang Kai suddenly understood.
“Exactly!” Sang De nodded, “How vast is the Solitary Void Sea? Once those two Masters exhaust their Emperor Qi, they would not even be able to fly. Once they run out of Qi, they will not be able to replenish it in the Solitary Void Sealed World. Even with their peerless strength and cultivation, they would still be met with a dead end.”
The Solitary Void Sealed World was filled with Disruption Force, so no cultivator will be able to absorb any World Energy around them. If the sea remained calm, then it would be no big deal to stop and find a place to set up a Spirit Purifying Array and use Source Crystals and Spirit Pills to help slowly recover then continue going forward.
However, from his journey here, Yang Kai got to know that there were countless waterspouts all over the sea. Those waterspouts were extremely strong, so there was simply no place for anyone to restore themselves in peace.
And, the deeper one went, the more waterspouts appeared, and the more terrifying their siphoning power became. A Third-Order Emperor Realm Master might seem powerful, but without their Emperor Qi, even they would not be able to defend against the waterspouts.
Upon hearing this, Yang Kai mostly believed what Sang De said as it was very reasonable, so he could not help but believe it.
“Then, can you tell me the exact location of the exit?” Yang Kai held back his excitement and asked in a seemingly casual manner.
Even if a Third-Order Emperor Realm Master couldn’t do it, that may not necessarily be the case for Yang Kai as he had the Sealed World Bead. If he ran out of strength along the way, he could just hide inside the Sealed World Bead and continue forward after he had restored himself. The only thing he had to worry about was how powerful those waterspouts along the way were going to be.
If they were too strong, then he wouldn’t be able to get out either.
But it would certainly not be wrong for him to first find out the location of the exit.
“I can’t tell you that!” Sang De refused.
Yang Kai quickly remarked, “Aren’t you being insincere, Grandmaster? You asked to cooperate with me, but you won’t share any useful information. If you can’t tell me anything, how can I trust only your side of the story?”
Sang De smiled, “You can trust me or leave!”
He looked like he had Yang Kai firmly in his grasp, which made Yang Kai helpless despite the itching grievance he was feeling.
After thinking for a while, Yang Kai asked, “I don’t understand, what does the matter of leaving here have anything to do with cooperating with you, Grandmaster?”
Sang De replied, “To get out, one must not only know the location of the exit, but also need the appropriate tools, is that not so? You weren’t thinking of flying all the way there, were you?”
Yang Kai frowned slightly, “You don’t even have the necessary tools to leave?”
Sang De said, “Now I don’t, but I know where to obtain them. The required item is not with this Old Master, and several people have to work together in order to retrieve it. That is why this Old Master is asking you to cooperate.”
Yang Kai said thoughtfully, “Does obtaining that ‘item’ have something to do with having strong Spiritual Energy?”
Sang De smiled and nodded, “Exactly. The fact that you were able to resist seventy percent of this Old Master’s Spiritual Energy in such haste is remarkable. That proves that even if your Soul cultivation is not stronger than this Old Master’s, it is not far behind. If that wasn’t the case, why would this Old Master even be talking with you now?”
He had an arrogant look on his face, as if it was a great accomplishment for Yang Kai to have resisted an attack containing seventy percent of his Spiritual Energy. However, Sang De had no idea that Yang Kai had only used twenty percent of his own Spiritual Energy. If he had not been afraid of hurting this old fart, Yang Kai would have shown him what a truly strong Soul could do; then Sang De would not be acting like an arrogant frog at the bottom of the well, overestimating his own strength.
Yang Kai wondered, “Since you know where this so-called ‘item’ is, why are you still here?”
Sang De grumbled, “Naturally, it was my Master who refined that thing. With this Old Master’s ability alone, I am still unable to refine such a thing!”
Yang Kai’s body shook! If Sang De, who was said to have touched the Emperor Artifact Refiner level, was still unable to refine this item, didn’t that mean that his Master was a genuine Emperor Artifact Refiner?
[An Emperor Artifact Refiner actually exists on this Solitary Void Sealed World? And it seems like no one knows about him!?] Yang Kai thought in surprise.
Sang De seemed to be able to see Yang Kai’s suspicions and explained, “My Master does not live on Clear Sky City, and he also never revealed his Artifact Refining skills to anyone, so nobody knows about him.”
“Since this item belongs to your Master, will he not have any problems about you taking it?” Yang Kai asked with a sneer. Sure enough, this Sang De was a bad nut, even daring to have ideas about his Master’s belongings. Who knew which blind Master had actually accepted such an unfilial disciple. If it were Yang Kai, he would have cleaned house long ago and not have allowed Sang De to live until now.
Sang De grinned meaningfully, “That old man passed away five years ago, why would he have any problems?” Speaking up to this point, his face suddenly twisted up, “Even though that old thing is dead, he didn’t even pass down that thing to me, so I can only go and get it myself.”
Yang Kai was stunned at his words. Looking at Sang De’s expression, it seemed he did not get along too well with his Master. Who knows what sort of grudges existed between the two of them.
“This Old Master has been preparing for five years and has been looking for candidates like you. Today, I finally have all the necessary personnel. As long as Little Brother nods his head and places his trust in this Old Master, this Old Master guarantees to take you out of the Solitary Void Sealed World!” Sang De looked at Yang Kai with an excited face.
“I don’t have a choice, do I?” Yang Kai grinned meaningfully.
Sang De said subtly, “Even though this Old Master does not leave his home, refining Artifacts for over nine hundred years on Clear Sky Island, this Old Master has made many friends, and many also owe favours to this Old Master, so you best think about this carefully, Little Brother.”
Even though Sang De spoke vaguely, Yang Kai was not a fool; how could he not be able to tell that this old man was threatening him? Sang De saying that he has many friends and even has a lot of people who owed him favours was his not so subtle way of saying that if Yang Kai refused his offer, he could make use of these connections to make life on Clear Sky City hell for Yang Kai in the future.
“Fix my Spirit Purifying Array first. I still have to think about it.” Yang Kai pointed to the Artifact Refining Furnace.
“Of course, of course,” Sang De smiled. This time, he didn’t say anything more and instead began making seals with his hands to control the furnace’s flames, beginning repairs on the Spirit Purifying Array.
Yang Kai sat there cross-legged with a frown between his brow, seemingly considering the feasibility of Sang De’s proposal. But in reality, he was watching how this man was refining, just in case he engaged in any mischief with the Spirit Purifying Array.
Sure enough, Sang De was worthy of his title as an Artifact Refining Grandmaster. Yang Kai just saw him toss a bunch of different materials into the Artifact Refining Furnace while constantly forming different hand seals, drawing Spirit Arrays within the Artifact Refining Furnace. A humming sound was occasionally emitted from the huge Artifact Refining Furnace.
Yang Kai himself was an alchemist, so even though he had never been exposed to the Dao of Artifact Refining, there were many similarities between the two, such as the input of materials, the control of fire, Spirit Array inscription, etc. So, even though he didn’t understand too much about it, he knew Sang De wasn’t doing a perfunctory job. Rather, he was really helping him repair the Spirit Purifying Array.
A full hour later, Sang De suddenly withdrew his hands and the flames in the Artifact Refining Furnace also gradually began to weaken. After it reached a certain point, Sang De suddenly patted his Artifact Refining Surface.
Lifting his hand, the Artifact Refining Furnace’s cover flew open and the artifact flags and the base popped out from within, landing in Sang De’s hands. Looking over, Yang Kai found that the Spirit Purifying Array had been restored to its original state, and even seemed to have greater spirituality than when Ling Yin Qin first lent it to him. In other words, this Spirit Purifying Array set was definitely better than before.
Sang De smiled, “Little Brother, the Spirit Purifying Array you brought me must be this Old Master’s work from fifty years ago. During the past fifty years, this Old Master learned a lot and made great progress in the Dao of Artifact Refining, so I made some small changes to your Spirit Purifying Array. But rest assured, it is definitely better than before.”
While speaking, he didn’t hold back and handed the Spirit Purifying Array to Yang Kai.
Yang Kai accepted it and wasn’t worried about him fiddling with the Spirit Purifying Array. After examining it for a little, he tossed it into his Space Ring and cupped his fists, “Many thanks, Grandmaster.”
Sang De said, “Now I wonder, has this Little Brother made his decision?”
“I have.” Yang Kai nodded, “Count me in on this plan.”
Sang De laughed, “Little Brother is a sensible person. This Old Master was right about you.”
Yang Kai coldly snorted, “I just want to get out of here. Even if it wasn’t Grandmaster asking, I would still cooperate.”
“No matter, no matter. In that case, we shall meet in front of the city gates in three days!” Sang De smiled, “This Old Master needs to prepare some things and gather the others. So please, be there on time for our appointment when it comes!”
“I’ll be taking my leave then,” Yang Kai got up and cupped his fists at Sang De.
“By the way, I have not asked. How should I refer to Little Brother?” Sang De suddenly asked.
“Yang Kai!”
There was no need to hide his name here, so Yang Kai just used his real name.
After leaving Sang De’s place, Yang Kai took out the Communication Bead that Jiao Yi gave him before and contacted him. He found out that they had indeed moved to the cave mansions in the Inner City, and they weren’t living too far away from the cave mansion that he and Liu Xian Yun stayed at. So, he agreed to head over later so he could return the repaired Spirit Purifying Array back to Ling Yin Qin.
Walking past a few streets, Yang Kai suddenly paused his steps and looked up at a certain building not far away.
The building looked like a six floored pavilion and was neither big nor small; however, it occupied a large amount of space in the busiest area in the city, so obviously the owner behind this pavilion was definitely not simple.
In fact, the owner of this pavilion truly was not a simple person.
Because this was Ice Heart Pavilion!
Yang Kai knew that Ice Heart Pavilion’s Pavilion Master was a top-level Emperor Realm Master that stood on equal ground with the Clear Sky Island Lord. Only, this Ice Heart Pavilion Master was different from the Clear Sky Island Lord in that the former seemed to only control a single pavilion, while the latter had control of the entire Clear Sky Island.
When Yang Kai first arrived on Clear Sky Island, Ling Yin Qin sold his share of the goods to a beautiful woman called Fan Xin, and that beautiful woman was one of Ice Heart Pavilion’s disciples.
The three words, ‘Ice Heart Pavilion’, reminded Yang Kai of many past events. Sang De also mentioned that besides himself, the Ice Heart Pavilion Master and the Clear Sky Island Lord were also aware of where this Sealed World’s exit was.
It was naturally unrealistic to ask about any information from these two, however, as they were Third-Order Emperors, not characters Yang Kai could casually meet. What’s more, even if he did manage to meet with one of these Masters, it would be impossible for him to pry any information out of them directly.
Yang Kai had the nagging suspicion that Sang De wasn’t a very reliable person and may be plotting some unknown scheme in the background. As they say, you shouldn’t put all your eggs into one basket. Yang Kai figured that he would have to come in contact with the Ice Heart Pavilion Master sooner or later if he intended to leave the Solitary Void Sealed World, so he might as well get started now.
Outside Ice Heart Pavilion was a wooden sign with two lines carved into it. Yang Kai got closer and found that Ice Heart Pavilion was hiring an Alchemist.
‘Senior Alchemist wanted, well-paid position!’
There were only these two lines written on the sign which caused Yang Kai’s eyes to brighten.
The handwriting was elegant and filled with force. There was an inexplicable rhythm hidden within it. It seemed to have been written by a powerful master.
When Yang Kai stopped to look at the wooden sign, a beautiful woman came out of Ice Heart Pavilion and asked, smiling, “Little Brother, are you an Alchemist?”
As he stood motionless in front of the sign, it was naturally easy for others to surmise this.
Yang Kai looked up at those words and their eyes met. The beautiful woman was surprised, “It’s you.”
“Senior Sister Fan!” Yang Kai cupped his fists with a smile.
This beautiful woman was none other than Fan Xin who bought Ling Yin Qin’s goods at the docks.
“Who are you calling Senior Sister?” Fan Xin glared at Yang Kai, “You’re making me sound older for no reason. Since your cultivation is higher than mine, just call me Junior Sister.”
“Junior Sister Fan!” Yang Kai immediately corrected himself.
“What should I call Senior Brother?” Fan Xin asked.
Yang Kai immediately introduced himself, and Fan Xin smiled, “So, it is Senior Brother Yang. So, Senior Brother Yang, you’re an Alchemist?”
“En. I know a thing or two about it.” Yang Kai said humbly.
Fan Xin’s eyes brightened and she eagerly asked, “What grade of Alchemist is Senior Brother Yang?”
“Dao Source Grade!” Yang Kai understated his own abilities; after all, an Emperor Grade Alchemist was an extremely rare existence even in the vast Star Boundary. Sang De was only a Dao Source Grade Senior Artifact Refiner, and he was already well-respected on Clear Sky Island. If he ever did become an Emperor Artifact Refiner, then even the Clear Sky Island Lord would have to show Sang De some courtesy.
“What is the highest grade pill that you can refine?” When Fan Xin heard that Yang Kai was actually a Dao Source Grade Alchemist, she seemed to have become more enthusiastic. Her entire person was leaning closer to Yang Kai, which instantly caused a fragrant scent to waft over, tickling one’s heart and soul.
“Dao Source Grade Mid-Rank. I can occasionally succeed with High-Rank pills, but the chances aren’t high.”
“Would Senior Brother Yang be interested in coming in for a test? If you really can refine a Dao Source Grade Mid-Rank Spirit Pill, our Ice Heart Pavilion will definitely offer you a well-paid position.”
“Sure,” Yang Kai smiled. He came here because he wanted to find a backer; after all, he was new in the city and may encounter some difficulties in the future, so life would be easier for him if he had someone behind him. Secondly, it was naturally so he could meet the Ice Heart Pavilion Master and get acquainted with them.
Fan Xin was overjoyed to see Yang Kai agree so quickly and quickly led him inside.
Yang Kai swept his gaze around and found that this Ice Heart Pavilion seemed to be a place where various materials were sold. The goods placed on the shelves were all sorts of Alchemy, Artifact Refining, and cultivation materials. No finished pills nor artifacts were displayed.
To Yang Kai’s surprise, business in the Ice Heart Pavilion didn’t actually seem that good. There were only a few customers inside who were looking around.
On the other hand, there were a few women dressed similarly to Fan Xin accompanying the customers and introducing the goods to them.
“Does your Ice Heart Pavilion only accept women?” Yang Kai asked in surprise.
Fan Xin pursed her lips and smiled, “That’s right, this is a rule set by the Pavilion Master.”
“Then wouldn’t I be breaking those rules?” Yang Kai raised his brows. [The Ice Heart Pavilion Master really is a hidden dragon… one of those who show their tail but never their face. They are either a womanizer or a woman. Else, such a rule would never be set.]
Fan Xin said, “It’s not the same. We’re all Master’s Low Ranked Disciples. If Senior Brother Yang joins the Ice Heart Pavilion, it would just be an employment relationship.”
“So, that’s how it is!” Yang Kai nodded. It didn’t really bother him that much. If they only accepted female disciples, it was naturally impossible for him to join, not to mention, Yang Kai would not join even if given the opportunity.
Yang Kai just couldn’t understand why a place like Ice Heart Pavilion that sells materials would want to hire an Alchemist. What’s more, from the state and material of the wooden sign, it had clearly been up for some time. In other words, Ice Heart Pavilion had been recruiting for an Alchemist for a long time.
When they saw Fan Xin bringing Yang Kai in, the female disciples of Ice Heart Pavilion seemed very surprised. Beautiful eyes all turned over to this side, watching them intently. These disciples were all young women with beautiful and clear eyes that were pure and flawless. They seemed to cultivate the same type of Secret Art, but their cultivations were quite varied. Fan Xin was only at the Second-Order Dao Source Realm, but these few girls weren’t even at the Dao Source Realm. The strongest one of them was only in First-Order Origin Returning Realm. There were even some who were in the Saint King Realm and Saint Realm. Who knows how this Ice Heart Pavilion Master picked their disciples.
“Junior Sister Fan, how many Alchemists are there in Ice Heart Pavilion?” Yang Kai didn’t care about how the girls were looking at him though and just asked casually.
“We used to have one, but that Alchemist was dismissed a few days ago,” Fan Xin told him.
“Dismissed?” Yang Kai was surprised, “Was that person not meeting their quota?”
[If you are currently recruiting, then why dismiss?] Yang Kai couldn’t figure it out.
Fan Xin smiled but did not answer his question. Who knows if it was something secret or maybe something that made it inconvenient to talk about, but while talking, the two arrived at the third floor of the pavilion.
Walking all the way here, Yang Kai found that Ice Heart Pavilion was filled with materials, and the higher you went, the higher the grade of the materials.
On the third floor was a room designed like a secret chamber. After leading Yang Kai in, Fan Xin said, “Senior Brother Yang, you can do the examination here. There are no Earth Fire sources on Clear Sky Island, so the conditions here are a little simple. I hope you won’t mind it.”
“No problem.” Yang Kai waved his hand. He found that this room covered quite a large space, and there were a dozen big and small Alchemy Furnaces here, each one at least Dao Source Grade, with three even being Dao Source Grade High-Rank.
Ice Heart Pavilion did not have any Alchemists, but they had a lot of Alchemy Furnaces, so it was clear they collected these for a reason.
Yang Kai was puzzled by this. Reasonably, if Ice Heart Pavilion’s business was selling raw materials, then they could just sell raw materials, why bother to hire a high grade Alchemist? What’s more, they even prepared so many Alchemy Furnaces. Ice Heart Pavilion’s Pavilion Master was a Third-Order Emperor Realm Master and definitely wouldn’t be short of cultivational materials. Yang Kai could only think of one obvious possibility as to why Ice Heart Pavilion Master wanted to refine Spirit Pills, and that was why they were looking for a high-level Alchemist.
“You can use these Alchemy Furnaces as you like as long as you don’t damage them.” Fan Xin pointed to the pill furnaces.
“Understood, but may I know what sort of Spirit Pill Junior Sister Fan wants me to refine?” Yang Kai asked.
“Any Dao Source Grade Mid-Rank Spirit Pill will be fine. Give me the pill recipe and I’ll prepare the materials for you, Senior Brother.”
Yang Kai nodded and pondered for a moment, “Then, I’ll refine the Seven Star Dragon Tiger Pill.”
The Seven Star Dragon Tiger Pill was a Dao Source Grade Mid-Rank Spirit Pill that could boost a cultivator’s strength by ten to thirty percent depending on its quality, possibly even fifty percent if Pill Veins were formed.
Once the effects of this pill had passed, the consumer’s entire body would become weak and would be unable to exert their Qi for two months. Not only that, some damage would be done to the user’s meridians and their foundation.
The Seven Star Dragon Tiger Pill’s effects were so violent that a non-Dao Source Realm cultivator would not be able to use it. Forcibly taking the pill would only result in death. But which cultivator at Dao Source Realm would be willing to take this sort of pill to improve their strength by force? Once their meridians and foundation were damaged, it was very likely they would never be able to advance any further.
Therefore, this type of Spirit Pill was practically worthless. There was not much of a market for it as only some desperate people would keep a couple of such pills on them to protect themselves.
Yang Kai read out the ingredients for the Seven Star Dragon Tiger Pill while Fan Xin noted them in her heart and immediately went off to prepare them.
The reason he chose the Seven Star Dragon Tiger Pill was because its ingredients were not hard to find and should be available even on Clear Sky Island.
Sure enough, it didn’t take long before Fan Xin returned with ten sets of the ingredients.
She handed the materials to Yang Kai, “Senior Brother Yang, you’ll pass if you can succeed in refining two furnaces of pills. Junior Sister will be waiting outside, just call out to me when you’re finished.”
Ten sets of the ingredients and only two successive refinements. For a true Dao Source Grade Mid-Rank Alchemist, this wasn’t too difficult. As long as they focused a little, they would be able to succeed.
For Yang Kai, it was no problem at all.
He could even refine Emperor Grade Spirit Pills, let alone Dao Source Grade Mid-Rank Pills.
Fan Xin obviously knew it was not advisable to disturb an Alchemist while they were refining pills, so she took the initiative to wait outside.
After she left, Yang Kai took out his own Black Jade Furnace and placed it in front of him. Then, he pushed his Conflagrated Spiritual Energy and began refining.
Even though it was his first time refining the Seven Star Dragon Tiger Pill, he didn’t experience any hiccups at all. His movements were extremely skilful and his control of the fire and timing to add ingredients were all perfect.
Very soon, Yang Kai engrossed himself in Alchemy.
While he was concentrating, the Soul Splitting Sabre in his Knowledge Sea suddenly jolted, instantly pulling him from his focused state.
His expression remained unchanged and his hands did not stop, but Yang Kai began examining himself thoroughly.
This sort of abnormality couldn’t happen with the Soul Splitting Sabre without a reason, so the only explanation for this was that something had happened to him.
He searched and searched, but still did not find any clues.
Quite a while had passed before Yang Kai suddenly understood. Someone was spying on him! The Soul Splitting Sabre moved because it could sense a Divine Sense that did not belong to him nearby.
And the fact that he was not able to detect this person’s spying meant that their cultivation was far superior to his own.
[Ice Heart Pavilion’s Master!]
Yang Kai immediately realized who the one spying on him was! Other than the Pavilion Master, who else would have such an incredible ability within Ice Heart Pavilion?
It seemed like his previous assumptions were wrong. He thought that a master like this would definitely be living in the best secluded home in the Inner City, but now it seemed they were right here in Ice Heart Pavilion.
There were six floors in total in Ice Heart Pavilion, and he was on the third floor. There was a high chance that the Pavilion Master lived on the sixth floor!
[What was the meaning of a Master like that spying on me while refining pills? What’s more, I am only refining a Dao Source Grade Mid-Rank Spirit Pill… What use would this pill be to such a Master?]
[Unless… The Pavilion Master is trying to observe my Alchemy skills?]
Thoughts flashed past Yang Kai’s mind like lightning, but the movements of his hands did not slow down by even half a beat.
He originally planned to refine two furnaces of Spirit Pills, then wait until it was just about time before reporting to Fan Xin, but now that he knew that Ice Heart Pavilion’s Master was spying on him, how could Yang Kai dare do so?
He quietly modified the Spirit Array within the pill furnace and soon, a muffled sound suddenly erupted from within, followed by a burnt smell.
After a brief pause, Yang Kai made a dejected expression and sighed heavily, seemingly lamenting his failure of refining this Spirit Pill.
He poured out the dregs from the furnace and after some rest, Yang Kai began refining again.
It was already night when Yang Kai came out from Sang De’s place, so this test went on until morning the next day.
When Yang Kai opened the door, Fan Xin who was waiting outside quickly came over.
“Fortunately, I did not fail, three furnaces of pills succeeded. Please take a look, Junior Sister Fan.” Yang Kai handed three jade bottles to her, each of them containing four to five Seven Star Dragon Tiger Pills of varying quality.
This was the normal level of performance that a Dao Source Grade Mid-Rank Alchemist should show.
Fan Xin took the jade bottles and did not even look at them, as if she had already expected the result. Smiling warmly, she said, “You’ve passed, Senior Brother Yang. As long as you’re willing, Senior Brother Yang can become our Ice Heart Pavilion’s Alchemist.”
“Naturally, I am willing!” Yang Kai responded through gritted teeth.
He came to this Ice Heart Pavilion hoping to take the opportunity to meet Ice Heart Pavilion’s Master and get acquainted with them. However, he realized that Ice Heart Pavilion had some sort of hidden agenda, so he didn’t even know if it was the right or wrong choice for him to apply as their Alchemist.
But now, he had no choice but to say yes.
“Wonderful!” Fan Xin was overjoyed, “Senior Brother Yang, you have no idea how difficult it is to find a Dao Source Grade Alchemist on Clear Sky Island! There are only a few Alchemists at this level in the entire Clear Sky Island, and none of them met our requirements. Fortunately, we met you.”
Yang Kai originally wanted to ask what sort of requirements those Alchemists did not meet, but he ended up swallowing his words back down when he was about to say them.
He didn’t believe that Fan Xin would answer that question.
“It’s like this, Senior Brother Yang. If you join our Ice Heart Pavilion as our Alchemist, then you will get half the profits of every pill sold.”
“Half?” Yang Kai was surprised.
He didn’t think it was too little, but instead, this was a little too much!
He didn’t need to prepare any materials and just had to refine pills here, but he could actually receive half of the proceeds? What a boon.
“Sixty percent is fine, too.” When Fan Xin saw his reaction, she thought he wasn’t satisfied with the reward so she quickly changed her tone, “What’s more, as Senior Brother Yang can see, our Ice Heart Pavilion is not short of materials. As long as you work here, you will sooner or later be able to advance your Alchemy skills. Even becoming an Emperor Alchemist would no longer be a dream.”
This was true. Ice Heart Pavilion was in fact full of materials. An Alchemist who wished to improve their level and ability would need a lot of materials to practice with. Any other Alchemist would be overjoyed to enter Ice Heart Pavilion.
“No need, half is fine.” Yang Kai waved his hands.
Fan Xin felt stunned for a moment before she smiled, “You’re a good person, Senior Brother Yang. So, when can Senior Brother Yang come to refine pills?”
“I’m afraid I won’t be able to do it immediately. In three days… Uh, well, two days from now, I have an agreement to meet with someone. I’ll come again after my business with him is settled,” Yang Kai said.
Even though Fan Xin was a little disappointed, she didn’t push the matter, “Naturally, Senior Brother Yang’s business comes first. Please, Senior Brother Yang, once you’re ready, you must return to Ice Heart Pavilion at once.”
Walking out from Ice Heart Pavilion, Yang Kai walked straight towards the location of where Ling Yin Qin and the others lived. He wanted to go there so he could return the Spirit Purifying Array to her.
After a short walk, he suddenly noticed that someone was eyeing him. Immediately, on full alert, Yang Kai turned his head around.
There, a man with his eyes wide in a glare was staring straight towards him, looking as if he had seen a ghost.
Pang Guang!
Yang Kai was also taken aback. He didn’t think he would actually bump into this Marsh City Lord here in Clear Sky City.
When the Solitary Void Great Maelstrom first appeared, he and Yao Cheng Jun were swallowed up into the Solitary Void Sealed World, and Pang Guang who chased them all the way here was not able to escape disaster either. However, Yao Cheng Jun was busy stirring up trouble with Yang Kai back then and was worried about Pang Guang taking advantage of the situation, so he shooed him away.
Yang Kai thought that Pang Guang might already have met with a tragedy. Even if he was a First-Order Emperor, it would be hard for him to sustain himself in the endless Solitary Void Sea.
But now it seemed he was wrong. This man was truly hardy and somehow managed to escape the Solitary Void Sea and arrive on Clear Sky Island by himself. From his travel-worn appearance, it was clear Pang Guang arrived on Clear Sky Island after a long struggle. As for how he did it, that was impossible to know.
Yang Kai was shocked that Pang Guang was still alive, but Pang Guang was even more shocked than Yang Kai was!
After all, Yang Kai and Yao Chang Jun were the only ones left on that island when he left. From how desperately it seemed Yao Chang Jun wanted him dead, how could Yang Kai have survived? He should have been torn to pieces by the enraged Yao Chang Jun.
But Yang Kai was safe and sound when he ran into him now. He appeared to be mighty as a dragon and fierce as a tiger!
There was no way that Yao Chang Jun could not match up to Yang Kai, so there must be some other reason that this brat was still alive. Perhaps it was Yao Chang Jun who let him go.
Just as Pang Guang was wondering whether Yao Chang Jun had also arrived on Clear Sky Island, Yang Kai grinned at him and pointed up his thumb, gesturing it across his throat in a slitting motion.
Pang Guang’s face turned dark and he became furious, thinking to himself that this little brat was really arrogant. If they weren’t in an unfamiliar place at this moment, he would’ve made an example out of Yang Kai here and now.
Even though the two of them saw each other, they had no intention of interacting, so they just stared at each other for a while before walking past one another, bumping shoulders.
Yang Kai wasn’t very afraid of Pang Guang. With the power he had now, there was indeed no reason for him to feel threatened by a First-Order Emperor Realm Master. What’s more, they were in the Inner City, a relatively safe place. Yang Kai had been here for many days but still never found anyone fighting. Compared to the Outer City, they were like two different worlds.
If Pang Guang dared to make any moves in the Inner City, then Clear Sky City’s law enforcement team wouldn’t let him get away with it.
In just a short amount of time, Yang Kai found the cave mansion where Ling Yin Qin and the others lived. It was also a mid-grade cave mansion not far from his own. After handing the restored Spirit Purifying Array back to Ling Yin Qin, Yang Kai stayed at her place for a while before leaving.
When he returned to his own place, he was greeted by a worried Liu Xian Yun.
Yang Kai would be out for the whole day every time he left, so it was inevitable that she would feel nervous that something might have happened to him. The closest person she had in the unfamiliar Clear Sky City was Yang Kai alone. If even Yang Kai disappeared, then she really wouldn’t know where to go.
Time seemed to have gone back to several years ago, when the two of them were forced to join Blue Feather Sect together.
She and Yang Kai had both fallen into that same boat together back then, so they depended on each other.
She didn’t expect them to encounter a similar situation again a few years later.
“Junior Sister, I have to go out of town in two days.”
“Out of town? Where to?” Liu Xian Yun was taken aback and asked him in a hurry.
“I don’t know where either, but when I went to that Artifact Refining Grandmaster to repair the Spirit Purifying Array yesterday, he told me he had a way out of the Solitary Void Sealed World and needs my help with retrieving something.” Yang Kai hid nothing from Liu Xian Yun and told her all the details of his agreement with Sang De.
Liu Xian Yun felt mixed emotions when she heard this. First, she was happy that Yang Kai had actually found a way out of here so quickly, and from how Sang De put it, it seemed like the chances of success were quite high. The worry was that there was no one able to confirm whether Sang De’s words were true or not, and even if it were true, there may be many dangers along this path.
“Senior Brother, must you go?” Liu Xian Yun asked, pursing her red lips.
Yang Kai chuckled, “If there is hope in front of us, we must catch hold of it. Don’t worry, even if Sang De has any schemes or tricks up his sleeve, I’m not afraid of him. If the way out that he claims to have isn’t real, then so be it, but it would naturally be good if it were true. As for you… Will you be leaving with me or staying here?”
The reason Yang Kai told Liu Xian Yun this was so he could ask whether she wished to stay here or come with him.
When she heard this, Liu Xian Yun immediately understood what Yang Kai meant. If she followed Yang Kai, she would definitely be taken into that mystical place and brought along with him.
She had spent some time in that space and knew that although it was a bit empty and lonely, the World Energy was dense and without any Disruption Force, so it could be freely absorbed by people. It was a very mysterious place.
After careful consideration, Liu Xian Yun said, “I think it’s better if I stay here.”
Yang Kai was surprised. This answer was out of his expectations as he thought that Liu Xian Yun would go with him.
Liu Xian Yun smiled, “We’re in the Inner City, so there won’t be any dangers for me to stay here and you don’t have to worry, Senior Brother. What’s more, if Sang De’s plan can’t be relied on, then it would be better for me to stay here and get familiar with the surroundings. You never know, we may end up having to live here for a long time to come!”
When she did not seem the least bit in a hurry to leave this damned place and even appeared to be quite happy living here, Yang Kai was struck speechless for a moment. He could only nod, “Then you be careful. Ling Yin Qin, Jiao Yi, and the others also live not far away, so you can meet up with them often. They’ve lived here for many years and have valuable experience.”
Liu Xian Yun smiled sweetly, “I know, Senior Brother. You have to come back soon, I’ll… be waiting for you to come back!”
At the end of her sentence, she couldn’t help but lower her head, and her cheeks turned slightly red.
The atmosphere didn’t feel quite right to Yang Kai. He had clearly come to ask Liu Xian Yun whether she was going to stay or accompany him, so how did it end up sounding like a goodbye between a married couple? He gave her a quick answer before disappearing into his own room, closing his eyes, and beginning to meditate.
Two days passed in a flash.
Early on the morning of the third day, Yang Kai opened his eyes and checked around with his Divine Sense. He found that Liu Xian Yun was sitting cross-legged in another room, so he didn’t disturb her and instead went straight out of the cave mansion.
He had already said what he needed to two days ago so there was no need to say anymore.
As soon as he left the Inner City, Yang Kai could sense that he was being followed.
Releasing his Divine Sense, he found that the person following him was merely a First-Order Dao Source Realm cultivator. Even though they cultivated a good concealment technique, it had little effect under Yang Kai’s powerful Divine Sense.
Yang Kai frowned as he had only been in Clear Sky City for a short amount of time and didn’t seem to have offended anyone during this period, other than a certain guy called Yu Le Ping who he had beaten.
At that time, a young woman warned Yang Kai and told him that Yu Le Ping was from the City Lord’s Mansion, and for him to be more careful.
Now, it seems like Yu Le Ping really did have some connections. As soon as he left the Inner City, he was watched by someone, and there was a good chance that Yu Le Ping was the one who sent his observer.
Peace and order were absolute in the Inner City, so despite being someone from the City Lord’s Mansion, Yu Le Ping didn’t dare to make a move against Yang Kai there. If he wanted revenge, then he could only do so in the Outer City or when Yang Kai left Clear Sky Island.
But Yang Kai didn’t pay it any mind. Right now, he almost had a complete grasp on the situation on Clear Sky Island. Other than the Clear Sky Island Lord and Ice Heart Pavilion who were threats to him, the other Emperors were not really worth much.
So, even though he knew he was being followed, Yang Kai just pretended not to notice it and went straight out of the city gates.
Meanwhile, inside a teahouse in Clear Sky City, Yu Le Ping sat with a gloomy look on his face. Who knew what sort of elixirs he had been taking for his injured arm, but it was mostly healed. Suddenly, he took out a Communication Bead and looked it over before his eyes lit up and a smirk appeared on his face, “Thinking of leaving the city? Go ahead! Heheh, there was a path to Heaven but you refused to take it, and no door to hell but you came knocking. I hope you’ve found yourself a good place to be buried!”
As he spoke, he pushed his Divine Sense and sent out a message.
As soon as he left Clear Sky City, Yang Kai knew that Yu Le Ping had no plans to do anything to him even in here despite being able to. It seemed that, because the Outer City was still within the confines of Clear Sky City, Yu Le Ping felt it would be best to do whatever he wanted out on the Solitary Void Sea.
Yang Kai went to the dock and stood under a certain palm tree, leaning against it quietly. Meanwhile, he observed his surroundings covertly, looking around to see who it was that Sang De had invited to help him.
The dock was very lively, with ships coming and going one after another. There were those who had returned with their harvest, and also those who were eager to set sail for their next big job, but there were also those who failed to get anything and came back injured or dead…
People of all shapes and sizes were there, showing off the diversity of life.
Yang Kai soon noticed a gorgeously dressed young woman who, like him, was also alone here. She was standing near the dock, seemingly waiting for someone. This young woman had skin the shade of polished pearls that seemed as smooth as jade. She had a sensuous body, but her lips were turned upwards slightly in a wicked manner and her eyes were biting cold, causing her to appear like a very unsavoury customer. Many cultivators were deterred by the aura surrounding her when they tried to approach.
Seemingly noticing that Yang Kai was watching her, the young woman turned to look over at him, but instead of being annoyed, there was instead a smile on her face.
Yang Kai averted his gaze completely, but both of them knew that they could be one of the helpers invited by Sang De. In other words, they were going to be working with each other after this.
Other than this young woman, Yang Kai did not find any other possible candidates. Or perhaps, they had hidden themselves; after all, it was impossible for Sang De to invite only him and this young woman. There must be others as well.
After waiting one full hour and still not seeing any signs of Sang De, just as Yang Kai was starting to feel impatient and wondering whether Sang De had been lying to him, the young woman across from him suddenly took out a Communication Bead and frowned at it.
This move caught Yang Kai’s attention. If this beautiful young woman was one of Sang De’s helpers, then he could certainly find some clues from her.
The young woman quickly put the Communication Bead away before rising up and flying out to sea.
[Did I guess wrongly?] Yang Kai was stunned. The young woman left the dock without a word. Was it possible that she wasn’t one of them?
Just as Yang Kai was having such doubts, a soft voice suddenly reached his ear, “Start moving in one cup of tea’s time. We’ll be waiting for you out at sea!”
This voice definitely belonged to that young woman. Thinking of the scene where she had taken out her Communication Bead, Yang Kai immediately guessed that Sang De must have secretly sent her a message, then asked her to convey it to him.
After clearing up his thoughts, Yang Kai smiled, thinking to himself that Sang De really was a cautious person. But he really couldn’t blame him as Sang De was too famous in Clear Sky City and would definitely be recognized very easily as well. If he was seen bringing some people out to sea at the dock, it would definitely alert a few people, such as the Clear Sky Island Lord and the Ice Heart Pavilion Master.
Currently, Sang De had used some unknown method to get out of Clear Sky City unnoticed, and only then did he quietly send a message to the young woman and Yang Kai, which shows how thorough he was.
Following what the young woman said, Yang Kai waited at the dock for one cup of tea’s worth of time before suddenly teleporting and disappearing from his spot.
The cultivator who had been hiding in the shadows had no idea what had just happened. He just saw Yang Kai’s body turning into a blur and disappearing right after. Shocked, he quickly transmitted a message to Yu Le Ping.
In just a few moments, Yu Le Ping rushed over to the dock like lightning, looking around with a grim look on his face. Soon, he fixed his gaze at the sea.
There was no sign of Yang Kai returning to the city, and there were no signs of him at the dock either, so the only explanation must be that Yang Kai had already gone out to sea.
Yu Le Ping naturally did not wish to miss this golden opportunity. Immediately, he summoned a ship and sailed out of the dock with a group of men.
…..
Yang Kai flew across the sea for less than half an hour before he saw a sea ship moored there. There were a few figures on the deck who were looking in his direction, and when they saw him, one of them immediately waved a banner in their hands.
When he saw this, Yang Kai did not hesitate and shot straight towards the sea ship.
A short while later, he landed on the deck. Looking up, he saw four people standing there, with the young woman he had seen earlier among them. This woman was currently staring at him with a cheerful look on her face, constantly looking him over from head to toe as if she wanted to stare holes through him.
Naturally, Yang Kai was not familiar with the other two. One of them was a tough man with a sturdy build. He had a towering build and his strong muscles were like the finest piece of artwork, emitting a unique feel and a powerful aesthetic. This man was an entire head taller than Yang Kai and gave off a strong oppressive aura.
The other man did not stand out much, on the other hand. He looked ordinary with no special features at all, almost like the type that you wouldn’t be able to find once they blended into a crowd; however, this man gave off an extremely cold air and from where he was standing, Yang Kai knew he was an extremely proud person. That was because he chose to stand some distance away from the beautiful young woman and the stout man, seemingly disdaining to have to be in a team with those two.
When Yang Kai boarded the boat just now, this aloof man had also given him only a simple glance before averting his gaze as if he wasn’t worth his time.
Naturally, the fourth person on this ship was Sang De.
He seemed to have used some sort of artifact to change the appearance of his body and the aura he was emitting. If Yang Kai hadn’t assumed beforehand that it was going to be him, then he might not have been able to recognize him. At this moment, Sang De had changed his appearance from an old man into a middle-aged man.
No wonder he could slip out of Clear Sky City unnoticed. With the help of such an amazing artifact, what could he not do?
“We’re all here.” When Sang De in his middle-aged guise saw Yang Kai arrive, he said that in a deep voice and made a seal with his hands to propel the sea ship forward.
“Even though we’re all here, shouldn’t Grandmaster introduce us to each other first? It would help facilitate our cooperation too if we know who we’re dealing with.” The beautiful young woman suddenly giggled, her laughter ringing clear and pleasant like bells, seemingly mixed with a tinge of charm as well, moving its listeners.
While speaking, she had actually cast a Charm Art, and a faint fragrance immediately wafted through the deck, causing the bodies of anyone who inhaled it to become hot.
“She Lan, are you courting death?” The proud young man suddenly snorted coldly, a gleam suddenly erupting in his dull-looking eyes as he glared at the young woman and snapped, “If you don’t put your Charm Arts away, then I’ll throw you into the sea right now and feed you to the fishes!”
The young woman called She Lan smiled lightly and did not take the threats of the young man seriously, instead saying cheerfully, “My, how frightening, what are you getting so angry for?”
As she spoke, a strange sound suddenly emerged on the deck.
When Yang Kai lowered his gaze, he felt a tingle run through his scalp. He had no idea when it happened, but many strange snakes of different sizes had suddenly appeared on the deck, all looking venomous and fierce. What’s more, these snakes had completely wrapped up the body of the young man without leaving a single gap, constantly flicking their tongues in a chilling sight.
“Paltry tricks!” The young man’s face did not change, seemingly treating the snakes as if they were nothing. He only stared at She Lan with a calm face and did not seem afraid of her at all.
The two of them caused the atmosphere to become so stiff in just a moment. Who knew whether there were any grudges between them beforehand.
“Whoever dares argue again can scram off this Old Master’s ship!” Sang De coldly snorted, sweeping his stately gaze around. She Lan and the young man immediately went silent.
If Sang De was merely an Artifact Refining Grandmaster, then he would not be able to hold down this unruly bunch in the Solitary Void Sea, but the key point was that Sang De was more than just an Artifact Refining Grandmaster. His own strength was not inferior to anyone’s here.
“Put those pets of yours away, it makes this Old Master queasy!” Sang De glared at She Lan.
She Lan smiled and said sweetly, “If Grandmaster orders it, this one naturally does not dare to disobey.”
She put her jade white hand by her red lips and, with a soft whistle, the venomous snakes on the deck instantly dispersed. Who knew where they went off to hide.
Sang De followed up, “Actually, I’m sure you’ve heard of each other before, but just never met each other prior to this. There is also no need for this Old Master to introduce you, just name yourselves.”
She Lan nodded, “Of course. This Mistress greets these brothers, and I hope you can take care of me during this trip.”
She gazed amorously at them while speaking in a teasing tone of voice that could provoke the hidden desires of any man.
The proud young man coldly snorted, “Chen Fei!”
After saying his name, he added nothing more. To him, it felt almost humiliating if he were to speak another word.
On the other hand, the burly man grinned meaningfully and scratched his head awkwardly, “My name is Man Kuai!”
He looked like a very honest man, but everyone knew that they’d be the unlucky ones if they took his deceptive appearance seriously. No person that could make a name for themselves on Clear Sky Island was simple, as all the simple ones were already dead.
“So, it’s really Elder Brother Man!” She Lan’s eyes lit up. She seemed to be familiar with Man Kuai’s name. While speaking, she stuck her tender body close to his side and said cutely, “Little Sister has long admired Elder Brother Man. Having this fortunate opportunity to meet you now, it seems your prestige name is not false.” While speaking, she stretched out a jade finger to gently stroke Man Kuai’s strong muscles with a tantalizing expression on her face. Even her breathing had become quick and her eyes glowing.
Man Kuai flexed his muscles cooperatively and grinned meaningfully, “If Little Sister likes it, then you can feel them as much as you like. This is the only long suit that I, Man Kuai, has, after all!”
She Lan licked her red lips, “That can’t be, right? Does Elder Brother Man really have no other… long suits?”
Man Kuai snickered, “Naturally, I do.”
“How long?”
“Long enough to fully explore Little Sister’s depths!”
“Then we must get to know each other better.”
This dog couple was unashamedly flirting right in front of everyone, gazing deeply into each other’s eyes, causing black lines to form on the faces of Yang Kai and the others.
“What is this friend’s name? You don’t look very familiar!” Seemingly unable to stand it any longer, Chen Fei didn’t bother with the flirting couple and turned to Yang Kai instead.
As soon as he said that, Man Kuai and She Lan also looked towards Yang Kai.
Yang Kai smiled and cupped his fists, “Yang Kai!”
“Yang Kai?” Chen Fei frowned. He and Man Kuai looked at each other, but they could see confusion in each other’s eyes because they had never heard of Yang Kai’s name before.
“So, it is Little Brother Yang? Please forgive my rudeness.” She Lan abandoned Man Kuai and came over to Yang Kai, sticking to him with her tender body while she stared at him with her charming silk-like eyes, “Does Little Brother have any long suits? Can you tell Little Sister?”
Yang Kai’s face went dark, “No, not at all. I am covered in shortcomings from head to toe. I have no long suits whatsoever.”
“How could that be?” She Lan giggled, “All men should have their long suits. No need to be shy, Little Brother.”
Yang Kai’s face went cold, “Auntie, how old are you? You’re still calling me Little Brother? Can you please have some shame?”
The smile instantly went stiff on She Lan’s face and cold air erupted from her body. She turned her head to look at Sang De and asked, “Grandmaster, where did you find him? Can I tear his mouth off?”
Sang De’s face turned grim, “Seems like you weren’t listening to what this Old Master said just now?”
She Lan was furious as she gritted her teeth, “Grandmaster, I have heard of both Elder Brother Man and Chen Fei. They are both known lone Masters on the island. But who is this little brat to have the qualifications to work with us?!”
Only after hearing what she said did Yang Kai understand that these people Sang De chose were all extremely strong without relying on any backers. No wonder he needed five years to prepare for this. It seemed there weren’t many people who were able to meet his requirements.
“Whether he has the qualifications or not, this Old Master has tested personally. If you have any problems with this, you can get off the ship now!” Sang De grunted.
She Lan’s teeth could almost break with how hard she was gritting them. She knew that she would definitely suffer if she fell out with Sang De now. After thinking about it, she suddenly smiled coldly, “What about after we’re done here?”
Sang De said indifferently, “What you do after this is your business, but before that, you better watch yourselves!”
She Lan nodded heavily, “Fine, I’ll just wait.”
As she spoke, she got a vicious glare at Yang Kai, “Little brat, you better apologize to me while you can or I’ll show you what I can do to you.”
Yang Kai turned around, showing She Lan the back of his head.
She Lan was so pissed that she could almost gnash her teeth broken.
If this woman was not so shameless, then Yang Kai wouldn’t have been so rude to her; after all, they were going to be working together. But this woman had not the slightest bit of self-respect, so if Yang Kai was polite to her, then she might really latch onto him.
Yang Kai wasn’t interested in her at all.
“Huh, what’s that ship doing?” Chen Fei suddenly frowned and looked towards Clear Sky City. He quickly said, “They’re not coming towards us, are they?”
“That’s the City Lord’s Mansion’s sea ship!” Man Kuai’s face also turned serious when he saw the flag on the sea ship.
“From the direction they’re going, it seems they’re really aiming for us.” She Lan wasn’t in the mood to keep wrestling over petty matters with Yang Kai anymore. Her pretty face sank and she turned around, shouting, “Did one of you leak any information?!”
At these words, Sang De’s face changed and anger sprang from his eyes, sweeping his gaze over the faces of Yang Kai and the others one by one.
“It’s not my fault.” Chen Fei was the first to clear himself from the matter, “This Chen is used to being alone. I have no habit of leaking secrets.”
“Me neither,” Man Kuai said.
She Lan sneered, “It’s not the two of you, and it’s not this Mistress either. It’s even more impossible for it to be Grandmaster. The only possibility is…”
While speaking, her beautiful eyes turned towards Yang Kai, sneering.
Yang Kai shrugged, “It was me!”
When they saw him admitting it so readily, She Lan and the others were all taken aback. Following that, their bodies flashed and they surrounded Yang Kai, Source Qi was condensing as they prepared to strike at any moment.
She Lan said, “If you can’t give us a reasonable explanation now, then the ocean is going to be your burial ground.”
Sang De’s face was also grim as he looked coldly at Yang Kai, appearing greatly dissatisfied. It had only been three days since he sought out Yang Kai to cooperate with them, but he didn’t expect him to sell them out so quickly. Naturally, he was furious.
Yang Kai tilted his head and looked at Sang De, “The man captaining that ship is Yu Le Ping! I need not say anything more, do I, Grandmaster?”
Upon hearing this, the frown on Sang De’s face gradually relaxed, “So, you didn’t leak anything? He’s just here for revenge?”
Yang Kai had a fight with Yu Le Ping in front of Sang De’s home last time, a matter which Sang De was well aware of. Now that he knew who it was that was coming after him, how could Sang De not be clear about the situation?
It was not that someone had leaked any information, but rather, Yu Le Ping had chased after Yang Kai in order to get revenge for last time.
“You have grievances with Yu Le Ping?” Chen Fei also stopped being hostile at him and asked suspiciously.
Naturally, they knew about Yu Le Ping. He was a Master from the City Lord’s Mansion and a Third-Order Dao Source Realm that was considered someone with some power on the island.
“It’s just a trivial matter…” Yang Kai grinned meaningfully, “I broke one of his arms a few days ago in front of the Grandmaster’s door. Who knew he could be so vindictive!”
“Broke his arm!?” Upon hearing this, the faces of She Lan and the others changed.
Yu Le Ping was a Third-Order Dao Source Realm Master. In terms of cultivation, he was about as strong as anyone here, but Yang Kai still managed to break his arm. It was obvious that his strength was much greater than that of Yu Le Ping’s.
In other words, they should not be underestimating the true strength of this nameless Yang Kai.
In an instant, the gazes of She Lan and the others became serious when they looked at Yang Kai, especially She Lan. She did not take Yang Kai seriously before, but now, she had to re-examine whether it was in her best interest to fall out with him.
“Grandmaster, what should we do now?” Man Kuai looked at Sang De with a frown, “We can’t just hand Brother Yang over, can we?”
Sang De pondered for a moment before he made a decision, “Pretend we never saw them. Keep going!”
As he said that, he made a seal with his hands and pushed his Source Qi, speeding up the ship.
When they saw this, everyone knew what he was planning. Sang De obviously wanted to lure Yu Le Ping and his crew towards the depths of the sea and then kill them!
All the people he invited were Third-Order Dao Source Realms. Even though they were small in number, all of them were top Masters in the Dao Source Realm, so even if Yu Le Ping really dared to chase after them, things may not go as he expected.
As soon as the ship accelerated, the people from the City Lord’s Mansion seemed to have noticed and also sped up to catch them.
A day later, the two ships were already several tens of thousands of kilometres away from Clear Sky Island.
Since half a day ago, the sea ship chasing them from behind had been constantly waving their flags, seemingly ordering Sang De and the others to stop, but Sang De did not pay it any heed and just pretended not to have seen it, pushing forward at full speed.
Only when they were far away enough from Clear Sky Island did Sang De slowly slow down the ship and stop.
An hour later, the City Lord’s Mansion’s ship finally got close to them. Yu Le Ping was standing on the deck which was almost dripping with gloom.
Once the two ships got closer to each other, Yu Le Ping flew directly onto Sang De’s ship along with many of the City Lord’s Mansion’s cultivators, counting roughly fifteen. There were still a few others who remained on their own deck.
“Are you blind? Did you not see this King’s orders for you to stop your ship?” Yu Le Ping was shouting angrily as soon as he got on.
“So, it is Sir Yu.” She Lan walked up to him while flaunting her slender waist. Pretty face smiling, she said, “Sir Yu, what brought you out to sea? If I had known that Sir Yu would be following us, then this Mistress would not have left.”
“She Lan!” Yu Le Ping seemed to know She Lan, so when he saw her on this ship, he couldn’t help but frown and put some distance between them. He obviously knew that She Lan was a woman not to be messed with. She was simply a venomous snake! Anyone who got involved with her wouldn’t have a good ending.
“Sir, are you here for me?” She Lan was still putting on her coquettish play and giggling, “Sir, if you want this Mistress then just say the word, why chase so hard?”
Yu Le Ping’s face was covered in black lines as he said in disgust, “None of your damn business!”
As he spoke, he swept his gaze over at Yang Kai with a fierce smile, but he soon froze when he saw the two people next to Yang Kai and he asked suspiciously, “Chen Fei, Man Kuai?”
Sang De used an artifact to change his appearance, so he wasn’t able to recognize him.
“How did you people end up together?” Yu Le Ping was confused.
Whether it be She Lan, Chen Fei, or Man Kuai, all of them were well-known figures on Clear Sky Island because of their strength. They had always been solitary Masters who never joined any great force. Such people were rare on the island.
But these lone wolves actually appeared on the same boat, so obviously something was wrong here.
But soon, Yu Le Ping seemed to have realized something and his eyes shone, “What are you doing at sea together?”
She Lan and these men wouldn’t make a move if there was nothing to be gained, so if they were brought together, there was definitely a bigger story behind their actions. Likely, they had discovered some kind of precious treasure and were out here together to collect it.
Thinking of this possibility, Yu Le Ping’s heart became fiery with enthusiasm. He came here chasing after Yang Kai but he did not expect to inadvertently uncover this secret plan. Didn’t that mean that he could also share in their harvest? If it’s a treasure that could catch these people’s attention, then it must be useful for him as well.
“I got bored on the island so I came out to look at the sea, admiring the boundless view. Does this concern you, sir?” She Lan chuckled.
Yu Le Ping’s face was grim, “Do you think I am a fool or are you treating me as one?”
The faces of the cultivators from the City Lord’s Mansion who followed Yu Le Ping here turned grim as well, eyes glowing fiercely and glaring at She Lan and the others. All of them were under the protection of the City Lord’s Mansion and were used to putting on airs on Clear Sky Island, so they didn’t treat She Lan and the others seriously.
“This King suspects that you have come out to sea to do something against Clear Sky Island’s interests. All of you will go back with me now and be investigated. Those who disobey will be killed without mercy!” Yu Le Ping waved his hand and shouted.
“It seems like… Sir Yu is a fool.” She Lan pursed her lips and giggled.
Yu Le Ping’s face sank and he shouted, “How dare you insult me?!”
She Lan said, “This Mistress is just speaking the truth. If you are not a fool, then why would you jump onto another person’s ship?”
Man Kuai also coldly snorted from the side, “Do you think this is Clear Sky Island?”
Yu Le Ping’s face changed when he heard these words as he finally realized that his situation wasn’t good. He had been used to throwing his weight around on Clear Sky Island and everyone was always afraid of him there, so he unconsciously brought that domineering air out to sea, thinking that no one would dare to disobey him and not give him face.
But now, it seems that wasn’t the case at all. Without the protection of the City Lord’s Mansion, he was nothing more than a Third-Order Dao Source Realm cultivator.
Even if something happened out here in the empty sea, nobody would know about it.
Noticing the ill-will in Man Kuai’s eyes, Yu Le Ping was shocked and he quickly said, “Wait! This King only came for this little brat!” He pointed a hand at Yang Kai, “This King has a grudge with him. If you hand him to me, I will return to Clear Sky Island immediately!”
She Lan sighed and shook her head, “Sir Yu, you are so silly and naive. I can’t even bear to hurt you anymore.”
As her words fell, several miserable screams suddenly rang out.
The faces of Yu Le Ping and the others changed as they turned their heads to see a few cultivators falling on their sides, faces blue and foaming at the mouth. Their vitality had been lost in the blink of an eye.
“Snakes, snakes everywhere!” Someone shouted in terror.
The deck was crawling with a dense pile of snakes of all sizes and varieties. The air was immediately filled with a sickening aura, clearly formed from snake venom, causing a person to get dizzy when they inhaled it.
A strange sound emerged as She Lan put a jade white hand by her lips and whistled lightly. Seemingly having received an order, the venomous snakes jumped up from the ground and shot towards Yu Le Ping and the others like arrows.
A few weaker cultivators had become dizzy from the snake venom and did not manage to dodge it in time, getting bitten. Then, in less than ten breaths, the cultivators that were bitten fell straight to the deck, dead.
Seeing that She Lan had already begun to move, Man Kuai also roared and summoned a huge bronze hammer that was taller than himself, sweeping it forward.
The cultivators of the City Lord’s Mansion were already flustered from the snake venom, so they instinctively took to the skies in an attempt to get away from the venomous snakes on the ground. Right at that instant, Man Kuai’s hammer swept the air, and a powerful aura and Source Qi burst forth. The vortex of power that was stirred up by the giant hammer seemed to have endless suction power, voiding the ability to move of the cultivators close to it.
*Hong…*
A muffled sound came out as several of the City Lord’s Mansion’s cultivators were smashed, leaving no trace of body or bones.
Before the ones who were lucky enough to survive even had the chance to breathe, Sang De who had been silent this whole time, suddenly snorted and, in his hand, an array flag appeared out of thin air. He tossed this flag towards a certain direction in the empty air, and in a moment, the glow of a Spirit Array spread across this ship. Not only was the entire ship wrapped up tight by this Spirit Array, it also seemed to lock the surrounding space.
The cultivators that flew to the sky all fell to the ground amidst cries of fear.
*Chi chi chi chi…*
Chen Fei’s body was filled with killing intent. With a long sword in hand, he swept into the crowd like a breeze and moved about erratically, long sword striking out again and again, cutting down a person with each strike while his enemies fell to the ground one by one, screaming.
“How dare you make a move against this King!?” Yu Le Ping was no longer calm like before, his hair was dishevelled and his body was covered in blood. Even though he was not killed during the previous round of sneak attacks, he was undoubtedly injured.
And, of the fifteen cultivators from the City Lord’s Mansion who came with him, only three were left, in the blink of an eye. All three were Third-Order Dao Source Realm cultivators, but even though they were in the same realm, Yu Le Ping was the strongest out of them.
Even though the three of them were in a miserable state, they still had each other’s backs and constantly fought against the attacks coming in from all directions. Even with that, they were only barely holding onto their positions.
She Lan and the others were unable to advance, so they immediately toned down the intensity of their attacks so that Yu Le Ping wouldn’t be forced into a corner and take desperate action.
On the other side, when the cultivators saw the big fight erupting from the City Lord’s Mansion’s ship, and that their side were sustaining massive losses, all of them were scared pale and felt so dumbfounded that they did not immediately escape.
“Little brat, you actually dare to slack off?!” She Lan shouted hysterically at Yang Kai as if she just made a terrifying discovery.
Everyone moved during the fight just now, but not Yang Kai. He was just standing there as if he was enjoying the show.
Yang Kai was clearly the cause of the incident today. If not for the past grievances between him and Yu Le Ping, it was impossible for the latter to chase him all the way out here, leading to this fight.
But even though all of them made moves, the culprit responsible, Yang Kai, was indifferent. How could She Lan not be furious at this?
Chen Fei and Man Kuai did not say anything, but they both looked unhappy.
“Who said I’m slacking off?!” Yang Kai retorted repugnantly as he snorted, “Are your dog eyes blind? I’m holding up the rear for you!”
She Lan was furious. She found this little brat called Yang Kai was simply abominable. He had never given her any face since he got onto this ship, as if he had some deep grudge with her. Now he even dared to lie with his eyes wide open. He was clearly just being lazy and slacking off, and the excuse he gave was so ridiculous it went beyond shameless.
She gritted her teeth and swore in her heart that she would show Yang Kai what the consequences of offending a woman were.
“That doesn’t matter, we need you right now. I’m passing those three over to you!” Sang De also seemed dissatisfied with Yang Kai’s slacking attitude and said in a cold voice.
“What about those people over there?” Yang Kai pointed towards the cultivators on the City Lord’s Mansion’s sea ship. Who knows if those cultivators were inexperienced or just scared out of their wits, but they didn’t even think of running away until Yang Kai pointed at them. Only then did they begin panicking and scrambling away.
“Leave these guys to this Old Master. Just take care of Yu Le Ping and the others.” Sang De huffed and leapt up from the boat like the Peng stretching its wings imposingly, chasing after the cultivators.
None of the escapees had high cultivation, so they were just left behind to watch over the ship. Right now, even if they split up and fled, they would not be able to escape Sang De’s pursuit. Death would just be a matter of time.
“Smelly brat, still not moving?!” When she saw that Yang Kai was still standing there without any intention of moving, she couldn’t help but urge him. Even though she, Chen Fei, and Man Kuai’s combined efforts were trapping Yu Le Ping in place, their three enemies weren’t weak and were able to defend themselves completely with mutual cooperation.
“A long night is fraught with dreams, Brother Yang. Hurry up and attack!” Chen Fei also urged him impatiently.
“Brother Yang is it? A few days ago, this Yu had eyes but failed to see, offending Brother Yang. I hope Brother Yang will spare me this time, and in return, I, Yu Le Ping, will offer a generous reward!” When Yu Le Ping saw Yang Kai looking over at him, his face paled and he hurriedly begged for mercy.
If he had known that his life would be in danger during this trip, then how could he have acted so rashly? Wouldn’t it be fine if he just stayed on Clear Sky Island? There he could enjoy his authority and nobody would dare to slight him.
But he didn’t expect that he, whose words held so much power on Clear Sky Island, would be nothing out at sea. She Lan and the other two weren’t easy customers to deal with and he knew that begging them was useless, so he could only turn to Yang Kai for help.
“I have a million Source Crystals, I can give them all to Brother Yang! Please, spare me, Brother Yang!” Yu Le Ping seemed to have figured out that he could not win someone over with empty promises, so he quickly brought out a real offer.
“A million Source Crystals!” Upon hearing this, She Lan and the others were all seeing red.
Even though they were renowned on Clear Sky Island and had great power, their hard-earned Source Crystals were barely enough for their own use and they had no balance for anything else. When they heard that Yu Le Ping actually had a million Source Crystals, they instantly became like hungry wolves who have found fresh meat, unable to tear their eyes away.
If they could get this million Source Crystals, they would be rich.
Considering all this, She Lan quickly made eyes at Yang Kai, indicating for him to agree to it politely but insincerely. They could think about what to do after they get their hands on the Source Crystals.
Yang Kai ignored it and glared at Yu Le Ping in contempt, “You think a meagre million Source Crystals is going to buy your life?”
Meagre… When She Lan and the others heard this, all their faces went dark. He calls a million Source Crystals meagre? Does this brat have no concept of numbers?
Yu Le Ping cried out, “Brother Yang, my life is cheap!”
“I can tell, you’re a cheap bastard!” Yang Kai scoffed.
Yu Le Ping said, “Brother Yang, please have mercy and spare me!”
How can people dare to not lower their heads under the eaves? Even though he knew there was little hope, Yu Le Ping still couldn’t give up on finding that one last thread of hope.
Yang Kai laughed coldly and turned to the two cultivators around Yu Le Ping, “Do you want to live or do you want to die?”
The two cultivators who were already shaking with fear from the beating had no idea when their defences would be broken through. So, when they heard Yang Kai’s words, they quickly nodded their heads, “Live! We want to live!”
From what they heard of Yang Kai’s words, it seemed they still had a way out!
“If you want to live, then help me kill him!” Yang Kai pointed a hand at Yu Le Ping and said, “I have a grudge with this man, not with any of you. So, as long as you help me kill him, I won’t kill you.”
At these words, Yu Le Ping’s face changed. On the other hand, the expressions of the City Lord’s Mansion’s cultivators seemed to be fluctuating, as if they were considering the gains and losses of each option.
Yu Le Ping shouted, “Don’t listen to him! He’s just trying to split us up! If this Yu dies, they will definitely not spare you!” As he spoke, he turned his head to glare at Yang Kai and shouted, “You’re so sinister!”
Knowing that Yang Kai would never let him go, Yu Le Ping couldn’t be bothered to beg him for mercy anymore.
The two cultivators from the City Lord’s Mansion were frowning. There was no way they were oblivious to the fact that Yang Kai was trying to sow discord between them, but at the point of life and death, Yang Kai’s offer still appealed to them.
“The two of you can’t be…” When Yu Le Ping saw their reactions, he was mortified. Yang Kai’s provocation worked on the two of them. In that case, how could he still live?
At that thought, Yu Le Ping made a long whistle and power gathered in his body. His entire person sprang up like an arrow and shot straight towards the sky in an attempt to escape from here.
“Yu Le Ping, you…” The faces of two cultivators who were left behind changed.
The reason they were able to stay alive so far was due to them joining forces to defend themselves. Secondly, it was also because She Lan and the others did not dare to push too hard that they were barely able to maintain a balance.
But now, Yu Le Ping actually took the initiative to abandon them after his emotions were shaken, creating a huge crack in their defences.
Man Kuai’s huge hammer swept over and the venomous snakes swarmed the two remaining cultivators, swallowing them up in the blink of an eye.
Yu Le Ping did not manage to reach even five meters high before he fell down miserably. The barrier surrounding the ship seemed to be of an extremely high level and was not something he could break through.
Chen Fei, who had long been prepared, arrived with his sword glowing fiercely while emitting a strong killing intent, slashing it down on Yu Le Ping directly.
Several screams rang out as the two cultivators of the City Lord’s Mansion were killed instantly, but Yu Le Ping wasn’t faring much better either. Being enveloped by Chen Fei’s sword wave, he could not break out even if he tried with all his might and the injuries on his body just kept on increasing.
A silhouette suddenly flashed over as Yang Kai appeared behind him and threw a punch out.
Yu Le Ping was already having a hard time in this situation, so how could he defend himself from Yang Kai’s sneak attack? The punch hit him square in the back and as the powerful force ran through him, Yu Le Ping spat out a mouthful of blood. His body was propelled by a huge force and he was pushed a few steps forward.
Chen Fei arrived with his sword and with a swing, sent Yu Le Ping’s head flying. Blood immediately gushed out of the headless corpse like a fountain.
The next moment, Chen Fei reached out to grab Yu Le Ping’s Space Ring.
Earlier, Yu Le Ping said he would give Yang Kai a million Source Crystals, which meant that he was very rich. Once he was dead, Yu Le Ping’s Space Ring would naturally become a hot commodity.
But before Chen Fei could get his hands on it, Yang Kai suddenly bellowed, “Brother Chen! What are you trying to do?”
While speaking, he had already sent a fist flying towards Chen Fei with great force. Chen Fei frowned and didn’t want to be held back fighting him, so he slightly moved aside to avoid the blow, but his hand was still aiming for the Space Ring.
But at that moment, a sky-splitting sound suddenly emerged, followed by a verdant coloured shadow wrapping around Yu Le Ping’s wrist.
While Chen Fei was trying to grab the ring, the verdant coloured shadow lunged at him like an arrow, accompanied by a hissing sound. Only then did Chen Fei see that the verdant shadow was actually a bamboo-like venomous snake.
He withdrew his hand out of shock and worry that he would be bitten.
The green snake was extremely nimble, but when it saw Chen Fei withdraw his hand, it did not pursue him. Instead, it curled around Yu le Ping’s hand and took the Space Ring with it before its body straightened up and it bounced back towards She Lan.
Yang Kai and Chen Fei both landed on the ground, looking at She Lan with grim faces. While the two were fighting each other earlier, She Lan was able to reap the benefits, which naturally put a bad taste in both their mouths.
Man Kuai seemed the slowest to react. Only now did he come back to his senses and was eyeing the ring in She Lan’s hand.
“Three brothers… Why are you staring at me like that? It’s like you want to eat me up. So scary,” While speaking, She Lan slipped the Space Ring into her bosom.
Chen Fei brandished his sword at She Lan, “If you dare do anything funny, don’t blame me for being disrespectful.”
“What do you mean?” She Lan smiled, but she didn’t dare to continue. Clenching the Space Ring in her jade white hand as she scoffed.
“You know exactly what I mean.” Chen Fei coldly snorted and turned to look at Man Kuai, “Brother Man, that ring may contain a million Source Crystals in it, what do you think about this situation?”
Man Kuai grinned meaningfully, “Naturally, ill-gotten gains should be split up amongst us.”
Yang Kai looked at Chen Fei in astonishment and expressed his dissatisfaction, “Why didn’t you ask me?”
Chen Fei said, “How could Brother Yang be interested in a meagre million Source Crystals?” This comment was clearly made to mock what Yang Kai said to Yu Le Ping earlier.
“Of course I’m interested! I’m very poor!” Yang Kai said with a serious face despite having no actual interest in the Source Crystals. However, he simply could not show it at the moment, otherwise, he may cause these people on the ship to become suspicious of him.
For someone to be indifferent in front of a million Source Crystals, anyone would start to have guesses.
Yang Kai called out, “You have to count me in on this matter! Don’t be so selfish.”
Chen Fei frowned. He knew he definitely wouldn’t be able to get rid of Yang Kai since he exchanged blows with him earlier and could tell that Yang Kai’s ability was not inferior to his own. Considering this, he could only say, “She Lan, you aren’t thinking of taking on all three of us alone, are you? If you’re sensible, then you should know what to do!”
She Lan gritted her teeth with a look of hatred, but when she saw Man Kuai and the other men eyeing her like predators, she knew she couldn’t monopolize Yu Le Ping’s Space Ring. If she did so, she would definitely incur everyone’s ire. Even though She Lan’s abilities were not weak, she did not have the confidence to take on both Chen Fei and Man Kuai at the same time.
What’s more, she still hadn’t figured out how strong this smelly brat called Yang Kai was yet.
“Take it!” She Lan tossed the Space Ring to Chen Fei out of anger and put on an aggrieved expression, “All you know is how to bully weak women!”
If anyone who did not know the situation saw her teary face, they would definitely feel compassion for her and hate Yang Kai and the others for bullying her.
This time, Yang Kai did not intercept the ring and allowed Chen Fei to grab it.
In the next moment, Chen Fei’s Divine Sense poured out, apparently breaking the seal on the ring. After a while, Yang Kai and the others all stretched out their necks and looked over with greedy looks on their faces.
In just a short while, Chen Fei revealed a happy expression. They all immediately knew he had broken the seal.
“How much is in there?” Man Kuai asked impatiently.
Chen Fei also seemed a little excited, and hearing this, he simply responded, “See for yourselves.”
Saying so, he placed down a Mid-Grade Spirit Purifying Array with a wave of his hand on the deck, and then he poured everything out from the ring.
All of a sudden, the deck was piled up high with a mountain of Source Crystals that almost blinded She Lan and the others. They had no idea how much was here exactly, but there were at least a million there from the looks of it.
Yu Le Ping really wasn’t kidding when he said he had a million Source Crystals.
His cultivation was not much different from She Lan and the others, but he lived a free and easy life. He had so many Source Crystals that he couldn’t even spend them all. Meanwhile, She Lan and the others had to work hard out at sea every time, and the supplies they gained were only barely enough to cover their own use.
The comparison between him and She Lan and the others was a little imbalanced.
“How abominable. Can a petty little steward from the City Lord’s Mansion scavenge so much money from the people? Simply heartless. May he be punished by the Heavens!” Yang Kai cursed through clenched teeth.
These words resonated with She Lan and the others. Indeed, Yu Le Ping was merely a steward in the City Lord’s Mansion, but he actually amassed such a huge fortune. What about the others who were in higher positions than him?
They must have more wealth than Yu Le Ping, right?
“Let’s divide this up first,” Man Kuai licked his lips and said with an excited expression.
“How many shares?” She Lan asked.
“Just the four of us. Who else do you want to share with?” Man Kuai replied matter-of-factly.
Chen Fei and Yang Kai looked at each other, but neither of them said anything.
“Then let’s split it up!” She Lan also made up her mind and waved her hand.
Then, the four of them split up the contents of Yu Le Ping’s ring equally. Each of their faces was beaming as if they had just picked up a great bargain.
Nearly twenty cultivators from the City Lord’s Mansion died during this trip. Apart from Yu Le Ping’s Space Ring, there were, naturally, other spoils as well. However, they didn’t find too many good things in the rings of these people. Except for the two Third-Order Dao Source Realm cultivators that had survived with Yu Le Ping till the end, the rest of the cultivators only had a few hundred Source Crystals in their rings each. The poorer ones only had several dozen. It was pitiful how poor they were.
The two Third-Order Dao Source Realm cultivators’ Space Rings did have some good stuff in them, but the combined worth was only less than a tenth of what Yu Le Ping had, so Yang Kai and the others swiftly divided the gains up.
After about half a cup of tea’s time later, a figure suddenly appeared above the sea. The figure flew straight over to this side and quickly landed on the deck. It was Sang De who had gone off on a chase.
From the looks of it, he was clearly able to kill off all the escaping men.
“Grandmaster, what do we do with this ship?” She Lan looked at the moored ship with some interest and asked.
“If you want it, you can refine it,” Sang De responded indifferently.
She Lan was overjoyed and was about to fly over when Sang De said, “We’ll keep going!”
She Lan’s face went dark, but she didn’t dare to argue with Sang De.
A short while later, the ship continued sailing forward.
To the surprise of She Lan and the others, Sang De did not ask about the spoils of the battle after returning as if he had forgotten all about them, but this was also something they expected. If Sang De wanted a share for himself, then She Lan and the others would not be able to refuse him.
But Yang Kai knew that Sang De did not forget, he just didn’t care!
This guy had been refining Artifacts on Clear Sky Island for nine hundred years, and his hands had practically gone soft from the amount of money he had been receiving. In terms of wealth, even ten Yu Le Pings may not be able to compare to him. How could these trivial spoils of war be able to interest him? Instead of arguing with She Lan and the others, he may as well just act ignorant.
After a fierce battle, She Lan and the others seemed to have gotten a little tired and all went into the cabin to rest and meditate.
Yang Kai was not tired, but he couldn’t just act like the odd one out either, so he also went into his own room and closed his eyes to meditate.
Days passed. Sang De’s destination seemed to be extremely far from Clear Sky Island. The ship had already sailed for half a month, but they had still not arrived at their destination. During this period of time, everyone took turns to rest and control the direction of the ship, so things were safe and peaceful.
The occasional attacks by Sea Beasts were also uneventful.
Sang De’s ship seemed to be of a very high grade, and even though it was not quite at Emperor Artifact, it was definitely at the peak of the Dao Source Grade. Even when those huge Sea Beasts crashed over, they couldn’t leave a single dent on the ship.
But that would come as no surprise. Sang De himself was a peak Dao Source Grade Artifact Refiner. How could he not take care in refining his own artifacts?
This ship was not only strong, but also had many Spirit Arrays and barriers arranged on it. For example, the force that prevented Yu Le Ping and the others from flying, and the light curtain barrier were some of the functions of this ship.
Yang Kai even suspected that Sang De had left his Soul Imprint on this ship’s core, allowing him to dominate everything that happened on it. No movement could hide from his perception onboard.
If he wanted to deal with She Lan and the others, it most likely was not going to be very difficult.
But Sang De would not do that as long as he wasn’t insane. He still needed the help of the people on this ship to grab whatever item he was after.
On a certain day, Yang Kai, who was meditating in his cabin, suddenly noticed the ship shaking violently before it stopped rapidly. Raising his brow, Yang Kai realized that they had probably arrived at their destination, so he quickly came out from the cabin.
Yang Kai was the first to arrive on the deck. Sang De was already standing there. Soon after, Man Kuai and the others also showed up.
Looking around they could see the endless, sparkling sea, and the calm, beautiful scenery under the blue sky and white clouds.
“Grandmaster, why have we stopped?” She Lan looked around and asked, a little confused.
“We’re here,” Sang De replied. Even though the tone of his voice was calm, anyone could feel the slight tinge of excitement in it.
When the crowd heard this, they all looked surprised. They all looked around again, but their faces were still shocked and uncertain. They were surrounded by nothing but the sea and it looked no different from anywhere else, so how had they arrived?
“That old thing’s Spirit Array is of a very high grade. It’s not too much to call him an Emperor Grade Array Master. There is a Ten Shades Reflecting Water Grand Array in front of us, so it’s normal that you can’t see anything!” Sang De looked ahead and explained, sneering, “If you really did see something, then that’d be the real problem.”
“An Emperor Grade Array Master!?” Chen Fei’s face changed and he frowned, “Grandmaster, you never said that this was the den of an Emperor Grade Array Master!”
What kind of joke was this? They were going to break into an Emperor Grade Array Master’s secluded home? Wasn’t that the same as courting death? Even if the Emperor Grade Array Master was dead, how many Killing or Trapping Arrays would he have placed in his home? If they barged in, then surely nothing good would come out of it. They might only end up being blown to pieces.
She Lan and Man Kuai did not say anything, but their faces were filled with worry and fear, clearly very afraid.
“If you’re scared, you may leave now!” Sang De coldly snorted.
Chen Fei’s face was cold and he was feeling extremely unhappy. He felt like he had gotten himself trapped aboard a pirate ship, and right now, Sang De told him to leave. Wasn’t that a joke? First of all, not mentioning whether it was physically possible for him to just up and leave, even if he could, how could he be willing?
“Since Grandmaster brought us here, then he must have his own reasoning. What are you all so anxious about?” Yang Kai shot a glance at Chen Fei and stated coldly.
She Lan smiled at his words and nodded, “That’s right, Grandmaster must have made preparations. We just need to follow his orders.”
Sang De turned over to look at them, “It would naturally be the best if that is what you think. From now on, this Old Master does not want to hear any more questions. Do whatever this Old Master tells you to do. If you don’t want to cooperate, then you better scram now.”
No one said anything. Who would try to refute him at this time?
Sang De nodded in satisfaction, “Very good. This Ten Shades Reflecting Water Grand Array may be amazing, but a Spirit Array is dead while a human is alive. If that old thing were still alive, this Old Master would not be able to break in, but since he’s already dead… Heh heh…”
With a sneer, his body flew out from the ship while at the same time, he beckoned, “Follow me!”
Yang Kai and the others followed him without a word.
Next, Sang De seemed to begin circling around a place. While doing that, he took out array flags one by one from his Space Ring and tossed them into the void.
When he reached a specific location, he would ask one of the others to stop and hand them a Control Flag, then tell them to wait for orders.
When they saw him so skilful and confident, the crowd also grew confident in him. They no longer had any hesitation or objections and were very cooperative with his command and actions.
About half an hour later, everything was ready.
The five of them were standing in five different directions, each holding a Control Flag on standby.
Suddenly, there was a loud bellow from Sang De’s side. Following that, there were powerful fluctuations of Source Qi. When the four others saw this, they immediately followed Sang De’s previous instructions and poured their Source Qi into the array flags in their hands, casting them into the void before them.
In a flash, five rays of light like rainbows from the sky appeared on a large surface of the sea, passing through north, south, east, and west in tightly connected links.
At the same time, the array flags that were arranged by Sang De previously also played a role. Under the mobilization of the five Control Flags, these hidden flags immediately produced a strange resonance and began emitting strange power fluctuations.
A transparent semi-circular light curtain appeared out of thin air above the surface of the sea in the next instant. This huge light curtain was like an inverted bowl, enveloping the surface of the sea. Through the light curtain, one could vaguely see a difference in the scenery that was more than just the sea.
When they saw this, they all immediately knew that what Sang De said was true.
There was in fact a Master’s secluded home here, but it was hidden by a powerful Spirit Array.
All Sang De had to do now was break open this Spirit Array to reveal the place inside once more.
As the five of them kept on pouring out their Source Qi, the view inside the transparent screen of light gradually grew clearer and clearer.
Yang Kai looked closely and discovered that it was just a small island. It wasn’t too big, but it had very good scenery. It was a rocky and craggy island with green grass that was pleasant to look at.
Who knew how Sang De’s Master found this place, but it was indeed an excellent place to live in. Since he couldn’t leave the Solitary Void Sealed World, then it would still be a relaxing life to live here alone.
It was a pity, however, that he was blind and accepted an unfilial disciple like Sang De, so he could not have peace even after death as Sang De had brought a team of people over to disturb his rest.
After an hour, Yang Kai and the others had consumed so much strength that they were almost running out, but the view of the little island beneath the transparent light curtain was also finally completely presented in front of their eyes.
At that moment, Sang De seemed to have made some movements.
After Yang Kai and the others heard a buzz from the array flags arranged around the island, a huge force burst out and directly shattered the light screen.
Yang Kai and the others who were unprepared were all shaken back due to the huge burst of power and almost had to eat a loss.
But from the looks of things, the Ten Shades Reflecting Water Grand Array covering and concealing the island was broken.
Sang De had already taken the initiative to move towards the island.
When they saw this, the others all used their Movement Skills to follow him and did not fall behind.
Soon, the five of them gathered on the small island, standing on one edge of it.
As Sang De did not move, the rest didn’t dare to move either. This was, after all, an Emperor Grade Array Master’s secluded home. One wrong step might lead to a deadly disaster.
After a moment of contemplation, Sang De said, “There are still many Spirit Arrays on this island. This Old Master will deal with them one by one. Will you be waiting for this Old Master here or go with me?” After that, he added, “This Old Master suggests that you all wait for me here.”
The rest didn’t speak, but She Lan hurried to say, “This island is dangerous. This Mistress thinks it is safer to go with Grandmaster.”
“Are you sure?” Sang De glanced at She Lan.
She Lan pursed her lips and smiled, “Grandmaster has brought me here, so you have to take responsibility for protecting me.”
Who knows if it was just in her nature or if she was used to putting up an act to be able to act so coquettish in front of an old man like Sang De.
“What about you three?” Sang De turned his head to the rest of them.
Man Kuai scratched his head and grinned meaningfully, “I will follow Grandmaster too.”
Chen Fei frowned and glanced at Yang Kai.
“I’m tired. I’ll rest here. Just call me when you’re done.” After that, Yang Kai sat down cross-legged just like that.
Chen Fei said, “Then I’ll stay too, to keep Brother Yang company.”
Yang Kai glanced at him with a meaningful smirk, but Chen Fei’s face was unchanged.
“Then the two of you, follow this Old Master.” With a sneer, Sang De called out to She Lan and Man Kuai before leading the way forward.
The two of them looked at each other, neither of them knowing whether their choice was right or not, but as things had come to this, they could only grit their teeth and follow.
Once the group of three disappeared from their view, Chen Fei suddenly turned to Yang Kai, “Brother Yang, are you not worried they will leave you behind if you do not follow them?”
Yang Kai responded indifferently, “If Brother Chen is afraid, just follow them yourself. Why involve me?”
Chen Fei smiled, “Brother Yang seems to be quite hostile towards me. May this Chen know how he has offended you?”
Yang Kai told him, “I’ve always been like this. If Brother Chen is not used to it, then don’t talk to me in case you can’t stand it.”
Chen Fei’s face twitched, but he forced a smile, “This Chen admires a proud man like Brother Yang. You seem to be a capable person; I wonder if you would be interested in cooperating with this Chen?”
“Cooperation? What kind of cooperation?” Yang Kai looked at him with a faint smile.
Chen Fei spoke with a straight face, “No need to speak in allusions with me. Since Brother Yang was invited here by Grandmaster, Brother Yang must also wish to leave the Solitary Void Sealed World. If what the Grandmaster said is true and he has a tool to leave this place, would Brother Yang not wish to get that tool in his hands?”
The corners of Yang Kai’s mouth rose, revealing a meaningful smile, “Brother Chen has bold thoughts.”
Chen Fei continued, “The location of the exit is in Sang De’s hands. If he has that and the items necessary to reach it, then it will give him control over whether he will bring us along when the time comes. Whether Sang De can be trusted or not is a whole other matter. Regardless, I don’t believe in him, but if we can get a hold of whatever it is we are here for, then the power to make those decisions would fall into our hands. Sang De will also have to act in accordance with our will.”
Yang Kai nodded, “Brother Chen has a fair point. I hadn’t thought of that.”
Chen Fei smiled, “Brother Yang just has not considered it, you have a gentleman’s heart. Open and honest.”
He ended his piece on a flattering note, much to Yang Kai’s pleasure, “Then according to Brother Chen, what are we to do?”
Chen Fei said, “Naturally when Sang De finds the thing, first…”
“Brother Chen will rush over to slash around to create a distraction while I take the opportunity to snatch the thing away?” Yang Kai did not wait for him to finish and ended his sentence for him.
Chen Fei’s face went dark as his mouth was left wide open, but he couldn’t muster a word even after a long time.
Yang Kai asked seriously, “Does Brother Chen think that this proposal is no good?”
Chen Fei’s face twitched, “Well… Please allow this Chen to think about it. They are not easy to deal with. Things may fall beyond redemption if I make one false move.”
“Naturally, consideration is needed. When Brother Chen is done considering, let me know, then I also know when I should make my move!” Yang Kai said with a straight face.
“Yes! Of course!” Chen Fei nodded stiffly.
Seeing Chen Fei go silent, Yang Kai sneered in his heart and didn’t say any more.
Who knew whether he was trying to cheat him by asking for cooperation? His sincerity alone left much to be considered. Otherwise, why would Yang Kai press him back so brusquely? People like Chen Fei obviously just wanted to use others, they were not reliable at all.
Besides, even if the two of them worked together to get the item, who should be in charge of it in the end?
But Chen Fei was right about one thing. The location of the exit was in Sang De’s hands. If Sang De were to take control of the item necessary to reach the exit as well, then whether he brought them along would still be up to him.
Naturally, if Chen Fei could think of it, Yang Kai could as well. She Lan and Man Kuai were no fools either. They had definitely considered this matter before, and that was why they followed closely with Sang De in case that guy decided to destroy bridges after crossing them.
But Yang Kai felt that there was no use in following Sang De now. It was impossible for Sang De to spend five years gathering five people to come here just to break the Ten Shades Reflecting Water Grand Array. There must be parts where their power was necessary after this. So, even if Sang De wanted to leave them behind, it wasn’t time yet.
Yang Kai was not afraid of anything. With his current strength and the help he had, Sang De would not be able to resist him. After finding the tool, if Sang De was sensible, he would naturally work together with him to leave this Solitary Void Sealed World. If not, then Yang Kai could only use force.
Deep inside the island, some peculiar movements could be sensed from time to time, seemingly caused when Sang De managed to crack a Spirit Array.
This showed that he was not only proficient in Artifact Refining, but also adept in Spirit Arrays. Most likely something he had learnt from his deceased Master.
An hour later, She Lan and Man Kuai both came back dishevelled, both looking extremely unhappy.
When Chen Fei heard the noise, he opened his eyes wide at them and asked in surprise, “Where’s the Grandmaster?”
He thought that Sang De had abandoned them and ran.
She Lan did not answer, but Man Kuai said awkwardly, “Still breaking Spirit Arrays.”
“Then why did you guys…” Chen Fei knew the answer before he could even finish his question. Not only were She Lan and Man Kuai useless next to Sang De, they also suffered a lot at the hands of some of the Spirit Arrays, and that was why they retreated back here.
Considering all this, he couldn’t help but take pleasure in their misfortune. He felt inwardly thankful that he chose to stay, otherwise, he would’ve been in the same miserable state as the two of them.
After returning, She Lan and Man Kuai both found a spot to sit down cross-legged so they could recuperate.
Days passed by.
During the past few days, none of them moved. Only a few strange movements could be felt coming from deep within the island from time to time, highlighting Sang De’s process in his array breaking journey. After a few days of rest, everyone had basically restored their strength. Each of them were filled with energy and inwardly rolled up their sleeves in preparation for the big job to come.
At a certain moment, Man Kuai suddenly frowned, “Everyone, hasn’t it been a while since we felt anything?”
Over the past few days, they would hear some noise every now and then while Sang De was breaking the Spirit Arrays; but now, half a day had passed yet everything was still quiet. They couldn’t help but feel suspicious at that.
“Grandmaster couldn’t have…” Chen Fei’s face changed and he thought of a terrible possibility.
When they heard him say this, all of their faces became serious. If Sang De was really killed by the Spirit Arrays left behind here, then it would be a disaster.
At this moment, She Lan suddenly took out a Communication Bead and announced in pleasant surprise, “Grandmaster is asking us to go to him. He has already destroyed the Spirit Arrays along the way.”
All of them were shaken awake by those words and got up and headed deeper into the island.
Along the way, traces of explosions could be seen, obviously the work of Sang De while breaking the Spirit Arrays. From the traces and residual power, Sang De was truly a peak Dao Source Realm Master, and his strength was definitely not to be underestimated.
Only after walking for a full hour did the group of four catch sight of Sang De’s figure. He was sitting cross-legged in front of a stone wall at this moment. It could be seen that the days of breaking Spirit Arrays were quite exhausting for him and he appeared haggard and tired. However, he had clearly taken some pills before they arrived and was quickly restoring himself.
Seeing that he was meditating, Yang Kai and the others did not disturb him. They just looked around the place. Soon, their eyes were attracted to a stone slab on the stone wall.
The stone slab was flat and smooth, and from the looks of it, it seemed to be a door that was blocking their path to the land beyond the stone wall.
Sang De was clearly meditating here because he was also blocked by the stone door.
The crowd was curious as to why this was so because there didn’t seem to be any traces of a Spirit Array’s influence on the stone slab. Even though it was a strange material, this shouldn’t be a problem for Sang De, right?
All of them were experienced cultivators though, so despite their doubts, nobody touched the slab. They just quietly waited for Sang De to wake up.
Who knew what sort of pill it was that Sang De used, but he was rosy-faced again in just a short hour. It looked as if he’d completely recovered.
He slowly opened his eyes and stood up.
“Grandmaster!” When Chen Fei saw this scene, he quickly called out, “What should we do now?”
Sang De looked grimly at the stone slab, “This is a door refined from Exotic Heavenly Gold. It weighs 100,000 kilograms. We must rely on brute force if we wish to enter. Behind this is that thing’s secluded home. The item we need is also hidden there.”
“Exotic Heavenly Gold!”
The four others seemed to have heard this name before, and their eyes all lit up, staring hotly at the seemingly ordinary stone slab.
Yang Kai was also very surprised. Even though he had previously thought that this stone slab was quite extraordinary, he did not expect it to be such a valuable thing. Exotic Heavenly Gold was an Emperor Grade Artifact Refining material, and it could not be more suitable for advancing Artifacts into the Emperor Grade. It was a treasure that many Emperor Realm Masters could only seek, but could not find. Yang Kai did not expect such a large piece of it to be on this island.
And it was a stone slab used to block the entrance to someone’s secluded home!
Sang De’s Master truly was extravagant. If this piece of Exotic Heavenly Gold were to be taken out and sold, it would definitely fetch a sky-high price. It could cause countless Emperor Realm Masters to go mad trying to fight for it.
Seeing the crowd’s reaction, Sang De frowned, “Man Kuai, I’ll leave this up to you.”
Upon hearing this, Man Kuai understood and nodded, “Rest assured, Grandmaster. I don’t dare speak for anything else, but my physical strength is still something I am proud of.”
Sang De said it very clearly. This stone slab that was made of Exotic Heavenly Gold could not be broken through attacks, only pushed away with brute force. Among the five of them present, Man Kuai was definitely the most suitable candidate for the job.
Perhaps the reason why Sang De chose Man Kuai to come on this expedition in the first place was because of his raw strength.
Man Kuai went up to the stone slab; then, with a serious face, he began circulating his strength. It was not known what Secret Technique he was operating, but his already burly body grew even larger. His swollen muscles were filled with explosive force and his current stunning appearance caused She Lan’s beautiful eyes to glow with a strange light as her heart thumped.
With a yell, Man Kuai slowly pushed his hands forward. When his large, fan-like hands came in contact with the stone slab, a muffled sound could be heard. It felt like two mountains colliding with each other, so astonishing that even the island seemed to shake.
They were all amazed by Man Kuai’s incredible strength.
Even Yang Kai was stunned. He was confident in his own physical strength, but compared to Man Kuai, there still seemed to be a gap between them. If they were simply competing with physical power alone, then he may not be Man Kuai’s opponent.
This world was indeed filled with people with extraordinary abilities unique to each domain.
“Good, good! Man Kuai, you really did not disappoint this Old Master!” Sang De was very surprised as a pleasant smile finally appeared on his face that was tranquil as an ancient well this whole time, “After this, the next parts will be much easier.”
Based on his words, this seemed to be the most difficult bit of this trip.
But that wasn’t surprising. A stone slab weighing over 100,000 kilograms that can only be pushed by brute force? Not many people in this world could achieve such a feat. Yang Kai estimated that it was definitely impossible to find another person that fit that requirement on Clear Sky Island. The most important character during the five years that Sang De spent searching was most likely someone like Man Kuai.
“Grandmaster, have you been here before?” Yang Kai pondered and asked.
If he hadn’t been here before, how would he know the situation inside, and why would he know so much about this place? He broke the Spirit Arrays along the way with no pressure at all.
“It was a long time ago!” Sang De answered casually, not saying anything more.
*Zhi…*
A harsh creak sounded.
The stone slab made of Exotic Heavenly Gold was gradually pushed away under Man Kuai’s immense power, and a small gap was revealed on the stone wall.
Seeing this situation, Man Kuai let out another roar and pushed harder.
The gap was growing bigger and bigger. Sang De stared at it wide-eyed, appearing extremely nervous.
All of a sudden, Man Kuai frowned and called out in surprise, “Grandmaster! Something doesn’t feel right!”
“What’s wrong?” Frowning, Sang De quickly asked.
Man Kuai responded, “This stone slab… There seems to be a strong suction force coming from it. Grandmaster, are you sure it’s fine to just push it like this?”
Sang De coldly snorted, “What problems could there be? Hurry up and push it out of the way!”
Even though Man Kuai could vaguely feel that something was wrong, he still put his trust in the expert here and added more force into his push, widening the gap into one large enough for one person to pass through.
Seeing this situation, Sang De shouted, “Get inside!”
Yang Kai and the others who had already been prepared naturally rushed in one by one.
As soon as they rushed inside, they heard Man Kuai suddenly screaming in terror as if he had encountered a terrible situation. Following that, he shouted, “Grandmaster, save me!”
“What happened?!” She Lan quickly turned around and asked with a pale face.
Man Kuai was perfectly fine pushing the stone slab when she was rushing in just now, so how did things go awry in the blink of an eye?
Man Kuai’s screams caused Yang Kai others to pale and they all released their Divine Sense to check the situation behind them.
When they saw what the situation was like, all of them could not help but gasp.
For some reason, Man Kuai’s hands were stuck to the Exotic Heavenly Gold stone slab, as if he was sucked onto it and couldn’t free himself no matter how hard he struggled. It was bad enough as it was, but the slab was swallowing his vitality at an incredible speed as well. This draining was at a rate that was visible to the naked eye, and soon, the originally inconspicuous-looking slab became blood red, emitting a sickening aura.
“Grandmaster, save me!” Man Kuai yelled as hard as he could, panicking. If he had known this stone slab was so strange, he would never have touched it, but it was too late to say anything now.
In just a few breaths, he could already feel his power weakening by half. If they waited a little longer, wouldn’t he be sucked dry?
Yang Kai and the others all turned to look at Sang De, wanting to know what he was going to do.
Sang De hurriedly said, “Hold on! This Old Master is on his way!”
As he said that, he rushed over to Man Kuai’s side. A short while later, a violent power fluctuation could be felt as if Sang De tried to rescue Man Kuai, but they couldn’t see the details of what was happening, the reason being that the onset of power introduced by Sang De disturbed the Divine Sense released by Yang Kai and the others to a great extent.
Not long after, Man Kuai’s voice faded away.
Sang De returned with a gloomy look on his face. When he reached them, he said with a sorrowful face, “Brother Man has… met with misfortune.”
The faces of both She Lan and Chen Fei changed, and they were all looking at Sang De with sombre looks in their eyes, but Yang Kai’s face was calm as water.
They knew how strong Man Kuai was, but to think a guy like that could die in just such a short period of time. He was definitely caught in some powerful seal or trap. If it were She Lan or Chen Fei, then they likely wouldn’t have fared any better.
“Damn it, there was a Spirit Devouring Grand Array hidden within that stone slab. This Old Master failed to detect it and caused Brother Man to suffer this unwarranted disaster. Truly a tragedy! How despicable!” Sang De lamented for a while, voice low as if he was in pain because of what happened to Man Kuai.
After a while, he looked up, “I hope what happened to Brother Man has not left any trauma on any of you!”
None of them spoke.
Nobody knew whether what happened to Man Kuai happened because Sang De truly failed to discover the Spirit Devouring Grand Array, or if he did discover it and kept it to himself on purpose so that Man Kuai would send himself off to his own death. No matter what, they had already come this far, and the one who died was just an outsider, so it was naturally impossible for them to back out here.
But after this incident, no matter who it was, none of them dared to take things lightly. This was the den of an Emperor Grade Array Master, so any corner they walked into may be deadly.
“If you are all fine, then continue on with this Old Master,” Sang De swept a glance at the group.
Yang Kai asked, “Grandmaster, you made preparations for five of us, will there be no issues after this with one less?”
Sang De responded, “There won’t be any issues. The main reason this Old Master sought out Man Kuai was to push away that stone slab. He has already completed the task, so his assistance will not be required from now on.”
“So, that’s how it is!” Yang Kai grinned, “All right then. Continue leading the way, Grandmaster.”
Sang De nodded and led the way forward.
The remaining three exchanged glances with each other, but they all followed along. Through what Yang Kai just asked though, the three of them could almost be sure that Sang De definitely knew about the Spirit Devouring Grand Array hidden within the stone entrance, and also knew what would happen if Man Kuai were to push it open, he just kept quiet on purpose. In other words, after he pushed the Dragon Suppressing Stone, Man Kuai’s utility was gone, so it didn’t matter whether he lived or died.
This old man usually looked harmless, but he was in fact a sinister man. Both She Lan and Chen Fei knew they had to be on their guard.
Along the way though, they did not encounter any obstacles.
This was in fact a secluded home left behind by a Master. The interior was spacious and the cave walls were lined with luminous stones that emitted a faint glow, making it appear a little less dim.
An hour later, the crowd walked about a thousand meters underground and finally arrived before a huge stone cave.
Stalactites were hanging from the cave roof and the water drops dripping down off them made a crisp splash as they hit the ground.
After arriving here, everyone’s eyes were immediately attracted to an object placed at the centre of the cave.
There was an artifact measuring twenty to thirty meters long with smooth curves forming a shuttle shape. The aura coming off this shuttle proved this was an extraordinary artifact.
After arriving here, Sang De’s eyes suddenly brightened up and he stood in place, staring at the shuttle-shaped artifact, eyes not turning away for even a moment.
Yang Kai and the others were also looking at it with amazement. They all knew that Sang De had brought them here to pick up a tool that would allow them to leave the Solitary Void Sealed world, so when they saw this thing, they naturally associated that with it.
“Grandmaster, could this be…” She Lan was the first who couldn’t resist asking.
Even though Chen Fei did not speak, his eager eyes have deeply betrayed what he was feeling.
“Indeed!” Sang De nodded heavily, “This is the Sea King Shuttle refined by that Old Ghost! Even though it is not an Emperor Artifact, the only thing it lacks is Emperor Aura. With this, this Old Master will be able to get out of this Solitary Void Sealed World!”
He looked completely excited.
Chen Fei and She Lan were also ecstatic. They did not expect this trip to be so easy.
After all, when they followed Sang De here, other than the Ten Shades Reflecting Water Grand Array that needed the five of them to break before they could enter the island, they didn’t seem to encounter any difficulties. Man Kuai was the only one to have met with misfortune, and they had only followed Sang De here to see this special tool that was just within their reach.
“Grandmaster, I hope you don’t forget our merits when we leave here!” Chen Fei gave him a hasty reminder.
Sang De grinned meaningfully, “Naturally, I will not forget.” He paused for a moment before continuing, “Do you all still have the array flags this Old Master handed to you previously?”
Even though they had no idea why he was asking this, they all took out the array flags from before. These array flags were the ones used to break the Ten Shades Reflecting Water Grand Array. After it was broken, Sang De did not ask for them back, so they kept them for themselves.
“Very good.” Sang De smiled, “There is still a Spirit Array surrounding the Spirit King Shuttle that requires breaking. This Old Master will have to borrow your strength!”
She Lan quickly said, “Just tell us what we need to do, Grandmaster!”
Since things had already come to this, she was naturally very cooperative and had long forgotten about Man Kuai’s tragic death.
“Come with me!” Sang De waved his hand and flew towards the Sea King Shuttle. The rest of them hurriedly followed, each feeling eager and ecstatic within themselves.
But before getting close to the Sea King Shuttle, Sang De suddenly formed a hand seal in mid-air and lightly spat out one word. Following that, he scurried forward at a great speed.
The moment they heard this, the faces of Yang Kai and the others changed. They all felt that something was wrong, and when they saw Sang De flying away quickly, how could they not know that this old thing was pulling another trick?
Shocked, the three of them were about to give chase when a blast suddenly emerged from Chen Fei’s hand.
The array flag that he was holding suddenly exploded, and the violent power fluctuations set off from it splashed in all directions. Chen Fei was thrown into disarray by the explosion and the Source Qi protecting his body instantly collapsed.
Before he could regain his senses, another explosion sounded out. This time, it was the array flag in She Lan’s hand that exploded.
Next, it was Yang Kai’s. Three array flags exploded in a row with terrifying force.
But Chen Fei and the others weren’t weak, so even though they were taken by surprise, they all summoned their defensive artifacts and pushed their Source Qi to protect themselves, narrowly avoiding a tragic death right then and there.
Suddenly encountering a sneak attack, and at Sang De’s hands no less, Chen Fei and She Lan were naturally enraged. As soon as they were able to stabilize themselves from the impact of the explosion, they wanted to settle the accounts with Sang De.
But what caused their faces to change greatly was the fact that their bodies had actually turned weak and sore all of a sudden. They couldn’t muster any strength at all and fell straight to the ground, heads spinning.
Yang Kai did not appear to be faring much better either and fell down beside the two, not moving in the slightest.
“Poison!” Chen Fei’s face twisted into an ugly expression. How could they still not know that Sang De had added an exploding seal on the array flag? There were also some problems with the materials he used. He may have planned all of this when he gave them the array flags at the start to break the Ten Shades Reflecting Water Grand Array.
Sang De’s figure slowly emerged from a corner. He did not walk at too fast a pace and his expression seemed calm as he gazed coldly at the three of them lying on the ground without the slightest pity.
“Grandmaster, why would you do this?” She Lan just could not understand it. She hadn’t even expressed any intentions of betrayal the whole time, what’s more, from appearance alone she could tell that the Sea King Shuttle had a huge internal space that could fit at least a dozen or two dozen people. Sang De hadn’t even gotten his hands on it yet, so why did he suddenly turn against them?
There was no conflict of interest, so what was Sang De doing this for?
Chen Fei also looked at Sang De with bitter hatred. He had long known that Sang De was not a trustworthy man, but he didn’t expect this old man to turn on them so quickly. He originally thought that if he was going to turn on them, then it would be after he got his hands on the Sea King Shuttle.
“Please don’t blame this Old Master, this Old Master had no choice but to do this!” Sang De said indifferently. He did not attempt to explain further and simply began forming a series of hand seals.
Along with the changes of the seals, a strange sound emerged. When the three of them turned their heads around, they instantly felt their scalps tingling.
There, they saw holes open in the ground out of nowhere that crimson blood flowed out from. This blood flowed along the ground and spread apart in the pattern of a Spirit Array, gradually forming an abstruse image.
The blood smelled fresh, and the aura contained within it felt familiar.
“Man Kuai’s blood!” Chen Fei seemed to think of something and his face went pale.
That blood contained rich and fresh vitality, and it had clearly been drawn not long ago. It was clearly the blood of a cultivator who paid attention to their body tempering.
There could be no other explanation for this other than it being Man Kuai’s blood.
Man Kuai had just died an hour ago, and now an hour later, his blood had come over to this place, converging to create a large array that wrapped around them. This was clearly planned, they just had no idea what sort of strange effects this Spirit Array had.
A cup of tea’s time passed before the blood stopped flowing, seemingly having run dry. The Spirit Array on the ground was completely activated by the blood, and a strange aura lingered around giving them chills.
A faint cry and howl could even be heard from it.
Chen Fei and the others on the ground silently circulated their Source Qi to neutralize the poison inside of them, but for some reason, whatever that poison was, the more they tried to neutralize it, the weaker they felt.
Suddenly, She Lan’s face paled and she called out in alarm, “Man Kuai!”
Hearing her shout, Chen Fei quickly looked over and his eyes went wide. That was because an illusory phantom had actually appeared at the centre of the Spirit Array. This illusory phantom looked exactly like Man Kuai, except that it had no spirituality, like a listless soul without a consciousness.
It was Man Kuai’s Soul Avatar!
Not only did the stone slab suck out all of Man Kuai’s vitality, it didn’t let his Soul Avatar off either. From the current appearance of Man Kuai’s Soul, it seemed to have endured great damage. Otherwise, he would not appear so dull. Even without a physical body, a Third-Order Dao Source Realm Master’s Soul could still maintain a high degree of coherence and sanity for a time.
“Sang De, what are you trying to do?!” Chen Fei gritted his teeth and shouted as if he couldn’t stand being oppressed by an unknown horror. His psychological defences were already showing signs of collapsing.
Sang De coldly snorted, ignoring his words and instead stomped hard on the ground, “Old Ghost, it’s time to wake up!”
[Someone else is here?]
Chen Fei’s face turned white and he turned his head to look around. She Lan was also looking around in disbelief, wanting to know who the Old Ghost that Sang De spoke to was.
In the next moment, both of them looked in the same direction in unison.
There, an ethereal figure slowly appeared. From the looks of it, it seemed to be a Soul Avatar, but unlike Man Kuai’s, this Soul Avatar seemed extremely weak and could disappear at any moment.
After the figure was revealed, an aura like that of an evil spirit spread out.
Sang De laughed maliciously, “Old Ghost, I brought you some delicious food. What are you waiting for? Hurry and thank me! This Apprentice treats you well, doesn’t he?”
“What?” When he heard this, Chen Fei’s jaw instantly dropped as he stared tongue-tied at the illusory phantom.
Colour also drained from She Lan’s beautiful face, “This is your Master?”
Sang De snorted, “You don’t need to concern yourselves with that, just lie there obediently.”
As Sang De spoke, he frowned at Yang Kai. For some reason, he had the feeling that Yang Kai was too calm in this situation. Even though he was also lying there and not moving like Chen Fei and She Lan, he didn’t even say a word. Had he just become resigned to his fate?
No matter the case, Sang De didn’t care anymore, he just wanted to get this over with quickly.
“What did you mean by food?” Chen Fei asked in disbelief.
But as soon as he was done speaking, he knew the answer. The evil spirit of Sang De’s Master let out a harsh and unpleasant screech before pouncing on Man Kuai’s Soul Avatar like a hungry wolf, opening its big mouth and taking half of Man Kuai’s body away in one bite.
This ghost-like being could even eat Soul Avatars! Such a thing was unheard of and never before seen. Chen Fei and She Lan were both in a daze as they watched this horrific scene, feeling chills running through them from head to toe.
Under their horrified eyes, the illusory phantom ate up Man Kuai’s Soul Avatar in less than ten breaths.
But it was clearly not satisfied yet. Instead, it seemed to have become even more ferocious. Its originally ethereal body had become much more solid. It turned around and stared viciously at Chen Fei. With a howl, it turned into a gust of cold wind and rushed towards Chen Fei.
“No! Stay away!” Chen Fei was terrified and shouted in resistance.
But he couldn’t muster up any strength right now, so how could he resist? The illusory phantom’s figure flickered and disappeared into his body. Following that, Chen Fei’s body began convulsing, his eyes twitching nonstop as his face twisted into a hideous expression, like he was suffering a terrible torture.
She Lan was already pale with fear, so seeing that she would be the next one to experience this, she hurriedly pleaded with Sang De, “Grandmaster, please spare me! I can serve you as your slave in the future to the best of my ability. I won’t disappoint you!”
As she spoke, she also squeezed out a very forced smile, as if trying to make a last-ditch effort to use her beauty to win her another chance at life.
Sang De ignored her and coldly snorted, “You’re a pile of rotten meat that even wild dogs won’t touch, and you dare try and pull this coquettish act with me?”
She Lan’s beautiful eyes dimmed. She knew there was no getting out of this now.
Right at that moment, Chen Fei suddenly stopped breathing, and the illusory phantom rushed out of his body. Eating two Soul Avatars one after another, the illusory phantom’s figure had now become very solid, and some sentience also seemed to have been restored to its eyes.
But it didn’t stop there. Rushing straight into She Lan’s body, it repeated the same process once more.
She Lan cried out miserably. She knew she would surely die, so she cursed Sang De nonstop, cursing him to a miserable death.
Sang De coldly snorted but he paid her no mind, turning his attention to Yang Kai instead, “You don’t seem worried at all.”
Yang Kai grinned, “I’m already the fish on the chopping block, what use is there in worrying now?”
Sang De smirked, “How open-minded. This Old Master can appreciate that.”
“Since Grandmaster appreciates it, how about letting me go? We can become good friends once we’re out.” Yang Kai asked with a smile on his face.
Sang De’s face darkened, “Definitely not! You are the key to this Old Master’s deal with that Old Ghost. I can let anyone else go, but not you!”
“Deal?” Yang Kai keyed in on the information and asked in surprise, “What kind of deal?”
“It’s none of your concern.”
Yang Kai curled his lip, “That’s quite funny, Grandmaster. Since I am the key to the deal, how is it none of my concern? I’m going to be dead anyway, so let’s hear it, not like it’s going to cost you anything!”
Sang De sneered, “You better stay there obediently and not resist, then you won’t have to suffer as much!”
After saying that, he stopped paying any attention to him.
Yang Kai made a light snort, but he didn’t dwell on the topic any longer. Instead, he turned to look at the Sea King Shuttle, “Grandmaster, this being the item you said is required to leave this Sealed World is not a lie, is it?”
Sang De did not change the subject this time and nodded, “This Sea King Shuttle took the Old Ghost his whole life to create just in preparation to leave this place. How could it be a lie?! This shuttle is enough to leave the Sealed World.”
“Wonderful!” Yang Kai praised, but it was not known what he was praising.
By this time, She Lan had also died. After the Yin Soul devoured She Lan’s Soul Avatar, it had completely restored itself, and its eyes appeared lively, no longer rigid and dull like before.
“You’ve restored yourself pretty well.” Sang De scoffed as he looked at the Yin Soul.
The Yin Soul said, “All thanks to this Old Master for accepting such a good disciple!”
“It is only right for me to do this for my Master,” Sang De snorted.
This Master and Disciple pair exchanged a few sentences with shallow smiles, showing no kinship that a Master and Disciple should have at all. Their eyes were completely filled with hatred for each other. It’s a wonder how they came to this point today.
The Yin Soul turned his head to look at Yang Kai, “This is the body you found for this Old Master?”
Sang De responded, “I spent a lot of effort in order to find him.”
The Yin Soul frowned, “How is the power of his Soul? Can he carry this Old Master’s body?”
“I tested him myself. Even if he is a little weaker than me, he is not that much worse. He should have no problems supporting you.”
The Yin Soul nodded, “That would be best!”
Yang Kai looked at the Yin Soul with interest and said with a look of realization, “Are you trying to seize my body?”
The Yin Soul responded, “You know the answer and you’re still asking? Hm, you’re an interesting one. Are you not afraid?”
Yang Kai grinned meaningfully, “I’m not the one who should be afraid. Let me warn you, you better not try to seize my body, or your death will be miserable!”
The Yin Soul was clearly stunned for a moment, only then did he turn his head to Sang De, “What is the meaning of you bringing this madman to me?”
Sang De retorted angrily, “Can’t you see that this little brat is just talking big? I think you’ve really gone senile. Stop dallying and hurry it up!”
The Yin Soul pondered for a moment and felt that he did make a fair point. So, he turned his body and turned into a gust of cold wind, pouncing on Yang Kai.
Yang Kai was still all smiles and said lazily, “You’ll really die a miserable death.”
The Yin Soul ignored his words and rushed into Yang Kai’s Knowledge Sea.
Inside his Knowledge Sea, the Yin Soul revealed himself and was just about to find Yang Kai’s Soul Avatar and devour it as he had done with the others earlier, but something flashed in his eyes. Yang Kai’s Soul Avatar had taken the initiative to reveal itself and was looking at him with a derisive face.
“This…” The Yin Soul was startled, not by Yang Kai’s audacity, but by what he was currently seeing.
He had never seen such a majestic Knowledge Sea before. The ‘seawater’ gathered here was incomparably deep, rich, and pure, as if it was a real ocean, making one doubt their eyes. What’s more, the water here wasn’t made of water, but burning flames!
This Knowledge Sea was not something a mere Dao Source Realm cultivator could possibly possess. Compared to the Knowledge Seas of the two he had just devoured, it was simply the difference between a stream and an ocean.
[Unfilial disciple!] The Yin Soul cursed Sang De in his heart. [What does he mean he had personally tested his power before? If he said his strength was not far off from his, then how can he explain this difference?] The power of this Soul was clearly countless times greater than his unfilial disciple’s.
[This is an Emperor’s Knowledge Sea!]
The Yin Soul would not be able to defeat Yang Kai here no matter what price he paid.
At this thought, he hurriedly tried to leave. He knew that if he withdrew too late, then he may not be able to escape.
“Since you’re already here, why are you in such a hurry to leave?” Yang Kai said with a light smile, but there was no amusement in his eyes, just icy coldness.
How many years had it been since he met someone who dared try to seize his body? The last Soul who tried to do such a thing had already been blown to pieces by him.
A ray of light cut across the sky from a certain direction at that moment, bringing with it a monstrous killing intent as it cut straight towards the Yin Soul.
“A Soul Emperor Artifact!” Sensing the terrifying power of the Soul Splitting Saber, the Yin Soul shrieked in fear. No longer hesitating, he opened his mouth and spat out a dark and hazy glow to intercept the Soul Splitting Saber.
It was not known what that dark glow was, but it slowed down the Soul Splitting Saber when they made contact.
The blade, however, still rapidly slashed down, causing the Yin Soul to let out a terrible scream. Even though he was severely injured by this strike, he at least managed to retain his life and took this opportunity to rip through the defences of Yang Kai’s Knowledge Sea, rushing out.
Yang Kai frowned, not having thought that this Yin Soul would actually be this capable; however, he was definitely injured after taking a hit from the Soul Splitting Saber. Even if he didn’t die here, he wouldn’t be able to stay alive for long.
In the stone cave, Yang Kai reopened his eyes and immediately heard the howls of the Yin Soul, making it obvious the great pain it was suffering.
Looking over, Yang Kai found the Yin Soul huddled in a corner, its originally opaque body now faded, flickering in and out of existence, as if he might fall apart at any moment.
Sang De was staring in shock at the sight.
Only after a long time did he let out a shout, “Old Ghost, what happened?!”
The Yin Soul was wounded so badly that he didn’t hear what he said at all. How could he still have the strength to answer him now?
“Ai, you didn’t listen to me when I gave you a kind warning. You just had to make yourself suffer before finding out the consequences!” Yang Kai sneered as he stood up, looking as if this all had nothing to do with him.
Sang De stumbled backwards a few steps and looked at Yang Kai as if he had seen a ghost, “You… How could you possibly…”
Yang Kai was clearly injured and also affected by the poison, so how did he become so lively in just the blink of an eye? The changes that came one after another caused Sang De’s heart to quickly fall.
Yang Kai coldly snorted, “You made a meticulous plan and took great pains to bring us here so that your Master could devour us and take over my body. This truly is a scene of filial piety flowing deeper than the ocean. It really does move one to tears, Grandmaster!”
Sang De’s face was cloudy, “You knew this was going to happen!”
Yang Kai quickly said, “Not only me, both Chen Fei and She Lan came prepared, but so what? Didn’t they fall into your hands too, Grandmaster?”
“Then why are you fine?!”
“This Young Master’s capabilities are not something trash like you can understand.” Yang Kai spat disdainfully, “You want to try and plot against me with your puny means?”
Upon hearing this, Sang De’s face turned green one moment and red the next. It was not known whether he was feeling angry or ashamed, but it was useless for him to say anything now. Yang Kai looked perfectly fine, and not only that, the Old Ghost who entered his Knowledge Sea seemed to have come out seriously injured as well.
“Save… me…” On the other side, the Yin Soul howled in broken words as the light of his body flickered. It looked like it was going to dissipate soon.
The Soul Splitting Saber was an Emperor Artifact, and Soul Emperor Artifact at that! The Yin Soul was merely a Soul Avatar; it was lucky enough he didn’t get destroyed on the spot after receiving that blow.
Upon hearing this plea, Sang De’s face changed greatly and he quickly looked towards the Yin Soul, but there was obviously nothing he could do in this situation, and a very pained expression emerged on his face.
“Release… the defences of your Knowledge Sea!” The Yin Soul continued to howl. From his words, it seemed to want Sang De to release the defences of his Knowledge Sea so that he could enter and hide for a while.
But how could Sang De be willing to do such a thing? He just acted as if he didn’t hear him, standing there with a grim face, not moving.
“Unfilial Disciple!” The Yin Soul roared in disappointment, his ethereal body burst into a dazzling glow, breaking apart into little specks before disappearing without a trace.
“What a bond you two share… Tsk tsk…” Yang Kai watched the good show at the side while clicking his tongue.
“You killed him!” Sang De turned around to glare at Yang Kai.
“So what?” Yang Kai smiled coldly, “You and I are the only ones left here, Sang De, so let’s not beat around the bush. If you want to live, fine, if you tell me the location of the exit, I will let you live. Otherwise…” Yang Kai grinned, “You’ll have a fate worse than death!”
“You want me to tell you where the exit is?” A strange look emerged on Sang De’s face.
Yang Kai frowned as he suddenly had a bad feeling about this.
Sang De laughed out loud as if he had gone insane, “You killed the Old Ghost and you want me to tell you where the exit is!?”
Yang Kai said, “I don’t think you two are close enough to avenge each other, right? Since you seem to have a big grudge with each other anyway, what problem is there that I killed him? Don’t be stubborn, Sang De, cooperating with me will be in your best interest!”
“Only the Old Ghost knows the location of the exit. Since you killed him, how do you expect to get the location from me?!” Sang De suddenly roared hysterically, veins throbbing on his forehead.
Yang Kai was dumbfounded. Only after a long time did he rush to ask, “What do you mean?”
Sang De sneered, “The Sea King Shuttle is here, and with this Old Master’s abilities, I could come and take it away at any time, so why would this Old Master take the trouble to bring you here and to cook up a scheme so that the Old Ghost could take over your body and be reborn? I was the one who destroyed the Old Ghost’s body back then, only to go to great lengths to save him again. Do you know why that is?”
Yang Kai suddenly remembered the deal he mentioned before and his face changed, “Do you mean…”
Sang De snorted, “This Old Master helped him find a new body to seize in exchange for the location of the exit! That was the deal!”
Yang Kai’s heart instantly fell to the bottom as he went silent for a long while before cursing, “You old dog! Why didn’t you say something this important from the start!?”
If he had known early on, Yang Kai wouldn’t have dealt with the Yin Soul using the Soul Splitting Saber. Now that the Yin Soul was destroyed with one cut of the Soul Splitting Saber, the location of the exit also went up in smoke. The Sea King Shuttle was useless now. This whole mess was a big failure.
“Who are you to this Old Master? Why would this Old Master tell you?!” Sang De laughed coldly as he looked at Yang Kai with a sarcastic expression.
Yang Kai said, “You said before that there are three people who know the location of the exit. That wasn’t nonsense, was it?”
“What does it matter now? Who do you think the Ice Heart Pavilion Master and the Clear Sky Island Lord are? Do you have the guts to seek cooperation with them? Better watch out or you won’t even be left with a complete corpse!” Sang De scoffed. After that, he flicked his sleeve and said, “Things will end at this. You and I will go our separate ways. From now on, you go your way, and I go my way!”
After saying that, he took a step forward, intending to walk out from here.
Yang Kai coldly snorted before sending a pressure to lock Sang De down. Sang De’s body paused and he turned to look at Yang Kai, “What’s wrong, do you want to kill this Old Master ruthlessly as well?”
“You tried it on me before, I’m just returning the favour. It’s only fair!”
“You young’uns these days talk big. You really think you can kill this Old Master?” Sang De was already feeling furious, so when he saw Yang Kai chattering incessantly and seeming as if he wasn’t going to let him go, he instantly burst out in anger.
He was a peak Third-Order Dao Source Realm Master. At this level, he didn’t have to fear anyone. If he was really pushed to a corner, he wouldn’t mind fighting with Yang Kai to teach him what proper respect was.
“Old men like you these days are a bit muddle-headed, aren’t they? Always thinking that age is an advantage, constantly bringing up your old age. What a farce!” Yang Kai scoffed back.
“Little brat, haven’t you heard that the older the ginger, the spicier it is? You want to take this Old Master as your enemy no matter what?” Sang De’s face had almost turned black.
Yang Kai snickered and waved his hand to release Liu Yan and Hua Qing Si. Liu Yan was still riding the Heaven Grade puppet, Xiao Bai. She looked rather formidable with her small body riding on top of it.
“Come! Show this old man what the vigour of youth is like!” Yang Kai said as he pointed at Sang De.
Hua Qing Si glared at Yang Kai, thinking to herself, [I am already quite old, you know!? What do I have to do with the word ‘youth’?]
“What the hell is that?” Sang De was shocked. He did not see how Liu Yan and Hua Qing Si appeared at all, it was like they just mysteriously manifested after Yang Kai waved his arm.
Could it be that these two people had been hiding and following them from behind? But he didn’t notice them at all!
When he released his Divine Sense, Sang De’s heart was instantly chilled. He discovered that whether it be the little girl who only looked about seven or eight or the beautiful woman, both of them actually had Third-Order Dao Source Realm cultivations. Moreover, there was a strange feeling surrounding the White Tiger that the little girl was riding on which gave him a dangerous feeling.
“Master, should I kill him or leave him half dead?” Liu Yan asked indifferently.
“Kill him!” Yang Kai snorted. Sang De didn’t even know where the location of the exit was, so why keep him alive?
“Wait!” Sang De screamed out in shock.
But as he finished, Liu Yan and Hua Qing Si had already moved to pincer him from the left and right. Seeing this situation, Sang De’s face changed. How could he still dare to stay here? He instantly turned around and rushed out.
Xiao Bai opened its mouth and a white energy pillar of light shot out of it that seemed to contain Heaven-destroying and Earth-shattering might, grazing Sang De’s body.
Sang De was taken aback. That blow did not hurt him much just now, but he could feel the traces of Emperor Intent in it. Was that White Tiger actually a Twelfth-Order Monster Beast? Considering all this, he had even less guts to stay here. He just wanted to escape from here as soon as possible.
The three of them ran in their chase and disappeared in the blink of an eye.
Only then did Yang Kai coldly snort and turn his attention to the Sea King Shuttle.
Even though he destroyed the Yin Soul without figuring out the whole situation first, this Sea King Shuttle was in fact the key to leaving this Solitary Void Sealed World. Now that it was right in front of him, Yang Kai would naturally not let it go.
He flew over and sat cross-legged above the Sea King Shuttle, preparing to refine it.
The sea ship that Yang Kai refined a few days prior to this had taken him only a day’s time, but refining the Sea King Shuttle took him a whole week. The more he refined it, the more he could feel the complexity of the refinement of this artifact.
Sang De said that the Old Ghost spent his entire life working on this thing, and now, that did not seem to be a lie. It was amazing enough that an Artifact Refiner could finish refining an artifact that required as much time and energy as this in their lifetime in this damned place.
Only after putting away the Sea King Shuttle did Yang Kai stand up.
Liu Yan and Hua Qing Si had already been waiting for a long time, and Yang Kai didn’t ask them about what happened to Sang De either. The two of them chased after Sang De with a Heaven Grade puppet, so it would be a huge joke if they let him escape.
In fact, Liu Yan and Hua Qing Si only spent half a cup of tea’s time to annihilate Sang De. The rest of the time, the two women spent exploring the island and taking anything of value away.
After placing Liu Yan and Hua Qing Si back into the Sealed World Bead, Yang Kai summoned his own boat artifact to fly back to Clear Sky Island.
Anyone else would not dare to do the same thing he did in the Solitary Void Sealed World, because the amount of Source Qi that would be consumed by flying like this would be too much, and it was also extremely troublesome to have to restore oneself in such a situation. So, no matter which cultivator it was who went out to sea, they would use sea ship artifacts since they weren’t too slow, and they could also conserve Source Qi.
Yang Kai was not worried about this of course as he had countless Source Crystals and the Sealed World Bead. Even if he exhausted his Source Qi, he could just hide in the Sealed World Bead to cultivate for a while to restore his strength.
Now that he had the Sea King Shuttle, he just had to get the location of the exit from either the Ice Heart Pavilion Master or the Clear Sky Island Lord.
Yang Kai didn’t really want to interact with the Clear Sky Island Lord, but the Ice Heart Pavilion Master, on the other hand, he hadn’t had the opportunity to meet yet. Yang Kai felt quite fortunate at this moment that he visited Ice Heart Pavilion before coming to this island and applied to become their Alchemist.
He could be considered hired at the moment, but in the end, the Ice Heart Pavilion Master was still a Third-Order Emperor Realm Master and not someone he could meet as he wished. Even if they did meet, he would still have to keep his guard up if he were to work with a Master like that.
The journey back was peaceful and it didn’t take more than three days before Yang Kai reached the dock at Clear Sky Island.
Many cultivators at the dock who saw him flying all the way back couldn’t help but stare at him, wondering what happened to Yang Kai that caused him to lose both his ship and his companions.
Yang Kai ignored their strange stares and walked into Clear Sky City.
When he arrived at the cave mansion he rented, Yang Kai took out his token to open the barrier and stepped inside. The moment he entered, however, he felt an ominous premonition, so he swiftly raised his hand and palmed towards the void, pushing his Source Qi madly.
*Hong…*
A loud noise sounded, shaking the cave mansion greatly. All the various barriers inside flashed wildly from the impact.
Yang Kai was also struck by a huge force and flew out like a rag doll, spitting out a mouthful of blood in mid-air before landing heavily on the ground.
Emperor Realm!
Yang Kai was shocked. He never would have thought that an Emperor Realm Master would ambush him in his cave mansion! Even though the other party was only a First-Order Emperor and did not use their full strength in this attack, Yang Kai still suffered quite a big loss despite his quick response.
He hurriedly jumped up, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and turned his eyes to the side in rage.
There, the attacker had a shocked look on his face as if he didn’t expect that his sneak attack failed to take Yang Kai’s life. Instead, it gave him the opportunity to slip away. Yang Kai had no idea what the reason was, but this man’s face was pale and looked as if he had suffered a lot of injuries.
“Pang Guang!” After he saw the person’s face, Yang Kai immediately gritted his teeth and snarled.
The ambusher in his cave mansion was none other than Marsh City’s City Lord, Pang Guang who came here with him!
A few days ago, before Yang Kai left Clear Sky City, he bumped into Pang Guang once by chance; however, the two of them had just brushed each other off on that day, neither of them greeting each other, yet now they had run into each other again here.
Staring ahead, Yang Kai’s face turned dark and a dense murderous intent welled up in his heart.
Because at this moment, Pang Guang had his hand on top of Liu Xian Yun’s head, his strength condensed in his palm, as if he could take Liu Xian Yun’s life away at any moment!
Yang Kai had no idea why Pang Guang was here and why he took Liu Xian Yun hostage, but he had to be cautious about this situation lest she be hurt.
With Liu Xian Yun’s life held hostage, her tender body trembled and her pretty face paled. When she saw that Yang Kai had been hurt, she couldn’t help but yell out to him, “Senior Brother…” Her beautiful eyes were filled with worry and anxiety, as well as a strong sense of guilt and self-blame.
That day, before leaving Clear Sky City, Yang Kai had asked if she wanted to follow him, but Liu Xian Yun chose to stay. Now, it seemed like she made the wrong choice. If she had followed Yang Kai, then she would never have been taken hostage and used to threaten him.
The day before, she had only gone out for a while and did not leave far, just visiting the cave mansion of Ling Yin Qin and the others to get herself familiarized with her surroundings. They were going to be neighbours anyway, so it was good to meet them often. In the meantime, it was an opportunity to move about.
But on the way back, she was targeted by Pang Guang, and as soon as she entered the cave mansion, she was subdued.
“I’m fine!” Yang Kai spat out a mouthful of blood and looked at Liu Xian Yun, “He didn’t do anything to you, did he?”
Liu Xian Yun slowly shook her head, “No, he was just waiting for you to come back!”
Yang Kai couldn’t help but feel relieved as he turned a cold glare to Pang Guang and said gloomily, “City Lord Pang, isn’t it a little shameful for you to be doing this?”
Pang Guang coldly snorted, but there was a trace of awkwardness in his expression. Indeed, for an Emperor Realm Master like him to sneak into someone else’s home and hold a girl whose cultivation was much weaker than his own hostage, it would definitely hurt his reputation.
“Little brat, I’ll be straight with you,” Pang Guang said in a deep voice that sounded a little out of breath, “This King came here for one purpose only. Hand over your Heavenly Restoration Lotus and I’ll let her go immediately!”
Yang Kai had the Heavenly Restoration Lotus, a fact Pang Guang had known about since they met in Marsh City. He also knew how precious the Heavenly Restoration Lotus was, otherwise, he wouldn’t have sneakily followed behind Yang Kai and Yao Chang Jun. He intended to find an opportunity to fish in troubled waters, but didn’t expect to encounter the Solitary Void Great Maelstrom and be sucked into this Solitary Void Sealed World.
“You want the Heavenly Restoration Lotus?” Yang Kai raised his brow and swept his eyes over Pang Guang, immediately realizing something and grinned, “City Lord Pang, is your dantian damaged, or is it your Soul?”
The use of the Heavenly Restoration Lotus was to repair a damaged dantian or Soul. Yao Chang Jun fought him for it that day because his Soul was injured, and now, Pang Guang clearly wanted the Heavenly Restoration Lotus for a similar reason.
It was no wonder this guy looked short of breath, it seemed he was heavily injured somehow. He must have fought with some Master which ended in him being badly wounded. Even though Pang Guang was a First-Order Emperor, it was still not easy for him to recover his strength in Clear Sky City as there were no powerful Alchemists here, nor any good Spirit Pills.
Fortunately, he knew that Yang Kai had the Heavenly Restoration Lotus, so he set his sights on him.
Pang Guang originally thought that it would be easy for him to ambush Yang Kai despite his injuries, but he didn’t expect this situation. Yang Kai’s quick reactions and counterattack caused him to fail, so he could only rely on the hostage he took.
“That has nothing to do with you! Hand over the Heavenly Restoration Lotus and this Pang will not make things hard for you!” Pang Guang shouted impatiently.
Yang Kai grinned meaningfully, “Looks like life has been tough for you, City Lord Pang. It does make sense though. For an Emperor Realm Master to suddenly appear on Clear Sky Island, I’m sure everyone knows you’re new here and have many good things on you. You’ve been robbed, haven’t you?”
Yang Kai and Liu Xian Yun were able to enter Clear Sky Island quietly just by having the right identity tokens; nobody would suspect they were newcomers because people with their cultivation were seen frequently. But Pang Guang couldn’t hide his status because there were only a few Emperor Realm cultivators on the island, so for an extra one to appear, if he wasn’t a newcomer, then what was he?
“Enough nonsense, give me the Heavenly Restoration Lotus!” Pang Guang gritted his teeth and shouted, the power in his hand stirring more violently as his expression also turned impatient.
Liu Xian Yun suddenly let out a low cry and her face looked pained and uncomfortable.
“If you dare hurt one hair on my Junior Sister, I’ll snap your back in half!” Yang Kai shouted angrily.
“That’ll depend on whether you’re cooperative or not!” Sweat was gradually spilling from Pang Guang’s forehead. It was clear from a glance that he was badly hurt.
“You want the Heavenly Restoration Lotus, right?” Yang Kai said with a dark face, flipping his hand over as he said, “Have a look and see what I have here?”
Pang Guang immediately looked towards his palm and his eyes became hot. There was the Heavenly Restoration Lotus, white as snow and completely untainted. As soon as Yang Kai took it out, a faint fragrance wafted out into the cave mansion, and the smell that entered his nose lifted Pang Guang’s spirits. Even his injuries seemed to have been relieved considerably.
“Give it to me!” Pang Guang shouted eagerly. As long as he could get his hands on the Heavenly Restoration Lotus, he could quickly restore his injuries without having to worry about any hidden problems being left behind that would affect his foundation in the future.
Yang Kai sneered, then, under Pang Guang’s dumbfounded gaze, he stuffed the Heavenly Restoration Lotus right into his mouth and chewed it up like a cow chewing on grass. He also had a look of overwhelming joy on his face as if he was enjoying a Heavenly delicacy.
*Baji baji…*
Pang Guang was dumbstruck, his entire person freezing in place as if he had been petrified.
While he ate, Yang Kai laughed like a madman, “You want it? Come get it! Come and see if I’ll spit out a mouthful for you to have a taste!”
“You…” Pang Guang almost had a heart attack from this. Even his face had turned pale from anger.
He clearly had a hostage in his hand, but Yang Kai still dared to act so flippantly.
[Is this brat crazy? Does he really not care at all whether his Junior Sister lives or dies?]
While he was thinking these thoughts and his heart was shaken, Yang Kai closed and opened his left eye, suddenly turning it into a golden vertical pupil. The golden pupil flashed as a strange power poured out from it.
Pang Guang shook as his Soul became unstable, seemingly having been affected by this golden glow.
At that moment, Yang Kai had already summoned his Myriads Sword and released a shower of sword light, cutting towards Pang Guang with ruthless momentum.
The Sword Qi was so strong that before the sword even reached Pang Guang, an aura of death was already upon him.
Pang Guang retreated almost subconsciously.
But in the next moment, his heart jumped. He understood what Yang Kai was trying to do. Gritting his teeth, Emperor Qi gushed out of his hand and he clenched fiercely, wanting to kill off Liu Xian Yun first to teach Yang Kai a lesson for angering him.
But unexpectedly, his hand came up empty.
Liu Xian Yun, who was under his grasp just a moment ago, had mysteriously disappeared without a trace. Only a strange energy fluctuation remained while Liu Xian Yun had somehow moved several dozen metres away, avoiding the fatal blow altogether.
“Space Principles!” Pang Guang’s eyes widened as he stared at Yang Kai in shock.
That energy fluctuation just now definitely was from Space Principles. Moreover, they were manipulated extremely skillfully.
[This brat unexpectedly cultivates the Dao of Space, and he can even use Space Principles to instantly teleport other people away… Is this really the strength of a Dao Source Realm cultivator?]
Before Pang Guang could further dwell on the matter, Yang Kai unleashed his Myriads Sword.
This sword attack contained all of Yang Kai’s strength, and even someone in the Emperor Realm like Pang Guang was startled when faced with it. He raised his hand and summoned a butterfly-like defensive artifact.
*Hong…*
There was a large explosion, and the already damaged barriers around the cave mansion finally gave way. Without the protection of the barriers, the violent energy spread all around, causing Yang Kai’s cave mansion to be directly razed to the ground.
*Shua shua…*
In the next moment, two figures shot out from the cave mansion, looking at each other from a distance.
Pang Guang’s face was twisted in rage, “Boy, do you dare to mess with me?!”
Yang Kai preferred to swallow the precious Heavenly Restoration Lotus raw rather than give it to him. This caused his heart to clench in pain.
Yang Kai sneered, “So what? If you have the guts, come and fight me!”
“This King is going to kill you!” Pang Guang howled.
Yang Kai flung back his hair and stood in midair, motionless. It was as if he hadn’t even heard Pang Guang’s words, “City Lord Pang, I suggest you mind your own circumstances first.”
Hearing his words, Pang Guang’s complexion changed and he restlessly began looking around.
When he was in Yang Kai’s cave mansion, it was next to impossible to detect him, but now their fight had caused such a huge commotion, almost every cultivator in Clear Sky City had been alerted.
Cultivators living in the nearby cave mansions were already coming over to check what had happened, and several others were coming from distant places.
Among them, Pang Guang sensed two auras that filled him with apprehension; after all, it was this same duo that had previously joined hands and injured him, forcing him to hide in Yang Kai’s cave mansion to recuperate. Seeing that they were also coming over, Pang Guang had no intention of lingering there. After shooting Yang Kai a wicked glare, he hurried to leave the city.
Soon after Pang Guang left, a crowd of cultivators had surrounded Yang Kai’s cave mansion, pointing at the place and wondering what kind of calamity had taken place there.
Whispers sounded as two figures descended from the sky, their dignified expressions causing the onlookers to look away. The ripples of power emanating from their bodies made it clear that they were both First-Order Emperors.
Yang Kai was also vigilant as he glanced at the two figures.
From the people gossiping beside him, he discovered that one of them was the Profound Cloud Pavilion’s Pavilion Master, while the other was the Free Guild’s Guild Master. Both factions had great influence on the island, mainly due to the Emperor Realm Masters backing them.
From the looks of it, the duo had sensed Pang Guang’s aura, and hurried over. Yang Kai closely observed these two and discovered that they had suffered some injuries as well. It seemed they hadn’t come out unscathed from their fight with Pang Guang.
“Where is he?” The Pavilion Master’s eyes swept the crowd, eventually fixating on Yang Kai.
Yang Kai hurriedly pointed in the direction Pang Guang had escaped to, “He went that way. I ask you two Sirs to take revenge for me! That scoundrel hid in my cave mansion, taking advantage of the fact that I—”
Yang Kai was still speaking when the two First-Order Emperor Realm Masters disappeared from his sight, obviously having no interest in whatever he was saying. These two were only interested in the various cultivation resources that Pang Guang was carrying on his person. If not for that, they wouldn’t have started a fight with another cultivator in the Emperor Realm, even if they outnumbered the enemy.
After the duo was gone, Yang Kai turned around and grabbed Liu Xian Yun, who was lying on the ground, “Let’s move!”
The explosion just now had caused a huge commotion and razed to the ground his rented cave mansion. The City Lord’s Mansion would definitely send someone over to investigate. If they started interrogating him, there were a lot of things that he’d find hard to explain.
Questions like, ‘Why was an Emperor Realm Master hiding in your cave mansion? How did you survive the surprise attack of someone so strong?’
Yang Kai didn’t know how to answer these questions, and had no intention of doing so in the first place.
Therefore, the best course of action was to leave this place altogether.
Sure enough, not even thirty breaths after Yang Kai had left, the Masters from the City Lord’s Mansion rushed over and began asking all around about the owner of the cave mansion, but after failing to discover the owner’s identity, they retreated.
Yang Kai brought Liu Xian Yun to Ice Heart Pavilion and went inside.
“Em? Alchemist Yang!” Fan Xin saw Yang Kai and came over to greet him, a smile on her face, “Did you finish your business?”
“En, sorry for making you worried.” Yang Kai smiled and nodded.
Just as she was about to continue, Fan Xin suddenly stopped, her complexion changing, “Alchemist Yang, how did you get injured?”
Although he survived Pang Guang’s surprise attack, the wound he received in the process was not light. At this moment, Yang Kai was in a rather sorry state.
“There was a small accident,” Yang Kai said with some embarrassment, “I came here in the hope of finding shelter. I was wondering if you could…”
Fan Xin gave Yang Kai a stern look, “Alchemist Yang, was the huge commotion just now in the cave mansion area related to you?”
Yang Kai forced a smile, “Just my bad luck.”
Fan Xin was surprised. She didn’t expect her wild guess to be correct and the revelation left her speechless. There weren’t many people who dared to cause trouble in the Inner City, let alone in the cave mansion area. Only the Heavens knew what Yang Kai had experienced to be in such a sorry state.
“Junior Sister Fan Xin, if our presence is causing you trouble, we’ll leave right away.” Yang Kai saw that she didn’t move away to let him pass, and thought that she didn’t want to get involved in this matter, which disappointed him somewhat.
Fan Xin pursed her lips and smiled, “In our Ice Heart Pavilion, troubles aren’t troubles at all. Since you’re our Ice Heart Pavilion’s Alchemist, where are you supposed to go if not to Ice Heart Pavilion? Please come in with me.”
Yang Kai’s face brightened and hurried to cup his fists, “Many thanks, Junior Sister Fan Xin.”
After entering Ice Heart Pavilion, Yang Kai relaxed. Although this place appeared small and the cultivators here were relatively weak, there was a true Master assuming command here, which made this building far safer than the cave mansion area. As long as he could live here, Yang Kai and Liu Xian Yun wouldn’t have to worry about anything else.
Fan Xin led the pair inside, leaving after making the necessary arrangements for him and Liu Xian Yun.
Yang Kai’s wound looked pretty serious, but his physique was different from ordinary cultivators, so he would recover pretty quickly.
But at this time, he wasn’t in the mood to recuperate. Instead, he took out the jet-black Heavenly Restoration Lotus from the Sealed World Bead.
The Heavenly Restoration Lotus had two blossoms on one stalk, one black and one white. If only one was used, it could heal a damaged dantian or Soul, which wasn’t that Heaven-defying, but if both blossoms were refined into a pill, they could greatly expand a cultivator’s dantian and Knowledge Sea, which was something any cultivator would love.
Even those that had reached the peak of the Third-Order Emperor Realm couldn’t resist such a temptation. The expansion of one’s dantian and Knowledge Sea meant that even their strength would increase!
Previously, Yang Kai had been forced to swallow a Heavenly Restoration Lotus, so he could no longer refine the complete Heavenly Restoration Pill.
And since the deed was already done, he might as well go all the way through with it. Grabbing the black Heavenly Restoration Lotus, Yang Kai threw it into his mouth and swallowed it whole.
Then, he took a handful of herbs from his Space Ring and gobbled them up, all of them auxiliary materials which were originally needed to refine the complete Heavenly Restoration Pill.
As it was already impossible to refine the complete pill, he could only resort to such a crude method to bring forth the effect of the black and white Heavenly Restoration Lotuses. He would use his body as a furnace and his Source Qi as the fire to blend with medicinal efficacies in an attempt to draw out some of the Heavenly Restoration Pill’s efficacy.
Although this would result in a huge waste of herbs, there was nothing Yang Kai could do about it.
Pure medicinal essence exploded in his stomach, transforming into energy that spread to his bones and limbs. In the cultivation chamber, crackling sounds echoed nonstop as Yang Kai stayed focused and didn’t let anything distract him, refining the lotuses wholeheartedly.
He could feel that his dantian and Knowledge Sea were slowly expanding just as they would if he had taken the Heavenly Restoration Pill.
Three days passed in a flash and Yang Kai slowly opened his eyes. He looked full of energy and had the appearance of someone that had raked in great benefits.
He checked the condition of his body and discovered that his wound was now gone. Moreover, his dantian was ten percent bigger compared to three days ago, and his Knowledge Sea was likewise much larger.
With his strength having reached his current realm, it was very hard for him to advance further. He had to put in a lot of effort and needed luck as well, but now he’d only eaten the two Heavenly Restoration Lotuses, and he’d improved so much. The efficacy of the lotuses was truly astonishing.
After returning to his senses, he gritted his teeth and cursed, “That bastard Pang Guang!”
If not because Pang Guang forced him to, Yang Kai would never have eaten the Heavenly Restoration Lotuses raw. Recalling the event caused Yang Kai’s heart to bleed. Getting a glimpse of the Heavenly Restoration Lotus was already hard enough, let alone finding two blossoms like he had. His original plan to refine the complete Heavenly Restoration Pill was now nothing but a lost dream.
Crudely swallowing the two Heavenly Restoration Lotuses brought forth less than a tenth of the efficacy it would have provided compared to refining them into a pill. An Alchemist like Yang Kai could never accept such a tremendous waste.
All of his hatred was directed at Pang Guang.
While he was brooding over this matter, someone knocked on the door to his room.
Yang Kai was surprised, but he quickly reacted and went to open the door.
Fan Xin was standing at the entrance, looking at him with a strange expression.
“Junior Sister Fan Xin, is something the matter?” Yang Kai asked.
“Honoured Master wants to see you.”
“Honoured Master?” Yang Kai furrowed his brow for a moment before his eyes went wide and he asked, “Do you mean Sir Pavilion Master?”
Fan Xin nodded, “Yes. I’m here on Honoured Master’s orders. I am to escort you.”
Yang Kai felt restless. He didn’t expect that this reclusive Ice Heart Pavilion Master would suddenly ask to see him. This was a Third-Order Emperor Realm Master, and although Yang Kai had wanted to meet them to ask about the location of the exit, this sudden request made him restless. He could only wonder as to why he was being summoned so suddenly.
While following her, Yang Kai asked, “Junior Sister Fan Xin, why does Sir Pavilion Master want to see me?”
Fan Xin smiled, “Only Honoured Master knows. I didn’t dare to ask too many questions.”
She was just following orders and had no idea as to why the Pavilion Master wanted to see Yang Kai.
Then, she added, “However, it is very rare for Honoured Master to meet with outsiders. Even us disciples of Ice Heart Pavilion haven’t seen Honoured Master in a long time.”
Towards the end of the sentence, her expression clouded a bit. She admired Yang Kai, despite him being an outsider, for having managed to catch her Honoured Master’s attention.
“In a bit, when you meet with Honoured Master, you should behave yourself and avoid saying things you shouldn’t say. If you anger her, no one on this island will be able to save you,” Fan Xin urged, afraid that Yang Kai might somehow offend her Honoured Master.
“I’ll keep that in mind,” Yang Kai replied, his expression turning serious. Fan Xin’s words made him become a bit tense as he got the feeling that this Ice Heart Pavilion Master wasn’t someone who got along with others. Maybe she was one of those grandmas with a wicked temper.
“Right, how is my Junior Sister doing these days?” Yang Kai remembered Liu Xian Yun and asked about her; after all, he hadn’t seen her ever since they came to Ice Heart Pavilion.
“You don’t need to worry about Junior Sister Liu. She has a gentle disposition, and she’s getting along well with my Junior and Senior Sisters. Since she offered to help us, I allowed her to give us a hand with the pavilion’s matters.”
“That’s good,” Yang Kai sighed in relief. Liu Xian Yun wasn’t the type to stir up trouble, so he didn’t have to worry too much.
While talking, the pair arrived on the sixth floor of Ice Heart Pavilion. Just as Yang Kai had guessed, the mysterious Ice Heart Pavilion Master lived on this floor.
Fan Xin stood at the doorstep and said, “Alchemist Yang, you can go in by yourself. Honoured Master is waiting for you inside.”
“Many thanks!” Yang Kai nodded slightly before opening the door and entering.
Yang Kai didn’t even have time to look around before the door behind him shut with a bang. He did his best to stay calm and swept his surroundings with his gaze.
The area on the sixth floor wasn’t big, but all the decorations seemed to give off a calming aura, giving anyone who stood here a strange peace of mind.
Yang Kai was astonished and moved forward while closely observing the décor, noticing that they were simple yet exquisite. Moreover, a light fragrance lingered in the air, which made him feel as if he’d entered the room of a young girl.
“Are you the new Alchemist?” A pleasant voice echoed from one corner suddenly. The voice was gentle, peaceful, and devoid of worldly feelings. It seemed as though it came from the Heavens, close yet far away.
Yang Kai’s expression changed drastically as he hurriedly looked in the direction the voice had come from.
He didn’t see anyone when he came in, but now he suddenly heard a voice. It was obvious that the cultivation of the other party far exceeded his own, which made it impossible for him to detect them.
If this mysterious woman had wanted to harm him, there would have been nothing he could’ve done to resist. Thinking of the consequences, Yang Kai broke out in a cold sweat.
After taking a look in the direction the voice had come from, Yang Kai saw a young woman in an elegant dress calmly standing there.
The woman looked at him coldly. Just like her voice, she seemed devoid of worldly aura, no different from a flawless white lotus.
The first impression that Yang Kai had of this young woman was purity. Pure like the cleanest water of a lake. He was surprised to discover that such a pure and flawless woman existed in this world.
For some reason, he also found everything about her somewhat familiar. Not only her aura of purity, but even her appearance as well. He felt as if he had seen her somewhere before. Then, an image from the distant past flashed in his mind, but when he tried to grasp on to it, he failed to do so.
Seeing Yang Kai staring at her in a daze, the young woman furrowed her delicate brow and raised her hand, preparing to admonish him.
She was well aware of how her appearance affected the men around her. Since she began cultivating, such a scene had played out countless times and she was well aware of the impure thoughts in the hearts of men who laid their eyes on her like this.
She believed Yang Kai to be the same.
However, she soon discovered that this wasn’t the case. Although Yang Kai was staring at her without blinking, there was no lust in his eyes, he was merely dazzled by her and had fallen into a kind of reminiscence as well as confusion.
She could understand why he would be dazzled by her beauty, but what about the confusion and nostalgia?
The longing in his gaze was almost palpable as he seemed to be thinking about someone dear to him from his gentle expression.
The young woman quietly took back her hand and instead lightly coughed.
Yang Kai was startled, but he quickly returned to his senses, his face reddening as he realized that he’d been rudely staring at this woman. Moreover, it was very likely that this woman was the mysterious Ice Heart Pavilion Master.
Beads of sweat appeared on his forehead as he hurriedly cupped his fists and said, “Yes, that would be me. May I ask if Senior is… Ice Heart Pavilion’s Pavilion Master?”
He still couldn’t believe that this pure and flawless young woman was the Pavilion Master, as he was convinced just a moment ago that she would be a Grandma with a feisty temper. Expectations and reality really differed too greatly!
The young woman nodded, “This Queen is indeed the Pavilion Master.”
Yang Kai hurried to say, “Junior Yang Kai pays his respects to Senior and apologizes for his previous rudeness.”
The woman kept silent but was pleased with Yang Kai acknowledging his mistake and apologizing without trying to dodge responsibility. As such, she decided not to press the case further. If she had really been angry about it, she would’ve punished him already.
“Who were you thinking about just now?” She asked after a short pause.
Yang Kai replied without raising his head, “Junior was thinking about his wife.”
“Why? Do this Queen and your wife look similar?”
If not for this reason, why would Yang Kai think about his wife after seeing her?
She was speaking calmly, her voice devoid of any kind of anger or accusation, yet Yang Kai still felt enormous pressure.
Wiping the sweat from his forehead and said gingerly, “Senior’s appearance is different from Junior’s wife, but your auras are very similar. Both are pure and stainless, moreover…” Yang Kai smiled lightly, “Just like Senior, she is ice-cold, similar to an ice fairy.”
When speaking of Su Yan, Yang Kai’s tone filled with warmth and he couldn’t help smiling.
“An ice fairy…” The young woman seemed to be amused by the comparison, the corners of her mouth lifting slightly.
“Ah?!” Yang Kai suddenly gasped and raised his head and looked at the young woman again, his eyes full of shock.
“What now?” The young woman frowned, dissatisfied with his sudden outburst. This boy was once again rudely staring at her; moreover, he was looking at her as if he’d seen a ghost.
“Senior…” Yang Kai gulped hard as his expression turned into one of anxiety, “Junior would like to ask you something. I wonder if Senior would be willing to reply.”
“Speak.”
Yang Kai hesitated, seemingly considering his choice of words. After a short silence, he gritted his teeth and asked, “By any chance, is Senior’s name ‘Bing Yun’?”
The young woman furrowed her brow and asked coldly, “How do you know that?”
It was impossible that her disciples had told Yang Kai her name, and no one else on the island knew it, so how did this young man come to know this piece of information?
Yang Kai didn’t reply, but his expression turned into one of excitement and he took a step forward, asking in a low voice, “Senior, you are the Ancestral Founder of Ice Heart Valley, yes? The Sect in which you left Profound Frost.”
Bing Yun was surprised, “How can you know so much? Are you from the Northern Territory?”
“Northern Territory?” Yang Kai frowned, slowly shaking his head, “Junior comes from the Southern Territory. I have never been to the Northern Territory.”
Bing Yun’s interest was piqued, “If you have never been to the Northern Territory, how can you know my name or of Ice Heart Valley? No, that’s not right…” Her body suddenly shook, and a strange light flashed across her eyes.
She looked at Yang Kai fixedly and murmured, “Even if you were from the Northern Territory and had seen this Queen’s statue in Ice Heart Valley, allowing you to know my name and my relationship with Ice Heart Valley, it is still impossible for you to know about Profound Frost. After all, I left Profound Frost in ‘that’ place a long time ago!”
Then, she gave a shout, “Unless you…”
Yang Kai grinned, his whole body relaxing.
Bing Yun also showed a rare smile, “You come from Heng Luo Star Field, right?”
Yang Kai scratched his head, “Heng Luo Star Field? I’m not sure about the name of my native Star Field, but there is a Sect with huge influence called Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce there.”
“Do the Sword Alliance, Purple Star, and Galaxy Ridge still exist?” Bing Yun asked.
“Yes, yes, and yes.” Yang Kai nodded repeatedly.
Bing Yun couldn’t help but laugh lightly, “You really are from Heng Luo Star Field. I can’t believe I’ve met someone from my native Star Field after so many years.”
“Junior also did not expect to bump into Senior Bing Yun in this place.” Yang Kai was just as surprised, sighing with emotion.
As soon as he laid his eyes on Bing Yun, he found her familiar; however, he couldn’t remember where he had seen her until the conversation shifted to Su Yan.
It turned out he really had seen Bing Yun in the past, despite it being only a statue and not the real person. Back then, Su Yan had joined Ice Heart Valley on Scarlet Wave Star, where she cultivated for quite some time. Yang Kai had seen Bing Yun’s statue when he went there looking for Su Yan.
Bing Yun was the Ancestral Founder of Ice Heart Valley, but her life and death, or even whereabouts, were unknown. The current Valley Master, Bing Long, had told Yang Kai that Ancestral Founder Bing Yun had possibly left their Star Field and ascended to a higher world, only leaving behind Profound Frost, the Sect’s Supreme Artifact.
Later on, Profound Frost was inherited by Su Yan.
Calculating the time, over ten thousand years should have passed since Bing Yun founded Ice Heart Valley.
Who could’ve thought that she was still alive and had arrived in Star Boundary, cultivating all the way to the Third-Order Emperor Realm!
I think her name sorta spoils it too much…
Bing Long’s guess turned out to be correct. Ancestral Founder Bing Yun didn’t die and had indeed ascended to a higher world. And now, she was standing in front of Yang Kai!
Ice Heart Valley was once Su Yan’s Master Sect, and Bing Yun was the founder of Ice Heart Valley. For this reason, Yang Kai felt some intimacy towards her and was no longer as tense as before around her.
Although Bing Yun’s expression was still icy, her beautiful eyes seemed much gentler. Even for her, it was very hard to meet someone from her native Star Field.
“Sit down, this Queen has many things she wants to ask you,” Bing Yun pointed at a nearby chair.
“Yes,” Yang Kai cupped his fists and obediently sat down.
Over the next two hours, Bing Yun asked Yang Kai a lot of things related to Scarlet Wave Star and Ice Heart Valley. Yang Kai didn’t leave anything out, and he told her everything he knew. From his relationship with Su Yan to what they’d experienced in Ice Heart Valley.
After listening, Bing Yun kept silent for a long time.
She was the founder of Ice Heart Valley, and although she’d long ago reached this Star Boundary and not visited home since then, the feelings she had for her Sect did not disappear.
After hearing that the current Ice Heart Valley only had a single First-Order Origin King, she sighed with emotion.
Back in her time, Ice Heart Valley was the sole overlord of Scarlet Wave Star and her Sect was famous throughout the entire Heng Luo Star Field, possessing countless Masters and incredible influence. But now, ten thousand years later, Ice Heart Valley was just a shadow of its former self. Bing Yun couldn’t help becoming a bit sentimental after hearing the news.
Nonetheless, she was a Third-Order Emperor Realm Master, and was not shaken so easily. She was well aware that no Sect could prosper forever, and that decline was inevitable. The fact that Ice Heart Valley continued to exist after all this time was also something worth celebrating; it was the fruit of the later generations’ effort.
“Senior, back then, how did you leave our native Star Field and arrive here?” Yang Kai hurried to change the topic after seeing her melancholic expression.
Bing Yun pursed her lips and smiled, “It happened by chance. This Queen entered a Sealed World, and when I managed to escape, I found myself in this Star Boundary. What about you?”
Yang Kai scratched his head, “Several friends and I borrowed the might of the Star Emperor Tokens the Starry Sky Great Emperor left behind and opened the Starlight Channel to the Star Boundary.”
“The Starry Sky Great Emperor?” Bing Yun furrowed her brow, which made her look very cute.
Seeing her expression, Yang Kai realized that there was no ‘Starry Sky Great Emperor’ during her time and started explaining.
After listening to the explanation, Bing Yun nodded, “I didn’t expect that such a Master would pass by such a small place. Still, I’ve never heard of this Yang Yan you speak of.”
“I’m clueless as to where she is right now or what her cultivation is.” Yang Kai forced a smile.
After arriving in this Star Boundary, while he hadn’t actively looked for clues related to her, Yang Kai also never heard of any ‘Great Emperor Yang Yan.’ At the very least, there was no one with that name among the Ten Great Emperors.
At the same time, Yang Kai recalled Lin Yun’er. Back when Yang Yan left Shadowed Star, she took Lin Yun’er off with her. So many years had passed, and Yang Kai couldn’t help but wonder how that little girl was doing.
She was just a silly little girl at that time, but after so many years, she should’ve already become a pretty young woman, right?
“If there’s fate, you’ll meet again,” Bing Yun said gently.
Yang Kai nodded in agreement. Fate was truly a marvellous thing, and it was not something that could be understood or explained. If there was no fate, no matter how hard one tried, nothing would come out of it, but if there was fate, one could reunite even if they didn’t do anything.
The fact that Yang Kai could meet Bing Yun in this Solitary Void Sealed World was also a kind of fate.
“Ah, yes, Senior, why did you summon me here today?” Before coming here, Yang Kai was still worried about what this reclusive Ice Heart Pavilion Master would ask of him, but now, he was completely relaxed.
“It’s very difficult to find a Dao Source Grade Alchemist on the island. You’re likely the only person this Queen could find. I wanted to ask you how much time you’d need to advance if you’re provided with the necessary materials,” Bing Yun said.
“Advance to become a Dao Source Grade High-Rank Alchemist?” Yang Kai raised his brow, quickly understanding something and asking, “Senior, do you want me to refine a certain kind of pill?”
Bing Yun nodded, “Correct. The pill this Queen wants to refine is of very high grade. If your Alchemy skills aren’t high enough, you might fail.”
“Senior, what pill do you want me to refine?”
“The Hundred Revolutions Emperor Yuan Pill!”
After hearing this, Yang Kai frowned.
He was an Emperor Grade Alchemist, so he naturally knew about the Hundred Revolutions Emperor Yuan Pill. It was a kind of pill that Masters in the Emperor Realm used to restore their Emperor Qi.
A Low-Rank Emperor Yuan Pill allowed the consumer to recover ten percent of their Qi within a short period, a Mid-Rank one twenty percent, and a High-Rank one thirty percent. Moreover, the time this recovery required was very short.
But due to Emperor Realm Masters having plenty of Emperor Qi, they rarely used this kind of pill. Moreover, it wasn’t easy to refine, so there was next to no market for this Spirit Pill.
Yang Kai was surprised to know that Bing Yun wanted him to refine the Hundred Revolutions Emperor Yuan Pill and couldn’t understand why she needed one.
Just as he was about to tell her the truth about his Alchemical skills, Bing Yun’s expression suddenly changed.
She lifted her head and looked in a certain direction, then hurriedly called out to Yang Kai, “Come here!”
Her hand grabbed at Yang Kai from a distance and a powerful suction force spread from her palm. Without any opportunity to resist, Yang Kai was dragged in front of her.
She then patted her seat, causing a small secret compartment to appear. She then stuffed Yang Kai in and warned him, “Conceal your aura and hold your breath. Unless this Queen tells you, don’t come out! Don’t do anything that would reveal your presence!”
Yang Kai had no idea what was happening, but seeing Bing Yun’s anxious expression, he knew that it was nothing good. No matter what, she was a Third-Order Emperor Realm Master, and there weren’t many people who could cause her to be this cautious.
As it wasn’t the time to ask questions, Yang Kai curled up in the secret compartment and used his Nihility Secret Technique to conceal his aura.
*Peng…*
The secret compartment closed and Bing Yun sat on it cross-legged while using some kind of technique to further isolate Yang Kai’s presence.
She was afraid that his cultivation wasn’t high enough and that any aura-concealing technique he used wouldn’t be sufficient, but after a quick check, she discovered that Yang Kai’s whole body had become illusory, just as if he’d entered a different space. Even with her Divine Sense, she found it hard to sense him despite the short distance between them. Sensing this, she finally relaxed. It seemed she’d underestimated Yang Kai’s abilities.
In the next moment, a figure flashed and appeared inside the room. This figure wore a smile on his face and cupped his fists, saying in a refined manner, “Junior Sister Bing Yun, I haven’t seen you in three months, but your bearing is as impeccable as ever. Such poise brings me great joy.”
In the secret compartment, Yang Kai was startled.
He didn’t know who this person was, but he sure was audacious. He even dared to refer to Bing Yun as ‘Junior Sister’! Truly someone who did not fear the Heavens!
Still, there could be only one person on Clear Sky Island that had the qualifications to call Bing Yun this way.
Clear Sky Island’s Island Master, Chi Ri!
After realizing the identity of the other party, Yang Kai understood why Bing Yun was so vigilant.
Still, what was Chi Ri doing here in Ice Heart Pavilion? Moreover, what was the relationship between these two Third-Order Emperor Realm Masters? After all, as soon as she realized he was coming here, Bing Yun had stuffed Yang Kai in the secret compartment.
At this time, the only thing Yang Kai was sure of was that Bing Yun seemed to be wary of Chi Ri.
Just as he was in deep thought, Bing Yun’s calm voice echoed, “Chi Ri, are you here for another attempt?”
Chi Ri laughed loudly, “Life on the island is pretty boring, and only Junior Sister Bing Yun can pique my interest. Since you gave me this test, I’ll do my best to complete it. The faster I can win the beauty, the faster we can build our nest!”
Hearing his words, Yang Kai’s facial muscles twitched. Now he could more or less guess why Chi Ri had come here. It seemed he was attracted to Bing Yun.
This wasn’t too surprising, though. On the whole Clear Sky Island, only Bing Yun could stand on an equal footing with him. As if that wasn’t enough, she was also beautiful, pure, and flawless. Even a Master like Chi Ri would be moved by her appearance.
In any case, Bing Yun seemed to have given Chi Ri some sort of test, which he had yet to complete, so he hadn’t captured the beauty’s heart yet.
Nevertheless, Yang Kai felt that even if Chi Ri completed the test, Bing Yun wouldn’t marry him. Bing Yun had been alive for over ten thousand years, during which time she must have met countless capable men that were interested in her. If she’d wanted to settle down, she would’ve done so already. There was no way she’d be waiting for someone like Chi Ri.
Yang Kai was also privy to the fact that a lot of Ice Heart Valley’s Secret Arts required the user to retain their purity. As the Ancestral Founder of Ice Heart Valley, Bing Yun must cultivate several such Arts.
In short, this seemed to be a story of unrequited love. Even Yang Kai could feel Bing Yun’s cold and hostile attitude, so there was no way Chi Ri couldn’t.
Bing Yun coldly snorted, “If that’s the case, come forth!”
Silence fell in the room.
Yang Kai didn’t dare to release his Divine Sense or reveal his aura. Therefore, he was oblivious as to what was happening outside.
A moment later though, the silence was broken by a series of howls. Yang Kai could feel that an incredible clash taking place inside the room.
Even if he was hiding in the secret compartment, he was panic-stricken, afraid that some of the energy would leak out and destroy the walls of his hiding spot. If that happened, he would have nowhere to hide.
The fight didn’t last long though, and after just a few breaths it abruptly came to an end.
Bing Yun’s cold voice echoed, “It spilled.”
Chi Ri sounded annoyed, “So close… This King almost managed to drink a cup of tea prepared by Junior Sister Bing Yun. How unfortunate!”
“Please leave!” With no trace of politeness, Bing Yun sent the uninvited guest out.
Chi Ri didn’t seem to mind BingYun’s cold attitude; it only served to increase his interest. He said with a smile, “In that case, this King will no longer disturb Junior Sister. One month later, this King will come again. At that time, I’ll not disappoint you!”
He laughed loudly and disappeared from where he was standing.
Bing Yun sat cross-legged with a sullen expression.
After a long time, she stretched out her hand and knocked on the secret compartment, “You can come out now.”
Hearing her words, Yang Kai hurried to get out. He looked around, but the room was still in perfect condition, seemingly not having been affected at all by the clash of the two Third-Order Emperor Realm Masters. This left him shocked as he’d clearly felt waves upon waves of energy clash against one another earlier. Yet, he couldn’t find a single trace of the battle. Whether it was Bing Yun or Chi Ri, clearly their control over their strength had reached an extraordinary level.
On the nearby table was a teacup filled to the brim with water, with quite a bit of it having spilled out.
“Senior, that Chi Ri…” Yang Kai was about to say something but stopped.
Bing Yun sighed, “You must’ve gotten the gist of the situation. Chi Ri seems to be… interested in this Queen.”
“That old bastard is just a toad lusting after swan meat!” Yang Kai said angrily.
Seeing Yang Kai defending her, Bing Yun smiled lightly, “That might not be the case. Chi Ri has some skills, and this Queen is not his opponent as of now.”
Yang Kai was startled, “Senior, if it was a fight to the death, what odds do you have of winning?”
Bing Yun furrowed her brow, falling in thought, “Less than thirty percent.” She sighed and added, “He is Clear Sky Island’s Island Lord, and he controls all the cultivation resources here. Even if his cultivation has dropped in the past few years, this Queen’s has dropped even further. If I were at my peak, I wouldn’t be afraid of him, but now, the difference between us just keeps increasing!”
Yang Kai realized what was happening.
The Solitary Void Sealed World was filled with rich World Energy, but this World Energy was not suitable for cultivation. If one stayed in this place for too long, their strength would start waning regardless of their cultivation, but thanks to his position, Chi Ri could get his hands on much more cultivation resources than Bing Yun. This caused his regression to be slower, leading to Bing Yun no longer being his opponent.
“But even for him, it is impossible to easily take down this Queen. Therefore, a hundred years ago, we reached an agreement.”
“What kind of agreement?” Yang Kai asked out of curiosity.
Bing Yun pointed at the teacup on the nearby table, “If he is able to snatch this teacup from under this Queen’s nose and drink it without spilling a single drop of water, this Queen will be at his mercy, but if he fails, he must leave.”
Yang Kai looked at the teacup, as well as at the water that had spilled on the table, finally understanding why Bing Yun was talking about something spilling earlier.
These two Masters were fighting over this cup of tea, but Chi Ri fell short at the last moment and was defeated.
Bing Yun frowned, “He used to come here once every few years at first, but recently, he seems to be losing his patience. It has been only three months since his last visit, and he was pretty difficult to deal with this time. When he comes back in a month, I’m not sure if I can handle him.”
Reaching this conclusion, she couldn’t help but get a little worried.
When she made that agreement with Chi Ri, she was already at her wits’ end. As they were both Third-Order Emperor Realms, they couldn’t just start fighting; after all, if they battled using all their strength, the entire island would be razed to the ground.
Moreover, she had to think about her disciples. She wasn’t afraid of offending Chi Ri, but who would protect her disciples if a fight broke out?
This agreement was able to buy her a hundred years, but it wouldn’t last forever.
“In addition, Chi Ri is very narrow-minded. If he were to see the two of us together, he might start making things difficult for you.”
Yang Kai finally understood why Bing Yun had stuffed him in the secret compartment earlier. Chi Ri was a jealous man, and if he were to see Bing Yun together with a young man, he might get the wrong idea.
He hadn’t even succeeded in capturing the beauty’s heart, but he already treated Bing Yun as his private property. It seemed that Clear Sky Island’s Island Lord was a shameless person, only caring about his happiness while disregarding that of others.
“Senior, what is your plan?” Hearing that she wasn’t sure if she could handle Chi Ri when he came back in a month, Yang Kai got a little anxious.
“My plan is to find someone who could help me refine the Hundred Revolutions Emperor Yuan Pill!” Bing Yun said in a deep voice, “With enough such pills, this Queen can leave Clear Sky Island and the Solitary Void Sealed World, no longer having to worry about Chi Ri.”
“Leave the Solitary Void Sealed World?” Yang Kai’s body shook and realized something, quickly asking, “Senior, are you planning to fly until you reach the exit?”
Sang De had mentioned that the exit was very far from Clear Sky Island. Even if a Third-Order Emperor Realm Master knew its location, it wasn’t guaranteed that they could reach it. The biggest reason was that they wouldn’t have enough energy to complete the trip.
Flying above the sea required a lot of energy, and if one didn’t find a way to replenish their strength along the way, they would eventually exhaust their strength.
However, one couldn’t just take a break while flying above the sea, nor could they use Source Crystals.
They could only use pills, and the Hundred Revolutions Emperor Yuan Pill happened to be the best choice!
Yang Kai finally understood why Bing Yun wanted the Hundred Revolutions Emperor Yuan Pill. It was to recover her energy at the critical moment!
“You know about the location of the exit?” It was now Bing Yun’s turn to be surprised.
Yang Kai shook his head, “I don’t. I’ve only heard some rumours.”
“From whom did you hear such rumours? From what this Queen knows, only three people are aware of its location. One of them is me, one is Chi Ri, and the last one is missing.”
Yang Kai grinned, “This last person Senior mentioned should be Sang De’s Master. A few days ago…”
He then started to narrate what he, Sang De, and the others encountered when they went to sea.
After listening to the story, Bing Yun’s beautiful eyes brightened and she looked at Yang Kai in a daze, “Is the Sea King Shuttle in your possession?”
“Yes. It’s not too convenient to take it out here, but I have it with me.”
“Is this the will of the Heavens?” Bing Yun muttered. If it wasn’t the will of the Heavens, how could she and Yang Kai, two people from Heng Luo Star Field, meet in this place? If it wasn’t fate, how could Yang Kai get his hands on the Sea King Shuttle at such a critical moment?
At first, she was just happy to be able to meet someone from her native Star Field. Yang Kai gave her a good impression, and if he were a woman, she’d have accepted him into Ice Heart Valley immediately.
But now, he gave her an even bigger surprise. Even someone as calm and composed as Bing Yun had started to become excited.
With the Sea King Shuttle, she no longer needed the Hundred Revolutions Emperor Yuan Pill! She could simply ride the shuttle until the exit, which was much safer than flying there.
She had also been worrying about how to take her disciples with her, but now it was no longer a problem.
“Sang De’s Master suddenly went missing a thousand years ago. This Queen and Chi Ri tried to find out what had happened, but we didn’t have any luck. We thought he’d died, but little did we expect that he was actually hiding outside, secretly refining the Sea King Shuttle. In the end, he still ended up toiling for the sake of others, it seems,” Bing Yun sighed.
She knew that Sang De’s Master had gone into hiding because he was afraid that Chi Ri would capture him, forcing him to refine an artifact like the Sea King Shuttle. Although he had to refine the shuttle anyway, doing so by his own free will was different from being forced by someone else.
At the same time, the reason Ice Heart Pavilion collected so many raw materials was that Bing Yun wanted to train an Alchemist capable of refining the Hundred Revolutions Emperor Yuan Pill.
Over the past few years, she’d spent a lot of resources to gather the necessary herbs. It was a pity that none of the Alchemists met her requirements. Finally, she found Yang Kai and decided to stake everything on him, making him refine the pill regardless of success or failure, but now, it was no longer necessary.
Yang Kai scratched his head, “Part of the reason I came to Ice Heart Pavilion was to inquire about the exit’s location; however, Senior’s strength is too high, so Junior didn’t dare to state this explicitly.”
Bing Yun smiled faintly, “It is natural for you to be cautious, don’t let it concern you.”
Yang Kai was just a Third-Order Dao Source Realm cultivator, so it was normal for him to be wary about seeking Bing Yun’s cooperation.
“I have the Sea King Shuttle, and Senior knows the exit’s location. It seems everything is prepared. We can set out at any time,” Yang Kai said with excitement. He didn’t expect that everything would go this smoothly. At first, he thought of letting things take their natural course, but after becoming privy to Bing Yun’s background, he no longer had any misgivings.
“I’m afraid it’s not going to be that easy to leave!” Bing Yun frowned.
“Why?” Yang Kai was puzzled.
“If I leave Clear Sky Island, Chi Ri will definitely come to know of it. And if I were to cut all ties with him…” Bing Yun seemed dejected.
If she got into a fight with Chi Ri, she wasn’t sure she could escape unscathed.
Yang Kai fell into thought, “Senior, you said that the reason you aren’t Chi Ri’s opponent is that your cultivation has regressed faster than his, correct?”
“Yes. If we were both at our peaks, I’d be on par with him.”
The corner of Yang Kai’s mouth rose, “In that case, what if I could allow Senior to return to her prime within a short period?”
Bing Yun’s body shook, “How are you planning on doing so? This Queen will need a massive amount of resources to recover her strength. Given your current…”
“Senior, take a look at this,” Yang Kai took out a Space Ring and threw it to Bing Yun.
Bing Yun caught the ring and swept it with her Divine Sense, her expression changing drastically a moment later as she exclaimed, “Where did you find so many Source Crystals?”
The Space Ring had nothing but Source Crystals in it, a whole ten million High-Rank Source Crystals!
Although it wasn’t her first time seeing such a large number of Source Crystals, this amount was enough to shake the entire Clear Sky Island.
Even Chi Ri shouldn’t have this many Source Crystals.
“Senior, I’ll be honest with you. I’ve only been in this Solitary Void Sealed World for a few months. These were brought from the outside by me.”
“You’ve been here for only a few months?!” Bing Yun was truly startled this time. In such a short period, Yang Kai was able to get his hands on the Sea King Shuttle, something that she and Chi Ri had been trying to obtain for a millennium. This was enough to drive one crazy!
Yang Kai had been there for only a few months, yet in this short period, he obtained the Sea King Shuttle and gave Bing Yun all these Source Crystals to recover her strength. It was almost as if he’d come here just to save her!
Perhaps it was really the Heavens’ will!
Bing Yun held the Space Ring tightly, and after recovering from her initial shock, she asked, “Is it really okay for you to give me so many Source Crystals? How about I take only half of these—”
Before she could finish, Yang Kai waved his hand and said with a smile, “Senior, don’t worry. I’m not short of Source Crystals.”
If it was another Third-Order Dao Source Realm cultivator, it’d be impossible for them to produce 10 million High-Rank Source Crystals all at once. After all, that was equivalent to 100 billion Low-Rank Source Crystals if converted!
However, Yang Kai was different as he had plenty of Source Crystals. When he defeated Yao Chang Jun, he obtained a large amount of wealth, which increased even further after he dealt with Sang De.
As such, parting with 10 million High-Rank Source Crystals was something he could bear.
Hearing his words, Bing Yun no longer rejected his offer, simply nodding and saying, “Give me five days. We can set out at that time. Moreover, we have to discuss how we’re going to leave the island carefully.”
She wanted to leave Clear Sky Island immediately, but she knew she had to act carefully to not make a scene. What’s more, she definitely couldn’t leave together with Yang Kai. If Chi Ri got wind of it, he’d try to stop them by any means necessary.
“Good. In that case, I’ll take this time to make some preparations,” Yang Kai nodded, “Senior, how many sets of materials have you collected for the Hundred Revolutions Emperor Yuan Pill? I can refine some for you just in case.”
Bing Yun was startled, “You’re capable of refining the Hundred Revolutions Emperor Yuan Pill? It’s an Emperor Grade Spirit Pill!”
Yang Kai let out an embarrassed laugh, “Senior, forgive my earlier deception; Junior isn’t a Dao Source Grade Mid-Rank Alchemist, but an Emperor Grade Alchemist.”
Back then, he had no idea about her identity or character or why she was looking for an Alchemist, so he didn’t reveal the full extent of his abilities, but now that they’d gotten to know each other, Yang Kai no longer felt the need to hide this detail.
“An Emperor Grade Alchemist?” Bing Yun’s eyes brightened as she asked in amazement, “Are you telling the truth?”
Yang Kai was very young, but his cultivation was already quite high. Bing Yun had totally not expected that he was an Emperor Grade Alchemist on top of that!
Even if one took the entire Star Boundary into account, there weren’t many Emperor Grade Alchemists. They were rarer than Emperor Realm Masters and commanded far more respect! Yang Kai’s status as an Emperor Grade Alchemist would be enough to cause all the top-tier Sects to fight to the death over him.
While looking at Yang Kai, a tinge of regret flashed in Bing Yun’s eyes.
“Is something the matter?” Yang Kai read her mood and couldn’t understand why she felt regretful.
Bing Yun pursed her lips and smiled, “If you were a woman, I would’ve accepted you as a disciple, making you inherit this Queen’s full legacy. Unfortunately, Ice Heart Valley never accepts male disciples.”
Yang Kai scratched his head, “Junior is moved by your kindness.”
Bing Yun could talk so openly because she didn’t consider him an outsider; after all, the two came from the same Star Field, which was a shared bond that was impossible to break.
“The materials for the Hundred Revolutions Emperor Yuan Pill aren’t easy to find. After searching for many years, this Queen only has ten sets. I’ll give them all to you.” Bing Yun took out some precious herbs and handed them to Yang Kai.
These herbs were once her best hope at leaving this place, but after acquiring all these Source Crystals from Yang Kai, she no longer had much use for them. Whether or not the pill could be refined, it had little to no impact on the next phase of the plan. The reason Yang Kai decided to give it a try was just for extra insurance in case something unexpected happened.
After leaving Bing Yun’s chambers, Yang Kai immediately started to refine the Hundred Revolutions Emperor Yuan Pill.
He hadn’t refined many Emperor Grade Spirit Pills, but practice makes perfect. After wasting two sets of materials, he finally got the hang of it.
Three days later, eight of the ten sets of materials had been refined successfully. The first few pills were of low quality and were barely considered a success, but the ones Yang Kai refined towards the end were pretty good, with a few High-Grade Hundred Revolutions Emperor Yuan Pills among them.
There weren’t many pills in total, but it was more than enough.
There were two days left until their appointment, so Yang Kai didn’t waste time and headed toward the cave mansion area after urging Liu Xian Yun not to leave Ice Heart Pavilion.
Arriving in front of an average-looking cave mansion, Yang Kai announced his arrival and after a while, the barrier opened and Lin Yin Qin came out and waved at Yang Kai, “Come in.”
Yang Kai nodded and followed after her.
This cave mansion was almost the same as the one he’d rented before. Whether it was the number of rooms or the size, it was basically identical.
Ling Yin Qin offered him a cup of spirit tea and asked, “What happened a few days ago? There was a fight in your cave mansion and when I went to check the place, everything was a mess. Moreover, you and Liu Xian Yun were nowhere to be seen.”
Hearing that Ling Yin Qin had gone to check on him, Yang Kai’s heart warmed and he felt that coming here had been the correct choice.
“Someone troublesome came looking for me, so I escaped,” Yang Kai grinned, not explaining further.
Ling Yin Qin furrowed her brows, “I’ve heard people say that an Emperor Realm Master took action that day. Was the person troubling you really an Emperor?” Then, her expression changed slightly, and she exclaimed, “Don’t tell me that it was the Profound Cloud Pavilion’s Pavilion Master!”
She thought that the death of the Profound Cloud Pavilion’s people at sea was exposed and her face paled a bit.
“No, it was someone else,” Yang Kai shook his head. “Anyways, it’s water under the bridge now, so you don’t need to worry. The reason I came this time is that I wanted to ask you something.”
“How can I help you this time?”
She didn’t even ask what it was about and just directly asked how she could help. Truly heartwarming.
Yang Kai’s expression turned serious, “Senior Sister Ling, do you want to leave the Solitary Void Sealed World?”
“Leave this place?” Ling Yin Qin was startled and a longing expression flashed across her eyes, but soon, she smiled bitterly and shook her head, “Which one of the several million inhabitants of Clear Sky City doesn’t want to leave? However, even Sir Island Lord is trapped here, how could it be so easy to leave?”
“Just reply to my question. Do you want to leave?” Yang Kai said seriously.
“Let’s say that the thought has crossed my mind.” Then, she seemingly thought of something and looked at Yang Kai in surprise, “Why are you asking me this question? What do you want to do?”
Yang Kai said seriously, “If I were to tell you that I know how to leave this place, would you believe me?”
“You do?” She looked at Yang Kai in disbelief.
She was different from the others, as she was the first person that Yang Kai and Liu Xian Yun had met after coming to the Solitary Void Sealed World. Therefore, she knew their background a bit, as well as that they hadn’t been here for long.
If someone who had come here not too long ago told you that they knew how to leave the place, it would be hard to believe them.
If it was so easy to leave, those powerful Masters wouldn’t have been trapped here for so many years.
After a short moment, Ling Yin Qin furrowed her brows and asked, “Did someone deceive you? This island is full of swindlers, and they frequently trick people into heading out to sea with such lies only to afterwards commit all sorts of outrageous crimes. You should be careful.”
Yang Kai failed to stifle his laughter, “No one has deceived me. I am eighty percent certain that I can leave this place.”
“Eighty percent?” Ling Yin Qin’s tender body trembled and her eyes bulged wide.
She didn’t know much about Yang Kai as they’d only met a few times, so she didn’t dare to believe him right off the bat.
Yang Kai continued, “Junior Sister and I haven’t been in this place for long, but you, Brother Jiao, and the others helped us quite a bit, so I was thinking of taking you along when we leave.”
Regardless of the High-Rank Spirit Purifying Array working or not, the fact that Ling Yin Qin was willing to lend it to him was enough to show her good character. And, even if the array was ultimately damaged, she didn’t blame Yang Kai. As such, he wanted to take her and her crew along if possible.
“Big Sister Ling, it’s normal for you to be sceptical. I also wasn’t expecting that you’d believe me right away, but if you’re willing to put your trust in me, I can assure you that you won’t be disappointed! Still, regardless of your choice, Junior Sister and I will be leaving in two days.” Yang Kai finished his sentence and stood up.
He’d only come here to invite her, as for what she decided to do in the end, that was up to her; after all, it wasn’t like he could forcefully drag her away in order to repay a debt.
Ling Yin Qin didn’t even notice when Yang Kai left. Hearing his words, she’d fallen in a dilemma. Her intuition told her that Yang Kai wasn’t lying, and that he really knew how to leave this place. Still, they hadn’t known each other for long, and she had no idea from where he’d gotten his information or if the method to leave was even viable.
If she blindly believed his words, she’d be gambling with her crew’s lives. The pressure she felt was enormous.
In the end, she decided that it was best to listen to what the others had to say so she grabbed her communication artifact and asked her crew to gather.
The remaining two days flew by.
Early in the morning, Yang Kai arrived at the dock with several women.
Among them were Liu Xian Yun, Fan Xin, and the other disciples of Ice Heart Pavilion. Bing Yun hadn’t accepted many disciples here on Clear Sky Island, and most of them were poor people with nowhere to go. She took pity on them and decided to give them shelter in Ice Heart Pavilion. For this reason, the girls’ cultivations differed a lot, with Yang Kai being the strongest in the group.
“Alchemist Yang, Honoured Master said that you’ll be in charge of this trip. What do we do now?” Fan Xin asked anxiously.
Last night, Bing Yun told her to gather all of her Junior Sisters and pack up everything in Ice Heart Pavilion as they would go out to sea the next day, with Yang Kai being in charge of this trip.
Fan Xin couldn’t understand why her Honoured Master had given them this order. None of the disciples of Ice Heart Pavilion had ever gone to sea before, nor was there any need for them to do so.
What surprised her even more was that her Honoured Master had put Yang Kai in charge of everything, telling them to follow his every order.
Yang Kai hadn’t been in Ice Heart Pavilion for long, but he had her Honoured Master’s complete trust, to the point that she left all of her disciples in his care! Fan Xin couldn’t understand why her Honoured Master treated Yang Kai so well. What had he done to deserve this kind of treatment?
But even if she had her doubts, she didn’t dare to disobey her Honoured Master’s orders.
“We’ll wait here for a short while,” Yang Kai said, glancing toward the city gate.
“En.” Fan Xin didn’t probe further, simply nodding and looking for a place to stand.
Soon after, Yang Kai saw several familiar figures come over from the city gate and he couldn’t help but smile.
“Big Sister Ling?” Liu Xian Yun finally understood who Yang Kai was waiting for and she hurried to greet everyone.
After exchanging greetings, Ling Yin Qin arrived in front of Yang Kai, her expression serious, “Senior Brother Yang, we’ve decided to come with you.”
“Good,” Yang Kai nodded with a smile, “You won’t regret it!”
He then swept the newcomers with his gaze, noticing that less than half of Ling Yin Qin’s crew had gathered here. The remaining members were nowhere to be seen. It seemed that even with her reputation, Ling Yin Qin was unable to make everyone place their trust in Yang Kai.
Jiao Yi had followed Ling Yin Qin and winked at Yang Kai, “Brother Yang, we’ll be putting our lives in your hands, so things better go smoothly!”
Yang Kai nodded, “You’ll see in the next few days. For now, let’s board the ship and set out.”
The dock was full of people and large sea ships, as such, no one paid attention as Yang Kai’s group boarded one of the ships and left Clear Sky Island.
After a short moment, their ship was already out at sea, getting farther and farther away from the island.
Although the disciples of Ice Heart Pavilion were completely ignorant about anything sailing-related, the same could not be said about Ling Yin Qin’s crew, who were experts in the field. The ship sailed smoothly, cleaving through the waves.
One day later, the ship was already a few tens of thousands of kilometres away from Clear Sky Island.
Fan Xin arrived at the deck, her expression one of worry. She saw Yang Kai and asked, “Alchemist Yang, what about Honoured Master? Why is she not here?”
Yang Kai smiled, “Pavilion Master is very strong, so you don’t need to worry about her, she simply needs to throw off someone before she can converge with us.”
“Throw off someone?” Fan Xin lifted her brow as she seemingly realized something before nodding and leaving.
Yang Kai sensed something at that moment and turned his head to look off into the distance where he saw a graceful figure approaching them at high speed. At first, the silhouette was very distant, but it arrived in front of him in the blink of an eye.
After the light shrouding the figure dimmed, Bing Yun’s features became visible.
“Who goes there?!” Ling Yin Qin and her crew paled. If someone boarded your ship unannounced in the middle of the sea, it was almost always for nefarious purposes, so they immediately prepared themselves for a fight.
When they swept this newcomer with their Divine Senses though, and realized how profound Bing Yun’s cultivation was, their expressions turned to shock, and they no longer dared to act rashly.
They couldn’t gauge the depth of this young woman’s cultivation, but the enormous pressure they felt served as a reminder to act cautiously. After probing her strength, their blood started boiling, and their chests felt heavy. This young woman was a Master they absolutely could not afford to provoke!
“Senior, you’ve come,” Yang Kai said as he cupped his fists.
Bing Yun nodded gently.
“Honoured Master!” Fan Xin and the others from Ice Heart Pavilion also hurried to greet her, each of them in high spirits, as if they’d found their lost courage.
“Senior… Honoured Master…” Ling Yin Qin and her crew were dumbfounded.
Yang Kai was a Third-Order Dao Source Realm cultivator, so he would only call someone ‘Senior’ if they were an Emperor. Moreover, Ling Yin Qin was familiar with Fan Xin and knew that she was a member of Ice Heart Pavilion, so seeing them call this young woman ‘Honoured Master,’ it was easy to guess the latter’s identity.
This young woman was none other than the renowned Ice Heart Pavilion’s Pavilion Master! The only person on Clear Sky Island who could stand on an equal footing with the Island Lord!
Ling Yin Qin and her crew became excited as they looked at Bing Yun in admiration, their trust in Yang Kai increasing even further.
Earlier, when they agreed to leave with him, it was because they were tired of living on Clear Sky Island and decided to take a chance as there didn’t seem to be any other good options, but now, they really saw hope.
If even Ice Heart Pavilion’s Pavilion Master was here, they had nothing to worry about.
“Are these your friends?” Bing Yun looked at Ling Yin Qin and her crew.
Yang Kai said with a smile, “Big Sister Ling and the others helped us quite a bit when Junior Sister and I first arrived here. To repay them for their kindness, I’ve decided to invite them along.”
Bing Yun nodded, “You’re someone who knows how to reciprocate gratitude. They were lucky to meet you.”
Seeing that she was talking about them, Ling Yin Qin stepped forward, her expression one of awe.
She was so anxious that sweat was dripping from the tip of her nose and she could only offer a cautious greeting, “Junior Ling Yin Qin greets Lady Pavilion Master.”
Jiao Yi and the others also hurried to salute Bing Yun, not daring to show any disrespect.
“Since you are Yang Kai’s friends, you don’t need to be overly courteous,” Bing Yun said calmly.
“Many thanks, Lady Pavilion Master!” Ling Yin Qin said gratefully. She didn’t expect the famous Ice Heart Pavilion Master to be this approachable. Moreover, Yang Kai seemed completely relaxed when speaking with her. Ling Yin Qin was unsure how he could keep his calm in this situation.
After a quick comparison, Ling Yin Qin realized that she was far inferior to Yang Kai.
“Senior, did you manage to throw off that old toad?” Yang Kai asked.
According to their plan, Yang Kai was to lead this group and leave by sea first. Then, it would be Bing Yun’s turn to leave Clear Sky Island; after all, Chi Ri would surely notice her departure and would try to chase after her.
Bing Yun was to lure Chi Ri outside, and then make him run in circles before throwing him off and converging with Yang Kai.
As she was here, it meant she’d managed to elude Chi Ri.
Bing Yun nodded and was about to say something when her expression changed. Turning to look in a certain direction, she grit her teeth and snapped, “He is the type that doesn’t feel regret until he sees the coffin!”
An ear-splitting thunderclap echoed. Along with the sound of thunder, a shining ball of fire that looked like a second sun appeared in the sky. It was so dazzling that people couldn’t look at it directly.
Then, great pressure weighed down on everyone, making it look as if the whole sky was about to fall down. All those present were having trouble breathing.
Everyone aboard the ship paled in fright.
When the dazzling light dimmed, two towering figures became visible.
One of the figures was awe-inspiring, albeit somewhat angry at this moment, while the other one was a few paces behind and acted like a servant as he respectfully stood there, a flattering smile on his face.
“The City Lord!” Ling Yin Qin’s pretty face paled when she saw the awe-inspiring, middle-aged man.
Although she’d never seen Chi Ri in person, she had seen his portrait plenty of times; therefore, she immediately became clear as to who this Master was.
“Pang Guang!” Yang Kai was so shocked seeing the man behind Chi Ri that his eyes almost fell from his sockets.
Never would he have expected that Pang Guang would come here with Chi Ri. From his look, it seemed that Chi Ri had already subdued him. The last time they’d met, Pang Guang was seriously injured and was looking for the Heavenly Restoration Lotus in Yang Kai’s cave mansion. Now, although he had yet to fully recover, he looked much better than before, so it was clear he had taken some good pills during this period.
As Chi Ri had already subdued him, it wasn’t strange for him to give Pang Guang some pills and help him treat his wounds.
Pang Guang looked at the people below, with his gaze stopping on Yang Kai for a moment, hatred apparent in his eyes.
If it weren’t for Yang Kai, he wouldn’t have fallen into his current predicament. Although he was much weaker than Chi Ri, he was still an Emperor Realm Master and had his own sense of dignity. If not because he was forced to and had nowhere left to run, he wouldn’t have thrown himself into Chi Ri’s lap and begged for his protection!
The other Emperor Realm Masters on Clear Sky Island were also unable to escape Chi Ri’s influence, but their situation was much better than his. At least, they kept their freedom.
Everything that had befallen Pang Guang was Yang Kai’s fault! If he’d handed over the Heavenly Restoration Lotus back then, Pang Guang wouldn’t be in this situation where he didn’t even have control over his life or death!
He hated Yang Kai so much that not even all the water in this sea could quench the flames of his anger.
“Bing Yun!” Chi Ri suddenly shouted, his deep voice spreading all around. As if it could feel the anger concealed in his voice, the seawater around also began to churn, setting off waves that reached the height of a dozen meters, “Where are you going in such a hurry?”
Bing Yun stood straight, unfazed. She waved her hand and dispersed the pressure exuding from his body as she said calmly, “Wherever this Queen wants to go, it’s her business. What does this have to do with Sir City Lord?”
Chi Ri’s face darkened and he coldly snorted, “Bing Yun, are you thinking of leaving this place?”
“If you already know the answer, why do you need to ask?” Bing Yun said coldly. She had no intention of talking nonsense with him.
“So, you were really planning to leave!” Although he had guessed what she wanted to do, he still couldn’t help getting angry when Bing Yun admitted it. He felt as if Bing Yun had abandoned him, which made him feel uncomfortable and heartbroken.
He restrained his anger and took a deep breath, “Bing Yun, we both know that leaving this place is impossible. What need is there to insist? As long as you are willing to come back and enter into a relationship with this King, I’ll forget everything that happened today. The whole Solitary Void Sealed World will be ours. Isn’t that a wonderful thing?”
Bing Yun shook her head, “I could say the same to you. If you know that something is impossible, what need is there to insist? I don’t want to be your enemy. Please go back.”
Chi Ri flew into a rage, “Are you really going to be so obstinate? Aren’t you afraid that this King will bury you all at sea?!”