Chi Gui replied to the fat man, “It was because I noticed the abnormality that I came over to see the situation.”
The fat man revealed, “It’s the same for us!”
Chi Gui was stunned. He glanced at the Emperor’s Realm Master surrounded by Black Qi, asking, “Could it be you, Yao Si, who did this?”
This made Yao Si, the aforementioned Emperor Realm Master, snort coldly, “Why do you think it was me?”
“I just guessed…” Chi Gui sniffed.
The burly young man said in a deep voice, “It’s not Brother Yao Si’s problem. The Source Strength in the Source Sea flowed in this direction. This island seems to be the source of the problem.”
As soon as this statement came out, five pairs of eyes looked at Yang Kai together.
“Why are you looking at me? I don’t even know what you are talking about. What happened? Why are you not absorbing and refining the Source Strength at your own place, but came here to me?” Yang Kai’s face darkened.
The brawny young man frowned, “The Source Strength in the Source Sea has been greatly reduced over the past half a month, and the flow of Source Strength pointed to this place. What do you think we are here for?”
Yang Kai’s eyes widened, revealing a harmless expression as he asked in shock, “Really? No way?!”
He sounded quite insincere. The reduction and flow of Source Strength was undeniable, and despite Yang Kai just being a Third-Order Dao Source Realm cultivator, even someone with lower cultivation should have been able to sense this. However, it was too obvious from his look of bewilderment that he was putting on an act. Though from his expression, he did not seem to be lying, especially the look in his eyes which was clear and bright, without a hint of deception.
The five people began to doubt themselves, wondering if they were wrong about Yang Kai.
Strangely, the flow and reduction of Source Qi did stop just now.
“Does this really have nothing to do with you?” Chi Gui frowned.
“I am just a Dao Source Realm, how could I have done such a thing right under all of your noses? If the Source Strength reduction here was caused by something, it has nothing to do with me, it’s definitely one of you. One of you did it and tried to blame it on me! You can’t be so mean! Whoever did this should reveal himself!” Yang Kai refuted.
The doubt in their hearts was strengthened by the justification and solemnity in his tone. It was agreed that the source of the problem was on this island, but Yang Kai was right. How could he, a Dao Source Realm cultivator, do such a thing?
The brawny young man said thoughtfully, “The abnormality of the Source Sea began half a month ago. It wasn’t very obvious at first, but it became more apparent after this boy arrived here.”
Hearing what he had said, the other four looked at Yang Kai with suspicious expressions again.
After all, the timing was too coincidental.
“You can eat anything you want, but you cannot say anything you please!” Yang Kai glared at him, “If this friend speaks nonsense again, I’ll not be polite to you.”
“You will not be polite to me?” The brawny young man’s eyes widened into circles, as if hearing the funniest joke in the world and grinned, “I am interested to see how you are going to be impolite to me.”
He was also an Emperor Realm Master. Although Yang Kai took his blow rather well earlier, he really did not think Yang Kai was a match for him.
If there was really a battle to the death here, he believed that he would be able to take Yang Kai down in three moves.
“That’s enough. Since the problem is not from here, there must be some unusual change in the Source Sea.” For some reason, Wu Chang stood up and put an end to the dispute, which was a relief for Yang Kai.
Yang Kai glanced at him with distrust, but Wu Chang ignored it and continued, “Instead of getting entangled here without any proof, it is better to go back and continue absorbing and refining. Although the Source Sea has been reduced a lot, it hasn’t completely disappeared yet, I believe it’s still enough to meet everyone’s needs.”
The fat man nodded, “En, that’s right.”
The brawny young man and Chi Gui could not think of a better idea, but Yao Si, the son of a Great Emperor, had other ideas, “Boy, whether or not the changes in the Source Sea were caused by you, you must leave this place now. This is the territory for Emperor Realm Masters. You are not qualified to set foot in this place with your current strength!”
Yang Kai turned to glance at him before sneering softly, “Who are you to say that I’m not qualified? Have you asked for my opinion?”
Yang Kai naturally would not leave cooperatively as Yao Si wanted. Although he had scraped a lot of Source Strength from the Source Sea already, there was still a lot left. The World Principles in his Sealed World Bead had not been perfect yet, the Embodiment showed no signs of breaking through to the Emperor Realm, and he did not even sense the opportunity of a breakthrough himself. Wouldn’t it be a failure to leave at this time?
Yao Si narrowed his eyes and glowered coldly, “Either leave or die! I’ll give you three breaths to pick!”
“You can try!” Yang Kai looked sideways at him.
Everyone was flabbergasted, looking at Yang Kai with amazement.
Such an attitude would still make sense if it were another newly-promoted Emperor Realm Master, but Yang Kai was only a Third-Order Dao Source Realm cultivator, so while he seemed to have exceedingly high strength and amazing potential, who was Yao Si? He was the son of a Great Emperor!
The descendant of the Serene Soul Great Emperor from the Eastern Territory!
All the Emperor Realm Masters present were afraid of him and had to give him face. Although they would not be timid in front of him, no one dared to talk back to him like this.
But Yang Kai openly challenged him!
This boy had the confidence to talk back to the son of a Great Emperor in such a tone.
That brawny young man realised that this brat was an idiot and couldn’t help feeling baffled at how he himself wanted to engage in a fight with this fool just now. He shook his head slowly, thinking that Yang Kai was bound to die this time. If he was the one Yang Kai offended, Yang Kai would not end up dead. At best, he would just give Yang Kai a severe lesson, but if he offended Yao Si, he would definitely end up dead.
Wu Chang’s expression also changed slightly, but he didn’t say much. He had just spoken out to help Yang Kai get out of trouble, because they were both from the Southern Territory. He could compete with Yang Kai as much as he wanted in the Southern Territory, as that would be considered an internal struggle, and they could even fight to the death if they wished, but in front of the Masters of the other three territories in the Shattered Star Sea, he could not sit back and watch Yang Kai getting bullied.
But now he discovered that Yang Kai was simply unreasonable. What good could come out of it for provoking the son of a Great Emperor like this?
An unbending tree is easily broken; this little brat was simply too young and aggressive.
Suddenly, the air became stagnant and even the void began to fill with a frigid murderous intent.
Yao Si looked at Yang Kai faintly, his eyes cold, as if he was looking at a dead person, but to his surprise, Yang Kai showed no fear and met his gaze head-on.
Yao Si’s face darkened as he prepared to strike Yang Kai, but at the critical moment, a streak of light flew over from the distance and arrived above everyone’s head.
Everyone squinted up into the sky, wondering who this rude newcomer was.
The flash of light dissipated, revealing a burly middle-aged man.
He stared down with wide, glowing eyes, his expression extremely eager, as if he were a starving beast that had finally seen its prey after countless years.
But soon, he trembled, his face stiffened, and he gulped hard.
The six people below glared up at him, and five of them were Emperor Realm Masters!
He had rushed over here feeling extremely excited, but had never anticipated such a scene to be waiting for him; he almost turned around and escaped in fear at the mere sight.
Although he was not too concerned about an ordinary Emperor Realm cultivator, there were five of them here, so if they really fought, he would definitely not be their match.
“Hm?” Yang Kai muttered in surprise as he saw this newcomer, but soon a joyful look filled his face.
Shockingly, he knew the person who came. He had planned to look for this person after the Shattered Star Sea closed, but now he had actually shown up here.
It was Wu Meng Chuan!
The Sect Master of Blue Feather Sect, a descendant of Heaven Devouring Great Emperor!
Wu Meng Chuan was the one who passed the Heaven Devouring Battle Law to Yang Kai, but Yang Kai never dared to cultivate it and instead handed it over to the Embodiment, who accepted it delightedly, resulting in his rapidly improving cultivation.
However, the Embodiment had reached a bottleneck in his cultivation, probably due to some flaw in the Secret Art. Perhaps the Heaven Devouring Battle Law passed down to Yang Kai by Wu Meng Chuan back then was incomplete.
The reason Yang Kai planned to seek for Wu Meng Chuan was to inquire about the Heaven Devouring Battle Law and to get the complete Secret Art from him, otherwise, the cultivation of the Embodiment would most likely remain stagnant.
Back then, Yang Kai only had a Third-Order Origin King cultivation and was no match for Wu Meng Chuan, but now, he was a Third-Order Dao Source Realm cultivator, so there was no need to fear him anymore.
The two of them had different thoughts, but both were extremely surprised to encounter each other here.
“Well what do we have here,” the brawny young man spat disdainfully at the discovery that Wu Meng Chuan was also a Third-Order Dao Source Realm.
Previously, he only permitted Yang Kai to come in because he took his blow without suffering a loss. Now, he did not want to waste time and energy on Yang Kai as he was eager to absorb and refine the remaining Source Strength here; however, before he could do so, another Dao Source Realm cultivator had invaded the territory of the Emperor Realm Masters.
“Just kill him!” Chi Gui snorted coldly.
Wu Meng Chuan was appalled. Although he did not know what these six people were doing there, the extremely hostile look in the eyes of the five Emperors was evident. Quickly wiping the cold sweat from his forehead, Wu Meng Chuan apologized, “Sorry, sorry, this one has broken into the precious land by mistake. This one will retreat, please calm your anger.”
He glanced at Yang Kai involuntarily as he spoke before turning around and trying to leave with a strange expression on his face.
He recognized Yang Kai, and he still remembered teaching Yang Kai the Heaven Devouring Battle Law in the Bone Prison back then, but upon examining him up close, he could not detect any traces of the Heaven Devouring Battle Law from Yang Kai.
This greatly puzzled Wu Meng Chuan.
He sensed the wave of the matured seed emanating from here, but when he hurried to the place, the wave disappeared, and he encountered Yang Kai instead.
He was at a loss of what happened.
“Big Cousin, don’t leave. Since you’re already here, why do you have to leave in such a hurry?” Yang Kai suddenly shouted at Wu Meng Chuan enthusiastically.
Wu Meng Chuan staggered at his words and almost fell from the air.
He hurriedly wiped the cold sweat on his forehead and reprimanded, “Who is your Big Cousin!?”
Yang Kai responded solemnly, “Big Cousin, you’re so bad. You pretended to not recognize your Little Cousin here. I’ll tell your mother, be careful when she beats you.”
Wu Meng Chuan was annoyed, “Little brat, stop all your gibberish!”
“He is your Big Cousin?” The brawny young man looked at Yang Kai with a weird look, and continued, “But he doesn’t look like it.”
Yang Kai responded, “He is like this!” While speaking, he looked up to Wu Meng Chuan, “Big Cousin, there are people here who are going to bully your Little Cousin, shouldn’t you stand up for me?”
Wu Meng Chuan’s face darkened, “Little brat, if you dare to speak nonsense again, don’t blame me for treating you impolitely!”
Yang Kai was immediately infuriated, “Everyone wants to treat me poorly, is this Young Master so much fun to bully? Do you believe that I will come up and beat you up until your mother doesn’t recognize you!?”
Wu Meng Chuan was steaming with anger at Yang Kai’s incessant mention of his mother. However, there were five Emperor Realm Masters here, so he dared not to act recklessly, only sneering, “If you have guts, come over here. Let’s see who will be the one getting beaten!”
“Just you wait!” Yang Kai immediately flew up after he spoke, throwing a series of punches towards Wu Meng Chuan air.
“Little brat, how dare you!” Wu Meng Chuan was maddened. Even though he feared the five Emperor Realm Masters here, it did not mean that he was afraid of Yang Kai. Seeing Yang Kai come up with his unceremonious punches, Wu Meng Chuan did not hesitate to fight back.
He was not sure about the relationship between Yang Kai and the other five, so he dared not to land a fatal blow, only using half of his strength in attacking.
In an instant, the sky was full of rumbling sounds as the pair exchanged punches and kicks furiously. Although the scene looked extraordinarily boisterous, in fact, no one was using any real strength.
In the meantime, Yang Kai gave Wu Meng Chuan a secret signal with a wink.
Although Wu Meng Chuan did not fully understand what Yang Kai meant, for a person who had lived for so long, he was smart enough to understand the meaning. At this point, he seemed to be fighting fiercely with Yang Kai, but actually, he was cooperating with Yang Kai, quickly shifting their battlefield out of this dangerous place.
In no time, the two of them were out of the five Emperor Realm Masters’ sight, and after a while, even their Divine Senses could not find them anymore.
“Hmph!” Yao Si snorted coldly, turned around, and flew back to his original location with an indifferent look.
Although Yang Kai irritated him earlier, the situation was inconvenient for him to intervene, so Yao Si just ignored him.
Chi Gui looked at the direction in which Yang Kai disappeared, and faintly smiled, “That little brat found himself a good excuse.”
The brawny young man nodded, “I’m afraid that person is his helper and they put on this play together in order to get him out of this place.”
Wu Chang remained silent, but he felt the same way too. Regardless of Yang Kai’s unyielding attitude just now, as if he did not put anyone in his eyes, he was still a Dao Source Realm cultivator. There was definitely no way for him to stay alive if Yao Si targeted him.
The situation now favoured Yang Kai, fleeing while fighting with his so-called ‘Big Cousin’, even Yao Si with an extraordinary identity could do nothing about him.
Yang Kai was just… so scheming, the others could not help but look down on him.
Soon, the five Emperor Realm Masters dispersed back to their places and they felt strange that they did not experience a drastic reduction in Source Strength anymore in the next few days.
This convinced them even more that Yang Kai was the culprit behind the previous anomaly.
……
Two people stood on a shattered Star in the sky a few tens of thousands of kilometres away from the Source Sea, staring at one another.
One of them had a burly and sturdy figure, eyes scorching like a hungry wolf that had found its prey.
The other stood stoically, his clothes flapping in the wind, eyes shining bright like stars.
They were Wu Meng Chuan and Yang Kai. They retreated all the way from the Source Sea without having to exchange a word of explanation and arrived together on this uninhabited Star.
“I did not expect you to cultivate until the Third-Order Dao Source Realm in such a short time!” Wu Meng Chuan looked at Yang Kai in surprise, with a little excitement, “The Secret Art that this King passed on to you is not bad right?”
He thought that the reason Yang Kai was able to possess this kind of cultivation in such a short time was due to the contribution of the Heaven Devouring Battle Law, as it was a Heaven-defying Secret Art. As long as he could withstand the backlash of this Secret Art, strengthening his cultivation would be an extremely easy task.
“It’s all because this Young Master is talented and intelligent. It has nothing to do with your half-assed Secret Art,” Yang Kai curled his lip.
Wu Meng Chuan chuckled, “Is this how you talk to this King who was your Sect Master and saved your life before?
Yang Kai replied with a darkened face, “If I’m not mistaken, it was this Young Master who saved you first.”
Wu Meng Chuan questioned again, “Even if it was, this King still passed on a Secret Art to you, do you want to deny it?”
Yang Kai rebuked after hearing it, “You want to bring that up? I do have a few questions about your damned Secret Art.”
“What?” Wu Meng Chuan raised his brows.
“The Secret Art that you passed on to me, is it incomplete?”
Wu Meng Chuan’s eyes lit up instantly, and he bellowed with a shortness of breath, “You really cultivated the Secret Art!?”
He looked like a pervert who saw a naked woman, his eyes gleaming, causing Yang Kai to get goosebumps all over his body.
Yang Kai reprimanded impatiently, “It’s none of your business whether or not I cultivated it.”
Wu Meng Chuan faintly smiled, “If you didn’t cultivate it, how could you find out this problem?”
Yang Kai was exasperated, “So, that Secret Art is indeed incomplete. You are so wicked. This Young Master risked grave danger to release you from the Bone Prison and return your freedom. It’s fine that you don’t feel grateful about it, but how can you teach me this incomplete Secret Art? Where is your conscience? Where is the justice? Damn it, this Young Master could only blame himself for believing a scoundrel like you!”
He cursed bitterly, beating his own chest and stomping his feet, showing a remorseful face.
Wu Meng Chuan’s face was filled with a cheerful smile, however, as he waited for Yang Kai to finish throwing his fit before saying, “The Secret Art this King passed on to you is actually a complete Secret Art!”
“Bullshit!” Yang Kai spat at Wu Meng Chuan when he continued to deny.
Wu Meng Chuan dodged this easily and advised him calmly, “Little brat, don’t be so rude. Didn’t your father teach you to respect the old and love the young?”
“Sorry, I was born like this!” Yang Kai revealed a stubborn look on his face.
Wu Meng Chuan snorted, “This King doesn’t want to argue with you. About the Secret Art, do you want this King to explain it to you?”
“Speak!” Yang Kai looked at him coldly.
Wu Meng Chuan did not mind his bad attitude and explained indifferently, “Back then, Ancestor created an extraordinary Secret Art, the Heaven Devouring Battle Law, and used it to reach the Great Emperor Realm. He alone dominated the world, and no one was his equal! Unfortunately, destruction pursues the great. The other Great Emperors feared and envied him, and joined forces to kill him. The Heavens must have been jealous of such a talented person and turned a blind eye to his plight!”
Yang Kai sneered, “How come the version I heard was different from what you said.”
Wu Meng Chuan glared at him, “Do you still want to listen or not? If not, this King won’t talk about it.”
Yang Kai shrugged his shoulders and made a gesture of zipping his mouth, motioning him to keep going.
Wu Meng Chuan snorted in annoyance and continued, “When Ancestor created the Heaven Devouring Battle Law, he already noticed a huge flaw in it. Can you guess what it is?”
Yang Kai pointed to his mouth and only made a few muffled sounds but didn’t speak.
Wu Meng Chuan felt helpless and answered himself, “Although this Secret Art is Heaven-defying, it slowly corrupts one’s mind, body, and Soul, resulting in an extremely strong backlash. Only a person with great perseverance can cultivate this Secret Art and withstand the backlash, otherwise, it would not take long for there to be dissonance in his cultivation and for death to find them.”
Yang Kai had a sudden realization when he heard it and understood that Wu Meng Chuan’s words were true.
Because the Embodiment once mentioned this, but also due to the Embodiment’s Stone Puppet body, he was born able to refine and expel various impurities, so the downsides of the Heaven Devouring Battle Law did not have any impact on him.
“Besides, when the Secret Art is cultivated to a certain limit, there will be a bottleneck. Without breaking through this bottleneck, you will never be able to advance further!” Wu Meng Chuan’s face turned solemn at this point, looking at Yang Kai intently, “And this bottleneck is the Third-Order Dao Source Realm, which is why you and I cannot break through to the Emperor Realm!”
Yang Kai knew that it was not the Heaven Devouring Battle Law that hindered his breakthrough, but he was still interested in listening because he felt that Wu Meng Chuan was going to tell him the solution to this problem next.
This guy seemed to feel that he had gotten Yang Kai in his hand, so now he was a little chatty and revealed everything to him.
Indeed, Wu Meng Chuan carried on, “In order to solve this problem, Ancestor came up with an ingenious solution involving another person cultivating the Heaven Devouring Battle Law. When this person cultivated to the bottleneck of the Third-Order Dao Source Realm, one just needed to devour him and use the combined essence to break through the bottleneck in one swoop, arriving at the Emperor Realm!” His tone gradually became excited, his face turning ruddy as he exclaimed, “Ancestor is truly an unparalleled genius, I could never be as good as him!”
Yang Kai responded with a shocked look, “So… the ultimate goal of you passing on the Heaven Devouring Battle Law to me was to devour me?”
Wu Meng Chuan grinned and snarled with his white fangs, “Of course, why else do you think this King, as the descendant of the strongest Great Emperor, would easily give out his Secret Art?”
“Despicable! Shameless!” Yang Kai rebuked.
Wu Meng Chuan snorted coldly, “You are not the only person who has obtained this Secret Art from this King. Over the past few hundred years, this King discovered over a hundred gifted cultivators and passed them the Heaven Devouring Battle Law, but the only one who cultivated until the Third-Order Dao Source Realm is you! As for the others… they all died.”
He paused for a while, then continued, “The Secret Art that this King passed on to you is not incomplete, but it is a copy.”
“A copy?” Yang Kai frowned.
“Yes, the Heaven Devouring Battle Law that was created by Ancestor is divided into two types, original and copy. This King cultivated the original Secret Art, while the one that passed on to you is just a copy!”
“You’ve played quite the elaborate game!” Yang Kai was slightly shocked. He did not expect Wu Meng Chuan to pass the Heaven Devouring Battle Law to many people, and for all those who cultivated it to have been killed by the backlash.
After all, not everyone had a body like the Embodiment.
Yang Kai rejoiced secretly that he had resisted the temptation to cultivate the Heaven Devouring Battle Law back then, otherwise, he would not even have known how he had died.
Although he had a great deal of perseverance, the Heaven Devouring Battle Law was too overbearing. It seemed that Wu Meng Chuan did not manage to reach the Third-Order Dao Source Realm cultivation by just being strong in perseverance. Perhaps the Heaven Devouring Great Emperor passed down some cultivation experience for him to use as reference.
“It is nothing to wait for a few hundred years if I could revive the glory of Ancestor!” Wu Meng Chuan shook his body and shouted loudly.
With an ugly face, Yang Kai pressed on, “I want to ask, what is the difference between the original Secret Art and the copy?”
“Heh heh, basically the two are the same, but naturally there are some slight differences. The cultivator who cultivates the copy is just a seed. Once he reaches the top of the Third-Order Dao Source Realm, the seed is mature and can be consumed by the cultivator of the original technique. If the seed is swallowed, then you can break through to the Emperor Realm! Moreover, if the seed matures, the person who cultivates the original can sense it from a far distance,” Wu Meng Chuan explained in gradual excitement.
“No wonder you could find me in the Shattered Star Sea, you were able to detect me all along,” Yang Kai remarked.
He had released the Embodiment earlier in the Source Sea, so Wu Meng Chuan must have sensed his presence at that time.
Wu Meng Chuan raised his arms and wailed, “This King has waited for hundreds of years for this day, and the day has finally come!”
Yang Kai nodded; he had obtained answers to all his doubts.
The reason why the Embodiment had reached a bottleneck and was unable to break through turned out to be because of the Secret Art; not because it was incomplete, but because it was meant to be like that.
Yang Kai pondered for a moment before asking, “What if the person who has cultivated the copy swallows the person who has cultivated the original?”
Wu Meng Chuan was taken aback by Yang Kai’s question, but soon understood what Yang Kai meant and grinned meaningfully, “Young people are indeed very ambitious, very good, very good! With your aptitude, if you did not cultivate that Secret Art, you would surely have reached a grand stage in the future. It’s a pity… now you’re just a stepping stone for this King’s promotion.”
“You haven’t answered my question!” Yang Kai looked at him with a darkened face.
Wu Meng Chuan answered, “If you can really swallow this King, naturally you would break through. What is there to ask about?”
“I see…” Yang Kai nodded with satisfaction, “That would be for the best.”
“Little brat, what else do you want to ask?” Wu Meng Chuan snarled, “Ask now as it is your last chance. This King is quite impatient and can barely restrain himself.”
“I have no more questions!” Yang Kai grinned at him.
His sly smile startled Wu Meng Chuan, who gritted his teeth and barked, “Trying to be all mysterious!”
While talking, Source Qi suddenly surged and he prepared to attack Yang Kai.
“Wait!” Yang Kai suddenly raised his hand.
“What else!?” Wu Meng Chuan complained impatiently.
Yang Kai smiled at him weirdly, and asked, “Why didn’t you ask why can’t you sense the mature seed now?”
Flabbergasted, Wu Meng Chuan had completely forgotten the odd phenomenon he had noticed earlier when Yang Kai distracted him with a string of questions, and only remembered when Yang Kai reminded him.
He queried hastily, “Why?”
“Heh heh…” Yang Kai grinned, spreading his hands and revealing, “Because, this Young Master never cultivated the Heaven Devouring Battle Law!”
“What?” Wu Meng Chuan was dumbfounded, “Didn’t cultivate it? Impossible!”
If Yang Kai did not cultivate the Heaven Devouring Battle Law, how did he reach the Third-Order Dao Source Realm in such a short period of time? By his looks and aura, Yang Kai seemed to have broken through quite some time ago and had an extremely solid foundation.
If Yang Kai did not cultivate the Heaven Devouring Battle Law, how could the indication of the seed he had sensed earlier be explained?
He obviously travelled so far after sensing that fluctuation and encountered Yang Kai because of that.
Yang Kai added in a low voice, “The one who cultivated the Heaven Devouring Battle Law was someone else!”
“Who!?” Wu Meng Chuan’s eyes narrowed.
Yang Kai waved his hand, and a behemoth suddenly materialised. The huge figure obscured all the light from the sky, casting a shadow that covered a large area on the ground which shook slightly when it landed.
Wu Meng Chuan’s jaw dropped as he looked up at the hill-like existence, feeling a wave of suffocating pressure, making it difficult for him to even breathe smoothly.
The signal the seed emitted that had disappeared earlier reappeared when this hill-like existence materialised.
This time, Wu Meng Chuan clearly felt that the fluctuation was not from Yang Kai, but from the monster in front of him.
Taking a closer look, Wu Meng Chuan could not help drawing a deep breath.
The huge monster had four limbs, a face, and was covered in thick rock armour. It looked like a huge stone man; however, this stone man had a pair of shrewd eyes that were constantly darting around as well as a black War Hammer held in its hand which exuded an extremely uncomfortable aura.
[A Demonic Artifact!] Wu Meng Chuan’s eyes widened, ogling the War Hammer blankly in shock. He could not believe his eyes. This was a Demonic Artifact, a real Demonic Artifact.
Did Demonic Artifacts still exist in the world today? Shouldn’t such things have been destroyed aeons ago? Hadn’t the Ancient Demons gone extinct?
“Did you hear what this guy said just now?” Yang Kai pointed to Wu Meng Chuan and asked.
The Embodiment waved the Demonic War Hammer in his hand and said in a booming voice, “I heard it clearly.”
“Devour him, and you will be able to break through the bottleneck,” Yang Kai laughed lightly.
The Embodiment chortled with him, “I can’t wait.”
As he spoke, he took a step forward.
*Hong long long… *
The ground boomed when the Embodiment stomped, leaving a gigantic footprint on the solid ground.
“What the hell is this?” Wu Meng Chuan finally recovered from his befuddlement and could not help exclaiming, “Where did you obtain this thing from?”
Such a huge monster couldn’t be taken out of a Space Ring, but Wu Meng Chuan only saw it emerge after Yang Kai waved his arm.
It was also hard to tell if this thing was a living creature. It could talk and communicate like a living thing, but it did not exude any signs of vitality.
Having lived for so many years, Wu Meng Chuan never expected that he could still be so surprised.
“You don’t need to worry about where I got it from, you just need to die obediently. If you don’t resist, I can still give you a painless death, but if you resist, heh heh!” Yang Kai stood aside and sneered.
“You’re asking this King to die?” Wu Meng Chuan’s eyes turned perverse as he barked, “Little brat, you don’t seem to know the situation you’re in! How dare anyone be presumptuous in front of this King!?” He suddenly motioned his hand at the Embodiment and growled, “Heaven Devouring Battle Law, devour it for me!”
A magical power spread out all of a sudden, covering the Embodiment as if it was trying to swallow him whole.
The huge body of the Embodiment staggered and fell to his knees all of a sudden, pain spread across his face as he let out a loud wail.
Yang Kai’s face changed drastically, and he whispered, “What’s going on?”
He knew exactly how strong the Embodiment was. The Stone Puppet clan was born with immense innate strength, and over the years, the Embodiment had refined countless treasures and ores, and now even possessed the Demonic War Hammer; he could even compete against an ordinary Emperor Realm Master. If it was not because he was too large and it was inconvenient for him to move around, Yang Kai would not have kept him hidden so often.
Yang Kai was flabbergasted that his powerful Embodiment was brought to his knees by Wu Meng Chuan in just the blink of an eye, powerless to fight back.
[Is this old thing really so strong?] Yang Kai was dumbfounded.
“I’m dying, I’m dying, I’m dying…” the Embodiment wailed and moaned in pain, “My power is being drained… “
“Hahahaha!” Wu Meng Chuan laughed frantically with frenzied eyes as he roared madly, “How dare you be arrogant in front of this King, watch this King devour you completely!”
Visible to the naked eye, a stream of pure energy was pulled from the Embodiment into Wu Meng Chuan, who turned ruddy from head to toe, as if he had received immense nourishment.
“It’s the suppression from the Secret Art!” Yang Kai’s face sank when realization dawned on him. He immediately sent the Embodiment back into the Sealed World Bead with another wave of his hand, not daring to let him out anymore.
Wu Meng Chuan looked around when the source of power that he was happily devouring suddenly disappeared, together with the gigantic Embodiment who vanished without a trace.
His face suddenly darkened and he gritted his teeth, “Where did that thing go? Release it quickly, or else this King will make you beg for death!”
Yang Kai looked at him coldly and snapped, “You sly old dog, is there a natural suppression between the original and the copy of the Secret Art?”
Wu Meng Chuan answered with a sullen face, “So what if there is?”
Yang Kai snorted, “If so, no matter how strong the cultivator that cultivates the copy becomes, he is just a meal waiting to be consumed by you.”
“Little brat, you’re too long-winded, let the thing out quickly, after this King breaks through to the Emperor Realm, this King could give you a hand or two in the future,” Wu Meng Chuan bellowed impatiently. The opportunity to reach the Emperor Realm was right in front of him, yet Yang Kai had taken it away. How could Wu Meng Chuan not be anxious?
He did not even know how Yang Kai hid that thing away. If he had known, he would not have wasted time negotiating with Yang Kai and attacked him right away.
Yang Kai snorted, “How inhumane was Heaven Devouring Great Emperor? He slaughtered millions of souls, swallowed countless Stars, collapsed whole Star Fields, angered the Heavens and everyone who lived below them, and was finally killed by several Great Emperors. Wu Meng Chuan, so what if you can break through to the Emperor Realm? You’ll just be following in the footsteps of your Ancestor.”
“Nonsense!” Wu Meng Chuan’s eyes went bloodshot as he shouted angrily, “The Great Emperors were narrow-minded people, jealous of the strength Ancestor possessed, and set up a trap for him, but unfortunately, they still lost their gamble! How could a person as strong as my Ancestor die so easily…”
As he finished these words, Wu Meng Chuan suddenly shut his mouth, his initial excitement seemingly having died down.
Yang Kai looked at him in surprise, his eyes almost popping out from their sockets as he asked in a trembling voice, “What… What did you say? Did you just say that Senior… is not dead yet?”
Wu Meng Chuan realized that he accidentally leaked a secret he shouldn’t have due to his overexcitement, and he now stared at Yang Kai coldly with murderous intent.
A chill suddenly crept from the soles of the feet to the top of his head, causing Yang Kai to shiver.
Heaven Devouring Great Emperor was a legend, but that legend was killed by the other Great Emperors in the Shattered Star Sea tens of thousands of years ago, his very Soul exterminated, yet now, Wu Meng Chuan had revealed an unbelievable truth.
Yang Kai may not have taken this information seriously if it was from someone else, but Wu Meng Chuan was the descendant of Heaven Devouring Great Emperor, so what he said must have had a basis.
If Heaven Devouring Great Emperor was not dead, it would truly be pandemonium.
What’s more, after several tens of thousands of years of dormancy and forbearance, what had Heaven Devouring Great Emperor been doing? And what was he planning to do next?
Yang Kai gulped hard.
“You possessed great potential, so this King did not want to kill you, but now it seems that you must die!” Wu Meng Chuan bellowed in a deep voice, clenched his fist and threw a punch towards Yang Kai. The punch seemed to crush space as it flew forward, carrying with it seemingly infinite power.
His eagerness to kill Yang Kai to keep his mouth shut made the latter feel even more uneasy, wondering if his guess was correct.
Yang Kai could not help being shocked by Wu Meng Chuan’s actions.
This madman’s strength was far greater than what an ordinary Dao Source Realm cultivator should be able to display. It could even be said that he had exceeded the Dao Source Realm entirely.
Even those outstanding rising stars like Wu Chang and Xia Sheng may not necessarily have such impressive capability like Wu Meng Chuan.
The descendant of Heaven Devouring Great Emperor was no joke. Although he had been cultivating in anonymity all by himself all these years, he did not seem to be worse than other top elites.
However, even though Wu Meng Chuan was outstanding, Yang Kai was not weak. He did not dodge the punch, but returned one of his own instead.
*Hong long long… *
There was a loud explosion and chaotic energy flew everywhere between the two, colliding with each other.
“Hm?” Wu Meng Chuan was taken aback, for he did not expect Yang Kai to be so strong.
He knew his own strength; Ordinary Dao Source Realm cultivators were no match to him, otherwise, it would have been impossible for him to kill so many cultivators in the Shattered Star Sea, robbing their Star Seals in order to upgrade his own to a seven-pointed one.
But because of this, Wu Meng Chuan’s eyes lit up and he bellowed, “Young man, what kind of opportunities have you had these past few years? It really amazes this King that you could progress to this level so quickly from the Origin King Realm.”
He did not know what kind of adventures Yang Kai had been through, but it was certain he was blessed with enormous fortuitous encounters to have such rapid growth and great strength. However, no matter what opportunities Yang Kai had, as long as he killed him, it would all belong to him.
As Wu Meng Chuan spoke, he rushed to Yang Kai’s face and rained down punches on him. Despite his apparent madness, his eyes still showed a hint of clarity.
Yang Kai looked solemn as he silently pushed his Five Elements Indestructible Sword Qi, surrounding himself with the force of Five Elements while he confronted Wu Meng Chuan dauntlessly.
Previously, on the Source Sea, their battle was just for show and both of them did not use their full strength, so neither of them knew the other’s limits yet.
But now, neither side was holding back; this was a true life or death battle.
In an instant, the two exchanged hundreds of punches and kicks, resulting in a chain of rumblings.
Yang Kai was undoubtedly superior to Wu Meng Chuan in terms of physique. Furthermore, with the addition of his Five Elements Indestructible Sword Qi, which was a profound Body Tempering Secret Art, Wu Meng Chuan instantly fell into a disadvantage in this hand-to-hand match up, and was constantly being beaten back by Yang Kai in humiliation.
Wu Meng Chuan was startled as he realized that he had greatly underestimated Yang Kai’s ability.
In the span of not more than thirty breaths of time, Wu Meng Chuan already had blood splattered all over his body, looking dreadfully pitiful.
But his eyes were still extremely bright.
Yang Kai faintly noticed something wrong, because if it was someone else who was beaten up by him like this, their aura would have weakened significantly; however, Wu Meng Chuan did not show any signs of his aura fading. Instead, his momentum only seemed to be increasing.
In contrast, Yang Kai’s own aura had decreased…
As realization dawned, Yang Kai squinted his eyes and growled in a low voice, “Old Dog, how dare you devour my strength!”
Under his careful observation, Yang Kai finally discovered some clues. He found that a part of the strength he used every time to hit Wu Meng Chuan would strangely disappear, and this part of his power was obviously being swallowed and absorbed by Wu Meng Chuan.
Wu Meng Chuan burst into laughter, “This King has cultivated the Heaven Devouring Battle Law, so no one is his equal! Unless you can kill this King in one hit, just wait to die obediently!”
Killing Wu Meng Chuan in one hit was absolutely impossible even for an ordinary First-Order Emperor Realm Master; only a powerhouse at the Second-Order Emperor Realm would be capable of this.
Yang Kai sensed that the situation was not favouring him, and he hurriedly pulled back.
But Wu Meng Chuan roared violently, “You can’t just come and go in front of this King! Heaven Devouring Domain, open up for me!”
*Hong… *
A formless domain expanded in a loud crash, directly wrapping Yang Kai in it. In this domain, Yang Kai found that the power in his body was uncontrollably leaking out of his pores and flowing towards Wu Meng Chuan.
Not only that, his vitality also showed signs of being devoured.
The rate at which this drain was occurring also seemed to be getting faster and faster.
Yang Kai turned pale with fright as he learned the true terror of the Heaven Devouring Battle Law. Although the Embodiment also cultivated this Heaven-defying Secret Art, his capabilities were naturally far weaker compared to Wu Meng Chuan’s. Therefore, he could not summon such a domain that was able to devour the strength of everything and everyone trapped within it.
Everything in this domain became a source of power for Wu Meng Chuan and it was inevitable to be devoured by him. If someone fought with him in this domain, the loss of their strength would turn into a gain for Wu Meng Chuan; Wu Meng Chuan would easily win the battle and eventually kill his opponent as long as he survived.
Yang Kai was stuck in this awkward situation now.
“What rich vitality! What pure Source Qi!” Wu Meng Chuan’s eyes gleamed. While fighting with Yang Kai at full tilt, he shouted in amazement, “Little brat, you tempered your body to such an extent? Good, good, good! Now when this King breaks through to the Emperor Realm, he will also have an amazing supplement like you!”
Yang Kai snorted, “Do you really want to devour me so much? Be careful not to choke to death!”
Saying so, he pushed the local Space Principles, causing the surrounding space to become fragile and unstable.
Wu Meng Chuan’s eyes widened in surprise, “This, this, this is… Space Principles!”
He seemed to be seeing a ghost in broad daylight, and could not feel any more shocked.
But the next moment, he was overjoyed, “You are actually proficient in the Dao of Space as well!?”
Seeing this situation, Yang Kai’s heart sank as he secretly wondered if this guy could…
Before he could finish his thought, Yang Kai sensed something was wrong and was terrified, “Bastard, you can even devour Principle Strength!?”
A look of ecstasy was revealed on the face of Wu Meng Chuan as he spread his arms wide and allowed his mind and body to freely devour everything around him, all while loudly praising, “Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful! Space Principles turn out to be so mysterious, no wonder not many people can cultivate them!”
By devouring Yang Kai’s Space Principles, Wu Meng Chuan was comprehending the mysteries of the Dao of Space.
If it continued for a long time like this and he was able to comprehend these mysteries, Wu Meng Chuan would certainly be able to cultivate the Dao of Space and obtain all of Yang Kai’s Space Divine Abilities.
Yang Kai truly realized the terror of the Heaven Devouring Battle Law now.
This Secret Art was indeed a marvellous ability, there was nothing it could not devour!
No matter how incredible Principle Strength was, once it was used by others, the Heaven Devouring Battle Law cultivator could comprehend it by devouring it, then cultivating it as his own. This was blatant robbery, and the victim could not do anything about it.
No wonder during the War of Emperors in the Shattered Star Sea in the past, Heaven Devouring Great Emperor was able to take four top Masters with him to the afterlife. With the Heaven Devouring Battle Law being so Heaven-defying, no one in this world could be his opponent.
This was simply cheating.
“This King is a little reluctant to kill you now,” Wu Meng Chuan looked at Yang Kai in euphoria and shouted, “Little brat, this King is going to give you another chance; stop resisting, open your Knowledge Sea, and allow this King to brand his Soul Imprint onto it. When this King rules the Star Boundary in the future and revives the glory of his Ancestor, this King will allow you to reign over the world too. What do you think?”
“Is there such a good offer?” Yang Kai stared at him with his teeth gritted, waving his hands as he sent out two gigantic Moon Blades towards Wu Meng Chuan.
Wu Meng Chuan’s eyes brighten up again, fixing his eyes on the Moon Blades, as if he had seen something novel.
He rapidly turned to avoid them when the Moon Blades almost slashed him and licked his lips while revealing an avaricious look, “This King really likes your Space Principles. As long as you can assist this King to cultivate and comprehend the Dao of Space, this King will not treat you badly.”
“Good, I will give you whatever you want! But I need one thing from you first!” Yang Kai sneered.
Wu Meng Chuan responded with a sullen face, “If it’s this King’s life, we are done with the conversation.”
Yang Kai replied, “You’re quite smart, are your parents proud of you?”
Wu Meng Chuan reprimanded, “My parents are long dead, this has nothing to do with them! Flame!”
While Wu Meng Chuan yelled in anger, he waved his hand and a ball of flames instantly condensed and charged towards Yang Kai. This flame contained pure Fire Principles and seemed capable of burning everything in existence.
Yang Kai grimaced seeing this as he knew that the Fire Principles contained in this attack were not cultivated and comprehended by Wu Meng Chuan himself, but should be the Principle Strength of others who he devoured through the Heaven Devouring Battle Law. Even so, this Divine Ability could not be underestimated.
“Exile!” Yang Kai stretched his hand out and opened a black hole before him, using it to directly engulf the fireball.
“You never learn!” Wu Meng Chuan’s face turned red as his hands suddenly spread out, releasing two completely different waves of Principles; the left hand burned with fire, the right hand froze with ice. The Principles of Fire and Ice were unleashed together. Surprisingly they did not cancel each other out, but instead perfectly merged into one as Wu Meng Chuan roared, “Have a taste of the original creation of this King, Nine Heavens Ice Fire!”
*Pa… *
He clapped his hands together in front of him, and in an instant, the power of fire and ice burst out violently, rolling up the void and crumbling the world around him.
The violent power rolled over, and Yang Kai, the first to be affected, was swamped in it all of a sudden.
*Hong long long… *
The Nine Heavens Ice Fire rioted for a time before it gradually dissipated and dispersed.
Wu Meng Chuan stood his ground, staring ahead, dignified.
When the dust settled, Yang Kai stood in the void, his clothes tattered. Although he was dishevelled, he was still very much alive and now wore a sombre expression as he formed a set of profound hand seals.
A mysterious aura permeated the air around him.
Wu Meng Chuan suddenly felt extremely uneasy. His heart jumped, and for some reason, he had a feeling that time around him was slowing down, like his own perception was suppressed and everything around him was growing stagnant. Only Yang Kai’s movements remained as fast as lightning.
Yang Kai quickly finished his set of complex hand seals and pushed his palms forward, growling in a low voice, “Time Flies!”
Wu Meng Chuan was appalled, instinctively aware of the dangers of the incoming attack; but he could not avoid it at all, even his thoughts seemed to be frozen at this moment.
Even the Heaven Devouring Battle Law failed to be of any help.
A strange seal quickly shot towards Wu Meng Chuan.
At the critical moment, Wu Meng Chuan bit the tip of his tongue and spat out a mouthful of Blood Essence, flipping his wrist and summoning a blood-red bottle. This bottle was not big, only about a forearm’s length, but it exuded a very rich bloody aura.
Suddenly, a scarlet light as strong and thick as a physical substance was emitted from the bottle. The air was filled with a pungent blood stench that turned into a bright red light that shrouded anything in front of it.
The void was swiftly filled with what seemed to be a sea of blood.
*Hong hong hong… *
The Time Flies Seal crashed into the Blood Sea, setting off a huge shockwave. The Blood Sea rolled and tumbled, and Wu Meng Chuan groaned once more, stumbling as he was forced to retreat.
Although he summoned this peculiar artifact in time, his face still began rapidly ageing as he was still affected by the Divine Ability of the Flowing Time Great Emperor. It seemed that he was quite badly injured at this moment, but his expression remained calm contrary to his previous panic.
He snarled at Yang Kai in a low voice, “I didn’t expect you to have such a Divine Ability!”
Yang Kai looked around with a frown.
It had only been a span of three breaths since Wu Meng Chuan summoned the blood-red bottle, but the surrounding environment had changed drastically.
The surrounding area was filled with a strong smell of blood arising from the bubbling Blood Sea below that vaguely emitted faint cries and howls.
The surrounding space seemed to be isolated by the Blood Sea, and even though Yang Kai was proficient in the Dao of Space, he could not sense any connection with the area outside of the Blood Sea. It seemed that this place was converted into an isolated space, similar to the Sealed World Bead, completely cut off from the outside.
[What the hell is that?] Yang Kai was puzzled, the only thing he was certain of was that the blood-red bottle was a powerful Emperor Artifact!
It was very likely that it was an Emperor Artifact passed down from Heaven Devouring Great Emperor; after all, Wu Meng Chuan was not an Emperor yet, so it was next to impossible for him to request someone else to refine an Emperor Artifact for him.
Yang Kai frowned deeply. If this was really an Emperor Artifact that belonged to Heaven Devouring Great Emperor, things would be quite troublesome.
“Little brat, just what Divine Ability is this? It’s completely different from your Space Principles earlier!” Wu Meng Chuan hollered again.
Yang Kai glanced at him coldly and snorted, “Why would a dying person ask so many questions?”
Wu Meng Chuan was taken aback before he immediately cackled, “You are truly bold! You should be proud that you were able to force this King to use the Blood Spirit Bottle!”
“Blood Spirit Bottle?” Yang Kai raised his brow, learning the name of this Emperor Artifact.
“Indeed!” Wu Meng Chuan imparted triumphantly, “This is the Emperor Artifact I inherited from my great Ancestor! Only descendants with the Wu Family bloodline can use it. Others would not be able to operate it. Although the Blood Spirit Bottle is not the pinnacle of my great Ancestor’s creations, it is more than enough to handle you.”
[This thing really is an Emperor Artifact passed down by Heaven Devouring Great Emperor to his descendants.] Yang Kai was baffled.
Wu Meng Chuan continued, “Don’t even think of escaping in this King’s Blood Spirit Bottle even if you are proficient in the Dao of Space. Today you will either submit to this King or die here!”
Yang Kai sneered, “You should take care of yourself first. Having taken this Young Master’s Divine Ability, how long can you live?”
Although Yang Kai failed to achieve the desired effect with his Time Flies Seal, Wu Meng Chuan was still injured by it, his ageing face the best proof of that. What’s more, the Flowing Time Force that invaded his body would not be easily dispersed. The Flowing Time Force would continue to consume Wu Meng Chuan’s vitality and he would eventually die of old age.
“A trivial Secret Technique, what can it do to me?” Wu Meng Chuan snorted coldly and stretched out his hand to make a move. The bloody water below him streamed towards him like a thousand rivers flowing back to the sea, and with the influx of bloody water, Wu Meng Chuan’s old face quickly regained its brilliance, and it seemed that it was no longer corroded by the flow of time.
But Yang Kai did not miss the frown which formed on Wu Meng Chuan’s face or the look of shock that soon followed.
Because his restored face was quickly ageing again.
“What kind of power is this!?” Wu Meng Chuan was finally triggered and he asked in shock.
His method of using blood to restore his vitality actually only worked temporarily rather than permanently. Unless he kept absorbing the blood from this place, he would soon die. After realizing this, Wu Meng Chuan was terrified.
Yang Kai laughed loudly, “Can’t you devour everything? Just try devouring it yourself and you’ll know!” He chimed sarcastically.
“Little brat, you court death! I had wanted to keep your life for my use, but now it seems that I must kill you!” Wu Meng Chuan was furious and waved his hands madly. The Blood Sea suddenly ferociously rioted, and a giant blood dragon emerged from its surface. The blood dragon looked as vivid as an actual dragon, and stared around with its house-sized eyes. It snapped its jaws and swung its claws as it threw itself at Yang Kai.
To Wu Meng Chuan’s surprise, Yang Kai just stood still and sneered gently at the ferocious attack.
[What the hell is he up to now?] Wu Meng Chuan worried in his heart, unsure of what Yang Kai was planning. To avoid accidents, he struck again, condensing several more blood dragons from the Blood Sea, surrounding Yang Kai in all directions.
Yang Kai snorted, “Wu Meng Chuan, your strength is also beyond this Young Master’s expectations; you should be proud you were able to force me to use this treasure!”
He actually returned Wu Meng Chuan’s words from earlier.
Unable to contain his anger, Wu Meng Chuan raged, “How dare a little brat like you be so arrogant? Within this King’s Blood Spirit Bottle’s Blood Sea, what other tricks do you have? Just die!”
“It’s you who is going to die!” Yang Kai responded sharply.
When the words fell, he stretched out his hand, summoning the Mountains and Rivers Bell and pouring his Source Qi and Spiritual Energy into it madly.
The Mountains and Rivers Bell grew rapidly; the magnificent drawings and runes on its surface came to life as it began releasing an ancient and desolate aura.
“This is…” Wu Meng Chuan’s eyes widened suddenly, staring at the Mountains and Rivers Bell in amazement, almost biting his tongue off in shock.
As a descendant of the Heaven Devouring Great Emperor, he was naturally more aware of everything in the past and present that happened in the Shattered Star Sea than others. He knew every Great Emperor that had fallen here and what kind of treasures they left behind.
Therefore, he immediately recognized the Mountains and Rivers Bell.
“That’s impossible!” Wu Meng Chuan exclaimed.
No matter what, he could not believe that Yang Kai actually conquered the Mountains and Rivers Bell.
This was the Natal Emperor Artifact of the Yuan Ding Great Emperor! It was a primitive relic brought out by the Yuan Ding Great Emperor from the Ancient Wild Lands.
But hadn’t the Mountains and Rivers Bell escaped into The Void to suppress the Phoenix True Fire? Why was it in Yang Kai’s hands?
If the Mountains and Rivers Bell was here, then where was the Phoenix True Fire?
If this was truly the Mountains and Rivers Bell… Wu Meng Chuan was in grave danger!
*Dong… *
With a melodious chime of a bell, a shock wave visible to the naked eye spread out in all directions. The sound wave was seemingly mixed with a Heaven-destroying and Earth-shattering power that had an almost irresistible suppressive power to it.
The blood dragons that rushed to attack Yang Kai fell apart in an instant and splashed into pools of blood once more.
Wu Meng Chuan trembled as he could not help retreating several steps back, blood now oozing out of his ears and nose as he stumbled.
This was the true Mountains and Rivers Bell!
Everything turned white within Wu Meng Chuan’s vision, his head buzzing wildly as his mind was blinded by the shock.
Having personally endured the impact of the Mountains and Rivers Bell, he no longer doubted.
Wu Meng Chuan stiffened even more at the presence of the Mountains and Rivers Bell, immobilised in place by an invisible force. Even the bloody water that was bubbling below had suddenly become still without a single ripple.
The Mountains and Rivers Bell’s toll could suppress Worlds and invert the Heavens and Earth.
If there was nothing the Heaven Devouring Battle Law could not devour, then there was nothing the Mountains and Rivers Bell could not suppress.
*Pu… *
Finally, Wu Meng Chuan could not withhold any longer and spat a mouthful of blood, his face ageing drastically all of a sudden.
Yang Kai snorted coldly, “Wu Meng Chuan, this place will be your deathbed, now obediently die for me!”
He roared and slammed his hand down, sending the Mountains and Rivers Bell plummeting into the Blood Sea, causing it to vanish.
But in the next moment, the entire Blood Sea bubbled madly, followed by crackling sounds from all directions.
Wu Meng Chuan was appalled and exclaimed sharply, “Stop! Stop or you will ruin this King’s Blood Spirit Bottle!”
The local space had been isolated by the Blood Spirit Bottle, integrating with it in a sense, but the Mountains and Rivers Bell was now shattering through the bounds of this space, creating a force that was impossible for the Blood Spirit Bottle to bear. The Emperor Artifact passed down by the Heaven Devouring Great Emperor would surely be damaged greatly if this suppressive pressure continued much longer.
Yang Kai sneered, “Still worrying about the bottle when you’re about to lose your life!”
Yang Kai would not have chosen to act this way if the Blood Spirit Bottle could be of use for him; after all, it was a treasure passed down by the Heaven Devouring Great Emperor, so its value was surely immeasurable. However, since Wu Meng Chuan explained that only the descendants with the Wu Family bloodline could control it, it was useless even if Yang Kai captured it.
Therefore, he showed no mercy.
*Kacha… *
A more intense sound shook the ground.
Wu Meng Chuan paled, and shouted, “Stop! I have something to say.”
Yang Kai replied coldly, “I’m not listening to a single word you have to say!”
*Huala… *
The world that was enveloped by the Blood Sea broke with a loud crack, and the constrictive power that sealed the surroundings disappeared in an instant.
The Blood Sea in the void collapsed, and the crimson covering the sky dispersed.
In the blink of an eye, the red blood that filled the world disappeared.
Wu Meng Chuan stood not far away, pale and battered out of his senses.
The Blood Spirit Bottle was destroyed, and he received a huge backlash from its destruction. In addition, he had been hit by Yang Kai’s Time Flies Seal before, so at this moment, he had one foot in the grave already. Coughing up blood unceasingly, he was too feeble to even stand steadily.
Yang Kai was not much better, however.
This was the second time he had summoned the Mountains and Rivers Bell, and after using it once, his vision became blurry and his head was spinning, a buzzing noise still ringing in his ears as his heart pumped madly like a drum.
Yang Kai clenched his teeth as he felt the veins on his forehead throb. Lifting up the Myriads Sword, he threw it towards Wu Meng Chuan like a bolt of lightning.
Followed by a soft thud, the Myriads Sword pierced through Wu Meng Chuan’s abdomen, nailing him firmly to the ground and instantly staining it with his blood.
Wu Meng Chuan struggled hard, but he was unable to break free.
The next moment, Yang Kai waved his hand to release the Embodiment again, and ordered in an exhausted manner, “I’ll leave it to you!”
Although the Embodiment had not participated in this battle, he had still clearly seen the happenings outside the Sealed World Bead, so as soon as he was summoned, he immediately went forward to Wu Meng Chuan and slammed his palm down on him.
*Honglong… *
The earth shook as the place where Wu Meng Chuan was had been completely covered by a gigantic palm.
The Embodiment’s eyes burst with light and he bellowed in excitement, “Heaven Devouring Battle Law!”
With the activation of the Secret Art, the extremely pure energy of Wu Meng Chuan flowed out of his withering body and was inhaled into the body of the Embodiment.
Not long after that, the Embodiment cried out oddly. The cry was a mixture of joy and excitement; mysterious power was building up in his gigantic body.
Seeing this, Yang Kai knew that the Embodiment was about to break through his bottleneck.
Wu Meng Chuan was right; if the Embodiment could devour him, he could break through with ease. This had nothing to do with who cultivated the original Secret Art or who cultivated the copy.
Wu Meng Chuan had schemed for hundreds of years to reach this point, but in the end, all his best-laid plans profited others at his expense. If he had known that it would end up like this, he probably would never have passed the Heaven Devouring Battle Law to Yang Kai back then.
But then again, how many people in this world would have an Embodiment like Yang Kai’s, who could cultivate the Heaven Devouring Battle Law without suffering from its backlash? Also, how many cultivators could actually beat Wu Meng Chuan while still in the Dao Source Realm?
The Blood Spirit Bottle alone was enough to overwhelm ninety-nine percent of all Dao Source Realm cultivators.
As for the others who cultivated the Heaven Devouring Battle, they would be just a piece of cake to Wu Meng Chuan if they ever met.
Excessive exhaustion struck as Yang Kai’s nerves finally loosened. Somehow managing to not pass out, Yang Kai slowly sat down cross-legged, stuffed a bunch of Spirit Pills into his mouth, and started to adjust his breathing with his eyes closed.
On the other side, the Embodiment continuously let out weird yet excited screams that were as loud as thunder.
Wu Meng Chuan’s aura was growing weaker and weaker as the Embodiment continued to devour his strength, and it seemed that he would die very soon.
All of a sudden, the Embodiment let out a cry of surprise, as if he discovered something. With his palm further pressing into the ground, accompanied by a cracking sound, Wu Meng Chuan’s whole body exploded like a popped melon, so badly mutilated that he could not be more dead.
The Embodiment carried on his devouring.
After a while, the Embodiment stopped and straightened his body, with his shrewd eyes hinting that he was deep in thought, quietly standing there for a long period of time.
His eyes became brighter and brighter as the light of enlightenment flashed across their depths. Soon, the Embodiment sat down cross-legged as well and performed a hand seal before turning motionless again.
There was no World Energy baptism or convergence of World Energy to accompany this breakthrough, the Embodiment simply seemed to fall into a certain state of deep sleep.
Time passed slowly and Yang Kai gradually opened his eyes after a full two days. Even though his body was still a little weakened, it did not hinder him from moving anymore.
He retrieved the Mountains and River Bell and the Myriads Sword first, then looked at the Embodiment.
Although he was focusing on his own recovery earlier, Yang Kai was still paying attention to the Embodiment, so he knew exactly what happened over there.
After watching for a while, Yang Kai could not help frowning.
Not only was the Embodiment’s aura waning, but Yang Kai could also sense that his Spiritual Energy seemed to be fading as well, as if he had really fallen into a kind of deep sleep.
However, Yang Kai did not dare to disturb him impetuously.
After all, the Embodiment did not have a physical body, and his promotion was very different from that of ordinary cultivators. Yang Kai was not sure if this situation was normal, as there was no appearance of a World Energy baptism.
The only thing Yang Kai could do now was to provide the Embodiment with some Source Crystals, so that he would have enough energy.
Thinking about this, he hurriedly took out a hill of Source Crystals from his Space Ring and piled them up next to the Embodiment.
But as soon as these Source Crystals were taken out, a magical force swallowed up all their internal energy, transforming them into a pile of useless dust.
Yang Kai’s heart skipped a beat after seeing this as he had taken out at least thirty million Source Crystals just now, but they were all gone now. This kind of consumption was a little too terrifying.
Fortunately, he did not lack Source Crystals, so he quickly replenished them.
The cycle repeated and repeated.
After hundreds of millions of Source Crystals from Low-Rank to High-Rank were thrown out, the devouring of Source Crystals by the Embodiment had finally slowed down.
In the following days, Yang Kai paid close attention to the condition of the Embodiment. Once the Source Crystals were consumed, he would take out some more.
More than half of the wealth that Yang Kai had acquired over the years was used up in this short period of time.
After a full month, the Embodiment finally stopped absorbing the World Energy from the Source Crystals. At this time, no matter how many Source Crystals Yang Kai placed beside him, he did not devour them anymore.
Yang Kai guessed that he must have reached a certain critical limit.
Perhaps… either success or failure was laid on one last stroke.
At a certain moment, Yang Kai, who was paying close attention to the movement of the Embodiment, suddenly heard a cracking noise.
He was slightly startled and had no idea what was going on, so he quickly released his Divine Sense to investigate it silently.
In the next moment, a scene in front of Yang Kai took him aback.
A crack had appeared on the body of the Embodiment, as if a wall that had not been repaired for many years could no longer handle the overwhelming load and was about to shatter.
This discovery made Yang Kai feel unsure. In theory, the Embodiment had devoured Wu Meng Chuan so he should be able to break through his bottleneck and rise in strength.
However, the Heaven Devouring Battle Law was supposed to be cultivated by humans, and no one knew what would be the result if a Stone Puppet cultivated it.
Just when Yang Kai was still in doubt, he heard the sound again, and this time it was persistent.
More cracks appeared on the Embodiment, crisscrossing with each other.
*Hualala…*
After a while, large pieces of rubble fell down from the Embodiment.
Yang Kai’s eyes twitched as he was extremely worried.
After all these years of cultivation, the body of the Embodiment had basically gotten to the point that every part was as tough as an Emperor Artifact, and an ordinary attack would be impossible to harm him.
But now, the surface of his body was cracking and falling off.
[Is there something wrong?] Yang Kai was anxious, but he was powerless to help as he did not know what he could do now.
The situation persisted for not more than ten breaths of time, and a circle of rubble had been piled up around the Embodiment. This rubble was quite strange in that it rapidly disintegrated after falling down, as if it was not hard at all.
A while later, Yang Kai suddenly revealed a bewildered look and stared at the Embodiment in a daze.
He realized that after stripping off a surface of rubble on his body, the Embodiment actually shrunk in size.
Although his previous gigantic size was terrifying, his movements were restricted. Now after shrinking quite substantially, the Embodiment should be far more flexible.
[Is this a good sign?]
The Embodiment, or rather the Stone Puppet Clan, was considered a special existence, but since it could exist in this world, it must be permitted by natural law. His growth and evolution should inevitably develop towards a more beneficial route.
This present situation might be the process of his evolution.
*Kacha… *
Another crisp sound was heard, and Yang Kai noticed the cracks happened again on the surface of the, now smaller, body of the Embodiment.
With the previous experience, Yang Kai was not as nervous this time and instead just quietly observed the changes of the Embodiment.
Unsurprisingly, after the cracks appeared to a certain extent, a surface layer of the Embodiment peeled off again, and he shrunk for the second time.
This situation continued for several days and the Embodiment underwent six reductions in size during this time.
It was not until the end of the sixth shedding that it finally settled down.
The waves of aura from the Embodiment’s body began to rise again, ultimately reaching a degree that frightened even Yang Kai.
That was definitely the aura that could only be possessed by an Emperor Realm Master.
Although there was no Earth-shaking promotion process or World Energy baptism, the Embodiment now certainly had a power comparable to that of Emperor Realm Masters.
Together with the Heaven Devouring Battle Law and the Demonic War Hammer, the Embodiment, who was already a special type of existence, could definitely exert incredible power.
Finally, the Embodiment opened his bright eyes that now glowed with vigour and showed a satisfied look on his face.
“How is it?” Even though Yang Kai had witnessed the process and outcome, he still could not help stepping forward and asking about it.
The Embodiment slowly straightened his body.
Although he had shrunk six times, the Embodiment was still about three times the height of a regular man when he stood up. His huge body was as polished as a rock washed by the sea for countless years, which even Yang Kai felt a sense of oppression from.
“Feels good!” The Embodiment grinned, but his inherited angular-featured face of the Stone Puppet clan actually made his smile look silly.
After a pause, he continued, “Although I feel many times stronger than before… I need to get more comfortable with my new body!”
He stretched out his hand and clenched his fist while speaking.
His body shape had gone through tremendous changes so the Embodiment was not used to it yet, and he unquestionably had to go through a period of adjustment to move about freely.
Yang Kai nodded, “Take your time getting used to it.”
Saying so, he stretched out his hand, preparing to collect the Embodiment back into the Sealed World Bead.
“Take a look at this. I took it from Wu Meng Chuan. He tried to destroy it before he died. I’m not sure if there’re any secrets hidden inside.” The Embodiment tossed something to Yang Kai right before he entered the Sealed World Bead.
Yang Kai took a closer look at the object in his hand. It was a jade slip. At a glance, it appeared to have been worn through the years and seemed to have been passed down for a number of generations.
Moreover, many seals were placed on this jade slip. Yang Kai tried to crack them, but didn’t have any success.
The techniques employed in these seals were extremely old and complicated. Yang Kai studied it for a while, but did not learn anything.
According to the Embodiment, he had taken the jade slip from Wu Meng Chuan, who tried to destroy it just before he died. It seemed that the jade slip had a lot of history and secrets that needed to be kept hidden and Wu Meng Chuan did not want Yang Kai to uncover them.
But what secrets were so valuable that Wu Meng Chuan felt the need to destroy them before he died so no one could ever discover them?
Wu Meng Chuan was the descendant of the Heaven Devouring Great Emperor, and this Shattered Star Sea happened to be the burial place of the Heaven Devouring Great Emperor. Yang Kai had a deduction that this jade slip was related to Heaven Devouring Great Emperor.
He kept the jade slip solemnly and left the Shattered Star.
After his death, Yang Kai obtained Wu Meng Chuan’s seven-pointed Star Seal, as well as his Space Ring. However, there was nothing valuable in this Space Ring. The Blood Spirit Bottle, the only inheritance the Heaven Devouring Great Emperor had passed down to Wu Meng Chuan, was indeed a priceless treasure, but unfortunately, it was destroyed by the Mountains and Rivers Bell.
Yang Kai’s Star Seal still showed no signs of upgrading even after devouring Wu Meng Chuan’s seven-pointed Star Seal.
It was rumoured that if one could obtain the highest nine-pointed Star Seal, the inheritance of the Heaven Devouring Great Emperor could be found.
Yang Kai guessed that this was most likely not true considering how many people would need to be killed to upgrade a Star Seal to the peak nine-points, and the fact that not everyone was compatible with the inheritance of the Heaven Devouring Great Emperor. After all, Yang Kai had already experienced the power and horrors of the Heaven Devouring Battle Law and even if someone obtained it here, it may not be a blessing but rather a curse.
Therefore, Yang Kai was not too concerned about this matter from the beginning, and he assumed that no one could ever reach the highest tier of Star Seal.
Yang Kai returned to the Source Sea after a day.
Yang Kai only left the Source Sea because he was too eager to inquire about information regarding the Heaven Devouring Battle Law from Wu Meng Chuan, but now that the Embodiment had broken through his bottleneck, he naturally returned.
There was still a lot of Source Strength in the Source Sea that he had not absorbed and refined, so how could Yang Kai just miss out on such a good opportunity?
When Yang Kai arrived at the Source Sea, he discovered that it was vastly different from before.
He looked around and found that the size of the Source Sea had been greatly reduced while the number of cultivators present had multiplied. Yang Kai wondered what happened in the Source Sea this past month since he left.
Above the Source Sea, an endless number of battles of various sizes were taking place. Countless cultivators gathered and fought, with many dying and falling into the Source Sea, leaving behind no trace of their existence.
Compared to before, there were obviously many more clashes.
Yang Kai could not help frowning at the multitude of people who came to the Source Sea. Obviously, someone had spread the information that led to many cultivators gathering here in flocks.
This also proved that the Source Sea was indeed very beneficial to cultivators.
However, where there were many people, there would naturally be more disputes. In such a chaotic situation, it would be difficult to absorb and refine Source Strength in peace.
Yang Kai realized the situation was worse than what he had seen from afar when he flew closer.
Not only were there more battles between cultivators, the entire Source Sea was also exuding a very strange aura at this moment. Yang Kai could clearly sense that the Source Sea was slowly flowing towards a certain direction in a manner even more turbulent than the one he caused previously.
Did someone else possess a treasure similar to the Sealed World Bead? Otherwise, what could have caused the Source Sea to have such a phenomenon?
Yang Kai became extremely wary.
But he did not plan to linger outside for long. For now, his plan was to dive into the depths to investigate as he did last time. The Source Strength in the inner region was richer and purer, so absorbing and refining there for a day was comparable to a month on the outside.
Suddenly, Yang Kai felt something and instinctively looked in one direction.
A pair of bright eyes were staring at him from that direction.
The two pairs of eyes met each other and Yang Kai’s expression immediately brightened and he turned and dashed over.
Because the person looking at him was actually Liu Yan!
A year after entering the Shattered Star Sea, Yang Kai separated from Liu Yan and the others, even Sister Hua ventured out to seek for her own opportunities. Yang Kai had been alone since then and could not help feeling a bit lonesome from time to time.
He did not expect to meet again in the Source Sea at this moment.
Although it was a coincidence, it was also inevitable.
At this moment, the Source Sea had likely gathered seventy to eighty percent of the remaining cultivators in the entire Shattered Star Sea. Liu Yan and the others must have also heard the news of the Source Sea and joined the crowd.
The little girl from the Zhang Family stood gracefully beside Liu Yan with a healthy glow to her face.
Liu Yan nudged Zhang Ruo Xi quietly and whispered something as Yang Kai flew over. The next moment, Zhang Ruo Xi turned her head to look at Yang Kai and her eyes lit up.
She immediately shouted when Yang Kai stopped in front of them, “Sir!”
Perhaps because of meeting Yang Kai again, Zhang Ruo Xi’s little face flushed pink and her eyes smiled cheerfully, looking extremely happy.
Yang Kai smiled lightly and was about to speak when he suddenly gaped at Zhang Ruo Xi, scanning her up and down.
The little girl was flustered by Yang Kai’s ogle.
“Third-Order Dao Source Realm!” Yang Kai gasped, hardly believing his eyes. Zhang Ruo Xi had broken through from the First-Order Dao Source Realm to Third-Order Dao Source Realm in less than two years! To have such cultivation speed in an environment where World Energy was thin, such as the Shattered Star Sea, Yang Kai was astonished.
Yang Kai was already aware that Zhang Ruo Xi possessed a very special bloodline that very likely contained a shocking secret. As long as she had the resources, her cultivation speed would be unbelievably fast; however, he still looked at her in a completely different light from before.
On the contrary, Liu Yan did not seem to have much growth in strength. She was still a Third-Order Dao Source Realm, but her aura was undoubtedly more solid and pure.
They seemed to be holding up very well even without Yang Kai’s care during this period of time.
“I could only reach the Third-Order Dao Source Realm because Big Sister Liu Yan gave me all her cultivation resources!” Zhang Ruo Xi explained quietly, “It was all thanks to Big Sister Liu Yan!”
Liu Yan smiled softly but did not speak.
Yang Kai nodded in acknowledgement, “That would also require you to have the necessary talent.”
Without shocking aptitude, there was no way to reach such a height in such a short period of time, even with unlimited resources.
Yang Kai suddenly felt some anticipation thinking about the achievements this little girl from the Zhang Family would have in the future.
“Master, have you seen Sister Hua during this time?” Liu Yan asked abruptly.
Yang Kai shook his head, “I haven’t.”
Zhang Ruo Xi pressed on worriedly, “I don’t know how Sister Hua has been during this time.”
The three girls were often together in the Sealed World Bead, and had developed deep affection for one another. It was only natural for them to worry now that they had reunited with Yang Kai, but Hua Qing Si was still nowhere to be seen.
In less than two years without Yang Kai, Liu Yan and Zhang Ruo Xi had encountered countless distasteful scenes. They had relied on Liu Yan’s White Tiger Heaven Grade puppet countless times to escape from those troubles. At the same time, their innocence was worn away, especially Zhang Ruo Xi’s. She now gave off a faint sense of maturity.
“Don’t worry too much about Sister Hua,” although Yang Kai was worried too, he could only console them, “Sister Hua is different from you. She is experienced and a disciple of Star Soul Palace, she also has the Five-Coloured Spear. Most people are not her opponents.”
“But there are many people in the Shattered Star Sea who have broken through to the Emperor Realm,” Zhang Ruo Xi whispered.
“Yes, there are some, but not many. Sister Hua is not so unlucky. Moreover, the ones who broke through to the Emperor Realm are all elite disciples of top Sects who won’t bully others for no reason,” Yang Kai comforted them for a while before smartly changing topics, “What are you doing here? It’s very dangerous here. You should find a place to refine and absorb Source Strength instead of standing around!”
“Little Sister Xiao Qi is here!” Liu Yan expressed.
“Who?”
Liu Yan pointed in a certain direction.
Yang Kai’s eyes followed the direction and his eyes widened as he exclaimed, “Mo Xiao Qi!”
Over there, a woman involved in an intense battle was none other than Mo Xiao Qi! The butterfly-shaped birthmark on her face was still as vivid as when Yang Kai had first met her, so it was easy to recognize her.
Yang Kai only made two friends when he first arrived in Maplewood City. One was Spirit Pill Plaza’s shopkeeper Kang Si Ran, and the other was this mischievous little girl, Mo Xiao Qi.
It was a pity when Kang Si Ran was transferred away by Violet Source Chamber of Commerce after he broke through to the Dao Source Realm, while Mo Xiao Qi had disappeared without a trace, leaving only the inexplicable message that, ‘Aunty Feng caught me, I need to leave first!’
Yang Kai had met the so-called Aunty Feng.
She had smashed Yang Kai’s wooden ship Artifact to pieces without hurting him with a single palm and her powerful Third-Order Emperor Realm cultivation.
The boat he was currently using was given as compensation by Aunty Feng.
That was also the first time Yang Kai had seen the power of a Third-Order Emperor Realm Master. Facing such a Master, Yang Kai felt a deep sense of powerlessness. Fortunately, Aunty Feng had no malice against him, otherwise, Yang Kai would already be dead.
Regarding the origins of Mo Xiao Qi, Yang Kai was clueless about it at the time and only knew that her background was extraordinary. However, Yang Kai also had a rough idea of her true identity after having travelled the Star Boundary over the years and gradually becoming more informed.
She was the daughter of Eastern Territory Spirit Beast Island’s Master, Martial Beast Great Emperor!
There were two mysterious islands in the Eastern Territory, one was Spirit Beast Island, the retreat of one of the Ten Great Emperors, the Martial Beast Great Emperor. Although it was not a Sect per se, it was famous throughout the Star Boundary, a place that no one did not know.
The second one was the legendary Dragon Island! It was rumoured that many True Dragons were living on that island, but almost no one knew where it was located, or even if it really existed.
Nonetheless, the name of Dragon Island left a deep impression on any who heard it.
The Martial Beast Great Emperor was one of the current Ten Great Emperors. He tamed ten thousand beasts, possessed superb strength, and was exceptionally crafty.
It was just that he was a relatively low-key person, so his deeds were rarely known, and he did not build a grand Sect like the Bright Moon Great Emperor or the Serene Soul Great Emperor, instead choosing to live a life of seclusion on Spirit Beast Island.
Mo Xiao Qi had an extraordinary identity, the daughter of the Martial Beast Great Emperor. No one dared to fight with her here as no one could bear the consequences of doing so.
Even a guy like Feng Xuan could use Soul Descent on his own son, so no one would risk putting Mo Xiao Qi’s life at stake as it might anger Martial Beast Great Emperor and cause him to perform Soul Descent too. No one could stand against the rage of a Great Emperor.
Therefore, Yang Kai was anxious seeing Mo Xiao Qi fighting with someone, and asked in a distressed tone, “Why don’t you go up and help?”
Liu Yan replied faintly, “I can’t help.”
Yang Kai was stunned. Turning back though, he finally saw clearly who was fighting with Mo Xiao Qi.
It was a young, extremely beautiful woman who was fighting blow for blow with Mo Xiao Qi in an intense battle.
Yang Kai knew this woman too.
She was the daughter of the Bright Moon Great Emperor of the Southern Territory’s Star Soul Palace, Princess Lan Xun!
Yang Kai was speechless.
Both of them had similarly high-profile identities, both were daughters of Great Emperors, only they would dare fight one another.
“Why did they start fighting?” Yang Kai asked curiously.
“No idea, they just started fighting after their eyes met,” Liu Yan answered.
“Such a thing occurred?” Yang Kai broke out in a cold sweat.
However, that meant these two women recognized each other and knew each other’s identity. Perhaps due to their youthfulness and desire to excel, the two women, who had not much of a gap between their status, decided to compete for the title of superiority.
But even if they wanted to compete, they should look for a more proper time and place. This was the Shattered Star Sea, not a place to settle petty grievances.
After not seeing them for a few years, both Mo Xiao Qi and Lan Xun had reached the Third-Order Dao Source Realm. The aptitude of two daughters of Great Emperors was obviously unquestionable seeing how they could obtain such a great achievement in such a short time. Yang Kai knew that Lan Xun inherited the Bright Moon Ethereal Body of the Bright Moon Great Emperor, while even though Mo Xiao Qi did not have any Special Constitution, she was born able to control various Monster Beasts to fight for her, and as the daughter of the Martial Beast Great Emperor, she had learned extremely profound and mysterious Secret Techniques and Divine Abilities since childhood.
At this moment, the two women were fighting a heated battle. In comparison with Lan Xun’s elegance and calmness, Mo Xiao Qi was much feistier. She seemed to have performed some kind of Secret Technique and now her whole body was agile like a leopard, with traces of beast markings apparent on her face, giving her an extremely wild aura.
Neither of them used their artifacts and were just competing with their honed techniques.
With just a few glances, Yang Kai knew that the two of them were equal. Lan Xun’s Bright Moon Ethereal Body somehow made her figure shift strangely and unpredictably so Mo Xiao Qi could not break through her defences with her frenzied attacks. When Mo Xiao Qi was exhausted and switched from offence to defence, Lan Xun would take the opportunity to strike back, and so this cycle went round and round.
Somewhere not too far away was a man watching nervously, yelling from time to time, “Princess, be careful! Don’t get yourself hurt!”
Xiao Chen!
As a loyal admirer of Princess Lan Xun, this guy would definitely appear wherever Lan Xun was.
His anxiety made him break out in a cold sweat. If others dared to attack Lan Xun, he would have gone up to teach them a severe lesson without hesitation, but Mo Xiao Qi was no ordinary person, so even though Xiao Chen had broken through to the Emperor Realm, he still could not interfere and could only watch from the side.
Just when Xiao Chen was worried, he sensed someone flying towards him. He turned his head and saw Yang Kai faintly smiling in front of him.
He swept his eyes over Yang Kai and snorted coldly, “It’s you!”
He obviously remembered Yang Kai. During the time in the Four Seasons Realm, Yang Kai refined the Extraordinary Treasure Pill which caused a great storm. Xiao Chen would certainly have a deep impression of such a person.
Yang Kai chuckled, “Brother Xiao, I haven’t seen you for many years. Congratulations on breaking through to the Emperor Realm.”
Xiao Chen replied proudly, “It’s nothing worth being congratulated for. With the gifted aptitude of this Young Master, breaking through to the Emperor Realm was only a matter of time.”
Yang Kai was exasperated at his shameless boast.
However, despite his arrogant attitude, Xiao Chen was indeed talented, otherwise, it would not have been possible for him to reach the Emperor Realm so quickly.
Xiao Chen continued, “I remember that you consumed an Extraordinary Treasure Pill in the Four Seasons Realm back then, so why are you still in Dao Source Realm? Tsk tsk, looks like your aptitude is inadequate, what a waste of such a good pill!”
Yang Kai smiled indifferently, “Yes, if the Extraordinary Treasure Pill was given to Brother Xiao back then, perhaps Brother Xiao would have broken through to the Emperor Realm sooner.”
“Naturally!” Xiao Chen was flattered, but soon he questioned suspiciously, “Why are you looking for me?”
Yang Kai’s face turned solemn as he looked over towards the battlefield of the two women and said, “Brother Xiao, why are you just standing here? How can Princess Lan Xun, with such honourable status, be allowed to fight with someone here? If this news reached the ears of the Bright Moon Emperor. I believe that Sir would not forgive you easily, and it would be even more serious if something happened to her. It would be best to hurry up and separate them.”
Xiao Chen revealed a bitter face as his previous pride and arrogance vanished at once as he complained, “I would have separated them if I could without you telling me. Do you know who that woman battling with the princess is?”
“Who?” Yang Kai turned and asked innocently.
“What a bumpkin, you don’t even know her background?” Xiao Chen curled his lip in disdain, “But it also makes sense that a mediocre person doesn’t know about the identity of that girl. Fine, today this Young Master will open your eyes. Listen, that girl is the daughter of the Martial Beast Great Emperor!”
“Martial Beast Great Emperor?” Yang Kai showed a surprised face.
Xiao Chen snorted, “Are you scared now? Now you know why this Young Master can only watch, but not intervene. These two are basically both Princesses, whoever offends one of them would definitely suffer… It’s really hard to be a man…”
He sighed deeply with a miserable expression.
Yang Kai persuaded, “But we also can’t just let them fight like this anymore. Even though the two of them seem to be exchanging pointers right now, once a fire has been sparked, it can quickly grow out of control, and the consequences will be unimaginable! You know that women are always more competitive when faced with other women, so if neither side backs down, this may even turn into a battle to the death!”
Xiao Chen shuddered with his face turning pale, as if he could foresee such a horrible scene and he nervously asked, “Will it really end up like that? Don’t make it seem worse than it is.”
Yang Kai sternly answered, “Anything is possible, it’s important to separate them now.”
Xiao Chen gulped, “How can I do so? The Princess doesn’t even listen to me. Unless I go up and intervene directly… “
“Then just go up and intervene directly to separate them!” Yang Kai responded solemnly, “Brother Xiao, you are an Emperor Realm Master now, how hard could it be for you to separate two little girls?”
“I guess so…” Xiao Chen muttered, staring at Yang Kai with a meaningful glare, “But why do I feel like… you are trying to get me into trouble. Boy, are you jealous of me being more handsome than you?”
“Why would I!?” Yang Kai responded with a strong sense of righteousness, “I’m just considering the safety of the Princess. I’m also a cultivator from the Southern Territory and I do not wish to see the Princess get hurt. Any harm to such a perfect being is blasphemy!”
Xiao Chen nodded in agreement and replied with a fiery look in his eyes, “You are right. Her Highness cannot be allowed to get hurt! They must be separated immediately!”
“Brother Xiao, go forth!” Yang Kai urged.
But Xiao Chen suddenly grabbed Yang Kai’s arm and said, “Since you are so enthusiastic and loyal, then you join me. I will be in charge of stopping Princess Lan Xun, while you will be in charge of stopping the other Princess. Okay?”
Without waiting for Yang Kai’s affirmation, he dragged him forward at lightning speed.
Yang Kai looked completely stunned, secretly scolding Xiao Chen in his heart.
At first, he was planning to con Xiao Chen into interfering to cease this meaningless battle, but despite Xiao Chen’s wanton arrogance and stupid attitude, he was actually quite sharp-witted and dragged Yang Kai into the mud together with him.
But under the current circumstances, Yang Kai did not have the time to worry that much and could only cooperate with Xiao Chen.
When they got closer, Xiao Chen suddenly threw Yang Kai directly into the centre of the two women’s fight and shouted, “Princesses, please stop. Let’s talk about this, we don’t need to fight.”
[Xiao Chen, I hope all your Ancestors rot in hell!]
Yang Kai cursed Xiao Chen in his heart. He did not expect this guy to be so sinister and insidious, throwing him like a stone into the battlefield. Obviously, he was using him as a distraction, so that it would be easier for him to intervene in the fight.
While still flying through the air, Yang Kai forcibly adjusted his posture to stabilize his stance. He did not dare to make any rash moves and only pushed his Source Qi to protect himself.
He was then thrown into the middle of a disaster.
Several bangs were heard, followed by a groan from Yang Kai.
Both Lan Xun and Mo Xiao ceased their actions and withdrew a few dozen metres, staring at Yang Kai in a daze.
The two women were not mindless butchers who slaughtered the innocent, so they instantly stopped as soon as they noticed someone broke into their battlefield and was accidentally injured by them.
Mo Xiao Qi looked at the visitor anxiously and worried if his injuries would be fatal; however, her beautiful eyes lit up in the next moment and the beast patterns on her face faded rapidly.
“Big Brother Yang!” She called out to Yang Kai in surprise and joy.
Yang Kai grinned at her then rushed forward to keep her separated from Lan Xun with a hug.
On the other side, Xiao Chen, who followed after Yang Kai closely, could not help but gasp at this scene, secretly feeling amazed by the latter’s boldness.
He actually just wanted to sacrifice Yang Kai to help separate the two princesses, but he did not expect this little brat to actually go so far as to lay hands on Mo Xiao Qi.
[This, this, this little brat really has some nerve being rude to a Princess like her!]
Even Emperor Realm Masters had to pay respects to the daughter of the Martial Beast Great Emperor, but Yang Kai actually dared to reach out and hug her. If this matter reached the ears of the Martial Beast Great Emperor, Yang Kai would be chopped into pieces even if he escaped to the ends of the world.
Not to mention the Martial Beast Great Emperor, if any daughter of an Emperor Realm Master was to be molested by a man, how could it be easily let go?
[He’s dead!]
To his surprise though, Xiao Chen soon discovered that the little Princess did not have the slightest intention of resisting Yang Kai’s embrace. Instead, she wrapped her arms around Yang Kai’s neck, her tender body clinging close to him.
Xiao Chen’s eyes were burning from envy and jealousy.
Was there really such a good thing in this world?
Strangely, Xiao Chen grinned gently and quickly approached Lan Xun, stretching out his broad arms to embrace her too.
However, before he could do anything, Lan Xun suddenly turned around and a pink fist punched directly at him.
Xiao Chen, despite already being an Emperor Realm Master, did not dare to use any strength to avoid this punch, so it directly landed on his nose with a clean thud. He instantly saw stars in front of his eyes as his head spun.
“What are you doing?” Lan Xun asked coldly, looking extremely displeased.
“It’s nothing, nothing…” Xiao Chen stood in awkwardness, blood dripping from his nose comically.
On the other side, after Yang Kai separated Mo Xiao Qi a good distance away from Lan Xun, only then did he finally notice the amazingly soft and elastic sensation on his chest.
He could not help blushing as he patted Mo Xiao Qi who was still clinging on to him and said, “Alright, alright, get down first to avoid others gossiping, then we’ll talk.”
At his words, Mo Xiao Qi quickly jumped off Yang Kai. In realization of the inappropriateness of her actions, her face flushed, “Big Brother Yang, it’s really you!”
Yang Kai chuckled and examined her up and down, “I haven’t seen you for just a few years, but you’ve grown up a lot.”
Mo Xiao Qi’s nostrils flared and grumbled, “Rascal!”
Yang Kai wiped the cold sweat on his forehead, “I only said you’ve grown up, what were you thinking?”
Mo Xiao Qi then examined Yang Kai seriously and nodded, “Big Brother Yang has also become much stronger.”
Yang Kai was only a First-Order Dao Source Realm when she left Maplewood City, but now he was already in the Third-Order Dao Source Realm. For a cultivator who had no Sect or family behind him, this kind of growth was amazing.
Mo Xiao Qi could only make such big progress because her identity was different from others.
The Martial Beast Great Emperor had personally guided her, and under her Aunty Feng’s supervision and with the inexhaustible cultivation resources of Spirit Beast Island, it would be strange if she had not grown rapidly.
While the two were talking, Liu Yan and Zhang Ruo Xi had flown over to join them.
Mo Xiao Qi smiled as she explained, “When I entered the Shattered Star Sea, I expected that I would be able to meet Big Brother Yang, but still hadn’t seen you for more than two years. I only had confirmation that you were really here after I met up with Big Sister Liu Yan.”
Liu Yan knew Mo Xiao Qi as the two girls had met in Maplewood City when Liu Yan was still just an Artifact Spirit. Although there was a huge difference in her compared to the last time they met, Liu Yan’s aura had not changed much, so Mo Xiao Qi recognised her easily when they bumped into each other.
Together, they went to the Source Sea, and Yang Kai knew what happened after that.
Yang Kai stole a glance at Lan Xun and asked, “Xiao Qi, why did you fight with Princess Lan Xun?”
Mo Xiao Qi glared over at her resentfully and snorted, “Just some old grievances.”
Yang Kai’s face darkened, “How old are you two? What old grievances could you have?”
Although both Mo Xiao Qi and Lan Xun had powerful Third-Order Dao Source Realm cultivations, they were still very young, only in their early twenties. Only descendants of Great Emperors could achieve this kind of cultivation at their age.
“Why not? When she was a little kid, she robbed me of a beautiful dress when she visited Spirit Beast Island with Sir Bright Moon.”
“That’s it?” Yang Kai’s eyes widened.
“That was my favourite dress. Aunty Feng made it for me by hand. I cried for many days,” Mo Xiao Qi sobbed aggrievedly.
[It’s impossible to understand women.] Yang Kai thought helplessly.
While they were talking, Lan Xun and Xiao Chen approached them slowly. Keeping a short distance away from Mo Xiao Qi, Lan Xun asked, “Little Sister Xiao Qi, do you still want to fight?”
Mo Xiao Qi glared at her, “If you want to, I’m more than willing. Who’s afraid of you?”
Lan Xun’s beautiful eyes flashed as she smiled politely, “It looks like Little Sister is still up for a fight!”
Mo Xiao Qi snorted, “You’re talking as if you have won, how thick-skinned.”
Lan Xun responded, “Didn’t I? Elder Sister did have the upper hand in that battle…”
Mo Xiao Qi flushed red and gritted her teeth as she snarled, “That’s because you’re older. I will definitely not lose to you when I am your age!”
The smile on Lan Xun’s face faded suddenly and the surrounding temperature seemed to drop sharply, causing a chill to creep into everyone’s bones.
Yang Kai and Xiao Chen shuddered, both of them aware that something bad was about to happen.
Mo Xiao Qi and Lan Xun were basically the same age, with Lan Xun maybe being two or three years older. Two or three years was essentially no difference at all, but the word ‘older’ from Mo Xiao Qi undoubtedly touched a nerve.
The two girls who had just stopped fighting were at odds with each other once more, their enchanting eyes glaring at one another as sparks seemed to be flying between them, a new battle threatening to break out at any moment.
Yang Kai made eye contact with Xiao Chen hurriedly, signalling him for assistance.
But Xiao Chen just snorted and wiped the blood from his nose, turning his gaze away.
[Waste!] Yang Kai cursed inside. He could only brace himself and intervene with a smile, “Alright now, you already duelled, so stop acting so hostile. You two are childhood playmates, you have to appreciate this precious friendship. Come, shake hands and be good friends again.”
“Who would be good friends with her?!” The two young women ground their teeth and pointed bitterly.
Yang Kai wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and continued his persuasion, “Even if you are not good friends, it’s not good to always settle matters with violence. A lady should be reserved and measured, it is highly improper to always be using force!”
Mo Xiao Qi pouted, looking extremely indignant.
Lan Xun’s eyes flashed as she turned her gaze to Yang Kai, smiling lightly in acknowledgement, “What Senior Brother Yang said is right, Lan Xun was wrong to be so petty with Little Sister. Little Sister Xiao Qi, don’t be angry, Elder Sister will apologize to you.”
“Hmph!” Mo Xiao Qi twisted her head aside, ignoring Lan Xun.
Lan Xun did not seem to be bothered, instead turning her attention to Yang Kai, “It’s surprising that Senior Brother Yang knows Little Sister Xiao Qi. Little Sister Xiao Qi lives in the Eastern Territory and I have only met her once when I was young. How did Senior Brother Yang get to know her?”
Unsure of the intention behind her queries, Yang Kai sensed a hint of malice so he laughed awkwardly and casually explained, “It was a coincidence, nothing special.”
Mo Xiao Qi glared at Lan Xun warily, “You old woman, is it possible that you are interested in my Big Brother Yang? Why do you want to know so much?”
As soon as this statement came out, Zhang Ruo Xi could not help but gasp, her little hands covering her own red lips. On the other side, Lan Xun also blushed slightly, her brow furrowing. Liu Yan, on the contrary, looked on with interest.
Lan Xun snapped, “This little girl doesn’t know how to think before she speaks.”
Mo Xiao Qi grimaced and retorted, “If you have a clean conscience, why are you so nervous?”
Lan Xun was furious. She was just curious about how Yang Kai could meet someone like Mo Xiao Qi and have such a close relationship, she did not expect to be teased by Mo Xiao Qi, incensing her.
Annoyed, she gritted her pristine teeth and shot back, “It’s true, Elder Sister is very interested in your Big Brother Yang and plans to bring him back and introduce him to Lord Father as a potential son-in-law. What do you think about that, Little Sister?”
It was Mo Xiao Qi’s turn to gasp dumbfounded this time. She looked at Lan Xun in amazement, and then at Yang Kai before she stomped her foot angrily, “You evil woman! Why do you have to snatch everything from me?” She fumed, “You snatched my clothes when we were children, and now you want to take away my Big Brother Yang!”
As she screamed, she hugged Yang Kai’s arm tightly, ignoring how her plump peaks deformed greatly from the force of her grip. She ground her teeth and declared resolutely, “I’ll fight you to the death if you dare to come for him!”
Lan Xun burst into laughter and rose to the challenge, “That will depend on which one of us your Big Brother Yang favours. Do you think he would prefer a little girl who’s so unreasonable like you, or a woman who’s knowledgeable and understanding like Elder Sister?”
While she was speaking, she exuded an extremely appealing elegance and grace using some unknown Secret Technique;
Xiao Chen gulped as he watched from the sidelines, his eyes peeled and glued on Lan Xun.
Mo Xiao Qi flushed anxiously, still clinging onto Yang Kai’s arm tightly, unwilling to let go, she glowered, “What’s so great about you? Aunty Feng is a million times more beautiful than you!”
“Senior Jiu Feng?” Lan Xun suddenly looked serious.
Mo Xiao Qi raised her head proudly, “Yes, can you compare to Aunty Feng?”
She snorted, then spoke to Yang Kai again, “Big Brother Yang, ignore this old woman. If you like to see beautiful women, come to Spirit Beast Island, and I will introduce Aunty Feng to you!”
Yang Kai’s mouth twitched, not sure of how to respond.
Lan Xun looked at Mo Xiao Qi in astonishment. She did not know whether to laugh or cry at what Mo Xiao Qi said. She knew that this girl must have lived on the Spirit Beast Island all year round and was extremely sheltered by her Seniors. As such, it was natural for her to not be well versed in the topics of men and women. The reason she cared so much about Yang Kai might just be an instinctive reaction to oppose Lan Xun.
Lan Xun suddenly felt dull and ridiculous for fighting with her and nodded, “Compared to Senior Jiu Feng, I am obviously inferior. Okay, Little Sister Xiao Qi, you win this time.”
When Mo Xiao Qi heard this, her face instantly lifted with joy, replying merrily, “You are also good, just a little bit inferior to me!”
Lan Xun shook her head and smiled wryly.
“Everyone, do you want to go deeper and have a look? The Source Strength inside is extremely rich and pure. It would be of great benefit to your cultivation if you could absorb and refine it there,” Yang Kai hurriedly proposed after seeing the tension in the atmosphere had eased slightly.
Lan Xun nodded, “I’m going to take a look. If Senior Brother Yang doesn’t mind, why don’t we travel together?”
Since she asked, Yang Kai did not reject and nodded, “It is my honour to be invited by the Princess.”
Lan Xun smiled faintly, “Senior Brother Yang can just address Lan Xun like how you address Little Sister Xiao Qi. You may omit the word ‘Princess’.”
The last time when she met Yang Kai in the Four Seasons Realm, she already felt that this person was extremely special, and now that seemed to be the case. Although Yang Kai had only a Third-Order Dao Source Realm cultivation and lagged behind Xiao Chen and other elites from their generation, Lan Xun had a feeling that Yang Kai’s future achievements would definitely be much greater than Xiao Chen’s.
Unlike the inexperienced Mo Xiao Qi, Lan Xun had keen insight and foresight.
Immediately, they departed towards the depths of Source Sea in a group.
Not long after their departure, there was a sudden exclamation from the front, followed closely by a bright glowing orb gradually rising from the Source Sea, like a radiant moon.
A clear wave of Source Strength spread out from this orb.
“Star Source!” Xiao Chen exclaimed.
Yang Kai also shouted with his eyes glowing, “A complete Star Source!”
Yang Kai had not seen a complete Star Source throughout his time in the Shattered Star Sea. Although he had absorbed and refined a lot of Source Strength during these past few years, all of that was from Shattered Star Sources. Even though this was still useful to him, it was undoubtedly incomparable to a complete Star Source.
When Yang Kai first came to the Source Sea, he heard that complete Star Sources could be found here.
But he did not expect to really see one.
Even the daughter of a Great Emperor like Lan Xun started to breathe rapidly at the appearance of this complete Star Source, revealing a look of excitement on her pretty face which showed just how attractive this thing was to cultivators.
Before Yang Kai and the others were able to react, countless cultivators flew past them from all directions, focusing on the complete Star Source, soon engaging in a tangled, bloody melee as they competed for this prize.
In just five breaths of time, more than twenty cultivators screamed and fell from the sky, dropping into the Source Sea.
In the span of five breaths, the complete Star Source abruptly disappeared and no one had any idea who snatched it. The remaining people were infuriated and started cursing.
“There really are complete Star Sources here,” Yang Kai witnessed the whole scene from the beginning to end and could not help sighing.
“The Source Sea is really an exceptional place. No one knows how it was formed or why it contains so much Source Strength; however, there has been a rumour about the Source Sea since long ago that only a few people know,” Lan Xun spoke with a solemn face.
“What rumour?” Yang Kai looked at her in surprise.
She was the daughter of the Bright Moon Great Emperor and should be knowledgeable about most of the things in this world. Yang Kai had always been puzzled by the existence of the Source Sea, so now that Lan Xun mentioned it, he could not help feeling excited to hear about it.
Xiao Chen gave Lan Xun an inquiring look too; obviously, he did not know about this rumour she spoke of.
Lan Xun did not answer right away, but turned to Mo Xiao Qi, “About this rumour, Little Sister Xiao Qi should have heard it from Sir Martial Beast, right?”
Mo Xiao Qi’s face turned unusually solemn as she nodded, “Before coming to the Shattered Star Sea, Lord Father did tell me one thing. He mentioned that the formation of the Source Sea has some direct relation to that fallen Sir who was besieged and killed here.”
“What?” Yang Kai and Xiao Chen were taken aback simultaneously.
Although Mo Xiao Qi did not directly name the fallen Sir, everyone knew who she was speaking of.
The Heaven Devouring Great Emperor!
Who else other than him?
Lan Xun further explained, “Back then, that Sir could not be restrained in the Star Boundary as no one could match him, so he acted unscrupulously. He even broke through the World Barrier and travelled to the Lower Star Fields. Wherever he passed, Star Fields were destroyed and Stars were shattered while all the Star Sources of those Cultivation Stars were devoured by him. The number of Star Fields that were devastated by his hands alone was no less than a dozen, so one can imagine how many Star Sources he consumed. After the War of Emperors in the Shattered Star Sea, he was killed and the Source Strength that he devoured remained here strangely after his death, forming this vast Source Sea.”
“Such a thing occurred?” Xiao Chen rounded his eyes, as if he could not believe it.
Yang Kai’s face also turned pale when he heard this and asked in astonishment, “So, the Source Sea is actually the resting place of that Sir?”
Lan Xun nodded her head, “It can be said so, but the location of the Source Sea is random, and it does not always appear when the Shattered Star Sea opens, so no one actually knows if this is really where that Sir fell. However, we do know that the formation of the Source Sea must be directly related to him.”
“No wonder there is so much Shattered Source Strength and even complete Star Sources here,” Yang Kai sighed, his doubts from all these days cleared up at once.
Previously he was still wondering how a broken place like the Shattered Star Sea could form such a peculiar existence like the Source Sea, but now he understood after listening to Lan Xun’s explanation.
The Heaven Devouring Great Emperor devoured untold amounts of Source Strength, but that Source Strength remained after his death and formed the Source Sea.
In other words, everyone was now enjoying the legacy of the Heaven Devouring Great Emperor.
Lan Xun smiled slightly, “It is also precisely because of the wanton behaviour of that Sir back then that the passages to the Lower Star Fields were closed off by the remaining Great Emperors. Thus, Masters from the Star Boundary can no longer travel to the Star Fields freely. If it weren’t for this, Star Sources wouldn’t be so scarce nowadays, and everyone wouldn’t be so eager to obtain one.”
Yang Kai’s brow twitched, “So, why is it that I have heard of some Masters who can travel to those Lower Star Fields?”
Back then in Heng Luo Star Field, Yang Kai met a Master who had descended from Star Boundary. Fortunately, Yang Yan was there at that time and subdued the invader before he could do any real harm.
Lan Xun disclosed after a nod, “Although the primary corridors were shut down, it is still possible to go to Lower Star Fields through some special methods. Lord Father once said that every Star Field has its own Guardian, and these Guardians protect the Star Fields from the disturbance of powerful external forces. These guardians can enter and exit the Star Fields that they guard at will. If others intend to enter, they can only look for some tremendously dangerous passages, but these passages are extremely rare in the Star Boundary. Most of them are chaotic and unstable, so they cannot be transited safely. What’s more, if those people insist on descending to lower Star Fields, they need to seal or sacrifice their cultivations first.”
“Star Field Guardians!” The dusty memory of Yang Kai reappeared with Lan Xun’s words, as he heard Yang Yan mentioned this title before.
Yang Kai once thought about being the Guardian of Heng Luo Star Field when he got stronger.
He then hurriedly asked, “How can one become a Guardian of a Star Field?”
Lan Xun shook her head, “I don’t know, Lord Father didn’t tell me.” After a pause, she looked at Yang Kai suspiciously, “Did Senior Brother Yang come from one of those Star Fields?”
Lan Xun could not help but think of some possibilities when she saw Yang Kai being so enthusiastic about this matter.
“Junior Sister Lan is indeed beautiful and intelligent!” Yang Kai smiled faintly without denying it.
“Is Senior Brother Yang really a cultivator from the Lower Star Fields?” Lan Xun was slightly startled, and even Xiao Chen could not help but glance over at him.
It was rumoured that those cultivators who could come to Star Boundary from Lower Star Fields all had Heaven-defying aptitude and bright future prospects. They had always been the targets of competition for top Sects and great forces to recruit.
Although there were indeed many such people in the Star Boundary, compared to the number of native cultivators, it was still a tiny fraction.
Lan Xun had only heard about such people before, but never actually met one.
[No wonder Yang Kai’s cultivation speed can be so fast. It seems like the rumours are true.] She thought to herself.
While they were talking, their group arrived at the deeper part of the Source Sea.
There were obviously more people now than previously when it was only occupied by several Emperor Realm Masters.
Yang Kai led everyone to the island where he had landed before, but his face darkened when he found that the island was already crowded with people and there was no place left for them.
But at this moment, a clear wave of Source Strength suddenly transmitted from somewhere.
“Another complete Star Source!” Xiao Chen shouted.
Everyone turned towards a certain direction and saw a glowing orb gradually rise from the sea.
Before the Star Source completely emerged, numerous cultivators swarmed over.
Things did not end there though as after the emergence of a complete Star Source, another orb of light appeared in another place, followed closely by a third, then a fourth…
In the blink of an eye, the sea was densely packed with dazzling rising moons. With a rough count, there were at least a hundred of them, and many more were still emerging.
“So many!” Xiao Chen was utterly dumbfounded yet extremely excited.
However, Lan Xun frowned as she felt discomforted by this scene, “There is no fire without smoke! This situation has never happened in the Source Sea before.”
Yang Kai also felt a little uneasy, but who would not be tempted seeing so many complete Star Sources in front of them?
“Master!” Liu Yan whispered.
Yang Kai gritted his teeth and replied, “Snatch first, worry later.”
While speaking, he gestured to Lan Xun, “Junior Sister Lan, let’s split up!”
Lan Xun nodded in agreement, “Senior Brother Yang, be careful.”
“You too!” Yang Kai nodded before he led the three young women, Mo Xiao Qi, Liu Yan, and Zhang Ruo Xi, rushing forward.
The situation was complete chaos above the Source Sea, with people falling from the sky constantly.
Up ahead, a group of five people, who seemingly belonged to different great forces, were competing for a Star Source. These people were completely focused on fighting one another and none were actually paying attention to the Star Source.
With a flicker, Yang Kai arrived in front of this Star Source, stretched out his hand, and sucked the Star Source directly into his hand with his Star Refining Art before swiftly depositing it into the Sealed World Bead.
Shattered Source Strength was already difficult to be refined and absorbed, not to mention a complete Star Source, so Yang Kai could only grab it first and deal with it when he had free time in the future.
After succeeding, Yang Kai immediately teleported and disappeared.
The few people who were fighting soon noticed the disappearance of the Star Source and became steaming mad when they found no trace of the culprit, cursing endlessly.
At this moment, the three girls, Liu Yan, Zhang Ruo Xi, and Mo Xiao Qi had already rushed towards another Star Source.
Mo Xiao Qi no longer kept her strength hidden. Previously when she was fighting with Lan Xun, she only used some Secret Techniques that she learnt, holding back at least half of her abilities. Now that she needed to compete for Star Sources, though, she directly summoned her army of Monster Beasts with a wave of her hand.
Silver Maned Linger, Heaven Escaping Bat, Red Fire Qilin, Blue Eyes Black Scale Flood Dragon…
All kinds of Monster Beasts surrounded her and these beasts roared ferociously as they rushed forward. The cultivators before this army were petrified and quickly gave way.
Liu Yan had also summoned her White Tiger Heaven Grade puppet, and even though there may be some gaps in strength compared to a genuine Emperor Realm Master, it was not something Dao Source Realm cultivators could contend with. The unique Emperor Aura terrified countless cultivators.
Although Zhang Ruo Xi did not have strong minions like Mo Xiao Qi and Liu Yan, her strength did not fall behind them. Using some unknown Secret Technique, she released an astonishing aura that inexplicably gave a strong sense of oppression to others, causing not only the nearby cultivators to retreat, but even Mo Xiao Qi’s Monster Beasts to shiver in fright.
Mo Xiao Qi glanced suspiciously at Zhang Ruo Xi, secretly amazed.
As the daughter of the Martial Beast Great Emperor, Mo Xiao Qi was born with an innate ability to communicate with Monster Beasts, so she could clearly feel the panic and fear in her pets at this moment.
The bloodline of her tamed Monster Beasts was exceptionally noble and pure, many of them direct descendants of variants of Ancient Divine Spirits, making them vastly superior to ordinary Monster Beasts. They were all personally selected for her by the Martial Beast Great Emperor.
These pets would go all out without the slightest fear even when facing Emperor Realm Masters.
But after Zhang Ruo Xi released her unique aura, these beasts all began trembling, as if they were naturally suppressed, some of them even whimpered at Zhang Ruo Xi.
Mo Xiao Qi was completely dumbfounded because this whimpering carried the meaning of flattery. Sometimes, when she was throwing a tantrum, and purposely ignored her beast pets, they would use this method to get her attention, making her feel sorry for them.
But now, these pets that were dauntless in front of Emperors were actually pitifully trying to appease this unknown little girl.
What was happening?
Mo Xiao Qi had not paid much attention to Zhang Ruo Xi before, because she was always quiet and low-key, keeping to herself and not trying to cause a scene; however, after such a disturbance, Mo Xiao Qi suddenly realized that Zhang Ruo Xi must have her own secrets, and these secrets were clearly related to Monster Beasts.
She was full of queries, but it was inconvenient to ask questions now, so Mo Xiao Qi just kept her doubts in her heart and vowed to look for answers later.
Although the skills of these three girls were quite varied, they were unstoppable when they joined forces. Wherever they went, everyone retreated.
With just some slight effort, they snatched a complete Star Source, and after some quick negotiations, Mo Xiao Qi happily put the Star Source into her Space Ring.
Yang Kai watched them from the side for a while and once he was convinced they did not need any help, he turned away and focused on fighting with the others.
The space above the Source Sea was raging now as many complete Star Sources constantly rose from below, causing countless cultivators to fight for them.
Yang Kai relied on his proficiency in the Dao of Space to move about erratically. With the further complement of the Star Refining Art, whenever a new Star Source emerged, he could rush to it immediately and snatched it away.
Those cultivators competing for Star Sources were still puzzled at how their prizes were mysteriously vanishing.
As time passed, Yang Kai continued to flicker here and there alone in the Source Sea, obtaining more and more Star Sources.
He had gained more than anyone else by a large margin.
Speed was the most important attribute when it comes to snatching benefits from others in such a chaotic place, so Yang Kai, who was proficient in the Dao of Space, being able to teleport freely, undoubtedly had the upper hand in this competition.
Half a day later, the emergence of Star Sources from below slowly decreased, and every time one did appear, hundreds of people would race towards it.
It was not easy to secretly compete in such a situation, even for Yang Kai, so after much effort, he finally snatched a Star Source from the crowd, leaving hundreds of people there accusing each other and devolving into a frenzied melee.
The sea gradually calmed down after another half day. Everyone waited for a long time but no new Star Sources could be seen.
It seemed that all the complete Star Sources had been taken.
Nevertheless, battles amongst cultivators were still ongoing. Those cultivators who once grabbed Star Sources became the targets of others and for a while, screams could be heard all over the Source Sea, with numerous bloodied cultivators falling, dying the Source Sea red with blood.
Yang Kai moved agilely above the nightmarish Source Sea and found Liu Yan and the others.
Perhaps everyone was afraid of the terrifying power shown by Liu Yan and the others, so no one targeted them and left the three of them in peace.
After seeing Yang Kai arrive, Mo Xiao Qi immediately greeted him with a smile and squealed, “Big Brother Yang, Big Brother Yang, we got a lot of Star Sources!”
Just when the words fell, countless fiery eyes turned to them from all directions.
The Source Sea had now gathered thousands of cultivators, so only a small number of people had obtained Star Sources, whilst most of the others had not even seen one up close.
As such, Mo Xiao Qi’s words had undoubtedly caught their attention.
Mo Xiao Qi immediately realized she had misspoken and playfully stuck out her tongue.
Yang Kai swept across the surroundings with his eyes and let out a cold snort before unreservedly releasing his aura, causing the surrounding space to shake.
Those cultivators who looked covetously at Mo Xiao Qi changed their faces drastically, and after weighing their own strengths against Yang Kai’s group, they unwillingly turned their gazes away.
Mo Xiao Qi whispered, “Each of us got two or three Star Sources.”
She revealed a face full of excitement, while the faces of Zhang Ruo Xi and Liu Yan were also flushed red, apparently very satisfied with their harvest.
“Not bad, not bad!” Yang Kai nodded with a smile.
Their group of three had apparently snatched at least seven or eight Star Sources in total. If they could find a time to refine this extremely rich harvest, it would be of huge help for their future growth.
However, Yang Kai gained a lot more compared to them.
Although he did not have a precise count, he alone snatched at least thirty Star Sources.
Every Cultivation Star would only give birth to one Star Source; therefore, thirty Cultivation Stars were needed to produce thirty Star Sources.
From what he had just witnessed, Yang Kai guessed that there were around three to four hundred Star Sources that had appeared from the Source Sea.
In other words, the Heaven Devouring Great Emperor devoured at least three to four hundred Cultivation Stars in order to leave such a luxurious legacy after his death.
This kind of behaviour and practice was beyond the word ‘madness’.
“We can’t stay here any longer. Since there are no more Star Sources, it’s better for us to leave,” Yang Kai turned to look around with a frown on his face.
Mo Xiao Qi replied, “I will follow Big Brother Yang.”
Yang Kai gave a nod, but just as he was about to take them out of this war zone, something strange suddenly occurred below the Source Sea.
The red sea seemed to have received some kind of traction, and it started to swirl slowly. Not long after, the entire Source Sea began to rotate.
A subtle suction emerged and alarmed all the cultivators in the sky above the Source Sea.
They gasped and stared down at this phenomenon one after another.
A massive whirlpool gradually formed in the centre of the Source Sea, and as the Source Sea rotated, the red sea water continuously flowed into this vortex and disappeared without a trace.
The whirlpool seemed to be swallowing space itself, causing a chill to run up the spines of those who were watching the scene.
The influx of seawater was getting more rapid and violent, and in the span of just a few breaths’ time, the area of Source Sea had shrunk by more than half.
A while later, the entire Source Sea vanished, the vast sea that originally filled this region leaving only a small black hole behind at its former center.
Inside this black hole, however, a skeleton could be vaguely seen, sitting cross-legged, extremely pale white. It was obvious that this person had been dead for countless years, but the blurry image also showed that a Space Ring remained on one of its bone fingers.
Everyone was dumbstruck at this scene and stared at the Space Ring with their fiery eyes, as if they could not wait to bite it.
*Gudong… *
A series of gulping sounds was heard.
“What is this skeleton? Who died here?”
“By the looks of it, this person has been dead for at least a few ten thousand years.”
“A few ten thousand years… The War of Emperors also happened a few ten thousand years ago, and there were a total of five Great Emperors that fell during that war.”
“This is the skeleton of a Great Emperor! This ring… is the Space Ring of a Great Emperor!”
The cultivators continued to gather near the black hole from all directions. In an instant, the surroundings were crowded with people and it was buzzing with exciting discussion.
Most of them were guessing which Great Emperor the skeleton belonged to.
Yang Kai, however, just shuddered.
Because he had just heard from Lan Xun that the Source Sea was where the Heaven Devouring Great Emperor had fallen, and now he happened to see a skeleton that had been left here a few tens of thousands of years ago. All these clues led to him concluding…
“Xiao Qi!” Yang Kai gently shouted, casting an inquiring look at her.
Mo Xiao Qi’s face was slightly pale as she affirmed nervously yet excitedly, “This is probably the skeleton of that Sir!”
Yang Kai’s eyes filled with excitement at Mo Xiao Qi’s statement, even though he knew that they should not stay any longer, he could not help but hesitate.
The benefits he gained from the Shattered Star Sea were more than enough, but when he heard that this skeleton might belong to the Heaven Devouring Great Emperor, greed couldn’t help filling his mind.
If even Yang Kai was so interested, the other cultivators certainly could not help themselves.
The Space Ring worn on the skeleton’s finger had attracted everyone’s attention.
“Wastes, scram!” A deep voice thundered, followed by a long spear appearing in the sky, penetrating the void, and soaring towards the most crowded place.
A piercing power enveloped a vast area and as all the cultivators present sensed the spear’s power, their faces changed drastically and they hurried to retreat.
*Hong Hong Hong… *
The spear flew an erratic path, clearing a wide area on one side of the black hole.
Most cultivators ran away as soon as they saw how dangerous it was, but some who had slower reactions were struck by the spear and burst into a mist of blood without even time to let out a scream.
Yang Kai’s face slightly darkened as he looked around and saw a man standing majestically and sternly with a spear in his hand. This man had a burly figure and there was an extremely clear wave of Emperor Pressure lingering around his body.
[So, it’s him!]
Yang Kai recognized the man at once; it was the brawny young man with a spear that he met in the depths of the Source Sea last time.
“Liang Qiu, are you out of your mind!?”
“Damn you!”
“How dare you kill my Junior Brother? I’ll kill you!”
Those retreating cultivators reprimanded the brawny youth. Someone who knew him had already called out his name, while another person clamoured that he would take revenge for their Junior Brother, but all of them were just yelling and no one really dared to step forward.
The brawny young man was showing his Emperor Realm cultivation here, so it would be equivalent to courting death to challenge him.
Liang Qiu snorted coldly and rested his spear on his shoulder as he responded arrogantly, “What’s wrong? Are you upset? For those who are upset, you may roll over here and I’ll beat you until you are happy!”
He swept across the cultivators with his ferocious gaze, and those who met his eyes could not help but avert theirs. Liang Qiu then spat disdainfully, “A bunch of trash, how dare you covet the treasure of a Great Emperor!? Ridiculous! If you don’t want to die, quickly leave now.”
“Liang Qiu, don’t act too crazy! Although your Hundred Barbarian Mountain dominates in the Western Territory, it doesn’t mean that you can be so disrespectful in the Shattered Star Sea. Do you really think the whole world is afraid of you!?”
A berating voice came out from the crowd, echoing from place to place indistinctly, no one able to pinpoint its source. This person was obviously afraid of Liang Qiu and the Hundred Barbarian Mountain behind him, as such, he did not dare to openly rebuke him.
Liang Qiu sneered, “There are many heroes in the Shattered Star Sea, so naturally I cannot oppose all of them with just my Hundred Barbarian Mountain alone, but…” He snorted with his brows raised, “What if I’m with them?”
When his voice fell, eight people stood out from all directions and came together to Liang Qiu’s side.
*Sii…*
Everyone involuntarily gasped and took a few steps back in shock.
These eight people were all Emperor Realm Masters, and each was releasing a profound aura that was not to be trifled with.
Yang Kai frowned slightly as he swept his eyes across this group as he found that he recognized most of these eight Emperor Realm Masters.
Those who he had met in the Source Sea previously were all here, namely Chi Gui, Yao Si, Wu Chang, and the fat man he did not know the name of. Although Yang Kai did not know the rest, they were undoubtedly elite disciples of various top Sects of the Star Boundary who had obtained the opportunity in this Shattered Star Sea to break through to the Emperor Realm.
These people gathered in one place, even though they were not many in number, gave off a firm deterrent power as Emperors!
“You, all of you… such bullying!” Someone shouted angrily.
“Yes, treasures belong to those fated to obtain them! Who do you think you are to drive us away!?”
“We won’t leave, kill all of us if you dare!”
“Don’t be afraid of them, there are only a few of them while there are thousands of us!”
“The cultivators of our generation will sail against the wind and never back down!”
Shouts rose one after another as clearly many cultivators were unwilling to retreat just like this, even though they were facing nine Emperor Realm Masters here, they still insisted on staying, hoping for a chance to snatch the Space Ring from the skeleton.
If they were lucky enough to obtain that Space Ring, it was likely that they could turn over their situation and climb to the peak of success. Such an opportunity was rare and definitely worth some risks.
“Since you won’t retreat, then die!” Yao Si replied faintly. With his hand opened, streams of black Qi lashed out like living creatures from his body.
As soon as these wisps of black Qi left his body, they transformed into hideous, evil spirit-like creatures. They snapped their jaws and flashed their claws, charging towards the surrounding cultivators menacingly.
None of the cultivators here was weak, though, as they would need to have at least First-Order Dao Source Realm cultivation to be able to enter the Shattered Star Sea and everyone had made further improvements after nearly three years of experience and training here.
So, seeing Yao Si make a move, they naturally would not just sit still and immediately rose to resist.
The lights of artifacts and Secret Technique shone brightly at once.
But it was strange that most of the attacks were ineffective against these evil spirits, and only a few of them with amazing cultivations and solid foundations could block the black Qi, while the rest of them were being possessed by the black Qi as soon as it reached their faces, turning them mad in the blink of an eye, drawing horrified screams from their lips as if they were witnessing something truly terrifying.
Not long after, the cultivators who were screaming slumped over, bleeding from all the seven orifices, their auras completely dispersed.
Yao Si instantly took about a hundred lives in just one move. From his appearance, it seemed that it was just a casual demonstration of his abilities and he still had ample strength to continue.
Everyone was dumbstruck.
If it was someone else, they would reprimand him and urge everyone to fight back; however, Yao Si was the son of the Serene Soul Great Emperor. Cursing him was equivalent to cursing the Serene Soul Great Emperor, and no one dared to do so, not to mention fighting back.
Everyone immediately took a few steps back in horror.
On the other side, Liang Qiu snorted coldly, “We already gave you a chance to leave, but you chose to suffer. Such fools!”
The faces of the cultivators turned ugly after being humiliated by Liang Qiu and anger boiled in their hearts, but they did not have the guts to talk back.
Yao Si’s action had forced everyone to step back several dozen meters, leaving only a few people around the black hole.
Chi Gui, who had long, fiery and unruly red hair, grinned, “Are there any more wise men who want to leave now? Don’t wait until the last moment!”
Liang Qiu snorted, “Only those confident in their own strength would dare to remain. Since that’s the case, they have no one to blame but themselves when they get killed.”
As he spoke, he swept his eyes around like a hawk, examining the surroundings with an unkind look, as if searching for someone to make an example of.
After a moment though, he was slightly annoyed and muttered under his breath, “Damn, they are indeed capable.”
He was depressed to find that the cultivators who remained were basically all Emperor Realm Masters, or had someone in that realm protecting them. Although he was strong, he was still unwilling to start a conflict easily with all the remaining Emperor Realm Masters; after all, his cultivation had yet to be consolidated and it might fall if he suffered too much damage.
Yang Kai took this opportunity to glance around too, and soon his eyes lit up when he looked in one direction.
Because he saw Xia Sheng from Azure Sun Temple over there.
More than a month ago, he was informed that Xia Sheng was attempting to break through to the Emperor Realm when he ran into Xiao Bai Yi and Murong Xiao Xiao in the Source Sea, but they did not know where he had gone to do so.
Yang Kai was surprised to see Xia Sheng right now. A dense aura covered his body and proved he had successfully reached the Emperor Realm.
Xiao Bai Yi and Murong Xiao Xiao were standing beside Xia Sheng.
Yang Kai did not notice them earlier as there were a lot of people before, but now that most had retreated, Xia Sheng and the other two were extremely conspicuous.
Xia Sheng and the other two seemed to have sensed Yang Kai’s gaze and turned to him. When their eyes met, Xia Sheng grinned, revealing a mouthful of pristine, gleaming teeth.
Murong Xiao Xiao and Xiao Bai Yi also nodded slightly towards Yang Kai. Given the situation now, it was not convenient for them to give proper greetings.
Also from the Southern Territory’s side, besides the three Azure Sun Temple disciples, Xiao Chen and Princess Lan Xun were among the remaining cultivators.
Xiao Chen was also an Emperor Realm Master now, and Princess Lan Xun had an extraordinary identity, so both of them were not afraid of Yao Si and his group.
But Yang Kai did not see Zhuang Bu Fan of Orthodoxy Temple or Luo Yuan of Eight Paths Sect.
Both of these two were among the top elites of the Southern Territory and had exceptional performances in the Four Seasons Realm, so Yang Kai did not understand their absence from the Source Sea. However, with their aptitudes, their future achievements would not be low, even if they did not come to the Source Sea, especially Luo Yuan. Eight Paths Sect was just a mid-sized Sect in the Southern Territory, even inferior to Thousand Leaves Sect, but Luo Yuan was born with a Heaven-defying aptitude in this small place and that allowed him to equally match Wu Chang in the Four Seasons Realm back then.
Since Wu Chang was in the Emperor Realm now, Luo Yuan certainly would not fall behind.
There were not many other people remaining, just about a dozen or so. Some of them were alone, while some were in groups of two or three. Other than those from the Southern Territory, Yang Kai did not know the rest as he did not see Zi Yu of the Northern Territory’s Ice Heart Valley or Lan He of the Eastern Territory’s Heavenly Wolf Valley either.
“Big Brother Yang, Big Brother Yang!” Mo Xiao Qi suddenly pulled Yang Kai’s sleeve as he was investigating their surroundings and whispered, “Look, look, it’s that old swindler!”
“What?” Yang Kai was shocked and looked towards the direction she was pointing. The next moment, his eyes widened suddenly as he stared at a certain person in a daze, showing an unbelievable expression, “This… Am I seeing it right?”
He rubbed his eyes strenuously as he spoke.
“Big Brother Yang, don’t you remember this old swindler?” Mo Xiao Qi asked Yang Kai in a low voice after seeing his weird reaction.
“Of course I remember!” Yang Kai hurriedly nodded, and questioned in befuddlement, “But… how could he be here?”
There was only one person Mo Xiao Qi would call a swindler: The old man who scammed her Source Crystals in Maplewood City.
This old man wandered around in the black market all year round in Maplewood City, and his ability to deceive and defraud was superb. He had even sold his so-called Nine Revolutions Life Restoring Pill to many cultivators when he entered Star Soul Palace’s Five Coloured Pagoda.
As an Emperor Grade Alchemist, Yang Kai had never heard of the Nine Revolutions Life Restoring Pill.
After that, Yang Kai also had several encounters with this old swindler. The most recent one was when this old swindler begged for help from the nearby city during the time when Maplewood City was surrounded by Demon Qi.
The old man felt strange to Yang Kai, giving off an enigmatic aura.
Yang Kai had always felt that this old man was hiding many secrets, but the latter always came and went without a trace, his whereabouts always a mystery to everyone. As such, it was impossible for Yang Kai to find out any of his secrets.
Yang Kai had gradually forgotten about this old swindler as time passed, but now he had unexpectedly met him again in the Source Sea.
Only this time, the old swindler was very different from before. Back then, his clothes were ragged, his hair was yellow, and his teeth were crooked and rotting, the very picture of a wicked beggar.
The old swindler now donned fancy clothes and groomed his hair neatly. Wearing a black robe, complemented by his kind face and soft eyes, he radiated a saint-like charm.
Yang Kai’s eyeballs almost dropped out of their sockets.
He did not expect a person could have such a huge change of image and wondered how this old swindler could have made a fortune in the past few years.
What shocked Yang Kai the most was that this old swindler actually had a Third-Order Dao Source Realm cultivation, just like him.
Yang Kai could not believe this discovery.
This old man had only been an Origin King back then in Maplewood City, so how did he manage to acquire such a powerful cultivation in just a few years? Could his aptitude be so Heaven-defying? If that was the case, why did it suddenly surface when he was so old? If his aptitude was this superb, it should have manifested when he was young.
Yang Kai could not understand, and felt that this old man was more and more mysterious.
Yang Kai suddenly felt a chill as he thought more about it, and realized a problem he had overlooked.
He did not detect the man when he was scanning the surroundings until Mo Xiao Qi had informed him; or Yang Kai had seen him but did not recognise him.
Yang Kai thought it was impossible for such a thing to have happened.
Just when Yang Kai was still wracking his head over why he did not sense the old swindler, suddenly there was a loud shout from somewhere else, “It’s you again!”
Yang Kai turned his head and saw Liang Qiu from the Western Territory’s Hundred Barbarian Mountain glaring at him, smiling deviously, “Where is your Big Cousin? Didn’t he come with you?”
“Big Cousin already left earlier!” Yang Kai replied casually, “Are you looking for him?”
Liang Qiu snorted, “I have no matters with him, but I do have some matters with you!”
“What can I do for you?” Yang Kai asked quizzically
“Little brat, don’t assume that you can disrespect all the Masters in the world just because you have some capability. This Young Master was eager to refine and absorb the Source Strength earlier and decided not to waste time on dealing with you, but now you dare to appear here. Don’t blame this Young Master for being impolite!” Liang Qiu warned him.
As he spoke, his spear trembled and he pointed it directly at Yang Kai, releasing a strong malicious intent.
Yang Kai sneered in his heart, knowing that this guy could not choose a suitable person to take action against, so decided to target him as an example to others.
Yang Kai was not frightened at all, however, and just looked at Liang Qiu lightly, “What do you mean by pointing your spear at me? Are you going to attack me?”
Liang Qiu fumed, “What’s the point of asking when you already know? This Young Master knows that you have a good aptitude, but it still must not have been easy to reach such a cultivation, so I will give you a chance. Scram from here with your female companions now to avoid embarrassing yourself in front of them, otherwise don’t even think of raising your head in front of these beauties for the rest of your life.”
He cursed Yang Kai on the inside as he was yelling; after all, Yang Kai was surrounded by three different types of beauties, and there was even a little girl with him! Liang Qiu was envious and jealous!
“Are you going to bully the weak just because you have higher numbers?” Yang Kai snorted, “This Young Master is not afraid of you. If you have guts, we will fight and see who will be the one ashamed in the future!” Yang Kai did not back down from Liang Qiu’s intimidating tone and shouted awe-inspiringly, “Keep dreaming if you want this Young Master to leave! Cultivators of my generation would rather die standing than live kneeling!”
“Well said, this little brother, well said. We support you!”
“Little brother, don’t be afraid of him, if he dares to attack you, we will go up and fight him.”
“Yes, we are all your backups, don’t be afraid of him!”
The group of cultivators who were driven away to a distance started a commotion of a mixture of boos and cheers, but more of the latter. Regardless of Yang Kai’s background or abilities, his boldness to resist Liang Qiu’s despotic behaviour was naturally inspiring and extremely encouraging.
However, none of them really cared whether Yang Kai lived or died in the end.
Liang Qiu had a sullen face and his nose flared furiously. Barely concealing his anger in front of his audience, he shouted furiously, “Good, since you have such courage, this Young Master will grant you your wish!”
His spear trembled and light burst from it, enveloping his body as he charged towards Yang Kai like a flash of lightning, piercing through the void.
Over there, Xia Sheng’s face changed slightly. Now that he had broken through to the Emperor Realm, he could naturally feel the ferocity of Liang Qiu’s attack and was not even confident that he could take such a strike.
Could Yang Kai do any better being just a Dao Source Realm? Moreover, there were several female companions close to Yang Kai, so he could not simply dodge and would definitely wind up dead or injured by this attack.
Immediately, he tried to move to assist Yang Kai.
However, before he could do anything, Yang Kai actually flew forward to meet Liang Qiu’s attack head-on.
They quickly closed the distance between themselves, and a look of astonishment flashed across the eyes of the violently approaching Liang Qiu, wondering what Yang Kai was hiding up his sleeves.
“Big Brother Yang!” Mo Xiao Qi was taken aback, and hurriedly screamed, “Don’t be reckless!”
Zhang Ruo Xi turned pale and collapsed limply, forcing Liu Yan to catch her with her arms calmly.
She was the only one who was fully confident in Yang Kai. She did not think Yang Kai was inferior to any of the Emperor Realm Masters present, and since he was moving forward to meet this attack, he must be confident about his chances for victory.
Seeing that Yang Kai and Liang Qiu were about to crash into each other, Mo Xiao Qi screeched heartbreakingly, “Don’t you dare to hurt my Big Brother Yang! If you hurt him, I’ll ask my Lord Father to slaughter your entire Hundred Barbarian Mountain!”
An unimaginable hostility suddenly exploded out of Mo Xiao Qi, who had always been carefree and playful. Every inch of her exposed skin was covered in beast patterns in an instant and she looked extremely wild.
Liang Qiu cackled loudly, “Where are you from little girl? How dare you boast shamelessly when your hair is not even fully grown yet! So, what if this Young Master kills your Big Brother Yang today?”
As the chief disciple of Hundred Barbarian Mountain of the Western Territory, he was extremely self-confident. Among his peers, few were in the same league as him, so Mo Xiao Qi’s threat was like a tickle to his ear, nothing to concern himself over; instead, he became even more decisive in his attack.
The light that gathered at the tip of his spear was now piercing with murderous intent.
Yang Kai bellowed in fury, “Eat my Overlord Fist!”
He sent a hard punch directly at Liang Qiu’s spear as he shouted.
“Sii… Is this little brat crazy?”
“He dared to go up against Liang Qiu’s spear with just his physique? He’s courting death!”
“It’s finished, it’s finished, I’m afraid there won’t even be bits of him left.”
“Poor thing, he was overconfident and is destined to die miserably. Junior Brother, you have to remember that you can’t be like this wherever you travel the Star Boundary in the future. One must learn to bend and stretch according to the circumstances.”
“Junior Brother has noted it down, Senior Brother.”
The strong supportive cultivators who had previously yelled in encouragement for Yang Kai did not give any help, instead just sighing from where they were standing, concluding that Yang Kai was bound to die. Even the Emperor Realm Masters present believed that Yang Kai’s fate was sealed; after all, no matter how powerful one’s physique was, how could they compete head-on with an artifact?
Liang Qiu’s spear was a Dao Source Grade High-Rank artifact and had unmatched sharpness. With his strong cultivation in the Emperor Realm, he could shatter a mountain with just a single thrust, not to mention Yang Kai’s body.
Xia Sheng panicked, but there was no time for him to intervene as Yang Kai and Liang Qiu were moving too fast and he was too far.
“Ridiculous!” Yao Si snorted coldly and turned his eyes away. There was no need to pay attention to a dying person.
On the contrary, he squinted his eyes slightly at Mo Xiao Qi, who was in an abnormal state over there, a feeling of anxiety slowly welling up inside of him.
“You… you won’t die if you don’t court death!” Liang Qiu stared at Yang Kai, muttering quietly. Although he was aggravated by Mo Xiao Qi’s words and really wanted to kill Yang Kai, he could not help but rein in a bit of his strength at Yang Kai’s determined stance.
*Hong… *
A great explosion sounded followed by a brilliant flash of light which swallowed Yang Kai and Liang Qiu together, blinding the audience.
Liang Qiu, who had absolute confidence in his victory, suddenly widened his eyes in shock as his spear began spitting out sparks from this collision.
*Peng peng peng… *
A sky full of fists suddenly emerged and flew towards him at that moment.
“Damn!” Liang Qiu yelled, his face suddenly sullen as he desperately pushed his Emperor Qi, trying to resist the crushing force which was advancing towards him and pushing him back almost a hundred meters.
The other figure had retreated rapidly at the same time.
When the dust settled, everyone in the void widened their eyes.
The scene of Yang Kai being smashed into nothingness did not appear as they had expected, and instead, Yang Kai was standing there whole, and apart from a pair of bloody fists, he had no other injuries.
What injuries he did have were also healing at a rate that was visible to the naked eye!
The entire scene fell silent.
Everyone was so stunned that their jaws dropped uncontrollably as they could not believe that a young man in the Dao Source Realm could take such a fierce blow without suffering any injuries.
“Seriously? He blocked it?”
“I can’t believe my eyes!”
“Is he really just a Dao Source Realm? This guy must have hidden his cultivation, right?”
“Hahaha, what a shame to Liang Qiu!”
A cold shudder ran through Liang Qiu as his purlicue was numb and he felt lightheaded. He glanced down at his spear in a daze before turning back to look at Yang Kai, muttering with some difficulty, “Are you really human?”
There was some slight horror in his voice. He obviously could not believe that Yang Kai could actually fight him with just his fists. How was that even possible? He was just a Dao Source Realm cultivator after all.
“I don’t really like how you asked your question. If I’m not a human, what would I be? A ghost?” Yang Kai snorted coldly.
The surrounding Emperor Realm Masters were also re-evaluating Yang Kai, as if they wanted to dig up whatever secrets he was hiding.
They had never heard of a Dao Source Realm cultivator who could fight against an Emperor Realm Master evenly. Even if it was them before they broke through, they could not achieve what Yang Kai had just done in the Third-Order Dao Source Realm.
The physique of this brat was so powerful that it could actually withstand the strike of Liang Qiu’s spear, and the speed of his recovery… was simply too astonishing.
His fists that were badly mutilated before had completely recovered by the time they had recovered from their initial shock. What’s more, this boy’s blood wasn’t red, but light gold instead, and it seemed to contain an unbelievable amount of vitality!
Yao Si’s eyes narrowed slightly. As the son of a Great Emperor, he always felt that he was superior to the others and did not put the cultivators of his generation in his eyes, because regarding aptitude, strength, or background, no one could surpass him in this world.
Before Liang Qiu attacked, he also thought that Yang Kai was doomed to die and paid him no mind.
However, reality was far different from his expectations.
Perhaps there may not be people who had a better background than him, but in terms of aptitude and strength, he definitely could not just simply look down on others. This Dao Source Realm young man was a great example of that!
“You… are really strange!” Liang Qiu shook his head after seriously examining Yang Kai for a while.
Yang Kai snorted, “Do you want to come at me again? If so, this Young Master will accompany you until you’re satisfied!”
“No need!” Liang Qiu shook his head lightly, “You have the right to be here!”
The reason why he attacked Yang Kai was only that his cultivation did not reach the Emperor Realm. All the people who stayed were Emperor Realm Masters, or companions of Emperor Realm Masters, while only Yang Kai’s group was made up of Dao Source Realms, which stood out from the rest.
He naturally wanted to teach Yang Kai a lesson and make him an example to the people who were driven away, letting them know the serious consequences of staying here without adequate strength.
However, his plan failed, and he was astonished by Yang Kai instead.
If this fight went on and he won, others would just perceive he had only won due to his unfair advantage over Yang Kai; but if he lost, he would be too embarrassed to walk the Star Boundary anymore.
Yet, Liang Qiu did not have the confidence in beating Yang Kai.
“Good!” Yang Kai cupped his fists unabashedly.
At this moment, Liu Yan suddenly shouted, “Master, something’s wrong with Little Sister Xiao Qi!”
Yang Kai quickly turned to look, and saw Mo Xiao Qi’s beautiful eyes glowing with icy piercing light, her gaze looking incomparably sharp. An astonishing aura was now seeping out of her tender body, one which reminded Yang Kai of his Mountains and Rivers Bell, an ancient and desolate air that caused shivers to all who felt it.
The faces of all the people who felt the aura changed slightly.
Mo Xiao Qi was glaring at Liang Qiu with a murderous intent so strong it had manifested physically and was now warping space around her. Her sharp eyes abruptly turned emotionless and a kind of lofty look that seemed to ignore and despise everything in the world filled them, frightening everyone present.
At the same time, the butterfly mark on her cheek began to quiver, as if it was alive, fluttering awake from its slumber.
As the butterfly wings flapped, an extremely violent pressure spread out, causing everyone to gasp, as if their chests were being pressed down on by a huge mountain.
“What’s happening?” Yang Kai was no less panicked than anyone else.
He had no idea why Mo Xiao Qi suddenly entered such an abnormal state. There was no sign of something like this happening before he and Liang Qiu fought, and he only discovered it after Liu Yan alerted him.
“Not good!” Princess Lan Xun, who was standing not far away, exclaimed in fright, her beautiful face turning pale as she stared at Mo Xiao Qi with slightly trembling eyes.
“What’s wrong with her!” Liang Qiu immediately wiped the cold sweat on his head and asked anxiously, “Why is this little girl looking at me like she is going to eat me?”
Although he had broken through to the Emperor Realm, he couldn’t help trembling when he saw Mo Xiao Qi staring at him menacingly. A sense of impending death now lingered about him, making him feel extremely anxious.
“It’s all because of your actions against her Big Brother Yang!” Lan Xun snapped and gritted her teeth, “Xiao Qi must have thought Senior Brother Yang would be killed by you, so she became like this in panic.”
Liang Qiu gulped, “It’s not my fault! He was the one who rushed over here himself and no one should be blamed even if he died. Then again, who is this little girl and where did she come from? Just now, she blatantly threatened to slaughter my whole Hundred Barbarian Mountain. How ridiculous!”
Although he was smiling, his smile was forced and unnatural. He was obviously frightened by Mo Xiao Qi seemingly transforming into a completely different person all of sudden and exuding such astonishing pressure. It was obvious that she had a very strong background, but he had no idea what it was.
Lan Xun glared fiercely at him, answering solemnly word by word, “Her surname is Mo, from the Eastern Territory!”
“Mo… Eastern Territory…” Liang Qiu’s face scrunched slightly when he heard her answer, but after a brief moment, he came into a realization and exclaimed, “No way, she is that Sir’s… “
“Now you understand!” Lan Xun replied rudely. At this moment, she was also extremely anxious and there was sweat visible at the tip of her nose. She looked at Mo Xiao Qi worriedly while trying to console her softly, but it was all to no avail.
“Brother Yao Si, you’re too much!” Liang Qiu turned to Yao Si with a long face, “You are from the Eastern Territory too, so why didn’t you inform me about her?”
Yao Si was the son of the Serene Soul Great Emperor, while Mo Xiao Qi was the daughter of the Martial Beast Great Emperor. Both Great Emperors lived in the Eastern Territory, so Liang Qiu did not believe that Yao Si did not recognize Mo Xiao Qi, yet he had kept silent and let him openly mock her.
Liang Qiu recalled the humiliation he caused Mo Xiao Qi about her not-fully-grown hair and immediately broke out into a cold sweat.
If his words reached the ears of the Martial Beast Great Emperor, he would definitely peel off a layer of his skin.
Also, if he had known that Yang Kai had the daughter of the Martial Beast Great Emperor as his companion, how could he have dared to act so foolishly?
Yao Si responded faintly, “Even though we are both from the Eastern Territory, I have never met her before, so how could I possibly warn you?”
It seemed that he really did not recognize Mo Xiao Qi, but he did recognize Lan Xun, and he knew that it was impossible for someone of her status to lie about such an important matter.
After a while, Mo Xiao Qi was still unresponsive to Lan Xun’s callings and she could not help stomping her foot, “Liang Qiu, if anything happens to Xiao Qi, your whole Hundred Barbarian Mountain will definitely be slaughtered, and not even a chicken will be spared!”
Liang Qiu’s face changed as his mood rapidly sank to the bottom.
He ignored Mo Xiao Qi when she said the same words before, but now that Lan Xun declared them again, he had no choice but to take things seriously.
[This… this matter really has nothing to do with me…] Liang Qiu secretly felt a great sense of injustice.
“Junior Sister Lan, what’s wrong with Xiao Qi?” Yang Kai observed for a while, but still could not figure out what was happening to Mo Xiao Qi. He only saw that her aura was getting scarier by the moment, and the butterfly mark on her face became more and more lively. The butterfly mark even flew out of her cheek and was now fluttering around her tender body.
As time passed, the pitch-black butterfly enlarged rapidly, turning into the size of a person, which looked exceptionally odd.
Lan Xun disclosed, “Little Sister Xiao Qi released her Divine Soul Seal!”
“Divine Soul Seal?” The crowd turned to her curiously, wondering what was happening.
“In his early years, Sir Martial Beast met an Ancient Divine Spirit, the Heavenly Illusion Butterfly. The Heavenly Illusion Butterfly had lost its body, and only its Soul was preserved intact. After the vicissitudes of time, it had grown incredibly weak, so Sir Martial Beast signed a Soul Contract with it, and when Xiao Qi was three years old, the Heavenly Illusion Butterfly’s Soul was sealed into her body so it could protect her before she came of age. Naturally, it came with a price as the Heavenly Illusion Butterfly’s Soul would feed on some of Xiao Qi’s Spiritual Essence to survive! This is the nature of the Divine Soul Seal!”
“An Ancient Divine Spirit’s Soul!” Liang Qiu gasped.
The faces of the rest of the people present also changed drastically.
Ancient Divine Spirits had always been creatures of legend, and only a few people had seen a true Ancient Divine Spirit before.
But now, in this desolate void, an Ancient Divine Spirit’s Soul actually came into view, and it was actually sealed in a little girl’s body.
No one knew how strong this Soul was, but judging from the scene that it caused since its release, its strength could not be contended by anyone here.
How marvellous was the cultivation of the Martial Beast Great Emperor who sealed this Soul into his daughter’s body and allowed it to become Mo Xiao Qi’s protector?
“Only in the most dangerous of situations would Xiao Qi release this seal. This should be her first time, so she can’t control it properly,” Lan Xun pressed on and glared at Yang Kai briefly, seeming to blame him a bit.
She was also secretly amazed. Previously, she thought that the reason Mo Xiao Qi cared so much for Yang Kai was to oppose her; but now, she understood that Mo Xiao Qi truly cared for Yang Kai, otherwise she would not have released this seal.
She probably thought that Yang Kai was bound to die, so she had to release the seal to avenge him; however, Yang Kai was unscathed after the exchange while on the contrary, Mo Xiao Qi herself had lost consciousness and was being taken over by the Soul of the Heavenly Illusion Butterfly.
“What’s so powerful about this Heavenly Illusion Butterfly? Can we join forces to suppress it?” Liang Qiu asked, wiping his sweat nervously.
Lan Xun sneered, “Among all Ancient Divine Spirits, the Heavenly Illusion Butterfly’s attacks are considered the weakest, not even on par with a Tenth-Order Monster Beast!”
“Really?” Liang Qiu was overjoyed. If it was weaker than an average Tenth-Order Monster Beast, what was there to be afraid of? With so many Masters present, anyone could suppress it.
Lan Xun, however, continued, “But it is naturally proficient in illusions. When it appears in its entirety, it can convince its prey the universe is upside down the positions of the Heavens and Earth have swapped! Even a Great Emperor would find it hard to resist its illusionary techniques. None of the Ancient Divine Spirits can be underestimated!”
Liang Qiu’s face darkened, “I think… I should run away. This little girl keeps staring at me, making this Young Master feel uneasy.”
“Escape?” Lan Xun looked at him coldly, “Where can you escape? Xiao Qi has her eyes locked on you at this moment. Even if you escape to the ends of the world, you would still be dead!”
“Should I just wait to die then?” Liang Qiu retorted angrily.
Lan Xun responded, “If you don’t run away, you will be the only one who dies. If you escape, everyone present will suffer first!”
Everyone’s face changed after hearing this.
Xia Sheng questioned in surprise, “Princess Lan Xun, is this true?”
Lan Xun pressed on, “Don’t be fooled by the grace of the Heavenly Illusion Butterfly. Among the Ancient Divine Spirits, it is one of the most vicious and bloodthirsty.”
“Then what should we do now?” Yao Si asked. Although he was the son of a Great Emperor, he was not familiar with the Divine Soul Seal while Lan Xun seemed far more knowledgeable.
Lan Xun was silent for a while before she proposed, “There may be a way to stabilize the situation.” While she was speaking, she cast her beautiful eyes on Liang Qiu.
Liang Qiu frowned and replied defensively, “What are you looking at me for? It’s not entirely my fault that she became like this, right? Besides, I don’t have the ability to re-seal that Divine Spirit’s Soul!”
Lan Xun smiled faintly and went on, “You don’t need to re-seal it. Xiao Qi just wants you to die now. If you die… maybe she will be able to calm down by herself.”
“You want me to die?” Liang Qiu was horrified and fell back several steps, staring at Lan Xun as he choked, “You want me to die? What right do you have to ask me to die?!”
Lan Xun snorted, “This is the only way I can think of.”
“This is murder, murder I say! Women are indeed the most poisonous of all creatures!” Liang Qiu snarled.
It was obvious that Liang Qiu would not accept such a proposal from Lan Xun. He had just finally broken through to the Emperor Realm in this Shattered Star Sea, so he would naturally not be willing to give up his life.
“Little brat, you better watch your mouth!” Xiao Chen growled, “It is an honour for her Highness to ask for your life, don’t act ungrateful!”
Liang Qiu retorted, “Would you die if she asked you to die?”
Xiao Chen snorted, “The Princess has always been knowledgeable and considerate. She wouldn’t make such a request of me.”
“You’re just a coward evading the question, what right do you have to point fingers at this Young Master!?” Liang Qiu snapped contemptuously.
Xiao Chen was furious and he summoned a longsword into his hand, pointing it at Liang Qiu, “You’ll be dead today either way, so what’s the point of talking anymore idle nonsense!”
Liang Qiu was about to say something more, but Yao Si stepped in front of him and intervened, “Brother Liang is my friend, whoever wants his life will have to pass me first!”
Liang Qiu, who was standing behind him, did not expect Yao Si to stand up and speak for him in such a situation. Warmth welled up in him as he whispered, “Many thanks, Brother Yao Si, but this happened partly because of me. I’d better escape and lure this girl away. If I fail to do so, you should be careful too!”
Yao Si replied, “Although it was partly because of you, it was even more so because of the brat surnamed Yang.”
Liang Qiu was startled at first, but soon agreed, “Good, it was indeed because of that brat that this girl has become like this.” He then turned to yell at Yang Kai, “Boy, you can’t stay out of this!”
Yang Kai snorted, “Since when was I trying to stay out of this?”
Liang Qiu challenged, “Since this girl values you so much and even released that-whatever-Divine Soul Seal for you, why don’t you try to calm her down, maybe she can restore her consciousness!”
Liang Qiu had only suggested it casually, but Yang Kai’s expression changed and looked towards Lan Xun, “Junior Sister Lan, is it feasible?”
Lan Xun frowned slightly, “I don’t know. You can try, but it must be as soon as possible, the seal is about to be completely released.”
Yang Kai nodded and without any hesitation, darted towards Mo Xiao Qi.
In the void, countless pairs of eyes were looking nervously at Yang Kai. The buzz among the people here naturally passed into the ears of the surrounding Dao Source Realm cultivators, and although most did not understand the whole situation, they realized it was quite grave. Yang Kai’s initiative to approach Mo Xiao Qi to seek for a solution naturally aroused everyone’s attention.
As Yang Kai approached, he called out softly to Mo Xiao Qi, then yelled a few times without the slightest response. He immediately knew that Mo Xiao Qi had really lost all consciousness. He next tried using his Divine Sense to directly reach her consciousness, hoping she would notice him.
Soon, Yang Kai was near Mo Xiao Qi, reaching a hand out to touch her.
Everyone held their breaths in silence, the only sounds were the beating of the hearts of every person as they stared at Yang Kai, none of them willing to miss a single moment.
Just as Yang Kai’s hand was about to touch Mo Xiao Qi though, her tender body suddenly trembled and the Heavenly Illusion Butterfly fluttering around her spread its wings, spreading an invisible force.
Yang Kai instantly froze in place and his eyes lost focus.
“This is bad!” Lan Xun’s heart sank as at a glance, she knew that Yang Kai was hit by an illusion technique that he would not be able to pull himself out of.
“Waste! Looks like this Young Master still has to run!” Liang Qiu yelled with a disappointed expression on his face.
The next moment, however, Yang Kai’s dull eyes suddenly moved and he opened his mouth to spurt out a mouthful of blood before swiftly retreating, directly putting up a distance of a thousand meters between himself and Mo Xiao Qi. When he finally stopped, his face was white as a sheet, and his clothes were drenched in sweat.
“Fierce!” Yang Kai looked at Mo Xiao Qi with lingering fear. He had not felt anything at first, but the scenery in front of him had changed abruptly and his consciousness had been completely captured by the only object in his vision, a giant butterfly fluttering lightly in the void.
He knew it was the illusion of the Heavenly Illusion Butterfly, but he could not extricate himself from it.
If it were not for Soul Warming Lotus that played a role at the critical moment, giving him a trace of clarity, he would definitely have died.
Yang Kai’s Soul was extremely strong, even stronger than an ordinary First-Order Emperor Realm Master, but even he could not resist the illusion of the Heavenly Illusion Butterfly, so it was obvious that not a single person present would be able to compete against it. Furthermore, it seemed that Mo Xiao Qi’s seal was yet to be completely released, so the illusion he was struck with was still not at peak strength. Once this seal was undone though, just how many lives would be lost here?
If the elites from every corner of the Star Boundary perished here, the entire Star Boundary would not be able to restore itself for at least five hundred years.
“Junior Sister Lan, is there no other way to reseal it?” Yang Kai asked Lan Xun when he finally caught his breath.
Lan Xun looked desperate and shook her head slowly.
“Let’s run away quickly everyone, let destiny decide our fates…” Liang Qiu suggested with a darkened face. Among everyone, he was the one who wanted to escape the most; after all, Mo Xiao Qi had been staring at him since the beginning.
No one else had any better ideas, so they simply looked solemn after hearing these words and secretly began to gather their strength in preparation to flee at any time.
Right at that moment, a stranger’s voice suddenly called out, “If you don’t mind, shall this Old Master give it a try?”
His remark instantly attracted everyone’s attention, but their expressions changed weirdly when they discovered the owner of the voice.
Because the person was actually the old swindler.
In the present audience, except for Yang Kai and Mo Xiao Qi, both having several previous encounters with this old swindler, everyone was meeting him for the first time and didn’t know his saint-like charisma was nothing more than a facade.
If he had stood up and made such a statement with his previous image, he would undoubtedly be drowned in spit from all the curses hurled at him.
“You…” Lan Xun looked at the old swindler and a trace of doubt flashed across her beautiful eyes. She found something about him vaguely familiar, but her mind somehow went blank when she thought about it carefully.
Yao Si’s expression was solemn for a moment as well. Although he had different doubts from Lan Xun, he too, felt uneasy about this old swindler. He swept over the old man with his Divine Sense, but found he was unable to sense anything from him at all.
In other words, he could not detect the slightest existence of the old swindler with his Emperor Realm cultivation.
This discovery shocked him more than when Yang Kai had previously received Liang Qiu’s blow with just his physique.
“Where did you jump out from, old man? Why didn’t I see you earlier?” Liang Qiu’s eyes were bigger than eggs. If the old swindler did not take the initiative to speak out, Liang Qiu would never have noticed him.
“Haha, this old master has been here the whole time, but his insignificant cultivation must not have caught Young Master’s attention!” The old swindler smiled slightly.
“Strange! This is all just too strange!” Liang Qiu looked puzzled. Inexplicable events kept happening around him for some reason.
The old swindler was already making his way towards Mo Xiao Qi step by step as he spoke. It was admirable that even with Yang Kai’s unfortunate experience, he carried an undaunted look.
Yang Kai asked with a calm face, “Old man, don’t you sell Spirit Pills? How do you know about the Divine Soul Seal?”
Unlike the others, Yang Kai somewhat knew about this old swindler, and he was absolutely certain that he was a master of deception and cons. Who knew what trickery he had up his sleeves this time? It did not matter if he died, but it would be a big problem if it involved Mo Xiao Qi, or worse if it made her current condition worse.
The old man smiled slightly and assured him, “I have lived for a long time and am always learning new things. I know a little about everything. This Old Master is sold out of Spirit Pills at the moment, so he has to change careers.”
Yang Kai asked sceptically with a sullen face, “Now you have switched to studying sealing arts?”
“Do you know him?” Lan Xun glanced at Yang Kai in amazement and asked.
Yang Kai answered in a deep voice, “I have seen him a few times when he was active in Maplewood City before. Last time, during the opening of your Star Soul Palace’s Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda, he was peddling a so-called Nine Revolutions Life Restoring Pill, a kind of ancient pill that can bring someone back to life from the brink of death! He even scammed Xiao Qi for a few Source Crystals!”
“Such a thing happened?” Everyone was shocked.
Lan Xun’s face turned ugly, “Isn’t he a swindler then?”
Lan Xun had never heard of the Nine Revolutions Life Restoring Pill before, not to mention the effects of bringing someone back to life from the dead. Spirit Pills with such an effect usually would be precious treasures to everyone and would definitely be kept for themselves, who would be willing to sell them?
Initially, when the old man stood up confidently, Lan Xun thought that he might be some hidden Master, and got her hopes up a little, but after hearing from Yang Kai, her expectations rapidly sank to the bottom.
If he was the same person Yang Kai was describing, he obviously was incompetent and wagging his tongue irresponsibly. What if the situation turned worse if he got near Mo Xiao Qi?
Liang Qiu condemned, “Old thing, quickly roll away from this Young Master’s sight!”
Although it was not entirely his fault, he was still a little responsible for Mo Xiao Qi’s condition, and if something happened to her, the Martial Beast Great Emperor may not necessarily listen to his explanation, so when he saw this old swindler approaching Mo Xiao Qi, Liang Qiu hurriedly thrust his spear to force him back, lest he acted recklessly and worsen the situation.
Mo Xiao Qi was only releasing her seal now, which was not harmful to herself yet, but Liang Qiu dared not to take the risk of allowing someone to set her off and end up causing her to die.
An astonishing power exploded as the spear thrust out, as if it could penetrate the void, ignoring the barrier of space, reaching in front of the old swindler in an instant.
Although Liang Qiu’s spear attack was fierce, there was no murderous intent behind it as he only meant to force the old swindler to withdraw.
However, the old swindler actually remained calm and dauntless in the face of a strike from an Emperor Realm Master, as if he did not sense the incoming danger. Instead, his focus remained unblinkingly on Mo Xiao Qi as a bright light flashed across the depths of his eyes.
The old swindler merely swung his hand lightly when the spear was about to crash into him.
His hand moved casually with a relaxed expression, just like shooing a fly away.
But the following scene could not have been more shocking. With just a casual wave of his hand, the old swindler completely dispersed the power of Liang Qiu’s spear thrust, nullifying it without even a bit of fallout.
It seemed like Liang Qiu was not attacking an old man with only a Third-Order Dao Source Realm, but a Third-Order Emperor Realm Master. The gesture of the old swindler actually showed the demeanour of a senior expert, giving off an unfathomable feeling.
The sharp visual conflict flabbergasted everyone, and all gasped in shock.
Liang Qiu could not believe his eyes and after being stunned for a while had to rub them hard to make sure he wasn’t seeing things.
But over there, the old man clearly stood unscathed, not even a wrinkle on his clothes.
“What the hell!?” Liang Qiu exclaimed, taking a heavy beating to his pride and feeling quite depressed.
Previously, he wanted to rely on his Emperor Realm cultivation to teach Yang Kai a lesson, but Yang Kai repelled him with his bare fists; and now, his spear attack was easily dispelled by this old man.
Liang Qiu couldn’t believe such a scene was possible if it had not happened to him directly.
Were all Dao Source Realm cultivators so powerful nowadays that they can easily counter the strikes of an Emperor Realm Master? If so, why is everyone still trying so hard to reach the Emperor Realm? Why not just stay in the Dao Source Realm forever?
Or… was it just Liang Qiu himself? Had he not truly reached the Emperor Realm and everything was all in his head?
A look of defeat crept onto his face as countless thoughts flashed across Liang Qiu’s mind, causing him to lose spirit.
Yang Kai was bewildered too.
Although he managed to resist a blow from Liang Qiu before, he still could not deny that Liang Qiu was strong. If they really fought to the death, Yang Kai would not have an easy time defeating him; after all, Liang Qiu also had an extraordinary aptitude and was the top disciple of Hundred Barbarian Mountain, a peak Sect in the Western Territory. He was a one in a million kind of genius.
Yang Kai knew exactly how powerful that spear attack was, and even though it would not be too difficult for him to resolve such a strike, he would definitely not be able to do so as calmly and easily as the old swindler.
Who was this old man? Could he be some kind of Master who hid his cultivation?
However, that seemed impossible when Yang Kai thought more about it, because during the opening of the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda of Star Soul Palace last time, only cultivators at the Origin King Realm were allowed to enter. Since the old man could enter, it meant that he was indeed an Origin King at that time.
In just a few years, breaking through to the Third-Order Dao Source Realm was already an astonishing feat, so the chances of this old swindler still hiding his cultivation was basically close to zero.
It was just that… Yang Kai did not understand how he had dispelled Liang Qiu’s blow.
Not only Yang Kai, everyone present did not understand either and still could not calm themselves down from the unbelievable scene.
But after this, no one dared to look down on this old swindler anymore.
Even if he was really a swindler, given that he could resolve an Emperor Realm Master’s attack in just a wave of his hand, he was undoubtedly a powerful swindler!
“Young man, don’t be so impulsive. This Old Master is not as vigorous as young people like you and cannot stand too much reckless fighting,” the old man responded lightly after resolving Liang Qiu’s attack.
Liang Qiu was exasperated at his words, feeling like the old man was mocking him for his incompetence.
“Senior…” Lan Xun looked at the old man and questioned with a trembling voice, “Are you sure that you have a way to solve Little Sister Xiao Qi’s problem?”
After witnessing the amazing skill of the old swindler, Lan Xun regained some confidence in him. There were always some mysterious old masters in this world that liked to hide, normally appearing inconspicuous and avoiding standing out, but when they were needed in some critical moment, they would bloom with astounding brilliance.
Perhaps this old man whom Yang Kai accused of being a swindler was one such Master.
Thrilled, Lan Xun changed her way of addressing him. Although they were both Third-Order Dao Source Realm cultivators, she still called him Senior.
Unexpectedly, the old man accepted the title comfortably and replied with a faint smile, “I can give it a try.”
Lan Xun’s beautiful eyes lit up and immediately asked, “Does Senior know about the Burning Moon Rainbow Flower Seal? I once heard from Lord Father that the technique Sir Martial Beast used to seal the Heavenly Illusion Butterfly is the Burning Moon Rainbow Flower Seal, which is extremely mysterious and dreadfully complicated. But in this world, only the Burning Moon Rainbow Flower Seal is capable of sealing a Divine Spirit’s Soul.”
The old man shook his head, “The Burning Moon Rainbow Flower Seal is one of the Martial Beast Great Emperor’s best-kept Secret Techniques. This Old Master has not had the opportunity to study it.”
Lan Xun’s face darkened, “Then what should we do?”
She initially thought that this Senior was well versed in sealing techniques, but now listening to his words, she couldn’t help feeling disappointed again.
The Bright Moon Great Emperor did tell her that the Burning Moon Rainbow Flower Seal was the only way to seal a Divine Spirit’s Soul successfully, so how could this Senior re-seal the Divine Spirit’s Soul without knowing such a profound technique?
But it was also true that the Burning Moon Rainbow Flower Seal was an original creation of the Martial Beast Great Emperor, so even when her Lord Father asked him about it, he just changed the subject and was unwilling to reveal anything to him.
‘That old bastard Martial Beast is really too stingy!’ The criticism of the Bright Moon Great Emperor flashed vividly in Lan Xun’s mind.
“That bastard Martial Beast has always been stingy with his treasures, he doesn’t even share his good wines with his friends, so how could he be willing to pass out the Burning Moon Rainbow Flower Seal?” The old swindler muttered in complaint under his breath, and even though he spoke softly, the Emperor Realm Masters nearby were still able to hear his words clearly.
All of them almost fainted listening to his complaint.
The Martial Beast Great Emperor was one of the Ten Great Emperors. His cultivation was as high as the Heavens, and his status was transcendent. To the entire Star Boundary, his existence was akin to that of a god. Whenever his name was mentioned, everyone expressed admiration and worship, as he was the symbol of the Star Boundary’s supreme strength, but when this old man spoke, that same Martial Beast Great Emperor had become a ‘bastard’.
Such disrespect to the Great Emperor!
On the other hand, Lan Xun wore a look of ponderance on her face.
Because the way this old man spoke… Was exactly like how her father had.
The old man seemed to be aware of his flagrant words and hurriedly diverted attention by changing the topic, “This Old Master is not capable of re-sealing the Divine Spirit’s Soul.”
“What?” Yang Kai’s face darkened after hearing this and he snapped, “If you are not capable of doing so, why are you acting like you have a card up your sleeve? Do you enjoy toying with this Young Master’s feelings!?”
The old man grinned, “This Old Master is not capable, but someone else here is.”
“Ah?” Yang Kai furrowed his brows, his eyes immediately swept around and finally fixed on Yao Si.
If anyone here could re-seal the Divine Spirit’s Soul, it would be a descendant of a Great Emperor who had equal status to Mo Xiao Qi; Lan Xun was definitely incapable of this, so Yao Si was the only remaining hope.
Seeing Yang Kai looking at him, Yao Si simply stated, “Saving people is not my strength. My specialty is killing people. Do you want me to try?”
Yang Kai glared at him before turning back to the old man, “Don’t be so garrulous, quickly tell us who that person who can help is.”
The old man laughed gently, “Young people are really impatient. Don’t worry, it will still take some time for this seal to be completely released; after all, this is her first time unsealing it and the Divine Spirit’s Soul would need to fuse with this little girl first before it can move about freely.”
Noticing Yang Kai’s face that had turned uglier, the old man eventually stopped blabbering and lifted his head, turning a solemn look towards a certain individual and beckoning to her, “You, little girl, come and help this Old Master.”
Following the direction he gestured, everyone turned to look and saw a pale-faced young woman standing there, her Source Qi was fluctuating unstably due to some unknown reason.
Zhang Ruo Xi!
Yang Kai looked at her in befuddlement.
He did not expect that the person who the old man mentioned was actually Zhang Ruo Xi!
Now that he was paying attention though, it seemed that ever since Mo Xiao Qi began the unsealing process, Zhang Ruo Xi’s condition had turned a bit abnormal too. However, due to the seriousness of the Divine Soul Seal, Yang Kai had not paid attention to Zhang Ruo Xi and had only secretly ordered Liu Yan to take good care of her and only inform him if something went wrong.
At this moment, the old man was clearly beckoning to Zhang Ruo Xi, requesting her to help him.
[What does this old man want to do?] Yang Kai was utterly puzzled.
Zhang Ruo Xi was stunned for a while before realizing that the old swindler was calling her. She could not help feeling a little timid in front of everyone’s eyes and her face was getting paler while the fluctuation in her aura also became more violent as time passed.
She turned to look at Yang Kai with an inquiring gaze.
Yang Kai asked in a deep voice, “Old man, are you joking with me?”
The old swindler replied solemnly, “Why would this Old Master make a joke like this?”
“Then you better explain to me clearly how Ruo Xi can help you seal the Divine Spirit’s Soul!”
It was not only Yang Kai who held doubt, everyone was the same. Zhang Ruo Xi did not seem capable with her Third-Order Dao Source Realm cultivation. There were so many Emperor Realm Masters present here, so why would the old swindler ask her instead of them for help?
But the old swindler shook his head and replied, “I can’t tell you. If you believe in this Old Master, allow her to come over; if not, this Old Master can no longer help.”
Yang Kai fumed, “How can I believe you if you don’t tell me!?”
The old man spread his hands, “Then we have no choice. Just wait until her seal is completely released and maybe the Divine Spirit’s Soul would go back to sleep again after turning this Shattered Star Sea into a bloodbath. Good luck, everyone.”
Yang Kai’s face turned ugly. This old man was deliberately making things look unnecessarily mysterious, but he could not do anything about it, which really annoyed him.
At this moment, Zhang Ruo Xi suddenly spoke up, “Sir, I would like to give it a try. If I can, I want to help stabilize Little Sister Xiao Qi’s condition!”
“You should look at your own condition first…” Yang Kai frowned.
He did not understand what was wrong with Zhang Ruo Xi, but he felt uncomfortable with the strange aura surrounding her body. Although her condition was not as serious as Mo Xiao Qi’s, Yang Kai was still worried about her.
“I’m fine,” Zhang Ruo Xi bit her red lips, “Sir, please let me try.”
“If you hesitate any more, nothing can be done when her seal is completely released. And… I don’t mind telling you this, the conditions of these two little girls were ultimately triggered due to a chain reaction; if the seal is stopped, her problem would also be solved too.”
Yang Kai was puzzled, but he could not help believing the old swindler as he looked and spoke with such sincerity. He asked in a deep voice, “Does your plan include hurting Ruo Xi?”
“It’s not life-threatening. This Old Master just needs a drop of her Blood Essence!”
“Blood Essence…” Yang Kai looked startled, and started to believe that the old swindler was not just blabbering, because Zhang Ruo Xi had a peculiar Bloodline Power in her body that, up until now Yang Kai still had not fully understood. The old swindler obviously knew that Zhang Ruo Xi’s bloodline was extraordinary since he requested her Blood Essence. Therefore, he must have understood that the secret of her bloodline could assist him in sealing the Divine Spirit’s Soul.
But how did he notice?
“Good!” Yang Kai agreed and brought Zhang Ruo Xi over with him.
The two of them arrived in front of the old swindler in no time.
The old man faintly smiled at Zhang Ruo Xi and comforted her in a gentle voice, “Relax, young lady, this won’t hurt a bit.”
Zhang Ruo Xi nodded lightly, took a deep breath, and prepared herself.
Just before he started though, the old man suddenly glanced over Zhang Ruo Xi and questioned in surprise, “Your clothes… look quite good. Where did you get them from?”
Yang Kai was secretly taken aback by his question.
Because under Zhang Ruo Xi’s robes was the Pink Clouds Phoenix Robe defensive Emperor Artifact!
The value of this Emperor Artifact was exceptionally high, and its defensive capability was extraordinary. Zhang Ruo Xi had been wearing it ever since she got it.
When the old man praised her clothing, he was certainly not referring to the dress she was wearing, but rather the Pink Clouds Phoenix Robe hidden inside.
[What’s wrong with this old man? He could even notice this too?] Yang Kai could not help becoming alert.
On the contrary, Zhang Ruo Xi did not take precautions against the old man and answered softly, “A friend of mine gave it to me.”
“Friend… eh?” The corner of the old man’s mouth twitched before he let out a light laugh, “If you see your friend again next time, send this Old Master’s regards to him. Tell him that this Old Master misses him very much!”
Zhang Ruo Xi asked in astonishment, “Senior knows him?”
“It’s been a long time since we last met,” the old man replied kindly.
The two of them exchanged a few words peacefully, but on the other side, Yang Kai felt a storm of fright in his heart. His eyes went round, as if he was looking at a ghost in broad daylight.
He knew that this old man was definitely not the chatty type contrary to what his appearance would suggest. Rather, he was utterly mysterious and unfathomable.
Zhang Ruo Xi obtained the Pink Clouds Phoenix Robe from the Four Seasons Realm, and according to her, this Emperor Artifact was given to her by an Ancient Divine Spirit, Qiong Qi!
Qiong Qi seemed to be the mount of the Flowing Time Great Emperor. After the fall of the Flowing Time Great Emperor, Qiong Qi had remained in a deep sleep inside the Four Seasons Realm, until the appearance of the Flowing Time Temple. After that, Qiong Qi left the Four Seasons Realm and went missing.
Qiong Qi was an Ominous Ancient Beast, and slaughter was a part of his nature. During the time when he came out of the Four Seasons Realm, Gao Xue Ting and the other Emperors who were guarding the exit were all taken aback. Fortunately, Qiong Qi was not set on causing trouble and was diverted away by the Bright Moon Great Emperor, otherwise Gao Xue Ting and the others would have unquestionably died.
But now, this old man was actually implying that he knew Qiong Qi.
[Who the hell is this old man!?] Yang Kai already felt that he was strange before, but now, he was even more undecipherable than mist.
[Why does such a hidden Master only have a Third-Order Dao Source Realm cultivation?]
“Senior, how should I address you?” Zhang Ruo Xi and the old man seemed to be having a friendly chat, allowing her anxiety and tension to gradually relax.
Yang Kai hurriedly perked up his ear to listen.
The old man opened his mouth and uttered a few words.
Yang Kai looked at them with a blank face, because he could not hear what the old man said at all.
Zhang Ruo Xi dipped her head, “Junior understands. If I ever meet my friend again, I will send Senior’s regards. However, I don’t know where he is now, as he went missing after giving me this gift.”
While speaking, Zhang Ruo Xi suddenly shook slightly and almost collapsed.
Luckily, Yang Kai caught her with his quick reflexes.
“Alright, the Blood Essence has been collected, you can rest for a while,” the old man smiled.
Only at that moment did Yang Kai notice that there was a drop of red blood floating above the old man’s finger. The blood was like a living being, dancing on his fingertips, appearing exceedingly unstable and releasing an indescribable aura.
Yang Kai had no idea when the old swindler had collected the Blood Essence.
The reason why Zhang Ruo Xi shook all of a sudden was certainly because a drop of her Blood Essence was extracted. However, this was not a big deal and she would recover after a good period of rest.
After obtaining the drop of Blood Essence, the expression of the old man instantly turned extremely solemn. The Source Qi inside his body fluctuated as he wrapped it around the drop of blood before using lightning-quick movements to bring his finger towards Mo Xiao Qi’s forehead.
*Chi… *
The Heavenly Illusion Butterfly’s Soul became dreadfully restless all of a sudden, as if it had met its natural enemy, constantly flapping its wings and emitting illusionary waves.
Yang Kai had suffered a huge loss before and fully acknowledged the power of this illusion technique. He was about to retreat in a hurry, when he realized that the wave of illusions was completely suppressed after encountering Zhang Ruo Xi’s Blood Essence, not even able to form a tiny ripple.
Without any obstacles, the old man tapped the Blood Essence on Mo Xiao Qi’s forehead.
The Blood Essence burst at once, forming a red mark on Mo Xiao Qi’s forehead, then seeping into her body.
As the Blood Essence disappeared, the chaotic aura coming from Mo Xiao Qi’s body rapidly stabilized and the Heavenly Illusion Butterfly was gradually sucked by an inexplicable force of attraction into her body, returning to a butterfly mark again on her cheek.
After a soft moan, Mo Xiao Qi fell down limply, her eyes closed.
Yang Kai hurriedly stretched out his other hand and held her. He looked at her and saw that she was breathing normally, probably just passed out but otherwise fine.
A Heaven-shaking crisis that came inexplicably was also solved inexplicably. Everyone was terrified by the incident for quite a while, and only when it was finally settled did many realize that their backs were drenched with cold sweat.
“Sir, I feel so sleepy!” Zhang Ruo Xi cried out, following in Mo Xiao Qi’s footsteps as she passed out.
“Not bad, little brat, holding two beauties left and right. This Old Master is jealous,” the old man teased Yang Kai with a grin.
Yang Kai was speechless and replied, “Is it really okay for an old man to not behave with some dignity?”
“This Old Master was also once young, so it’s not a big deal,” the old man winked at Yang Kai as he responded, revealing a playful look.
Yang Kai remarked, “Old man, I’m not going to lie to you. Previously, I misunderstood you and thought you were a swindler. Only now do I know that you were hiding your light under a bushel.”
“Haha!” The old man laughed, “This Old Master is just a little better at deception than others. It’s not worth mentioning.”
Yang Kai nodded, “Old man, since you knew that Ruo Xi’s Blood Essence was able to suppress the Divine Spirit’s Soul, you must have known what kind of bloodline she has. Can you tell me?”
As soon as this question was asked, the old man’s expression immediately turned serious. He paused for a moment before answering solemnly, “I can’t tell you, but you will understand when she becomes stronger in the future. However, this Old Master does have some advice for you.”
“What?”
“Lead her onto the righteous path, for if she were to fall to the wicked path, the entire Star Boundary will suffer!” The old man advised solemnly.
Yang Kai squinted his eyes, “It’s that serious?”
The old man looked at the sleeping Zhang Ruo Xi, his eyes flashing a profound light as he continued, “When she grows to her peak, the power that she will wield will be even more horrifying than Wu Kuang’s!”
“Wu Kuang? Who is Wu Kuang?” Yang Kai asked with a frown.
The old man disclosed in a deep voice word by word, “Heaven… Devouring… Great… Emperor!”
*Gudong *
Yang Kai could not help gulping in fear, but he still pressed on, “Old man, you actually know the Heaven Devouring Great Emperor’s taboo name?”
If it were not for this old man, Yang Kai would not have known the real name of the Heaven Devouring Great Emperor. The two words ‘Heaven Devouring’ were just his title, not his name. Wu Meng Chuan claimed himself to be the descendant of the Heaven Devouring Great Emperor, so Yang Kai could have guessed that the surname of Heaven Devouring Great Emperor was ‘Wu’.
But he did not expect that he would actually learn the real name of the Heaven Devouring Great Emperor from this old man.
How did he know?
Suffering from morbid curiosity, Yang Kai could not help asking, “Old man, who the hell are you!?”
The old man could actually see that Zhang Ruo Xi’s Bloodline Power was extraordinary and her Blood Essence could be used to seal a Divine Spirit’s Soul. He also knew a powerful Monster Beast like Qiong Qi and spoke out about the true name of the Heaven Devouring Great Emperor. As such, Yang Kai could not believe that he was just an ordinary Third-Order Dao Source Realm cultivator.
“Well, I can’t tell you that!”
Yang Kai was infuriated and grumbled, “Then, what can you tell me?”
The old man thought for a while before patting Yang Kai’s shoulder and advising earnestly, “Cultivate well and quickly promote to the Emperor Realm as soon as possible. The future of Star Boundary depends on all of you.”
“Get lost!”
The old man did not feel annoyed at all at this rebuff and just glanced at Yang Kai with a gentle smile before turning around and announcing loudly with a solemn look, “Everyone, if you can hear this Old Master, please leave this place immediately. It is very dangerous here and if you continue to remain, your lives will be in danger.”
Liang Qiu responded with a laugh, “Old man, you are really interesting. I already know that it is dangerous here. I don’t need you to remind me.”
Even though he knew this old man was only a Third-Order Dao Source Realm, after his spear attack was easily dispelled by him, he dared not to look down on the old man as his strength was unfathomable. If it was another Dao Source Realm cultivator who said these words, Liang Qiu would have already stabbed him with his spear.
“You seem to be very knowledgeable. Why don’t you tell us which Great Emperor left this skeleton behind?” Liang Qiu brought up the topic of the skeleton in the black hole again.
Previously, due to the release of Mo Xiao Qi’s Divine Soul Seal, everyone’s attention was drawn to it out of fear, while the Great Emperor’s skeleton and the Space Ring were temporarily forgotten.
But now that the crisis of Divine Soul Seal had been resolved, it was natural that everyone would turn their attention back to this Space Ring.
Liang Qiu’s question was undoubtedly on point, and everyone looked at the old man curiously, waiting for him to give an explanation.
The old man looked stern when he answered, “It doesn’t matter anymore which Great Emperor left this behind. The past War of Great Emperors was a disaster that shattered worlds. Besides a few useless leftovers, most of the artifacts used back then were destroyed, so it is impossible for there to be anything worthwhile left in that Space Ring. Everyone would be better off not thinking about it anymore.”
“Do you think I will believe you?” Liang Qiu snorted coldly.
“I believe!” Lan Xun abruptly stood up and declared.
Liang Qiu glanced at her, pursing his lips. Since Lan Xun, the daughter of the Bright Moon Great Emperor, also stood up for this old man, he could not go up against him anymore.
Lan Xun continued, “Senior, if it’s convenient, can you please tell us why this place is dangerous?”
The old man frowned, “Your lives are in danger. Lady Lan, please quickly take your people and leave.”
Lan Xun pondered a while after hearing him, then nodded in agreement, “Since Senior said so, then Junior will leave now. Take care, Senior.”
While speaking, she looked at Yang Kai, and seeing his indifferent face, she did not try to persuade him. Instead, she turned to the surrounding cultivators and shouted, “Senior Brothers and Senior Sisters from the Southern Territory, if you trust me, Lan Xun, please leave here now!”
After calling out, she immediately rushed away. Although Xiao Chen was a little unwilling, as a qualified worshipper, he definitely would not leave Lan Xun alone and quickly followed after her.
As soon as she left, many of the elites from the Southern Territory among the crowd summoned their artifacts and left one after another.
It could be seen that Star Soul Palace still had a huge amount of influence over the Southern Territory, as no one else could achieve such an effect.
Those thousands from the Southern Territory were reduced to a few hundred.
Xia Sheng exchanged whispers with Xiao Bai Yi and Murong Xiao Xiao for a while, seeming to think that the old man’s warning was not a joke, and secretly sent Yang Kai a message before also turning and leaving.
If he was alone, Xia Sheng might have chosen to remain, since he was also an Emperor Realm Master; however, Xiao Bai Yi and Murong Xiao Xiao were with him at the moment, so he had to consider their safety and dared not risk their lives.
“Yao Si, you leave too!” This old man turned to Yao Si and ordered.
Yao Si raised his brows and replied indifferently, “This Young Master loves to be wherever he wants, no one can command me!”
As the son of a Great Emperor, he was naturally extremely arrogant. Although the performance of the old man was amazing, it was still not enough for him to try to boss Yao Si around.
The old man sighed and suddenly waved his hand, sending out a stream of light towards Yao Si as fast as lightning.
Yao Si’s face changed and he hurriedly pushed his Emperor Qi while retreating rapidly at the same time, trying to dodge the blow.
But what appalled him was that the stream of light was travelling at an unreasonable speed, which was impossible for him to dodge, and even his Emperor Qi protection could not help him at all.
The stream of light directly hit him.
Yao Si could not help taking a few steps back, his face pale.
“Old man, how dare you launch a sneak attack!” Liang Qiu rebuked angrily yet also with some fear.
He was angry because this old man was shameless to attack before giving notice; but he was also frightened because Yao Si could not withstand this sneak attack as the old man’s strength was too terrifying.
The faces of Chi Gui, Wu Chang, and the rest of the Emperor Realm Masters also turned ugly.
They all broke through to the Emperor Realm in this Shattered Star Sea and thought that they could act freely in the Star Boundary from now on, but their pride had been ground down greatly by an unknown old man before they even left the Shattered Star Sea.
If this old man could launch a successful sneak attack on Yao Si so casually, wouldn’t it be even easier for him to launch a sneak attack against them?
It seemed like they could not underestimate any Dao Source Realm cultivator anymore, otherwise, they might not even know how they ended up dying.
Liang Qiu gripped his spear tightly, as if he was ready to fight all out with the old man. Previously, Liang Qiu was deeply moved when Yao Si stood up for him and addressed him as his friend, so now that Yao Si was in danger, he naturally could not just stand by and watch.
Before he could do anything though, Yao Si immediately stretched out his hand to stop him and shouted, “I’m fine, don’t be impulsive!”
Liang Qiu turned to him in astonishment.
With a solemn expression, Yao Si looked down at his palm and his body started shaking. He looked back at the old man in horror and exclaimed, “You are…”
The old man put a finger to his own lips and shushed softly.
Yao Si understood his meaning and hurriedly swallowed the words he was about to blurt out, cupping his fist formally in the next moment and bowing his head, “Yao Si did not know the immensity of Heaven and Earth before and was extremely rude with his words. Please forgive this Junior, Sir!”
His words caused uproar in the crowd. Everyone could not be more shocked as they stared at Yao Si in disbelief.
Yao Si was the son of the Serene Soul Great Emperor, and with his extraordinary aptitude and cultivation, it could be said that, besides a select few who could make him submit, no one else could draw such respectful words from his mouth in the entirety of the Star Boundary, even if their strength was greater than his.
But now, facing this old man, he greeted him in a respectful tone and expression, even sounding a bit… subservient!
The son of a Great Emperor acting humble in front of a Third-Order Dao Source Realm old man and addressing himself as a Junior, just what the hell was going on?
However, everyone did understand one thing; the previous attack of the old man was not really a sneak attack, but some kind of message to Yao Si. It was through this message that Yao Si learnt of the old man’s true identity and became courteous.
The old man chuckled, “I have no choice. Young Lord Yao Si, please don’t mind the reckless action of this old man.”
Yao Si responded in a deep voice, “Of course not, Senior!”
The old man nodded, “Good, take them with you and leave now.”
Yao Si nodded, “Junior will obey Sir’s order!”
Saying so, he lifted his head and swept his eyes at his surroundings, commanding lightly, “If you don’t want to die, follow me!”
Liang Qiu whined reluctantly, “Do we really have to leave? That Space Ring… “
Before he finished his sentence, he found Yao Si staring at him emotionlessly with a pair of bone-chilling cold eyes, which made Liang Qiu’s heart involuntarily skip a beat.
Only then did he give in, the corner of his mouth twitching, “Fine fine, let’s go.”
Yao Si drew back his gaze and quickly rushed far away with a flicker.
Chi Gui and the rest had to follow even though they were still in doubt. If they continued to stay here, they would be disrespecting Yao Si. Chi Gui’s Ahan Temple was located in the Eastern Territory, so if he offended Yao Si now, he would definitely not have any good days in the future.
After a while of hustle and bustle, almost all the Emperor Realm Masters disappeared. Wu Chang pondered for quite a long time, but still decided to leave in the end.
After all, even the descendants of the two Great Emperors, Lan Xun and Yao Si, were persuaded to leave by this old man, and judging from Yao Si’s exaggerated reaction just now, it was clear that this old man was not as simple as he looked.
Someone in Yao Si’s position did not need to rely on falsehoods or deception, so staying here might really be a life-threatening option.
Not only the Emperor Realm Masters, but even a large portion of the remaining Dao Source Realm cultivations left.
In the blink of an eye, less than a thousand Dao Source Realm cultivators remained. Perhaps these Dao Source Realm cultivators did not get many benefits in the Shattered Star Sea yet, so despite the insinuation and persuasion of the old man, they did not want to leave.
They were inextricably attracted to the skeleton of the Great Emperor and the Space Ring inside the black hole.
“You won’t leave?” The old man frowned when he saw Yang Kai still standing still in his spot.
Yang Kai responded in a deep voice, “Tell me about Ruo Xi’s bloodline and I will leave immediately!”
The old man replied, “You will find out in the future.”
“I will keep following you if you don’t tell me,” Yang Kai grinned fearlessly.
The old man swept his eyes over him and snorted, “Little brat, you’re really thick-skinned. How did Wen Zi Shan accept a disciple like you?”
Yang Kai was bewildered, he asked, “How did you know that I am from Azure Sun Temple?”
He had never disclosed this information to anyone since he came here.
The old man laughed softly and pointed his finger at a certain spot of Yang Kai’s body.
Realization dawned on Yang Kai as the Azure Sun Golden Token that he kept close to him was hanging there, revealing this secret. Previously Yang Kai had taken out the Azure Sun Golden Token from his Space Ring in order to easily sense if a message came from Xiao Bai Yi, Murong Xiao Xiao, or any of the others. He did not expect this old man to be able to detect such a small thing on him though.
The old man shook his head, “A fish rots from the head down. If this Old Master ever runs into Wen Zi Shan in the future, he will definitely ask him to expel you!”
The old man boasted as if even Wen Zi Shan had to obey his orders.
Yang Kai snorted, “You speak as if you were the Bustling World Great Emperor!”
It seemed that Temple Master Wen Zi Shan was brought up by the Bustling World Great Emperor, so if anyone in this world could order him around at will, it would undoubtedly be that Great Emperor. However, the Bustling World Great Emperor was a man who was always wandering around the world, living a wilful life of leisure. He came and went without a trace, with no fixed place to stay, so no one knew where to find him, and any news regarding his whereabouts had been absent in the Star Boundary for a long time.
The old man widened his eyes and exclaimed, “Oh? How did you know?”
Yang Kai spat disdainfully, “It was sarcasm.”
Undoubtedly, the old swindler might be some hidden Master, since he knew so many secrets and so many people, even Yao Si, were respectful to him. He was by no means an ordinary person.
But Yang Kai would never believe that he was the Bustling World Great Emperor.
Because this place was the Shattered Star Sea!
The Shattered Star Sea was a place that only Dao Source Realm cultivators could enter, not Emperor Realm Masters. It was impossible for the Bustling World Great Emperor, who had a terrifying cultivation, to come here. If he forcefully broke through the world barriers to enter this place, the Shattered Star Sea would become unstable and collapse.
The old man smiled faintly, no longer paying attention to Yang Kai, instead turning to look at the remaining Dao Source Realm cultivators and sighing lightly, “Men die for wealth, birds die for food.”
The reason these cultivators had not left was obviously that they were hoping to get some benefits, especially now with the absence of strong competitors like the Emperor Realm Masters, they became more excited and eager to try.
After muttering for a while, the old man shouted loudly, “Since you all want the Space Ring so much… this Old Master will grant your wish.”
Everyone looked at him suspiciously after hearing this as they did not understand what he really meant.
Ignoring their confused looks, the old swindler strode over to the front of the black hole and formed a set of profound seals. In the next moment, his hand glowed brightly as it was about to make contact with the black hole.
“What is this old man… doing?”
“Is he planning to take out the Space Ring?”
“Is he really so strong? Sii… look! He is reaching out his hand.”
“What’s happening inside!? Ah… the light is too dazzling, I can’t see what’s happening!”
The area was buzzing with excitement as everyone’s eyes went round, staring at the old man’s actions.
Yang Kai was particularly dumbstruck.
Ever since the formation of the black hole, he had clearly felt fluctuating Space Principles from it. In other words, there was another bizarre space inside the black hole; however, this space was extremely unstable, and even someone like him, who was proficient in the Dao of Space, dared not simply break in.
Yang Kai never thought that this old man could plunge his hand into that space.
Was he proficient in the Dao of Space too? Yang Kai tried to sense what was happening, but he could not detect any kind of Space Principle fluctuations coming from the old swindler, causing his face to fill with confusion.
A while later, the old man suddenly bellowed and retracted his hand.
As the bright light dissipated, an archaic Space Ring was seen in his hand.
Everyone was in an uproar, staring at the ring with bloodshot eyes, the sounds of gulping echoing one after another.
When they looked back at the black hole, they saw nothing on the skeleton’s finger anymore.
“He really took out the ring!”
“Can this kind of thing be done?”
“It’s amazing! What’s in the ring?”
“Old man, hand over the Space Ring now and we can still spare your life!”
After the old man took out the Space Ring, the crowd boiled with excitement and everyone began to push their Source Qi while shouting, preparing to snatch the Space Ring at any time.
Yang Kai wiped the cold sweat on his forehead, and remarked, “Old man, you have created a problem for yourself. Let’s see how you handle this situation!”
Although the old man was strong and unfathomable, Yang Kai did not believe that he was capable enough to face a thousand Dao Source Realm cultivators. If they pounced on him together, the only thing he could do was to run.
The old man responded with a light smile, “They only have their eyes on this ring. If that’s the case, I will just give it to them.”
“Give it to them?” Yang Kai was stunned.
Before he could react, the old man swung his hand and tossed the Space Ring somewhere into the void as he shouted, “If you want it, grab it yourself!”
The old man must have used some unknown technique at that instant because the Space Ring burst into light and flew far away like a bolt of lightning.
“Old man, are you courting death? How dare you throw the ring away!?”
“Just you wait! This Young Master will settle this with you later after getting that Space Ring!”
“Don’t be so long-winded, quickly chase it! You’ll cultivate for a lifetime with ease if you get that ring!”
*Shua shua shua…*
The area radiated with streams of light as all the cultivators turned to chase after the Space Ring. In the blink of an eye, the thousand cultivators were all gone.
The old man looked at their receding figures and sighed, “This Old Master should have done this earlier.”
Next, he put on an annoyed look and turned to Yang Kai to ask, “Little brat, why didn’t you chase after it too? That’s a Great Emperor’s Space Ring. Surely countless Emperor Artifacts and precious treasures were inside of it. If you can obtain it, you will be able to break through to Emperor Realm in no time.”
He tried to persuade Yang Kai with his bewitching words, obviously wanting him to leave.
Yang Kai sneered, “Old man, like you said before, most items of value were destroyed long ago and only a few were leftover from the War of Emperors, so why should I chase after a ring that has nothing good in it?” After a pause, he pressed on with a sly smile, “Furthermore, the Space Ring is still here, and the one that you tossed away is just a fake. Why would I chase after a fake?”
The old man stared at Yang Kai with his widened eyes, “Oh? How did you see through my trick? It should be impossible for you to see through this Old Master’s technique!”
Yang Kai nodded, “Old man’s skill is truly amazing, but… since you didn’t even reach your hand into that black hole, how could you possibly take out the ring? What’s more, even though the skeleton and the ring seemed to be nearby, they are actually a world away from us. How could it be possible to obtain that ring by just stretching out your hand? What seems to be in front of us is just an illusion caused by the superimposition of space.”
The old man was surprised by Yang Kai’s explanation and asked, “You have a good eye. So, are you staying here for the ring?”
Yang Kai answered, “I just want to know about Ruo Xi’s Bloodline!”
“I really can’t tell you about it. You will eventually understand in the future.”
Yang Kai had no idea why the old man would definitely avoid the topic every time he mentioned Zhang Ruo Xi’s Bloodline.
“This Old Master has something to do now, and it is truly dangerous here so you should leave quickly. Your life doesn’t matter, but the two little girls in your arms should not be harmed!”
“Something to do? Like what?” Yang Kai looked at him quizzically.
But the old man had already rushed towards the black hole with a serious expression. Yang Kai wondered if it was an illusion, because he actually saw a trace of determination and distress in the old man’s eyes, like he was preparing for a grand mission that would require him to make a great sacrifice.
When he reached the front of the black hole, the old man performed a series of hand seals rapidly before palming towards its surface.
A ripple undulated from the black hole, as if an invisible door had been opened, and the old man flew straight through the door, entering the black hole.
The skeleton disappeared strangely together with the old man, who also vanished after the ripples faded. Yang Kai looked around, and saw only the black hole remaining in place.
A wave of different power, which was quite familiar to Yang Kai, suddenly came out from the black hole.
With a single thought, he hurriedly took out a jade slip from his Space Ring.
This was the jade slip that the Embodiment snatched from Wu Meng Chuan before he died. According to the Embodiment, Wu Meng Chuan seemingly wanted to destroy this jade slip, as if he was afraid of revealing the secrets in it.
There were many mysterious seals on this jade slip that Yang Kai tried to crack before, but to no avail.
However, at this moment, Yang Kai was astonished to find that the fluctuations coming from the black hole were exactly the same as the ones pulsing from this jade slip. It seemed like it was left behind by the same person.
A light burst from the jade slip as soon as Yang Kai took it out, and subsequently, the barriers sealing it resonated amazingly with the fluctuations coming from the black hole.
An extremely powerful suction abruptly came out from the black hole, trying to pull everything around it inside.
Yang Kai was startled and his face changed drastically as he tried to escape.
But what terrified him was that no matter how hard he tried, he could not move at all.
The black hole was like an ancient beast’s great maw, attempting to swallow him with a single bite.
After resisting for a few breaths of time, Yang Kai could not withstand it any longer. Before he was devoured, he threw Zhang Ruo Xi and Mo Xiao Qi, who were still unconscious, together with Liu Yan into the Sealed World Bead.
Just as Yang Kai finished securing their safety, his vision turned black, as if he had fallen into a bottomless abyss. There was no light around him, and there was no ground under his feet.
After an unknown amount of time, Yang Kai suddenly felt pain all over his body, and he felt like his feet were finally stepping on an object. Landing on the ground with a slam, he found himself in an inexplicable world.
In this world, there were no sun, moon, or stars, even the World Energy was exceedingly thin here. The whole world was presented in a quaint red.
Yang Kai looked around and saw bright red blood flowing across the ground under his feet. The blood was extremely fresh, exuded a pungent stench, and like ten thousand rivers flowing into the sea, was gathering slowly in a certain direction.
Countless mutilated corpses and bloody pieces of flesh could be seen all around the ground, making for a horrifying scene.
“These are…” Yang Kai observed his surroundings as he mumbled to himself with a darkened face, “The cultivators who died in the Source Sea?”
The fresh blood and mutilated corpses that he had just seen were obviously from the cultivators who had recently died outside, as the corpses were still fresh and showed no signs of decomposition.
“They have all been sucked into this place!” Yang Kai’s face turned ugly in befuddlement.
Previously in the Source Sea, countless cultivators died fighting for Source Strength and Star Sources. All of these dead cultivators fell into the Source Sea and went missing.
But in fact, they were all gathered here.
The jade slip was gone too. Before Yang Kai was swallowed, he felt the jade slip exploding in his hand, turned into some form of energy that wrapped around him, as if it was protecting him.
After he entered this place, the energy barrier disappeared.
It was as though the function of the jade slip was to provide protection for the holder to enter this place. Without the jade slip, Yang Kai would have suffered unbearable consequences while being devoured and sent here.
Before Wu Meng Chuan died, he desperately wanted to destroy the jade slip, so it was obvious that he did not wish for it to fall into the hands of others, allowing them to enter this place. But what secrets could be hidden here?
Why did the old swindler come in here too?
Yang Kai looked startled and confused as he examined the surroundings but found nothing. He could not sense the old man’s aura even with his Divine Sense.
After pondering for a moment, he turned to look at the rivers of blood on the floor and followed the flow.
No matter what this place was and what secrets were hidden here, Yang Kai believed that the destination of the confluence of the blood rivers most probably held the answers he sought.
This peculiar world seemed to be enormous. Yang Kai travelled for more than two hours, but the scenery still remained the same, bleak. If it were not for his perseverance, he would have just stopped moving forward.
Another two hours later, Yang Kai suddenly twitched his brow and looked up in a certain direction.
He heard some explosions echoing from that side, and when he looked up, he saw that the place was shining vaguely, radiating formidable waves of power.
Someone was fighting over there!
Yang Kai narrowed his eyes in surprise because he saw the old swindler entering this place alone, so if people were battling over there, he must be one of them, but the question was, who was his opponent?
Judging from the waves of power, the strength of the one fighting with the old swindler seemed to be extremely high. Although Yang Kai still did not fully understand the capabilities of the old swindler, he was sure that an ordinary First-Order Emperor Realm Master was no match for him.
So, for a person who was able to put up such an intense fight with the old man, he or she must be someone extraordinary.
Was there another hidden Master in this damned place?
The more Yang Kai thought about it, the more confused he became. Out of pure curiosity, he sped in the direction of the fight, hiding his aura with his Nihility Secret Technique.
The closer he got there, the more obvious the fallout he felt from the battle.
In the span of a stick worth of incense, Yang Kai arrived at a small hill and hid behind it. He peeked out from the small hill and his face changed dramatically at the scene before his eyes.
The old man was indeed over there. He stood in the void with his clothes flapping and his black hair blowing in the wind. He seemed to have gone through many vicissitudes from the view of his back, looking aloof and indifferent to the changing world.
Not far in front of him was the skeleton that had been seen inside the black hole before, sitting cross-legged. It was a bit different from what everyone had seen earlier though, as some flesh was actually formed on its bones. The bright scarlet flesh was constantly forming from the absorption of the blood flowing from the surroundings.
The blood of the entire world seemed to be gathering towards the skeleton.
At this moment, there was not much flesh on the skeleton as it seemed that it had only just started to form, and even the bones were not completely covered yet, but this vision of the skeleton was already horrifying enough.
The hands of the skeleton were formed into a mysterious seal and a terrifying devouring power exploded out of the white bones, swallowing the incoming rivers of blood unceasingly.
The old swindler was constantly launching exceptionally ferocious attacks to interrupt the flow of blood, stopping the skeleton from devouring it.
The formidable impact of the attacks landed on the skeleton, but it remained still.
Yang Kai did not know how long this situation had carried on, as the old man continued to strike the confluence of blood with his power again and again, causing the blood to evaporate.
However, there was too much blood in this world, and even if the old man attempted to stop its flow, there was always more that gathered from all directions, pouring into the skeleton.
Yang Kai was forcibly suppressing the fear in his heart as his face turned pale.
Because he actually sensed a presence of life in the skeleton. Although it was quite weak, just like a candle that could be blown out by the wind at any time, it was indeed there.
In other words, the skeleton was still alive!
No one knew exactly which Great Emperor left this skeleton behind, but according to the clues Yang Kai gathered, the most likely candidate was the Heaven Devouring Great Emperor.
It was rumoured that the Soul of the Heaven Devouring Great Emperor was annihilated in the War of Emperors tens of thousands of years ago and he could not be more dead; however, given the situation now, it seemed that this rumour was false.
If this skeleton really belonged to the Heaven Devouring Great Emperor, it could only mean that he was not dead yet and had instead fallen into a certain kind of deep sleep. The blood that gathered here could be the opportunity for him to wake up again!
Yang Kai suddenly recalled something Wu Meng Chuan said during their life or death battle that made him truly concerned.
He had said, ‘how can a person as strong as my Ancestor die so easily!’
If that was the case, Wu Meng Chuan seemed to know the inside story. After all, he was the descendant of the Heaven Devouring Great Emperor, so it was reasonable for him to know that his Ancestor was still alive.
He might even know that his Ancestor was hidden here, and was ready to use the jade slip to enter this place at the right time. Unfortunately, he was killed by Yang Kai in the end and attempted to destroy the jade slip before he died…
Various thoughts flashed across Yang Kai’s mind; he could almost confirm that this skeleton belonged to Heaven Devouring Great Emperor, and if he continued to regrow his flesh from the fresh blood here, the Heaven Devouring Great Emperor might be resurrected!
Back then, four Great Emperors died here in order to kill him. If the Heaven Devouring Great Emperor were to be resurrected, the peace of the Star Boundary would be at stake.
Yang Kai broke out in a cold sweat considering all this.
Suddenly, a subtle aura rippled from up ahead. It was incredibly weak at first, but it gradually became stronger as time passed, as if a sleeping dragon was slowly rising from a deep slumber.
The old swindler, who was standing in the void, certainly noticed this aura too. With his face turned solemn as he sped up his hand movements, performing all kinds of indescribable yet powerful Secret Techniques, targeting the skeleton directly.
In a short time, the ground beneath the skeleton crumbled, and even space around it was about to collapse.
The old swindler squinted ahead, but after a long pause, he snorted coldly.
Dust flew everywhere, and an extremely thick wall of blood-red light emerged in front of the skeleton. There were cracks all over the wall, but it seemed to have successfully blocked all the attacks from the old swindler, leaving the skeleton unscathed.
A sharp gaze suddenly pierced from behind the wall of blood light, as if it travelled from ancient times, freezing the world.
“You’re awake!” The old man curled his lip unhappily.
The skeleton was staring at the old man with a pair of unformed eyes, faint ghost fires quivering in its sockets. As his upper and lower teeth collided with each other, he gave out a grating voice, “Duan Hong Chen?”
The old man burst into loud laughter and answered uninhibitedly, “That’s right, it is this Old Master. Wu Kuang, I can’t believe you still remember this Old Master after sleeping for so many years!”
The skeleton replied with a deep voice, “How could this King forget your cheeky face? How unfortunate that the first person that I see when I wake up is you!”
Duan Hong Chen smiled, “Disappointed? Then who did you want to see? Tell me, this Old Master can disguise himself as that person. As you know, the disguise skill of this Old Master is matchless in this world.”
The skeleton was indifferent. After being silent for a while, he asked, “How long did this King sleep?”
Duan Hong Chen’s face turned solemn, “This Old Master doesn’t really remember precisely how long it was, but it’s been at least a couple tens of thousands of years.”
The skeleton sighed, “It looks like it’s been a long time.”
The old man and the skeleton were chatting like old friends who had not seen each other for many years and there was no tension between them at all.
Yang Kai, who was still hiding behind the small hill far away, felt terror stabbing his heart.
Since the old man called the skeleton Wu Kuang, it confirmed that he was really the Heaven Devouring Great Emperor! The Heaven Devouring Great Emperor had not died. He just used some mystical Secret Technique to put himself to sleep inside this strange space for tens of thousands of years, waiting for this moment of resurrection.
If news of this spread, the entire Star Boundary would be in an uproar.
However, what shocked Yang Kai even more was the name of the old man.
Duan Hong Chen!
Yang Kai had never heard of this name, but he was familiar with his title.
The Bustling World Great Emperor!
Wu Kuang, the Heaven Devouring Great Emperor recognized this old swindler, which meant that they were people with the same status during the same period, and only that Great Emperor would be able to carry the name ‘Duan Hong Chen’.
[Is he really the Bustling World Great Emperor?]
Yang Kai was so shocked that he could hardly breathe. When the old man declared that he would ask Temple Master Wen to expel Yang Kai if he ever saw Wen Zi Shan again, Yang Kai had just made a sarcastic remark about his identity.
He would have never thought that his sarcastic remark would turn out to be true.
It was rumoured that the Bustling World Great Emperor led an unrestrained lifestyle and was always wandering around the world for pleasure. It somehow made sense to Yang Kai that this old man was the Bustling World Great Emperor as his behaviour really matched with the rumours.
The reason Yao Si obediently listened to the old man’s order and left, even showing a lowly expression in front of him, was probably because he knew his identity.
But what happened to his cultivation?
The strength of the Bustling World Great Emperor was supposed to be as high as the sky, so how could he possibly show up here with just a Third-Order Dao Source Realm cultivation now?
Wu Kuang was just as curious as Yang Kai about this phenomenon.
“Why did your cultivation drop so much?”
“This Old Master cut his own cultivation,” Duan Hong Chen smiled faintly, completely nonchalant.
“Cut your own cultivation!?” Wu Kuang’s eyes flashed as he asked in a deep voice, “Why? What made you go so far?”
“Nothing ventured, nothing gained!”
Wu Kuang seemed to have comprehended something, he pressed on, “Did you cut your own cultivation so that you could enter this place to find me?”
Duan Hong Chen nodded, “Of course. As you are most likely aware, after your death, the world barrier surrounding this place became a little fragile, so Emperor Realm Masters could not pass through it from the outside without disrupting it. If this Old Master wanted to come here, this was the only way.”
“How noble of you!” Wu Kuang stared at Duan Hong Chen, “Impressive. Among all the Great Emperors back then, this King admired you the most. You never disappointed this King.”
Duan Hong Chen laughed heartily, “Same to you, you were also the one this Old Master admired the most.”
Wu Kuang sighed, “It must have been difficult for you to maintain a Dao Source Realm cultivation all these years!”
“You’re mistaken about that,” Duan Hong Chen shook his index finger slowly, “I didn’t stay in this cultivation realm all this time, I just kept cutting my own cultivation whenever it got too high! I’ve done it countless times at this point.”
“Countless times…” Wu Kuang exclaimed in tremendous shock, “You can actually regain your cultivation again every time? Why hasn’t your foundation been destroyed?”
“I’m just lucky,” Duan Hong Chen answered indifferently, “There were a few times things became dangerous, but I managed to pull through in the end. I remember there was one time that I lost all of my cultivation due to one wrong move and it took this Old Master two thousand years to finally regain his cultivation. It was really torturous.”
Duan Hong Chen vaguely revealed a look of fear, as if he was recalling some terrifying experience.
“Is it really… is it worth it for you to do all that?” Wu Kuang questioned emotionally.
Duan Hong Chen declared with a serious face, “Worth it! As long as this Old Master could enter the Shattered Star Sea to find you and destroy your Soul, everything is worth it!”
Wu Kuang’s eyes flickered with light as he responded with a deep voice, “It looks like you really hate this King.”
“It has nothing to do with hate anymore,” Duan Hong Chen smiled lightly. “Everyone has different ambitions, we simply can’t travel the same path because we don’t share the same ideals. However, if you don’t die, it would be too much of a shame for Cyan Lotus, Yuan Ding, Martial Flame and Azure Sea… who would have died for nothing.”
“You are seeking vengance for your old friends,” Wu Kuang nodded in acknowledgement.
Duan Hong Chen sighed lightly, “Revenge begets revenge, a never-ending cycle. This Old Master finds it incredibly troublesome. How about you just stay there quietly and let this Old Master end it by sending you to meet those old friends?”
Wu Kuang snorted coldly, “This King was almost annihilated by all of you that time. If this King didn’t play dead to escape at the critical moment, how could there be a moment of his awakening today? This King thought that everything was planned seamlessly, so how did you know that this King was still alive?”
Duan Hong Chen replied solemnly, “Your trick was indeed marvellous, and almost everyone was deceived by you at that time and believed that you were really dead. But have you forgotten that there is a person who has the ability to see through time, capable of seeing the past and foreseeing the future? He was the one who knew that you were not dead and warned this Old Master to watch out for you.”
“Heaven’s Revelations!” Wu Kuang yelled, his eyes glowing.
Duan Hong Chen nodded, “Yes, it was Heaven’s Revelations! Therefore, every time the Shattered Star Sea opened, this Old Master would come in and take a look. You had been quiet for the past few tens of thousands of years, but now, you finally couldn’t withstand the loneliness and tried to make a comeback.”
“It’s not that this King can’t stand the loneliness, but the opportunity has finally come!” Wu Kuang snorted coldly, “This King also possessed the ability to see through time, and was capable of catching glimpses of the past and foreseeing the future. What Heaven’s Revelation could see, this King can as well; what Heaven’s Revelations could not see, this King can still see. Since this King has chosen to awaken at this time, this King will naturally not repeat the same mistakes again!”
Duan Hong Chen challenged in a deep voice, “It depends on how good you are compared to the last time.”
Wu Kuang burst into laughter, “So what if I only have one percent of my strength left? Can you stop me in your current state?”
“One percent… Looks like Wu Kuang has learned to talk big after all his sleep. Given that your body has not taken shape yet, this Old Master is afraid that you can’t even unleash one percent of your strength. This Old Master doesn’t need to fight with you at all, I just need to block the blood supply and you will be prevented from coming back to life!”
“Duan Hong Chen, do you really want to make an enemy of this King!?” Wu Kuang fumed.
Duan Hong Chen remarked, “It’s you who has made an enemy of the world and its people. If you are reborn again, the Star Boundary will be thrown into chaos!”
“Since when did you start caring for the people? Just continue to have fun in your bustling world, Duan Hong Chen. If you dare to stop me, this place will be your graveyard!”
“When this Old Master decided to come in, he was prepared to never leave here!” Duan Hong Chen looked determined, suddenly performed a hand seal and shouted, “Break!”
In an instant, his aura immensely surged, and there were no signs of stopping as his energy fluctuations continued to rise higher and higher…
*Honglong… *
A layer of visible shockwaves exploded from where the Bustling World Great Emperor stood, sweeping across the surroundings. The flowing streams of blood trembled, while at the same time, the cultivation of Duan Hong Chen directly broke through from Third-Order Dao Source Realm to First-Order Emperor Realm.
The breakthrough seemed to be just as simple as piercing through a paper window and everything happened so fast that not even a World Energy Baptism was induced.
“Good! The higher your cultivation, the more useful it will be to this King after devouring you!” Seeing Duan Hong Chen’s breakthrough, Wu Kuang was excited instead of frightened. After a cry, a strange domain that could devour everything immediately permeated the air, instantly enveloping Duan Hong Chen in it.
The blood around him seemed to have received some kind of traction and gathered madly towards Wu Kuang’s skeleton.
[Heaven Devouring Domain!]
Yang Kai, who was watching from afar, recognized the Heaven Devouring Domain at a glance.
Wu Meng Chuan used the same skill during their previous battle. Everything in his Heaven Devouring Domain could be devoured, even the mysterious Principle Strength could not escape from it; however, the Heaven Devouring Domain that Wu Kuang released was different from the one that Wu Meng Chuan released, with the former dwarfing the latter by orders of magnitude, seemingly capable of devouring the entire world.
Duan Hong Chen’s aura reduced significantly after being wrapped in Wu Kuang’s Heaven Devouring Domain and his face changed drastically. He clapped his hands together and mumbled a few words, “Lofty Bustling World, Three Thousand Tribulations!”
A gigantic palm print struck down from above, and before the attack landed on the ground, the surrounding blood was turned into massive waves.
Wu Kuang narrowed his eyes and responded in a deep voice, “Not bad. It’s a bit like back then, but it’s still impossible to beat this King. Heaven Devouring Battle Law, devour it for me!”
When his words fell, his skeleton seemingly turned into a bottomless pit. On top of devouring the surrounding blood, it was also devouring Duan Hong Chen’s Secret Technique into his body.
Wu Kuang guffawed at Duan Hong Chen in disdain.
However, Duan Hong Chen’s face remained tranquil as an ancient well. He was trying his best to push his Emperor Qi to maintain his Secret Technique to counterbalance Wu Kuang’s power.
After a while, Wu Kuang’s body suddenly shook, and he stopped devouring the blood into his skeleton. Moreover, the newly grown flesh on his skeleton also fell to the ground and turned into a pool of waste. “Old thing, you cheated!” He rebuked.
Duan Hong Chen laughed loudly, “Keep on devouring, why did you stop? Didn’t you always boast that your Heaven Devouring Battle Law could devour everything in existence? Why do you stop now?”
Wu Kuang was maddened, “What kind of power is hidden in your Secret Technique that can secretly injure this King? Unforgivable!”
Duan Hong Chen snorted coldly, “Do you really think that this Old Master has been cutting his cultivation over the past tens of thousands of years just to enter the Shatter Star Sea to look for you? Since the title of this Old Master is ‘Bustling World’, it’s natural that I have gone through numerous hardships and comprehended the Dao of the Bustling World. This Old Master is no longer like last time!”
“Dao of the Bustling World… Will of the World… World Force?” A light flashed across Wu Kuang’s eyes, as if he figured something, and he barked, “So, you’ve managed to comprehend some portion of World Force! No wonder you are so confident!”
“Wu Kuang, you must die this time. Stop trying to resist!”
“Laughable! No one can kill this King in this world! This King is the Heavens! This King is the Earth! Whoever resists this King is against the will of Heavens and Earth, a mortal sin!”
Duan Hong Chen shook his head, “Wu Kuang, did you become mad from all that sleeping? All living beings are as tiny as ants before the World. The Heavenly Way will not forgive you if you dare to put yourself higher than it!”
“I am the Heaven Devourer. The Heavenly Way cannot contain me!”
Among these two Great Emperors, one had an unformed body, while the other had cut his cultivation. Although both of them were not at their peak, they did not hold back in their fight to the death in this strange world and even as they hurled insults at one another, they never stopped unleashing their earthshaking techniques.
Every word they spoke sounded ordinary, but actually contained a deep sense of truth that evoked traces of the Heavenly Way. When it reached Yang Kai’s ears, it caused his heart to beat wildly, and he felt the shackles on his body tremble.
This was the Dao!
This was the Heavenly Way that countless cultivators had been searching for throughout their lifetimes but always failed to grasp.
The two Great Emperors were fighting secretly with their respective Daos in order to suppress each other. In this kind of fight, whoever had more perseverance in seeking the Dao and deeper comprehension in Heavenly Way would undoubtedly gain the upper hand.
Yang Kai was immersed in their conversation and felt that what both of them said was enlightening, as every word they spoke was a priceless gem, and he benefited a lot by listening to all this invaluable advice.
Suddenly, Yang Kai’s brow twitched as his face turned into one of stunned realization, as if he understood something critical.
And the shackles in his body were also trembling at this moment.
Yang Kai was shocked but immediately regained his consciousness from his distracted state.
“Damn!” He muttered with an ugly expression.
He did not expect that he would feel the opportunity to break through at this time.
It had been almost three years since he entered the Shattered Star Sea. Recently, he had met a lot of newly promoted Emperor Realm Masters and also battled a few of them. Although he believed that his strength was not inferior to any newly promoted Emperor, he was still a Dao Source Realm cultivator in the end.
Yang Kai had always been looking for an opportunity to break through, but unfortunately, this kind of thing could not be rushed. When the opportunity came, success would come naturally; otherwise, it was useless to demand for it.
It was just that the opportunity Yang Kai was hoping for came at this inopportune moment.
If this happened somewhere else, Yang Kai would have been ecstatic.
He had prepared himself to break through to the Emperor Realm a long time ago as there were signs of his Source Qi transforming into Emperor Qi a while ago. To him, being an Emperor was just a matter of time.
However… Two Great Emperors were having a life and death battle not far away from him at the moment, so how could he break through peacefully here? If he were affected by the fallout of their fight, the consequences would be disastrous.
He tried to suppress this urge, but he realized it was useless as the sensation of a breakthrough was building up and could not be forcibly suppressed unless he was willing to destroy his foundation and lose all of his cultivation.
Since he was at a point of no return, he decided to just go with it. Yang Kai gritted his teeth as he waved his hand and countless Source Crystals spilled out of his Space Ring, piling up around his body.
Immediately, he sat cross-legged, letting go of his body and mind, ignoring all the outside factors, and focused solely on the Heavenly Way fluctuations brought about by the dispute between the two Great Emperors.
No one had ever been promoted this way.
But Yang Kai had no choice.
However, he soon discovered that this might be an opportunity for him; every gesture, and even every line in their conversation brought out a trace of mystical power that coincided with the Heavenly Way.
He was absorbing the two Great Emperors’ insights on the Heavenly Way, using it as the cornerstone to pave his own Martial Dao.
The benefits were indescribable.
Yang Kai quickly forgot the condition of his surroundings and was completely immersed in his own enlightenment. The surrounding Source Crystals were turned into dust by a moment of violent tremor, releasing a pure and rich World Energy, slowly converging at the top of Yang Kai’s head, gradually forming a Heavenly Manifestation.
“Huh? There’s a little ant in here!”
Although the two Great Emperors were focused on their intense battle, given their cultivation level, their perceptions were extremely keen, so they sensed Yang Kai almost immediately. When Wu Kuang stole a glance at him in the midst of combat, his eyes glinted in disdain.
He really was not bothered by a trivial Third-Order Dao Source Realm cultivator’s presence.
Not to mention him in his peak, he could easily crush a Dao Source Realm Master like an ant even in his current state.
[How did this little brat follow this Old Master here?] Duan Hong Chen was slightly surprised.
This was the place where Wu Kuang was ‘buried’, feigning death. The entrance of the black hole was sealed by his own special restriction, and it would be impossible to even find the entrance, let alone enter this space.
Otherwise, it would not have taken so many openings of the Shattered Star Sea and tens of thousands of years for Duan Hong Chen to, only now, find this place.
He had always known that the Source Sea was where Wu Kuang was hidden, but had no clue of his specific location up until now, and he could only enter this place when the Source Sea underwent an abnormal change, forming a black hole that devoured a large amount of fallen cultivators.
It was mostly due to his understanding of Wu Kuang that he was able to break through the restriction.
An Emperor Realm Master couldn’t enter, and even a peak Third-Order Emperor Realm Master would be powerless in the face of that restriction.
So, how did this little brat enter? Was it possible that the restriction at the entrance was weakened after he entered and this boy took advantage of that?
Duan Hong Chen felt a little disgruntled about this. If he had known this could happen, he would have destroyed the entrance after entering.
He did not know that Yang Kai was able to enter here thanks to the jade slip left by Wu Meng Chuan. That jade slip was a key to go through the restriction safely into the black hole.
This was what Wu Kuang left for his descendants.
Everything that had happened was simply a coincidence.
Duan Hong Chen let out a sigh of relief as he only detected Yang Kai, while Mo Xiao Qi and Zhang Ruo Xi were nowhere to be seen. It would be troublesome if those two girls were here.
“How dare you get distracted when fighting this King!? Duan Hong Chen, you deserve to die today!” Wu Kuang shouted, clapping his hands together, and slamming them forward.
*Huhuhu… *
There was a strange sound, and a violent wind suddenly swept out of his palm, billowing towards Duan Hong Chen.
This was no ordinary gust, and instead seemed to contain the aura of Elemental Source Strength. It was extremely terrifying, as the Heavens and Earth collapsed and space shattered wherever it swept.
“Primordial Astral Wind!” Duan Hong Chen’s complexion changed drastically as he blurted out in shock, “You can still use the Primordial Astral Wind after having lost your body!?”
Wu Kuang laughed contemptuously, “Primordial Astral Wind is a type of Elemental Source Strength, it’s formless and invisible, and it’s also connected with the Soul of this King. Who told you that I wouldn’t be able to use it once I lost my body? Hahaha, since you dare to look down on this King, you will have to pay the price! Even if all that’s left of this King is bare bones, you will still need to submit to me!”
Saying so, the Primordial Astral Wind blew right in front of Duan Hong Chen, preparing to engulf him.
At the moment of crisis, the panic in Duan Hong Chen’s eyes vanished and was replaced with calm as he clenched his hands together in a firm seal and lifted his chest up high to growl, “Turn the ground into a prison!”
*Hualala… *
An emerald green light burst out suddenly, enveloping Duan Hong Chen. At the same time, the phantom of a humongous tree appeared, expanding from the Earth to the Heavens.
The emerald green tree phantom was exuding Elemental Source Strength similar to the Primordial Astral Wind.
*Hong Hong Hong… *
The Primordial Astral Wind rushed straight toward the enormous green tree, and the trunk swayed violently as the leaves rustled wildly, but Duan Hong Chen remained still and unharmed; Wu Kuang’s attack was completely resisted.
“Divine Tree Bai Yi!” Wu Kuang exclaimed in astonishment at the sight of the tree phantom, somewhat unable to believe his eyes. He gritted his teeth and roared, “Duan Hong Chen, how dare you play with this King?”
He thought Duan Hong Chen would not be able to resist his Primordial Astral Wind with the look of panic etched on his face, but how could he have known that Duan Hong Chen would summon the phantom of the Divine Tree Bai Yi at the last moment to completely counter the Primordial Astral Wind.
He was obviously mocking Wu Kuang just now, committing the unforgivable sin of allowing him to experience the huge letdown from joy to disappointment.
Duan Hong Chen pushed his Emperor Qi to expand the phantom Divine Tree Bai Yi, wiping the cold sweat on his forehead as he smiled in relief, “This Old Master was almost scared to death. Fortunately, this Old Master was prepared, otherwise, this Old Master would have failed miserably with such an easy task.”
“Bastard, how dare you slander this King as an easy task!? Duan Hong Chen, don’t get too arrogant! Doesn’t this Bai Yi Source Strength belong to that bastard Iron Blood? He has always regarded it as his most precious treasure, how could it be in your hands!?” Wu Kuang roared again and again, his eyes full of unwillingness. Suddenly his expression changed, and guessed, “Could it be… Iron Blood has fallen?”
Duan Hong Chen snorted coldly, “Although this Old Master also hopes that Iron Blood will die early, it’s disappointing that not only does that bastard not have any trace of getting old, he seems to be turning younger the longer he lives. I’m so envious of him. Recently, he seems to have taken a disciple and is now putting in all his effort to train her for whatever reason. Damn it, disciples are just a plaque to Masters, they always try to cheat us! Forget it! I’m starting to get teary-eyed!”
He might have thought of Wen Zi Shan as he said this with gnashed teeth.
“Since he is still alive, how was he willing to hand over the Divine Tree’s Source to you!?” Wu Kuang barked.
Duan Hong Chen grinned cunningly, “Because this Old Master told him that if he didn’t hand over the Divine Tree’s Source, this Old Master would gather hundreds of young and fit men to seduce his treasured apprentice! How could his disciple resist the temptation? So, he gave it obediently.”
Wu Kuang was dumbfounded, “The hell?”
Duan Hong Chen curled his lips, “You have no idea how much he cares about his treasured apprentice. That little girl seems to possess a Special Constitution and is the perfect candidate to inherit his mantle. This Old Master has met that little girl once. Young people nowadays really are different, she already has the vague demeanour of Iron Blood back then, just one punch from her is enough to kill anyone in the same realm! She punched this Old Master in the face before I left Iron Blood Fort, and even my forehead cracked, splashing blood everywhere!”
Wu Kuang cackled loudly, “You deserved it, no one in this world can be more shameless than you!”
“Many thanks!” Duan Hong Chen beamed.
“So what if you have the Divine Tree Source? You are not its true owner! How can you fight this King’s Primordial Astral Wind?” Wu Kuang pointed out.
“I had to give it a try. Do you think this Old Master should just wait to die?”
The exchange between the two was temperamental, jumping from chattering like old friends for a moment to treating each other like mortal enemies the next. If there were other audiences present, they would have been extremely confused.
At the same time, the two Elemental Source Strengths were constantly colliding in madness, breaking the space and filling the sky with the power of wind and wood. A terrifying scene.
The sweeping strength of the Primordial Astral Wind was extremely powerful. If an Emperor Realm Master was sucked into it, not even their bones would remain; but the phantom of the Divine Tree Bai Yi was incomparably firm and sturdy. Regardless of how the wind billowed from southeast to northwest, and its leaves rustled madly, it remained standing, closely protecting Duan Hong Chen.
Space itself within a hundred-kilometre radius warped as all the blood on the ground evaporated.
At this stage, it was a competition of who had a better control of their respective Elemental Source Strengths, and the result would not be visible in a short time. Both Wu Kuang and Duan Hong Chen were irrevocably committed to this battle.
Duan Hong Chen would definitely take the opportunity for a counterattack if Wu Kuang retrieved the Primordial Astral Wind, and with his current condition, Wu Kuang would not be able to resist the attack of Divine Tree’s Source at all.
The Primordial Astral Wind and the Divine Tree Source Strength were both precious treasures comparable to the Phoenix True Fire. Not only were they extremely rare and valuable, but they were also equally formidable.
Wu Kuang, who was still in a skeleton form at the moment, was particularly vulnerable to the Divine Tree Source though, and there would not be a chance for him to regain his physique once the power of Divine Tree Source Strength invaded his form.
He was not in a position to make a single mistake.
He finally dropped his initial dismissiveness to face the battle seriously.
Duan Hong Chen had waited for tens of thousands of years to defeat him, so how could he not be prepared? Every act Duan Hong Chen had performed since the beginning was deliberately targeting him.
The battle between the two Great Emperors was intense and fierce, so even though they were aware that Yang Kai was breaking through to the Emperor Realm some distance away, they ignored him and did not bother to suppress the aftermath of their attacks.
Wu Kuang did not care about Yang Kai’s life while Duan Hong Chen had no ability to care.
He knew that Yang Kai was a disciple of Azure Sun Temple, and would try to protect Yang Kai if he could, but he could not spare any attention on anything besides his battle with the Heaven Devouring Great Emperor, Wu Kuang.
The two Great Emperors were in the heat of the battle, while Yang Kai was getting closer to a breakthrough to the side.
A trace of Emperor Intent seeped out of his body. The Emperor Intent was not obvious initially, but it became clearer and clearer as time passed.
Condensing one’s Emperor Intent was the most basic requirement to break through to the Emperor Realm. Only with one’s own Emperor Intent could one reach the threshold of the Emperor Realm and push through the door of the highest Martial Dao.
Rich and thick World Energy gathered above Yang Kai, forming an extremely terrifying Heavenly Manifestation. The dark World Energy condensed in a cluster, as if the sky was about to crack open and fall, and there were continuous lightning flashes from the clouds, creating a deafening thunder.
Yang Kai sat cross-legged, unmoving, all his life experiences rapidly flashing through his mind.
He did not ask for this. The flashbacks of memory involuntarily appeared in his mind and he had no control over it.
He started off his journey as a Trial Disciple of High Heaven Pavilion, he cultivated hard, but still could not advance. Yet he did not give up his Martial Heart even though he was bullied by his fellow brothers.
He then obtained the Wordless Black Book, peeped into the inheritance of the Great Demon God, and had soared ever since.
The memory of him going through the war in the Central Capital, travelling Tong Xuan Realm, advancing into the Starry Sky, breaking into Heng Luo Star Field, entering the Star Boundary, everything flashed before his eyes…
Then, there was the passion of Su Yan; the gentleness of Xia Ning Chang; the emotional entanglements with Shan Qing Luo; the fight with Xue Yue that brought them closer…
Followed by the tireless pursuit of the peak of the Martial Dao; the search for his own Dao. Yang Kai always had beauties as his companions throughout his journey, so although he was occasionally lonely, he was never truly alone.
Regarding his life, he had no disappointment nor complaints!
In this path, no hatred nor regrets!
Without a demon in his heart, no external force could invade!
At a certain point, Yang Kai suddenly opened his eyes, and there was a clarity to them that shined like the stars in the night sky. With a low crack, the trembling shackles in his body were instantly loosened.
*Kacha…*
His body emitted all sorts of noises as his bones, his meridians, and his physique all shook fiercely. His meridians abruptly expanded and became tougher, while his bones and physique became harder and firmer.
His Soul also became stronger, seemingly expanding greatly.
*Hong long long… *
A lightning bolt as thick as a man’s torso struck down from the sky and landed directly on top of Yang Kai. This bolt contained the majesty of the Heavenly Way in it and had the power able to destroy all things. There was also unparalleled World Energy following along the lightning bolt, as if it was intending to drown Yang Kai in it.
*Kacha… *
As Yang Kai’s body continued to shiver uncontrollably, he could not help letting out a grunt. His clothes were torn to pieces, exposing his strong and firm physique; his skin cracked and blood seeped out.
The Heavenly Way seemed to be forbidding him from advancing to the Emperor Realm.
In order to truly break through, he had to endure the condemnation of the Heavenly Way and withstand a fierce World Energy Baptism.
Throughout the ages, countless talented cultivators and elites had failed at this juncture. This was the reason why there were countless Dao Source Realm cultivators, but so few Emperors in the Star Boundary.
Only those who had strong determination in their Martial Dao could truly reach the Emperor Realm. External forces would not stop them from going against the current, and they would never be shaken as long as they held onto this belief.
The World Energy Baptism for an Emperor was scarier than anything that Yang Kai had ever experienced.
Yang Kai was already injured by just one lightning bolt strike!
Luckily, his physique was exceptionally intrepid and his Golden Blood possessed astonishing regenerative abilities. As such, his cracked skin was able to heal rapidly.
The World Energy that was pouring into him was completely devoured all at once, causing his aura to increase instead of decrease.
The second lightning bolt descended on him before he could fully recover.
And it was even more frightening than the first. A devastating aura permeated when the second lightning bolt struck down, and Yang Kai felt the aura of death contained within it. Without hesitation, he immediately focused his mind and pushed his strength to resist the incoming strike.
*Hong long long… *
Yang Kai’s injuries worsened immediately, and he now looked extremely terrifying with his body drenched in blood. The raging World Energy invaded his body, thrashing about wildly inside his physique and meridians.
He endured the suffering with his gritted teeth and continued to absorb the rampaging World Energy into his body while comprehending the Heavenly Way. He swept away the fog that blinded his eyes and searched for his true Martial Dao.
*Hong Hong Hong… *
The third bolt cascaded down without pause.
In the distance, the two Great Emperors, who were fighting intensely against each other, could not help but be attracted by the commotion caused by Yang Kai, and the both of them turned to look simultaneously.
After a glance, Wu Kuang muttered as his eyes flashed, “That little brat… is not simple.”
He was the Heaven Devouring Great Emperor, the strongest Master in the Star Boundary’s history, and although he might be surpassed one day, he was absolutely unprecedented in the present. He did not even put other Great Emperors in his eyes.
Therefore, ‘not simple’ was exceptionally high praise coming from him.
“He is indeed a bit odd!” Duan Hong Chen slightly squinted his eyes and nodded in agreement.
If Yang Kai was simple, how could he suppress Emperor Realm Masters with only a Dao Source Realm cultivation? If he was simple, how could he improve his cultivation so quickly in these short few years? Duan Hong Chen had known Yang Kai for some time now, and even though he was not close with him, he had always been a good judge of character and already predicted that Yang Kai would achieve great success in the future when they first met in Maplewood City.
Although Duan Hong Chen had a high expectation of Yang Kai’s capabilities, at this moment he realized he still underestimated this little boy.
“Duan Hong Chen, did you experience such phenomena when you were breaking through to the Emperor Realm back then?” Wu Kuang questioned in a deep voice.
Duan Hong Chen grinned, “If I had to face such a terrifying World Baptism back then, there would be no Bustling World Great Emperor today.”
Wu Kuang nodded lightly, “This little brat has the makings of a Great Emperor!”
Duan Hong Chen laughed, “I think this little brat has more than just the makings of a Great Emperor. He will surpass you sooner or later!”
“Surpass this King?” Wu Kuang sneered, “Nonsense. No one can surpass the power of this King!”
Duan Hong Chen chuckled, “Say whatever you want, you won’t have a chance to see it anyway.”
Wu Kuang put up a cold face, “Do you have so much confidence in killing this King?”
Duan Hong Chen answered solemnly, “This Old Master already said earlier that he didn’t plan to leave here alive. Today, this Old Master will kill you and settle this matter once and for all, even if I must extinguish my Soul as the price!”
“Good, since you said so, this King won’t need to be polite with you anym… huh?” While speaking, Wu Kuang’s face abruptly changed and he turned his attention back to Yang Kai.
Duan Hong Chen also seemed to have noticed something amiss and turned to look. There, the Heavenly Manifestation above Yang Kai had changed once more. The World Energy clouds that gathered on top of his head had now turned into an inverted funnel, with its top connected to the Heavens, while its bottom connected to Earth. The terrifying World Energy contained in this vortex made the expressions of the two Great Emperors turn dignified.
As soon as the funnel appeared, it crashed downwards madly and directly connected to Yang Kai’s body.
At the same time, Yang Kai’s body seemed to have become a bottomless pit, swallowing the rich and surging power as Emperor Aura radiated from his body more and more intensely.
“What…” Duan Hong Chen’s eyes almost popped out of their sockets, “What is this situation? Is this little brat courting death?”
“Hahaha!” Wu Kuang laughed out loud, “He must be overconfident. To think he would try to contend with and devour the Power of Heaven and Earth. Duan Hong Chen, it looks like this little brat has no chance to surpass this King. There is no doubt that he will die today!”
Without denying his remark, Duan Hong Chen sighed, “What a waste, what a waste!”
If he witnessed this scene at a different time, perhaps he would help Yang Kai out of appreciation for his talent; however, he was in a heated battle with Wu Kuang right now and he could not spare his energy on Yang Kai.
How could Yang Kai survive under this torrent of World Energy?
The activity on Yang Kai’s side became more and more violent as the two Great Emperors spoke, and it was not long before the entire world began shaking. Bottomless ravines emerged as the ground around Yang Kai cracked in a spider-web pattern.
Suddenly, a noble roar sounded and at the same time, a golden dragon shadow emerged out of Yang Kai’s body, shaking its head and flicking its tail, rushing up towards the vortex of World Energy.
“A Golden Dragon Divine Source!” Wu Kuang exclaimed with genuine shock.
“Impossible!” Duan Hong Chen also looked like he had seen a ghost. The appearance of the Golden Dragon Phantom grabbed the two Great Emperors’ attention, and they instantly shifted their focus to Yang Kai, their expressions changing drastically.
“Who is this little brat? How did he obtain a Golden Divine Dragon Source!?” Wu Kuang yelled. For some unknown reason, he seemed quite excited.
After being stunned for quite a while, Duan Hong Chen responded, “How would this Old Master know about such a thing!? The Golden Divine Dragon is the ancestor of the Dragon Clan. It is rumoured that it is the progenitor of the entire Dragon Clan and turned countless aeons ago. How could there be a Golden Divine Dragon Source in this world!?”
“Tsk tsk…” The ghost fire was dancing rapidly in Wu Kuang’s hollow eye sockets, revealing a greedy look, “If those old dragons on Dragon Island knew about this, this King is certain they would go crazy!”
“What are you plotting?” Duan Hong Chen suddenly stared at Wu Kuang vigilantly.
Wu Kuang snorted coldly, “Even if this King has any plans, killing you is the first thing I must do!”
During their conversation, the Golden Divine Dragon turned towards the sky and roared. The dragon opened its mouth facing the terrifying World Energy funnel and sucked in a huge mouthful of that power, devouring and refining it before transferring it to Yang Kai.
In an instant, the pressure on Yang Kai was reduced significantly.
Previously, he also felt that he could not hold on any longer, so he had no choice but to release his Golden Divine Dragon Source. Fortunately, this move was effective.
The Golden Divine Dragon Source was truly magnificent, capable of contending with and swallowing this flood of World Energy.
As the dragon continued to devour, the aura in Yang Kai’s body became stronger and stronger, and his strength increased accordingly. He was completely renewed in spirit and feeling bolder by the moment.
Although he had no idea how it felt when the others were breaking through to the Emperor Realm, he believed that the Emperor Realm Masters whom he encountered before would all be dead if they experienced the same situation as he.
Maybe only he would have such a climactic scene while being promoted.
Time passed slowly as the Golden Divine Dragon continued to swallow the rushing World Energy. The power of the torrent gradually weakened as Yang Kai’s strength steadily increased.
After a stick of incense, the Heavenly Manifestation above Yang Kai’s head dissipated and his surroundings returned to its original peace.
Without the thunder and lightning, the funnel cloud and pressure that seemed to have fallen from the sky also disappeared.
All of the surrounding swirls of World Energy had vanished, completely absorbed into Yang Kai’s body. Crackling explosions emitted from within his motionless body, conveying a celebratory aura.
It seemed that he had broken through successfully.
Wu Kuang and Duan Hong Chen ogled at the scene with their jaws dropped, as they could not come to terms with what just happened for a long while.
Yang Kai did not feel the slightest joy, however. Not only that, his heart was hammering in his chest. This feeling of anxiety grew stronger ever since the world around him grew calm, as if something extremely terrifying was about to happen.
He clearly felt that he had not really reached the Emperor Realm, seemingly lingering right on the cusp of breaking through but unable to take the last step.
[What happened?]
The Heavenly Manifestation from his breakthrough had vanished, and he already survived the terrifying World Energy Baptism, so why hadn’t he broken through to the Emperor Realm? Yang Kai was lost in confusion and anxiety as the pounding in his chest grew ever fiercer.
Suddenly, a majestic aura emerged from the surrounding world and turned into a stream of light, plunging as fast as lightning straight towards the top of Yang Kai’s head.
Horror struck Yang Kai as a feeling of utter helplessness filled him when he sensed this majestic aura, as if he would turn into ashes without any ability to resist as the stream of light struck.
Moreover, the falling aura gave him a familiar yet foreign feeling. He vaguely remembered sensing it somewhere but could not identify it immediately.
“World Force!” Wu Kuang and Duan Hong Chen exclaimed in unison, staring at the direction Yang Kai was in. The two Great Emperors became extremely confused at that instant. What could Yang Kai have possibly done to inspire the World Force to appear during his breakthrough to the Emperor Realm?
World Force was a very special and mystical power, even more profound than the World Principle and Source Strength.
Every Great Emperor was proficient in various Principle Strengths and casually used their Source Strengths in battle; but none would underestimate World Force.
That was the power that belonged exclusively to the world itself.
All living beings were as tiny as ants before the world as the world controlled the destinies of every living being. Even someone like the Heaven Devouring Great Emperor could never fully control World Force. This is also the reason why Duan Hong Chen was able to secretly injure him in the previous fight.
Duan Hong Chen had cut his own cultivation multiple times over the past few tens of thousands of years, wandering along the road of the Martial Dao, fumbling about in the Bustling World. Through so many repeated journeys, he had comprehended the essence of the Bustling World. The essence of the Bustling World could also be regarded as a type of World Force, so it could cause damage to Wu Kuang.
Even so, Duan Hong Chen’s Bustling World power still could not be compared with the true World Force.
The release of World Force was equal to the Will of the World; no one could oppose it.
[He’s dead!] The two Great Emperors thought they were witnessing the birth of a genius, but right now they could not help but feel a little disappointed that the outcome was otherwise. There was no way Yang Kai could contend with a bolt of World Force.
The Golden Divine Dragon phantom roared up to the sky, rising upwards to meet the force of Heaven and Earth.
But as the stream of light descended, it pierced through the Golden Dragon phantom, which fell apart and vanished instantly, not impeding the bolt of light which drove towards the top of Yang Kai’s head unabated.
Yang Kai stared upwards, his eyes cold and indifferent.
One could only display their true mettle in a state of crisis. Yang Kai’s mind suddenly became extremely clear and his whole being relaxed in peace.
He snapped his fingers and the Mountains and Rivers Bell flew out. The quaint Mountains and Rivers Bell expanded in the air to the size of a house, the magnificent patterns and carvings on it seemingly coming alive and dancing around vividly.
An immense world-suppressing aura suddenly filled the air!
“Mountains and Rivers Bell!” Duan Hong Chen’s eyes widened, his face pale in shock as he cried out, “Mountains and Rivers Bell, it’s Yuan Ding’s Mountains and Rivers Bell!”
The ghost fires in Wu Kuang’s sockets were also dancing wildly in fear. Completely ignoring the fight with Duan Hong Chen, he stared in the direction of Yang Kai with a blazing gaze in shock.
The abilities and methods used by Yang Kai during his breakthrough to the Emperor Realm shocked the eyes and minds of the two Great Emperors. In the past, the two of them would never have dared to imagine that a person could possess so many treasures.
The Golden Divine Dragon was the ancestor of the Dragon Clan and was rumoured to have disappeared long ago; however, its Source had appeared in Yang Kai. Yuan Ding’s Mountains and Rivers Bell was an Ancient Exotic Artifact, a treasure even coveted by other Great Emperors. During the War of Great Emperors, Yuan Ding used the last bit of his strength to drive it into The Void, and it was nowhere to be found since. Yet, at this moment, it was presented with a strange brilliance in Yang Kai’s possession.
[Who is this brat? Why is he so blessed by the Heavens?]
The two Great Emperors finally understood why his breakthrough to the Emperor Realm would lead to being a target of the World Force.
He must have had unlimited opportunities and immense good fortune during his growth, but the Heavenly Way was fair and just. There must be gains and losses on the Martial Dao; the more opportunities one obtains and the more excellent a cultivator’s aptitude, the more hindrance one would encounter during breakthroughs. The two factors had a proportional relationship.
No one ever comprehended the reason for this phenomenon, but there were never any exceptions throughout the ages.
It would be outrageous for the World Force to not be attracted to the person possessing both the Golden Divine Source Strength and the Mountains and Rivers Bell.
The two Great Emperors no longer felt sorry for Yang Kai, because such a catastrophe was inevitable for him. Even if it did not appear now, it would appear sooner or later. It was only a matter of time.
The World Energy Baptism earlier was just an appetizer, while this bolt of World Force was the main course.
Yang Kai would surely soar into the sky if he survived this calamity, but there was nothing to say if he did not.
“Wu Kuang, you are knowledgeable, do you think he can survive?” Duan Hong Chen gulped.
Wu Kuang was merely a skeleton now, and obviously had no saliva to swallow, but his ‘visible’ Adam’s apple was bobbing in anxiety and he replied faintly, “The Mountains and Rivers Bell’s chime is sufficient to suppress mountains and rivers, its aura sufficient to invert the universe. Among the Great Emperors back then, this Old Master admired you the most, but the one whom this Old Master feared the most was Yuan Ding! Because he had the Mountains and Rivers Bell!”
“Is this why you desperately aimed to inflict serious injuries on him first?”
Wu Kuang snorted coldly, “This King wanted to kill him, but it’s a pity that you sabotaged this King’s plan!”
“These are things from the past, let’s change the topic,” Duan Hong Chen grinned meaningfully.
“If Yuan Ding personally summoned the Mountains and Rivers Bell, this World Force would naturally not be able to penetrate it. The Mountains and Rivers Bell indeed has the power to suppress the World itself, making it the nemesis of the World Force, but how much power of the Mountains and Rivers Bell can this brat exert?” Wu Kuang asked.
Duan Hong Chen questioned in a solemn voice, “So, do you think he will die?”
“It will be hard to survive!”
Duan Hong Chen rolled his eyes and suggested, “Then shall we make a bet?”
“What bet? What do we bet with?” Wu Kuang asked in a deep voice.
Duan Hong Chen pointed with his finger, “Bet on whether he lives!”
“What if he lives? What if he dies?”
“If that boy dies, this Old Master will commit suicide in front of you and destroy my own Soul. If he lives, you have to do it instead!”
Wu Kuang’s face changed drastically at his proposal and he exploded, “Duan Hong Chen, do you just want to kill this King so badly that you would not even hesitate to use your own life as a chip!?”
Duan Hong Chen answered quickly, “This Old Master told you he would drag you down to die even if his Soul would perish! I don’t care about my life anymore, so what is this Old Master afraid of?”
Wu Kuang’s eyes quivered in anger.
“Are you afraid?” Duan Hong Chen smiled contemptuously, his eyes narrowed at him.
“Don’t bother trying to provoke this King!” Wu Kuang snorted, “This King has not been afraid of anything since he was born.”
“Then do you agree?”
Wu Kuang sneered, “This King controls his own life, no one else can decide it for him!”
Duan Hong Chen snorted loudly, “Wu Kuang, Wu Kuang, I did not expect you to become so cautious. It seems that you have changed a lot after these tens of thousands of years of sleep. The old you wouldn’t have said that.”
“What would this King have said?” Wu Kuang looked at him coldly.
Duan Hong Chen answered, “The old you would definitely agree to it, and then secretly killed that boy.”
“Is this King such a despicable person in your eyes?” Wu Kuang snorted coldly.
“You should know how despicable you are. Why would you ask me?”
While the two Great Emperors were talking, the stream of the World Force was already very close to Yang Kai, but was greatly slowed down by the Mountains and Rivers Bell.
The Mountains and Rivers Bell’s aura seemed to have a great effect on suppressing the World Force.
However, Yang Kai was under tremendous pressure at the moment.
The cost of using the Mountains and Rivers Bell was enormous, and although his strength at this moment was much higher than before, Yang Kai was still feeling overwhelmed. It was also extremely alarming to watch a fatal attack slowly descending upon him.
Yang Kai knew that if he could not stop this bolt of World Force, he would definitely die.
Yang Kai had never felt more tormented as the aura of death slowly engulfed him.
*Kuang! Kuang! Kuang!*
The Mountains and Rivers Bell tolled loudly, and the force of suppression became more and more aggressive, but the stream of light was still sinking downward steadily. Yang Kai was at a loss for what to do as blood was trickling down his mouth and nose miserably.
As the stream of light advanced closer and closer to him, Yang Kai’s heart sank as he felt the Mountains and Rivers Bell could no longer suppress it.
At this moment, a flash of inspiration crossed his mind, and he suddenly fathomed what this inexplicable power was.
This was World Force!
It was the Will of the World!
No wonder it was so familiar.
It was familiar to him because he had used World Force before!
After understanding this, an extremely bold idea popped into his mind.
He stretched out his hand in the next moment, and the Sealed World Bead suddenly appeared at his fingertips. Communicating with it silently, Yang Kai pulled a profound and mysterious power from the Sealed World Bead and blasted it towards the approaching World Force.
The force released from the Sealed World Bead was surprisingly similar to the World Force descending upon Yang Kai, as if both of them were of the same source.
“Another World Force?” Wu Kuang exclaimed in astonishment.
“How can he utilise World Force? Where is he producing it from?” Duan Hong Chen was surprised too.
Yang Kai was not in the Emperor Realm yet, and even a Third-Order Emperor Realm Master who had cultivated for a long time would still be unable to use this kind of power. Only Great Emperors could begin to comprehend World Force, and only Great Emperors were qualified to slightly utilize it.
The primary difference between a Great Emperor and a Third-Order Emperor Realm Master was their ability to comprehend World Force.
If one could comprehend World Force, he or she would be qualified to become a Great Emperor, superior to any Third-Order Emperor Realm Master.
But now, unexpectedly, Yang Kai released a beam of World Force. Although its power was still inferior to genuine World Force, it was simply akin to the difference between a father and a son. It was different, but could still be considered World Force.
Both Great Emperors were deeply shocked, much more shocked than when they saw the Golden Divine Dragon Source or the Mountains and Rivers Bell.
“Is it because of that bead?”
Wu Kuang looked at the Sealed World Bead with scorching eyes and a thoughtful look on his skeletal face. If he was not afraid of the World Force, he would have already released his Divine Sense to examine the bead. Therefore, he did not know what type of artifact the Sealed World Bead was.
With Wu Kuang able to see through this mystery, Duan Hong Chen was naturally able to as well. Staring at the Sealed World Bead with his brows furrowed, Duan Hong Chen tried to match it with the renowned artifacts in his memory, but to no avail.
He seemed to have never seen this artifact before.
Duan Hong Chen was bewildered. He had lived for tens of thousands of years and he believed that it was basically impossible for him to not recognize any famous artifact from the Star Boundary.
However, this strange bead appeared in front of him and proved him wrong.
No matter what the bead really was, Yang Kai being able to use World Force must have something to do with it!
[Is it an Ancient Exotic Artifact?] A single frightening thought came up in Duan Hong Chen’s mind, but soon, he denied his speculation, because all Ancient Exotic Artifacts were easy to identify as they had an aura that was completely unique and unconcealable, just like the Mountains and Rivers Bell.
The Sealed World Bead had a small world inside of it, and since it contained an independent world, it naturally possessed its own World Force too. As the owner of the Sealed World Bead, Yang Kai’s mind was connected with the Sealed World Bead and he could easily extract the World Force out of it to confront the awe-inspiring catastrophe.
Nevertheless, it was just a small world inside the Sealed World Bead, impossible to compare to a real Great World.
The difference in the strength of the two World Forces could be noticed at a glance.
*Hong long long… *
The World Force of the Sealed World Bead rushed upwards and soon collided with the World Force from the real world.
Yang Kai observed nervously. If even this failed to resist the oncoming onslaught, he would only have one last card left in his sleeve, which was to release his Demon Qi seal and transform into the Ancient Great Demon to overcome this disaster.
However, Yang Kai was not sure if he could re-seal the Demon Qi again after doing so. It had been several years since the last time the seal was released, so in theory, the Firmament Tree planted in the Sealed World Bead should have accumulated sufficient sealing strength, as one year of its growth in the medicine garden was equivalent to a hundred years outside.
Would it not be possible to seal the rioting Demon Qi with a few hundred years of sealing strength?
Unfortunately, this method had a drawback. Every time the seal was released, Yang Kai would need more sealing strength to suppress the Demon Qi again, so Yang Kai would never pull out this ace unless it was a last resort.
Who knew if the sealing strength of Firmament Tree would be insufficient to seal the Ancient Demon Qi this time? If that happened, he might permanently become demonized, losing himself in madness and murderous rage. Yang Kai did not dare to underestimate the potency of the pure Demon Qi from the Ancient Great Demon.
In the next moment, the world itself shook.
The strange sealed space seemed to be breaking apart.
Wu Kuang’s and Duan Hong Chen’s faces turned pale simultaneously.
The two beams of World Force clashed together, delivering an impact beyond imagination, it was as if two worlds had crashed together, and the vicissitudes of the world were merely a moment away.
It could be seen clearly that the World Force produced by the Sealed World Bead was gradually melting away, obviously no match against the World Force from the real world.
But as it melted, Yang Kai felt that the pressure on him was greatly reduced. This discovery made Yang Kai’s face brighten up.
When the World Force of the Sealed World Bead disappeared completely, Yang Kai formed a hand seal as his face turned solemn, desperately pushing his Source Qi and fully opening his Knowledge Sea, releasing a rush of Spiritual Energy.
The Mountains and Rivers Bell shone brightly once more, and the world-suppressing aura became more and more aggressive.
The remaining World Force seemed to be struggling, but with Yang Kai’s last desperate bet, the World Force was directly suppressed by the Mountains and Rivers Bell.
*Hong…*
A loud explosion occurred as the Mountains and Rivers Bell fell a short distance in front of Yang Kai, and the light on its surface gradually dimmed, while the remaining World Force was overwhelmed and sealed beneath it.
The aftermath of the impact faded slowly, everything returned back to normal.
Yang Kai looked frail and battered, yet he was giving off a peculiar aura at the same time. With a wave of his hand, countless Source Crystals poured out, burst into dust, and turned into pure World Energy.
Yang Kai’s body turned into a bottomless pit at once and madly devoured the surrounding World Energy.
His weakened aura rose steadily, and soon reached the peak of the Dao Source Realm, but it did not stop there.
At a certain moment, Yang Kai suddenly heard a loud crack coming out of his body, and he felt lighter all of a sudden. A comforting, refreshing feeling was spreading all over his body, while, the Source Qi in his body was also experiencing a huge transformation. Even his over-consumed Knowledge Sea was filled up in an instant.
The whole world seemed to be notably different from before.
Yang Kai felt like he had been reborn, and every strand of his muscles was invigorated with power, each containing terrifying strength beyond anything he had ever experienced before.
Emperor Intent permeated the air, clear and identifiable, dense and thick.
Emperor Realm!
It had been several dozen years since he began to cultivate at the age of thirteen, and today he had finally reached the Emperor Realm. After going through numerous life and death crises, even though there was still a long way to reach the true peak, Yang Kai had finally earned the qualification to climb that mountain.
With excitement, he let out a long howl and rushed straight into the sky.
“He actually… succeeded!” Wu Kuang blurted in amazement.
“Luckily you had the foresight to not agree, otherwise you would have had to kill yourself in front of this Old Master,” Duan Hong Chen spat disdainfully, annoyed that Wu Kuang had cautiously declined his bet. Things would have been simpler if he had just accepted.
“How is it possible that he succeeded?” Wu Kuang’s face turned dreadfully ugly.
As the Heaven Devouring Great Emperor and the top Master in the Star Boundary’s history, he always believed that no one could surpass him in any aspect.
But today, someone did.
Even though it was just the scene of being promoted to the Emperor Realm.
Wu Kuang himself also had many difficulties when he was breaking through to the Emperor Realm, but it was far from the horrors that he had witnessed today.
Given the tribulations that this little brat had encountered when he was breaking through, one could imagine how bright his future would be. Previously, Duan Hong Chen remarked that Yang Kai would surpass Wu Kuang in the future, and the latter only took it as just a joke, but now, it seemed that it might really be possible.
How could a person with such outstanding strength and aptitude, in addition to possessing so many precious treasures, lack achievements in the future?
Wu Kuang could not help feeling a bit lost, a first for him in his lifetime.
Suddenly, his face changed drastically and he turned to Duan Hong Chen and fumed, “Old thing, how dare you deceive me! Curse you!”
Wu Kuang flew into a rage as Duan Hong Chen had secretly been acting against him the entire time.
Duan Hong Chen cracked up, “It seems that you really care about that little brat, you didn’t even notice the trick that this Old Master performed until now, but it’s too late.”
When speaking, Duan Hong Chen surged his Emperor Qi and the Divine Tree Bai Yi, which had been covering him, instantly became as red as blood.
The Divine Tree Bai Yi was a Wood Attribute Source, and was originally emerald green in colour; but now, it somehow turned blood red and revealed a dreadfully strange aura.
“How dare you swallow the vitality and blood that I have worked so hard to collect!” Wu Kuang barked. He then looked at Duan Hong Chen incredulously, “If you push the Divine Tree Bai Yi’s Source Strength in such an aggressive manner, you will destroy it! When that happens, how do you plan to explain to Iron Blood!?”
Duan Hong Chen replied solemnly, “Iron Blood knew that this Old Master was not planning to return, so he allowed this Old Master to handle the Divine Tree Bai Yi’s Source as he wished. I would really like to see how you can restore your body without any vital essence now! What can you do with this skeleton that has slept for tens of thousands of years? I believe the answer is… nothing!”
“Damn! All of you want this King to die, but this King is not going to grant your wish!” Wu Kuang roared hysterically.
Duan Hong Chen sneered, “You are powerless to make a comeback. Just die obediently. I’ll accompany you to hell to make sure you are not lonely!”
When the words fell, Duan Hong Chen rushed directly towards Wu Kuang with a flicker, hovering in mid-air. The Emperor Qi in his body rioted violently, sending out an extremely disturbing aura.
“Self-destruction?” Wu Kuang’s eyes quivered wildly. He had never panicked before, even during the time when he was besieged by all the other Great Emperors in the past. However, when he saw Duan Hong Chen decisively pounce on him, he could not help being frightened.
Although Duan Hong Chen was currently just a First-Order Emperor Realm cultivator, he still had a Great Emperor’s background. Therefore, if he really decided to self-destruct, Wu Kuang would definitely be unable to bear the damage and would truly have to accompany him to hell.
“How dare you push this King to this extent!? Duan Hong Chen, don’t go too far!” Wu Kuang yelled and immediately performed a hand seal. The Primordial Astral Wind that was billowing between him and Duan Hong Chen suddenly grew fiercer and gave off a dreadfully dangerous aura.
Duan Hong Chen’s face darkened. He knew that he had cornered Wu Kuang and the latter was now planning to blow up the Primordial Astral Wind.
The Primordial Astral Wind was a Wind Attribute Source, and the power of its self-destruction would be unimaginably devastating.
It would be a pity if that little brat named Yang Kai died in the aftermath of their battle; however, when the arrow is on the bowstring, it must fly; Duan Hong Chen could only hope that the Heavens would keep Yang Kai out of harm’s way.