Bing Yun’s pupils shrank as she immediately asked, “Is her Life Lamp still burning?”
An Ruo Yun replied, “Yes, so we know Third Junior Sister is still alive; however, we don’t know where.”
“Good,” Bing Yun breathed a sigh of relief.
An Ruo Yun continued, “Fifth Junior Sister… she fell while trying to break through to the Emperor Realm.”
Bing Yun’s tender body trembled a little upon hearing this; however, she regained her calm soon and stated with a sigh, “That is also fate. Little Fifth always had a hurried temperament. I knew that her future would not be smooth.”
An Ruo Yun’s eyes reddened as she blamed herself, “As her Senior Sister, I didn’t take care of her well enough.”
Bing Yun shook her head and comforted, “It has nothing to do with you. What about Little Ninth? Is she… dead or alive?”
An Ruo Yun replied, “Ninth Junior Sister has been in secluded retreat for the past ten years. She said that she won’t exit until she breaks through to the Emperor Realm.”
“Very good,” a slight smile reappeared on Bing Yun’s face. She had left three millennia ago, and among the nine Disciples she had taken in at the time, seven of them had broken through to the Emperor Realm successfully. Among them, An Ruo Yun and Sun Yun Xiu had further lived up to her expectations by reaching the Second-Order Emperor Realm. One of them had already departed and had returned to the Heavens, while the last one, the youngest, Little Ninth, was in a retreat to achieve a breakthrough.
These results were, in truth, spectacular. As a Master, Bing Yun could be the only one in the Star Boundary to achieve such phenomenal results. Who could boast of having so many Disciples break through to the Emperor Realm? One could not help but wonder whether it was her superior mentorship abilities or simply because Ice Heart Valley was an excellent environment for nurturing talent.
“Bing Yun, if you are done reminiscing, can we talk now?” Feng Xuan urged loudly, appearing extremely impatient.
Bing Yun coldly snorted and glanced back at him before snapping, “For these three millennia this Queen has been absent, Sect Master Feng seems to have taken good care of my Ice Heart Valley.”
Her tone carried a strong sarcasm. Obviously, she was very angry about the fact that Seeking Passion Sect bullied her valley while she was away, forcing them to marry their best disciple against her will.
Feng Xuan calmly justified, “You and I represent top Sects in the Northern Territory, so there is no problem with us becoming allies! This King doesn’t think that there is anything wrong with this. Why are you being narrow-minded?”
“Am I narrow-minded or is Sect Master Feng too proud of himself?” Bing Yun replied in a light tone, “You can be considered a Senior Master, yet you feel gratified bullying a few little girls?”
Feng Xuan furrowed his brow and rebuked, “Bing Yun, your tongue is as sharp as ever. This King isn’t going to argue with you! Today, this King is here for two things, one is to let my son marry Zi Yu, and the other is to take back the Blood Jade Qilin! Bing Yun, please cooperate in these matters for the sake of our old friendship!”
Bing Yun coldly smiled as she raised her jade finger and quickly spoke, “Let this Queen make it clear to you. First, Zi Yu is my Ice Heart Valley’s top disciple, I will never let her marry your waste of a son, so perish this thought entirely. Second, I have no opinion about your Blood Jade Qilin, if you want it back, take it yourself, and if you can’t, then scram out of Ice Moon City as soon as possible, lest you lose face in front of the heroes of the Northern Territory and find it difficult to even show yourself in public again!”
Bing Yun taking an unyielding stance caught Feng Xuan by surprise.
Hu Yun and the others were even more terrified as they felt a faint oppression fill the air, like mountains were pressing down on them.
It seemed these two Masters had reached an impasse, and by the looks of it, a fight might break out. Once that happened, Ice Moon City would definitely be wiped from existence and who knows whether anyone could retreat safely. A fire at the city gates always brings disaster to the fish in the moat, so many were now considering whether they should take this opportunity to leave, lest they became those very fish
Feng Xuan sunk into a long silence before he pursed his lips into a sarcastic smile and stated, “This boy is not your illegitimate child is he? Is that why you are defending him so staunchly?”
Once he said this, An Ruo Yun and the others had a sharp change in their expressions. A Master of Feng Xuan’s stature was actually trying to soil Bing Yun’s reputation in front of so many people with such slanderous lies! Clearly he had ulterior, wicked motives here.
All of a sudden, the Ice Heart Valley Elders all became infuriated, grinding their teeth as they glared at Feng Xuan, wishing they could pounce at him and bite him to death.
To everyone’s surprise, however, Bing Yun didn’t seem to be angered in the slightest. On the contrary, she looked at Yang Kai with profound meaning and calmly stated, “If this Queen could have such an heir, then I would have no regrets in life.”
Feng Xuan was immediately dumbfounded.
An Ruo Yun and the others were jaw slacked, gawking at their Master in shock.
What did she mean by this? Was she secretly admitting it was true? This young man wouldn’t really happen to be Bing Yun’s bastard son? If that wasn’t the case, why didn’t she get angry and even go so far as to say such words?
For a moment, everyone’s gaze turned a little different when they looked at Yang Kai, as if he was now bearing the brand of Ice Heart Valley.
Yang Kai couldn’t help breaking out into a cold sweat as he bitterly looked at Bing Yun and stammered, “Senior, if you put it in this way, others might misunderstand.”
Bing Yun smiled and replied, “I just spoke thoughtlessly, don’t take it to heart.”
She didn’t mean to deliberately take advantage of Yang Kai; however, she knew that Feng Xuan was simply trying to anger her, destabilizing her mood to gain an advantage. As such, she simply chose the best option to maintain her calm.
“It seems that this brat is deeply related to you!” Feng Xuan immediately realized that the relationship between Bing Yun and Yang Kai was a bit unusual. Otherwise, Bing Yun wouldn’t ignore her reputation and say something like this.
“But even if he is really your illegitimate child, the Blood Jade Qilin must be handed to me today. Otherwise, don’t blame this King for being ruthless!” Feng Xuan sternly shouted as he suddenly took a step forward.
The entire world quaked with this step, as if it was surrendering to him.
The residents of Ice Moon City felt even more suffocated now as the pressure around them increased noticeably.
Yang Kai’s face turned slightly pale as he held the Blood Jade Qilin up high and shouted frantically, “This Young Master is quite timid! Senior Feng Xuan, please don’t frighten me! If this Young Master were to panic, he might just destroy this thing in his hand.”
Everyone was rendered speechless after hearing this, secretly thinking in their hearts, [Boy, if you can be considered timid, then there isn’t anyone in the world who can be considered courageous!]
While speaking, Yang Kai pushed his Source Qi and suddenly, a slight cracking sound came from the Blood Jade Qilin.
Seeing this, Feng Xi’s eyes bulged in shock as he cried in shock, “Father, he really intends to ruin the Blood Jade Qilin!”
“Stop!” Feng Xuan also sternly shouted, “If you dare to destroy it, I will let you know the meaning of a death without a burial!”
Yang Kai shouted, “Aiya, aiya, this Young Master just said he was extremely timid! Why is Senior scaring me so? I’m so afraid to die!”
While speaking, he pushed his Source Qi harder, causing many more cracks to sound from the Blood Jade Qilin.
Feng Xuan’s breath stopped at the sight of this and his face turned blue.
The Blood Jade Qilin wasn’t a treasure of any kind, or even that valuable; however, it was indeed the status symbol of the Seeking Passion Sect Young Sect Master’s wife. Because every generation of Seeking Passion Sect Young Sect Master would have many wives and concubines, only the one holding the Blood Jade Qilin could be considered his legitimate wife. This woman would take care of the harem on behalf of the Young Sect Master, so that the Young Sect Master would cultivate in peace and not be affected by his women’s internal troubles.
If such a symbol was destroyed before everyone’s eyes, it would be tantamount to a slap right across Seeking Passion Sect’s face.
Seeing that intimidation wasn’t working, Feng Xuan had no choice but to take a deep breath and withdraw his aura. He then said with an extremely unsightly look on his face, “Boy, what do you want?”
Yang Kai replied, snorting, “I have already given you the conditions. Why would Senior Feng knowingly ask me again?”
“You still dare to ask for a billion Mid-Rank Source Crystals!?” Feng Xuan angrily snapped. A billion Source Crystals might be nothing to Seeking Passion Sect, but if he gave in to Yang Kai’s blackmail here, Feng Xuan would be extremely disgraced.
Yang Kai narrowed his eyes and asked, “Then how much does Senior think he can pay?”
“At most a hundred million! Boy, don’t try to reach out for a yard after taking an inch!” Feng Xuan snorted and replied.
“Alright, a hundred million then, this Young Master is a very easy-going person!” Yang Kai pursed his lips into a smile.
Everyone was stunned by his reaction. They had never expected for Yang Kai to actually agree; after all, he had tried to take the lion’s share just now. Furthermore, he was completely lawless and unafraid before, so everyone thought that he would definitely blackmail Seeking Passion Sect into giving him the full billion Source Crystals. Inferring from how much importance Feng Xuan attached to the Blood Jade Qilin, as long as Yang Kai insisted, he could easily get his hands on a billion Source Crystals. No one had expected him to compromise without even bargaining.
Was he scared? Young people are always hot-blooded, but they do tend to calm down when they become frightened.
However, a mere Third-Order Dao Source Realm cultivator actually dared to blackmail the Seeking Passion Sect’s Sect Master for a hundred million Source Crystals. No one knew if there would be such an occurrence in the future, but it was surely a first in history.
“Senior Bing Yun, can I trouble you a little?” Yang Kai suddenly asked, turning her head and looking back at Bing Yun.
Bing Yun had no idea what scheme he was cooking up this time, so she suspiciously asked, “What do you want me to do?”
Yang Kai took the Blood Jade Qilin in his hand and replied while making a slicing motion, “Senior Feng Xuan is only willing to pay a tenth of the price I asked, so obviously I can only give him a tenth of this item. Senior, can you cut this thing down by one-tenth. All business has to be fair and just, never taking advantage of others nor allowing them to take advantage of us!”
Bin Yun was secretly amused by this as only Yang Kai could come up with such a wicked idea. However, in public she quietly glared at him before summoning a sword as white as snow into her hand, appearing as if she was about to cut a piece off the Blood Jade Qilin.
Yang Kai looked up at Feng Xuan and asked with a cold smile, “Senior, I wonder whether you are satisfied with this?”
Infuriated, Feng Xuan almost spurted blood. Before he could say anything, Yang Kai added, “If Senior can come up with five hundred million, then I will ask Senior Bing Yun to cut this in half. How much Senior can get will depend on how many Source Crystals he can offer. I am very fair, so… how much of it do you want?”
Feng Xuan’s blood boiled with rage as he almost gasped for breath.
He felt that he had never been so infuriated in his entire life, andthe all of this was thanks to the little bastard before him!
Hu Yuan and the others were secretly growing apprehensive as they worried in their hearts, [This young man is truly cruel. He is still insisting on stealing a billion Source Crystals from Feng Xuan. If he really cuts a tenth, or even a half off of it, will this Blood Jade Qilin still hold any meaning?]
However… by offending Seeking Passion Sect like this, Yang Kai would surely pay a terrible price! He would not be able to survive unless he really was Bing Yun’s illegitimate son!
“Father, the Blood Jade Qilin Seal cannot be destroyed!” Feng Xi cried in shock.
“Shut up!” Feng Xuan snapped back, glaring at Feng Xi with a look of hatred. He suddenly realized there was a huge disparity between his son and the young man before him.
[Is it because I have spoiled him too much?] Feng Xuan secretly reflected.
Yang Kai added, “It seems that Senior Feng cannot afford a billion Mid-Rank Source Crystals. Ha… I take back what I just said about Seeking Passion Sect having multiple businesses and being rich. This Young Master, this country bumpkin, was hoping to have my eyes opened, but who would have thought… tsk tsk tsk, Senior Bing Yun, since they can’t afford it, let’s cut it!”
Bing Yun lightly nodded before raising her sword.
Feng Xuan immediately turned livid and hastily shouted, “Alright, a billion then!”
It was just a billion Mid-Rank Source Crystals, so it wasn’t that he couldn’t pay it, he was simply reluctant to agree because he didn’t want to let Yang Kai lead him by the nose. Regardless of anything else, Feng Xuan was a Third-Order Emperor Realm Master, so it was disgraceful to be manipulated by Yang Kai before so many people. But now, he was at his wits’ end and had to agree even if he didn’t want to.
“Good, Senior Feng is a decisive man. This Young Master appreciates people with such sturdy character!” Yang Kai broke out into laughter.
As soon as he said this, even someone as indifferent as Bing Yun found her brow twitching, wondering just how he was able to spout such nonsense.
Feng Xuan’s face turned colder as he stated, “This King can give you one billion Mid-Rank Source Crystals, but this King has one more condition.
Yang Kai immediately snorted and rebuked, “I guess Senior Feng hasn’t woken up yet! Do you think you are qualified to bargain with this Young Master? Pay up the Source Crystals first, we can discuss other things later.”
Feng Xuan mockingly looked at him and asked, “Why are you refusing the condition so vehemently when you have not listened to this King’s proposal?”
Yang Kai disdainfully replied, “A dog’s mouth can’t spit ivory, I don’t want to listen, it’s that simple.” While speaking, he stretched his hand out toward Feng Xuan and beckoned, “Pay the money with one hand and take your thing with the other, don’t dilly dally.”
Feng Xuan, barely holding in his anger, stated in an indifferent manner, “My son ate a loss at your hands last night. Youngsters need to pick themselves up from where they fall. As such, my son wants to challenge you today. I wonder whether Little Brother has the courage to agree or not?”
As if acting in concert with his words, Feng Xi took a step forward, condescendingly looking down at Yang Kai. There was a look of disdain in his eyes and all that trembling and fear from last night was nowhere to be seen.
Feng Xi didn’t think Yang Kai was strong at all, believing instead that the reason he suffered so much the night before was because Yang Kai was a fox pretending to be a tiger, borrowing the power and influence of the group of Ice Heart Valley Emperor Realm Masters. He felt that he and Yang Kai had never properly faced each other head-on.
As the Young Sect Master of Seeking Passion Sect, he had learned the most powerful Secret Arts and Secret Techniques in the world, and had the most powerful artifacts. He simply had no opponents in the same realm.
One on one, Feng Xi was confident that he wouldn’t lose to anyone.
Last night and today, Seeking Passion Sect could be considered to have lost a great deal of face. If he wanted to regain some of what he lost, Feng Xi could only get it back from Yang Kai, the root cause of all this.
It was impossible for Feng Xuan and Yao Zhuo to directly make a move against Yang Kai as once they tried to, Ice Heart Valley’s Emperors wouldn’t sit idly by, which would directly trigger a war between the two Sects.
The only other option left was to let Feng Xi challenge Yang Kai and then kill him in front of everyone, regaining Seeking Passion Sect’s lost face.
Obviously, Feng Xi knew what his father was thinking, so even though the father and son duo had not discussed in advance, the former hurriedly stepped forward with a look of provocation on his face.
Yang Kai glanced at Feng Xi as he stated, pursing his lips into a smile, “Young Sect Master, it seems you might not be Sect Master Feng’s real son.”
Feng Xi was momentarily stupefied, but in the next moment, he snapped back in anger, “Bastard, all you know is how to use your tongue!”
Yang Kai disdainfully rebuked, “If you were his real son, why would Senior Feng be so impatient to send you to your death?”
Feng Xi’s face turned ashen as he argued back, “How dare you look down on this Young Master!? If you really have the ability, why don’t we see who is stronger and who is weaker in the ring!? The winner will marry Zi Yu and the loser will leave the Northern Territory rolling on the ground, never to return!”
A dissatisfied Zi Yu immediately intervened, frowning slightly, “What does this have to do with me?”
Feng Xi was really something. He is actually trying to drag Zi Yu into this without any rhyme or reason, an infuriating prospect. However, when Zi Yu recalled how Yang Kai had proclaimed that the two of them had secretly pledged their lives to one another a long time ago before so many people last night, Zi Yu suddenly understood that Feng Xi was acting out of blind jealousy.
But that was just an excuse. After everything was over, her dozen or so Martial Aunts hadn’t brought this matter up again as it was obvious to them it was all just nonsense. Only Feng Xi took it seriously, making everyone worry about the mental capacity of this young man.
Just based on this fact alone, it was impossible for Zi Yu to wish to marry Feng Xi.
“First pay up the Source Crystals. Senior Feng won’t be going back on his word, right?” Yang Kai ignored Feng Xi’s provocation and shouted at Feng Xuan, turning his attention back to him.
Feng Xuan sneered as he took out an already prepared Space Ring, “The Source Crystals are all here, but why is Little Brother diverting the topic? Are you afraid of my son? If you are afraid, then apologize to him. My son’s upbringing is pretty good, he may forgive you.”
“First pay me the Source Crystals. We can talk about it after that!” Yang Kai impatiently exhorted.
Feng Xuan coldly snorted as he threw the Space Ring, grimacing.
Yang Kai immediately caught it and scanned it with his Divine Sense, his face immediately lighting up with joy.
Rather than one billion Mid-Rank Source Crystals in the ring, there were five million High-Rank Source Crystals and 500 million Mid-Rank Source Crystals, which was exactly one billion if converted into Mid-Rank Source Crystals.
[It seems Seeking Passion Sect is indeed extremely wealthy, they paid out one billion Source Crystals just like that.] Suddenly, Yang Kai started to regret not asking for a higher price; after all, judging by Feng Xuan’s appearance, he should be able to pay out more.
Confirming that the number of Source Crystals were as agreed, Yang Kai threw the Blood Jade Qilin back.
Feng Xuan caught it and tossed it to Feng Xi right away, without so much as taking a single glance. He then indifferently stated, “If you lose it again, you won’t be the Young Sect Master anymore.”
Feng Xi’s face immediately changed and he hurriedly promised, “Lord Father, rest assured. Your son will definitely take good care of it and never lose it again.”
Feng Xuan lightly nodded before he turned his gaze back to Yang Kai and asked, “What do you think about my previous proposal?”
Yang Kai coldly laughed, “Senior, I think you are eager to send your son to his grave! It seems he is really not your real son, but I suppose that’s not a surprise seeing how Senior has countless wives and concubines. Your energy is limited, so it is inevitable that you can’t take care of all of them alone. It’s very normal for Madams to go out and occasionally find other ways to soothe their loneliness.”
Hearing this, a strange look appeared on the faces of Hu Yuan and the others. It was clear they were all trying to stifle their laughter as they didn’t dare to make a scene in front of Feng Xuan.
In this world, who would dare to talk to Feng Xuan like this? By saying this, Yang Kai was making Feng Xuan wear a green hat! Everyone had no choice but to refresh their insight on Yang Kai’s boldness, feeling equal parts admiration and shock for him.
They were all a little afraid that Yang Kai would completely infuriate Feng Xuan, and an enraged Third-Order Emperor Realm Master would be a disaster.
“Little brat, how dare you!” Feng Xuan was furious. No man would be able to remain calm if someone said something like this about them.
Yang Kai sternly rebuked, “Didn’t Senior Feng happily slander Senior Bing Yun just now? But now, when you were slandered, you suddenly turned hostile? Senior, I guess you haven’t cultivated your temperament that well, it is simply worlds apart from Senior Bing Yun.”
Feng Xuan was taken aback when he heard this; however, he quickly regained his calm and no longer showed any irritation and anger. On the contrary, a calm and composed look had appeared on his face. Obviously, he had fully controlled his mental state.
After maintaining a straight face for a while, Feng Xuan indifferently stated, “In any case, a battle between you and Xi’er will happen today!”
Yang Kai let out a cold snort before agreeing, “Since Senior is being so unreasonable and playing the bully, then this Young Master… has no choice but to reluctantly agree.”
A mere Feng Xi wasn’t really worth his attention. Even if Feng Xi had some ace up his sleeves, Yang Kai was confident that he could escape.
Considering all this, Yang Kai asked Bing Yun in a low voice, “Is it okay if I kill him?”
Bing Yun furrowed her brow lightly. She didn’t doubt Yang Kai’s words in the slightest as she had a good idea how powerful he was. Even Emperor Realm Masters had lost their lives at Yang Kai’s hands, so no matter how strong Feng Xi was, he couldn’t be stronger than them! Still, she pondered for a moment before replying, “If you can spare him, it would be better. If Feng Xi was killed by you in front of everyone, Feng Xuan would definitely not let it go. Although my Ice Heart Valley isn’t afraid of him, once the two Sects start fighting, countless disciples will lose their lives. The gains would not outweigh the losses.”
“Understood,” Yang Kai nodded, the next moment a wicked smile spreading across his face as he muttered, “Then half dead it is.”
Hearing this, Bing Yun looked at Feng Xi, who was proudly posturing, with a sliver of sympathy.
On another note, when everyone saw Yang Kai readily agree to Feng Xi’s challenge, a strange look appeared on their faces. Even the faces of the Ice Heart Valley Elders were filled with worry and concern. Although they didn’t know how strong Yang Kai was, Feng Xi was Seeking Passion Sect’s Young Sect Master, so there was no question about his strength.
If it was Zi Yu, even she might not be able to retreat unharmed from a battle with Feng Xi. Could Yang Kai be stronger than her?
Hu Yuan and the others, on the other hand, were very excited. They weren’t excited because of the fight between two Third-Order Dao Source Realm Masters. All of them were Emperors, so how could a fight between Dao Source Realm Juniors excite them? They were excited because this way, the conflict between the two great forces, Ice Heart Valley and Seeking Passion Sect, might be resolved. They didn’t have to worry about this leading to mayhem consuming the Northern Territory. They were all hoping for this. Therefore, they were a little grateful to Yang Kai for agreeing to this battle.
Everyone could tell that Yang Kai could care less about this battle, and that Feng Xuan was being completely unreasonable. He was simply oppressing others with force to save face.
At this point, Hu Yuan hurriedly suggested, “I remember that there is a ready-made ring in the city. If you don’t mind, why don’t we take this there?
Feng Xuan lightly nodded and agreed, “Since that’s the case, let’s go.”
While speaking, Emperor Qi surged from his body as his figure disappeared the next moment, along with Feng Xi. Yan Zhou gave a cold glare at Yang Kai before he left with a look of ridicule on his face.
“Master, is this alright? How about we let Zi Yu face him? Feng Xi would not dare to kill Zi Yu. Furthermore, he and Zi Yu are almost on par in terms of strength, she will make a worthy opponent for him,” Sun Yun Xiu was a straightforward person who always spoke her mind. She could care less about Yang Kai’s feelings and was clearly stating that he wasn’t Feng Xi’s opponent. Even implying he would die if he went up.
Zi Yu, hearing this, also agreed with a nod, “Ancestral Founder, I am not afraid of him! He is just an embroidered pillow, he has no great skills to back himself up.”
Before Bing Yun could say anything, Yang Kai broke out into laughter and stated, “Junior Sister Yu, I’m very grateful for your kindness, but since he is an embroidered pillow, then I don’t need to be afraid of him at all. Just watch how your Senior Brother beats him black and blue to the point that his wives would not recognize him!”
Zi Yu couldn’t help but giggle after hearing this.
Bing Yun immediately scolded, “Don’t underestimate your enemy. I know a little about your prowess and am certain Feng Xi is not your opponent, but know that when Feng Xuan reached the Third-Order Emperor Realm, he also congealed an Emperor Authority Bead just like me. If that Emperor Authority Bead happened to be with Feng Xi, you must force the battle into a quick end, ensuring he doesn’t have any chance to use it.”
Yang Kai couldn’t help but furrow his brow after hearing this.
He wasn’t afraid of Feng Xi’s personal prowess and skill, but he had no alternative but to be vigilant of an Emperor Authority Bead. Yang Kai had used Emperor Authority Beads twice himself, and each time, they displayed incredible might. If an Emperor Authority Bead was really taken out by Feng Xi, Yang Kai would really not be his opponent.
Considering all this, Yang Kai nodded and replied, “I will remember it.”
“But you don’t have to worry about it too much. If he really uses the Emperor Authority Bead, I will intervene,” Bing Yun added.
Yang Kai immediately grinned and stated, “With Senior Bing Yun’s word, I can rest assured.”
“Let’s go then. If we let them wait for too long, they will start slandering again,” suggested Bing Yun as she led everyone towards the heart of Ice Moon City.
The commotion here had already alarmed all of Ice Moon City’s cultivators and while many people might be oblivious to the facts at this moment, everyone knew that the Young Sect Master of Seeking Passion Sect, Feng Xi would be fighting an unknown young cultivator in the city’s battle stage.
Almost all the cultivators in Ice Moon City rushed toward the arena, and by the time Yang Kai, Bing Yun, and the others from Ice Heart Valley arrived, the stands were already completely jam-packed.
The ring was quite impressive. It seemed that the City Lord of Ice Moon City had specially set it up for the cultivators to solve their enmities and grievances. This ring was covered by powerful barriers so that the cultivators could freely bring out their entire strength without worrying about causing damage to the arena or the audience.
The ring was also fairly wide, with a radius of a thousand metres in an oval shape. It was surrounded by a circular grandstand with multiple levels so that it was convenient for the people to spectate.
At this moment, all the seats on the stands were completely filled. Be that as it may, more and more people were coming from all directions to enjoy the battle.
Feng Xi was already standing at the centre of the ring with an indifferent sneer hanging on his lips. There was an enigmatic and arrogant look on his face.
After seeing Yang Kai’s figure, he gestured to Yang Kai, slowly sliding his thumb across his neck, expressing that he wanted to kill Yang Kai.
“Be careful!” Bing Yun’s warning rang in Yang Kai’s ear again.
Yang Kai lightly nodded before his figure flickered and he shot straight towards the ring, landing just one hundred metres away from Feng Xi before he shot a light gaze at him.
All the spectators around the ring broke into an uproar, pointing their fingers at Yang Kai, curiously staring at him. All of them were wondering who he was, where he was from, and what gave him the guts to stand against Seeking Passion Sect Young Sect Master on the ring.
Some busybodies then began to spread word of what happened outside the inn just now.
When everyone came to know that Yang Kai had robbed a billion Mid-Rank Source Crystals from the hands of Seeking Passion Sect’s Sect Master himself, and even snatched the Space Rings of the Vice Sect Master and Young Sect Master last night, they immediately became excited.
Most of the cultivators living in Ice Moon City favoured Ice Heart Valley, so they didn’t like the Seeking Passion Sect. As such, when they heard that three members of Seeking Passion Sect had suffered huge losses at Yang Kai’s hands, they were quite jovial.
Their cheers and discussion crashed into Feng Xi’s ears like tidal waves, and an extremely unsightly look appeared on his face. His emotions were inevitably affected.
Up in the stands, Feng Xuan, who was calmly watching, happened to have sensed this and coldly snorted, “Xi’er, if you can’t thrash this little brat today, you will no longer be the Young Sect Master. But if you did thrash him, I guarantee that you will marry that girl, Zi Yu!”
Hearing this, Feng Xi’s blood immediately started boiling and his face flushed a little as he proudly shouted, “Lord Father, rest assured, your son will live up to your expectations. I will use this brat’s blood and soul to wash our Sect’s shame. I will let him know the fate of offending people who shouldn’t be offended!”
“Very good! Act with a free hand, there is no need to hold back!” Feng Xuan nodded, satisfied.
On the ring, a grim and ruthless look appeared on Feng Xi’s face as he stated, coldly gazing at Yang Kai, “Little brat, you heard what my Lord Father said. If you don’t want to suffer, kneel down and kowtow right now. This Young Master guarantees that I will give you a quick death. Refuse and…”
Before he could finish speaking, the nearby Yang Kai suddenly disappeared.
Feng Xi was shocked and promptly spread out his Divine Sense to scan his surroundings, but even then he failed to sense Yang Kai’s position. It was like Yang Kai had disappeared into thin air without any trace. Feng Xi hadn’t even seen how exactly Yang Kai moved just now.
Just when he was filled with suspicion, Feng Xi’s instincts began screaming in alarm and without a moment of hesitation, he pushed his Source Qi wildly and summoned an oval light shield around himself, enveloping him completely like a protective shield.
This was an extremely high-grade defensive artifact for sure. Furthermore, it had no dead angle, covering all sides.
Just as Feng Xi activated the defensive artifact, Yang Kai appeared right in front of him like a ghost and punched out, a mocking look hanging on his face.
Just as he fired the punch, it set off a huge storm and the world itself seemed to shake.
Feng Xi immediately turned aghast.
With a thunderous boom, the entire arena rocked.
Feng Xi felt like a mountain had smashed into him and an overwhelming force struck him right in the chest, sending his blood and Qi into turmoil. An unbearable pain filled his body as he was sent flying.
The defensive shield also caved in from the might of this punch and even gave off a crisp cracking sound.
Feng Xi’s face immediately changed when he heard this and hastily looked up to find a metre-long crack on his Dao Source Grade High-Rank defensive artifact!
He immediately turned pale as dread rose from the depths of his heart.
This was a Dao Source Grade High-Rank defensive artifact that, once activated, allowed its user to stand perfectly still and let any cultivator of the same realm attack him for ten breaths without breaking.
But now, this precious artifact began to crack with just one punch! If Yang Kai delivered another punch, wouldn’t it be completely destroyed?
Feng Xuan up in the stands fiercely stood up, his eyes bulging as his face filled with shock.
He was a Third-Order Emperor Realm Master, so the moment Yang Kai made his move, Feng Xuan realized that there was something wrong. This brat was far from an ordinary Dao Source Realm Master, and his son was completely not his opponent.
“So fast! So strong! Is this boy even human!?” Hu Yuan too cried out in shock.
“Feng Xi was sent flying with a single punch! Where did this boy come from!?”
“What do you think? He shouldn’t really be Sect Master Bing Yun’s…”
“Are you courting death!? Sir Feng Xuan might say so, but you!?”
All the Emperors Realm Masters were knowledgeable and experienced, so this one exchange was enough for them to tell that Feng Xi was completely outclassed by Yang Kai. Whether it was in terms of momentum or strength, Yang Kai had already left Feng Xi in the dust. His victory was just a matter of time.
Ice Heart Valley’s members were also taken aback at this moment. They had been filled with anxiety for Yang Kai earlier and were extremely worried about what might happen to him once he stepped into the ring, but after they saw this display, they knew that their worries were all superfluous. This Yang Kai was far stronger than Zi Yu.
The only thing they were wondering was whether it was just a momentary outburst or whether he still had strength in reserve.
The women quietly turned to look at Bing Yun, but they only saw a light, indifferent look on her face. She didn’t seem to be worrying for Yang Kai in the slightest. Only then did they realize their Ancestral Founder had long anticipated this result.
Sun Yun Xiu, when she recalled her proposal of letting Zi Yu go up instead of Yang Kai, felt her cheeks turning a bit red and hot.
“You dare to blabber on during a life-and-death match? Just watch how this Young Master smashes your mouth!” On the ring, Yang Kai relentlessly chased after Feng Xi, his fists covered in a five-coloured glow. Five Elemental Indestructible Sword Qi kept pouring out of his fists and there was not a sliver of hesitation in his attacks.
Unsure if Feng Xi had an Emperor Authority Beat on him, Yang Kai forwent all notion of hiding his strength and decided to quickly end this fight, eliminating Feng Xi as soon as possible. As such, he had no intention of holding back.
As Yang Kai kept ruthlessly punching, the Five Elements Sword Qi on his fists mutually promoted one another, filling his attacks with ferocious and ever-changing might.
With Yang Kai’s current strength, he didn’t even need to take out any artifacts to deal with the cultivators of the same realm.
Feng Xi staggered backwards as he watched Yang Kai’s punch coming closer and closer, and feeling the terrifying power behind it, he immediately turned aghast. He had already felt Yang Kai’s horror first hand from the first blow which had cracked his defensive artifact. If another punch landed, his artifact would surely be destroyed, and at that time, even if he didn’t die, he would be critically wounded.
Feng Xi wanted to use his final trump card, but he suddenly found that his vitality and Source Qi were in chaos and he was unable to mobilize his strength properly. Petrified, he hastily shouted at the top of his lungs, “Lord Father, save me!”
In just ten breaths, he had already lost his previous confidence. He was now like a bereaved dog who was begging for help from his owner.
Up in the stands, Fang Xuan too had realized the situation had turned dire. The moment Feng Xi yelled, he had already made his move, stretching out his hand to grab Yang Kai.
No matter what, he couldn’t let his son be killed in front of so many people.
Bing Yun saw this and immediately sneered, “Feng Xuan, in these three thousand years I didn’t see you, your skin has grown much thicker. Aren’t you embarrassed to intervene in a battle between Juniors?”
While speaking, she lithely and casually palmed towards Feng Xuan.
“Bing Yun, do you really want to make an enemy out of this King!?” Feng Xuan was infuriated, but he was still forced to pull back his hand to defend. Bing Yun was a Master of equal strength, so he would be injured if he didn’t mount any kind of defence, and if he was injured here, Seeking Passion Sect would be in serious trouble.
The two attacks clashed mid-air and annihilated one another, causing a terrifying explosion that set countless spectators in the arena trembling. Some of those with weaker cultivation even directly fainted from the fallout of this peak level exchange.
In the arena, Yang Kai was as fierce as a tiger and was emanating a lofty spirit. His two punches destroyed Feng Xi’s defensive artifact, leaving Feng Xi reeling in shock and coughing up blood, again and again, cutting a sorry figure.
Before Feng Xi could regain his footing, Yang Kai promptly caught up to him and sent out a third punch.
Feng Xi’s eyes widened in shock as he felt an aura of death blowing on his face, turning him pale.
He realized that he had greatly underestimated Yang Kai’s strength. As soon as Yang Kai made his move, Feng Xi had lost all chance to fight back. Had Feng Xi been aware of this great gap in strength from the start, he would have resorted to his trump card from the outset. Originally, he believed that there wasn’t any gap between his and Yang Kai’s strength, or if there was, it would be his strength that overwhelmed Yang Kai’s. It was simply impossible in his mind for Yang Kai to be his opponent. But now, it seemed that nothing could be farther from the truth.
Feng Xi, watching the fist approaching, held his breath as his pupils shrank to the size of a pinhole.
At that moment though, something suddenly changed.
The attacking Yang Kai’s face abruptly sank, as if he had suffered a sneak attack. He fiercely pulled his fist back before withdrawing, a moment later focusing his gaze on the back of his hand with a serious expression.
The aura of death vanished all of a sudden. However, Feng Xi cried out in surprise as he turned his gaze to his own arm. The next moment, he understood what just happened and immediately looked overjoyed.
On the other side, Yang Kai’s eyes widened in shock as his gaze was glued to the back of his hand.
Earlier, right as he was about to smash Feng Xi’s face in, a scorching-hot sensation came from the back of his hand. He thought that he was sneak-attacked by someone, so he halted his attack on Feng Xi and hastily backed off, prioritizing his own safety.
Anyone who could sneak attack him without him noticing was definitely an Emperor Realm Master.
What he found strange was that Bing Yun hadn’t seemed to notice.
However, after backing away and investigating things, Yang Kai found that the situation was different from what he thought. The back of his hand was still burning, but there weren’t any signs of him being attacked. The back of his hand grew hotter and hotter, as if he had plunged it into a pool of lava.
Just as Yang Kai was feeling sceptical about it and was lost in confusion, Feng Xi, who was on the other side of the ring, suddenly screamed as if he was in unbearable pain.
Yang Kai looked up and noticed Feng Xi was covering his arm with his other hand, gritting his teeth as he roared.
Not only was he like this, but cries could be heard coming from all around the arena.
[What happened?] A serious look appeared on Yang Kai’s face. Confused, he turned in the direction where the members of Ice Heart Valley were sitting and found Zi Yu was also covering her arm, profusely sweating.
However, Yang Kai keenly discovered a problem. And that was, everyone, who had encountered this odd phenomenon, was young, and there weren’t many of them. Only about a dozen or so people present, males and females, were reacting in this manner. Furthermore, all of them were Dao Source Realm cultivators.
The same thing was happening in the stands, which had also surprised those in the Emperor Realm. No one had any idea what happened to these Juniors. Bing Yuan also stopped focusing on Feng Xuan and hurriedly looked at Yang Kai with concern.
An Ruo Yun, Sun Yun Xiu, and the others gathered around Zi Yu, asking about the situation.
Before they could figure out what was going on though, specs of starlight emerged from the back of those dozen or so youngsters’ hands. It looked as if countless fireflies had gathered around and slowly flew towards the sky, a beautiful sight to behold.
“This is…” Bing Yun’s beautiful pupils narrowed, as if she understood everything at once.
The Masters of the various Sects of the Northern Territory were also shaking with excitement, their lips quivering as they pointed at these points of starlight.
At some point, the burning sensation at the back of his hand suddenly disappeared, and when Yang Kai looked down at it again, he found a pentagonal mark on the back of his hand.
An intelligent gleam flashed in his mind as he cried in low voice, “Star Seal!”
The pentagonal mark was obviously the Star Seal of the Shattered Star Sea, one of his spoils of war from the Four Seasons Realm.
Back then, when he took one of the quotas from Azure Sun Temple and entered the Four Seasons Realm, Yang Kai had collected a total of seven Star Seals. Later, he gave six to Azure Sun Temple and kept the last five-pointed Star Seal for himself.
Such a long time had passed, but the Star Seal had shown no movement, so Yang Kai had basically forgotten about it.
However, he had never expected a phenomenon to suddenly appear at the critical moment of his life and death battle with Feng Xi.
The Star Seal was the pass to enter the Shattered Star Sea. More importantly, the Shattered Star Sea was rumoured to be the place where the strongest Master of Star Boundary, Heaven Devouring Great Emperor, fell. Some rumours even said that the inheritance of Heaven Devouring Great Emperor was hidden there, which was also why untold Masters flocked towards it.
Unfortunately, every time the Shattered Star Sea opened, Emperor Realm Masters could not enter. Only those below the Emperor Realm were permitted entry.
It had already been tens of thousands of years since Heavenly Devouring Great Emperor fell, and over these countless years, Sects from all four territories of the Star Boundary had sent countless elite disciples into the Shattered Star Sea, hoping to find Heaven Devouring Great Emperor’s inheritance so they could understand why he was able to dominate the Star Boundary in the past, why he was invincible in this world. However, no one had ever succeeded.
The secrets of Heaven Devouring Great Emperor seemed to have been buried somewhere in the Shattered Star Sea following his death.
If it was just this, it might not have many cultivators; after all, there was only one Heaven Devouring Great Emperor and only one inheritance. How could it be that easy to find and acquire?
What attracted most entrants was the countless shattered Star Sources in the Shattered Star Sea. As long as any cultivator could obtain those Star Source fragments, he or she could better comprehend World Principles and improve the chances of them breaking through to the Emperor Realm.
According to some rumours, seven out of every ten Emperor Realm Masters in the Star Boundary had entered the Shattered Star Sea. It was quite clear how much influence this Sealed World had on cultivators advancing to such a realm.
For Dao Source Realm cultivators, entering the Shattered Star Sea was equivalent to putting one foot into the Emperor Realm. No cultivator could resist such temptation.
Many Emperor Realm Masters had been trying to find the entrance to the Shattered Star Sea, hoping to gain a deeper understanding of it.
However, when the several Great Emperors besieged Heaven Devouring Great Emperor, that world shattered. The Heavens and Earth were inverted and devastated the Shattered Star Sea, sending it into the infinite nothingness of the Void, making it impossible for such Masters to enter it freely, or even locate it. During that battle, Heaven Devouring Emperor fell, but he also dragged several Great Emperors down with him.
In other words, the Shattered Star Sea didn’t just have the inheritance of Heaven Devouring Great Emperor, but also the inheritances of other Great Emperors! And even if they couldn’t find the inheritance of a Great Emperor, it would be good enough to find the artifacts or Space Rings lost during that war. If anyone could find such a treasure, they would no longer have to worry about resources for the rest of their life.
For various reasons, the attention on the Shattered Star Sea in the Star Boundary had far exceeded that of any other Sealed World. It was a grand event in which all the elites of the four territories of the Star Boundary participated.
Compared to it, the Four Seasons Realm was a small side-show.
When the Star Seal suddenly started emitting specks of starlight, Yang Kai immediately understood what was going on.
“The Shattered Star Sea is opening!” A cry of excitement suddenly rose from the stands and many Emperor Realm Masters also stood in excitement.
Yang Kai grit his teeth and glared at the nearby Feng Xi, sneering loudly, “Count yourself lucky!”
Had it not been for the sudden movement of the Star Seal, Feng Xi would have been seriously injured by him. Who knows which lucky star shone on this brat today, but it had allowed him to escape at that critical moment.
Since his Star Seal had already shown a reaction, Yang Kai didn’t dare to do anything rash, lest he couldn’t enter the Shattered Star Sea if something went wrong.
Feng Xi too had a Star Seal, so obviously he would also be entering the Shattered Star Sea.
In the arena, Yang Kai could only cripple Feng Xi, but not kill him, otherwise, it would spark a war between Ice Star Valley and the Seeking Passion Sect. However, if they both entered the Shattered Star Sea, Yang Kai would be completely free of all worries. Thinking so, he didn’t bother to cause trouble for Feng Xi and simply stood in place calmly.
Hearing Yang Kai’s words, Feng Xi opened his mouth, wanting to refute, but when he noticed Yang Kai’s cold gaze on him, his pupils couldn’t help but shrink as he quickly swallowed his argument back down.
In these short few breaths he fought with Yang Kai, he was suppressed to the point that he had no room to breathe. A shadow had been left in his heart, so how could he dare to provoke Yang Kai at this point?
In the arena, Yang Kai looked around and saw that there were more than a dozen people in the stands like him, who had starlight leaking from their arms. Most of these people had an Emperor Realm Master standing next to them, earnestly giving them guidance.
They had undoubtedly come with these Emperor Realm Masters, all of them rising stars of various Sects of the Northern Territory.
Zi Yu was among these rising stars and An Ruo Yun, Sun Yun Xiu, and the other Elders were currently gathered around her. Sun Yun Xiu happened to be earnestly exhorting her while Zi Yu kept nodding in return. From time to time, she would glance towards Yang Kai.
When their gazes met, Yang Kai gently nodded to her.
Zi Yu surely had a Star Seal, so she would be entering the Shattered Star Sea with him. At that time, they could cooperate if they ran into each other inside.
On the other hand, Yang Kai didn’t know much about the Shattered Star Sea. Even though he could be considered an in-name disciple of Azure Sun Temple, even possessing the highest-ranked Azure Sun Golden Token, he didn’t get any instructions from the Emperor Realm Masters of Azure Sun Temple regarding this matter. Yang Kai also didn’t deliberately ask Wen Xi Shan or Gao Xue Ting about the Shattered Star Sea either. In this regard, he was worse off than the disciples of these big Sects.
He would just have to ask his acquaintances in the Shattered Star Sea if they ran into each other. Or, he could explore on his own.
Speaking of which, he had a fair number of acquaintances. He knew most of the elite disciples of Azure Sun Temple, as well as the rising stars of the Southern Territory. Basically, everyone he had fought in the Four Seasons Realm would definitely enter the Shattered Star Sea.
While Yang Kai was mulling over his situation, Bing Yun’s voice suddenly rang in his ears, “The Shattered Star Sea is a huge opportunity, but it is equally important to remain alive. Everyone who comes back alive is a winner!”
Yang Kai sincerely nodded.
Obviously, Bing Yun wanted to tell him more, but she didn’t get the chance because the specks of starlight leaking from the back of everyone’s hand suddenly grew denser and gathered over everyone’s head in the next moment. In the blink of an eye, the starlight gathered and formed various doors.
It looked as if a Star Field that had been shrunk countless times had appeared over everyone’s head, an extremely mysterious sight to see.
A mysterious and ever-changing aura could be felt coming from inside the starlight door, shocking all who laid eyes on it.
Right then, beams of starlight suddenly shot down, falling on the dozen or so candidates and engulfing them.
Immediately after, a dazzling flash of light blinded everyone’s sight. By the time the dazzling flash dissipated, the dozen or so candidates surrounded by the starlight had disappeared.
The same thing was happening all over the Star Boundary at this moment. Across the four great territories, thousands of Dao Source Realm cultivators were drawn into the Shattered Star Sea.
Meanwhile, on the grandstands in Ice Moon City, Feng Xuan coldly glared at Bing Yun before he stood up and left.
Even as he departed, he didn’t say anything.
It was already meaningless to talk now. The Juniors had entered the Shattered Star Sea and the marriage between Seeking Passion Sect and Ice Heart Valley could only be put on hold until Feng Xi and Zi Yu had safely returned. But if either of them perished inside, he would have to give up on the marriage.
Bing Yun had no intention of stopping him. She was not afraid of Feng Xuan since their strength and status were basically on par, but causing an incident here would not yield any benefits for either side.
…
In the dark and cold void, bleak shattered Cultivator Stars and debris floated about everywhere. This entire space seemed devoid even of World Energy and Starry Sky Storms blew everywhere, smashing everything in their path. A vast Asteroid Sea filled the sky, seemingly stretching out like an eternal river with no end.
It was extremely quiet, as if this was before the beginning of the universe, the Heavens and Earth not yet formed from the empty chaos.
Suddenly, a bright flash of light appeared somewhere and by the time the flash disappeared, Yang Kai had strangely appeared.
Before, while he was surrounded by the starlight on the ring, he had felt Space Principles fluctuating around him. He was quite familiar with this feeling and understood it was a sign of long-distance teleportation.
Apparently, the reason why the Star Seals had become passes to enter the Shattered Star Sea was that they allowed points in space to connect and execute long-distance teleportation. Without a Star Seal, one would not be able to teleport to the Shattered Star Sea.
The moment he appeared in the Shattered Star Sea, a nostalgic look flashed across Yang Kai’s eyes.
Because he was quite familiar with the sight before him. It gave him the illusion that he had returned to the Heng Luo Star Field.
When he was in the Heng Luo Star Field, he had also travelled to many Cultivation Stars, shuttling back and forth through the Star Field many times, often seeing similar scenes.
The only difference was that the scene before him seemed bleaker than Heng Luo Star Field. Yang Kai even saw a giant shattered Cultivation Star.
This Cultivation Star was at least one month away from his current location and seemed no smaller than Shadowed Star, but the left half of this Cultivation Star seemed to have been smashed by a terrifying impact.
There were a lot of these Shattered Stars all around.
Yang Kai was completely shaken by this!
He couldn’t tell how strong one must be to be able to do this kind of thing. But if anyone could do it, they must be a Great Emperor Realm Master.
[In the battle back then, many Great Emperors had besieged Heaven Devouring Great Emperor. Could that battle have taken place in this Star Field?] Yang Kai suddenly had such a thought. If this wasn’t the case, why else would there be shattered Cultivation Stars in this Shattered Star Sea!?
In that case, this battle would have been a disaster for this Star Field. Perhaps it was precisely because of that battle that this Star Field became this desolate, leading to it being thrown into the Void, only accessible at certain special moments.
Thinking so, Yang Kai became gloomy all of a sudden. He could imagine what would happen if this battle had happened in Heng Luo Star Field. If history was slightly different, then this barren wasteland could have very well been Heng Luo Star Field. There would have been no Tong Xuan Realm, no Water Moon Star, and no Shadowed Star. There would have been just some Shattered Stars and ruins of the battlefield, which would never regain life.
While he was immersed in his thoughts, he suddenly felt a strange energy fluctuation not too far behind him.
Yang Kai promptly turned to look and saw a person appear about a thousand metres from him. This figure, too, was looking around in a daze, just like Yang Kai.
After seeing this person’s face, a huge grin appeared on Yang Kai’s face, “Young Sect Master, we really share some fate!”
Who knows if it was because they were standing next to each other when the Shattered Star Sea opened, but Feng Xi had actually appeared near him. However, the other rising stars of the Northern Territory were nowhere to be seen. Only the Heavens would know where they had been teleported to.
Previously, Yang Kai’s assault had fallen short because of the phenomena caused by Star Seal, so naturally, Yang Kai was overjoyed to meet his enemy like this.
While speaking, Yang Kai’s figure was already pouncing straight towards Feng Xi.
This was the Shattered Star Sea, and there were no spectators here, nor was there any Feng Xuan and Yao Zhuo. Even if Feng Xi was killed here, no one would be the wiser and Yang Kai wouldn’t need to worry about triggering a war between Ice Heart Valley and Seeking Passion Sect.
How could Yang Kai miss such a good opportunity? As such, he used his full strength in this attack, preparing to kill Feng Xi with one blow.
Feng Xi also regained his senses at this moment, but seeing Yang Kai coming straight at him, he didn’t appear to be panicking at all. He had no intention of avoiding and instead stood in place and sneered, coldly glaring at Yang Kai, “There was a path to the Heavens but you refused to take it, instead choosing to charge through the doors of Hell.”
Saying so, he raised his hand and threw a bead towards Yang Kai.
A terrifying might spread through the surroundings as Emperor Pressure filled the void. Immediately, the Starry Sky shook endlessly.
“Emperor Authority Bead!” Yang Kai’s face immediately turned pale as he blurted out in shock.
Bing Yun had warned Yang Kai about this possibility, so he had always been wary of Feng Xi having an Emperor Authority Bead up his sleeve; however, since Feng Xi hadn’t taken it out earlier, Yang Kai had assumed this was not the case.
But the facts were laid right before him, so Yang Kai couldn’t help but become suspicious.
Feng Xi really had the Emperor Authority Bead! Perhaps because he was afraid of getting beaten black and blue like he just was, when he saw Yang Kai again, he decisively summoned this Emperor Authority Bead.
This Emperor Authority Bead contained the full-powered strike of a Third-Order Emperor Realm Master, so how could Yang Kai dare to take it head-on? After realizing that things weren’t looking good for him, Yang Kai quickly turned around and retreated a couple thousand metres using Space Principles.
*Hong…*
A powerful pressure suddenly came bearing down on him as Fang Xuan’s illusory phantom appeared in the desolate void. This phantom was incomparably huge; its head touching the sky as its feet stood on the ground. It was staring blankly at Yang Kai and suddenly pointed at him.
A shout suddenly echoed across a hundred kilometres, “Seeking Passion Finger!”
Just as it shouted, Yang Kai felt a dreadful aura fly towards his back.
He promptly cried, “Dragon Transformation!”
Immediately, Yang Kai’s entire body was covered in Dragon Scales and his arms suddenly became like dragon claws. Yang Kai did not stop here, though, and also pushed his Five Elements Indestructible Sword Qi to gather on his back for protection.
“Since the ant is bound to die, why does it bother struggling, hahaha!” Feng Xi, who was proudly standing in the void, couldn’t help but smugly laugh, looking at Yang Kai fleeing in panic.
Even though taking out the Emperor Authority Bead would make him short of a powerful trump card and even drain most of his Source Qi, as long as he could finish Yang Kai off, it was well worth it.
Yang Kai had stolen his woman and even made him lose all face in the arena of Ice Moon City, so Feng Xi was already consumed with hatred and wanted to kill him as soon as possible. But, he had never thought that he would encounter Yang Kai so soon after coming to the Shattered Star Sea. This was simply a Heaven-sent opportunity.
He didn’t believe that a Third-Order Dao Source Realm cultivator like Yang Kai could survive under his father’s Emperor Authority Bead.
Yang Kai had just displayed his Dragon Transformation and Five Elements Indestructible Sword Qi Secret Techniques.
Despite both these techniques bolstering his defences, Yang Kai still felt a tremendous pressure and was on the verge of losing consciousness even before the attack reached him. The moment he was struck, his back seemed to have been ripped open and unbearable pain filled his body. All of his bones were creaking and a sweet taste appeared in his mouth before he spurted a mouthful of blood.
Yang Kai didn’t even bother to check his injuries and promptly used the local Space Principles to teleport forward.
There was a fine line between life and death. At this moment, the power of the Emperor Authority Bead had still not played out completely, yet it had put such pressure on him. If all of it had erupted at once, Yang Kai believed that even if he was proficient in the Dao of Space, he would not have been able to escape.
The thick and dense Emperor Pressure was right on his tail and it engulfed the surrounding region, sealing off this part of the void. Yang Kai knew that once he was completely suppressed, it would be next to impossible to escape from here.
*Hong long long…*
Violent and continuous explosions coming from behind kept blasting in his ears and the might of that finger fired from the Emperor Authority Bead kept following him like a shadow. Yang Kai bit his tongue and madly burned his own Blood Essence, drastically improving his speed and allowing him to cross thousands of metres in the blink of an eye.
Another explosion suddenly reverberated, and the might of the Emperor Authority Bead seemed to have erupted completely at this moment.
A huge black hole had suddenly appeared in the direction Yang Kai had escaped, a chaotic blackness expanding outwards from the crack in space.
Feng Xuan’s illusory phantom stood still in the void, gazing at the fleeing Yang Kai in the distance, gradually dispersing a moment later.
“Hahaha, not even a shred of left behind! You are still a bit too tender to fight against this Young Master!” Feng Xi was certain Yang Kai had died, so he couldn’t help but burst into laughter. However, this laughter had tired his exhausted body even more, causing him to burst into a violent coughing fit.
After finally calming down, Feng Xi bitterly glanced in the direction of black hole before he turned around and fled in the opposite direction.
He had drained almost all of his Source Qi to activate that Emperor Authority Bead, so right now, he urgently had to find a place to restore himself, otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to fight off dangers here once he encountered any.
The Shattered Star Sea wasn’t a stable place, and in the competition to find the inheritance of Heaven Devouring Great Emperor, everyone was an enemy. They would try to kill anyone in sight without asking anything.
On another side, Yang Kai, who Feng Xi believed to have died, dragged his severely wounded body towards the nearby Asteroid Sea with great difficulty. At this moment, Yang Kai’s eyes were lifeless and his consciousness was hazy.
Ever since he had entered the Dao Source Realm, he had never suffered such serious injuries.
The might of the Emperor Authority Bead had just brushed him, but Yang Kai felt as if his back was torn open and his internal organs had been displaced. He didn’t need to use his Divine Sense to know that his back had been badly mutilated.
If he wasn’t proficient in the Dao of Space and hadn’t decisively ran, perhaps not even a piece of him would have been left.
Yang Kai was gasping for breaths, his face was as pale as paper. Nonetheless, he managed to fly through the Asteroid Sea and find a large asteroid to hide in. He then summoned the Sealed World Bead and entered the Small Sealed World.
This Asteroid Sea was in a moving state with some inexplicable power driving it in one direction, seemingly towards the depths of this endless Star Field. Who knows where it was going, but at this moment, Yang Kai could care less about that. Healing himself was his first priority.
Near the medicine garden, Yang Kai sat down cross-legged before grabbing a handful of healing pills from his Space Ring and stuffing them into his mouth. Immediately after, he began to refine the medicinal efficacies. At the same time, he gathered the immense vitality dispersing from the Immortal Tree to use on himself.
This time, he had been seriously injured by Feng Xi, but Yang Kai didn’t worry about it too much. His physique was extremely resilient, and with the Immortal Tree planted in the medicine garden, as long as he didn’t instantly die, he would eventually be able to completely heal himself.
In order to escape the might of the Emperor Authority Bead, Yang Kai had burned up some of his Blood Essence, which had left him in a weakened state; therefore, even with all his resources, it would still take him a long time to recover.
The Shattered Star Sea was surging with storms as tens of thousands of Dao Source Realm Masters from the Star Boundaries poured into it, seeking opportunities, pursuing a higher Martial Dao, hoping to advance to the Emperor Realm while here.
In the Asteroid Sea, Yang Kai was in a retreat inside the Sealed World Bead. He was completely focused on healing.
One month went by in a flash and Yang Kai finally opened his eyes before softly exhaling. A complex look flashing across his eyes.
He hadn’t expected to take such a long time to heal his injuries.
Worthy of the Emperor Authority Bead refined by a Third-Order Emperor Realm Master! The might of the Seeking Passion Finger had not only injured him but also left behind some persistent energy in his body, making it more difficult to recuperate!
And it was exactly because of this that Yang Kai was forced to spend a month to eliminate the harmful residual energy. Otherwise, Yang Kai’s recovery would have been a matter of days owing to the effects of his physique and the Immortal Tree.
Yang Kai had healed without any issues, and his strength had returned to its peak state. Nonetheless, Yang Kai didn’t rush to leave the Sealed World Bead. He first scanned and checked the outside world with his Divine Sense, confirming that it was completely quiet all around and there was no one nearby.
After confirming it was safe and sound, he stretched out his hand. The next moment, four beads of different colours appeared in his palm.
These four beads were the Four Seasons Beads, relics of the Flowing Time Great Emperor.
A long time ago, Yang Kai had once speculated that he would have an unexpected harvest after gathering all of the Four Seasons Beads; however, he had never been able to find the Bead of Winter until he set foot into Ice Heart Valley’s Restricted Area.
Feng Xi’s Emperor Authority Bead made Yang Kai aware that he was not completely invincible here. With his current strength, he really didn’t need to be afraid of the cultivators in the same realm as him, but he did need to guard against the hidden trump cards of these elites.
Feng Xi had an Emperor Authority Bead, so who was to say that Yang Kai would not run into similar enemies? Even if they didn’t have an Emperor Authority Bead, they might have some other cards to play.
After all, the cultivators who could enter the Shattered Star Sea were all rising stars of the Star Boundary, many of them descendants of powerful Emperor Realm Masters or elite disciples of the top Sects.
Many of these people could not be underestimated as doing so would cost him his life.
Therefore, Yang Kai eagerly wanted to improve his strength. He was now in the Third-Order Dao Source Realm, so the next realm would be the Emperor Realm; however, it wasn’t that easy to break through to the Emperor Realm. Without any appropriate opportunity, Yang Kai had no idea when he could get a glimpse of the Emperor Realm.
Since he couldn’t break through to a higher realm, all he could do was pin his hopes on improving his techniques.
The Four Seasons Beads were undoubtedly his best choice. If he could comprehend whatever mystery they held, he might be able to gain the inheritance of the Flowing Time Great Emperor.
This Great Emperor was proficient in Flowing Time Force and was a top Master of his time. If Yang Kai could obtain such an inheritance, it would definitely provide a great boost to his strength.
So, Yang Kai didn’t mull over it for long and immediately started to study the Four Seasons Beads after taking them out, hoping to gain something.
Surprisingly, when he took out the Bead of Summer in Ice Heart Valley’s Restricted Area, it produced a kind of resonance with the Bead of Winter which was already there. However, when the four beads were gathered together, there wasn’t any such reaction.
Yang Kai didn’t know how to activate the Four Seasons Beads, so all he could do was put them together in his palm and pour his Source Qi and Spiritual Energy into them, calmly analyzing any reaction they produced.
Yang Kai didn’t become impatient. On the contrary, he remained perfectly calm.
Gradually, he entered an ethereal state with no other thoughts in his mind, completely relaxed, as if his being was drifting through a sea of clouds. He completely forgot where he was and what he was doing here, simply immersing himself in this inextricable feeling.
Half a month went by, then one month, two months…
The Four Seasons Beads were still unresponsive; however, Yang Kai was madly absorbing the World Energy of the Small Sealed World, making his Source Qi denser and purer. His Third-Order Dao Source Realm cultivation was steadily rising and soon approached the peak of his current realm.
One day, after three months of silence, Yang Kai’s mind suddenly shook as a shock from the depths of his heart arose him. Immediately after, a scorching hot sensation came from his palm and he opened his eyes to see four radiant glowing balls escaping from his hand and dancing around him like ribbons of light.
Each of the glowing balls had given birth to a very distinct and unique kind of Principal Strength. The four Principles complemented one another, mutually restraining and promoting each other’s characteristics.
Four Seasons Principles!
Yang Kai’s heartbeat became rapid as he realized that he had accidentally triggered the power of the Four Seasons Beads. When he scanned them again, the Four Seasons Beads that should have been in his hand had disappeared, leaving four radiant glowing balls that flitted about around him.
Yang Kai immediately understood that this was his opportunity and he didn’t dare to neglect it. Instantly closing his eyes once again, Yang Kai focused all his attention on comprehending the pulsing Principle Strength around him.
Unlike the ethereal meditation state of the past few months, this time, he was actively trying to comprehend with a clear goal in mind.
As soon as he spread his consciousness, Yang Kai sensed four extremely unique and powerful Principles lingering around him; a pleasant spring breeze, a scorching hot summer, a withering autumn, and a frigid winter. They seemed to form a peculiar cycle, constantly overlapping each other, seemingly endless and ever-changing.
Yang Kai fell into a deep state of comprehension.
He was like an outsider that had been exiled by time itself, his skin slowly growing old. In just the time it would take to burn an incense stick, Yang Kai had been reduced to an elderly man with white hair. But he came back to life at the critical point, returning back to the peak of his youth. The entire experience was extremely strange.
The Four Seasons Principles were surging and even the environment beside Yang Kai was constantly changing.
The spirit medicines planted in the medicine garden seemed to have experienced many years in just a moment of time, growing and maturing at a rapid rate. Except for the Immortal Tree and the Firmament Tree, which weren’t affected by these surging Principles, all the other spirit grasses and spirit medicines grew noticeably.
Yang Kai felt like he was dreaming. In this peculiar dream, he kept wandering between two stages of life, young and old, using his own body to remember the feeling of the passage of time, his mind to experience the concept of passing time.
Gradually, some vague ideas appeared in his mind.
Yang Kai wanted to see these ideas clearly, but he felt as if a film was blocking him from doing so, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t penetrate this barrier.
But every cycle made these ideas clearer and clearer.
At some point, these vague ideas turned into enlightenment.
Yang Kai suddenly woke from that unending dream and his face and eyes glowed brightly.
The four glowing balls were still flying around him, like four coloured ribbons.
Nonetheless, Yang Kai remained absolutely still, an extremely serious look appearing on his face as he quickly formed a set of mysterious seals with his hands and he muttered a chant, “Time Flows on Infinitely, Like a Mighty Stream, Like an Unending Dream!”
His voice was very slow, and his movements even slower.
But the moment he said this, a mysterious seal suddenly formed.
The next movement, the four glowing balls that had been flying around him seemed to have received some instruction and suddenly turned into specks of light that drilled into his pores.
*Hong…*
An invisible and powerful aura rapidly spread outward into the surrounding area with Yang Kai as the centre.
After everything stabilized, a strange light appeared in Yang Kai’s eyes as he cried out in surprise, “So, it was Time Principles! The Flowing Time Great Emperor was truly remarkable!”
In this world, the only Dao which was more esoteric than the Dao of Space was the Dao of Time. These two Daos were extremely different from the rest, sharing some similarities in the sense that they were both extremely difficult to comprehend, and even harder to cultivate.
The only reason Yang Kai was able to cultivate the Dao of Space was because of luck and opportunities.
Along his road of cultivation, he had encountered some cultivators who had gained some knowledge of the Dao of Space, but as for mastering them, apart from him, there was probably only one other; Li Wu Yi.
Li Wu Yi was proficient in the Dao of Space, and was famous throughout the entire Star Boundary as a result. And as a Third-Order Emperor, no one dared to find trouble with him.
There were always a few cultivators who had learned some basic concepts of the Dao of Space, but Yang Kai had never encountered anyone who cultivated the Dao of Time.
In light of this, the Dao of Time seemed even more difficult to master than the Dao of Space.
But the Flowing Time Great Emperor had cultivated this exact Dao to an extremely high level!
Yang Kai originally thought that Four Seasons Principles were a representation of the four seasons themselves, a kind of derivative of Time Principles, but after comprehending this seal, he finally understood that the Flowing Time Great Emperor had already mastered the Four Seasons Principles to the level of Time Principles.
Thanks to the blessing of the Flowing Time Great Emperor, Yang Kai could be considered to have comprehended the initial concept of the Dao of Time after obtaining the power of the Four Seasons Beads.
Throughout the ages, Yang Kai might just be the only individual who had cultivated both the Dao of Space and the Dao of Time simultaneously.
After quietly comprehending his harvest this time, Yang Kai slowly stood up.
Liu Yang and Hua Qing Si were standing in the vicinity. They had come here at some point, probably attracted by all the commotion made by Yang Kai, but they remained far away and did not dare to approach.
Seeing Yang Kai get up at this moment, the two girls looked at each other before they flew over.
“Master, what Secret Technique did you comprehend? Why did your appearance and physical condition keep changing?” Liu Yan nervously asked.
“Did my appearance really change?” Yang Kai, raising his brow, asked in surprise. He thought that it was just an illusion in his head and hadn’t expected it to physically happen to him. [No wonder I could comprehend Time Principles and form the seal of the Flowing Time Great Emperor’s Secret Technique. It turns out that my body was constantly growing older and younger. I remember how the passage of time made changes to my body. I see… so that is how I managed to comprehend the Dao of Time…]
“Mhmm, you look really pitiful when aged,” the nearby Hua Qing Si nodded.
Yang Kai gave a slight smile. He didn’t really care about that as everyone would always grow old and die, this was an inescapable cycle. After comprehending the Dao of Time, Yang Kai felt much more comfortable with such concepts and notions.
After pondering for a moment, Yang Kai finally replied, “Naturally it was the Flowing Time Great Emperor’s Secret Technique!”
Liu Yan and Hua Qing Si’s eyes immediately lit up after hearing this. Liu Yan quickly asked, pleasantly surprised, “Master, have you obtained the inheritance of the Flowing Time Great Emperor!?”
Even though Yang Kai also had the inheritance of Heaven Devouring Great Emperor, it wasn’t suitable for humans. The Great Emperor’s inheritance was different. If one could really obtain his inheritance, he or she would have a smooth sailing in the future.
Yang Kai denied, shaking his head, “I also thought the Four Seasons Beads held the Flowing Time Great Emperor’s inheritance, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. This was only a single Secret Technique of the Flowing Time Great Emperor. However… I still had a huge harvest.”
After learning the basics of the Dao of Time, Yang Kai felt that it didn’t matter even if he didn’t get the Flowing Time Great Emperor’s full inheritance. As long as he persistently cultivated, one day, he could reach the heights of the Flowing Time Great Emperor, or even surpass him.
However, before that, he needed to cultivate the Dao of Space to its pinnacle. If one bit off more than he could chew, it would only be counterproductive; Yang Kai understood this truth very well.
“How long has it been?” Yang Kai suddenly asked.
He had been immersed in that repeating cycle of time, so he was unable to judge just how long had passed or tell how long he had been cultivating.
“It’s been almost a year!” Hua Qing Si replied.
When Yang Kai came in injured, Liu Yan and Hua Qing Si sensed him, and since then, roughly a year had passed.
“A year!?” Yang Kai was startled. He thought that even if some time had passed, it would not exceed two or three months, but to his surprise, almost a year had gone by.
In other words, in the first year after the opening of the Shattered Star Sea, he had been comprehending the mysteries of the Four Seasons Beads and healing himself! It was hard to tell if he was seizing a great opportunity, or wasting one…
Yang Kai had no idea how long the Shattered Star Sea would remain open, but if it only remained open for just a year, wouldn’t he have wasted all his time in this place?
Considering all this, Yang Kai’s face blackened and an inexplicable sense of crisis gripped his heart.
“I’ll go out and see what’s going on!” Yang Kai stated before he turned around and leapt out of the Sealed World Bead.
Since he obviously hadn’t gained any benefits from the Shattered Star Sea after spending a year in the Sealed World Bead, Yang Kai couldn’t help but feel anxious.
Coming out of the Sealed World Bead, Yang Kai emerged on a huge asteroid. Looking around, he discovered that the surroundings weren’t that different from before when he first came to the Shattered Star Sea.
But what Yang Kai could say for sure was that this was definitely not the place where he first appeared. Perhaps he was hundreds of millions of kilometres away from his previous location, because this Asteroid Sea had been moving at a very high velocity.
With a flicker, Yang Kai flew out of the Asteroid Sea and summoned his ship.
Rumour had it that the Shattered Star Sea was filled with great opportunities for Dao Source Realm cultivators, but Yang Kai had no idea what or where these opportunities were. As such, all he could do was go out and try out his luck.
Over the next few days, he didn’t encounter any situation worth paying attention to, but he did encounter several Starry Sky Storms. The Starry Sky Storms of the Shattered Star Sea were extremely terrifying, even shattering space in their wakes. Yang Kai’s heart clenched at the mere sight of this and he didn’t dare to let himself be swept in these storms.
He didn’t encounter any cultivators.
In this vast Starry Sky, he seemed to be the only one alive, making Yang Kai wonder whether the Shattered Star Sea had closed and everyone else had been thrown out, leaving only him here now.
If that was the case, it would be horrendous.
But one day, as Yang Kai happened to be flying through the void, he suddenly felt a slight hot feeling coming from the back of his hand.
Raising his brow, he looked at the back of his hand.
Naturally, it was coming from the five-pointed Star Seal branded on his hand that was now emitting a faint glow and heat. Furthermore, he could feel a weak pull coming from a certain direction, attracting his own five-pointed Star Seal.
Yang Kai was puzzled, wondering what this Star Seal was resonating with.
After pondering for a moment, he changed his direction, flying towards the source of attraction.
No matter what, there was some movement there, so it would be better to take a look than to mindlessly fly around.
The Starry Sky was vast, so even if Yang Kai flew at full speed, it took him two full hours before he arrived at his destination. There was a shattered Cultivation Star before his eyes. This Cultivation Star wasn’t that big, but it wasn’t small either, just average-sized.
It was like the shattered planet that Yang Kai had seen when he had just entered the Shattered Star Sea. Over half of it had been smashed apart, leaving the other half listlessly floating in the void.
By the looks of it, this derelict Cultivation Star was devoid of any vitality; not even a little bit of greenery could be seen on it. Even after tens of thousands of years, this Cultivation Star still had a terrifying aura, something left behind in the aftermath of the decisive battle fought by the Great Emperors back in the past. It was particularly daunting.
But that pull that was drawing Yang Kai’s five-pointed Star Seal was definitely coming from this shattered star.
Yang Kai was surprised as he had no idea what was so special about this shattered star. He drove his boat to fly toward it and soon landed somewhere.
Sweeping his gaze around, everywhere Yang Kai looked, he saw barren ground covered in countless pits of all shapes and sizes.
After coming here, the five-pointed Star Seal on the back of his hand glowed brighter and brighter and Yang Kai immediately confirmed that this was the right place.
Yang Kai promptly spread his Divine Sense to scan his surroundings, and soon he raised his brow as he shouted in joy, “Star Source!?”
He bore the Star Source of Shadowed Star, and as a Star Master, he was naturally quite familiar with the aura of Star Sources. This was a shattered Cultivation Star, and yet it still had some of its Star Source energy remaining.
However, perhaps because this Cultivation Star was horribly destroyed, its Star Source was also shattered and incomplete.
A Star Source was a priceless treasure for the cultivators of the Star Boundary, because with one, a cultivator could better perceive World Principles, making it easier for him or her to break through to the Emperor Realm where Principle Strength comprehension was essential.
However, it was very difficult for any Star Boundary cultivator to obtain a Star Source because Star Sources could only be given birth to by a Cultivation Star. As such, there were only a few such treasures in the Star Boundary. Even if such a treasure did appear, it would swiftly be snatched up by powerful cultivators, so it was very hard for an ordinary cultivator to even get a glimpse of one.
But there was a Star Source here. It might be incomplete and broken, but it was still a Star Source!
It turned out the rumours were true. There are indeed many Shattered Star Sources in this Shattered Star Sea. If Dao Source Realm cultivators could absorb these Shattered Sources for themselves, it would be quite helpful for breaking through to the Emperor Realm in the future.
“Could it be that the Star Seal resonated with this Shattered Star Source and that is what led me to this place?” Yang Kai guessed, but there was no one to confirm this speculation with, so he didn’t know whether his guess was right or wrong.
If this was the case, then the Star Seal was just a guide, one that could locate Source Strength from a distance.
While Yang Kai was guessing, he suddenly turned his head and looked toward the sky as he sensed something. In the next moment, he saw two dazzling rays of light shooting down from the void, and soon after they landed beside him.
When the rays of light finally dissipated, two figures entered Yang Kai’s vision.
Both of these two were males and seemed to be from the same Sect as their aura and robes bore a striking resemblance. Who knows how they came to the Shattered Star Sea together, but both of them were Third-Order Dao Source Realm Masters. Furthermore, their cultivations were quite solid and vigorous, far above that of an ordinary Dao Source Realm cultivator. These two were likely the disciples of some big Sect.
Yang Kai noticed that the five-pointed Star Seals on the back of their hands were also faintly glowing.
Apparently, these two were the same as Yang Kai and had been guided here by their Star Seals.
When Yang Kai’s eyes first landed on them, he beamed with delight instead of being surprised.
Because as long as there were other people here, it would mean that he wasn’t alone in the Shattered Star Sea. He was just unlucky to have been stuck in healing and cultivation for all this time. For a moment, Yang Kai looked at the two with genuine happiness.
The two of them had no idea what Yang Kai was excited about, but both maintained an air of arrogance and invincibility. They glanced at him once before ignoring him altogether. Instead, they spread their Divine Senses to scan their surroundings.
One of them slightly frowned and stated, “The Source Strength here is so thin.”
“En! It’s not even as good as the one we found yesterday,” the other nodded in agreement.
“But it’s better to have something than nothing. Many grains of sand would eventually build a tower. We can’t miss it just because of a lack of quantity,” the first man stated. He then glanced at Yang Kai and shouted, “What are you looking at? Why aren’t you leaving yet?”
The other man also sneered and added, “The Shattered Star Source here is ours! If you know what’s good for you, you’d better leave, or else you won’t be able to leave no matter how much you want.”
The two sang a chorus, and their threatening meaning couldn’t be any more obvious. Yang Kai, who was listening to this, turned livid in anger.
The Source Strength here was truly meagre, and Yang Kai didn’t even attach too much attention to it; after all, he already had the complete Source Strength of Shadowed Star, but when these two yelled at him in such an arrogant manner, it was only natural to become annoyed.
After thinking about it though, Yang Kai didn’t lash out and instead cupped his fists and asked, “Friends, I want to ask you something. I wonder if you can answer my questions?”
The person who spoke first, took a sideways glance at Yang Kai as he asked with a cold snort, “What do you want to know?”
Yang Kai promptly asked, “Did you come here because of the reaction between your Star Seals and the Source Strength here?”
The man glanced at Yang Kai in surprise as he sneered, “Didn’t you as well?”
Yang Kai curled his lips into a smile and replied, “Naturally.”
So, it turned out that the Star Seal really could sense Star Sources. Although Yang Kai had guessed this before, he wasn’t too sure about it as there was no one to confirm his hypothesis with. Now, after listening to the opposite party, Yang Kai understood. The Star Seal on the back of his hand wasn’t just a pass to enter the Shattered Star Sea, but it also seems to have other magnificent functions too.
The man angrily rebuked, “If that’s the case, why did you knowingly ask? How odd!”
Yang Kai replied, laughing lightly, “I just casually asked. Friend, why harbour such anger? Being so enraged only hurts you in the end. Friend, do you know how long the Shattered Star Sea stays open for?”
As soon as he asked this, the two looked at Yang Kai with strange expressions on their faces. They seemed to have gotten the gist of the matter though and one of them stated, “It looks like you don’t know anything about the situation here.”
Yang Kai turned serious and humbly asked, cupping his fist, “Friend, please give me advice!”
He really didn’t know anything about the Shattered Star Sea, and hiding it wouldn’t do him any good. He might find some information by exploring on his own, but it would be faster to just ask others.
Although these two didn’t seem to be good and honest people, it didn’t prevent Yang Kai from asking them.
The other man broke into laughter as he mocked, “Senior Brother, someone has actually come to the Shattered Star Sea without knowing anything? Has your Master, or Sect, or Elders not taught you anything?”
He appeared to be extremely happy as if he had heard some big joke.
Yang Kai stated with a cold look on his face, “I don’t have a Master, a Sect, or Elders for that matter! Is it very funny?”
The man restrained his smile and explained himself, “It’s not very funny, but for someone who doesn’t have a Master, a Sect, or any Elder to come here is really surprising.”
“Friend, you still haven’t answered my question,” Yang Kai urged.
“What would we gain by answering you?” The other party asked back with a cold snort.
Yang Kai replied, “How about I give the Star Source here?” Yang Kai paused before continuing, “I came here first, and as long as you two can answer my question, I will immediately leave. You two can decide who among you will take the Star Source. I won’t interfere!”
The Junior Brother angrily rebuked, “Who would dare to snatch the Star Source that we two brothers have eyed? Why do we need your useless favour?”
The Senior Brother, on the other hand, waved his hand and stated, “Friend, since you’re so easy to talk to, it would be impolite to refuse you.”
The Junior Brother spat in disdain upon hearing this, looking quite unhappy.
The Senior Brother continued, “No one knows when the Shattered Star Sea will close after it opens as the duration of its opening isn’t fixed. According to the ancient books, the duration of each opening of the Shattered Star Sea varies from as short as two years to as long as ten years! And there are no signs of when it closes. Once the Sealed World is closed, all the cultivators here will be expelled, no matter where you are! Friend, is this answer to your satisfaction?”
“There is no fixed period?” Yang Kai was a little surprised; however, it wasn’t the first time he was encountering this kind of thing, so he simply accepted this explanation.
But according to this man, the Shattered Star Sea would remain open for a minimum of two years each time. In other words, he still had at least one year to make up for lost time.
After being silent for a while, Yang Kai cupped his fists, “Many thanks! Goodbye!”
Even though he still had a lot of questions he wanted to ask, these two were far from generous, so if he continued to question them, they might not tell him the truth. Instead of being misled by them, it was better to explore the Shattered Star Sea on his own or wait to run into an acquaintance.
Having said his thanks, Yang Kai turned and flew off.
But the moment he turned around, the eyes of the Senior Brother, who had just answered Yang Kai’s question, suddenly flickered with a shrewd gleam as a jet-black beam flew out of his hand with the flick of his wrist. In the lightning-fast moment, the beam was already behind Yang Kai.
It seemed that Yang Kai would be pierced by the black beam at any moment, but at the critical moment, he suddenly twisted his body, avoiding the black beam.
The next moment, Yang Kai stood in the mid-air and indifferently asked, coldly glaring down at the two, “What is your meaning?”
The Senior Brother was taken aback and he couldn’t help but murmur, “He actually dodged that? How is that possible?”
His sneak attack had no warning signs, and neither had he shown the slightest bit of murderous intent before he made the move. It was reasonable to say that it was impossible for Yang Kai to perceive this strike, but that was exactly what happened at the critical moment.
[This guy isn’t an easy mark!] The Senior Brother thought to himself.
His Junior Brother, on the other hand, didn’t take Yang Kai that seriously and immediately sneered, “Isn’t it clear what our intentions are? Why ask when you know them clearly?”
“You two want to kill me?” Yang Kai raised his brow and sorrowfully spoke, “You and I ran into each other by chance, and we have neither grievance nor grudge. You two were interested in the Star Source here and I offered it freely to you. I had no intention of fighting with you but you two still wish to kill me using under-handed means? Your conduct truly saddens me. Even the most basic trust between people has been broken!”
The corner of the Senior Brother’s lips twitched as he stated, “If you don’t want to die, you can leave your right hand and then scram.”
The Junior Brother nodded in agreement, “That’s right! If you want to survive, you can cut off your right hand! My fellow brother and I will spare your life if you do, otherwise, next year today will be your death anniversary!”
Yang Kai frowned and asked, “Why do you want my right hand? Don’t you have yours?”
The Junior Brother sneered and stated, “Do you think your right hand is a treasure or something? We don’t want your right hand, what we want is the Star Seal on the back of your hand!”
“We have already entered the Shattered Star Sea, why do you want to steal my Star Seal?” Yang Kai was still confused.
“You really don’t know anything!” The Junior Brother broke into laughter, “My fellow brother and I will be generous and give you a final piece of free advice. It’s very common to snatch other people’s Star Seal in this Shattered Star Sea. As for the reasons and benefits… heh heh, you will come to know about it later.”
The Senior Brother’s face sank before he spoke, “Friend, since you can avoid my attack, I assume you have some impressive skill, but do you think that you can defeat me and my Junior Brother together? If you don’t want to die, obediently cooperate. Otherwise, we will kill you and take away your Star Seal afterwards!”
Yang Kai touched his chin and indifferently stated, “You are really making me curious. What is so good about snatching someone else’s Star Seal? You have made me curious to the point that I want to kill you two!”
“Kill us?” The Junior Brother’s eyes widened after hearing this, but immediately after, he burst into laughter as he pointed at Yang Kai and asked, “Senior Brother, did you hear what he just said? He actually said that he wants to kill us. This guy must be out of his mind!”
The Senior Brother coldly snorted and said, “Friend, since you refuse a toast, you must drink at a loss. We don’t need to be polite to him, attack together!”
Just as he spoke, the Junior Brother’s laughter disappeared as a ruthless look appeared on his face. Immediately after, the two pushed their Source Qi, preparing to attack.
Yang Kai, on the other hand, formed a set of hand seals as a strange and inexplicable energy fluctuation appeared around him, instantly covering the two brothers.
The two, who were just about to attack, inexplicably quivered as a sense of crisis gripped their hearts. They seemed to hear the call of death and their clothes instantly became drenched in a cold sweat.
They wanted to look up to see what kind of profound Secret Technique Yang Kai had used, but what took them aback was the fact that their thoughts seemed to have frozen. They couldn’t even move their bodies now, and more importantly, everything around them was strangely calm and quiet. It was almost as if time itself had stopped flowing, freezing the world in this exact moment.
A low murmur suddenly rang in their ears, causing them to shiver like they had been sunk into a blizzard.
“Time flows on infinitely, like a mighty stream, like an unending dream, Time Flies Seal!”
Just as these words fell, Yang Kai pushed his palms towards his opponents from where he stood and a mysterious seal shot out, striking them before they could even react.
Two muffled groans rang out at the same time as Flowing Time Force madly invaded the two brothers’ bodies, causing their vitality to completely escape in a very short time.
With a speed visible to the naked eye, the black hair of the two men turned grey and then fell out. Even their skin began to wrinkle and their healthy and strong physiques grew old and skinny in just ten breaths. Their footing looked unsteady and they seemed almost incapable of standing upright any longer.
Hundreds or even thousands of years seemed to have passed, leaving only the deep scars of time on their bodies.
The strangest thing was the two still maintained their sluggish posture, seemingly unaware of their own changes, their eyes were completely hollow.
Finally, at some point, the two suddenly recovered and collapsed together.
“Senior… Senior Brother…” The handsome-looking Junior Brother looked no different from an old man who had one foot in the grave now, and his eyes sank as he looked at his Senior Brother, who barely resembled his past self, in horror. A quavering voice escaped from his mouth that had no teeth remaining as he asked, “How did you become like this?”
“Junior Brother, you…” The Senior Brother was also horrified and stared back at his Junior Brother with the same shocked look on his face.
The Junior Brother finally seemed to have realized what happened and touched his face while staring at the wrinkled and withered hands before his eyes. He looked at them in a daze before screaming in horror.
“What… What did you do to us?” The Senior Brother raised his head with difficulty and looked towards the sky, his turbid eyes filled with horror and despair.
He had never seen or even heard of such a strange Secret Technique. In just one move, he and his Junior Brother had been defeated like this without even being able to fight back. He had never seen a Dao Source Realm cultivator as powerful as Yang Kai in his entire life.
Yang Kai sneered and sarcastically spoke while treading down from the void, “Two wastes, you can die without regret under the Divine Ability of the Flowing Time Great Emperor.”
“Flowing Time… Great Emperor!” The Senior Brother had obviously heard of the Flowing Time Great Emperor and his eyes widened in horror upon hearing this. His throat wheezed heavily as he tried to breathe in, but after inhaling sharply, his head slumped over to one side and he perished.
Although the Junior Brother did not immediately die, he did not fare any better. He was now on the verge of death, his aura extremely weak. At this time, unless there was a treasure with strong vitality restoration properties, such as the Immortal Source Liquid from the Immortal Tree, he would undoubtedly die.
A deep regret flashed past his lifeless eyes. Had they known that Yang Kai was so powerful, they would never have provoked such a star of calamity.
Very soon, the Junior Brother’s aura ceased to exist as well, his eyes wide open as if he died with everlasting regret.
The next moment, two swishing sounds came as two streaks of light suddenly shot out. Yang Kai saw this clearly. The two streaking beams of light were the five-pointed Star Seals on the backs of the two dead brothers’ hands.
Yang Kai had seen the very same scene once before, back in the Four Seasons Realm, when he had killed someone with a Star Seal, their Star Seal had also flown out in a very similar manner after their death.
After the two five-pointed Star Seals flew out, they didn’t leave too far. Instead, they flew around Yang Kai a few times, as if they were being drawn by something before they shot straight into the back of his hand.
Yang Kai only felt a slight heat on the back of his hand, and when he took a closer look, the original five-pointed Star Seal on the back of his hand seemed to have undergone some changes, becoming slightly more defined.
He was taken aback as he had no idea why the Star Seal of those two had merged with his.
Just when he was confused, the five-pointed Star Seal on the back of his hand suddenly burst with a dazzling flash, transforming into a cloud of starlight.
Yang Kai was dumbfounded!
Previously, the two brothers wanted to rob his Star Seal, so he originally thought that stealing someone else’s Star Seal would provide some great benefits, but the current situation had caught him by surprise!
[My own Star Seal fused with theirs and exploded!?]
How was this good? Although Yang Kai was already inside the Shattered Star Sea and the Star Seal had lost its significance as an entry pass, it could still sense the location of Source Strength. Without a Star Seal, how was Yang Kai to find Source Strength in this vast Shattered Star Sea?
Had he known this would happen, he would have never let others’ Star Seals merge with his own. Yang Kai’s heart was bleeding.
But right then, something strange happened.
The starlight that had just burst apart flowed back towards the back of Yang Kai’s hand and a scorching hot pain immediately followed before another brand-new Star Seal appeared.
“Six-pointed?” Yang Kai couldn’t help but cry out in shock.
He simply couldn’t believe his eyes. After the five-pointed Star Seal on the back of his hand exploded, the starlight re-converged and formed a six-pointed Star Seal!
The sudden changes in mood in this short period of time had brought Yang Kai to a standstill.
He quietly sensed for a moment and found that after the emergence of the six-pointed Star Seal, his ability to sense the Shattered Source of this shattered star had strengthened a little. It was more obvious than with his previous five-pointed Star Seal.
“Could it be that the higher the grade of Star Seal, the easier it is to sense Source Strength?” A bold guess suddenly started to take root in Yang Kai’s mind. Although this speculation hadn’t been verified yet, from his experiences it seemed quite credible.
Yang Kai recalled the seven Star Seals he had obtained in the Four Seasons Realm. Among those Star Seals, there were three-pointed Star Seals, four-pointed Star Seals, and one five-pointed Star Seal.
Back then, Princess Lan Xun of Star Soul Palace had told him that the higher the grade of Star Seal, the easier it was to obtain benefits from the Shattered Star Sea.
The Elders of Azure Sun Temple seemed to have mentioned this as well.
It was just that no one had given him a detailed explanation.
Now, after giving it a second thought, being easier to gain benefits probably referred to the ability to sense Source Strength in this place. The higher the grade of the Star Seal, the easier it was to sense Star Sources from further away.
Now his Star Seal had advanced to a six-pointed Star Seal, which was definitely better than the five-pointed Star Seal.
Lan Xun had also said that on top of the six-pointed Star Seal, there were seven-pointed, eight-pointed, and even the most advanced nine-pointed Star Seal!
As far as Yang Kai knew, the highest-grade Star Seal obtained by those cultivators in the Four Seasons Realm was only five-pointed. He was still wondering how there would be higher grade Star Seals, but now it seemed that they weren’t obtained naturally, but were upgraded step by step.
One had to kill enemies and obtain their Star Seals to merge with their own Star Seal. Once it reached a certain accumulation, the Star Seal would explode and reorganize itself into a higher-grade Star Seal.
His six-pointed Star Seal was the best proof of this.
The two people he had just killed now, both had five-pointed Star Seals, and he too had a five-pointed Star Seal. Three five-pointed Star Seals had merged to upgrade to a six-pointed Star Seal.
In other words, if he could get two or more six-pointed Star Seals, Yang Kai could upgrade his to a seven-pointed Star Seal, and so on and so forth. If he carried on like this, he would eventually obtain the highest-grade nine-pointed Star Seal.
Once he had a nine-pointed Star Seal, he would be able to sense Star Sources from very far away, no longer having to aimlessly search for them in this endless void.
This experience made Yang Kai realize many mysteries of the Shattered Star Sea and Star Seals.
[No wonder those two wanted to snatch my Star Seal, it turns out that there was such a reason behind it.] Realization suddenly dawned upon Yang Kai.
However, it was definitely not an easy task to upgrade one’s Star Seal to a nine-pointed Star Seal. Just the number of Star Seals one needed to snatch were extraordinary, and Yang Kai wasn’t belligerent and bloodthirsty, so he didn’t hold too many expectations in his heart.
If the six-pointed Star Seal could be used, why bother to pursue the most advanced nine-pointed Star Seal?
Yang Kai, standing in the same place, pondered for a long time before he dispelled such thoughts and bent over, picking up the Space Rings of the two. However, when he touched the two corpses, they suddenly shattered into dust.
Yang Kai was secretly taken aback at the sight of this. He had just comprehended the Time Flies Seal recently, so although he knew that this Divine Ability was extremely powerful, because he hadn’t used it before, he wasn’t too sure about its effects and had simply been experimenting just now.
But much to his surprise, the two cultivators of the same level were reduced to dust by the Flowing Time Force with just one move, completely powerless to resist it.
Apparently, the might of this Divine Ability had exceeded Yang Kai’s expectations. It was worthy of being one of the Flowing Time Great Emperor’s techniques. It wasn’t surprising that it was so powerful. And along with the enhancement of Yang Kai’s strength, his comprehension of this Divine Ability would deepen, further increasing its might. In the future, it would definitely become one of his trump cards, on par with his Space Divine Abilities.
As Yang Kai took a quick scan of the rings of these two cultivators with his Divine Sense, he couldn’t help but coldly snort because he discovered that there were many things in their Space Rings that didn’t belong to these two, including some female undergarments.
Obviously, these two had killed and robbed a lot of people already.
Maybe during the one year since the Shattered Star Sea opened, these two had constantly been killing others and snatching their treasures and Star Seals.
No wonder they both had the five-pointed Star Seals. Presumably, their Star Seals had also been upgraded several times. Who knows how many people they had killed using underhanded methods.
Yang Kai threw the two rings into the Sealed World Bead, letting his Embodiment sort out the contents for him.
He was the only one left here, so although the Star Source of this shattered star was relatively incomplete, it was still a Star Source. Naturally, Yang Kai had no reason to let it go.
After thinking about it for a moment though, he waved his hand and Hua Qing Si suddenly appeared in front of him.
Just as she appeared, her beautiful eyes flickered with surprise before she excitedly exclaimed, “Young Master, isn’t this the Shattered Star Sea?”
“Sister Hua is indeed knowledgeable. This is indeed the Shattered Star Sea!” Yang Kai slightly smiled, paying close attention to Hua Qing Si’s movements while they spoke.
Hua Qing Si said in a trembling voice, “It’s really the Shattered Star Sea! Every Dao Source Realm cultivator dreams of coming here! If one can obtain some opportunity here, he or she will definitely advance to the Emperor Realm…” While speaking, she glanced at Yang Kai, “Why are you staring at me like this?”
Yang Kai asked, “Do you not feel any discomfort, like the world is rejecting you?”
Hua Qing Si was taken aback; however, she soon understood what Yang Kai was implying and replied with a slight smile, “Since you brought me in, then whether I have a Star Seal or not, I can continue to stay here. Were you worried I would be teleported out because I don’t have a Star Seal?”
“En!” Yang Kai nodded.
Hua Qing Si stated, waving her hand lightly, “You don’t need to worry about this. Many cultivators have their Star Seals robbed in the Shattered Star Sea, yet they can remain here.”
Hearing this, Yang Kai suddenly smacked his head and scolded himself for being so stupid.
If he wanted to inquire about the Shattered Star Sea, he could have just asked Hua Qing Si! Regardless of her current position, she was still a disciple of Star Soul Palace and certainly knew much more than others. Since he hadn’t recently let her out, he had forgotten about her.
But after confirming that she could stay in the Shattered Star Sea even without a Star Seal, Yang Kai let Liu Yan and Zhang Ruo Xi out with a wave of his hand.
Zhang Ruo Xi seldom left the Sealed World Bead, except when she was breaking through to a new Great Realm, so seeing Yang Kai summon her out, she couldn’t help but look at him curiously, wondering what he wanted her to do.
“This is the Shattered Star Sea, a grand event that all the elite Dao Source Realm cultivators of the Star Boundary participate in. It is a huge opportunity. Sister Hua, tell us, what do we need to pay attention to here!”
Hua Qing Si nodded, sorting out her thoughts before she recounted everything she knew.
Most of the information she told everyone was what Yang Kai had already speculated, including the specific use of and how to upgrade Star Seals. However, Hua Qing Si’s information was more comprehensive and complete. According to her, higher-level Star Seals could not only sense the location of distant Star Sources, but could also sense the location of other lower grade Star Seals.
In other words, the owner of a higher grade Star Seal could detect the locations of those with lower grade Star Seals even from a long distance.
If one’s grade of Star Seal was worse than the opposite party’s Star Seal, they would be found out no matter what kind of concealment technique they used. This feature of the Star Seal made the Shattered Star Sea a bloodbath every time it opened. In order to upgrade one’s Star Seal, many cultivators did not hesitate to kill others.
This feature of the Star Seal was quite sobering, causing Yang Kai’s face to turn serious upon hearing it.
He hadn’t paid much attention to the level of his Star Seal before. Obviously, this grade of Star Seal was sufficient for him; there wasn’t any need to pursue a higher grade, but now, after listening to Hua Qin Si, Yang Kai realized that in order to ensure his own safety, his grade of the Star Seal had to be high enough, otherwise someone would very likely learn his location and come find trouble with him.
This feature secretly promoted killing and snatching between cultivators! It forced all the cultivators in the Shattered Star Sea to find ways to increase the grade of their respective Star Seal, whether they wanted to or not.
“The benefits of the Star Seal are roughly these; however, I have also heard of another legend…” While speaking, Hua Qin Si’s face suddenly turned serious.
Zhang Ruo Xi nervously asked, “What?”
Hua Qing Si replied, gazing at Yang Kai, “Rumour has it that if you can obtain the highest-grade nine-pointed Star Seal, it can guide you to the location of the Heaven Devouring Great Emperor’s inheritance!”
“Really?” Yang Kai looked surprised.
Hua Qing Si pursed her lips and answered, smiling, “This legend has been going around since the Shattered Star Sea was formed, but whether it is true or false, no one has been able to confirm. Naturally, there is no way to verify it.” She paused for a moment before continuing, “But this shouldn’t be appealing to you, Young Master Yang.”
His Embodiment was cultivating the Heaven Devouring Battle Law, which happened to be the key component to the Heaven Devouring Great Emperor’s inheritance, so naturally Yang Kai had no need to pursue this vague opportunity.
“It’s not that attractive to me, but it’s different for others,” Yang Kai’s face stiffened slightly, suddenly realizing that Star Seals in the Shattered Star Sea were like double-edged swords, a source of conflict and avarice. It was of great help to the cultivators here, but because of its various features, it also led to bloody slaughter among the cultivators.
Had there been no such thing as Star Seals, the chances of conflict among the cultivators here would have been much smaller.
“Of course, not everyone is looking for the inheritance of the Heaven Devouring Great Emperor. In the Shattered Star Sea, there are other treasures left by other Great Emperors. These are what generations of cultivators yearn for. I heard that five millennia ago, someone found the Indestructible Cyan Lotus of Cyan Lotus Great Emperor in the Shattered Star Sea, allowing them to inherit the mantle of Cyan Lotus Great Emperor.”
“And how is that person doing now?” Liu Yan indifferently asked.
Hua Qing Si replied, “He created a top Sect that’s renowned in the Eastern Territory, the Cyan Lotus Palace. That person is also the Palace Master of Cyan Lotus Palace.”
“He is quite lucky,” Yang Kai raised his brow slightly.
“Luck is an opportunity. Who hasn’t cultivated without relying on opportunity?” Hua Qing Si stated frankly.
Yang Kai agreed. Every cultivator needed great opportunities in order to cultivate to the Dao Source Realm, and if their opportunities continued, they might even take a step further and explore the mysteries of the Emperor Realm. If one’s opportunities were insufficient, however, they could remain stuck in the Dao Source Realm forever.
“Okay, let’s not talk about this. There is an incomplete Star Source here. Let’s refine it together,” Yang Kai stated.
Originally, the Star Source was supposed to be hidden somewhere inside the Cultivation Star and just finding it would require a lot of effort, but now, this Cultivation Star had been broken and the shattered Star Source Strength was leaking out. There was no need to look for it now and it could be refined at will.
When Hua Qing Si and the others heard this, they nodded and found a place to sit cross-legged, circulating their Secret Arts.
The same was true for Yang Kai. Even though he wasn’t that interested in the Source Strength here, the early bird takes the worm and many grains of sand would eventually build a tower. A change in quantity would always lead to a qualitative change.
Source Strength was a very special type of energy. Refining and absorbing it would not increase the strength of a cultivator directly, but it could bring great benefits to any cultivator. This was especially true for Hua Qing Si and the others who had never refined a Star Source before. If they could gain some Source Strength here in the Shattered Star Sea, it would definitely help them reach the Emperor Realm.
Time slowly trickled by as the four sat cross-legged not far away from each other.
After half a day, Yang Kai couldn’t help but frown.
He discovered that the efficiency of refining and absorbing Source Strength like this was simply too low.
Even after tirelessly trying for half a day, the four hadn’t absorbed much of the Source Strength here. If they kept at it like this, they would need ten days to half a month to completely refine the Shattered Star Source here.
If it was taking this long even when the four of them were cooperating, just how long would it take for a single person? A month? Two months? This was a troublesome situation.
Yang Kai quietly observed Hua Qing Si and the others, and found that they were in the same position as himself.
Only Zhang Ruo Xi seemed to be refining and absorbing the Source Strength at a faster speed. Who knows whether it was related to her bloodline or not; however, even her speed was very limited.
[I wonder, if I threw the Embodiment here and let him use the Heaven Devouring Battle Law, how effective would it be? The Heaven Devour Battle Law can devour everything in the world, so Source Strength should definitely not be an exception.]
Thinking about it, Yang Kai’s eyes suddenly lit up.
Just like the Embodiment had the Heaven Devouring Battle Law, he too had another Secret Technique which was designed to refine Star Sources.
The Star Refining Art!
This Secret Technique was obtained when he explored the Emperor Garden on Shadowed Star. It was one of Yang Yan’s Secret Techniques and it was also thanks to this technique that Yang Kai could refine Shadowed Star’s Star Source and become its Star Master.
Later, he passed on the Star Refining Art to Little Senior Sister Xia Ning Chang, who then successfully refined the Star Source of Tong Xuan Realm.
It was quite evident that the Star Refining Art was a Secret Technique dedicated to refining Star Sources, so wasn’t it perfect for this place?
Yang Kai suddenly became excited and without hesitating for another moment, he promptly began circulating the Star Refining Art.
In the beginning, nothing worth mentioning happened around him, but as time passed, the Source Strength swarmed toward him like cats that had gotten the whiff of fresh fish, waiting to be refined and absorbed by him.
After a while, specks of starlight appeared around Yang Kai, as if he was surrounded by large swaths of fireflies. These specks of starlight were filled with a tremendous amount of Source Strength, the physical manifestation of the Shattered Star Source.
Yang Kai’s body had turned into a bottomless pit, welcoming all of this energy. He opened his body and mind to accept the countless specks of starlight.
For a moment, the entire process painted a spectacular and extremely dazzling picture.
Hua Qing Si and the others were all startled and opened their eyes and stared at Yang Kai in surprise.
After this, even Zhang Ruo Xi was unable to absorb any more Source Strength as all of it had been drawn to Yang Kai, depriving everyone else of any benefits.
After some unknown amount of time, the specks of starlight around Yang Kai gradually became thinner and then disappeared.
Realizing that there was no more Source Strength here, Yang Kai slowly opened his eyes, a satisfied look on his face.
But immediately, he noticed three pairs of beautiful eyes grudgingly glaring at him, as if Yang Kai had abandoned them.
Yang Kai, wiping the sweat off his forehead, embarrassingly stating, “I was doing an experiment. I didn’t expect it to be this effective!”
Although he had been focusing on refining the Source Strength here, he knew what was going around him. He also knew why Hua Qing Si and the others were looking at him with accusatory gazes.
Hua Qing Si spoke, “Young Master, what kind of mysterious technique were you using? It only took you half a day to absorb the Shattered Star Source here.”
“The Star Refining Art,” Yang Kai beckoned and stated, “Come, I will teach it to you. This Secret Technique is tailor-made for this place.”
The three girls’ eyes instantly lit up after hearing this and they hurriedly came to Yang Kai and sat down cross-legged, earnestly looking at him.
Yang Kai immediately began to teach them, hiding nothing.
The three girls listened to him with rapt attention. Each of their aptitudes was quite good, so they mastered this new technique in just two days. After they had mastered the Star Refining Art, Yang Kai finally set off again, flying through the cold and empty Starry Sky.
With the Star Refining Art, he felt that he could make up for the loss of one year easily.
After all, the time it would take others to refine Shattered Star Sources couldn’t be compared with the time he took, making his efficiency much higher than others.
After five days, Yang Kai found another Cultivation Star with a Shattered Source through his Star Seal.
He flew to it with Hua Qing Si and the others, then within half a day, the Source Strength here was completely absorbed. It was the first time Hua Qing Si and the others had absorbed Star Source so efficiently, so they were left wanting more.
Over the next month, Yang Kai continued to explore the Starry Sky, finding Shattered Star Sources several times.
This one month of wandering had made Yang Kai deeply appreciate the mystical effects of his Star Seal. Often, at a very far distance, Yang Kai could sense the presence of others whose grade of Star Seal was obviously lower than his own, making it impossible for them to hide their presence.
Yang Kai didn’t bother these people though as he focused on searching for more Source Strength.
After another month, all four of them had a good harvest.
But today, after absorbing the Shattered Star Source of a certain Cultivation Star, Hua Qing Si suddenly approached Yang Kai, seemingly wanting to say something.
Yang Kai looked at her with a weird gaze and asked, “What’s the matter, Sister Hua?”
Hua Qing Si replied, “Young Master, I want to act alone.”
Yang Kai was taken aback, frowning as he asked, “Is it because the Source Strength is too little for four?”
Hua Qing Si shook her head and stated, “No… it’s not that… It’s just…” She turned her head and looked toward the pitch-black void. Her beautiful eyes flickered with a strange gleam, “I can feel it. There is something in this Shattered Star Sea that can help me take that last step. There is an opportunity waiting for me somewhere! I want to search for it.”
Hua Qing Si was already a peak Dao Source Realm Master, only one step away from the Emperor Realm. Since she was feeling like this at this critical juncture, it was very likely that there was a real opportunity out there for her.
A sudden epiphany was often more useful than entering secluded retreat for ten or twenty years.
Considering all this, Yang Kai didn’t have any intention to stop her. Perhaps by letting Hua Qing Si act alone, she might have a surprising harvest.
Furthermore, Hua Qing Si was strong, and she had the Five-Coloured Spear Emperor Artifact. This Emperor Artifact was formerly owned by Yao Chang Jun and had already been refined by Hua Qing Qi now, boosting her strength greatly.
Ordinary cultivators would not be her opponent.
What Hua Qing Si was lacking now was just a Star Seal! Without a Star Seal, she would not be able to sense the location of Star Sources and would only be able to search aimlessly.
“Take this,” Yang Kai reached out and gave her a Space Ring.
Hua Qing Si took it and checked out its contents with her Divine Sense. The next moment, she cried out in surprise, “So many Source Crystals!”
Everything in the ring was basically Source Crystals. There were roughly two to three hundred million Source Crystals, many of which were High Rank. In addition to the Source Crystals, there were various pills personally refined by Yang Kai.
“If you really manage to obtain an opportunity to break through to the Emperor Realm here, these Source Crystals will be a necessity. The World Energy in the Shattered Star Sea is very thin, so don’t reject this,” Yang Kai earnestly urged her.
Hua Qing Si tightly gripped the Space Ring and nodded, “Many thanks, Young Master Yang. You really care about me the most in this world.”
She might have been forced to follow Yang Kai in the beginning and was even locked in the Sealed World Bead by him for a time, but Yang Kai hadn’t put her at any disadvantage over these years. Not only that, but she also received an Extraordinary Treasure Pill, that everyone dreamed of but could never obtain, which allowed her to lay a solid foundation and clear path to the Emperor Realm. She also received the Five-Coloured Spear Emperor Artifact from Yang Kai.
Now, Yang Kai had given her three hundred million Source Crystals all at once. In this world, no one other than him had treated her so well and given her so many treasures. Whether it was the Extraordinary Treasure Pill or the Five-Coloured Spear, they were the treasures that could cause countless Masters to fight over. Even her own Master back in Star Soul Palace had not been this good to her.
Hua Qing Si was truly moved.
If she could really break through to the Emperor Realm in the future, she would have to thank Yang Kai the most. She mentioned sensing an opportunity just now, but in her heart, she thought that meeting Yang Kai was the biggest opportunity of her life.
“Sister Hua, there’s no need to be polite!” Yang Kai smiled. Suddenly, he remembered something and said, “Don’t move!”
Saying so, he suddenly stretched his finger out toward Hua Qing Si’s forehead.
Hua Qing Si didn’t know what he was planning to do, but she didn’t take any defensive stance at all, simply standing still and waiting.
Yang Kai pointed his finger at her forehead, and in the next moment, Hua Qing Si’s tender figure trembled. She felt as if some invisible shackle had been lifted, allowing her mind and body to completely relax.
She instantly understood what Yang Kai had done. To her surprise, Yang Kai had returned her Soul Brand to her Knowledge Sea!
Back then, when she was locked in the Sealed World Bead by Yang Kai, she had been forced to open her Knowledge Sea and allow Yang Kai to take her Soul Brand. From then on, she was no longer able to resist Yang Kai and had to unconditionally obey him.
But now, Yang Kai had returned her Soul Brand to her of his own volition!
In other words, she was now free, no longer bound to Yang Kai.
“Young Master Yang…” Hua Qing Si’s pretty eyes quivered as she looked at him with disbelief.
Yang Kai smiled and stated, “If one wants to break through to the Emperor Realm, they should have nothing hindering or distracting them.”
Hua Qing Si pursed her lips into a smile before she suddenly placed her hand over her heart and swore, “Young Master, rest assured, Sister Hua will not reveal any of your secrets in this lifetime. If I ever violate this oath, let the Heavens cause dissonance in my cultivation and condemn me to death!”
She knew too many of Yang Kai’s secrets. Whether it was the Sealed World Bead or Yang Kai’s various trump cards, or the Immortal Tree and the Firmament Tree planted in the medicine garden, if word of any one of these treasures got out, it would be impossible for Yang Kai to gain a foothold in the Star Boundary again. He would be hunted down no matter where he went.
She took the initiative to swear such an oath, planting a Heart Demon on herself all to assure Yang Kai that his secrets would not be leaked.
Yang Kai stated with a smile, “If I didn’t believe you, I wouldn’t have returned your Soul Brand. Sister Hua, act freely but be careful on your way!”
Hua Qing Si nodded before asking, “If the Shattered Star Sea closes, how can I find you?”
“If you want to find me, you can go to the Thousand Leaves Sect. Someday I will visit Thousand Leaves Sect.”
Chi Yue, Ai Ou and the others were in Thousands Leaves Sect, so Yang Kai would eventually go there to reunite with them.
“Alright, I’ll go there and wait for you,” Hua Qing Si nodded and walked forward, saying a few words to Liu Yang and Zhang Ruo Xi before her tender figure flew towards the Starry Sky, disappearing into the darkness.
Looking in the direction she left, Yang Kai heaved a slight sigh.
Over the past few years, Hua Qing Si had helped him a lot. When he had imprisoned Hua Qing Si, there wasn’t any malicious intent behind it, she had simply seen too many of his secrets for him to let her go at the time. He had always planned on returning her freedom to her once she broke through to the Emperor Realm, now he had just done it a bit earlier.
After having been with her for such a long time, Yang Kai felt that Hua Qing Si was trustworthy, so even if she had not made such an oath, he wouldn’t have worried about it.
“Sir…” A weak shout came from nearby, and Yang Kai felt someone tugging his sleeve. Looking down, he saw it was none other than Zhang Ruo Xi. She was gazing at him with an expectant look on her face.
He sceptically asked, “What’s wrong?”
“Sir, I… I…” Zhang Ruo Xi hesitated, stuttering and repeating herself.
Yang Kai, furrowing his brow, asked, “You wouldn’t happen to be thinking of acting alone as well, would you?”
He had noticed that Zhang Ruo Xi was somewhat anxious and excited, so he had this guess. What he didn’t expect was that Zhang Ruo Xi would nod in agreement.
Yang Kai was greatly shocked, “Are you sure?”
Zhang Ruo Xi bit her cherry red lips, then took a deep breath as if she was summoning her courage before she spoke, “Since Ruo Xi left the Zhang Family, Ruo Xi has been cultivating under the shelter of Sir’s wings. Although Ruo Xi can be considered to have achieved some success, Old Ancestor once told me that flowers that do not withstand the wind and rain do not grow strong. Ruo Xi does not want to be a drag on Sir. Ruo Xi wants to become stronger too… So… Ruo Xi wants to try.”
Yang Kai’s face turned serious as he asked, “Do you know how dangerous this will be?”
Zhang Ruo Xi hesitated before gently nodding.
Yang Kai added, “Then you know who the people who have entered here are, yes? You have a naturally kind and simple personality. You haven’t seen how treacherous the world is, are you sure you can survive here?”
“Ruo Xi will try her best!”
Yang Kai blankly stared at her, seeming to have seen another side of Zhang Ruo Xi for the first time. The weak-looking girl seemed a lot stronger now.
“Master, let me go with her,” Liu Yan suddenly interrupted. “If I and Ruo Xi are together, we can take care of each other. Moreover, I still have Xiao Bai, so there shouldn’t be any danger.”
Yang Kai glanced at Liu Yan and seeing her nod at him, he finally relented, “Liu Yan will go with you. Will that be a problem?”
Zhang Ruo Xi cried in joy, “That would be the best!”
Yang Kai appeared to have become emotional as he spoke, “Since your wings have grown, then fly as you wish.”
When he first brought Zhang Ruo Xi with him, she was just a First-Order Origin Returning Realm child, but over the years, she had slowly advanced to the Dao Source Realm.
If someone from Zhang Family knew about this, they would surely be joyful. The Zhang Family hadn’t had a Dao Source Realm Master in many years. Now, the strongest person in the Zhang Family was the Old Ancestor who was just a Second-Order Origin King. Such strength was basically insignificant in this world.
If Zhang Ruo Xi was allowed to move alone, Yang Kai would not have been able to relax. She might just be eager to try out how strong she currently was and was following Hua Qing Si’s example, but she was still just a First-Order Dao Source Realm cultivator, and even if she had her special Bloodline Power, someone with her cultivation and with no experience in fighting would be in danger here. She might encounter a crisis that she couldn’t deal with.
But if Liu Yan was with her, there would be no problem.
Not to mention Liu Yan having a Heaven Grade puppet with her, Xiao Bai, her personal strength was at the peak of the Dao Source Realm. Furthermore, Liu Yan had the Annihilation Thunder Bead with her. What’s more, although Zhang Ruo Xi was a little weaker, she was wearing the Pink Clouds Phoenix Robe.
As long as the two were cautious, they wouldn’t be in any danger.
Hearing Yang Kai’s words, Zhang Ruo Xi waved her hands in horror and explained herself, “Sir, you are misunderstanding, Ruo Xi didn’t mean it like that.”
Liu Yan comforted her, “Don’t mind it. Master was just casually speaking.”
Yang Kai handed Liu Yan a Space Ring and instructed, “Take these, they are the same as Sister Hua’s. When the Shattered Star Sea closes in the future, if we haven’t met up by then, go to the Thousands Leaves Sect and wait for me there.”
Liu Yan took the Space Ring and answered with a nod, “I will remember.”
“Go on then!” Yang Kai waved them off.
Zhang Ruo Xi pursed her cherry red lips before she approached Yang Kai and knelt down, kowtowing as she declared, “Ruo Xi will forever remember Sir’s kindness. Sir, you must remain safe. Ruo Xi will take care of you in the future.”
“Get up, this is not a life and death parting. We will meet another day,” Yang Kai bent over and helped her up.
“Let’s go,” said Liu Yan, grabbing Zhang Ruo Xi’s tender hand and pushing her Source Qi before flying towards the Starry Sky with her.
After a while, the two disappeared from sight.
“Everyone is gone,” Yang Kai murmured as he stood there, feeling some slight melancholy.
Although he had wandered alone for many years now, he never felt too lonely because there was life in the Sealed World Bead. This time though, Hua Qing Si, Liu Yan, and Zhang Ruo Xi had all left, making him feel a little uncomfortable, like something was missing from his side.
However, he also knew that although it was safer for everyone to stick together, the harvest was also significantly smaller.
Now that he had taught them the Star Refining Art, if they acted alone, their gains would be greater. Perhaps this was a part of the reason they wanted to leave. They didn’t want to drag him down and share his harvest.
Just as Yang Kai was in a daze, he suddenly realized that the Embodiment was calling him.
He quickly sent a part of his consciousness into the Sealed World Bead and connected with the Embodiment, “You’re not thinking of acting alone too, are you?”
Although the base of the Embodiment’s sentience was his Soul Clone, along with the rise in its strength, the Soul Clone had fused completely with the Stone Puppet body. Now, the Embodiment could be considered a unique existence. It couldn’t be merely regarded as Yang Kai’s Soul Clone. It had its own thoughts and ideas. Of course, if the two were willing, they could still communicate with each other and share all their thoughts and memories. Even if they did not converse, they could still guess what the other was thinking.
The Embodiment burst into laughter before speaking, “Do you think I can easily act alone?”
Yang Kai stated, snorting, “At least you are a little self-aware.”
The Embodiment added, “I couldn’t see you act all lonely, come, I will accompany you to chat.”
Yang Kai’s corners of mouth twitched, “How is it any different from me talking to myself?”
Although he said this, Yang Kai’s lonely mood very soon cleared up. The little sense of loss that had been there had disappeared.
“There is one thing I haven’t told you,” the Embodiment suddenly continued in a solemn voice.
“What’s the matter?” Yang Kai asked.
The Embodiment replied, “I feel that my cultivation has reached a bottleneck.”
Yang Kai stated, “It’s usual to encounter a bottleneck while cultivating. It’s not your very first time cultivating, you should…”
Before he could finish, Yang Kai suddenly realized that something was extremely wrong.
The Embodiment added, “Logically speaking, a Heaven-defying Secret Art like the Heaven Devouring Battle Law should not have any bottlenecks. You have also studied this Secret Art and should understand what I mean.”
Yang Kai nodded. He had indeed researched this Secret Art after he obtained it from Wu Meng Chuan. At that time, he had felt that this Secret Art was too Heaven-defying. Everything in the world generally had some kind of energy in it, so theoretically there was nothing the Heaven Devouring Battle Law couldn’t devour. Furthermore, there should not be any bottleneck when cultivating with it.
But now, the Embodiment had encountered a bottleneck, which was undoubtedly abnormal.
“I have a feeling that this bottleneck cannot be broken through cultivation nor opportunity. Are you sure the Secret Art passed by Wu Meng Chuan is complete?”
Hearing this, Yang Kai couldn’t help but be suspicious.
If the Heavenly Devouring Battle Law taught by Wu Meng Chuan was incomplete, then the situation encountered by the Embodiment was well within reason.
But Yang Kai couldn’t figure out why Wu Meng Chuan taught him an incomplete Secret Art. If it was to repay Yang Kai for saving his life, then this price was too high. This Secret Art was known as the number one Secret Art in the Star Boundary. The Heaven Devouring Great Emperor had climbed to the top of the Star Boundary relying on this Secret Art, so every Master and Emperor coveted it.
Looking back now, Yang Kai realized that many things back then could be considered dubious.
“After the Shattered Star Sea closes, let’s take a trip to Blue Feather Sect and ask Wu Meng Chuan for a clear answer,” Yang Kai pondered for a moment before coming to a decision.
In the past, he was afraid of Wu Meng Chuan. First, the opponent’s background was pretty big as an authentic descendant of the Heaven Devouring Great Emperor. Wu Meng Chuan also had many cards up his sleeve. More importantly, Yang Kai was far weaker than him at the time.
But now, the situation was no longer the same as it used to be. Among the cultivators of the same realm, Yang Kai didn’t need to fear anyone. Even if, after all these years, Wu Meng Chuan really broke through to the Emperor Realm, Yang Kai had the confidence to challenge him.
…..
In the Starry Sky, Yang Kai flew forward. It had been nearly a month since he parted with Hua Qing Si and the others, and during this time, his harvest was mediocre.
Relying on the six-pointed Star Seal, Yang Kai could sense some Source Strength fluctuations every few days. All the Source Strength he encountered were completely cleaned out by him and the Embodiment.
The Embodiment also had a Star Source. The reason why its body was so huge was that it had merged with the Floating Continent. The Floating Continent had given birth to a Star Source a long time ago, so the two had become integrated.
The amount of Source Strength they had collected, however, wasn’t much. Yang Kai had also encountered a dozen people who came looking for trouble. Because of the special function of the Star Seal, the cultivators in the Shattered Star Sea would often start fighting as soon as they met.
Naturally, Yang Kai didn’t show them any mercy and killed them all.
However, the six-pointed Star Seal didn’t show any signs of upgrading. It had only become slightly brighter.
Today, Yang Kai sensed Source Strength fluctuations once again. He immediately changed his direction and shot off.
While he was en route, Yang Kai sensed two slightly different energy fluctuations.
He was familiar with these fluctuations. It was obviously the induction between Star Seals. In other words, two people had already arrived at the location of the Shattered Star Source.
Yang Kai hesitated for a while, but didn’t change his direction. Rather he sped up and shot straight towards these people, very soon arriving at a huge asteroid.
This asteroid was at least several thousand meters in radius and was floating through the Starry Sky. Its surface was flat and glossy.
What surprised Yang Kai was that he could sense Source Strength fluctuations coming from this asteroid. In other words, there were some Shattered Star Source fragments in this asteroid, and the amount wasn’t small either.
This was pretty strange. The Shattered Sources Yang Kai had encountered before were all found on some broken Cultivation Stars. This was the first time he had encountered this kind of Shattered Source, which seemed to be formed from an asteroid.
At this moment, there were two people on the asteroid already, a man and a woman, both of them in the Second-Order Dao Source Realm. The man and woman appeared to be fighting each other for the Source Strength here and it was not clear how long they had been fighting for. When Yang Kai arrived, both of them were panting, their auras slightly chaotic, clearly exhausted.
Yang Kai found the clothing of the man on the left a little familiar. The man appeared to be in his thirties and had a fierce look on his face.
The woman on the right had a graceful figure and her face was sharp and thin, giving off a wicked look. Furthermore, her aura gave an uncomfortable feeling. It was very cold.
This kind of coldness was very different from the coldness of an Ice Attribute Secret Art like that of Ice Heart Valley’s disciples. This cold gave rise to an instinctive repulsion in others, like this woman didn’t belong to this world.
These two were locked in heated combat, but the sudden appearance of Yang Kai had immediately startled them. They leapt back, one after another, and turned to stare at Yang Kai.
After scanning with their Divine Senses and realizing that Yang Kai was a Third-Order Dao Source Realm cultivator, their expressions immediately turned serious. Both of them were only in the Second-Order, so they had fought a hard struggle against one another with no clear winner, but if they now had to face Yang Kai, they definitely had no chance of winning in their current state.
Yang Kai indifferently glanced at the two before focusing his gaze on the back of their hands. To his surprise, both of them had five-pointed Star Seals.
According to Yang Kai’s understanding of Star Seals, there weren’t many five-pointed Star Seals that were naturally generated. Most of them were three-pointed or four-pointed. Since these two both had five-pointed Star Seals, they must have killed a lot of people in the Shattered Star Sea.
[They are not a good bunch!] Yang Kai coldly snorted in his heart.
Seeing Yang Kai stand there without speaking a single word, the two felt a little stressed. The woman was unable to take the silence anymore and she forced a smile to give Yang Kai a friendly nod.
However, before she could say anything, the other man interrupted her, cupping his fists and stating, “Greetings, this one is Northern Territory Seeking Passion Sect disciple, Guan Qi. I wonder how I should address this friend?”
“Seeking Passion Sect?” Yang Kai raised his brow, seeming to have been struck with realization.
He was still wondering why the other party’s robes looked familiar, but now it turned out he was a disciple of the Seeking Passion Sect.
When he thought of the Seeking Passion Sect, Yang Kai recalled Feng Xi and Feng Xuan, the two shameless fellows, one old and one young. The old liked to bully the weak using his strength, while the young liked to bully the weak using his status. When he first entered the Shattered Star Sea, Yang Kai had even suffered a huge loss at Feng Xi’s hands. That Emperor Authority Bead had almost cost him his life, so, naturally, Yang Kai had no good feelings towards Seeking Passion Sect.
Seeing Yang Kai’s reaction, Guan Qi raised his brow and asked, “Friend, are you also from the Northern Territory?”
Yang Kai coldly snorted and scoffed, “Whether I am from the Northern Territory or not, it’s none of your damn business!”
Guan Qi found it a little hard to swallow Yang Kai’s complete impoliteness. He was a Second-Order Dao Source Realm, one Minor Realm lower than Yang Kai, but he was an elite disciple of Seeking Passion Sect. Since he could enter the Shattered Star Sea, it was evident that his aptitude was extraordinary. If he was outside, he would really not care about a Third-Order Dao Source Realm cultivator. Simply reporting his name and his Sect would be enough for most Third-Order Dao Source Realms to prostrate themselves before him.
But now, he just had a heated fight, and his strength was less than half of his peak. What’s more, Yang Kai didn’t look like someone easy to talk to, so why would he take a dive in a poisonous pool? All he could do was swallow his anger for now.
On the other hand, seeing Yang Kai not giving Guan Qi any face, the woman suddenly became relaxed.
She was afraid that Yang Kai and Guan Qi knew each other, or that he had some connection with the Northern Territory’s Seeking Passion Sect. If that had been the case, she could only choose to escape.
Now the situation was undoubtedly something she liked to see. So, she suddenly burst into a peal of bell-like melodious laughter, attracting everyone’s attention before she mocked, “What thing is Seeking Passion Sect. They even dare to utter their name in the Shattered Star Sea. I wonder how thick your face is.”
Being mocked by Yang Kai first and now ridiculed by this woman, Guan Qi’s face turned quite gloomy.
The woman completely ignored him and instead bowed to Yang Kai, winking at him as she bat her lashes and spoke in a sultry tone, “Greetings Senior Brother, this Junior Sister is Eastern Territory’s Netherworld Sect disciple, Yu Ying!”
Yang Kai’s pupil shrank as he blurted out, “Netherworld Sect!”
Yu Ying was stunned, wondering why Yang Kai showed such a big reaction. She cautiously asked, “Senior Brother seems to have heard of my Netherworld Sect?”
Yang Kai took a deep breath as he calmed his excitement before he stated with a smile, “I have naturally heard of it. Netherworld Sect’s name resounds like thunder in one’s ears. I have long heard of your noble Sect. How could I not have heard of it?”
When Guan Qi heard Yang Kai say so, he almost breathed flames of anger.
Earlier, when he had reported that he was a disciple of Seeking Passion Sect, Yang Kai had rebuffed him without any trace of politeness, but when this woman reported that she was from Netherworld Sect, he had heaped praise upon her. The difference in treatment was just too much!
In the entire Star Boundary, both Netherworld Sect and Seeking Passion Sect were actually top Sects in their respective territories, enjoying similar status across the world.
But Yang Kai’s different reaction made Guan Qi feel deeply insulted. He was so angry that he wanted to attack them and kill this shameless couple.
In Guan Qi’s opinion, Yang Kai was definitely a lecher who was weak to beauties. Judging by how Yang Kai was fawning over Yu Ying, he had definitely fallen for her beauty, and this girl wasn’t anything good either. When Guan Qi had met her, she had giggled and flirted with him, trying to make him give her the Star Source here, but after she was rejected, she started attacking without any hesitation, now, without even batting an eye, she was fawning over this newcomer. She was shameless to the core, having not the slightest self-respect or dignity.
Yu Ying smiled and asked, “Does this Senior Brother have some connection with my Netherworld Sect?”
It might have seemed that she was asking a casual question, but she was really showing meticulousness because she knew that she couldn’t trust anyone in the Shattered Star Sea. Yang Kai had only said that their Sect’s name ‘resounded like thunder’. How could she believe that he didn’t hold any malicious intention towards her just based on this?
She needed to inquire a little more so that she could be sure that the other party wasn’t just playing with her since she could not compete with a Third-Order Dao Source Realm.
“Obviously there is,” Yang Kai slightly smiled. He saw through Yu Ying’s meticulous thoughts and pondered for a moment before adding, “I came from the Grand Desolation Star Field. I wonder if Junior Sister has heard of it?”
Yu Ying’s pretty eyes lit up after hearing this as she cried out in surprise, “Grand Desolation Star Field?”
Yang Kai burst into laughter and continued, “Junior Sister, since you have heard of the Grand Desolation Star Field, you should know Senior Brother Yin Le Sheng pretty well, yes?”
Yin Le Sheng was from the Grand Desolation Star Field, and just like Liu Xian Yun, he was a former overlord from that Star Field.
Yang Kai hadn’t expected that he would actually run into someone from the Eastern Territory’s Netherworld Sect in the Shattered Star Sea. He had hoped for it, but he hadn’t expected it to be so easy.
Before he departed from Thousand Leaves Sect, he had been thinking of going to the Netherworld Sect to look for Yin Le Sheng to find out about the whereabouts of Xiao Xiao. Unfortunately, things didn’t turn out as he expected. Before Yang Kai could arrive in the Eastern Territory, he was swept into the Solitary Void Sealed World, and then was later sent to the Northern Territory, which had made his plans go awry.
At this moment though, he had actually run into someone from the Netherworld Sect. Naturally, Yang Kai was pleasantly surprised.
And if by some chance Yin Le Sheng had come to the Shattered Star Sea as well, Yang Kai believed that he could get his location from Yu Ying.
[If I want to find Xiao Xiao, I can only start from Yin Le Sheng.] In a flash, Yang Kai’s gaze towards Yu Ying changed, filling with a fiery light.
Yu Ying had obviously noticed this and turned shy at just the right moment as she stated in a low voice, “Senior Brother Yin, he has been very good to me.”
“Senior Brother?” Yang Kai raised his brow as he asked in surprise. It had been just six or seven years since Yin Le Sheng arrived in the Star Boundary from the Grand Desolation Star Field. Even if he had entered the Netherworld Sect, he shouldn’t have been able to become a Senior Brother in such a short time.
Yu Ying was a Second-Order Dao Source Realm cultivator, but she was addressing Yin Le Sheng as Senior Brother, so wouldn’t that mean that Yin Le Sheng’s cultivation was higher than hers?
“Naturally, it is Senior Brother!” Yu Ying smiled, “Senior Brother Yin might have joined the Sect recently, but his aptitude is superb. He was personally taken in by the Sect Master as a Disciple and advanced to the Third-Order Dao Source Realm just before the Shattered Star Sea opened!”
Yang Kai gasped in shock upon hearing this.
Yin Le Sheng actually reached the Third-Order Dao Source Realm in such a short amount of time! Yang Kai thought that his cultivation speed was quite quick, but Yin Le Sheng’s wasn’t bad either, basically keeping pace with him.
Compared to Ai Ou, Chi Yue, and the others’ current cultivation, Yin Le Sheng’s progress was terrifying.
Yu Ying smiled and continued, “Senior Brother Yin is a Star Master from the lower Star Field, and he has received much care from the Sect Master, enjoying many resources. Be that as it may, it is still a miracle to reach the Third-Order Dao Source Realm in such a short time. The year he joined the Sect, I was also a First-Order Dao Source Realm, but now… hehe.”
While speaking, a saddened look appeared on her face, appearing a bit ashamed to compare her progress with Yin Le Sheng’s.
“Senior Brother Yin’s aptitude is extraordinary. He is also the person I admire the most in my life. Knowing that he has already advanced to the Third-Order Dao Source Realm, I am truly gratified!” Yang Kai barely suppressed the nauseating feeling in his heart and spoke words of praise.
Yu Ying seemed to have eliminated the suspicion and vigilance in her heart because he had spoken about the Grand Desolation Field and Yin Le Sheng. It was evident that Yang Kai and Yin Le Sheng had deep ties, otherwise, he shouldn’t have been aware of such secret information.
“Isn’t this Senior Brother also a Third-Order Dao Source Realm Master? In this Junior Sister’s opinion, you aren’t worse than Senior Brother Yin,” said Yu Ying, smiling.
“I don’t dare to compare myself with Senior Brother Yin. I was able to reach this point because I encountered an extraordinary opportunity. If it had just been through regular cultivation, how could I stand a chance against Senior Brother Yin’s heaven-defying aptitude? Back then, in the Grand Desolation Star Field, I received many favours and guidance from him. In fact, it was only thanks to him that I was able to come to the Star Boundary. I had planned to join your noble Sect, but unfortunately, the Starlight Corridor collapsed at that time and I was thrown out into the Southern Territory. Since then, I never had the chance to pay homage to your noble Sect.”
“You were also going to join our Sect?” Yu Ying looked at Yang Kai in surprise before asking, “Why haven’t I heard about you from Senior Brother Yin?”
Judging by her tone, she seemed to know Yin Le Sheng fairly well.
Yang Kai smiled and explained, “Senior Brother Yin most likely assumed I had died; after all, I was seriously injured at that time. But that became a blessing in disguise. Not only did I not die, I also gained a great opportunity.”
“So, that’s how it is!” Yu Ying nodded without doubting anything.
Yang Kai, changed the topic, asked, “By the way, is Senior Brother Yin also in the Shattered Star Sea now?”
“He is! Twelve of our Sect’s disciples have come here. Naturally, Senior Brother Yin had a quota too,” replied Yu Ying.
“Wonderful!” Yang Kai excitedly shouted, “I have always wanted to go to the Eastern Territory to meet my Senior Brother all these years, but it was simply too far. Who would have thought that I would encounter Junior Sister Yu in the Shattered Star Sea. Tell me, is this not fate?”
Yu Ying giggled and added, “It is this Junior Sister who is blessed to meet Senior Brother here. By the way, how should I address Senior Brother?”
“Feng De, my name is Feng De!” Yang Kai replied.
Feng De was indeed a real character, a burly bald-headed man. Just like Liu Xian Yun, he was together with Yin Le Sheng in the Starlight Corridor; however, he was later killed by Yang Kai. Since Yang Kai wanted to impersonate someone from the Grand Desolation Star Field, he had used this name.
Who knows what kind of expression Yin Le Sheng would show when he heard that Feng De had come back from the dead.
“Greetings, Senior Brother Feng!” After having chatted with Yang Kai, Yu Ying was no longer suspicious of him. Instead, she was acting quite ‘familiar’. A glimmer flashed in her eyes as she asked, “Senior Brother Feng, are you still interested in joining our Sect? Or is Senior Brother already part of another Sect?”
Yang Kai promptly replied, “How could I belong to any Sect? I had joined a small Sect before, but it was destroyed not long after. I have been wandering alone since then.” While speaking, he looked at Yu Ying with expectation, “I do indeed wish to join your noble Sect, but unfortunately, I never got the chance to meet Senior Brother Yin and did not know anyone else who could give me a recommendation. So, I didn’t dare to take any liberties.”
Yu Ying smiled and stated, “That’s a simple matter to resolve. I will take you to Senior Brother Yin when we are done with the things here. When you see Senior Brother Yin, you can ask him yourself. I believe he will not refuse you.”
“Really!?” Yang Kai was overjoyed.
“Why would Junior Sister lie to you?” Yu Ying slightly smiled, flying over and leaning her soft and fragrant figure against Yang Kai before meaningfully asking, “When Senior Brother Feng joins our Sect, don’t forget to take good care of this Junior Sister.”
Yang Kai immediately showed a lustful look as he agreed, nodding repeatedly, “If I can really join your noble Sect, then Junior Sister Yu will be my great benefactor. This Feng will never treat you like an outsider.”
Yu Ying broke into a giggle, “Then, let me thank Senior Brother Feng in advance.”
The two began a steamy chat, while the gloominess of the nearby Guan Qi’s face only increased.
When Yang Kai stated that he came from some Grand Desolation Star Field, he had already realized something was wrong. Later, the more the two fools talked, the more passionate they became. The unfriendly look in this Feng De’s eyes gave him a sense of crisis.
At this moment, the two of them were acting more like Senior Brother and Junior Sister, obviously intent on pulling their relationship closer, leaving Guan Qi anxious.
He might have been able to fight off Yu Ying before, but with Yang Kai added to the mix, he had absolutely no chance of winning. And judging by Yang Kai’s previous attitude, he clearly didn’t have a good impression of the Seeking Passion Sect. Since he was a Seeking Passion Sect disciple, what good would it do to bargain here?
He wanted to escape, but he didn’t dare to act rashly, lest he draw their murderous intentions.
But if he didn’t leave now, what could he do?
Considering all this, he clenched his teeth and stated, cupping his fist, “Friends, you can continue with your chat, this Guan will take his leave first.”
While speaking, his figure swayed and he prepared to retreat.
Yu Ying, who was chatting with Yang Kai with a smile on her face, suddenly turned cold, her expression changing as quickly as flipping a page and she shouted in a piercing voice, “Where do you think you’re going?”
Just as she screamed, she raised her bare and tender arm as a dark and gloomy ghost claw tore towards Guan Qi. The ghost claw was exuding an incomparably sinister and cold aura.
Guan Qi’s face changed and he immediately sent out a barrage of fist shadows towards the sky.
Deafening explosions immediately rang out as the two moves cancelled one another out.
But having been blocked by Yu Ying like this, Guan Qi didn’t dare to leave.
“Senior Brother Feng…” Yu Ying suddenly coquettishly called out to Yang Kai, shaking his arm as she stamped her foot and pleaded, “He is bullying me, don’t you care!?”
Yang Kai immediately got goosebumps and cold sweat formed on his back. He was barely suppressing the nausea in his heart as he stated with a cold snort, “You, rat, dare to bully my Junior Sister Yu, are you really that tired of living!?”
Even though he didn’t like members of the Seeking Passion Sect, at the end of day, he had no grievances or grudges with this Guan Qi. Therefore, there was no reason for him to kill Guan Qi. Not to mention, he didn’t like being treated as someone else’s dog. Obviously, Yu Yin was using her power to embarrass Guan Qi, and Yang Kai disdained such practices, so although he was presenting a vicious stance, he didn’t release the slightest murderous intent.
Guan Qi grit his teeth and explained himself, “Brother Feng, I discovered the Star Source here first, and this… Young Lady wanted to snatch it from me after the fact. We had a disagreement, which led to a fight. She hasn’t suffered any injuries and this Guan doesn’t want this Star Source either. I just want to leave this place. Friend, I’m asking you to allow me to leave.”
“Who is robbing you!? Obviously it was you who was attracted to me and tried to use the Star Source here to seduce me, and after you were rejected by me, you became angry out of shame and wanted to use force! Fortunately, I was prepared, otherwise, you would have surely succeeded,” Yu Ying aggrievedly cried, guarding herself in frustration as if Guan Qi had really done something wrong to her.
Guan Qi looked at Yu Ying with widened eyes as he rebuked in disbelief, “Do you know no shame?”
Yu Ying’s pretty face turned extremely gloomy as she lashed out, “You dare call me shameless!?”
Guan Qi angrily rebuked, “I discovered the Star Source here first and you wanted to snatch it! Why are you blaming others while you yourself are to be blamed.”
Suddenly, the two were locked in an endless quarrel, citing that the Star Source here was first discovered by them and the other party wanted to snatch it. They both repeated the same words but there was no evidence for either side, so there was no way to prove that what they were saying was indeed true.
Yang Kai indifferently stood on one side, sneering in his heart.
[If my guess is right, Guan Qi should have discovered the Star Source first and Yu Ying tried to snatch it.]
The reason was very simple. Since Guan Qi could come to the Shattered Star Sea, it meant his aptitude was pretty good in the Seeking Passion Sect. He could be regarded as an elite disciple, and as an elite, he must be cultivating the Seeking Passion Supreme Art.
This Secret Art of Seeking Passion Sect followed the Dao of Passion, so even if their elite disciples were a little lustful and each of them had countless wives and concubines, because of the characteristics of the Seeking Passion Supreme Art, they would never force themselves on a woman. When they wanted to get a woman, they would inevitably need to seduce and win her over, so the other party fell in love with them.
Yu Ying stated that Guan Qi had lusted for her, which was obviously nonsense.
If Yang Kai hadn’t dealt with the Seeking Passion Sect in the Northern Territory, he wouldn’t have been aware of this particular detail.
But then again, neither of these two were good people. They were fighting like dogs, biting each other.
The two quarrelled for a while before Yu Ying shook Yang Kai’s arm and sweetly whispered, “Senior Brother Feng, this person is bullying me. You have to do something on my behalf!”
By the looks of her stance, she really wanted to rely on Yang Kai’s strength to wear the lion’s skin.
Yang Kai didn’t want to watch it anymore, so he let out a cold snort and stated directly, “Since you have offended my Junior Sister Yu, this matter can’t be forgotten.”
Guan Qi gritted his teeth and shouted in a low voice, glaring at Yang Kai, “What do you want? Friend, I have no past grudge or grievance with you, so don’t go too far!”
He was neither humble nor overbearing, catching Yang Kai by surprise. After pondering for a while, Yang Kai sneered and stated, “Fortunately, Junior Sister Yu didn’t suffer any injuries. Otherwise, this Feng would have already taken your life!”
Guan Qi relaxed after hearing this. From the looks of it, it seemed that Yang Kai wasn’t planning on making things too difficult for him. This surprised him as he had no idea what Yang Kai wanted.
In this damned place, a Third-Order Dao Source Realm Master had plenty of reasons and the ability to kill him. And to top it off, any conflicts at this point would mean a death in vain.
“Who said I’m not hurt? My heart is deeply wounded. If you don’t believe it, Senior Brother, you examine it for yourself,” Yu Ying whispered in a tender voice and while speaking, she pushed her ‘heart’ before Yang Kai, as though saying ‘I’m all yours’.
Black lines appeared on Yang Kai’s face as he stated, “There is someone here…”
Yu Ying giggled and said, “Senior Brother Feng, you are really interesting.”
She thought that Yang Kai had thin skin and was embarrassed to have excessive contact in front of others.
Yang Kai quickly changed the subject and shouted at Guan Qi, “Let’s do it like this, you will have to leave something behind and I’ll let you go!”
“What!?” Guan Qi’s face changed as he cried in shock. If Yang Kai’s request wasn’t excessive, he might agree, but if it’s too excessive, even if he had to put his life on the line, he would not let Yang Kai have his way.
“Leave your Space Ring as compensation for my Junior Sister Yu,” Yang Kai stated coldly.
Yu Ying was a little unhappy because Yang Kai said that he was going to let Guan Qi off, but when she heard the next sentence, she immediately raised her brows in glee and looked at Yang Kai in gratitude.
Guan Qi pondered for a moment in silence. He seemed to have also realized that he was currently a fish on the chopping board that couldn’t resist at all, so he reluctantly removed his Space Ring and threw it to Yang Kai.
Yang Kai casually took it, secretly inspected it with his Divine Sense to make sure that there was nothing in it that he was interested in, before gifting it to Yu Ying.
“Can this Guan go now?” Guan Qi anxiously asked.
“Scram!” Yang Kai fiercely shouted.
Guan Qi bitterly glanced at Yang Kai and Yu Ying, as if he wanted to burn the image of this shameless couple in the depths of his mind. Only then did he use some kind of Secret Technique to flee at a very fast speed.
“Senior Brother Feng, if you make a move now, you can definitely catch him by surprise!” Yu Ying whispered in Yang Kai’s ear while secretly circulating her Source Qi, preparing to make her move at any moment.
[She is truly vicious!] Yang Kai was secretly shocked. Even now, she didn’t plan to let Guan Qi go. She wanted to take his life. Presumably, if not for her being uncertain if she would succeed, she would have already acted.
She wanted to use Yang Kai’s strength to kill Guan Qi.
But much to her disappointment, from the start of Guan Qi’s departure, Yang Kai had no intention of making a move. Yu Ying was a little dissatisfied by this and knit her brow, secretly thinking that this Senior Brother surnamed Feng was a little too kind.
[That Guan Qi had a five-pointed Star Seal. If I could have killed him and stole his Star Seal, then my Star Seal would have upgraded. I missed this huge opportunity for nothing!] Yu Ying’s joy of getting Guan Qi’s Space Ring had diminished a lot.
“The disciples of the Seeking Passion Sect aren’t good to provoke, he might have some card up his sleeve. Once he was forced to use that card, we might not be able to retreat scot-free,” Yang Kai indifferently explained.
In fact, he just didn’t want to be used by Yu Ying. If he had met Guan Qi alone, the result might not have been the same.
“I guess, you are right,” Yu Ying approvingly nodded before continuing with a smile, “Senior Brother Feng is quite thorough.”
After a pause, she asked, “Senior Brother Feng, about that ring…”
Although Yang Kai had just mentioned that the ring was meant as compensation for her loss, it was Yang Kai who had robbed it, so at this moment, she had to ask for his opinion.
“Junior Sister, take it as my gift to you,” Yang Kai slightly smiled.
Yu Ying beamed with joy as she put the ring away and stated, “Senior Brother Feng, you are so good!”
Yang Kai smiled and continued, “Senior Brother is just gifting at the expense of others, so Junior Sister doesn’t need to care.” He then quickly changed the subject, “Right, I haven’t seen Senior Brother Yin for several years, why don’t we go look for him now?”
Deep down in his heart, he couldn’t wait to meet Yin Le Sheng and inquire about the whereabouts of Xiao Xiao. If it weren’t for this reason, why would he try to please Yu Ying and even more, tolerate her shamelessness?
“It’s not that simple to find Senior Brother Yin. Although we Netherworld Sect disciples cultivated a certain Secret Technique before we came to this place which allows us to sense each other from far away, the Shattered Star Sea is vast and we might not see each other until it closes. However, Senior Brother Feng, rest assured, even if we don’t find Senior Brother Ying, when you come to my Netherworld Sect in the future, you only need to report this Junior Sister’s name, and this Junior Sister will definitely welcome you in person.”
Yang Kai was struck with a chill when he heard this. If Yin Le Sheng wasn’t found, what would he do with Yu Ying?
Yu Ying added, “But it’s not like there is no hope. We are still in the periphery of the Shattered Star Sea. Senior Brother Yin must be heading towards the central region so we simply need to travel deeper before I can sense his position.”
“Then what are we waiting for? Let’s go!” Yang Kai anxiously proposed.
Yu Ying glanced at him and said, “Oh, Senior Brother Feng, you are really anxious. It is important to find Senior Brother Yin, but the Star Source here is not to be missed either.”
Yang Kai smacked his head and said, “Good, I almost forgot about this. Many thanks for Junior Sister Yu’s reminder.”
Yu Ying pursed her lips into a smile, “Senior Brother Feng is so cute.”
Yang Kai stated, “In that case, you and I should find a place to refine the Star Source here, and then we will go look for Senior Brother Yin.”
“Good!”
Next, the two moved separately, each looking for a safe location before they sat down cross-legged and started refining the Source Strength.
The Source Strength here wasn’t bad, enough for two ordinary Dao Source Realm cultivators to spend an entire month to completely absorb it.
Fortunately, the Shattered Star Sea remained open for quite some time, allowing cultivators to refine a lot of Source Strength despite it being a time-consuming process. If the duration was too short, the cultivators who entered here basically wouldn’t gain any benefits at all.
Yang Kai was anxious to find Yin Le Sheng though, so he directly used his Star Refining Art and in an instant, the Source Strength lingering about this asteroid swarmed toward him, transforming into specks of starlight that passed through his skin and merged with his body.
After two days, the Source Strength of the asteroid was completely refined.
This was the result of Yang Kai holding back. If he had gone all out, perhaps it wouldn’t have taken him half a day to absorb the Source Strength here.
Ninety-nine percent of the Star Source here was refined by Yang Kai, so Yu Ying ended up with a pitiful amount.
Two days later, the two reunited and Yu Ying looked at Yang Kai with a weird expression and asked, “Senior Brother Feng, why did the Source Strength here disappear so soon?”
“I don’t know either,” Yang Kai pretended to be ignorant. Yu Ying didn’t see him while he was circulating the Star Refining Art so there was no way for her to know anything.
Yu Ying stated, “I could feel it, all the Source Strength was converging toward Senior Brother Feng’s location. Senior Brother Feng, your refining speed is much faster than mine…” At this point, she seemed to have struck with realization and her countenance changed as she asked in a shaking voice, “Senior Brother Feng, you wouldn’t happen to be a Star Master?”
Yang Kai was stunned; however, he agreed with a nod, “En, I am also a Star Master of the Grand Desolation Star Field.”
Yu Ying couldn’t help but cover her cherry red lips with her soft hands as she looked at Yang Kai with excitement, as if she had seen some marvellous treasure, whispering in a low voice, “Senior Brother Feng, are you really a Star Master?”
Yu Ying looked inexplicably surprised, which Yang Kai found extremely strange, “Is there something wrong with that?”
Yu Ying excitedly explained, “I heard rumours that the Shattered Star Sea is the best place for Star Masters to seek opportunity because their speed of refining Source Strength is far greater than that of others. In the past, I used to think that it was just a lie, but now, it seems those rumours are indeed true. Your speed of refining is much faster than I expected!”
Yang Kai curiously asked, “Do Star Masters really get to enjoy such benefits?”
“Senior Brother Feng, don’t you know?”
Yang Kai shook his head and replied, “I have been alone since I came in. And I have been refining the Star Sources like this. I thought that it was the same for everyone.”
“How could that be? The same?” Yu Ying screamed, “If you let this Junior Sister refine the Star Source here alone, I would take at least two months!”
“That long!?” Yang Kai looked as if he had been greatly taken aback.
Yu Ying looked at Yang Kai with a fiery hot gaze and explained, “Senior Brother, do you know how amazing you are? I guess it should be true for Senior Brother Yin as well!”
Yang Kai agreed, nodding, “Senior Brother is stronger than me. Naturally, he is more amazing than me.”
While saying this, Yang Kai sneered in his heart. Yin Le Sheng might also be a Star Master and may enjoy some benefits, but it was impossible for him to refine it this quickly without the Star Refining Art. At best, he would be a little faster than others.
It was the Star Refining Art that made the Shattered Star Sea a walk in the park.
“Senior Brother Fen really has a bright future.” Yu Ying looked at Yang Kai with a fiery gaze. She knew that Yang Kai, like Yin Le Sheng, came from the Grand Desolation Star Field and his aptitude was good. So, he most likely would achieve high success and status someday. However, after learning that he was in fact a Star Master, Yu Ying immediately understood that the Feng De before her was a second Yin Le Sheng.
If she could recruit such a person into the Netherworld Sect by herself, her status would also rise. She would be greatly appreciated by the Sect’s upper echelon. And when her Brother Feng’s cultivation reached the top, who would dare to provoke her?
In a flash, Yu Ying made a decision. She secretly made up her mind that she would find a chance to occupy her Senior Brother Feng’s heart and body so that only she could use him.
“Junior Sister Yu is too polite. Since the Star Source here is already finished, why don’t we set off.” Yang Kai’s heart was preoccupied with Yin Le Sheng, so he didn’t want to waste time chatting with her.
Yu Ying agreed with a nod, “Good.” Saying so, she flicked her wrist and summoned a small flying artifact. This artifact looked extremely delicate but the energy fluctuations emanating from it weren’t weak. Surprisingly, it was a Dao Source High-Grade flight type artifact, on par with the wooden boat Yang Kai used.
Yang Kai was secretly shocked as he thought to himself, [This Yu Ying is indeed an elite of one of the top Sects in the Star Boundary.] To his surprise, a mere Second-Order Dao Source Realm cultivator like Yu Ying had easily taken out such a precious artifact.
“Senior Brother Feng, why don’t you join me?” Yu Ying winked at Yang Kai and appeared shy before inviting in a sweet voice, “We will need to travel for a long time, so we won’t be lonely if we go together.”
Yang Kai’s skin crawled as he shuddered. He didn’t want to stay in the same room with her, but at this point, it seemed too inappropriate to refuse. So after a moment of pondering, he could only choke down his disgust and agree, “Of course.”
Yu Ying invited with a smile, “Senior Brother Feng, please come in.”
While speaking, the hatch of the flying shuttle opened.
The two entered one after another.
After entering, Yang Kai found that the space inside the flying artifact wasn’t that big. Besides a bridge from which to control the artifact, there was only a bedroom; however, the interior of the artifact was luxuriously decorated by Yu Ying and was filled with a luxurious fragrance that lingered at the tip of Yang Kai’s nose.
Who knows how many people she had invited into her shuttle. In any case, Yang Kai didn’t like this environment at all.
Yu Ying appeared bashful as her eyes were filled with spring, as if she was expecting something amazing to happen.
Yang Kai didn’t wait for her to speak and simply stated, “Junior Sister Yu, I have been fighting a lot of people recently, making me exhaust a lot of my Source Qi. So, I will have to use Junior Sister’s bedroom. I will recuperate for the time being and take your place after a few days!”
After having said this, Yang Kai immediately walked into the only bedroom, closed the door, and sat down cross-legged.
Yu Yin stood there blankly; it was obvious as to what she was thinking. After a good while, she let out a snort before she turned around to control the artifact.
Over the next few days, Yang Kai lived very cautiously and bitterly.
Yu Ying always came up with ways to tease him, harass him, and kept pestering him, hoping he would give in to her. If he didn’t need Yu Ying to search for Yin Le Sheng, Yang Kai would have already slapped this shameless woman to death.
In any case, having been with her for so many days, Yang Kai knew there wasn’t anything decent about Yu Ying.
Yang Kai spent most of his time in retreat, inside her bedroom. Except for replacing Yu Ying to pilot the shuttle, Yang Kai didn’t come out, so Yu Ying never found a chance to ‘further’ their relationship.
Occasionally, they would find some shattered stars or asteroids with Source Strength along the way. Naturally, the two would not miss them.
Whenever they refined this Source Strength though, Yang Kai would always use the Star Refining Art with all his strength, resulting in little benefit for Yu Ying. Because of this, Yu Ying couldn’t help but grumble a little. She felt that this Feng De wasn’t generous enough as whenever they encountered something good, he would unceremoniously snatch it all, leaving nothing for her.
However, Yu Ying didn’t dare to not give Yang Kai face. First, Yang Kai’s cultivation was higher, and second, she also hoped that Yang Kai would shelter and take care of her after entering the Netherworld Sect. So, even though she was extremely dissatisfied, she still didn’t grumble in front of Yang Kai, only cursing him in secret.
But oblivious to her, Yang Kai’s Divine Sense had been paying attention to her movements while he was in retreat, so he knew all about her sentiment. He also understood how evil she was.
Today, Yang Kai, who was in retreat, suddenly opened his eyes as he sensed some quickly approaching Star Seal fluctuations. Star Seal fluctuations meant that a cultivator was approaching, but he had no idea how many there were because he could only sense the existence of the cultivators whose Star Seals were lower than his. If the Star Seal level was the same or higher than his, he couldn’t sense them.
Considering all this, Yang Kai sent a message to Yu Ying, “Junior Sister Yu, some people are approaching us.”
A bored Yu Ying was piloting the shuttle, but the moment she heard this, she immediately asked in surprise, “Where are they and how many of them are there?”
Judging by how ignorant she looked, obviously, she hadn’t noticed the ones approaching, which meant that the Star Seals of the people coming were all on the same level as hers’ or higher.
“To the east, as for how many, there are at least three of them!” Because Yang Kai could only sense the fluctuations of three Star Seals, he was certain that there were at least three approaching. While speaking to this point, he paused and then added, “They have increased their speed. They are rushing towards us.”
Yu Ying was greatly shocked after hearing this, but just as she was about to accelerate and leave this place, a streak of light appeared in her sight. In that fleeting moment, the streak of light had arrived not too far away from the shuttle and came to a halt.
Immediately afterward, five figures suddenly appeared in that location.
Yang Kai was secretly surprised because he could only sense the fluctuations of three Star Seals, but now, there were five people. In other words, two of them had six-pointed Star Seals at least.
Meanwhile, when Yu Ying saw these five figures, her pretty face went pale and she nervously gulped, as if she was very afraid of them.
[It’s too late to run at this point, and any rash move might cause a negative chain reaction. Judging by these people’s attitudes, it seems that they were targeting us from the start. Who knows whether this is a blessing or curse.] In a flash, Yu Ying felt extremely uneasy.
“Who are these people?” Yang Kai suddenly appeared beside her and asked.
Yu Ying’s pretty face slightly paled as she replied, “They are disciples of Brahma Holy Land. Brahma Holy Land is also a top Sect of the Eastern Territory; our Netherworld Sect is just slightly weaker than theirs.”
Yang Kai asked again, “And the relation between yours and their Sect isn’t very good, right?”
Yu Ying smiled bitterly as she agreed, “It isn’t that bad, but there is still some small friction between the two Sects, the same as with all disciples from top Sects.”
Yang Kai lightly nodded before he asked, pointing at two particular individuals, “Those two should be extremely strong!”
Yu Ying glanced at him in surprise and replied, “Those two are the Holy Sons of Brahma Holy Land, so they are naturally extremely strong. In my Sect, only a few Senior Brothers can compete with them.”
“Holy Sons?” Yang Kai raised his brow.
“I don’t know what they are doing here. Senior Brother Feng, please don’t say anything, I will deal with them,” Yu Ying nervously exhorted. She was afraid that Yang Kai would ignorantly offend them, dooming them.
“Good,” Yang Kai nodded.
At that moment, one of the five suddenly shouted, “Get out!”
Yu Ying had a bitter taste in her mouth as she reluctantly opened the shuttle hatch and went out.
Yang Kai followed closely behind her. At this point, it was meaningless to hide as the opposite party’s Divine Senses were constantly scanning the shuttle. They must have discovered him a long time ago.
After stepping out of the shuttle, Yu Ying politely cupped her fist and gently greeted, “Yu Ying greets Senior Brother Zhang Hao and Senior Brother Zhang Xian!”
The two called Zhang Hao and Zhang Xian should be the two Holy Sons of Brahma Holy Land, the ones Yu Ying was afraid of. Both of them were peak Dao Source Realm Masters and seemed extremely powerful. As for the remaining three, they were only in the Second-Order Dao Source Realm, so Yu Ying wasn’t too afraid of them.
Zhang Hao, who looked a little angry, narrowed his eyes and coldly glared at her before stating, “I was wondering who it was, so it’s you, you slut!”
He didn’t show the slightest bit of politeness when he directly called Yu Ying a slut. Obviously, he knew about Yu Ying’s infidelity and lasciviousness.
After all, both of them were disciples of top Sects in the Eastern Territory, so they had some intelligence about one another. What’s more, Yu Ying was extremely famous throughout the Eastern Territory for her debauchery.
Zhang Xian, on the other hand, glanced at Yang Kai with a meaningful gaze before sarcastically commenting, “In the short time I haven’t seen you, you have already changed your man. Yu Ying, you have really opened my eyes!”
Yu Ying lightly bit her cherry red lips and pitifully asked, “Senior Brothers, why are you slandering me as soon as we meet? How did this Junior Sister offend you? Senior Brother Feng and I share a pure and innocent relationship. Senior Brothers, please don’t soil my reputation.”
While speaking, she looked at Yang Kai with some worry, as if she was afraid that he would come to know of her past.
“Pure and innocent!?” Zhang Xian’s eyes immediately widened, stunned. He was rooted on the spot while the four other disciples of Brahma Holy Land also looked as if they had seen a ghost.
After a while, the five suddenly laughed out loud in unison., their voices rampant and filled with sarcasm.
Suddenly, they stopped laughing as Zhang Hao stated with a cold look on his face, “That’s the funniest joke I have ever heard.”
Zhang Xian also added, “A man staying with you in a bedroom and still remaining pure and innocent? I’m afraid such a man must be one that has yet to be born!”
Yu Ying’s face turned red and blue. Even if she was fickle and lascivious, she found it a little hard to take it when it was said straight to her face. She glanced at Yang Kai and defended herself, “Senior Brother Feng, don’t listen to their nonsense. This Junior Sister isn’t that kind of person.”
Yang Kai said, nodding, “I know.”
But he also sneered in his heart. He had pretty much figured out her nature over the time he was with her. [What’s going on in her mind? She is still pretending to be innocent and explaining herself to me even at this point?]
Yu Ying, seeing Yang Kai’s indifferent look, was a little bit annoyed in her heart and secretly blamed the Brahma Holy Land disciples for being meddlesome. But since she was weaker than them, she didn’t dare to be angry. All she could do was cast a pitiful look and defend herself, “Senior Brothers, did you stop this Junior Sister just to humiliate her? If that’s the case, then you have succeeded. This Junior Sister… will take her leave.”
“You want to leave? Did you ask me yet?” Zhang Hao shouted aloud.
“Senior Brothers, what do you want?” Yu Ying’s heart started pounding. Seeing Zhang Hao and his group aiming at her, it was quite obvious that they weren’t here for a chat.
Zhang Xian coldly glared at Yu Ying and asked, snorting, “Cheap slut, let me ask you, where is our Junior Brother Deng Yong now?”
When she heard this, Yu Ying’s expression slightly changed; however, she hid it very quickly as she forced a smile and stated, “Senior Brother Zhang Xian, why are you asking me this? Shouldn’t you know where Deng Yong is? Why are you asking this Junior Sister? I haven’t seen him.”
“You still dare to lie!?” Zhang Hao’s eyes flickered with a cold gleam as he shouted, “Junior Brother Deng Yong clearly died at your hands.”
Panic-stricken, Yu Ying defended herself, “Why would Senior Brother Zhang Hao think that? I and Deng Yong have no past grudges or grievances. Even if I ran into him, why would I kill him? Not to mention, Deng Yong is stronger than me. Junior Sister is powerless to kill him even if I wanted to. Senior Brother Zhang Hao, don’t slander me.”
“You are still trying to give excuses!” Zhang Hao grit his teeth, his burning with fury as he glared at Yu Ying and coldly snorted, “Since you are being so stubborn, I let you understand! The Scattered Soul Seal of Junior Brother Deng Yong is clearly branded on you. We tracked you down by sensing this Scattered Soul Seal. Now, what else do you have to say!”
Yu Ying’s face suddenly paled.
Zhang Xian added, “At first, we were still wondering who it was that killed Deng Yong, but it turned out to be you! Deng Yong is indeed stronger than you, but it’s not surprising that he died at your hand; after all, he has always been a lecher!”
Zhang Hao continued, “Although Deng Yong was utterly depraved and deserved to be damned, he was still a Brahma Holy Land disciple. Yu Ying, you will have to pay for his death with your life! However, I will give you a chance to commit suicide here and now rather than suffer at our hands.”
The two of them had directly pronounced Yu Ying’s death, draining Yu Ying’s pretty face of its blood, causing her tender body to tremble.
At this moment, Yang Kai had already noticed a hidden Soul Imprint somewhere on Yu Ying’s body. Obviously, it was left by this Deng Yong before his death. It was ridiculous that Yu Ying had been unaware of it, causing her to be caught by the disciples of Brahma Holy Land. Now, she couldn’t justify herself even if she wanted to.
Yang Kai had been wondering why the five Brahma Holy Land disciples would come straight at them and block him and Yu Ying, but now it seemed that it was because of the Scattered Soul Seal.
It was unclear when Yu Ying had killed Deng Yong, but she must have done so within this year.
Yang Kai was secretly annoyed. He followed Yu Ying just so that he could find Yin Le Sheng, nothing more, nothing less. He had never expected such a thing to happen, and worse, he couldn’t just ignore it either. If he didn’t do anything, Yu Ying would die for sure, and all his hard work and perseverance would go to waste.
So, whether he wanted to or not, he had to save Yu Ying.
“Still not acting?” Zhang Hao, seeing Yu Ying stalling, he couldn’t help but shout, “Think about it, if you force us to do it, you won’t die even if you want to!”
Yu Ying’s face turned paler as she grit her teeth and stepped back as she tenderly shouted, “This is Senior Brother Feng De from my Sect. If you have anything to say, talk to him!”
When she saw that things weren’t in her favour, she directly pushed Yang Kai out, wanting to use him as a shield and not making any qualms about it.
“Feng De?” Zhang Hao narrowed his eyes as he indifferently glanced at Yang Kai, “Where did this waste pop out from? I’ve never heard of him!”
Regarding Netherworld Sect, any Dao Source Realm cultivator who could compete with the Holy Sons of their Sect was well known, so since he had never heard of Feng De, it meant he was just a normal disciple, not someone they needed to care about.
“Boy, are you going to stand up for this slut? You still have time to think it out!” Zhang Xian looked at Yang Kai and sneered.
Yang Kai remained calm while he was filled with irritation, using this opportunity to vent slightly, “Junior Sister Yu, since you called me Senior Brother, then this Feng naturally can’t sit back and watch. If you want to kill her, you have to pass through this Feng first!”
Yu Ying, who was hiding behind him, had her eyes brightened immediately. She hadn’t expected his response would be so bold and responsible; after all, he wasn’t a Netherworld Sect disciple and they were just acquaintances. If he fled at this moment, it would be understandable. But he didn’t do so.
[This guy is really stupid!] Yu Ying sneered in her heart.
However, if Feng De kept them busy for a while, she may have a chance to escape. As for whether Feng De could survive or not, she didn’t care, her life was most important.
[Unfortunately, I can’t bring him to Netherworld Sect, but who would have thought that he was this unlucky?]
Yu Ying secretly made plans in her heart. She had already taken the posture to escape at a moment’s notice. Although her stance was quite well concealed, it couldn’t escape Yang Kai’s notice.
He sneered in his heart seeing this. Yu Ying was as sinister and vicious as could be. If he was really Feng De, he might have been sold out by her already. Unfortunately for her, even with all her schemes, what was the point if they are so obvious?
“Alright, since you want to die, then I will fulfil your wish!” Zhang Hao looked rough and was clearly someone with a fiery temper. He was undoubtedly irritated by Yang Kai, so as he spoke, he summoned a war hammer into his hands. This artifact gave off terrifying energy fluctuations as he raised it up high and smashed it towards Yang Kai and Yu Ying, showing no mercy.
In a flash, the surrounding space froze, and it seemed as if the void was about to collapse. The next moment, an enormous hammer image appeared above Yang Kai and Yu Ying, covering them entirely.
Even though this move was powerful, it was nothing in Yang Kai’s eyes. If he wanted, he could easily wipe out these five disciples of Brahma Holy Land.
However, he didn’t want to expose his true abilities here, especially in front of Yu Ying.
So, he pretended to be panic-stricken. He didn’t use any Secret Techniques or summon any artifacts, instead just wielding his fists madly towards the giant hammer.
*Hong Hong Hong…*
The next moment, the void shook as powerful shockwaves spread in all directions.
Yang Kai spurted a mouthful of blood and retreated ten metres, as if he couldn’t bear it.
Taking advantage of this momentum, Yang Kai promptly jumped back and fled towards the depths of the void, without even looking back. Before fleeing, he didn’t forget to shout, “Junior Sister Yu, quickly run!”
At this moment, Yu Ying had already used some kind of Secret Technique and her figure vanished into a plume of smoke, flying off into the distance like a gust of wind. Judging by her appearance, it seemed that she had already decided to run when Yang Kai and Zhang Hao clashed, having no intention of helping Yang Kai.
Hearing Yang Kai’s shout, she hurriedly said, “Senior Brother Feng, you escape as well! You will definitely die if they catch you!”
Her escape technique was very peculiar and it seemed that she was burning up all of her Source Qi to use it. Such consumption was terrifying, but it made her move extremely fast.
Yang Kai took a glance and hurriedly bit the tip of his tongue, pretending to spurt out a mouthful of Blood Essence before catching up with Yu Ying.
Zhang Hao and his group stood gawking on their spot, dumbfounded.
When Yang Kai took a brave and senseless stance, they thought that they had encountered someone with some backbone. However, they hadn’t expected Yang Kai to spurt blood after clashing just once with Zhang Hao and now even burned his Blood Essence to escape.
“That guy… he’s just an embroidered pillow!” Zhang Xian teasingly remarked.
“Hmph, he should count himself lucky for running so quickly, otherwise, he would have definitely died without a burial!” Zhang Hao added, furious. He then put away his hammer artifact and ordered, waving his hand, “Follow them. No matter what, they have to die to avenge Junior Brother Deng Yong!”
The others nodded in agreement as they followed closely after the two Holy Sons, Zhang Hao and Zhang Xian, in pursuit of Yang Kai and Yu Ying.
Yu Ying and that guy named Feng De had resorted to such extreme means to escape. One using such a high consumption Secret Technique and the other, using his Blood Essence; however, both methods could not be maintained for long! Once enough time passed, they would definitely be in a greatly weakened state.
At that time, they wouldn’t have to worry about anything when killing them.
On the other side, Yang Kai and Yu Ying, who had fled into the depths of the void, didn’t dare to look back.
Having ‘burned his Blood Essence’, Yang Kai appeared to be in a sorry state. But in fact, everything was under his control as he simply hadn’t done such a thing.
After flying for a while, Yang Kai finally shouted, “Junior Sister Yu, you have to dispel the Scattered Soul Seal on your body as quickly as possible, otherwise we won’t be able to escape.”
[This woman is really stupid, those two Holy Sons just mentioned this but even now she hasn’t thought of getting rid of it!] If she had no relation to finding Xiao Xiao, Yang Kai would have never reminded her.
After being reminded by Yang Kai, Yu Ying finally came to her senses and she immediately started undressing herself. After a while, she had completely stripped herself, leaving only a set of undergarments that were as thin as cicada’s wings and completely transparent.
Black lines immediately appeared on Yang Kai’s face at the sight of this and he couldn’t help but ask, “Junior Sister Yu, what are you doing?”
Yu Ying justified herself, “I can’t even sense where the seal is. I hope that it’s on the clothes.”
Yang Kai was rendered speechless, “It’s on your shoulder, focus your Divine Sense to look for it!”
The Scattered Soul Seal was indeed pretty well hidden, and had it not been for Yang Kai’s extraordinarily powerful Divine Sense, he would not have been able to easily find it. Now, with Yang Kai’s guidance, Yu Ying hastily gathered her Divine Sense on her delicate shoulder.
After a while, a smile bloomed on her face. Obviously, she had found something.
Who knew what Secret Technique she had cast, but as the two escaped, Yang Kai could feel the Scattered Soul Seal slowly dissipating before finally vanishing into nothing.
Only then did Yu Ying heave a sigh of relief. She then took out a new set of clothing from her Space Ring and put it on.
Now that there was no Scattered Soul Seal, the two of them only needed to run faster and get rid of the Brahma Holy Land disciples to be safe.
After having gotten free of the worries, Yu Ying finally thanked Yang Kai, “Many thanks, Senior Brother Feng, for everything you did just now.”
Yang Kai indifferently responded, “You’re welcome.”
As if she had sensed his indifference, Yu Ying couldn’t help but look a little sad. She was wondering whether this Senior Brother Feng was angry at her because of what just happened; after all, she had indeed gone overboard. Had it been someone else, they would have surely been angry.
After escaping for half an hour like this, Yu Ying’s already pale face whitened even more. She was out of breath and although her Secret Technique was easy to use, it consumed a lot of her energy. It was difficult to maintain their speed.
Yang Kai, seeing that she had slowed down, summoned his ship and proposed, “Get on, I will take you with me!”
Yu Ying immediately nodded her agreement before jumping straight onto his ship. She sat down cross-legged and started stuffing herself with restorative pills. While at it, she took out a communication artifact and continuously sent out messages. Apparently, she was trying to contact some Netherworld Sect disciples.
Seeing this, Yang Kai was secretly elated. He hoped that Yu Ying could connect with Yin Le Sheng at once.
The Brahma Holy Land disciples seemed to have been thrown far behind as when Yang Kai spread his Divine Sense, he was unable to find them.
One day later, Yu Ying’s pretty eyes suddenly lit up and she shouted in a low voice, “Senior Brother Feng, I found someone from my Sect.”
Yang Kai was overjoyed and immediately asked, “Who?”
Yu Ying replied, “It’s Senior Brother Zhong, Zhong Zhen Yong. I wonder if you have heard of him or not?”
[It’s not Yin Le Sheng.] Yang Kai was a little disappointed, but he still replied, “I don’t know much about the Eastern Territory as I have never been there, so I haven’t heard of your Senior Brother Zhong.”
Yu Ying explained with a smile, “Senior Brother Zhong ranks among the top three in the Dao Source Realm within our Sect. If we can get his protection, we don’t need to be afraid of those Brahma Holy Land disciples. We should look for him right away.”
“Good, lead the way!” Yang Kai nodded.
Although Yu Ying couldn’t reach Yin Le Sheng, Yang Kai felt that it might not be impossible to inquire about Ying Le Sheng from this Zhong Zhen Yong; after all, maybe Zhong Zhen Yong knew something they didn’t.
Next, Yang Kai changed direction under Yu Ying’s guidance and flew towards a certain place.
After an hour, a figure standing in the void entered Yang Kai’s vision. Yang Kai immediately piloted his ship toward this figure and even before the ship could come to halt, Yu Ying rushed out in joy and cried, “Senior Brother Zhong!”
“Junior Sister Yu!” Zhong Zheng Yong smiled at Yu Ying before he raised his eyes and indifferently gazed at Yang Kai while asking, “Is this the Brother Feng that Junior Sister Yu mentioned?”
He directly spoke Yang Kai’s false name, so obviously, Yu Ying had already informed him about Yang Kai before coming here.
Yu Ying agreed with a nod, “Yes, Senior Brother Zhong. Junior Sister was only able to safely come here thanks to Senior Brother Feng.”
Zhong Zhen Yong was handsome and suave and seemed to have an amiable air around him without much arrogance. Having gotten the confirmation, he glanced at Yang Kai and asked, “I heard Junior Sister Yu say that you are from the Grand Desolation Star Field and a Star Master, just like Junior Brother Yin?”
Yang Kai politely cupped his fists and replied, “This Feng is indeed from the Grand Desolation Star Field and is also a Star Master, just like Senior Brother Yin. I haven’t seen Senior Brother Yin for many years and miss him very much, so I took the liberty to come with Junior Sister Yu here. I hope Senior Brother Zhong will forgive me.”
Zhong Zhen Yong broke into laughter as he stated, “No worries, no worries, since you intend to join our Netherworld Sect, we might be fellow Brothers in the future, so there’s no need to be so polite.”
Yu Ying added, “Senior Brother Zhong, this is not the right place to talk. Senior Brother Feng and I were being chased by Zhang Hao and Zhang Xian of Brahma Holy Land. I don’t know if they are still chasing after us. Let’s talk while on the move.”
“Zhang Hao, Zhang Xian!” Zhong Zhen Yong’s eyes glistened with a cold gleam as asked in a cold voice, “They dared to chase you? What for?”
Yu Ying apologetically replied, “Junior Sister accidentally killed Deng Yong…”
Zhong Zhen Yong angrily looked at her and asked, “He died because of the exhaustion of his Source Qi, am I right? How many times have I told you not to improve your strength like this! It will cause your foundation to become unstable and can also lead to an accident…”
“Yes, yes!” Yu Ying, seeing Zhong Zhen Yong about to lay bare all her past scandals in front of Yang Kai, immediately interrupted him and coquettishly reminded, “Let’s go quickly. Thanks to Senior Brother Feng, I am finally safe and sound. Senior Brother Feng is my saviour.”
“Then you better treat others a little better in the future,” Zhong Zhen Yong slightly smiled.
It seemed that because Yu Ying had said so many good things about Yang Kai, Zhong Zhen Yong’s attitude towards Yang Kai’s was pleasant. Obviously, he wanted to become friends with Yang Kai.
Under Yu Ying’s repeated urging, the three of them immediately set off.
Zhong Zhen Yong seemed to already have a destination in mind as he led the way without saying a word. Yang Kai and Yu Ying were left with no choice but to quietly follow after him.
After flying for a while, Yu Ying couldn’t help but ask, “Senior Brother Zhong, where are we going?”
“I’m looking for the others. They seemed to have found a very interesting place.”
“A very interesting place?” Yu Ying’s eyes lit up as she immediately asked, “What’s interesting about it?”
“You will know when you get there,” Zhong Zhen Yong left her hanging and didn’t explain anymore.
Yang Kai’s expression changed as he asked, “Will Senior Brother Yin be there as well?”
Zhong Zhen Yong replied, “I don’t know. I also received a call from another disciple and was rushing over when I suddenly received a message from Junior Sister Yu. So, I stopped and waited for you.” He glanced at Yang Kai and stated with a smile, “Brother Feng and Junior Brother Yin must have a very good relationship for you to be so anxious to meet him.”
Yang Kai’s heart jumped as he realized that he had acted too eagerly. Nevertheless, he maintained the same expression as he explained himself, “Senior Brother Yin helped me a lot in the Grand Desolation Star Field in my early years and I have never gotten the opportunity to repay him. Naturally, I’m concerned about him.”
“You owe a debt of gratitude and hope to recompense it! Brother Feng is also a man with brotherly sentiments. My Netherworld Sect will gladly welcome someone like you,” Zheng Zhon Yong broke into laughter.
Yang Kai replied, “It is this Feng’s honour to join the Netherworld Sect. But I don’t know how high the threshold of your noble Sect is.”
Zhong Zhen Yong patted Yang Kai’s shoulder and said, “Rest assured, you will be fine.”
“Then, let me thank Senior Brother Zhong for his kind words in advance.”
The three chatted as they continued with their journey.
After two days, a huge dark red star suddenly came into view.
When their eyes laid on this star, whether it was Zhong Zhen Yong, Yu Ying, or Yang Kai, they were all shocked.
Ever since they entered the Shattered Star Sea, all the Cultivation Stars they had encountered were shattered. They had never seen a complete star; however, at this moment, one such star was right before their eyes.
The star was enormous and seemed quite ancient. Looking at it, it looked like a giant eye indifferently watching over the surroundings, causing everyone to shudder at the sight of it. It even gave off some kind of inexplicable pressure.
Not only that, this Cultivation Star was also radiating a terrifying heat, so much that even the space around it appeared to be distorting. In addition, there were countless black holes of varying sizes around this Star. When everyone turned their attention towards these black holes, it felt as if they would be completely devoured by them.
“Senior Brother Zhong…” Yu Ying’s pretty face slightly turned pale as she leaned against Zhong Zhen Yong a little as she asked, “Is this the interesting place you mentioned?”
Zhong Zhen Yong replied with a grin, “Exactly!”
Yang Kai’s expression changed as he stated, “What dense Source Strength. Furthermore… it seems to be a little different from a normal Source Strength…”
Zhong Zhen Yong explained with a nod, “That’s because it is a Fire Attribute Star Source, not just an ordinary Star Source. If a cultivator cultivating a Fire Attribute Secret Art or Secret Technique can obtain this Source Strength, his or her strength would soar!”
“A Fire Attribute Star Source!” Yang Kai’s expression changed and he immediately thought of Liu Yang.
This would be extremely useful for Liu Yan! But Yang Kai hadn’t seen her after we had parted ways some time ago. It was a mystery whether she knew about this Fire Attribute Star Source.
However, Liu Yan was currently with Zhang Ruo Xi, and this Cultivation Star seemed like a dangerous spot, so even if Liu Yan had sensed this Fire Attribute Star Source, Zhang Ruo Xi might not be able to get close since her strength is still too low.
[Since it is here, if I can obtain and collect this Fire Attribute Star Source, I can just leave it for Liu Yan.]
Yang Kai secretly made up his mind as he became interested in this strange star.
And in that momentary loss of concentration, a sense of crisis suddenly flooded Yang Kai’s heart. Immediately after which a matchless burst of energy flew towards his face.
Yang Kai’s expression slightly changed as he saw a giant ghost claw piercing towards his heart.
This wasn’t the first time he saw such a ghost claw. When he had first encountered Yu Ying, he had seen her use this Secret Technique to fight with Guan Qi. It could be considered a symbol of the Netherworld Sect.
In a flash, Yang Kai understood who had sneak-attacked him.
If any ordinary cultivator had been sneak-attacked at such a close range and without any prior warning, he or she would have been completely powerless to resist, but Yang Kai cultivated the Dao of Space, so it was easy for him to sense and avoid such a sneak-attack.
At the critical moment, he directly used Nihility, turning his body illusory.
The ghastly ghost claw pierced through Yang Kai’s body, flying toward the depths of the void before disappearing very soon after.
Yang Kai’s figure solidified again as he coldly glared at Zhong Zhen Yong.
“Senior Brother Zhong… what are you doing?” Even until this moment, Yu Ying hadn’t realized what was happening and turned to Zhong Zhen Yong in amazement; she had no idea why he suddenly attacked Yang Kai.
After all, Zhong Zhen Yong’s attitude toward Yang Kai had been pretty good along the way. He had been chatting and laughing with him the whole time, so why did Zhong Zhen Yong suddenly turn hostile after coming here? Yu Ying wasn’t able to figure it out.
“Yes, Senior Brother Zhong, what are you doing?” Yang Kai coldly looked at Zhong Zhen Yong and asked with a gloomy look on his face, “How has this Feng offended you that you actually want to assassinate me?”
“This Feng is it?” Zhong Zhen Yong raised his brow and broke into laughter before he shouted, “Brother Feng, let this Zhong ask you a question. If your answer is satisfactory, this Zhong will apologize for everything. If it’s not… heh heh…”
Yang Kai slowly squinted his eyes as he replied, “Senior Brother Zhong, why don’t you ask then?”
Zhong Zhen Yong asked with a grim look on his face, “Brother Feng, which Sect in the Grand Desolation Star Field do you belong to? How did you come to meet Junior Brother Ying?”
Yang Kai was lost in thought after hearing this.
Zhong Zhen Yong had been paying close attention to the change in Yang Kai’s expression, not daring to miss even the slightest change. The nearby Yu Ying looked between the two as well. No matter how stupid she was, she finally realized that something was wrong and she couldn’t help but furrow her dark brow, silently circulating her Source Qi while vigilantly staring at Yang Kai.
After a short while, Yang Kai raised his eyes as he finally responded, staring at Zheng Zhen Yong, “Senior Brother Zhong, these are… two questions? You are breaking your word.”
Zhong Zhen Yong was stunned before he snapped back, “Whether it’s one or two, just answer.”
Yang Kai pursed his lips into a smile as he asked, thoughtfully staring at Zhong Zhen Yong, “Senior Brother Zhong seems to know something!”
Since he already launched a sneak attack, it was obvious this Zhong Zhen Yong knew something and probably realized from the start that Yang Kai had been impersonating Feng De.
“Senior Brother Zhong, what is happening here?” Yu Ying asked, with an unsightly look on her face.
Zhong Zhen Yong let out a cold snort as he explained, pointing at Yang Kai, “Junior Sister Yu, this ‘Feng De’, who had been following you all the while, is a fake.”
“A fake!?” Yu Ying was stunned as she looked at Yang Kai in shock.
“The real Feng De is already dead!”
“Dead!?” Yu Ying was confused as she muttered to herself in disbelief, “How is that possible?”
If Feng De was already dead, how did this guy know so much about her Senior Brother Yin? What was the relationship between this guy and Senior Brother Yin? Did he pretend to be Feng De to approach Senior Brother Yin? Recalling that she had been totally defenceless with Yang Kai without even being aware of his true intentions, Yu Ying couldn’t help but shudder.
“The real Feng De died in the Starlight Corridor. Junior Brother Yin saw it with his own eyes, so this is a fact. As for the person in front of you, he has some grudges with Junior Brother Yin,” Zhong Zhen Yong sneered as he mockingly looked at Yang Kai, “Am I right, Brother Yang?”
A heavy emphasis on the ‘Brother Yang’.
Yang Kai raised his brow as he asked in surprise, “Oh? Since you know everything down to my name, it seems that Yin Le Sheng has been in contact with you?”
While speaking, his eyes lit up as he glanced towards the strange dark red Star.
Although Zhong Zhen Yong didn’t mention where Yin Le Sheng was now, Yang Kai was ninety percent certain that he was on this Star. Otherwise, Zhong Zhen Yong would not have been able to contact Yin Le Shen and ask about him at all.
“Good,” Zhong Zhen Yong didn’t have any intention of denying it, “I indeed obtained all this information from Junior Brother Yin. No matter what kind of grievance there is between you and Junior Brother Yin, you will not have a chance to report it.”
While he was speaking, a hideous and greedy look appeared on Zhong Zhen Yong’s face, like he was hungry for a pound of Yang Kai flesh.
“Who exactly are you? Why did you lie to me!?” Yu Ying became furious. Her pretty eyes were burning with fury as she bit her lips in anger, glaring at Yang Kai, her face laced with murderous intent.
Yang Kai glanced at her and stated in a cold voice, “What an ungrateful and ruthless woman. This Young Master saved your life and now you dare to show murderous intent toward me? Even shamelessness should have a limit!”
Yu Ying tenderly shouted, “So what!? Since you dared to lie to me, you deserve to die!” She turned around and said to Zhong Zhen Yong, “Senior Brother Zhong, this guy has a complete Star Source. If you can obtain it, it will be of great benefit to Senior Brother.”
Zhong Zhen Yong licked his lips as he excitedly stated, “I’m well aware of this.”
In the Netherworld Sect, although he believed that his current strength wasn’t much worse than Yin Le Sheng, based on Yin Le Sheng’s terrifying cultivation speed, it wouldn’t be long before he would be surpassed. And the biggest source of Yin Le Sheng’s rapid progress was his status as a Star Master and the fact that he had a complete Star Source.
This was an opportunity that no cultivator could get even after praying day and night for!
But now, another cultivator with a complete Star Source was right before him. This kind of Star Source was completely different from the Shattered Star Sea’s Shattered Sources. If Zhong Zhen Yong could obtain Yang Kai’s Star Source, the benefits would be simply unimaginable. With it, he wouldn’t need to worry about being surpassed by Yin Le Sheng. Both would have a complete Star Source and the rest would come down to hard work and persistence. And in those regards, Zhong Zhen Yong was confident that he wouldn’t lose to anyone.
Yang Kai suddenly asked, “Is Yin Le Sheng really on that Star?”
Zhong Zhen Yong rebuked with a cold snort, “You are about to die, what’s the point in asking?”
Yang Kai grinned and stated, “Since I’ve found Yin Le Sheng, there is no need to keep you all alive!”
Zhong Zhen Yong was startled before he furiously roared, “Little brat, you are really insane! You are the first one to say something like this to this Zhong! I will send you to hell with this Netherworld Purgatory Banner!”
Saying so, he suddenly stretched his hand out and summoned a black banner. A burst of cries and howls immediately came from the black banner and gusts of dark and sinister winds that carried endless coldness swept out.
When the Netherworld Purgatory Banner spread open, even richer Yin Qi billowed towards Yang Kai, making him feel as if he was being dragged into the real Netherworld.
Yu Ying, seeing Zhong Zhen Yong resorting straight to his trump card, had a distinct change in her expression and hastily retreated, lest she was also caught up in this fight.
“An interesting artifact! This should be perfect for Gui Zu,” when Yang Kai caught sight of the Netherworld Purgatory Banner, his eyes immediately lit up. This artifact was similar to Gui Zu’s Ten Thousand Soul Banner. Both artifacts should have the same origin, but the grade of the Netherworld Purgatory Banner was obviously much higher than Gui Zu’s Ten Thousand Soul Banner.
Yang Kai could even feel faint Emperor Pressure emanating from it.
In other words, this artifact should have been personally refined by an Emperor Realm Master and was currently a Pseudo-Emperor Artifact, yet to fully evolve into a genuine Emperor Artifact. However, as long as Zhong Zhen Yong advanced to the Emperor Realm and used his Emperor Aura to nourish this Netherworld Purgatory Banner, that upgrade would happen sooner or later.
Worthy of one of the top three disciples of a top Sect! Zhong Zhen Yong took out something extraordinary right from the start.
The never-ending cries and howls were like devil’s whispers, filled with mystifying powers that could affect the mind of any hostile cultivator. Judging by how aggressive Zhong Zhen Yong was, it was quite apparent that he wanted to finish Yang Kai in one move, not giving him a chance to fight back.
A complete Star Source was too attractive to him!
Yang Kai was ready to take the challenge with a serious look on his face, lifting his hands and quickly forming a series of profound seals.
After a few complicated movements, an inexplicable force suddenly spread towards the surroundings and a mysterious Principal Strength started to diffuse about.
Zhong Zhen Yong’s eyes bulged as he suddenly had a bad feeling. At that moment, it seemed like his actions and even his thoughts were slowing down, everything around him coming to a halt.
The only one that wasn’t still was the guy who pretended to be Feng De.
[What Divine Ability is this!?] Zhong Zhen Yong’s face drastically changed as his heart was gripped by a chill.
Although Yang Kai’s seals hadn’t been finished yet, Zhong Zhen Yong already had warning bells ringing in his mind. [This boy surnamed Yang isn’t someone that should be provoked!]
From somewhere unknown, a whisper rang in his ears, shaking his Soul.
“Time Flows on Infinitely, Like a Mighty Stream, Like an Unending Dream!”
An unprecedented sense of crisis suddenly flooded his mind, and at the critical moment, Zhong Zhen Yong bit his tongue and spewed out a mouthful of Blood Essence.
Along the spurting of his Blood Essence, the strange stillness around him was finally broken and everything returned to normal, but when he looked up, an enormous seal was already right before him, leaving him no room to escape.
*Hong…*
A thud suddenly rang out, stunning Zhong Zhen Yong on the spot.
He didn’t feel a strong impact like he had imagined, nor did he notice any injuries on his person; however, he was shocked to find that a strange energy was now invading his body, causing his vitality and lifespan to pass at an incredible speed. In the blink of an eye, it seemed as if hundreds or even thousands of years had elapsed for him.
“Senior Brother Zhong!” Yu Ying couldn’t help but scream as her eyes widened in incredulity, the scene before her absolutely terrifying to behold.
Zhong Zhen Yong seemed to have realized something too and he slightly raised his old and dried hands, putting them right before his eyes before asking in a trembling voice, “What… what the hell… did you do to me?”
Yang Kai coldly glared at him before raising his hand and sending out a Moon Blade at him.
Had Zhong Zhen Yong been at his peak, he might have been able to avoid this blow, but at this moment, over ninety percent of his vitality had been drained. He was now completely powerless to react.
The pitch-black Moon Blade struck Zhong Zhen Yong and silently sliced him in two.
Yu Ying immediately turned pale.
Dead! Her Senior Brother Zhong Zhen Yong had actually died just like that!
Senior Brother Zhong was ranked amongst the top three in her Sect and could be regarded as an outstanding genius in the Eastern Territory or even the entire Star Boundary, but he had been killed by a cultivator in the same realm effortlessly!
If this kind of thing hadn’t happened right under her nose, Yu Ying would have never believed it.
But the facts were right before her eyes and she couldn’t doubt them.
It was only now that she finally realized that Yang Kai had hidden his strength throughout their journey. Previously, when he spurted blood while fighting against the Brahma Holy Land disciples, he was undoubtedly just acting! It was simply laughable that she had scorned him earlier for not being Zhang Hao’s opponent.
[With such strength, even Zhang Hao and Zhang Xian aren’t worthy to carry his shoes!]
[Can a Third-Order Dao Source Realm cultivator really be this strong!?] Before the man pretending to be Feng De, Yu Ying was hit with a sense of panic and powerlessness, as if she was in front of an Emperor Realm Master. She couldn’t even lift a finger, much less summon the courage to escape. She just stupidly stood on the spot, her tender body shivering like a sparrow in the winter without a nest.
After killing Zhong Zhen Yong, Yang Kai reached out and took his Space Ring and the Netherworld Purgatory Banner. At the same time, a beam of starlight shot straight into the sky from the back of Zhong Zhen Yong’s hand before flying towards Yang Kai, straight into the seal on the back of his hand.
Yang Kai had already noticed that Zhong Zhen Yong’s Star Seal was the same as his, six-pointed. After the two merged, it would surely provide a lot of nourishment to his Star Seal, helping it go a step further.
Finally, he focused his gaze on Yu Ying, coldly staring at her.
“Senior… Senior Brother Feng, I…I…” Yu Ying, meeting his gaze, turned pale all of a sudden, stammering incoherently as she was unable to even finish a complete sentence.
“Along the way here, I have troubled you,” Yang Kai indifferently said.
Yu Ying forced a smile as she tremblingly stated, “It is this Little Sister’s honour to be of service to Senior Brother Feng.”
“En!” Yang Kai gently nodded before suddenly waving his hand, and along with fluctuations of Space Principles, a pitch-black Moon Blade flew out.
“Nooooooo!” Seeing this, Yu Ying turned pale as she screamed loudly.
Although she had no idea what this Secret Technique was, she had seen Zhong Zhen Yong die under the exact same attack. Now, Yang Kai was using the same move to deal with her… Obviously, he wasn’t planning to let her leave with her life.
As she screamed, she hurriedly summoned her defensive artifact and pushed all her Source Qi to defend herself, hoping to avoid this catastrophe, but what horrified her was that this pitch-black blade was far more horrifying than she had imagined. It cut through all her defences like crushing dry weeds and smashing rotten wood, rending her figure in two.
Yu Ying only felt a slight pain before her consciousness faded away.
Yang Kai reached out and took away her Space Ring. After waiting for a while, Yu Ying’s Star Seal flew out and was received by him.
He raised his hand again, firing a few bursts of energy that crushed Zhong Zhen Yong’s and Yu Ying’s corpses into dust.
He didn’t hesitate to kill Yu Ying. Regardless of whether he was Feng De or not, it was still a fact that he had saved her, but instead of doing her best to repay that life-saving grace, she had instantly turned hostile after coming to know of his origins. The death of such a person wasn’t worth pitying.
Not to mention, Yang Kai didn’t have a good impression of her.
After finishing all this, Yang Kai suddenly frowned as he glanced behind him.
He noticed that the Brahma Holy Land disciples from before had re-appeared. It was unknown whether they were here because they received word of this Fire Attribute Star Source, or because they were pursuing him.
However, Yang Kai had no intention of meeting the Brahma Holy Land disciples. These people’s grudge was with Yu Ying, and now that she was dead, Yang Kai didn’t want to unnecessarily become entangled with Zhang Hao and Zhang Xian.
His figure flickered as he shot toward the dark red star at an astonishing speed.
The closer he got, the more Yang Kai could feel the terrifying heat radiating from the Star. The Fire Attribute Star Source there seemed even more incredible than he imagined, exciting him greatly.
Half an hour later, he landed somewhere on the Star. Everywhere in sight was nothing but a desolate piece of land. Apparently, everything had been burned to the ground by intense flames, leaving not a single blade of grass behind.
Who knows how this Star remained intact in the battlefield where numerous Great Emperors fought to the death.
“Oh? A Flaming Cloud Mushroom!” Yang Kai’s gaze was suddenly attracted by something like a cloud of fire. With his knowledge, he could naturally recognize that it was an Emperor Grade spirit medicine, Flaming Cloud Mushroom. What took him aback was the fact that it could still grow in a place like this and even reach the Emperor Grade.
However, after giving it a second, it wasn’t that surprising to find Fire Attribute spirit medicines growing here. The Fire Attribute energy here was extremely rich. Not to mention, there was a Fire Attribute Star Source here as well.
In that momentary hesitation though, Yang Kai caught sight of a figure rushing toward the Flaming Cloud Mushroom. Apparently, the oncoming figure had also discovered the spirit medicine and wanted to pick it.
The Flaming Cloud Mushroom was an Emperor Grade spirit medicine, which was extremely valuable in itself. The conditions it required to grow were also extremely harsh, so it was much more expensive than an ordinary Emperor Grade herb.
As an Emperor Grade Alchemist, how could Yang Kai let someone else snatch such a rare spirit medicine from right under his nose?
As such, his figure flickered as he arrived before the Flaming Cloud Mushroom in one step.
He reached out and dug out a large part of the area where the Flaming Cloud Mushroom grew then threw it into his Sealed World Bead.
When Yang Kai was finished with everything, that figure came leaping toward the area before him.
But obviously, this person was a step late. So, the figure immediately stood ten metres away from Yang Kai, glaring at him with an unhappy look on its face.
Yang Kai indifferently looked back at the figure, but upon seeing this person’s appearance, he couldn’t help but frown.
Because just judging by appearance, Yang Kai couldn’t tell whether the opposite party was male or female.
If this person was a man, he was a bit too handsome. His skin was white as snow and looked soft and delicate, but if she was a woman, Yang Kai couldn’t find any characteristic features an ordinary woman should have. Her chest was completely flat, and her bottom wasn’t the slightest bit shapely. Even though her figure was slender, she was lacking all the curves a girl should have.
Even the clothing this person wore was gender-neutral.
[Is this guy a man or woman?] A confused look immediately appeared on Yang Kai’s face.
While Yang Kai was carefully sizing up the opposite party, the opposite party suddenly rebuked, “Friend, isn’t what you did a bit unbecoming? I spotted that spirit medicine first.”
As soon as he heard the opposite party’s voice, Yang Kai was gobsmacked.
At first, he believed that even if he couldn’t tell the other person’s gender by their appearance or figure, he could at least infer something from their voice, but after hearing them speak, Yang Kai realized that he had been too naive.
The opposite party’s voice was a little magnetic, and very pleasant to the ears, but also unspecific and mild-pitched, making it hard to tell whether it belonged to a man or woman. The other party was also in the Third-Order Dao Source Realm, just like Yang Kai, but the Star Seal on the back of their hand was only five-pointed.
Yang Kai didn’t bother about the other party’s gender anymore and simply replied with a smile, “Fellow Brother, you can eat whatever you like but you can’t just say anything you want. This herb was without an owner, so it belongs to whoever picks it first.”
Just as Yang Kai said this, the opposite party’s face contorted into an angry scowl before cursing angrily, “You are a Brother! Your entire family are Brothers! Can’t you see that I’m a woman!?”
Yang Kai was flabbergasted and seriously sized up this person who claimed himself to be a woman. But even after a good long while, Yang Kai just earnestly shook his head and stated, “I can’t tell!”
The woman immediately grew furious, her face filling with rage as she lifted her head and pointed to her neck and stated, “Are you blind!? Can’t you see that I don’t have an Adam’s apple?”
Black lines immediately appeared on Yang Kai’s face as he stated, “I can see that… but I don’t see… many other things…”
While speaking, Yang Kai gazed at her chest.
The woman’s face now turned extremely gloomy and she couldn’t help but puff up her chest, finally causing some slight bulge to appear.
Yang Kai clapped his hands and stated, “Now, I see some clues.”
“You are really as blind as a dog!” The woman seemed to have a bad temper and ground her teeth as she cursed.
Yang Kai wiped the sweat off his forehead and said, “Little… Sister, how old are you this year? Children should speak in a civilized manner. You shouldn’t swear.”
“You’re the child! You’ll be a child your whole life!” The young woman was so incensed that she directly palmed towards Yang Kai.
This move of hers wasn’t powerful and carried no murderous intention. Obviously, she was just angry and lashing out because of Yang Kai’s teasing.
After she finished, she turned around left without even looking back or checking Yang Kai’s response.
Yang Kai happily raised his arm and dispersed her attack. He then looked up and saw that she was already thousands of metres away from him. Finally, she looked back and angrily glared at him before she disappeared.
“Sister, don’t go, I still didn’t get your name!” Yang Kai shouted with a grin.
But he didn’t get any response. He had no idea where she had gone. Perhaps she was so angry at Yang Kai that she didn’t even bother to respond to him, and didn’t bother to pester Yang Kai to return the Flaming Cloud Mushroom.
After having been prodded by that so-called girl, Yang Kai’s mood was suddenly lifted.
He spread his Divine Sense and scanned the surroundings to make sure that there weren’t any other spirit medicines around. After he was done, he finally summoned his ship and flew toward the direction where the Fire Attribute Source Strength was the richest.
What he could say for sure was that Yin Le Sheng was on this Star. Only, he couldn’t discern his exact location.
However, it was absolutely the right choice to move closer to where the Source Strength was rich, because Yin Le Sheng would definitely go there, and as long as he could find Yin Le Shen, Yang Kai could inquire about Xiao Xiao’s whereabouts.
Yang Kai had been separated from Xiao Xiao ever since he entered the Star Boundary and had never stopped worrying about him. Xiao Xiao’s specialty and naivety would make him an easy target for any powerful Master.
This Star was very peculiar, however. Yang Kai had been in the Shattered Star Sea for so long but he had never encountered a star with spirit medicines. However, there were many of them here.
All the spirit medicines here were, of course, Fire Attribute. They should have been born because of the Fire Attribute Source Strength. Every spirit medicine’s medicinal age was also quite good, making them all very valuable. However, Yang Kai didn’t pick every spirit medicine along the way; he didn’t waste his time picking useless things.
Apparently, quite a few cultivators had come to this Cultivation Star as Yang Kai occasionally met some. These people rarely acted alone like him, basically moving in pairs, or groups of three to five. Obviously these people were disciples of the same Sect, or were good acquaintances.
Some of these people had fierce and wicked auras, and from just one glance, it was quite evident that they weren’t to be provoked easily.
After a day, Yang Kai suddenly felt bursts of powerful energy fluctuations coming from a very far distance.
He immediately stopped and looked towards that direction with a stern gaze, feeling Emperor Pressure emanating from there. He was surprised by this and wondered who was breaking through to the Emperor Realm.
In the Shattered Star Sea, cultivators could break through to the Emperor Realm. Every time the Shattered Star Sea opened, many would see through the profundities of the Emperor Realm here and jump over the dragon gate, reaching the sky in a single leap.
So, Yang Kai couldn’t help but wonder about this.
However, when he gave it a second thought, he realized that something wasn’t right, because while the energy fluctuations emitted were on the level of someone breaking through to the Emperor Realm, Yang Kai didn’t notice the World Energy Baptism that would accompany a breakthrough to a new Great Realm.
Since it wasn’t a breakthrough, could an Emperor Artifact be about to appear?
Realizing this, Yang Kai was surprised and he hurriedly turned and shot towards that direction.
He had heard that some very high-grade Emperor Artifacts would occasionally appear in the Shattered Star Sea, because it was not just Heaven Devouring Great Emperor who died in this place, many other Great Emperors had been buried with him.
Various treasures owned by the other Great Emperors, who had died in the Shattered Star Sea, were patiently waiting for the destined one to obtain them.
Therefore, all the Emperor Artifacts born in the Shattered Star Sea were of extraordinary significance and high value. They could cause countless people to fight for them.
The Emperor Artifacts of Great Emperors were completely different from ordinary Emperor Artifacts. If one really compared, the gap between them was equivalent to the difference between an Emperor Artifact and a Dao Source Grade Artifact. There was simply no comparison.
Naturally, nobody would miss such a good thing.
When Yang Kai was flying in the direction the Emperor Pressure was coming from, he suddenly felt the world around him tremble. Immediately after, an echoing sound like a morning bell came from the front. The sound waves were so concentrated that they were visible to the naked eyes. They swept away everything like a violent gust of wind and carried an extremely terrifying might.
Yang Kai’s expression drastically changed as he hurriedly flew down to the surface while carefully protecting his Soul.
*Hualala…*
The ground in the vicinity was completely flipped over and rolled like a wave, giving the illusion that this Star was about to shatter.
When the sound waves hit, Yang Kai suddenly became unstable; stars circled around his eyes and he was struck by dizziness. There were only the chimes of a huge bell ringing in his mind, making him lose his wits.
In shock, he quickly mobilized the power of his Soul Warming Lotus, supplementing and protecting his Knowledge Sea. Only then did he finally recover from the shock.
As he looked around again, Yang Kai gasped as the landscape had experienced tremendous changes. Several small peaks had actually risen from the ground while mountains that originally existed had ceased to exist. Countless abyss-like fissures had appeared on the ground, making for a daunting sight. The whole world seemed to have been shrouded in a haze all of a sudden.
Yang Kai was completely dumbfounded.
Such a terrifying might definitely couldn’t come from the cultivators who had entered the Shattered Star Sea for tempering. The only explanation was that an Emperor Artifact had appeared!
And this artifact definitely belonged to a Great Emperor. Yang Kai’s heartbeat quickened all of a sudden. He wiped the blood flowing from his nostrils and quickly rushed in the artifact’s direction like a bolt of lightning.
There were many people all around, and the sound of them cutting through the air was obvious. Clearly many cultivators were rushing there with the same intention as Yang Kai.
Yang Kai secretly cursed in his heart. None of the people who had come to the Shattered Star Sea were simple. Even if he had been slightly injured just now, he didn’t expect that no one had died from that deathly knell!
After a while, Yang Kai arrived not far away from the source of the sound. Hovering mid-air, he looked over and couldn’t help but shiver at the sight before him.
About a thousand meters away, a strange mountain entered Yang Kai’s vision. This mountain was about three hundred meters high and had a peculiar shape, almost like a giant bell placed on the ground.
Halfway up the mountain, shattered pieces of rocks kept rolling down, and from inside that mountain, dazzling brilliance and powerful Emperor Aura kept radiating.
“The Emperor Artifact!” Yang Kai’s pupils shrank as he immediately realized that the mountain was where the Emperor Artifact was hidden.
The other cultivators here were obviously aware of this too, but the might of the Emperor Artifact before had been too deadly, so even though they all came here, no one dared to act rashly.
And in front of the mountain, several mutilated corpses were lying on the ground at this moment. All of these corpses were bleeding from their seven orifices. It was quite a miserable sight, and judging by their appearances and the location of these deceased people, they should have been the first ones here. The person who discovered the Emperor Artifact encountered severe backlash when he tried to take it away, as a result, he was killed right then and there.
Suddenly, the brilliance of Star Seals glowed from these corpses. After their owners died, these Star Seals escaped and hovered mid-air, but right then, they seemed to be attracted by something as they flew towards cultivators in the vicinity.
An extremely dazzling Star Seal among them actually flew toward Yang Kai’s direction.
How could Yang Kai miss such a good thing? His figure flickered as he welcomed the Star Seal.
At the same time, countless cultivators also made their moves, their gazes fixed on the free Star Seals, prompting them to snatch these prizes.
About seven or eight cultivators were eyeing the same Star Seal as Yang Kai, their cultivations all in the Third-Order Dao Source Realm.
They were fast, but Yang Kai wasn’t slow either.
Making use of his mastery of Space Principles, Yang Kai leapt ahead of the crowd and snatched the Star Seal.
But the moment the Star Seal entered his hand, a figure suddenly shot over towards him and reached out to grab his hand, grabbing his wrist right away. However, because the other party didn’t push their Source Qi and didn’t have the slightest malice, Yang Kai didn’t show much reaction.
[This guy is pretty fast!] Yang Kai was a little surprised, because he hadn’t noticed any threat from the person who was trying to rob his Star Seal, but now, it seemed that if he was a little slower, the Star Seal would have been snatched by this person.
This cultivator, who was only a step away from the Star Seal, was so fast that Yang Kai couldn’t keep up without using Space Principles to teleport.
Yang Kai looked up at the opposite party in surprise, but after seeing the opposite party’s face, he couldn’t help but speak with a grin, “We meet again.”
He found that the cultivator he was slightly concerned about, was none other than the so-called woman he had previously seen.
“It’s you again!” The young woman, after seeing that it was Yang Kai, frowned as an annoyed look appeared on her face, “Why are you stalking me? Why do you keep snatching my things wherever I go!”
Just recently, Yang Kai had snatched a Flaming Cloud Mushroom from her, and now he had robbed her of a Star Seal. Was this guy sent by the Heavens to snatch her things?
Yang Kai sheepishly grinned and stated, “Sister, you speak as if I have been chasing you. Rest assured, I’m not interested in women with small chests!”
After hearing this, the young woman’s face immediately turned cold and she clenched her teeth in anger. Both her top and bottom weren’t well defined, and this was the biggest regret in her life. Now, when Yang Kai pointed it out right in front of her face, it would be strange if she looked happy.
“If you dare to talk nonsense, I’ll rip your tongue out!” The girl said with hatred.
Yang Kai smiled and stated, “Then you should let go of my hand first. If you keep doing this, I’m going to act indecently!”
The woman let out a snort after hearing this and she retracted her hand, turning around before flying down and landing.
The other oncoming cultivators, who failed to grab the Star Seal, looked at Yang Kai in amazement. There was an extremely strange look on all of their faces.
Seeing Yang Kai turn his gaze towards them, all of them shuddered and their faces turned pale as they involuntarily took a few steps back, creating a distance between them.
Yang Kai furrowed his brow, unaware of why these people were reacting like this, but in the next moment, he suddenly realized and explained himself with a straight face, “She’s a woman. What, did you think I’m interested in men?”
Everyone’s face turned pale after hearing this and they scampered off in haste.
Yang Kai’s face turned black after he realised that they all thought that he would use his sword to attack them.
He scanned the surroundings with an unhappy look on his face, but in the next moment, he had no intention of worrying about these trivial details and instead excitedly focused his gaze in one direction. On that side, a familiar figure was vying for a Star Seal with several others. His means were extremely ruthless and his cultivation was unmatched. Even though his rivals were all Third-Order Dao Source Realm cultivators as well, they were clearly not this man’s opponent and were being beaten black and blue.
Yin Le Sheng!
Yang Kai had never imagined meeting Yin Le Sheng would be so easy. Even though he inferred that Yin Le Shen was on this Star through the clues revealed by Zhong Zhen Hong, Yang Kai had no idea where he was, exactly.
And right this moment, he actually saw Yin Le Sheng!
He was obviously attracted by the commotion here.
Yang Kai couldn’t help but have his emotions fluctuate. He thought about it a bit before he flew over, taking something out from his Space Ring and sticking it to his face before circulating his Source Qi.
In the blink of an eye, his appearance changed into that of a burly fellow, completely different from before.
This mask that could change his appearance was a prize he had obtained from Sang De’s Space Ring. In the Solitary Void Sealed World, Sang De relied on this artifact to change his appearance and leave Clear Sky City unnoticed. Otherwise, with his popularity, he would be unable to sneak away.
Even though Sang De wasn’t a good fellow, his Artifact Refining skills were extraordinary. The artifacts he personally refined were extremely effective. Even those close to Yang Kai couldn’t determine his identity while he was wearing this mask, unless they were an Emperor Realm Master and used their Divine Sense to probe him.
After finishing his disguise, Yang Kai felt a strange gaze cast at him.
Yang Kai turned to look and noticed that it was none other than that so-called woman.
She must have seen his actions.
Yang Kai didn’t care about it too much though and just smiled as he flew over to her side, cupped his fist politely, and asked, “I still didn’t get your name!”
The young woman furrowed her brow, appearing a little impatient. Nonetheless, she still replied, “Lan He!”
“So, it is Sister Lan He. This one is Yang Kai!”
“I’m not interested in what you are called! Don’t try to get close to me!” Lan He stated with a cold face.
She had a very bad impression of Yang Kai; after all, she was robbed not once but twice by him. It would be strange to have a good impression of him. As such, she didn’t want to even converse with Yang Kai, afraid that he would really take advantage of her and snatch more of her precious treasures. What’s more, judging by how he was hiding his face and only showing his tail, he must have provoked some powerful enemies and was afraid of exposing himself. The only reason she could be approaching her was to drag her down into the mud with him.
Lan He naturally wanted to stay as far away from someone like him as possible.
Yang Kai grinned and stated, “Fate brought us together, Sister Lan He, why are you being so cold?”
“Who was brought together by fate? Scram!” Lan He, seeing Yang Kai prattling on and on, couldn’t help but curse him.
“En, en!” Yang Kai perfunctorily replied, apologizing for pestering her in his heart but still insisting on standing next to her and quietly watching the situation.
Although Lan He had a temper, she was still a good person. Yang Kai had robbed her twice, yet she did not try to rob him, nor did she make unreasonable demands.
Had it been some other cultivator, it was quite possible that they would have tried fighting Yang Kai to snatch back those treasures.
There were only so many free Star Seals here, but there were dozens of cultivators who had rushed over, attracted by the commotion here, so these Star Seals were quickly divided up.
Yang Kai noticed that Yin Le Sheng, after snatching a Star Seal, landed about two thousand metres away from him. Next to Yin Le Sheng stood three other Netherworld Sect disciples, their auras all dark and cold. Obviously, they were cultivating Netherworld Sect’s unique Secret Arts.
No one was in their vicinity, probably because of the uncomfortable feelings caused by their gloomy auras.
When Yang Kai was secretly observing Yin Le Sheng, the latter actually sensed it and turned his head to stare straight towards Yang Kai’s location, a cold gleam flashing past his eyes.
Yang Kai looked away in a natural manner, as if he was just looking around, but in his heart, he was slightly startled.
When he first met Yin Le Sheng in the Starlight Corridor, Yang Kai came to know that he was the strongest cultivator in the Grand Desolation Star Field. Not only was he a Star Master, but his aptitude was also extraordinary. The second time he saw Yin Le Sheng, he had already soared up into the sky, his speed of cultivation no worse than that of Yang Kai’s.
He had suffered a huge loss in the Starlight Corridor, and hated Yang Kai to the bone, so if Xiao Xiao really fell into his hand, Xiao Xiao would certainly be mistreated. As such, Yang Kai needed to find out about Xiao Xiao’s whereabouts from Yin Le Sheng as soon as possible.
While Yang Kai was lost in his thoughts, whispers sounded around him.
The cultivators gathered here all pointed at the bell-shaped mountain, guessing the origin of this Emperor Artifact. Unfortunately, tens of thousands of years had passed since the battle in the Shattered Star Sea, so how could the youths of the current era have much knowledge about such remote history? As a result, nobody had any idea what this artifact was or who left it behind.
Yang Kai looked around, but unfortunately, he didn’t find any acquaintances. None of the elites of the Southern Territory were here. Who knows where else they went.
The Shattered Star Sea was vast and filled with countless opportunities, but only tens of thousands of cultivators could enter it at any one time. Such numbers were like a drop of water in an ocean, so it was quite normal to not meet the elites of the Southern Territory.
“Brother Qi Hai, you are the one with the most profound and immense knowledge here. Surely you are knowledgeable about past and present events. If you can, please tell us about this Emperor Artifact.” Suddenly, someone’s voice echoed loudly.
Everyone immediately looked toward him after hearing this.
There was a smile on this man’s face as he was quietly looking at another nearby man, who was dressed as a scholar.
Following his gaze, everyone focused their gazes on this scholarly man.
The scholarly man had a gloomy look on his face. Obviously, he didn’t want to be the focus of everyone’s attention. Furthermore, even if he knew about the Emperor Artifact, he wasn’t willing to share.
But the person who had spoken before deliberately spoke in a loud voice, causing everyone to look at him with expectations. If he didn’t speak now, he would undoubtedly hide his knowledge, but he might offend everyone present. With so many Masters staring at him, he had to speak even if didn’t want to.
Everyone who could come here was a worldly character and could tell that the relationship between the scholar and the speaker wasn’t very good. If they were really friends, the former speaker would not have embarrassed this scholar to this extent.
However, even if everyone knew this, no one blamed the speaker. Instead, everyone eagerly looked at the scholar, wanting to hear his answer.
In front of everyone’s eyes, the scholar could only bitterly glare at the former speaker before indifferently speaking, “You say I have deep and profound knowledge about both past and present events? That’s hardly true. This Qi has only read some ancient books in his idle time, that’s all. I don’t dare accept your praise.”
That man smiled and continued, “Brother Qi Hai, you are too modest. Compared to Brother Qi Hai, this one’s knowledge is simply like the glow of a firefly before a bright moon. Brother Qi Hai, please give us some advice!”
As soon as that man said this, a grim-faced brute suddenly added, “What’s the origin of the Emperor Artifact? Why is it so powerful?”
“Yes yes, Brother Qi, if you know something, you might as well tell everyone. We are very curious.”
“Tell us about it!”
Qi Hai took a breath. He was riding a tiger now, so he straightened up his thoughts before speaking, “The Shattered Star Sea was the battlefield of Great Emperors. I think you all know this.”
Most of the cultivators gently nodded.
“Back then, although Heaven Devouring Great Emperor’s cultivation was peerless, and no one in the Star Boundary was his opponent, because he persisted in killing wantonly with no regard for others, he eventually provoked public anger. Numerous Great Emperors joined forces to fight him here. Finally, their fight shattered this Star Field, leading to the formation of the Shattered Star Sea. In that battle, rumour has it that Heaven Devouring Great Emperor was jointly killed by a few Great Emperors, but the price they paid was extremely heavy. The Masters who participated in the encirclement of the Heaven Devouring Great Emperor suffered heavy injuries if not death; no one came out unscathed. It is said that the Heaven’s Revelations Great Emperor is still healing in the Heaven’s Revelation Valley and can’t come out because of his injuries!”
Everyone gasped in shock after hearing this.
Yang Kai was also shocked. He didn’t know whether Qi Hai was speaking the truth or not, but he had indeed heard of Heaven’s Revelations Great Emperor. He was one of the current ten Great Emperors.
This Great Emperor was a very special one even among the other ten because, rumour had it, he could spy on the secrets of the Heavens, catching glimpses of both the past and the future.
Before the opening of the Four Seasons Realm, Heavens Revelations Great Emperor had also sent a message to Azure Sun Temple, informing the entire Southern Territory that Star Seals would appear.
If what Qi Hai said was true, it had taken Heavens Revelations Great Emperor tens of thousands of years to heal from his injuries. It was hard to imagine how badly he had suffered during the encirclement of Heaven Devouring Great Emperor.
Heaven Devouring Great Emperor was really an astonishing character.
“It is said that a total of four Great Emperors died in that battle!” Qi Hai continued with a solemn expression.
“Four!?” Someone asked nervously.
Qi Hai continued with emphasis, “Cyan Lotus Great Emperor, Yuan Ding Great Emperor, Azure Sea Great Emperor, and Martial Flame Great Emperor!”
No one had ever heard of what he was narrating, so they listened with rapt attention. The same was true for Yang Kai. He had heard of Cyan Lotus Great Emperor a few days ago when Sister Hua had spoken of this Great Emperor. She said that someone had obtained Cyan Lotus Great Emperor’s Indestructible Cyan Lotus in the Shattered Star Sea five thousand years ago, going on to found Cyan Lotus Palace in the Eastern Territory, which was now a top Sect.
“These four Great Emperors fell here, and their Natal Emperor Artifacts and Space Rings, as well as many other treasures and even inheritances were scattered throughout the Shattered Star Sea, including the Indestructible Cyan Lotus of Cyan Lotus Great Emperor, the Mountains and Rivers Bell of Yuan Ding Great Emperor, the Inverse Azure Sea of Azure Sea Great Emperor, and the Phoenix True Fire of Martial Flame Great Emperor. All of these are unparalleled artifacts,” having spoken all this in one breath, Qi Hai slightly paused before continuing. “The Indestructible Cyan Lotus has been obtained already. Everyone should have heard of the Eastern Territory’s Cyan Lotus Palace. The Palace Master of Cyan Lotus Palace is the current owner of the Indestructible Cyan Lotus. But the artifacts of the other three Great Emperors haven’t been found.”
Having spoken until here, he turned his gaze towards the bell-shaped mountain and spoke in a solemn tone, “The Emperor Artifact in front of us now should be the Mountain and Rivers Bell of Yuan Ding Great Emperor. The toll of the Mountains and Rivers Bell can suppress worlds and invert the Heavens!”
*Gudong…*
Sounds of gulping nervously were heard everywhere as everyone’s gaze turned fiery hot.
“What evidence do you have?” Suddenly, someone expressed his doubt.
Yang Kai turned his head and looked toward the source of the voice. It was none other than Yin Le Sheng. Although he looked excited, he suppressed it well. Instead, he looked at Qi Hai vigilantly and asked, “You say that this is the Mountains and Rivers Bell of Yuan Ding Great Emperor, but what proof do you offer?”
Qi Hai sneered and rebuked, “I said it is, then that’s it. Believe what you want!”
Qi Hai was already extremely upset after being forced to reveal such top-secret information in front of so many people. Now he was still being questioned, so he felt like his hot face was put on someone’s cold ass, leading his tone to become cold all of a sudden.
“Since Brother Qi Hai has said so, then we believe it. Since some people doubt this and don’t have the ability to prove otherwise, Brother Qi Hai doesn’t need to pay attention to him!” A handsome young man gave a friendly smile to Qi Hai before reprimanding Yin Le Sheng.
Yin Le Sheng’s eyes turned cold and he fixed his glare on the young man who just spoke as if he was looking at a dead person. Obviously, he was memorizing his face.
The young man was completely oblivious to this, however, and still smiled and asked Qi Hai, “Brother Qi Hai, since this is Yuan Ding Great Emperor’s Mountains and Rivers Bell, how should we collect it? I ask Brother Qi Hai to give us his valuable advice!”
When everyone heard this, they all gazed at Qi Hai attentively.
Qi Hai coldly snorted and rebuked, “If I knew how to collect it, would I still be talking to you here?”
The young man was stunned after hearing this. Even though he knew that it was a stupid question, he still had some hope.
Qi Hai added, “Which of the Great Emperor’s artifacts aren’t sentient? The Mountains and Rivers Bell is the Natal Emperor Artifact of Yuan Ding Great Emperor, it has its own consciousness! If it is willing to choose you as its master, you don’t even need to refine it! It will take the initiative to run into your arms, but if it doesn’t find you worthy, even if you are a peak Emperor, you won’t be able to touch it.”
The young man’s eyes lit up when he heard this and he anxiously asked, “Brother Qi, you mean to say if there is an opportunity, even I can become the master of this Mountains and Rivers Bell?”
Qi Hai stated with a frosty look on his face, “Everyone has an equal opportunity!”
The young man broke into happy laughter as he proudly proclaimed, “This Zhang isn’t confident in other things, but he is quite confident in his own luck. Since the Mountains and Rivers Bell is sentient, it might choose this Zhang as Yuan Ding Great Emperor’s successor and pass me the mantle of Great Emperor!”
He broke into a burst of frantic laughter. While speaking, he actually turned around and started walking towards the Mountains and Rivers Bell.
Everyone was startled at the sight of this and they all realized that this guy surnamed Zhang was going to try to make the Mountains and Rivers Bell choose him as its master! For a moment, everyone curiously looked at him, wondering what the final result would be.
Many of them had a change in their expression, also seeming eager to try; however, they suppressed their urges and patiently waited to see what was going to happen.
Qi Hai stared at the young man’s back and sneered, seemingly mocking his overconfidence.
In front of everyone’s eyes, the young man advanced unopposed, briskly making his way towards the bell-shaped mountain. Perhaps because of how smoothly he was advancing, his confidence increased and he quickened his pace with ecstasy.
Very soon, he was only fifty metres away from the mountain, and still inching closer and closer to it.
At this moment, all the onlooking cultivators were on the edge, weighing the pros and cons of this situation. Everyone was worried; if this man really got lucky and obtained the Yuan Ding Great Emperor’s Natal Emperor Artifact, wouldn’t he be the next Yuan Ding Great Emperor?
After another ten breaths, the young man walked up to the mountain without encountering any obstacles or danger along the way. Everyone was a little taken aback by the fact that he hadn’t encountered any troubles. At the sight of this, even the originally sneering Qi Hai became a lot gloomier all of a sudden.
Everyone thought, [Is this guy really destined to be its master by the Heavens themselves!?]
The young man couldn’t help but break into riotous laughter, “I have kept you waiting for far too long. Today, this Zhang will take you away, so you may, once more, proudly walk the Star Boundary. The brilliance of Sir Yuan Ding should not be covered in dust!”
While speaking this, he reached out his hand and tried to touch the bell.
Immediately, a flash of light pulsated from the mountain, as if it was reacting to the young man’s words.
This greatly increased the confidence of the young man surnamed Zhang and without any more delay, he pressed his palm onto the mountain peak and spread his Divine Sense, trying to connect with the Artifact Spirit of the Mountains and Rivers Bell.
But right then, something strange happened.
The bell-shaped peak shook ever so slightly as a loud hum reverberated from within. In an instant, the mountain collapsed as rocks and sand flew in every direction.
At the same time, an enormous bell-shaped artifact appeared before everyone’s eyes. The enormous bell was extremely simple and unsophisticated, but it was exuding an ancient aura as if it had seen and weathered hundreds of thousands of years.
The enormous bell was covered in extremely complex and mysterious runes that were constantly circling on its surface.
Suddenly, the bell started to glow, and while its brilliance was pulsating, a reverberating toll suddenly rang from it.
*Weng…*
At that moment, the world seemed to be about to be torn apart and the Heavens seemed to invert. Mountains and rivers seemed to be suppressed as the sound of the bell spread to the surroundings. Immediately, sound waves visible to naked eyes converged into an indestructible energy wave. Everyone’s expression drastically changed at the sight of this and they hastily displayed all kinds of defensive techniques.
The moment the bell rang, the young man surnamed Zhang, who was closest to the Mountains and Rivers Bell, seemed to be hit by a mountain, his figure flying high up into the air, profusely bleeding as bits and pieces of his crushed organs spewed out of his mouth along with copious amounts of blood. His Dao Source Realm aura quickly waned as his vitality disappeared in the blink of an eye.
Before he crashed to the ground, the young man was already dead.
*Hualala…*
The aftermath due to the sound wave was still spreading, and the force of impact caused the ground to flip over as if the end was here.
Only after ten breaths did everything slowly subsided.
Several dozen Dao Source Realm cultivators were thrown into a panic as some were even buried under the soil. At this time, everyone finally crawled back up and took the chance to look around, their jaws dropping in astonishment at what they witnessed.
Shocked, they couldn’t bother to snatch the Star Seal left by the young man surnamed Zhang.
“Cough cough…” Qi Hai lightly coughed a few times, patting off the dust on his body as he looked over at the dead young man surnamed Zhang and stated, “It looks like this opportunity is not for you!”
Everyone was rendered speechless.
Worthy of being the artifact of a Great Emperor, the might of the Mountains and Rivers Bell was simply extraordinary. The young man surnamed Zhang had only touched it, but that had been enough to set off a huge sound wave that killed him and knocked everyone else flying. If this artifact were really refined, how much power could it exert?
Furthermore, this was definitely not the true might of the Mountains and Rivers Bell; after all, it had been left here for tens of thousands of years, so its power had definitely fallen. It was very likely that the power it had shown just now was not even half of its peak.
Therefore, despite the lesson learned from the young man surnamed Zhang, no one’s enthusiasm reduced; rather, it had grown stronger.
And because of the shock just now, the Mountains and Rivers Bell hidden in the mountain had been completely revealed. Surprisingly, this Emperor Artifact was several hundreds of metres tall and sat on the ground, looking like a small mountain. The Emperor Aura and the runes circling around it were extremely dazzling. No one could take their eyes off this mysterious treasure as they tried to spy on its secrets from afar!
But now, no one dared to easily touch it. So, although everyone’s heart was burning with enthusiasm, strangely, everyone had entered a strange stalemate. They seemed to be secretly praying that the Artifact Spirit of the Mountains and Rivers Bell would choose them as its Master without them having to do anything.
At this moment, the bell tolled once more.
Everyone’s face immediately changed and fell into confusion as no one had touched the Mountains and Rivers Bell this time. So, why was it ringing again?
After having tasted it once, everyone invariably pushed their Source Qi to mount the strongest defence they could while simultaneously summoning their defensive artifacts.
But the shockwave everyone was waiting for never came. Rather, something astonishing happened in the next moment.
Much to everyone’s surprise, the Mountains and Rivers Bell slightly shook as it rose into the air before shooting straight towards the Starry Sky, leaving a long trail of light behind it.
In an instant, everyone was dumbfounded.
Who knows who reacted first, but someone shouted, “Chase it!”
Just as he said this, he flew off in pursuit.
After finally discovering a treasure left by a Great Emperor, how could these cultivators miss it? So, after that guy who shouted left, several dozen cultivators rose into the air, one after another, and chased after the Mountains and Rivers Bell, leaving all kinds of colourful trails in their wake.
Yang Kai was no exception.
Even though he had a lot of Emperor Artifacts, enough to have even gifted one each to Liu Yan, Sister Hua, and the Embodiment, one could never have too many Emperor Artifacts. And he had seen the might of the Mountains and Rivers Bell, making him even more interested in it. This kind of might was even stronger than that of the Annihilation Thunder Bead.
He believed that Qi Hai was right, that it was impossible to obtain this Emperor Artifact without some luck and opportunity, especially since the Mountains and Rivers Bell already had its own sentience. If one wanted to take it, he or she had to get the Artifact Spirit’s recognition first.
As long as one could get the recognition of the Artifact Spirit though, it would become easy to collect the Mountains and Rivers Bell.
Along the road of cultivation, Yang Kai had obtained countless opportunities, and when it came to good luck, he was confident that he would not lose to anyone, so he still had some hopes that he could collect the Mountains and Rivers Bell.
What’s more, Yin Le Sheng, whom he had been looking for all the while, was also chasing after the Mountains and Rivers bell.
But the moment Yang Kai flew up, a strange feeling suddenly sprouted deep in his heart. It was weak and unclear, but it still made him feel a little restless.
This strange feeling was elusive to him; and when he deliberately tried to search for its source, he was unable to find anything.
However, the faster Yang Kai flew away, the stronger this feeling became!
It was as if… if he left this place now, he would deeply regret it!
Yang Kai furrowed his brow and abruptly stopped.
He might be eager to obtain the Mountains and Rivers Bell, but if he couldn’t understand this feeling…
A figure suddenly shot from behind. Apparently, it was giving chase to the Mountains and Rivers Bell too. Yang Kai focused his gaze on the figure and discovered that it was none other than Lan He.
Seeing him stop, Lan He cast a strange glance at him. However, by the looks of her appearance, she had no intention of paying attention to him, so after a quick glance, she tried to bypass him.
When the two passed one another, Yang Kai’s expression suddenly changed before he reached out to hold Lan He’s shoulder.
Lan He’s expression dramatically changed as her figure made a strange twist and she quickly distanced herself from Yang Kai; however, even though she was quite fast, Yang Kai’s hand had still brushed her clothes.
“What do you want?” Lan He angrily shouted. At the same time, she carefully probed the location where Yang Kai had just patted with her Divine Sense, trying to figure out what Yang Kai just did to her.
But to her disappointment, no matter how she probed, she didn’t find anything.
Yang Kai explained with a smile, “Nothing. Don’t be so nervous, I just wanted to persuade you not to chase after it. So many people are trying to obtain that thing, so you will definitely not be able to get it.”
“Whether I can snatch it or not, it’s none of your business!” Lan He looked upset. She thought that this guy was a little interesting, but in the end they had only met by chance, so why was he being so meddlesome? What exactly was going through his mind.
Yang Kai shrugged as he replied, “I just wanted to make the suggestion. As for what you do, it is all up to Sister Lan He.”
Lan He deeply stared at him before speaking, “There’s something wrong with your head!”
After having said this, she turned around and flew towards the Starry Sky.
If it wasn’t urgent, she would have definitely taught Yang Kai a good lesson. This guy had been too frivolous from the first time they met, and now he dared to touch her so casually. How utterly shameless!
Unfortunately, her mind was preoccupied with the Mountains and Rivers Bell, so she wasn’t in the mood to argue with Yang Kai.
However, after this latest incident, her impression of Yang Kai had almost hit rock bottom.
Seeing her gradually moving away, Yang Kai touched his nose in helplessness. He hadn’t intended to make a move against Lan He specifically, it was just that she was right behind him, so there was no one else for him to target. If it had been someone else, Yang Kai would have still acted the way he did.
In the blink of an eye, everyone had flown away, each of them seemingly afraid that the others would be a step faster. So, no one spared any effort to catch up with the Mountains and Rivers Bell.
Yang Kai on the other hand turned around and flew back towards the dark red Star.
After a short while, he returned to the place where the Mountains and Rivers Bell had originally been and began looking around with a solemn gaze.
There was no one here, but the feeling that made him restless was definitely coming from this place.
It was for this reason that he returned here instead of chasing the Mountains and Rivers Bell like everyone else, trying to figure out the cause.
After a while, Yang Kai noticed something. His eyes immediately brightened as he came to the original location of the Mountains and Rivers Bell.
It was originally a small mountain; however, because of the quake caused by the advent of the Mountains and Rivers Bell, the mountain had completely collapsed, and after the Mountains and Rivers Bell flew away on its own, this place had been reduced to nothing but rubble.
However, a distinctive scorching energy was leaking from the original location of the Mountains and Rivers Bell.
Previously, everyone’s attention was drawn to the Mountains and Rivers Bell, so no one noticed the strangeness here.
Yang Kai couldn’t help but be suspicious, wondering what was going on here. After giving it a thought, he flew into the air and punched downward.
After a few punches, the ground split apart as a small pit suddenly appeared in his view.
Suddenly, incomparable heat gushed out from this pit while at the same time, intense Source Strength fluctuations spread, catching Yang Kai by surprise.
Looking down, there was actually a pool of lava inside the pit, and the scorching temperature it gave off caused Yang Kai to turn pale. He didn’t dare to casually approach it.
“The Fire Attribute Star Source?” Yang Kai cried out in a low voice as a strange look appeared in his eyes, a bold conjecture flashing across his mind.
Was it possible that the Fire Attribute Star Source had been hidden here?
The reason why Yang Kai came to this Star in the first place was that Zhong Zhen Yong had said that someone here had found traces of a Fire Attribute Star Source, but after arriving, the appearance of the Mountains and Rivers Bell had taken away everyone’s attention, causing them all to forget about the Fire Attribute Star Source.
But who could have guessed that the Fire Attribute Star Source was actually hidden under the Mountains and Rivers Bell? In fact, by the looks of it, this Source was being suppressed by the Mountains and Rivers Bell!
It was no wonder dozens of Dao Source Realm cultivators with their Star Seals were unable to find the exact location of the Fire Attribute Star Source, it was all because of that bell!
At first, when Yang Kai arrived here, he too had used his Star Seal to search for the location of the Fire Attribute Star Source, but the sensation he always received was vague and uncertain, making it impossible to get clear directions. It became apparent now that this was because of the existence of the Mountains and Rivers Bell.
Now that the Mountain and Rivers Bell had flown away on its own, the Fire Attribute Star Source was immediately exposed.
The Source Strength was hidden under the lava here, and it was precisely because of this Fire Attribute Star Source that this Star was so hot and had produced so many Fire Attribute spirit medicines!
Considering all this, Yang Kai couldn’t help but become excited.
He felt that it really was a wise decision to remain here. So many people were chasing and vying for the Mountains and Rivers Bell, so no one would be able to capture it in short order; however, the Fire Attribute Star Source was only discovered by him alone, so he could collect it in peace and at leisure.
However, it was just a guess that the Fire Attribute Star Source was hidden under this pool of magma. As to whether it was true or not, Yang Kai had no way to confirm it. Even if it was true, he still had not found a way to get it.
The Fire Attribute Star Source wasn’t easy to obtain as just a moment of carelessness here could cause Yang Kai to be reduced to ashes.
Just when he was at a loss, the magma in front of Yang Kai suddenly started boiling. Huge bubbles of hot gas rose to the surface of the magma and burst, causing the surrounding temperature to rise to an unbearable level.
Yang Kai couldn’t help but circulate his Source Qi to defend his body; only then feeling slightly better.
However, this sudden change had caused him to become extremely vigilant and he immediately took a few steps back.
After a moment, the entire magma pool in the huge pit erupted, and immediately afterward, a sharp and clear bird cry reverberated throughout the world, echoing in Yang Kai’s ears…
Yang Kai was rooted to the ground, dumbstruck!
Because this cry sounded quite familiar.
In the past, when he was dual cultivating with Su Yan, when the auspicious phenomena of a dragon and phoenix had manifested, the Ice Phoenix’s cry was exactly the same. It shook the listener’s hearts and made all living beings submit to it!
*Huala!*
A beautiful, fiery red figure suddenly flew out of the pit, and as it appeared, all the heat flowed away along with it, turning the huge pit of magma into stone in an instant.
Suddenly, the sky was obscured by a huge figure as an ear-piercing cry resounded throughout the sky.
Yang Kai looked up, gawking at the beautiful and incomprehensible figure, nervously gulping as he muttered with difficulty, “A Fire Phoenix!”
There were Divine Spirits in this world, and Dragons and Phoenixes reigned supreme above these great beasts.
The Dragon Clan and Phoenix Clan were the strongest existences among the Ancient Divine Spirits. This was almost an indisputable fact. Putting the Dragon Clan aside, the Phoenix Clan had two major branches.
The Fire Phoenix and Ice Phoenix!
These two branches of the Phoenix Clan represented the two great attributes of Fire and Ice, making them polar opposites of one another.
The Divine Spirit Luan Feng that Yang Kai had seen on Clear Jade Mountain outside Maplewood City fell under the Fire Phoenix branch. The Luan Feng’s World Extinguishing Black Flame was simply synonymous with destruction and disaster. A single breath of its black flames had caused Clear Jade Mountain to burn down, and its fires would undoubtedly continue burning for many years to come. This phenomenon had attracted countless cultivators who cultivated Fire Attribute Secret Arts and Secret Techniques to Clear Jade Mountain to enter retreat, seeking enlightenment.
And the giant, beautiful figure before Yang Kai now was undoubtedly an authentic Fire Phoenix! Its bloodline was even purer than that Luan Feng’s.
Yang Kai had never even dreamed that he would see a Fire Phoenix in the Shattered Star Sea! Moreover, one that was suppressed under the Mountains and Rivers Bell.
Had the cultivators not discovered the Mountains and Rivers Bell by accident, and caused it to fly away, this Fire Phoenix might still be sleeping under it, never to see the light of the day.
“No!” Yang Kai suddenly narrowed his eyes, staring intently at the Fire Phoenix hovering in the sky as if he had noticed something amiss.
Because he noticed that this Fire Phoenix had no vitality. It could even be said that it had no physical body. Everything about it was composed of pure energy. And when it appeared, Yang Kai had clearly felt the energy of a Fire Attribute Star Source.
In a flash, Yang Kai was struck with realization and involuntarily cried, “Phoenix True Fire!”
This was not a true Fire Phoenix Divine Spirit, it was the Phoenix True Fire! And combined with what Qi Hai had said before, Yang Kai immediately realized that this Phoenix True Fire was left here after the death of Martial Flame Great Emperor!
In terms of value, it wasn’t inferior to the Mountains and Rivers Bell, and to some, it was a priceless treasure that nothing could compare to.
However… Why was Yuan Ding Great Emperor’s Mountains and Rivers Bell suppressing Martial Flame Great Emperor’s Phoenix True Fire? Didn’t these two Great Emperors jointly attack Heaven Devouring Great Emperor?
Yang Kai was suddenly confused and he couldn’t fathom what happened during the great battle of those Great Emperors for such a thing to happen.
But it was useless to think about matters that happened tens of thousands of years ago.
Now that the Phoenix True Fire was right before him, the mysteries of this place were also solved. The Fire Attribute Star Source on this star was actually the Phoenix True Fire, something far more valuable than a mere Fire Attribute Star Source.
The Phoenix True Fire carried the inheritance of a True Fire Phoenix. A Fire Phoenix would eventually die, but its True Fire would never go out. Contained in this Phoenix True Fire was the knowledge and experiences the Fire Phoenix Clan had gained over hundreds of thousands, or even millions of years. No matter who obtained this Phoenix True Fire, their strength would certainly improve by leaps and bounds.
If Liu Yan could absorb this Phoenix True Fire, it might even be possible for her to be reborn as a real Fire Phoenix!
“Li!”
The loud cry rang out again, pulling Yang Kai from his excited thoughts. Yang Kai was immediately startled by the sight before his eyes. The Phoenix True Fire in the sky had actually started rotating and swiftly turned into a fist-sized ball of fire before flying straight at him.
At this moment, Yang Kai was frightened out of his senses.
He might be proud of his uncommon strength and even dared to fight ordinary First-Order Emperor Realm Masters, but in the face of the Phoenix True Fire that was known to be able to burn all things in existence to ash, he didn’t even dare to touch it.
If he was hit by this flame, he would evaporate instantly!
Just when he wanted to run away, a force uncontrollably surged out of Yang Kai’s body.
Immediately afterward, a reverberating and deafening dragon roar resounded through the sky as a golden glow appeared around Yang Kai. The Golden Divine Dragon Source Strength that had been hiding in Yang Kai’s body all this time directly appeared behind his back at that moment, seemingly stimulated by the Phoenix True Fire.
The enormous Dragon head stared at the Phoenix True Fire with its house-sized eyes, its golden light giving it a dazzling and majestic look.
In a flash, dragon roars and phoenix cries sang one after another, trying to display their majesty to the other.
Right afterwards, the two Sources clashed with each other mid-air, causing the surrounding space to collapse and the world to crack.
Suddenly, a muffled groan came from somewhere nearby, as if someone was injured by these clashes. Yang Kai’s eyes immediately turned cold as he turned his head and glanced towards the source of the groan, but when he looked over, he didn’t notice anything.
At this moment, he had no time to care about other things as he was currently at the centre of the collision between the two Ancient Divine Spirit Sources. He too was having a hard time holding on, and if the Dragon Source wasn’t safeguarding his body, he might have been long crushed into nothing. Even so, his bones were beginning to crack and Golden Blood started flowing out as his skin split apart, making him look extremely miserable.
The fiery glow became more and more vibrant, but the golden radiance wasn’t showing any weakness either.
The whole world now seemed to have only two colours.
This was a confrontation merely between two Sources, without real physical bodies, a battle between the supreme overlords of the Ancient Divine Spirits. Under these surging Source Strengths, Yang Kai suffered immense pain, but also gained phenomenal insights.
Over time, the collision between the two Sources seemed to have become even more fearsome, and Yang Kai had no choice but to use his Dragon Transformation Secret Technique to cover his entire body in Dragon Scales. Even so, his blood and Source Qi were in turmoil from the constant impacts and he kept coughing up blood, looking like he might die at any moment.
Although he looked miserable, there was a light of ecstasy in his eyes.
Because he discovered due to being in the centre of this clash, his comprehension of Source and Principle Strength had climbed to a new height in a very short period of time. At this moment, some obscure concepts that he never understood before suddenly became clear.
As such, he hoped that this clash would keep going a while longer!
Slavin, Original Title – Phoenix True Fire
What disappointed Yang Kai a little was the fact that these two supreme Sources only clashed with each other for less time than it took to drink a cup of tea before they settled down and retreated from each other.
However, he could tell that although it seemed that they came out on par in their clash, the fact was that the Phoenix True Fire was slightly inferior. It seemed his Golden Divine Dragon Source was a little bit stronger than the Phoenix True Fire.
Yang Kai was extremely excited by this discovery.
Right then, he grit his teeth and forced the Golden Divine Dragon Source once more.
The Phoenix True Fire was immediately caught off guard and was enveloped by the Dragon Source Strength. It constantly cried in anger and vigorously struggled, a terrifying display to behold.
Yang Kai quickly formed seals with his hands as he summoned the Sealed World Bead. Suddenly, an entrance to the Sealed World Bead opened up, sucking the Phoenix True Fire straight into the Small Sealed World.
Immediately afterwards, he mobilized the power of the Small World Bead and suppressed it.
After doing all this, Yang Kai staggered a few steps, his face completely pale as he sweat profusely, making him look like a fish out of water.
He hurriedly immersed his consciousness into the Small Sealed World to check the condition of the Phoenix True Fire. Immediately, he noticed that although the Phoenix True Fire was vehemently struggling, it was unable to free itself from the World Strength. Finally, Yang Kai put his heart to rest.
A sense of exhaustion finally struck him as Yang Kai slumped down on the ground.
Putting something as powerful as the Phoenix True Fire into the Small Sealed World had almost completely exhausted his Spiritual Energy, which was more exhaustive than taking over a hundred Embodiments into the Small Sealed World. It was proof in itself how Heaven-defying the Phoenix True Fire was.
What surprised Yang Kai was that everything went so smoothly. He had just tried to test the waters, that’s all. He hadn’t expected to succeed on first try. The credit for this mostly went to his Golden Divine Dragon Source. Had it not been there to suppress the Phoenix True Fire, Yang Kai would never have been able to obtain it, even with the Sealed World Bead on his side.
How could a supreme Source be taken away so easily?
Suddenly, a figure appeared from somewhere nearby and sat down cross-legged on the ground, watching Yang Kai with a look of disbelief. Like Yang Kai, his face was similarly pale.
Qi Hai!
Who would have thought that while everyone was chasing the Mountains and Rivers Bell, Qi Hai would unexpectedly use a concealment-type Secret Technique to hide here.
However, when the two Source Strengths clashed with each other, Qi Hai seemed to have suffered from the impact. From the look on his face, he seemed to be slightly injured right now. Presumably, he knew that his whereabouts had been exposed, so he no longer hid himself and had appeared in a frank and upright manner.
He was looking at Yang Kai with a complicated gaze, but he didn’t come forward right away, and neither did he show any hostility. He just stood there quietly and waited.
Although Yang Kai was recuperating in a cross-legged position, he was also paying a little attention to Qi Hai’s movements. He found this cunning refreshing. If it weren’t for the groan Qi Hai made when he was injured, Yang Kai would have never thought that there would be someone else beside him here.
Obviously, Qi Hai had some motive for secretly staying here. Yang Kai reckoned that it might have something to do with the Phoenix True Fire. In other words, Qi Hai had long known about the Phoenix True Fire being suppressed under the Mountains and Rivers Bell. That’s why he didn’t chase after the Mountains and Rivers Bell.
For a moment, both of them remained silent. The high temperature on the surface of the dark red star seemed to be rapidly dropping because the Phoenix True Fire was taken away. Hissing noises could be heard coming from everywhere because of the rapid drop in the temperature.
After half an hour, Yang Kai finally opened his eyes.
Even though adjusting his breathing for this half-hour wasn’t enough to fully replenish his Spiritual Energy, he wasn’t as tired as before. Not to mention, he also had the Seven Coloured Soul Warming Lotus, which was nourishing his Soul every moment, so there was no need to deliberately restore his Spiritual Energy.
Next, he turned and deeply stared at Qi Hai.
This guy had been sitting there all the while. He didn’t disturb Yang Kai’s recovery, nor did it look like he had any malicious intentions, so what did he want?
However, Yang Kai could tell that Qi Hai wasn’t hostile to him. On the contrary, because of his shocking battle which had just taken place, it seemed Qi Hai’s gaze was filled with intense fear.
Seeing Yang Kai looking at him, Qi Hai’s expression turned serious as he quickly cupped his fists and introduced himself, “This one’s name is Qi Hai. I think you should know me by now. Friend, may I have the honour of knowing your name?”
“Yang Kai!” Yang Kai didn’t conceal his name, because he believed that he wasn’t famous. His fame couldn’t be compared to that of top disciples from top Sects, so it didn’t matter if he said his real name.
“So, it is Brother Yang Kai. Greetings!” Qi Hai cupped his fists again, wondering in his heart. He kept recalling the names of the elite disciples of the Sects of four territories of the Star Boundary, but he found that there was no Yang Kai among them.
“Brother Qi Hai, is there something I can do for you?” Yang Kai indifferently asked.
Qi Hai smiled in embarrassment as he stated, “You can indeed do something for me. This Qi has a presumptuous request…”
Yang Kai interrupted with a snort, “Since it’s a presumptuous request, then don’t ask.”
“Uh…” Qi Ha immediately choked, rendered speechless. He was only being polite by saying so and hadn’t expected Yang Kai to give such a harsh reply. This made him really helpless.
“I am a little curious though,” Yang Kai calmly gazed at Qi Hai, “Everyone chased after the Mountains and Rivers Bell, so why did Brother Qi Hai secretly stay here? Did you already know something?”
Qi Hai had displayed extensive knowledge about the past and knew many secrets that others had never even heard of. He was also the one who revealed information about the war between the Great Emperors. He might have hidden some of the insider information.
Qi Hai raised his brow but instead of replying, he counter-questioned Yang Kai, “What about Brother Yang? You flew off and then came back. You wouldn’t happen to know something too, would you?”
Yang Kai calmly answered, “I suddenly got a stomach ache, so I ran back to take a dump!”
Qi Hai’s face darkened upon hearing this.
Yang Kai continued, “Brother Qi Hai has been hiding here all the while. Didn’t you see me creating a big hole on the ground as soon as I came back? I was going to take care of my business here, but who would have thought that something like this would happen!”
The corners of Qi Hai’s mouth twitched as he stated, “Brother Yang’s luck is quite Heaven-defying!”
Qi Hai’s expression clearly stated that only some idiot would believe him, but Yang Kai didn’t mind. Instead, he meaningfully grinned and stated, “Brother Qi, if you know something, you might as well tell me about it. Since things have come to pass like this, there is no point in hiding it anymore.”
Qi Hai’s face slightly sank. Obviously, he was feeling frustrated, but after a long time, he heaved a sigh before he confirmed it with a nod, “I do know something.”
Yang Kai’s eyes immediately lit up as he stated, “This Yang is all ears.”
Qi Hai continued, “I knew that the Phoenix True Fire was suppressed under the Mountains and Rivers Bell!”
Yang Kai immediately voiced his doubt, “I’m extremely puzzled about this. Didn’t Yuan Ding Great Emperor and Martial Flame Great Emperor join hands to deal with Heaven Devouring Great Emperor? How did Yuan Ding Great Emperor end up using his Mountains and Rivers Bell to suppress Martial Flame Great Emperor’s Phoenix True Fire? Were they enemies?”
Qi Hai denied, shaking his head, “Brother Yang’s conjecture is wrong. Yuan Ding Great Emperor and Martial Flame Great Emperor were indeed companions, and they joined hands to deal with Heaven Devouring Great Emperor in that battle long ago, but there is a special reason why the Phoenix True Fire was suppressed by the Mountains and Rivers Bell.”
“Can you tell me the details?” Yang Kai earnestly asked.
Qi Hai pondered for a moment before answering, “Heaven Devouring Great Emperor was incredibly shrewd on top of being extremely powerful. He had many trump cards up his sleeve and it is not an exaggeration to say that he is the strongest expert in the Star Boundary’s entire history. However, even though he was a Great Emperor, he wasn’t immortal or indestructible. In his era, his cultivation had reached a level which no one could surpass, but he still wanted to go further. Brother Yang, can you guess what he wanted when his strength and status reached that level?”
Yang Kai wasn’t a fool. After listening to Qi Hai, he could pretty much guess it and an intelligent gleam flashed past his eyes as he muttered in surprise, “Eternal life?”
Qi Hai confirmed it with a nod, “Yes, Heaven Devouring Great Emperor wanted to have the longevity of the Heavens and Earth, sharing brilliance with the sun and moon!”
Yang Kai gasped in shock, “What a big appetite!”
Qi Hai chuckled, “You and I still haven’t reached that realm. If you or I had the cultivation and abilities of Heaven Devouring Great Emperor, we might also consider this, but it is not that easy to achieve immortality and have an indestructible body. However, rumour has it that there was a precious treasure formed just as the Heavens and Earth first came into being from the undivided chaos: the Immortal Tree!”
Yang Kai’s eyes twitched ever so slightly hearing this.
Qi Hai continued, not noticing this slight twitch, “According to the ancient rumours, if one can obtain the Immortal Tree and refine it, they can obtain an immortal and indestructible body!”
Yang Kai burst into laughter, “Does Brother Qi believe this kind of unfounded rumour?”
Qi Hai earnestly looked at him and asked, “Why? Don’t you believe it?”
Yang Kai quickly replied, “A tree that can make someone immortal and indestructible? That’s just some tale used to deceive children. Brother Qi Hai, you are already an adult, don’t believe such nonsense.”
Qi Hai shook his head and stated, “In this world, there are many marvellous and exotic treasures, each of which has an incomprehensible and unimaginable effect. The Immortal Tree can indeed make someone immortal and indestructible.”
Yang Kai feigned surprise and asked, “Is that true? Then does Brother Qi know how one can become immortal and indestructible using the Immortal Tree?”
Qi Hai bitterly smiled and stated, “I don’t know anything about that. How can it be that easy to see the Immortal Tree? Since ancient times, the people who have seen the Immortal Tree should not exceed five.”
Yang Kai rebuked in his heart, [Bullshit, when I got the Immortal Tree, at least six or seven people saw it.]
However, the fact that Qi Hai didn’t know how to use the Immortal Tree inevitably disappointed Yang Kai. He thought that since Qi Hai was so knowledgeable, perhaps he could get some information about the Immortal Tree from him.
After Yang Kai obtained the Immortal Tree back then, he had tried refining it many times in order to achieve an immortal and indestructible body.
But no matter what method Yang Kai tried, he discovered that he couldn’t refine the Immortal Tree at all. Back then, he was just an Origin Returning Realm cultivator, so it was reasonable to assume that his cultivation was simply too low. But now, he was a Third-Order Dao Source Realm Master, yet he still couldn’t refine it.
The biggest role the Immortal Tree played today was to bring great vitality to the Small Sealed World, allowing the spirit medicines in his medicine garden to grow rapidly. It shortened the growth cycle of these spirit medicines by a great deal. Occasionally, Yang Kai would also use the rich vitality exuded by the Immortal Tree to heal his injuries. Likewise, its leaves could also be used to instantly heal severe wounds. Besides this, it had no other effect. As for achieving an immortal and indestructible body, Yang Kai had no clue about this.
“In the past, the Heaven Devouring Great Emperor once went looking for the Immortal Tree to gain immortality. He even tore apart the Star Boundary’s Starlight Corridor and invaded countless lower Star Fields. Every time he went to a Star Field, countless Cultivation Stars would be devoured by him, plunging people into misery and suffering. It was for this reason that he finally incurred the wrath of the entire world,” Qi Hai unhurriedly continued, “But unfortunately, even the Heaven Devouring Great Emperor was unable to find the Immortal Tree.”
Yang Kai was filled with fear after hearing this.
He could say for sure that the Heaven Devouring Great Emperor had never been to Heng Luo Star Field. Had he been there, he might have really found the Immortal Tree; however, his arrival would have definitely brought doom to the Heng Luo Star Field.
Qi Hai continued, “Unable to find the Immortal Tree, the Heaven Devouring Great Emperor could only look for other methods. The popular rumour is that the reason why the other Great Emperors besieged the Heaven Devouring Great Emperor in the Shattered Star Sea was because his behaviour was no longer acceptable, but in fact, that was only a part of the reason.”
Yang Kai’s expression changed as he asked, “What’s the other reason?”
“There was another bigger reason. He wanted to attack another Great Emperor and snatch something from him!”
Hearing this, Yang Kai’s mind quickly started working. All of a sudden, he was struck with some realization as cried out in alarm, “Could it be…”
Qi Hai confirmed it with a nod, “Yes, it’s exactly as Brother Yang has guessed. It is absolutely impossible for Great Emperors to fight if there isn’t an absolute irreconcilable enmity between them. However, the Heaven Devouring Great Emperor’s conduct undoubtedly touched the inverse-scale and bottom line of all the other Great Emperors. If they ignored this, the next unlucky person might be themselves, so they formed an alliance and declared war against Heaven Devouring Great Emperor. Their battle shattered the sky and split worlds, causing the universe to shatter, resulting in the creation of this Shattered Star Sea!”
“What the Heaven Devouring Great Emperor wanted to steal was the Martial Flame Great Emperor’s Phoenix True Fire!” Qi Hai’s face grew serious, “The Phoenix True Fire is the inheritance of a True Fire Phoenix. The Fire Phoenix might die, but its Phoenix Fire will never go out. It even has the Heaven-defying Divine Ability of nirvana, so the Phoenix True Fire is also known as the Nirvana True Fire. It’s ranked at the top among all the exotic fires created by the Heavens. The Heaven Devouring Great Emperor wanted to obtain the Phoenix True Fire and understand the mysteries of eternal life from it. If the Heaven Devouring Great Emperor really succeeded in getting his hands on it, then he might have really gotten what he wanted.”
“During that battle, the Martial Flame Great Emperor was the first to fall under the hands of Heaven Devouring Great Emperor; after all, he was the main focus of the Heaven Devouring Great Emperor. The Phoenix True Fire was also pulled out by him, but in order to prevent the Heaven Devouring Great Emperor from getting his hands on the Phoenix True Fire, the Yuan Ding Great Emperor could only use his own Mountains and Rivers Bell to suppress it. He was also helpless. And without the Mountains and Rivers Bell, the Yuan Ding Great Emperor’s strength plummeted, so he too followed the footsteps of the Martial Flame Great Emperor. However, the Phoenix True Fire suppressed by the Mountains and Rivers Bell was sent away by another Great Emperor during the tangled fight. It had been missing since then!”
“Over the years, countless cultivators have entered the Shattered Star Sea to find the treasures left by the fallen Great Emperors, but few knew that the Phoenix True Fire was being suppressed under the Mountains and Rivers Bell.”
Listening to Qi Hai, Yang Kai immediately understood why he secretly remained and he couldn’t help but smile as he praised, “Brother Qi Hai, you really know a great deal.”
Qi Hai stated, “This Qi has been paying attention to the whereabouts of the Phoenix True Fire, and has also read countless ancient books due to some special circumstances.”
“Special circumstances?” Yang Kai raised his brow.
Qi Hai timely cupped his fists and explained, “I’ll be honest with Brother Yang. This Qi’s wife was severely injured twenty years ago, and had been in a coma since then. Although this Qi has tried everything to save her, I could only keep her barely alive. It’s not a long-term solution. In order to save her, apart from the Immortal Source Liquid on the Immortal Tree, only the Phoenix True Fire will do.”
Yang Kai’s face turned livid as he coldly snorted and asked, “Brother Qi, did you come to me to ask for the Phoenix True Fire? If so, then this Yang has been wrong about you. It was a pleasant talk, but I didn’t expect that Brother Qi had this plan in his mind. Goodbye!”
“Brother Yang, you are misunderstanding me,” Qi Hai hurriedly waved his hands, “Can you please listen to me first?”
Yang Kai coldly glanced at him and stated, “I’m neither your friend nor your relative, why must I care about your troubles?”
Large beads of sweat immediately appeared on Qi Hai’s forehead and he promptly swore, “If Brother Yang is willing to help me this time, this Qi is willing to pay any price. Whatever Brother Yang asks of me, this Qi will definitely do it for you.”
“Even if I want you dead?” Yang Kai pursed his lips as a sinister smile appeared on his lips.
Qi Hai’s face slightly changed but he quickly gave a big-hearted smile, “If Brother Yang really saves my wife, this Qi will commit suicide in front of you.”
Yang Kai’s expression changed ever so slightly, the corners of his lips twitching as he muttered, “You’re crazy!”
Qi Hai smiled instead and asked, “I wonder whether Brother Yang had met a woman whom you can depend on to stand beside you even in the face of death? If you have met such a woman, you will be able to understand this Qi’s feelings.”
Several beautiful figures flashed across Yang Kai’s eyes and he couldn’t help but be a little moved.
He wondered if those few encountered something similar, what would he do? Suddenly he understood Qi Hai’s feelings.
“Although I sympathize with you, I can’t give you the Phoenix True Fire,” Yang Kai shook his head. The Phoenix True Fire was too precious and he already planned to give it to Liu Yuan. He couldn’t hand it to Qi Hai just because of a few words.
Who knows if this Qi Hai was speaking the truth or not? Even if what he said was true, there was no friendship between them that would warrant such a sacrifice.
Qi Hai stated, “Brother Yang, you really misunderstood me. I don’t want your Phoenix True Fire.”
Yang Kai furrowed his brow as he asked, “Then, what do you want?”
Qi Hai replied, “I just wanted to ask Brother Yang to come with me. You only need to use the Nirvana Divine Ability of the Phoenix True Fire a little. It will be enough to save my wife. And you will not lose the slightest.”
“Just this?” Yang Kai asked, surprised.
“Just this!” Qi Hai solemnly nodded.
Yang Kai pondered for a while before asking, “What kind of injuries has your wife suffered? Why are you sure that the Phoenix True Fire will save her?”
Qi Hai’s expression turned dark as he explained, “It’s not an injury per se, but more of a kind of cold poison. At the edge of the Eastern Territory lies the vast Ancient Wild Lands. Only a few people ever set foot into those lands and fewer return, but where there is danger, there is also opportunity. Many Masters of the Eastern Territory like to go to the Ancient Wild Lands to explore and temper themselves. My wife once went to the Ancient Wild Lands alone twenty years ago, from which she returned seriously wounded a month later. Since then, she has been in a coma. According to my Qi Family Fort’s Alchemist, my wife was poisoned, and the poison in her system is none other than the Heavenly Frost Earth Rain!”
“Heavenly Frost Earth Rain!” Yang Kai’s face immediately changed when he heard this and he couldn’t help but cry out in shock, “One of the Ten Extreme Poisons!?”
Qi Hai looked at Yang Kai in surprise as he asked, “Brother Yang knows about the Heavenly Frost Earth Rain?”
Yang Kai gently nodded, “I’ve heard of it.”
Qi Hai bitterly smiled, “Since Brother Yang has heard of it, you should know that there is basically no cure for someone afflicted by this kind of poison.”
“Indeed!” Yang Kai slightly sighed. There was no cure for any of the Ten Extreme Poisons. Basically, one would just be counting his or her days unless he or she encountered some astonishing treasure, such as the Immortal Tree.
“However, the Phoenix True Fire’s Nirvana Divine Ability may be able to cure my wife,” Qi Hai blazingly stared at Yang Kai as he continued, “My main purpose for entering the Shattered Star Sea this time was to find the Phoenix True Fire and take it back to the Qi Family Fort. But… after watching everything, this Qi realized that he was far too naive. With my current strength, I wouldn’t have been able to even approach the Phoenix True Fire.”
Qi Hai had naturally seen the Golden Divine Dragon Source Strength breaking out of Yang Kai and its fight with the Phoenix True Fire. Just remembering that terrifying battle made him tremble all over.
“Brother Qi, you are overestimating me. I still haven’t subdued it, I was only able to temporarily suppress it,” Yang Kai calmly explained.
“Suppressed…” Qi Hai nervously gulped. It sounded even more unbelievable than Yang Kai subduing the Phoenix True Fire and he immediately muttered in admiration, “Brother Yang is really amazing.”
Yang Kai furrowed his brow as he stated, “Although even the Heavens and Earth would be moved by Brother Qi’s feelings for your wife, please forgive this Yang for being incapable of helping you.”
Qi Hai’s face darkened. He knew that he couldn’t force this kind of thing. Yang Kai hadn’t subdued or refined the Phoenix True Fire at all, so even if he did want to help, he was unable to do so, this was a simple fact. In order to save Qi Hai’s wife, Yang Kai must first refine the Phoenix True Fire; otherwise, once he took out the Phoenix True Fire, not to mention saving his wife, everyone might be burned to ashes in an instant.
“Then… Will Brother Yang come to the Qi Family Fort in the Eastern Territory after you have refined the Phoenix True Fire someday?” Qi Hai pleadingly looked at Yang Kai before earnestly swearing, “Right now, this is my last hope to save my beloved wife. Brother Yang, rest assured, this Qi will never divulge anything he witnessed today, if I do so, may I be struck by lightning.”
“Qi Family Fort in the Eastern Territory?” Yang Kai raised his brow.
“That’s right!”
“If it’s the Eastern Territory, I may go there someday,” Yang Kai nodded. This time, whether he could get Xiao Xiao’s whereabouts from Yin Le Sheng or not, he had to go to the Eastern Territory because Xiao Xiao may very well be in the Eastern Territory.
“Really!?” Qi Hai was overjoyed when he heard this. He cried, lost in happiness, “Great! When Brother Yang comes to the Eastern Territory, just ask about the Ancient Wild Lands. My Qi Family Fort is near the Ancient Wild Lands.”
“We’ll see when the time comes,” Yang Kai didn’t agree right away. He couldn’t easily make a promise when it came to matters like this. If he failed to fulfil his promise, it would definitely make Qi Hai hate him.
Qi Hai obviously understood this, but the initiative was entirely in Yang Kai’s hands, so he couldn’t force the issue. He could only take out a Communication Bead from his Space Ring and carefully hand it to Yang Kai, “Brother Yang, this is this Qi’s Communication Bead, it might be to use in the future.”
Yang Kai took it and threw it into his Space Ring before cupping his fist and bidding him farewell, “Then, let’s part ways here.”
Qi Hai nodded with a complicated look on his face.
Before Yang Kai left, Qi Hai suddenly cried, “Brother Yang, wait a moment!”
“What’s wrong?” Yang Kai gazed back at him.
Qi Hai earnestly asked, “Brother Yang, are you planning to chase after the Mountains and Rivers Bell?”
Yang Kai replied with a smile, “How can I let a Great Emperor’s artifact slip? I should give it a try.”
Qi Hai stated, “Yuan Ding Great Emperor’s Mountains and Rivers Bell is extremely powerful. No one in the Dao Source Realm can succeed in subduing it unless you can get the approval of the Artifact Spirit and let it choose you as its Master.”
Hearing this, Yang Kai flicked his hair as he narcissistically stated, “Since I’m so handsome, it should take a liking to me.”
Qi Hai’s face turned black.