This Sealing Yang Domain wasn’t expansive as it was only the size of two Star Cities. Tracing the source of the Yang Qi, they soon reached a lake that was shimmering. Despite the fact that the lake was clear, it was filled with Yang Qi. Apparently, it was where Yang Sprites gathered together.
The Proprietress released her Divine Sense to scan the place for a moment before nodding gently, “These are indeed Fifth-Order Yang Sprites.”
Hearing that, Bai Qi became energised and cupped his fists, “Proprietress, I’m going now.”
“Be careful,” she urged.
Yang Kai also cupped his fists, “Old Bai, I wish you success.”
Bai Qi flashed a smile at him, “I’ll definitely bring back some good news.” Then, he plunged into the lake, but there wasn’t even a ripple that could be seen on the surface. Yang Kai and the Proprietress watched as Bai Qi swam to the deepest part of the lake where a very pure power from the Yang Sprites had gathered together. Bai Qi shot into it and sat down with his legs crossed. Following that, he activated his power with a never-before-seen solemn expression.
He had been cultivating a thousand years for this moment, so there was no holding back for him.
Soon, he was seen attentively absorbing a Yang Sprite to condense the last Yang Element Power. The Proprietress and Yang Kai walked around the lake as she performed a hand seal and shot a flag into the void.
Although this place was hidden, they had to be extra careful. The fact that Bai Qi was breaking through to the Open Heaven Realm was immensely important, and there mustn’t be any accidents. Despite the fact that the Proprietress was personally standing guard for him, she still had to set up an array here to prevent anyone from disturbing him.
After an hour, she had planted sixteen flags around the lake. When she was done with the last one, she spread her slender hands and yelled, “Rise!”
In complete silence, a mist expanded and engulfed the entire lake. Nothing else could be seen again.
Yang Kai had been following her and watching what she was doing. Although he had no idea what kind of attacks this Spirit Array could fend off, there was no way the Proprietress’ work was second-rate. Moreover, she was a Sixth-Order Master who was famous throughout the 3,000 Worlds. With her standing guard here and the help of this Spirit Array, even if someone accidentally barged into this place, that person wouldn’t dare to disturb Bai Qi.
After the Proprietress was done with all this, she took a look at Bai Qi’s location and said in a small voice, “He’ll have to rely on himself now.”
In order to break through to the Open Heaven Realm, one first needed to condense the power of Yin, Yang, and Five Elements into their Dao Seal. A cultivator would then split Heaven and Earth apart inside their own body. Once they succeeded, a Small Universe would be formed inside of them. At that point, they would be infused with World Strength and become capable of wielding World Force. That was the most distinct characteristic of an Open Heaven Realm Master.
Great Emperors had to rely on a particular Universe World to use World Force. However, Open Heaven Realm Masters didn’t have such restrictions as they had a World within themselves. Also, different from Great Emperors, the power an Open Heaven Realm Master was able to use could grow. Their power was directly correlated to the strength of his or her own Small Universe.
No one else could help Bai Qi at this point. The reason the Proprietress had come to this place was to protect him so that no one would disturb him.
Upon reaching the top of a mound that was three kilometres away, the Proprietress fished out a table and two chairs. There were some tools for making tea as well.
Without the need for her to say anything, Yang Kai started making tea for her. In the past, he would never be willing to do such a thing; however, after getting her help several times, he realised that his impression of this woman had changed. He no longer felt hostile towards her.
Nevertheless, the change also brought with it some doubts that got stuck in his heart.
Soon, the tea was ready. While the Proprietress elegantly sipped the tea, she had a small talk with Yang Kai and chuckled from time to time. On the other hand, Yang Kai learned the stories of many famous people in the Outer Universe from her.
Time passed by very quickly.
Three days later, the lake inside the array still remained serene. Yang Kai knew that this process couldn’t be rushed. Bai Qi had to condense his own Yang Element first before attempting to break through to the Open Heaven Realm, a feat that couldn’t be achieved in just a few days.
After five more days, there came a moment when the Proprietress, who was having a chat with Yang Kai, straightened her face and shifted her attention to the array. Her gemstone-like eyes seemed able to see through the void and look deep into the array; then, she exclaimed, “It’s starting!”
Upon hearing that, Yang Kai became solemn and turned his head to look in that direction. Unfortunately, his vision wasn’t as sharp as that of the Proprietress. Besides the weltering mist around the array, he could see nothing else.
With that said, he could feel that something was a little different on this day. Previously, the array around the lake was mostly still; however, today, the mist was roiling about. Apparently, Bai Qi had started.
A worried Yang Kai asked, “Proprietress, what are Old Bai’s chances of success?”
The Proprietress slowly shook her head, “No one can say for certain. Even a gifted person may fail. It really depends on his fate.”
She had only said the obvious, but that was the truth for any cultivator pursuing the greater Dao.
While Yang Kai was anxiously watching the lake, the Proprietress suddenly frowned and grunted before looking in a different direction; specifically, the entrance of the Sealing Yang Domain.
Soon enough, Yang Kai realised that something was off because clear Space Principles fluctuations could be felt coming from over there.
[Someone is entering this place!] A shocked Yang Kai hurriedly shifted his attention, only to see a crack hanging in the void. As Space Principles undulated, a figure emerged from the crack.
Despite the fact that there was a distance of several dozen kilometres between them, Yang Kai could still recognise this person at first glance, and with a frown, he said, “Him?”
He didn’t know many people in the Outer Universe, so he hadn’t expected the person who had arrived at this place to be someone he knew. Furthermore, there were some grudges between them.
The person who had broken through the void and come to this place was none other than Old Yu from Wind and Cloud Auction House. Previously, Yang Kai and Bai Qi were injured by this guy. Upon learning that they had been captured, the Proprietress stormed into the auction house and fought a quick battle with Old Yu, breaking a few of the latter’s bones and causing him to cough up blood.
After just a few months though, Old Yu’s wounds had healed. Upon entering this place, he looked around and soon targeted the Proprietress, a coldness flooding his turbid eyes which were filled with hatred.
Following that, more figures broke through the Void and arrived.
In the blink of an eye, four people had streamed into this small Sealing Yang Domain. This group consisted of men and women as well as young and old people. Old Yu had the weakest aura among them as he was only in the Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm. The other three people were much stronger than he was. Yang Kai could even detect an aura that was as powerful as that of the Proprietress from one of them.
[This guy is a Sixth-Order Master! What is going on?] Yang Kai’s brow twitched as so many top cultivators had gathered together in this Sealing Yang Domain all of a sudden. Furthermore, all of them were Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters.
What made Yang Kai feel uneasy was that these people were staring fixedly at the Proprietress presently. Some of them appeared solemn, and some of them were seen with their eyes filled with resentment. There was also someone who revealed a murderous intent.
Although Yang Kai had no idea what was going on, he realised that they were in a perilous situation.
“I see.” The Proprietress nodded slightly and swept a glance over them, “So, this was all a trap.”
“That’s right. This is a trap that has been specifically set up for you. Lan You Ruo, when you made a scene in my auction house a few months ago, did the idea of ending up in this miserable state ever cross your mind?” Old Yu snorted with a gleeful smile in his wrinkled face.
“A trap?” Yang Kai was flabbergasted as all his bodily hair was standing on end. After giving it a thought, he realised that it wasn’t difficult to set up this trap. The only requirement was this Sealing Yang Domain.
Bai Qi was a shop hand in First Inn, so it wasn’t hard for people to dig up his information. As long as the news of Fifth-Order Yang Sprites appearing was spread, the Proprietress would certainly bring Bai Qi over to have a look, thus falling into this trap.
Things were looking terrible. The Proprietress was a Sixth-Order cultivator, but apart from Old Yu, who was relatively weaker, the others were all-powerful. There were two Fifth-Order cultivators and one Sixth-Order Master. Furthermore, they were stuck inside this Sealing Yang Domain, and it wasn’t possible for the Proprietress to simply defeat them.
It could basically be considered a death trap.
After pondering on it for a moment, Yang Kai secretly spoke to her in her mind, “Proprietress, look for a chance and flee from this place. Just leave Old Bai and me here. As long as you’re alive, we’ll be safe.” After all, Bai Qi and he were just shop hands of First Inn. As long as the Proprietress could leave this place, these people might not harm them as they would have to remain wary of the Proprietress. Nevertheless, if the Proprietress was killed, there was no hope for Bai Qi and him to survive.
The Proprietress shook her head and replied, “Since they’ve set up this trap for me, they won’t let me flee so easily. I guess they’ve already sealed off the space around here. Unless we can kill all of them, we will never be able to leave.”
Yang Kai’s heart sank when he heard that as he knew that she was right; however, he was just an Emperor Realm cultivator who had only condensed his Wood and Fire Element, so he wasn’t useful in a battle between Open Heaven Realm Masters. A sense of helplessness came over him as he balled up his fists.
“Old fart, you’re pretty popular if you’re able to gather so many people to help you,” The Proprietress stared at Old Yu and sneered.
Old Yu scoffed, “It isn’t that this Old Master is popular; it’s just that you’ve offended too many people! In the past, you stirred up trouble everywhere in the 3,000 Worlds just because you had a backer. Do you even remember all the people you have offended?”
After he finished speaking, a majestic-looking man beside him placed his hands behind his back and said, “Madam Lan, we haven’t met for ages. Do you remember me?”
“Golden Rainbow Province’s Province Master, Qin Ji.” The Proprietress put on a faint smile, “What’s wrong? This Queen spared your life in the past, yet you are courting death now? Just tell me if you’re sick of living. I don’t mind sending you to Hell.”
A tinge of ferocity flashed across Qin Ji’s eyes when he heard that and he snapped, “Madam Lan, you’re as arrogant as ever.”
“No, you’re just weak,” the Proprietress scoffed, then she stared at him and pondered on it for a moment, “So, this Sealing Yang Domain is not without an owner. Does it belong to Golden Rainbow Province?” After all, they were in Golden Rainbow Territory, which was why she had this speculation.
Qin Ji said, “We discovered this place 3,000 years ago. Normally, it’s hidden with a Spirit Array. If it weren’t because we wanted to lure you into this trap, we wouldn’t have exposed it.”
“I was just wondering why Fifth-Order Yang Sprites had appeared all of a sudden. So, that’s the reason behind it.” The Proprietress nodded slightly, “A Sealing Yang Domain is immensely valuable to any great force. Aren’t you worried that a battle will destroy this domain?”
Qin Ji’s gaze appeared serious, “If I can get rid of you for good, I won’t mind losing a mere Sealing Yang Domain.” Despite what he had said, there was a look of distress on his face; after all, if a battle took place here, he wouldn’t be able to save this Sealing Yang Domain, which would be a great loss for Golden Rainbow Province.
“It seems that all of you are determined to kill me here.”
Right then, an elderly man, who was standing on the left of Qin Ji, bellowed, “If a crazy woman like you doesn’t die, all of us won’t be able to live a peaceful life!” Although his hair and beard had turned grey, his face remained ruddy. His ferocious aura seemed to suggest that he had killed countless people in the past.
Then, he snorted, “You’re only a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Master, but you’re already able to kill innumerable people and dye the 3,000 Worlds with blood. If you ever ascend to the Seventh Order, there’s no way we can survive.”
The Proprietress stared at the elderly man and said lightly, “Ling Chun Qiu, if you can’t kill me today, I’ll definitely storm your Boundless Altar and slaughter your people to the last.”
The elderly man called Ling Chun Qiu had his expression changed and took a step backward as he was intimidated by the imposing Proprietress. Nevertheless, he soon said through clenched teeth, “Since we’re all here now, we won’t let you leave this place alive.”
Unwilling to speak to him any further, the Proprietress swung her sleeve and stared coldly at the last person. She was an alluring woman that looked like she was in her thirties. She had an hourglass figure, and her peach-like eyes seemed able to suck the beholder’s Soul into them.
“Are you going to oppose this Queen too?” The Proprietress asked dispassionately.
The alluring woman didn’t even dare to look her in the eyes as she took a step forward and saluted in an elegant manner, “Greetings, Big Sister Lan.”
The Proprietress said, “Oh, you still remember that I am your Elder Sister? I thought you’d forgotten about it.”
The woman said, “Yue He is eternally grateful to Elder Sister for nurturing me in the past. I would never dare to forget.”
“How could you have the courage to come here if you wouldn’t dare to forget what I’ve done for you?” The Proprietress said through gritted teeth, “I’ll forgive you if you leave now. If you’re obstinate, don’t blame this Queen for severing our ties with you.”
The woman called Yue He slowly shook her head, “Big Sister Lan, I’m eternally grateful for the care you’ve shown me in the past, but if it weren’t because you were so stubborn, he… wouldn’t have passed away. I did not mean to come here today, but I want to put an end to the incident in the past. Please forgive me.”
The Proprietress stared fixedly at her for a long time before bowing her head, “Good, since those are your intentions, I shall grant your wish. From today forth, we owe each other nothing; however, remember that injuries and deaths are inevitable in any battle. If you’re accidentally killed by me, don’t ever blame me on the road to the Yellow Springs.”
“Yue He wouldn’t dare.” The woman bent her back.
“Enough nonsense, kill her!” A malevolent aura could be seen weltering around Ling Chun Qiu as his gaze was filled with murderous intent. It seemed that he was eager to hack the Proprietress into pieces; however, he was only a Fifth-Order cultivator, so he was still afraid of a powerful Master like the Proprietress, who was infamous for her ferocity. Therefore, he had to wait for the leader of Golden Rainbow Province, Qin Ji, to make a move first. Since Qin Ji hadn’t begun, he wouldn’t dare to take the lead.
With his hands behind his back, Qin Ji bellowed, “Madam Lan, regardless of whether you were in the wrong for what had happened in the past, you have indeed killed countless of our disciples from Golden Rainbow Province. As the Province Master, this Qin will help those fallen souls obtain justice today! If you’re smart, surrender immediately. If you dare to resist, don’t blame us for oppressing you with numbers on our side.”
“You want me to surrender without a fight? In your dreams!” The Proprietress retorted.
“In that case…” Qin Ji took a deep breath, “Prepare yourself!” He barked.
After he finished speaking, the illusory phantom of a Small Universe World flashed behind his back. He pushed out a fist, and as the aura of World Force permeated the place, a gigantic fist shadow shot at the Proprietress.
The moment he made a move, Ling Chun Qiu and Yue He, who were well prepared, summoned their artifacts and attacked the Proprietress.
At that instant, the space around the Proprietress became as it began to tremble and warp.
Seeing that, Yang Kai tensed up. In fact, when the Proprietress was speaking to these people earlier, he was already trying to find a way to escape; however, in the face of absolute power, all tricks were futile. At that moment, he was completely clueless about what to do.
As three Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters made a move at the same time, Yang Kai felt his skin tightening as a sense of danger engulfed him. Although the attacks were not aimed at him, the mere fallout from this exchange was enough to crack the world around them and kill him on the spot.
At the most critical moment, a gentle force wrapped around him and pushed him away. Certainly, he knew that it was the Proprietress who had protected him in this perilous situation. The view around him seemed to be moving backwards rapidly, and when he was finally able to stabilize himself, he was already several dozen kilometres away from the battlefield.
After a glance, he widened his eyes in fury as the Proprietress was engulfed in a gigantic flash of light. A violent force raged, and the Proprietress’ figure could hardly be seen.
She was already at a disadvantage as she had to deal with several enemies on her own, yet at the most critical moment, she still spent some energy to send him away. How was she supposed to counter the horrifying attacks while distracted?
The flash of light soon dissipated as a white shadow stood hovering in the void. Yang Kai could clearly see a trace of blood dripping down from the Proprietress’ mouth. The blood hurt his eyes as though a blade had been stabbed into his heart, which caused him to ball up his fists and tremble.
If it weren’t because she had to protect him, she wouldn’t have gotten injured. Although their attacks were horrifying, she could have dodged them with ease had she not been burdened with him.
“Brat, you’re still in the mood to be concerned about someone else?” An old voice was heard coming from the side. Yang Kai turned his head, only to see that Old Yu from Wind and Cloud Auction House was standing in a nearby spot and looking resentfully at him, “When you were making a scene in my auction house, did you ever think that you’d fall into my trap one day?”
Although Old Yu was also a Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master, he was only in the Fourth Order; therefore, he wasn’t qualified to fight against the Proprietress. That was the reason he had come over to find trouble with Yang Kai instead of joining the battle.
The fact that he was humiliated previously was all because of Yang Kai, so although Old Yu was resentful of the Proprietress for having no regard for him and even hurting him, he also couldn’t forgive Yang Kai. Now that the chance was right before his eyes, he certainly wouldn’t let this boy off.
“Old fart, you should have thanked the Heavens that the Proprietress didn’t decide to kill you back then. How dare you be so insidious and set her up today? Once she overcomes this trouble, you will certainly die!” Yang Kai gritted his teeth and glared at him.
Old Yu sneered, “I don’t know whether she’ll be able to escape today or not, but you definitely won’t be around to find out because… I’m going to kill you now!”
After he finished speaking, he extended his hand towards Yang Kai and clenched it.
Following his movement, Yang Kai could clearly feel that the space around him was compressing, as though it was going to crush him into paste. Flustered, he hurriedly manipulated his Space Principles to flee.
Apparently, Old Yu hadn’t expected this to happen and was stunned to see Yang Kai actually escape his grasp. Then, he became furious out of shame, “This Old Master wanted to kill you quickly, but since you’re just so ungrateful, I will take my time and slowly enjoy your suffering!”
Turning his head, Old Yu saw a figure shooting into the sky. That person was none other than Yang Kai, who had just dodged his attack.
With a frown, he decided not to chase after him though; after all, Yang Kai was actually headed towards where Qin Ji and the others were battling against Madam Lan, a melee he wasn’t willing to be dragged into. Nevertheless, he was amused by Yang Kai’s action. [An Emperor Realm brat like him wants to interfere in that battle. Is he sick of leaving?]
On the other hand, an anxious Yang Kai shot towards the battlefield after escaping from Old Yu.
He wasn’t sure how powerful the Proprietress truly was, nor was he aware of what she had done in the past that had caused so many people to be resentful of her; however, she shouldn’t be a match for these three as she was on her own. With that said, if he could help her eliminate a Fifth-Order cultivator, he could significantly ease her burden. It might even allow her to flip the situation around.
Given his strength, Yang Kai wasn’t useful in this battle at all; instead, he might even become a burden for the Proprietress. However, he still had a trump card with him, which was the last Mie Meng golden tail feather!
At that time, Mie Meng had given him three golden tail feathers. The first one was used in the Golden Crow Divine Palace to kill the Golden Crow who had feigned death. The second one was used on the Proprietress to force her to back off. Yang Kai now had just one left.
The golden tail feather could hurt the Proprietress, so if it was used on a Fifth-Order cultivator, it could severely injure that person, and if he was lucky enough, he could even kill that person. By then, the situation would be turned around.
At the thought of this, he escaped from Old Yu with all his might and headed towards the battlefield.
Nevertheless, he soon realised that he was too naive. Presently, figures could be seen flying around the battlefield as the powers of their Secret Techniques and artifacts exploded. The powerful fluctuations of their attacks spread out wildly so he couldn’t even approach within ten kilometres around them, let alone launch a sneak attack on one of the Fifth-Order Masters using the golden tail feather.
Instead, he was swept away by the shockwaves several times. After a glance, he realised that the Proprietress had been distracted because of his presence and was put in an even more dangerous situation when she was already at a disadvantage.
Yang Kai was flustered, and at the same time, he realised that the Proprietress wouldn’t leave the lake where the Yang Sprites existed. Apparently, she was trying to protect Bai Qi, who was attempting to achieve a breakthrough.
The Proprietress had arranged an array around the lake that could fend off some energy fluctuations; however, this was a fierce battle, and the array wasn’t able to fully ward off its impact.
That was the reason the Proprietress was restricted as she wouldn’t dare to fully use her power. On the other hand, Qin Ji and the others were not holding back at all.
[Old Bai!] Yang Kai’s gaze brightened. If Bai Qi could successfully break through at this point, he would be able to help the Proprietress as he was going to be a Fifth-Order cultivator. Although his realm wouldn’t be stabilized, he could at least hold up an enemy and help share the Proprietress’ burden.
However, the process of ascending to the Open Heaven Realm was extremely dangerous. Could Bai Qi, who was currently being disturbed, succeed?
Then, Yang Kai realised that an aura had locked on him from behind. Without the need to turn his head, he knew that Old Yu must be flying towards him.
“I’ve always heard that Madam Lan takes good care of her subordinates, and that seems to be the case. The shop hands from First Inn are extremely lucky to have a shopkeeper like her,” Old Yu said as he walked over.
All of a sudden, Yang Kai had a bad premonition.
As Old Yu spoke, he reached a spot that was only three kilometres away from the lake. With a dispassionate gaze, he took a look at the mist around the lake and said, “If I’m not mistaken, the person inside the lake is Bai Qi, right?”
His voice wasn’t loud, but the Proprietress, who was locked in an intense battle, could still clearly hear him. Since they were able to find out that Bai Qi needed to absorb a Yang Element to ascend to the Open Heaven Realm, it wasn’t so difficult for him to realise who the person inside the array was.
“This Old Master will kill Bai Qi now. Lan You Ruo, let’s see what decision you’ll make!” Old Yu bellowed.
“Shameless!” Yang Kai cursed through clenched teeth, his eyes turning bloodshot.
Apparently, Old Yu could see that the Proprietress was restrained as she wouldn’t want to escalate the battle lest Bai Qi be disturbed, but he still said such a thing to incite her. Certainly, the Proprietress would be agitated upon hearing that; moreover, if Old Yu really made a move, no one else could protect Bai Qi except for the Proprietress. Once she lost focus, she would fall into a worse situation than it already was.
“The winner takes all in any life-and-death battle. Shamelessness is irrelevant.” Old Yu shot Yang Kai a cold glance as he used a hand seal to gather his World Force.
He seemed set to destroy the Spirit Array around the lake.
Yang Kai naturally wouldn’t allow him to do that as Bai Qi was the key to winning this battle. If Bai Qi could successfully break through, the Proprietress would be able to break free from the restraints on her and use her full strength to battle against these people. By then, Bai Qi could also join the battle. Even if he couldn’t defeat them, he could protect himself at the very least; therefore, Yang Kai couldn’t allow Old Yu to harm Bai Qi.
At the thought of this, Yang Kai charged towards Old Yu like he was a wild beast.
On the other hand, Old Yu remained in the same spot with a calm expression. There was a tinge of mockery behind his gaze as he watched Yang Kai pouncing on him, “You court death by coming to me.”
After he finished speaking, he pushed out a palm. The speed at which he extended his palm was extremely slow, but following his movement, it seemed like two worlds had smashed together. As his hand extended further, the space in front of him shredded.
Yang Kai, who was charging forward at full speed, seemed to have crashed into an invisible wall as he became unmoving. After a loud boom was heard, his five viscera and six organs shifted greatly in his body, and he sprayed out a mouthful of blood.
However, he didn’t seem to have any intention of retreating as he extended his hand into the void and grabbed the Azure Dragon Spear. Upon surging all his strength, he forcefully pushed his spear forward.
An abstruse Martial Truth seemed to be whirling around the tip of the spear as a fist-sized black hole manifested at the point of his weapon.
“Hm?” Old Yu arched his brow in surprise. He thought that given Yang Kai’s cultivation, the latter would’ve turned into dust upon impact; however, Yang Kai had only suffered some minor injuries. Moreover, the force that had been released through his spear wasn’t something a mere Emperor Realm Junior should possess.
Given Old Yu’s acute vision, he immediately realised that the spear in Yang Kai’s hands was an extremely rare treasure, causing his gaze to become fiery.
The Azure Dragon Spear was given to Yang Kai by the Giant Spirit God, Ah Da. He had no idea who made the spear, but through his Dragon Vein, Yang Kai could clearly feel that this spear was refined from the spine of an adult Dragon.
As Yang Kai pushed the spear forward, an Azure Dragon manifested and its roar shook the entire world.
Such a spear could be considered one of the best artifacts in the entire Outer Universe; however, Yang Kai was clearly too weak to fully draw out its power.
As Dragon Pressure permeated the air, the Azure Dragon swam through the sky. A stunned Old Yu widened his eyes and said in a shaking voice, “A Dragon artifact?”
He wasn’t astounded by Yang Kai’s attack, but rather by how this brat possessed such a Heaven-defying weapon. If those from the Dragon Clan found out about it though, they would never let him off.
At that instant, the greed in his heart vanished. Even if the spear was given to him for free, he wouldn’t dare to take it. Unless he never let its existence become public knowledge, the Dragon Clan would certainly come looking for him one day. When that happened, even Wind and Cloud Paradise wouldn’t be able to protect him.
“Those who are ignorant are truly fearless!” Old Yu tutted. Any experienced person in the 3,000 Worlds would never choose to use such an artifact, but an Emperor Realm Junior like Yang Kai had the guts to openly display it; the only explanation was that he was completely ignorant.
As Old Yu was shocked, the power of his palm also diminished a little.
Yang Kai directly charged forward for more than a thousand metres and reached a spot that was just several dozen metres away from Old Yu.
However, that was as far as he could go. Old Yu used a different hand seal again, which forced him to stop in his tracks as he was bound in place by an immense force. Regardless of how hard he tried, Yang Kai was unable to move forward at all.
“Since you court death, this Old Master will grant it to you!” Old Yu snorted. With a gaze filled with mockery, he stared at Yang Kai and raised his hand in an attempt to land a palm on his head. Following his movement, a green hand that was made from World Force appeared above Yang Kai’s head.
At this life-or-death moment, Yang Kai flashed a grin all of a sudden.
Seeing that, Old Yu suddenly had a bad premonition. Although he had no idea where this feeling was coming from, he was extremely alarmed as though something terrible was about to happen.
Right then, Yang Kai pushed out a beam of golden light. There seemed to be a large feather hidden in the golden light as a ferocious aura burst forth.
Old Yu widened his eyes as all his bodily hair was standing on end. There was a chill that shot up from the soles of his feet to the tip of his head and without hesitating, he surged his power to form a protective barrier around himself. Simultaneously, he dashed back to widen his gap with Yang Kai.
As the golden light expanded, a gigantic golden rooster abruptly appeared. It was so enormous that it was as though it could prop up the Heavens themselves. Upon its appearance, the entire Sealed World shook violently, as though it was unable to bear the rooster’s might.
Old Yu’s eyeballs seemed to be shaking as he stared fixedly at the golden rooster. Right then, a name that could stir up a primordial sense of fear flashed across his mind as he exclaimed, “Mie Meng!”
Even Qin Ji and the others, who were battling against the Proprietress, were stunned. The elderly man, Ling Chun Qiu even had the urge to turn around and flee.
Mie Meng was an infamous and horrifying beast in the 3,000 Worlds. An adult Mie Meng was as powerful as a High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master. Although it was ranked lower than Dragons or Phoenixes, Mid-Rank cultivators like them were completely powerless before a Mie Meng. If the beast became enraged, it could easily kill them all with its pressure alone.
None of them understood why a Mie Meng would appear in this place all of a sudden; however, they soon saw through the beast and realised that it wasn’t a real Mie Meng. It was just Mie Meng’s Divine Ability! Upon that realization, Qin Ji and the others heaved a sigh of relief.
However, Old Yu’s Soul almost left his body. He was just a Fourth-Order cultivator, so how was he able to go against this Mie Meng’s Divine Ability? Although he had escaped as soon as he detected danger, he still didn’t feel safe.
Mie Meng’s gaze appeared dispassionate, as though it had seen through all the mysteries of the world. After shooting a cold glance at Old Yu, it extended its neck and landed a peck on him like a chicken trying to pick up a worm. The beast was completely at ease.
Old Yu, who was running away at full speed, was really nothing more than a worm to Mie Meng.
Faced with imminent death, Old Yu exclaimed in horror, “Save me!”
No one could save him though as they hadn’t expected that even though Old Yu was just going to deal with Bai Qi and Yang Kai, he would still fall into danger. Moreover, all of their attention was focused on the Proprietress, so no one could lend him a hand. More importantly, it was too late to do anything.
Following Mie Meng’s peck, Old Yu suddenly froze on the spot and hung his head low. Like a rubber ball that was punctured and deflated, his Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm aura was rapidly leaving his body.
Right then, a huge hole appeared in his chest, one that went clean from front to back, exposing what was left of his organs inside.
It could be said that he had suffered a fatal injury. Nevertheless, a Mid-Rank cultivator had incredibly high vitality. Given the right conditions, he could still stand a chance to heal his wound.
Nevertheless, even though his physical body still remained, there wasn’t a Soul left in his battered figure. Right then, a shriek was heard coming from the other side. It was Old Yu’s voice.
Yang Kai lifted his head, whereupon his pupils contracted. At the moment, Mie Meng was widening its mouth in an attempt to gobble up a vague figure.
He could clearly see that the vague figure was actually Old Yu’s Soul. The sight horrified Yang Kai, but at the same time, he was gleeful.
Following the beast’s peck, not only had it destroyed Old Yu’s body, but it had also pulled out his Soul, which would go into the beast’s stomach soon.
Ignoring Old Yu’s plea, Mie Meng directly gulped down his Soul and then looked down at Yang Kai. The next instant, its gigantic figure fell apart and turned into wisps of golden light before leaving with the wind.
Yang Kai grit his teeth as he was reluctant to part with his last golden tail feather. He had intended to use it to deal with Ling Chun Qiu or Yue He to ease the Proprietress’ burden, but in the end, he had wasted it on Old Yu instead.
In fact, it couldn’t be said that the golden tail feather had been wasted. If he hadn’t used it on Old Yu, Bai Qi would’ve fallen into danger. Now, he had nothing else that could be used to help the Proprietress, so he could only hope that Bai Qi could break through as quickly as possible.
On the other hand, he realised that he had underestimated the Proprietress’ strength. A Fourth-Order cultivator wasn’t even able to endure a Mie Meng’s strike, so could a Fifth-Order cultivator survive? That person would probably end up in the same state.
The Proprietress, who had only suffered a minor injury after getting struck by Mie Meng’s Divine Ability in the past, surely possessed an above-average power for her Order.
Turning his head, Yang Kai realised that the Proprietress had actually turned the situation around as neither party had gotten the upper hand. Moreover, while these people were fighting against the Proprietress, they now had to pay some attention to Yang Kai.
Yang Kai’s gaze brightened as he knew that they must have been horrified by Mie Meng’s fatal attack earlier, which was why they now had to branch out some attention to him. Nevertheless, they were not aware that it was the last golden tail feather he had.
His gaze darted around as his lips curved into a wicked smile, whereupon he shuffled towards the battlefield. As expected, when he got closer to them, Ling Chun Qiu and Yue He trembled. Only Qin Ji was able to remain unfazed.
“What’s there to be afraid of?” Qin Ji yelled at the most critical moment, “This brat is weak. So what if he’s still able to summon Mie Meng? As long as he can’t come close to the battlefield, he will never be a threat to us!”
Qin Ji had hit the nail on the head, which allowed Ling Chun Qiu and Yue He to heave a sigh of relief. Both of them thought that he was right. Even if Yang Kai was still able to activate Mie Meng’s Divine Ability, he wouldn’t pose a threat to them as long as he couldn’t go near the battlefield.
It was then they realised why Yang Kai, who was much weaker, repeatedly attempted to charge towards the battlefield. It was because he was trying to launch a sneak attack on them. At that instant, they were reeling from shock. If he managed to come close enough to them, one of them would’ve been killed instead of Old Yu.
They were not confident about parrying Mie Meng’s strike.
At the thought of this, they stopped holding back as their violent forces swept out again. In mid-air, the Proprietress wielded a whip as her weapon, stirring up gales and bringing down beams of lightning. The innumerable whip shadows not only protected her but also Bai Qi in the lake.
Nevertheless, even though she was powerful, she still couldn’t fully use her power given the worries she had; therefore, not long after she flipped the situation around thanks to Yang Kai, she fell into a disadvantage again.
Qin Ji and the others widened their eyes as their gazes were filled with anxiety and disbelief, however. They had done their best to overestimate the Proprietress’ strength, but after they traded moves with her, they realised that they had still underestimated her.
Presently, a Sixth-Order cultivator and two Fifth-Order cultivators had joined forces to battle against the Proprietress, who could only use seventy percent of her strength, but they still found it difficult to deal with her. If she was able to fully use her power, all three of them wouldn’t be a match for her.
There was a dark expression on Qin Ji’s face as he bellowed, “It seems that this bitch is close to ascending to the Seventh Order! If we don’t kill her today, we’ll all die in the future!”
After he finished speaking, the pupils of Ling Chun Qiu and Yue He contracted. A thousand years ago, this woman was already a Sixth-Order cultivator. Because of a person’s death, she had slaughtered countless people in the 3,000 Worlds. One thousand years had passed, so there was no way she hadn’t improved at all. It was apparent that she was close to ascending to the Seventh Order.
A thousand years ago, she was already able to turn the 3,000 Worlds upside down, so if she successfully reached the Seventh Order, none of them would be safe from her revenge.
Therefore, after Qin Ji finished speaking, all three of them didn’t dare to hold back again as they brought out their trump cards to deal with the Proprietress.
Just then, the lake, which was protected by the Proprietress’ Spirit Array, exuded a series of abstruse fluctuations. The fluctuations were so profound that it was as though a whole new world was about to be born.
“Damn it!” Qin Ji’s expression changed as he stared solemnly at the lake, “Bai Qi is about to break through!”
All of them were Open Heaven Realm Masters, so they were familiar with these fluctuations. Apparently, it was the sign of a cultivator ascending to the Open Heaven Realm as Heaven and Earth split apart in their body.
At this moment, the lake was still protected by the Spirit Array, but the fluctuations were still felt coming from it, which went to show that his ascension wouldn’t be a quiet one.
If his ascension was this vigorous, it meant that the Order he was going to achieve wouldn’t be low. It was just like what they had found out. They knew that Bai Qi was going to attain the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm, which was why they made use of Fifth-Order Yang Sprites to attract the Proprietress to come over.
If Bai Qi successfully broke through at this point, all of them would be doomed.
At that instant, Qin Ji yelled, “Lady Yue He!”
Hearing that, the alluring woman got his hint and made a feint to leave the battlefield as she charged towards the lake. The pressure on Qin Ji and Ling Cun Qiu intensified as they were left to deal with the Proprietress.
Soon, Yue He was about to reach the lake. Seeing that, a flustered Yang Kai directly held his spear and came her way. With his spear pointing at the front, he suppressed his power and yelled, “I’ll kill you if you dare come any closer!”
It was laughable for an Emperor Realm cultivator to threaten a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master in such a way; however, after he used a Mie Meng’s Divine Ability to kill a Fourth-Order cultivator earlier, Yue He had to be wary of him. Thus, she decided to push out a palm at Yang Kai from a distance.
She was just trying to probe Yang Kai’s abilities, so she hadn’t used her full strength. That was because she was worried that he would summon Mie Meng again.
However, Yang Kai didn’t have any golden tail feathers left. His warning was only a threat without any substance. Faced with her palm, he wasn’t even sure if he should flee or parry. At that moment, he felt an extremely bitter taste in his mouth, but behind him was Bai Qi who was about to break through, so he still gritted his teeth and extended his spear.
Following a loud boom, Yang Kai sprayed out a mouthful of blood and was sent flying backwards. While he was in mid-air, all his bones started cracking.
Although it was just a probing move from a Fifth-Order cultivator, Yang Kai was completely powerless to resist it and became severely injured after just one strike.
Seeing that, Yue He appeared elated as she knew that Yang Kai had no more trump cards left. He wouldn’t have become so battered if he could still summon Mie Meng. Without hesitation, she dashed towards the lake and raised her delicate hands before making her palms face the lake. It was apparent that she was about to launch an attack.
“You dare!” Yang Kai bellowed and, ignoring his own injuries, returned to the lake. There was a fist-sized black energy ball in front of the spear that contained a power that could shred worlds. With his hair hung loose on his shoulders, he shot towards the woman.
After shooting him a cold glare, Yue He performed a hand seal with one hand as an abstruse force whirled around her finger.
However, before she could stick out her finger, she fell into a dazed state as she stared at the young man in front of her. The blood-soaked Yang Kai, whose hair was a mess, looked just like a man she knew from a thousand years ago.
“Ting Yu?” She muttered in a shaking voice. Earlier, she hadn’t paid any attention to Yang Kai as he was just an Emperor Realm Junior, so she didn’t have any regard for him at all. The reason she was here was to get even with the Proprietress. When she injured this man just now, she didn’t even bother to spare him a glance.
Nevertheless, at this moment, she was shocked to realise that this Emperor Realm Junior was the spitting image of a person she once knew, especially his demeanour when he was charging forward despite the fact that his clothes were drenched in blood and his hair was unkempt.
In the past, that person looked just like him! Painful memories from a time long gone by came over her and caused her to freeze unnaturally.
“Lady Yue He, watch out!” Suddenly, she heard Qin Ji anxiously calling out to her, which brought her back to reality. She became alarmed as she felt a ferocious aura coming at her from behind.
It was the Proprietress who shot towards her. Seeing as she intended to disturb Bai Qi, the Proprietress decided to forcefully break off her battle with Qin Ji and Ling Chun Qiu to launch an attack on Yue He instead.
“Courting death!” Ling Chun Qiu was both infuriated and elated. He was infuriated because the Proprietress decided to save her subordinate at this critical moment, thus exposing her back to them. Did she have no regard for Qin Ji and him at all? On the other hand, he was elated because he and Qin Ji could make a move on her without worries. In that case, the Proprietress would be seriously injured or even killed.
Upon trading glances, they saw the murderous intent behind each other’s gazes. Holding back no more, they pushed out their Divine Abilities at her.
Loud booms were heard as the entire world shook. Following that, a grunt and a shriek were respectively heard.
The entire universe seemed to have fallen silent as Yang Kai’s heavy breathing reverberated. All of them stared fixedly at the small lake, which became the centre of attention at this point.
Yue He was sent flying forward as her back had been wounded. It wasn’t so easy to bear the Proprietress’ whip, which was surrounded by gales and lightning. Her Soul almost left her body upon impact. In comparison, Yang Kai didn’t manage to even touch her with his Azure Dragon Spear.
Fortunately for Yue He, the Proprietress had to divert some energy to parry the attacks from Qin Ji and Ling Chun Qiu, so she hadn’t managed to fully exert her force with the whip; otherwise, this woman would’ve lost her life by now.
With that said, Yue He’s face had turned ashen, and her aura had become unstable. She was still reeling from the impact.
On the other hand, Yang Kai wasn’t any better off. After Yue He was struck, he was also attacked by her as he was sent flying backwards several dozen kilometres before he managed to stabilise himself. His five viscera and six organs churned in his body as he panted heavily.
Qin Ji and Ling Chun Qiu didn’t even spare Yue He a glance, nor were they concerned about Yang Kai’s life or death. They were just staring fixedly at the Proprietress.
At this moment, some diamond-shaped transparent shields were whirling around the Proprietress. The shields were full of cracks, and when the battle seemed to have stopped, all the shields broke apart. The Proprietress spat a mouthful of blood as she was clearly injured. Ignoring her wounds though, she stared attentively at the lake.
*Ka…*
A crisp crack was heard as everything in the world seemed to have come back to life.
Both Yang Kai and the Proprietress turned ashen, while Qin Ji and Ling Chun Qiu heaved a sigh of relief. On the other hand, Yue He was gaping at Yang Kai as she had fallen into a dazed state.
*Kacha…*
More cracking sounds were heard, and just three breaths of time later, gaps started appearing on the array that was arranged by the Proprietress.
After all, no one could protect the array at that time, which was why it wasn’t able to fend off Yue He’s strike.
Following a crash, the array broke apart, and all the mist evaporated in an instant, revealing a figure who was seated at the bottom of the lake.
Bai Qi was seen seated with his legs crossed. The Yang Element at the bottom of the lake was gone as it had been absorbed by him; however, at this moment, the power of Yin, Yang, and Five Elements around him were a mess. The illusory phantom of the Small Universe World kept flickering as though it was going to fall apart at any moment.
Bai Qi looked up at the Proprietress. There was a bitter and unwilling smile on his face. He parted his lips in an attempt to say something, but he kept silent eventually.
He had been cultivating for a thousand years for this moment, but in the end, all his efforts had gone to waste. During the most important moment of his breakthrough, he was interrupted by a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master; therefore, despite the fact that he had done his best, he was unable to complete his ascension.
It was just a matter of time before the embryonic Small Universe World in his body disintegrated. Once that happened, the Power of Yin, Yang, and Five Elements would explode and he would die without a complete corpse.
The Proprietress looked down at Bai Qi, who was inside the lake. The clear lake water wasn’t able to shut out her apologetic gaze. The light went out in her usually bright eyes, which could easily arouse anyone’s pity.
She slowly closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When she opened her eyes again, a violent aura radiated from her as her hair flapped in the air. Glaring at Qin Ji and Ling Chun Qiu, she grit her teeth and said words that could freeze anyone’s Soul, “If this Queen doesn’t trample flat all of your forces, she shall never ascend to the Seventh Order!”
Following that, the expressions of Qin Ji and Ling Chun Qiu changed drastically. Since she had taken such an oath, it suggested that she was determined to fight them to the death.
At this moment, Qin Ji and Ling Chun Qiu couldn’t help wondering whether they had done the right thing by ruining Bai Qi’s breakthrough. If they had just allowed him to ascend, they could have made use of him to restrict the Proprietress and ensure that she couldn’t fully use her power.
However, now, Bai Qi had lost hope of ascension, and he was bound to perish. Presently, the Proprietress was infuriated, and there was nothing left to restrain her.
Then, she wielded her whip, which was surrounded by lightning and wind, at Qin Ji and Ling Chun Qiu. Although she was injured, she had become even more imposing than earlier. The whip brought with it a horrifying force, which caused the brows of Qin Ji and Ling Chun Qiu to twitch.
Faced with such a violent strike, neither of them had the guts to directly take it; therefore, they hurriedly dodged to the side.
With a loud boom, the whip landed on the ground, which caused it to collapse. It was as though two worlds had collided with one another. A hideous burn mark appeared in the void that seemed impossible to be repaired.
Nonetheless, before Qin Ji and Ling Chun Qiu could take a breather, the whip that was engulfed in lightning and strong wind broke though the void and came at them again.
Qin Ji felt his heart clench. It wasn’t until this moment that he realised the Proprietress possessed such a terrifying power. He was also a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, so he thought that even though the Proprietress was stronger than he was, there wasn’t a huge gap between them; however, from the two strikes she had just launched, he came to the realisation that she was significantly stronger than he was.
The soft whip danced in the air and brought with it lightning and wind. Even though Qin Ji and Ling Chun Qiu had joined forces, they could only resist her attack but not counterattack. Presently, they looked completely battered. Cracks had been formed on the ground upon impact as both the Sealed World and the void were trembling violently.
With no one else to hold her back, the Proprietress didn’t have to worry about anything again. The Sealed World was unable to contain her world-destroying fury, so it was just a matter of time before it collapsed.
“Quickly help us!” Qin Ji bellowed.
Upon hearing that, Yue He finally came to her senses and took a longing glance at Yang Kai before striding towards the battlefield.
The next instant, rumbling sounds were continuously heard as fallout swept across the entire world. As World Force undulated, four figures engaged in a life-and-death melee.
In the end, a Sealing Yang Domain was just a type of Sealed World, so it was unable to withstand the impact of the battle between four Mid-Rank cultivators. Furthermore, the Proprietress was determined to kill all of them, so she no longer held back any of her power. In just a short moment, the Sealing Yang Domain started showing signs of collapse as chaotic Space Principles began flooding the world.
Yang Kai was unable to interfere in such a battle. Although he was worried about the Proprietress, there was nothing much he could do at the moment. After stuffing some pills into his mouth, he rushed towards Bai Qi and stared at him. He parted his lips for a moment, but he wasn’t sure what to say.
It had only been a short time since they got to know each other, but they got along well, so Bai Qi could be considered his first proper friend since he arrived in the Outer Universe.
Yang Kai thought that Bai Qi would achieve a massive breakthrough today and make a name for himself in the Outer Universe, but the latter was pushed into an abyss at the most critical moment.
“Everyone’s fate is different, so I guess it’s the end for me now,” Bai Qi put on a sorrowful smile. Although he was still trying his best to maintain the balance of power in his body, it wasn’t easy to bring order to the Power of Yin, Yang, and Five Elements that had fallen into chaos. Presently, they were rampaging around in his body and clashing with one another. Blood was streaming out from his pores, which made him look quite pitiful.
Yang Kai licked his dry lips and asked, “What’s going to happen to you?”
“If I’m lucky, my Martial Dao will be destroyed. However, if I’m unlucky, my Soul will perish.” Bai Qi forced a smile, “Whatever the outcome, I’ll never be able to serve the Proprietress again.”
“Don’t overthink it…”
In a bitter voice, Bai Qi replied, “I’m fully aware of the situation I’m in…”
While they were speaking, rumbling sounds were heard as the entire ground shook. Finally, the Sealed World was unable to bear the fallout from the battle between these four Mid-Rank cultivators anymore and began to break apart.
When the Seal World disintegrated, the disarrayed Space Principles came at them from all directions. The average Emperor Realm Master could do nothing but be swept away by this flow and be dragged into the Void Crack.
Fortunately, Yang Kai was a Master of the Dao of Space, so he hurriedly manipulated Space Principles to protect Bai Qi and himself before fleeing the chaotic Void.
Raising his head, he realised that the Proprietress and her opponents had also left the Sealed World. The Proprietress looked worriedly in their direction, but upon seeing that Yang Kai and Bai Qi were safe, she became at ease.
On the other hand, Qin Ji sported a dark expression as he was heartbroken.
This Sealing Yang Domain was a secret place that belonged to Golden Rainbow Province. In this place, the Power of Yang was basically inexhaustible. With this Domain in possession, Golden Rainbow Province might be able to become one of the top great forces in the future. Now that it was destroyed in this battle, he was expected to be mournful.
However, it wasn’t the time to cry over what had already come to pass. Dealing with Lan You Ruo’s limitless fury was his most pressing issue. Fortunately, they weren’t the only people who had come here to get their revenge; otherwise, things would’ve gotten out of hand. After letting out a breath, Qin Ji bellowed, “Elder Hai, what are you waiting for? Make your move now!”
After he finished speaking, a sword light shot towards them from a distance. The sword light appeared so sharp that it was as though it could cut apart the stars themselves.
No one could have expected that Qin Ji and the others still had another helper. Moreover, judging from the person’s strike, he must be stronger than Qin Ji.
The unsuspecting Proprietress hadn’t expected this as well, so it was already too late when she came to her senses. Although she had wielded her whip to parry the blow, the sword light still pierced through the whip shadows and slashed at her tender figure.
Blood spurted out of the Proprietress’ wounds as she was sent flying backwards for three kilometres before she was able to stabilise herself. Looking up, she saw a person striding forward through the void, an azure blue sword in his hand as Sword Intent surged around him.
“Hai Ping Le!” The Proprietress narrowed her eyes and stared fixedly at that person.
On the other hand, Bai Qi’s expression changed drastically, “Damn it! He’s also here!”
Yang Kai had no idea who Hai Ping Le was, but he was aware that the latter was a Sixth-Order Master. At that instant, he was shocked as he wondered what the Proprietress had done in the past that so many people wanted to retaliate against her.
Bai Qi forced a smile, “The Young Master Hai you came across some time ago was Hai Ping Le’s Grandson.”
Hearing that, Yang Kai was stunned as he hadn’t expected that this had something to do with that wastrel Young Master Hai. It was also only now that Yang Kai understood why Young Master Hai was so arrogant and aloof. That was because the latter had a powerful backer. However, even though they had gotten into a conflict in the Star City some time ago, there were no real grudges between them. After Young Master Hai was punished by those from Great Battle Heaven, they should be considered even. So, why was Hai Ping Le adding insult to injury at this point?
Bai Qi seemed to have seen through Yang Kai’s doubts, so he said grimly, “The Proprietress killed that Young Master Hai.”
“What?” Yang Kai was flabbergasted.
Bai Qi went on to say, “Proprietress is extremely protective of her subordinates. That guy oppressed you and made you suffer two whips; hence, there was no way Proprietress would let him off. She killed him outside of the Star City.”
Upon that realisation, Yang Kai fell into a dazed state. He indeed hated Young Master Hai, who made him suffer two strokes from the Dragon Fang Whip. He still felt his back aching by just recalling that incident; however, that was just a trivial conflict between them, not a blood feud. It had been quite some time since the incident happened, and Yang Kai had almost forgotten about it. Nevertheless, it never crossed his mind that the Proprietress had actually killed the other party.
With a grin, Bai Qi said, “If any one of us in First Inn came across such an incident, the Proprietress might not have made such a big fuss; however, you’re different.”
“Me? How am I different?”
Bai Qi stared fixedly at him for a long time before letting out a long breath, “Anyway, you just have to remember that the Proprietress treasures you. You’re important to her.”
A puzzled Yang Kai gazed at him.
Lowering his head, Bai Qi put on a helpless smile. He couldn’t really explain it to Yang Kai as the incident happened ages ago.
While they were having a chat, the war in the void reignited. Hai Ping Le stormed into the battlefield as sword lights flashed from his weapon. The Proprietress was already injured earlier. She could still manage to deal with Qin Ji and the others, but upon Hai Ping Le’s arrival, things were becoming more difficult for her.
With that said, given her strength, even though she was facing so many opponents on her own, she wouldn’t fall into fatal danger anytime soon.
At this moment, Yang Kai wasn’t in the mood to keep chatting with Bai Qi. With a worried expression, he stared attentively at the battlefield. In such a situation, he wondered if the Proprietress could still turn things around.
While the Proprietress was locked in an intense battle, she turned to look in their direction. As their eyes met, Yang Kai could clearly see that her gaze appeared apologetic and longing. Then, she whirled around and wielded her whip. As she was battling, she pushed her opponents further away from this place.
Apparently, she didn’t want the fallout of the battle to affect Yang Kai and Bai Qi; however, by forcefully drawing her opponents away to a different place, it would exacerbate the perilous situation she was already in.
Like a group of sharks that had tasted blood, Qin Ji and the others would never let the Proprietress off while they directly ignored Yang Kai and Bai Qi.
After all, to them, Bai Qi had failed in his attempt to break through, so he would either perish or become a cripple soon; therefore, they didn’t have to pay any attention to him. As for Yang Kai, he was just an Emperor Realm Junior, so it was unlikely that he could raise a fuss. As long as they could kill the Proprietress, they’d be the winners.
In just over ten breaths’ time, the battle had moved far enough away to no longer be visible.
Bai Qi sprayed out a mouthful of blood and grabbed Yang Kai’s arms, “Leave! Go back to First Inn in the Star City and tell the chef to inform the Owner about this. Otherwise, the Proprietress will end up in a terrible state.”
In fact, Yang Kai had met the Owner of First Inn before. He was a High-Rank Master. At that time, the Golden Crow corpse had fallen into his hands in the end. If he could stand up for the Proprietress, things would become easier.
Balling up his fists, Yang Kai said, “What about you?”
If he escaped now, Bai Qi would be left alone here to perish. Nevertheless, Yang Kai wouldn’t dare to touch Bai Qi at this moment. Moreover, this place was extremely far away from First Inn. By the time he managed to return to the inn, it would be too late as the outcome would have become irreversible by then.
“Forget about me! Just go!” Bai Qi forcefully pushed him away, which irritated his aura and caused him to spray out a mouthful of blood again.
An astounded Yang Kai rushed over and clumsily fished out some pills from his Space Ring before stuffing them into Bai Qi’s mouth.
“It’s useless…” Bai Qi put on a bitter smile, “No pills will be useful if they can’t bring order to the Power of Yin, Yang, and Five Elements in my body.”
Hearing that, Yang Kai became stunned and widened his eyes as though he had discovered something amazing. Seeing that, Bai Qi bellowed, “Do you understand that Proprietress is in mortal danger or not!? Stop dilly-dallying and get back to First Inn now!”
If it weren’t because he was weak, he would’ve kicked Yang Kai away.
However, Yang Kai stared at him with a pair of bright eyes and declared, “Old Bai, perhaps you can still be saved!”
“Nonsense!” Bai Qi yelled. Given his condition, even a High-Rank Master would be unable to save him, let alone a mere Emperor Realm cultivator like Yang Kai.
“I have a way that might be able to save you. If it fails, you must not blame me, but if it works, you have to buy me a few drinks!” After Yang Kai finished speaking, he took out a jade bottle and opened the lid. Then, he pried open Bai Qi’s mouth and poured the liquid into it.
An unsuspecting Bai Qi directly gulped it down, but before he could ask anything, he suddenly straightened and stared at him with widened eyes, his face transformed by disbelief.
“How is it?” Yang Kai looked nervously at him.
After a long time, Bai Qi’s eyes brightened. As though he finally realised something, he exclaimed, “World Source Liquid?”
“Will it work or not!?” Yang Kai had the urge to land a kick on him. He couldn’t believe that all Bai Qi was more concerned about what the liquid was than whether it would help him or not.
“Do you have more?” Bai Qi smacked his lips as seemed to develop a craving.
“En,” Yang Kai directly fished out another bottle of World Source Liquid and poured it into Bai Qi’s mouth.
After chugging it down, Bai Qi took a deep breath and, unlike how dejected he was a moment ago, he had a look of determination and joy as he declared, “Stay back. Today, this Old Bai will ascend to the Open Heaven Realm and comprehend the Grand Dao!”
Decisively, Yang Kai flew 100 kilometres away before stopping in his tracks.
Looking from afar, he could see that Bai Qi had sat down in the void with his legs crossed while performing a set of hand seals. Although he was 100 kilometres away, Yang Kai could still clearly feel that the violent force around Bai Qi had rapidly calmed down as an abstruse aura undulated.
[It works!] Seeing that, Yang Kai was finally able to be at ease.
The idea of letting Bai Qi consume World Source Liquid suddenly crossed his mind at that time, but he wasn’t sure whether it would work.
He had obtained a large quantity of World Source Liquid from the Profound Heavens Temple Sealed World back in the Star Boundary. It was a kind of liquid that was formed alongside the birth of a world. Since he collected it though, Yang Kai had not found a use for it at all.
In the past, he had heard someone mention that the reason Iron Blood Great Emperor was stronger than the other Great Emperors was that he had consumed a cup of World Source Liquid before in the Profound Heavens Temple.
Yang Kai had also drunk the liquid, and as it entered his stomach, he seemed to experience Heaven and Earth splitting apart in his body, sending him into a deep state of enlightenment, one he still remembered vividly. Now, the problem with Bai Qi was that the Powers of Yin, Yang, and Five Elements he had condensed were thrown into chaos, destabilizing the new Small Universe inside his body. Therefore, Yang Kai guessed that World Source Liquid might be useful to him.
Now, it seemed that the liquid wasn’t just useful, it was actually the perfect cure.
As time passed, Bai Qi’s aura stopped undulating chaotically as the Power of Yin, Yang, and Five Elements started smoothly blending in his body. A hint of World Force exuded from his body, as if a new world had just been born.
An excited Yang Kai stared fixedly at him. It would take a long time before he could ascend to the Open Heaven Realm, but after observing what Bai Qi had been going through, he would be better prepared to deal with any issues in the future.
*Hong…*
A muffled sound spread from 100 kilometres away. The chiming sound of a bell was heard coming from Bai Qi’s body, and following the sound, with his body as the centre, a great shockwave spread out.
Several more shockwaves erupted soon after, each time causing his aura to become more solidified.
*Hong! Hong! Hong!*
The shockwaves continuously reverberated as Bai Qi’s aura became increasingly more powerful. There wasn’t a tinge of chaos anymore while a vague illusory phantom began appearing behind his back.
Initially, the illusory phantom was unclear, but as time passed, it slowly materialised.
After taking a glance, Yang Kai was amazed as the illusory phantom took the form of First Inn. As he looked at the illusory phantom, it was as though he had returned to the inn.
[This must be Old Bai’s Small Universe!] Yang Kai thought.
Prior to this, he had only seen the Small Universe of a single Open Heaven Realm Master, which was the one that belonged to the Protector Venerable of Fire Spirit Island in Seven Wonders Land, Duan Hai. After Yang Kai was swallowed by a Myriad Facets Insect, which separated him from Zhang Ruo Xi, he was then brought to that world by Duan Hai. It was an expansive ocean where there was a lonely island.
It seemed that the Small Universe World of every cultivator was different. Bai Qi was a shop hand of First Inn, so the inn was profoundly meaningful to him; therefore, his Small Universe after he ascended to the Open Heaven Realm was modelled after First Inn.
That realisation made Yang Kai fall into deep contemplation.
Bai Qi’s condition had stabilised, so it was just a matter of time before he could achieve his ascension. On the other hand, Yang Kai was severely injured, so he decided to sit down and adjust his breathing to recuperate.
As time passed, the aura coming from Bai Qi became richer, and slowly, the initially vague Small Universe World became solidified. All of a sudden, an awe-inspiring power exuded from him.
While in the void, Bai Qi opened his bright eyes and lifted his head to unleash a howl, shaking the world around him.
The Small Universe flashed and disappeared into Bai Qi’s body in the next moment.
Following that, Yang Kai saw a figure appearing in front of him all of a sudden. Bai Qi had crossed the distance of 100 kilometres and flashed a smile at him, “You don’t have to congratulate me, and I’ll be sure to buy you those drinks later. How many days have passed so far?”
“About seven or eight,” Yang Kai replied.
It was difficult to keep track of the time in this void, but supposedly, it had been seven to eight days since Bai Qi took World Source Liquid.
Yang Kai felt fortunate that no top cultivator had passed by this place during this period of time; otherwise, they would’ve been alerted.
“It’s been seven to eight days… I wonder whether the Proprietress is still alright,” Bai Qi frowned with a worried expression. Previously, he and Yang Kai saw the Proprietress battling against four Mid-Rank cultivators, two Sixth-Order and two Fifth-Order. They went further away until they disappeared, and although the Proprietress was strong, she was injured. Moreover, she was dealing with four people on her own, so how was she supposed to be a match for them?
Yang Kai replied in a grim voice, “The Proprietress isn’t a fool. Knowing that she wasn’t a match for them, there was no way she’d keep fighting against them. If I were her, I would’ve snuck into a Universe Temple or Star City in Golden Rainbow Territory.”
Hearing that, Bai Qi nodded his head, “You’re right. In that case, it’s more likely that she had gone to the nearest Universe Temple.”
It wasn’t certain who managed the Star City in Golden Rainbow Territory, but if it wasn’t a force like Great Battle Heaven, fights might be allowed in the city, which made it useless for the Proprietress to go there. On the other hand, conflict was strictly forbidden inside all Universe Temples; otherwise, the troublemakers would have to go up against all the Cave Heavens and Paradises. No one in the 3,000 Worlds had the guts to do such a thing.
“Let’s go to the Universe Temple,” Bai Qi made the decision.
“Do you need to consolidate your breakthrough first?” Yang Kai asked. Bai Qi had just achieved a massive increase in strength, so he wasn’t familiar with his power as an Open Heaven Realm Master yet. Although he was now a Fifth-Order cultivator, it was hard to tell how much power he could unleash when in combat.
“We have no time. I’ll familiarise myself with it slowly.” After Bai Qi finished speaking, he started using the Universe Transference Law.
When he turned his head and saw Yang Kai looking helplessly at him, he smacked his own head, “Ah! I forgot you haven’t left an Imprint in the Universe Temple in Golden Rainbow Territory.”
Without leaving an Imprint, one couldn’t use the Universe Transference Law to head to that specific Universe Temple.
“Go. I’ll just slowly fly over,” Yang Kai spoke as he fished out his Universe Chart and ascertained the location, “It’s not far in any case. It’ll only take me four to five days to reach there.”
A hesitant Bai Qi said, “But, if you’re on your own…”
Yang Kai replied in a solemn voice, “I’ll be alright. You should immediately look for Proprietress,” Recalling the expression on the Proprietress’ face before she left, he felt a sharp pain in his heart. If it weren’t because she wanted to ensure their safety, she wouldn’t have moved the battlefield forcefully, giving her opponents an even bigger advantage.
Bai Qi knew that they had no time to waste. It had taken him seven to eight days to ascend to the Open Heaven Realm, so the Proprietress might have fallen into an even more perilous situation by now. Gritting his teeth, he said, “Alright. You must be careful.”
In response, Yang Kai gave a nod.
A light engulfed Bai Qi as he activated the Universe Transference Law without any hesitation. After a bright Array started glowing beneath his feet, he disappeared from the spot the next moment.
Seeing that he was gone, Yang Kai shot off towards the Universe Temple.
Based on what he had seen in his Universe Chart, it would take him four to five days to reach the Universe Temple. Even if he charged forward at full speed, it would still take him about three days.
At that moment, he was extremely worried about the Proprietress. While he wondered if she had gotten out of the woods, he also hated Qin Ji and the others for being so devious and shameless. They had made use of a Sealing Yang Domain to lure the Proprietress into their trap.
It was a lonely journey to travel across the void as, unless by coincidence, it was difficult to come across anyone in this expansive universe.
Two days later, while Yang Kai was still heading to his destination though, he felt a Divine Sense scanning him from the front, which prompted him to straighten his face and lift his head.
There was no one within his range of sight, and after releasing his Divine Sense, he still couldn’t detect anything.
At that instant, he was aware that the owner of the Divine Sense was much stronger than he was, which was why he was unable to detect the other person’s presence. While he was lost in his thoughts, his expression changed suddenly. That was because the person’s Divine Sense had locked onto him instead of moving away.
Without even giving it a thought, Yang Kai manipulated Space Principles to flee from this place, and when he reappeared, he was already several hundred kilometres away.
Whoever the owner of the Divine Sense was, the person must have had ill intentions to be targeting him; therefore, he had to flee immediately. He felt sorrowful as he was too weak now. When he was in the Star Boundary, he was one of the strongest Masters, but upon coming to the Outer Universe, any random Open Heaven Master could force him to flee like a timid rabbit. It seemed that he could only gain a footing in this place by breaking through to the Open Heaven Realm, just like what Bai Qi had done.
However, the Divine Sense was still glued to him, and its intensity was growing stronger by the breath. Regardless of how many times Yang Kai used Instantaneous Movement, he was unable to shake off his pursuer. If anything, the gap between them was continuously shortening.
Half a day later, Yang Kai could finally sense the other person’s aura.
Upon scanning this person, Yang Kai was both shocked and enraged; then, he secretly cursed at her, [It’s that bitch!]
The person chasing after him was none other than Yue He, who had been battling against the Proprietress some time ago.
Since Yue He was here, it suggested that their battle had ended. Yang Kai felt his heart sinking as he instinctively felt that the Proprietress must have fallen into danger.
However, why was this woman chasing after a mere Emperor Realm cultivator like him? Judging from the direction she was approaching from, she must be coming from the Universe Temple; otherwise, they wouldn’t have bumped into one another.
While he was doubtful, he suddenly heard Yue He’s voice in his head, “Don’t you want to know whether Lan You Ruo is dead or alive?”
Upon hearing that, Yang Kai abruptly stopped. Despite knowing that it might be a trap, he still couldn’t move his feet away. Gnashing his teeth together, he turned around and waited in silence.
Yue He was a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, unless he made use of Space Beacons, just like how he had done after leaving the Golden Crow Divine Palace previously, he would never be able to shake her off. However, even if he used Space Beacons, he might not succeed. The reasons he was able to get rid of the Proprietress and the others at that time were that he was lucky, and that all their attention was on the Golden Crow carcass, which was why he had the chance to distract them and flee, he wasn’t confident of achieving the same result this time.
Since it was just a matter of time before he was caught, Yang Kai decided to simply stop fleeing.
More importantly, he didn’t detect any murderous intent from Yue He, which was why he had the guts to take a risk.
Soon, Yue He appeared in his sight, and the next moment, she was already just ten kilometres away from him.
Yang Kai lifted his hand and shouted, “Don’t come any closer! Otherwise, I’ll make a move against you!” As he spoke, he performed a hand seal with a solemn expression.
Hearing that, Yue He stopped in her tracks and sized him up in silence.
It was then Yang Kai realised that this woman was severely injured, which made him feel gleeful as he knew that the Proprietress must have wounded her; however, he was still apprehensive because he had no idea what the outcome of the battle was.
There was a strange light in Yue He’s eyes as she flashed a smile at him, “Do you want to know whether Lan You Ruo is dead or alive?”
“Yes,” Yang Kai said resolutely.
After a sigh, Yue He replied, “Don’t worry. She’s not dead yet.”
Yang Kai snorted, “Do you think scum like you all could kill her? Dream on!”
Yue He asked, “Since you’re so confident in her, why did you stop fleeing? Wasn’t it because you were worried?”
“So what if I stopped? I just wanted to confirm my speculation.” Yang Kai shot her a glare, “All of you should be the ones who are worried now. Since the Proprietress is not dead, your days are numbered.”
“You’re right.” Yue He nodded lightly before letting out a cough, “Our days are indeed numbered. That’s why I’ve been looking for you.”
Yang Kai scoffed, “What’s the point of looking for me? Do you think I’ll persuade the Proprietress not to kill you?”
Yue He said, “As long as you’re in my hands, I believe that Big Sister Lan will not make things difficult for me. At the very least, she’ll talk to me peacefully.”
“Nonsense. I’m just a shop hand from First Inn. All of you failed in your attempt to kill Proprietress. After she recovers, she’ll settle the score with you all.”
Yue He’s expression changed as though she could already imagine that scene, but she still forced a smile, “Don’t underestimate yourself. Although you’re weak, you’re fairly important to Big Sister Lan.”
Hearing that, Yang Kai knitted his brows. Previously, Bai Qi had told him that the Proprietress treasured him, and now this Yue He had also said something similar, which puzzled him.
It had only been a short time since he and the Proprietress met. The only reason that brought them together was the destruction of First Inn. After giving it a thought, he realised that the Proprietress had indeed been taking good care of him since the beginning. Besides giving him Seven Faces and a Territory Shuttle, she had also gotten his Shadowless Veil refined by a Grandmaster. After his conflict with Young Master Hai, she even killed the latter outside the Star City.
In light of that, the Proprietress really had been treating him well.
“Big Sister Lan is severely injured, and she’s recuperating in a Universe Temple. It will take her six months to a year to recover.” Then, Yue He changed her tune, “Before she comes knocking on my door, I want you to follow me around.”
“What makes you think I’ll obey your order?”
With her mouth covered, Yue He giggled, “Although I’m wounded, I can still easily capture you.”
Yang Kai immediately used a different hand seal and bellowed, “I dare you to make a move! The same fate that befell the guy surnamed Yu will also happen to you!”
Yue He’s expression turned solemn as she recalled the sight of Old Yu getting killed by Mie Meng. Faced with that golden rooster, a Fourth-Order cultivator was completely powerless to resist and had his Soul separated from his body and gulped down. Although she was a Fifth-Order cultivator, she was heavily injured right now and was probably not any stronger than Old Yu was at that time.
As their gazes met, Yue He narrowed her eyes while Yang Kai looked provocatively at her.
A long time later, Yue He snorted, “How dare you bluff with me!”
Following that, she extended her hand towards him.
There was a bitter expression on Yang Kai’s face as he didn’t even put up any resistance as he let her grab his collar. Once a bluff was seen through, it became completely meaningless. He had no Mie Meng golden tail feathers left, so faced with a Master like Yue He, any resistance would only increase his suffering. Given their close proximity, he wouldn’t even have a chance to use Instantaneous Movement.
“You really were lying!” Yue He snorted and landed a knock that was neither gentle nor forceful on his head.
With his head covered, Yang Kai glared at her. No woman had ever knocked his head before, which was immensely humiliating; however, since he was weaker, he could only choke down the grievance.
“How dare you glare at me!” Yue He gave him another knock.
Hurriedly, Yang Kai took a few steps back and yelled, “I’m warning you! If you dare make a move on me again, don’t blame me for being rude!”
“Oh?” Yue He narrowed her eyes, “How are you going to be rude to me? Tell me about it.”
Yang Kai glowered at her, his chest heaving in fury.
All of a sudden, Yue He started laughing, “Alright. Why don’t we make a deal? I’m not really in the best of condition now, so I don’t want to waste any energy to restrict you, so as long as you don’t try to flee, I won’t make a move against you. It saves both of us the trouble.”
“That’s more like it,” Yang Kai nodded in satisfaction. Since this woman intended to use him as a bargaining chip to negotiate with the Proprietress, she probably wouldn’t harm him. Since his life wasn’t at risk, he could rest assured.
Yue He slowly shook her head as she wasn’t in the mood to bicker with him. After identifying the direction, she said, “It’s decided, then. Come with me.”
After she finished speaking, she indeed left the place first to lead the way.
Yang Kai hesitated for a moment before giving up on the idea of fleeing. Yue He was facing away from him, but he believed that as soon as he attempted to run away, she would immediately make a move.
Faced with a Fifth-Order Open Heaven cultivator, he didn’t have the confidence to escape. He secretly swore that when the Proprietress came over to fetch him, he would retaliate against this woman. [Proprietress will come fetch me, right?]
They didn’t speak to one another on the road as Yue He had to recuperate, and Yang Kai wasn’t interested in talking to her. Just like this, they travelled across the void and passed through a series of Territory Gates.
The way they got along with one another was rather odd. Although Yang Kai was supposedly her captive, she didn’t really make things difficult for him. Instead, she would deliberately slow her pace so that he could keep up.
After six or seven days, she finally recovered to a point where her strength wasn’t impeded. In fact, three days ago, she had started becoming talkative as she asked Yang Kai all sorts of questions.
When Yang Kai was in a good mood, he would briefly reply to her, but when he was in a bad mood, he would ignore her. Instead of getting mad though, she always sported a smile on her face, which made Yang Kai suspect that she might have something wrong with her head. The way she kept gazing at him was especially strange.
“After passing through this Territory Gate, we’ll have two more to go before we arrive at our destination.” Yue He pointed at the Territory Gate in front of them as she was flying.
“Your home is pretty far away,” Yang Kai followed her from a short distance in a calm manner. After a few days of getting along with her, he no longer felt as hostile towards her.
“It’s not that far away. We’ll have to visit the Star City over there as I’m going to buy something.”
Yang Kai didn’t say a word as he didn’t have a say in any matter. Yue He could go wherever she wanted to. However, how did this woman have the gall to bring him to a Star City? Wasn’t she worried that he’d simply walk off?
As though she had seen through his thoughts, Yue He turned her head and smiled, “That Star City is ownerless, so fighting is not forbidden there. You can try running away if you’d like.”
Yang Kai pressed his lips together. It was no wonder that she had the guts to do such a thing. They had passed by many Star Cities on the road, but she only wanted to visit this one. This must be the reason behind it.
After moving through the Territory Gate, Yue He indeed brought him to a Star City, which gave off a different vibe from the one First Inn was currently located in. Upon entering the city, Yang Kai realised that there were many small scuffles on the streets, and everywhere looked chaotic.
Many ill-intentioned people eyed them, and some men openly lusted after Yue He’s curvy figure.
However, her majestic aura made sure that no one dared find trouble with them.
Instead of a Star City, this place looked more like a black market to Yang Kai. This was like a gathering place for people who lived in the gutters of society.
This Star City was actually a few times larger than the one managed by Great Battle Heaven, and the streets were crammed with people. Yang Kai estimated that there were probably several hundred thousand people living here.
Next, he followed Yue He into several shops. Seeing as she spent money like water, he was astounded, thinking that a Fifth-Order cultivator was indeed wealthy.
Yue He bought all sorts of things, which were either for cultivating or treating her wounds. It was apparent that she was a regular in this Star City as she was familiar with some of the shopkeepers here.
After half a day, she was finally done with her shopping and without further delay, they prepared to leave.
Right then, the crowd broke into a commotion as they looked up at the sky. Certainly, Yang Kai and Yue He were aware of the unusual noise, so they stopped in their tracks and followed the crowd’s gazes as well.
Upon seeing what was happening, Yang Kai couldn’t help but frown. Presently, the sky was covered in a large region of pink fog. The fog was so expansive that no one could see anything else, stunning many. Furthermore, this fog seemed to be descending from the sky rapidly towards them.
When Yang Kai first saw the pink fog, it was still very far away, but in the blink of an eye, it was already hovering above the Star City and getting closer.
“What is that?” A shocked Yang Kai instinctively had a bad premonition.
Before Yue He could reply to him though, some on the street exclaimed in horror, “Grand Ancient Ruins Rolling Fog!”
Yue He’s expression changed drastically as she grabbed Yang Kai’s arm and yelled, “Run!”
In the next instant, Yang Kai felt his body becoming as light as a feather, and the view around him was moving backwards rapidly. Apparently, Yue He was trying her best to flee in an attempt to escape the pink fog.
Judging by Yue He’s current behaviour, it looked as if she was about to face a deadly adversary. This caused Yang Kai to be extremely nervous as well. He might not have any idea as to what the Grand Ancient Ruins Rolling Fog was, but he could guess that it was definitely something bad.
Everyone in the Star City immediately backed away before running to seek shelter.
When Yang Kai looked over his shoulders, his pupils immediately shrank. He saw that any cultivator who was unable to escape from the Ancient Ruins Rolling Fog disappeared into thin air. That pink mist was like an invisible beast, swallowing all the cultivators into its belly. No matter how high one’s cultivation was, they were unable to resist at all.
Yang Kai even saw a Third-Order Open Heaven Realm Master helpless to save himself even after going all out.
Not only was this happening to people, but even the buildings in the Star City and even the Spirit Province itself where the Star City was located weren’t spared. With the fog spreading around, the Spirit Province simply disappeared, buildings and all.
Three breaths, just three breaths had elapsed since Yang Kai noticed this Grand Ancient Ruins Rolling Fog, and yet most of Star City had already disappeared, including everything and everyone inside of it.
Yue He clutched Yang Kai’s arm and desperately fled. As a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, she could be considered quite strong and her speed was astonishing when she went all out, but even then, she couldn’t escape the chasing fog.
Seeing that the fog was about to catch up to them, Yang Kai shouted, extremely anxiously, “Let go!”
The Grand Ancient Ruins Rolling Fog was too fast, so at this point, only Instantaneous Moment could give them a chance to escape, but Yue He was tightly gripping him, making it impossible for Yang Kai to use Space Principles freely.
But where would Yue He have the time to care about his words? Yang Kai might not have any idea about how dangerous the Grand Ancient Ruins Rolling Fog was, but she was very clear about it. When she sensed Yang Kai struggling, she injected a burst of energy straight into Yang Kai’s body without speaking a word.
Yang Kai’s body immediately went limp; he almost coughed up blood in anger!
And this momentary delay had denied them the best chance to escape. The pink Grand Ancient Ruins Rolling Fog came sweeping from the rear, instantly enveloping the two inside.
The sight before Yang Kai’s eyes instantly changed as a feeling of the sky and the earth spinning around hit him. He was surrounded by a pink fog and couldn’t see anything, nor could he release his Divine Sense. Just when he was growing nervous and restless, he heard Yue He’s voice by his ear as an orchid-like fragrance tickled his nose.
“Don’t be afraid, the Grand Ancient Ruins Rolling Fog isn’t lethal. We won’t die.”
Yang Kai furrowed his brow upon hearing this, [Since it’s not lethal, why are so many cultivators in the Star City terrified at the sight of this Grand Ancient Ruins Rolling Fog, and escaping from it as if it was some deadly snake or scorpion?] What’s more, he had witnessed with his own eyes countless cultivators being devoured by this Grand Ancient Ruins Rolling Fog. Could it be that those people were still alive?
His body drifted through the darkness as if it was falling into an endless abyss.
A soft and tender figure pressed against his hard and robust body. Even though he couldn’t see anything, Yang Kai still knew that it was Yue He and he secretly found it funny. A Fifth-Order Open Heaven Master was actually feeling insecure and needed to cling to him for comfort?
However, he was rather curious at this moment.
He might have no idea what exactly this Grand Ancient Ruins Rolling Fog was, and what would happen after being swallowed by it, but he wasn’t unfamiliar with the sensation he was experiencing right now. It felt similar to when he crossed the Void to teleport extremely far away.
After a short time, the pink mist around him disappeared and his line of sight cleared up. As he looked around, he found himself having come to another world.
He was definitely not in the same Star City as before as he was now in a wide and endless plain. There were many cultivators scattered all around him; clearly, all of them were the unlucky folks that were just swallowed by the Grand Ancient Ruins Rolling Fog.
When he looked up at the sky, Yang Kai furrowed his brow. What he saw was akin to looking at the face of oblivion. It appeared as if the sky would collapse at any moment, giving the onlooker an extreme feeling of oppression.
Also, there were many ruins scattered all around him. Judging by their shapes and plaques, they should be the remains of the stores of the Star City.
It was the first time Yang Kai saw the strange sight of even buildings getting devoured. He couldn’t help but be baffled by it.
All the cultivators, who had been swallowed here, showed different kinds of reactions; some were excited, some were depressed, and many were cursing the Heavens…
“The Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary!” Yue He, looking around, murmured, “I never expected the rumours to be true.”
“Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary?” Yang Kai looked over at her. Finally, he realized that she had been grabbing his arm all the while, causing him to unconsciously glance down slightly.
Yue He immediately let go of his hand with a laugh, “The Outer Universe is incredibly vast and inhabited by numerous great forces, but in addition to the known worlds, there are some hidden in the Void such as this one, the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary. The Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary appears perhaps once in a millennium, and every time it does, it vanishes soon after. No one can find its traces no matter how much they try. The only way to enter is to chance upon the opportunity.”
“Opportunity?” Yang Kai raised his brow.
“En, this is both an opportunity and a disaster.” Yue He glanced at him, “The Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary is extremely mysterious. It’s very hard to find its traces as it’s detached from the Outer Universe. It’s not even among the 3,000 Worlds. If entering it is not an opportunity, then what is?”
Yang Kai sneered as he thought, [If it’s really an opportunity, why did you flee in panic after seeing it? Why are some cultivators cursing while others are rejoicing? Why have so many faces gone completely pale?]
Yue He’s face slowly became solemn as she continued in a heavy voice, “I have only heard the rumours, but supposedly, whenever the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary appears, the Grand Ancient Ruins Rolling Fog manifests, and everything in the area shrouded in the fog would be completely devoured. But one would only believe the rumours to be true when they have finally seen it with their own eyes.”
Yang Kai ponderingly asked after hearing this, “You mean to say that we can leave the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary?”
Yue He replied, “Of course. If there was no way out, how would rumours about the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary spread? It’s just that one can’t escape from this place by force. As long as one remains here for a certain duration, he or she can naturally leave this place.”
“And how long is that?” Yang Kai furrowed his brow.
After knowing that he could leave the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, he wasn’t so worried anymore. At least he wasn’t afraid of being trapped in this damned place for a lifetime.
“I’m not sure either. Some say that it’s ten years, some say it’s twenty, and some even say that it’s fifty to a hundred years. I guess that the time limit for each opening is different.”
Yang Kai’s face turned serious. He might be able to take it if it was just a decade or two, but if he was trapped for more than half a century, it would be really bad.
“The Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary isn’t safe either. You must be very careful here.” Yue He continued, staring at him, “If twenty percent of those who enter this place leave alive, it’s considered quite good.”
“It’s that dangerous here?” Yang Kai asked, frowning.
Yue He agreed, nodding, “There are many Ancient Exotic Beasts living here, each and every one of them extremely strong. They can slaughter an entire city quite easily. Moreover… human greed is the most dangerous threat of all.” While speaking, she glanced at the cultivators around them, who had all kinds of expressions hanging on their faces.
Yang Kai slightly nodded before asking, “You said that it was an opportunity and a disaster. I understand the disaster, but where is the opportunity?”
Yue He chuckled, “The Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary opens once every thousand years or so, and the number of people who can enter it varies greatly each time. If the Grand Ancient Ruins Rolling Fog swept through the void, perhaps no one would be able to enter even if it opened. As far as I know, the last time someone entered the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary was several millennia ago. No one has been here for several millennia, so all the treasures and precious herbs have had several millennia to mature. So tell me, is this a treasure trove or not?”
Yang Kai’s eyes lit up after hearing this.
Yue He continued, “Some people found enough resources here that by the time they left, they were able to break through to the Open Heaven Realm and found great forces of their own. Others found the Grand Ancient Ruins Fruit which helped them advance by an Order. Some even managed to tame a powerful Ancient Exotic Beast, allowing them to freely roamed across the 3,000 Worlds. There are countless examples of people finding something here which helped them ascend to the sky in a single bound. Rumour has it that the Sect Masters of Xuan Yuan Cave Heaven, True Martial Cave Heaven, and Primordial Cave Heaven all once entered the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary!”
Yang Kai was stupefied after hearing this. He had never heard of something called the Grand Ancient Ruins Fruit, but the fact that it could help someone to advance by an Order was simply incredible and Yang Kai couldn’t help but wonder if such a treasure really existed.
Furthermore, Xuan Yuan Cave Heaven, True Martial Cave Heaven, and Primordial Cave Heaven were all top-ranked Cave-Heavens among the 36. Their Sect Masters were also Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters. [If such figures had once entered the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, then does that mean that their strength and success had something to do with their experience here?]
Nothing could be said for certain, but after observing everyone’s expression and demeanour, Yang Kai was certain that the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary was indeed a treasure trove of opportunities, and the opportunities weren’t small either; otherwise, many cultivators wouldn’t be looking so excited.
Yue He suddenly frowned once again and muttered, “Too many people have entered this time though. I’m afraid there has never been so many people entering the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary like this ever before.”
It was just a coincidence that the Grand Ancient Ruins Rolling Fog swept over a heavily populated Star City. Yang Kai reckoned that not a single person could make a getaway from the Grand Ancient Ruins Rolling Fog and all of them were swallowed by it.
A few hundred thousand cultivators from the Star City were now gathered inside the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary. It could be said that this would go down in history. But Yang Kai felt that not that many people were gathered nearby. Presumably, everyone was scattered across the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary when they entered, so there were probably just a few tens of thousands of people nearby, that’s all.
Just as Yang Kai was immersed in his thoughts, he suddenly heard a sharp, miserable scream.
Yang Kai was startled, but when he turned to look, he saw a group of men crowded around a burly man with a sabre, confronting another group. And at the forefront of the other group stood a cultivator dressed as a shop boy. He appeared to be in pain and was covering his stomach with a frightened look on his face. There was a huge gaping wound across his body and he was profusely bleeding from it. Clearly, he had been injured by the burly man.
The burly man angrily shouted with a condescending look on his face, “I’ll say it again, get out of my way or die!”
The leader of the other group looked like the shopkeeper of a certain store. Hearing that, his expression changed and he cupped his fists and entreated, “All of us have landed in trouble together here. We should be supporting each other, not fighting amongst ourselves. My Spring Meadows Hall is not without a backer either. Aren’t you afraid of retribution in the future?”
The burly man sneered after hearing this, “Retribution? We’ll see if this retribution could do anything to this Old Master.”
Saying so, he slashed ahead. The shopkeeper’s face turned pale. He was just about to retreat but the burly man was stronger than him. As the burly man swung the blade down, the sabre aura shot from it directly split the shopkeeper into two and his two halves fell left and right.
When the shop boys standing behind the shopkeeper saw this, they screamed in horror before fleeing randomly.
The sabre-wielding burly man burst into wild laughter before instructing his subordinates, “Bring me all the pills in the store! Don’t leave even a single one behind.”
The group behind him then rushed out one after another, charging towards the collapsed store, whereupon they lifted the collapsed walls and stuffed the bottles of pills into their pockets.
“Human greed…” Yue He let out a burst of cold, sardonic laughter, but she had no intention of stepping in. From the start, this Star City was already a place of turmoil, not to mention the fact that it had been devoured by the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, even if they were outside, people would often start fighting to death on the streets.
Yang Kai looked around and found quite a few similar scenes taking place. All the shops in the Star City were swallowed into the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, not even the merchandise in the shops were spared. And now, when everyone had landed here and was completely cut off from the outside world, the goods in those stores had naturally become much sought-after. Especially stores like Spring Meadows Hall that sold pills, which were most cherished by the cultivators. Although the shopkeepers and the assistants tried everything to block the crowds, how could they stop these packs of wolves and tigers; they were swept away one after another, and the goods were swept clean thereafter.
“Stop! Whoever dares to touch anything belonging to my Spring Meadows Hall will die!” A fierce shout rang out as a nearby elderly man came flying over. He landed right before the ruins of the Spring Meadows Hall with a loud thump before his sharp gaze swept about condescendingly.
The assistants of the Spring Meadows Hall rejoiced after seeing this old man and gathered around him. One of the assistants immediately shouted, “Sir, you have to stand up for us. Not only did he rob us of our pills, but also killed the shopkeeper!”
The elderly man glanced at the shopkeeper lying on the ground before looking up at the burly man, “Were you the one who killed him?”
The burly man with the sabre furrowed his brow as a sliver of fear flashed past his eyes, but very soon, that trace amount of fear vanished as he arrogantly put his blade on his shoulder and stated, sneering, “Senior Kang, long time no see.”
The old man surnamed Kang rebuffed, coldly snorting, “Ding Yi, where did you get the courage to attack him even after clearly seeing that he was one of my men. I guess you have grown tired of living. If you obediently kneel down and cripple your cultivation yourself, this Old Master will let you live. If you dare to remain impenetrably thick-headed, then don’t blame this Old Master for being ruthless!”
The burly man named Ding Yi stated after hearing this, “Senior Kang is truly strong and awe-inspiring.”
He then shook his head before a grin appeared on his lips, “If we were outside, this Ding would not dare confront Senior Kang, who is a Third-Order Open Heaven Master. I would have obediently kneeled down and licked your feet, but Senior Kang, you are forgetting something. We aren’t outside anymore, but rather inside the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary. The Grand Ancient Ruins Rolling Fog suppresses and seals all universes. Senior Kang, I wonder how much of your Third-Order Open Heaven strength you can bring out?”
The old man surnamed Kang furiously shouted, “More than enough to kill you!”
Ding Yi swung his sabre as he squinted, “Then this Ding would like to see what Senior Kang is capable of!”
“You court death!” The old man surnamed Kang blew his top. How could he take someone who had always been respectful and subservient to him blatantly provoking him? Just as he shouted this, he jumped at Ding Yi in a flash and thrust out a palm at him.
When Ding Yi saw this, he didn’t look afraid, rather his eyes lit up, “Old dog, you have been riding on my head for over a century, today this Ding will surely take back a little bit of interest!”
Judging by his words, he had some grudges against the old man surnamed Kang; otherwise, he wouldn’t be aiming at Spring Meadows Hall specifically.
The next moment, the sabre aura skyrocketed as Ding Yi hacked down. The long blade surrounded by violent energy cut right into the palm the old man surnamed Kang pressed forward.
The old man surnamed Kang consecutively smacked his palm a few times, creating deafening explosions one after another. The two figures separated as soon as they came in contact. Subsequently, Ding Yi was pushed back tens of metres, crashing into a collapsed shop while the old man surnamed Kang stabilized himself after backing away three steps.
In a single clash, Ding Yi came out at a disadvantage.
But at the sight of this, the eyes of the countless cultivators in the vicinity started burning.
This wasn’t surprising. The old man surnamed Kang was a Third-Order Open Heaven Master, so if they were outside, Ding Yi wouldn’t be able to resist at all. But in this Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, although Ding Yi was still not this old man’s opponent, he at least had the qualifications to fight against him.
[So the rumour of the Grand Ancient Ruins Rolling Fog suppressing and sealing all universes is true!] Realization suddenly dawned upon everyone.
*Hong long long…* Thunderous rumbles spread far and wide as Ding Yi wielded his sabre and rushed out of the collapsed store. Although he was bleeding from the corner of his mouth, his eyes were gleaming. He swung his blade and stated, “Brothers and sisters, there are no Open Heaven Realm Masters in the Grand Ancient Ruins! This old dog has been bullying us for so many years, come and join me, let’s take our revenge today!”
As soon as he said that, all the cultivators who were following Ding Yi looked inspired. They summoned their respective artifacts, one by one, before they launched their attacks on the old man surnamed Kang along with Ding Yi.
The old man surnamed Kang’s face drastically changed. Even though he had the help of the shop hands of Spring Meadows Hall, the difference in numbers between the two sides was still massive. Miserable screams rang as the few assistants from Spring Meadows Hall fell one after another. Even the old man surnamed Kang was struck by several artifact attacks and coughed up blood.
Realizing he was outmatched, the old man surnamed Kang ground his teeth and roared, “Ding Yi, this Old Master will make you pay a hundred times for today in the future, mark my words!”
After shouting this threat, he turned around and flew off. Although Ding Yi desperately tried to stop him together with the crowd, they were completely powerless to do so; after all, the old man surnamed Kang still had his foundation as a Third-Order Open Heaven Master. Although he was unable to bring out all his strength in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, Ding Yi and the others were unable to stop him after he was determined to escape.
Looking at the distantly departing figure of the old man surnamed Kang, Ding Yi spat on the ground in frustration, seemingly unwilling.
In the ruins of the Star City, the countless onlookers had all kinds of thoughts running through their minds at the sight of this scene; some were sad while others rejoiced.
Ding Yi opportunely raised his arm and shouted aloud, “Brothers and sisters, we Emperor Realm Masters have lived humbly and experienced all kinds of hardships in the Outer Universe, and it’s all thanks to those condescending Open Heaven Realm Masters! The Heavens have bestowed us a chance to enter the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary today, so do you want to allow those high and mighty Open Heaven Realm bastards to keep riding atop our heads? Join this Ding now and flip the Heavens! Let’s see whether any of those old dogs dare to look down on us again!”
His words were extremely instigating, furthermore, they reached the hearts of many; especially those Emperor Realm cultivators who had been suppressed by Open Heaven Realm Masters. One after another, others empathized with Ding Yi, looking eager to rise up against their former oppressors. All of them looked at Ding Yi with heated gazes.
In an instant, many people had gathered around Ding Yi, having decided to follow his lead.
Yang Kai suddenly looked at Yue He, “Does the Grand Ancient Ruins Rolling Fog suppress and seal all universes? So there are no Open Heaven Realm Masters in the Grand Ancient Ruins?”
He might not have a real idea about the real cultivation of the old man surnamed Kang, but since Ding Yi said that he was in the Third-Order Open Heaven Realm, it shouldn’t be wrong. But in the recent battle, the strength displayed by the old man surnamed Kang was just at the peak of the Emperor Realm. It was not even close to the might of an Open Heaven Realm Master. Thinking back on what Ding Yi said, Yang Kai made an educated guess.
Yue He hesitated for a while before heaving a sigh and replying, “En! The Grand Ancient Ruins Rolling Fog might not be lethal, but it has extremely mysterious powers. If it invades one’s body, it suppresses and seals all Small Universes. In other words, the Open Heaven Realm Masters here are unable to bring out their full strength. That’s why he said that there were no Open Heaven Realm Masters in the Grand Ancient Ruins.”
Yang Kai deeply stared at her for a while before stating with a grin, “Then you’re in big trouble!”
He couldn’t help but have the urge to throw his head back and laugh at the sky. At first, when he ended up here all of a sudden, Yang Kai was a little unhappy. He felt that if Yue He hadn’t kept a hold of him, he might have been able to escape; but now, he felt like thanking her for what she did.
Surprisingly, the Small Universes of Open Heaven Realm Masters were sealed inside the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, limiting the strength they could exert to the peak of the Emperor Realm. If not so, how could a Third-Order Open Heaven Realm Master like the old man surnamed Kang be beaten and forced to escape away in embarrassment by the likes of Ding Yi and his rabble?
And in the Emperor Realm, did Yang Kai need to fear anyone? He had never expected that he could run amok after arriving in the Outer Universe.
Yue He lightly snorted after hearing this, “So what if my Small Universe is sealed? An Open Heaven Realm Master is still an Open Heaven Realm Master! They still have their foundation. It’s impossible for an ordinary Emperor Realm Master to be their opponent.”
Yang Kai calmly added, carrying his hands behind his back, “You have no idea what I’m capable of.”
He paused for a moment before continuing, “Speaking of which, there are over a hundred times the Emperors in the Star City compared to Open Heaven Realm Masters. If one is not their opponent, could it be that not even ten would be their opponent either?”
Yue He angrily rebuked, “What are you planning to do to me?”
Yang Kai smilingly looked at her, “I don’t need to do anything, someone will do something to you. After all… you’re a high and mighty Open Heaven Realm Master!”
Yue He’s face changed slightly after hearing this. When she turned to look, she saw Ding Yi staring straight at her with a greedy and fiery look in his eyes. His gaze was constantly wandering over her beautiful face and shapely figure. He then pointed his sabre at her and shouted aloud, “Brothers, I remember that she is a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master! What do you say we should do?”
“A Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master?” The crowd of cultivators shouted in shock.
An Open-Heaven Realm Master was already a high and mighty figure for most cultivators. Even someone like the old man surnamed Kang was a great figure in their eyes, not to mention a Fifth-Order Master. Many people might not even have the chance to lay their eyes on such a strong Master in their entire life.
Especially someone as charming as Yue He. Her eyes were so enchanting that anyone would be seduced with just a glance. In an instant, many people were tempted as greed and lust filled their hearts.
“Let’s take her down! A Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master might be amazing outside, but not here in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary!”
“Tsk tsk, this Old Master has never played around with a Fifth-Order woman before. If this Old Master can spend a steamy night with her, I won’t regret it even if I die the next day!”
“She doesn’t appear to be a stuffy woman. She must be amazing in bed!”
…..
Verbal abuses came pouring in from all sides, making Yue He’s face suddenly turn cold and grim and drawing murderous intent from her body. Ordinarily, these Emperor Realm cultivators wouldn’t even dare lift their heads before her, but in this special environment, and coupled with Ding Yi’s instigation, everyone’s dark side had reared its head. It seemed as if they found a lot of pleasure in spewing filth from their mouths, and every word they spoke was completely unbearable.
Yue He trembled in anger and lashed out, “Courting death!”
Ding Yi deviously smiled, “The last guy who said such words has already fled. Madame, if you have any self-awareness, surrender without a fight. This Ding promises to take good care of you. If you choose to remain ignorant of your current situation, you will be forcing us to make a move. Don’t blame me and my fellow brothers for not showing compassion to a woman at that time!”
While speaking, he spat out some blood from his mouth onto his sabre, making him look even more hideous.
Yue He silently ground her teeth in anger. She couldn’t wait to slap Ding Yi to death, but she also knew that she was basically unable to do so in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary. Judging by the battle between Ding Yi and the old man surnamed Kang, Ding Yi wasn’t weak within the Emperor Realm. With the strength she could currently display, it was completely impractical to take down Ding Yi’s group.
Ding Yi, pointed his blade at her, aggressively stating, “Whether you will be fleeing or fighting, Madame just needs to speak!”
Yue He hatefully glared at him, then she turned to look at Yang Kai as a sliver of pleading flashed across her eyes.
Yang Kai only smilingly looked at her, remaining unmoved. As far as he was concerned, Yue He was an enemy rather than a friend. It was already a kindness on his part that he wasn’t adding insult to injury, so why would he care whether she lived or died?
“Take care of yourself!” A sliver of disappointment flashed across Yue He’s eyes before she rapidly flew off.
Ding Yi coldly glanced at her but showed no intention of pursuing her. They couldn’t prevent a Third-Order Master like the old man surnamed Kang from escaping, so trying to stop a Fifth-Order Master such as Yue He was naturally impossible; therefore, he didn’t bother to waste his energy.
He then turned his gaze at Yang Kai, deeply staring at him.
Yang Kai shrugged his shoulders, “I have a grudge with her!”
“That better be so!” Ding Yi snorted before turning around and proclaiming to the crowd of cultivators aloud, “Here, today, I, Ding Yi, found Emperor Heaven, where Emperors will be like the Heavens themselves. This ruined Star City will be the Headquarters in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary of my Emperor Heaven. Anyone who wants to join me can choose to stay. We will live and die together, sharing the weal and woe, but if you don’t want to join me, I request you quickly leave this place. If there are still people idling here by tomorrow, don’t blame this Ding for being merciless!”
While speaking, he swung the sabre down, splitting the ground in front of him into two.
Yang Kai knit his brows. [This Ding Yi might look like an ordinary guy, but he actually managed to seize this opportunity to gather allies and establish himself. I have to say that it was a smart move.]
This time, the opening of the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary was completely different from before; too many people had entered this time. It was extremely difficult to fight alone in such an environment, but if one could gather some allies, it would be much more convenient to act.
But judging by his words, it was apparent that Ding Yi wanted to occupy this ruined section of Star City. This definitely aroused the ire of many, especially the Open Heaven Realm Masters who were still hiding nearby. Then again, if Emperor Heaven could be really founded today, and if it remained standing after a few difficulties, then the public would slowly side with him.
“Emperor Heaven! Emperor Heaven!”
“Share weal and woe!”
Much to Yang Kai’s surprise, when Ding Yi was finished, dozens of people started shouting and the number quickly continued to rise.
Yang Kai was astounded.
He hadn’t been in the Outer Universe for long, and apart from the unpleasant experience of being a Worker in Seven Wonders Land, his life in First Inn was relatively comfortable; therefore, he had no idea about the troubles Emperor Realm cultivators faced in the 3,000 Worlds.
[However, if Luo Hai Yi was here, I’m afraid she too would have been attracted by the notion of Emperor Heaven.] Thinking this way, Yang Kai relaxed.
It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to stand up and be the masters of their own destiny, so how would these Emperor Realm cultivators not grab hold of it tightly?
People joined in shouting in waves; tens turned to hundreds, and hundreds to thousands…
Ding Yi, who stood in the limelight, flushed with energy as he lifted his sabre into the air. He was in high and vigorous spirits, gazing down at the familiar and unfamiliar faces.
As the popular adage goes, when the seas are in turmoil, heroes rise to the surface!
At that moment, two figures suddenly approached from afar.
Yang Kai turned to look and found that it was none other than the old man surnamed Kang and Yue He, who had left just before. He couldn’t fathom what they were thinking by coming back; furthermore, their faces were grim, as if something big had happened.
“Old dog, you dare return?!” Ding Yi, noticing that it was the old man surnamed Kang, laughed out aloud and declared, “You will be the perfect sacrifice to raise my Emperor Heaven’s banner!”
To everyone’s surprise, the old man surnamed Kang completely ignored this provocation and rushed straight past their heads before continuing fleeing, leaving Ding Yi dumbfounded.
Yue He, on the other hand, rushed to Yang Kai’s side, grabbed his arm, and shouted, “Run!”
Yang Kai frowned, but just as he was about to speak up, he felt the ground tremble beneath his feat. The trembling wasn’t severe at first, but very soon, deafening rumbles rang in his ears, as if thunderbolts were charging over towards them.
Yang Kai’s expression changed as a vague speculation flashed across his mind. He looked up and saw a wave of pitch-black things stampeding across the wilderness, and they weren’t much slower than the old man surnamed Kang and Yue He.
The pitch-black mass stretched across the entire horizon, seemingly without end, and blotted out the sky and ground alike. Surprisingly, it consisted of various exotics beasts of all shapes and sizes.
Who knows whether Yue He and the old man surnamed Kang were chased back or they simply lured them here?
The leading exotic beasts were exceptionally massive and were radiating fearsome auras. Even Yang Kai’s face changed slightly at the sight of this.
He didn’t have the luxury to hesitate, so he followed Yue He’s figure and fled into the distance.
In an instant, the Star City fell into turmoil.
Ding Yi’s eyes also widened as a chill gripped his heart. He thought that it was the perfect time for him to rise up, but who would have thought that, just as he hoisted his flag, disaster would strike. He wasn’t even confident that he could leave this place alive now.
But he soon steeled his heart and came to a prompt decision. Ding Yi raised his arm up high and shouted, “A Beast Tide is approaching, and the only way we can survive is if we stick together! If you don’t want to die, follow me!”
While shouting, his figure started glowing as his body surged with energy. The next moment, he flew in the opposite direction of the Beast Tide.
Just as he flew up, quite a few people joined him. By a rough count, there were at least a thousand of them.
There were a few hundred thousand people in the Star City engulfed in the fog, and although all of them had been dispersed when they were swallowed by the Ancient Ruins Rolling Fog, there were still tens of thousands of people gathered here.
If everyone worked together, it might not be impossible to defend this place, but each and everyone had their own thoughts and ideas, so why would they follow a unified command? Therefore, before the Beast Tide even reached them, everyone dispersed in different directions.
The disturbance caused by the Beast Tide was too great, and very soon, everyone in the ruins of the Star City knew about it and fled one after another.
Yang Kai and Yue He made a beeline towards the opposite end of Star City. They thought that they would have plenty of room to escape, but they hadn’t expected for the cultivators in that direction to flee towards them. Many people even crashed into each other in the air and fell on the ground, one after another.
Yang Kai suddenly had a bad premonition!
As he looked up, his pupils couldn’t help but shrink.
Yue He also called out in alarm, “They’re coming from this side too!”
No wonder the people on that side were also rushing in this direction. It turned out that there was a Beast Tide coming from the opposite direction as well.
Yang Kai furrowed his brow. He promptly flew straight up into the sky, and looking left and right, he couldn’t help but grind his teeth, hard. Not only was the Beast Tide attacking from the front and rear, but also from the left, right, and every other direction possible. In short, the Beast Tide completely surrounded them.
If they wanted to escape, they would have to carve open a bloody path to do so.
When he returned to the ground, Yue He asked, “How is it?”
Yang Kai slowly shook his head.
Yue He immediately understood, but she failed to notice how nervous he was. She then looked at him and stated, “Don’t stray too far from me or I won’t be able to take care of you.”
A weird look appeared on Yang Kai’s face upon hearing this. He pondered for a while before quashing the notion of using Space Principles to escape.
Right then, a figure approached the duo. It was none other than the old man surnamed Kang who had returned with Yue He, “Madame, how about we kill our way out together?”
Yue He agreed, smiling, “I guess that’s the only way.”
The old man surnamed Kang then glanced at Yang Kai before asking, furrowing his brow, “Do you want to carry this burden?”
The reason why he came looking for Yue He was because he knew she was an Open Heaven Realm Master. The Small Universe inside her body might have been sealed by the Ancient Ruins Rolling Fog, but the strength an Open Heaven Realm Master could display was still better than an ordinary Emperor Realm cultivator. In his opinion, an Emperor like Yang Kai couldn’t play any role against the Beast Tide and would only be dragging the two of them down.
“This is my Young Master, of course I must safeguard him!” Yue He’s smile immediately faded away, “If you think my Young Master will drag you down, then there’s no need for us to join forces.”
The old man surnamed Kang was shocked after hearing this.
He had lived in the Star City for quite a while, so he had met Yue He more than once and knew she was a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. As such, he couldn’t help but wonder about Yang Kai’s background for her to address him as ‘Young Master’.
Yang Kai’s expression also became strange, wondering if Yue He really was sick in the head or something. [Do I look like a Young Master from some great force?]
[Though, she did run back to take me with her before the Beast Tide came.] Yang Kai couldn’t understand what was going on in her mind.
Without any hesitation, the old man surnamed Kang stated, “Then I will follow Madame’s wishes, but this Old Master can only take care of himself. If Madame falls into trouble, please don’t blame me.”
Yue He assured, “Rest assured, we won’t drag you down.”
“Let’s go!” The old man surnamed Kang shouted before continuing ahead.
“Follow me!” Yue He exhorted Yang Kai before following the old man.
In the blink of an eye, the trio had rushed out of the Star City. At this moment, many people were already pushing their way out. Obviously, everyone knew that if they stayed here, the only thing waiting for them was death. The only way to survive was to force their way out.
The overwhelming exotic beast tide very soon clashed with many cultivators. In an instant, the brilliance of Secret Techniques and artifacts lit up the sky, splitting these exotic beasts in their wake one after another.
There were a lot of exotic beasts, and what was even more terrifying was that they were all quite strong. The Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary’s environment was quite expansive and abundant. And added to the fact that it hadn’t been touched by humans for thousands of years, the exotic beasts here had plenty of room to grow and mature. So naturally, their strength was exceptional. When the two sides clashed, many Star City cultivators were killed or injured. Although more exotic beasts were killed, it was a drop in a bucket compared to the immense Beast Tide.
The old man surnamed Kang was pretty strong. The reason why he was beaten and forced to flee earlier was really just because two palms couldn’t block four fists. At this moment, his long sword was opening the way, sending out sword waves to forcefully clear a path through the Beast Tide for everyone to follow.
Yue He wielded a red chakram that spun rapidly and reduced oncoming exotic beasts to paste as they approached.
Yang Kai was walking behind the two Open Heaven Realm Masters as if he was strolling in his own backyard. Yue He was taking very good care of him, so no exotic beast could reach him.
After a while, the old man surnamed Kang shouted, “Switch!”
Just as he said this, he promptly stepped back and Yue He took the opportunity to step forward. Although the two hadn’t discussed this beforehand, they switched positions in perfect coordination.
After all, the old man surnamed Kang would also grow a little tired after leading the way for a time. Once he was completely exhausted, only death awaited him. How could he put himself in such a disadvantageous position?
This time, things weren’t as easy for Yang Kai. The old man surnamed Kang would not look out for Yang Kai like Yue He did, so although he was killing a lot of oncoming exotic beasts, some fish would eventually slip through the net.
The old man surnamed Kang also wanted to see Yang Kai’s skills. So, even if he could intercept all the exotic beasts, he ignored some of them and let them rush at Yang Kai.
In response, Yang Kai just flicked his fingers, shooting out Moon Blades one after another. The oncoming exotic beasts were split asunder before they could get closer, the cuts on the corpses as flat as mirrors.
“Space Secret Technique!” The old man surnamed Kang shrunk his eyes as he confirmed to himself that this young man was really the Young Master of some great force. Even in the Outer Universe, there weren’t many people who were proficient in the Dao of Space, let alone form their Dao Seal with it.
After all, the Dao of Space was more profound and esoteric than most other Daos.
[Without abundant resources and the guidance of renowned Masters, how could this young man become so proficient in the Dao of Space?]
Considering all this, the old man surnamed Kai couldn’t help but see Yang Kai in a new light. He secretly felt that this youth was probably from a very extraordinary background; otherwise, Yue He, a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Master, would not be addressing him as Young Master.
Now, he completely set his mind at ease. The strength Yang Kai had displayed was no less than Yue He’s or his own. If the three worked together, the hope of pushing their way out had greatly increased.
Owing to this, the old man surnamed Kang changed his mind, while Yang Kai was none the wiser about the whole ordeal. Whereas Yue He somehow managed to find the time to check on Yang Kai, and upon finding him still comfortable and at ease, she was relieved as well.
The three kept forging ahead, paving their way over mountains of corpses and rivers of blood. But the exotic beasts were never-ending so the killing never ceased.
The old man surnamed Kang and Yue He had switched positions several times in succession. Both of them were quite exhausted and had solemn looks on their faces by now. Compared to the Monster Beasts found outside, the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary’s exotic beasts of the same realm were a lot stronger. Whether it was due to the environment of the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary or something else was unclear.
There was no Open Heaven Realm in the Grand Ancient Ruins. Not only was it true for the cultivators, but it was true for these Ancient Exotic Beasts as well. So, having been in one realm for so many millennia, polishing and consolidating their strength, it was quite natural for them to exert greater might than average.
Slowly, many others started to gather around the trio. At this point, everyone knew that it was better to stick together unless they were really a fool. Yang Kai’s team had been pushing their way through without any resistance so far; so naturally, others nearby had been paying close attention to them. And in order to survive, they started gathering around, one by one.
Neither Yue He nor the old man surnamed Kang objected. At this moment, the more people gathered around them, the better it would be for them. So, they acquiesced to this behaviour.
After a cup of tea’s worth of time, about a hundred people had already gathered together, and as time passed by, more and more people were moving towards them.
Suddenly, someone shouted, “Brother Yang? Is that really you, Brother Yang?”
The voice sounded a little familiar to Yang Kai, so he promptly looked towards the source in surprise. The next moment, he saw a man covered in blood all over, killing his way through with a sharp sword in his hand, leading a few people behind him. But there were many exotic beasts in between the two groups. They would not be able to get close any sooner.
When both sides saw each other, Yang Kai was taken aback and called out, “Brother Meng?”
Surprisingly, it was none other than Meng Hong of Great Moon Province! Yang Kai hadn’t expected to meet an acquaintance here.
He wasn’t that close to Meng Hong, but at the very least, both had adventured together for a while, no matter how short the experience was. In the past, when Yang Kai was looking for Ah Sun’s relatives, he found Wei Que, who belonged to Great Moon Province.
At that time, it was none other than Meng Hong who had arranged the rooms for them, and after he came to know that Yang Kai had just entered the Outer Universe and had very little knowledge about it, Meng Hong even gifted a jade slip which contained introductory information about the 3,000 Worlds to him.
However, after the incident at the Golden Crow Divine Palace, when Yang Kai had snatched the Golden Crow carcass and fled to First Inn, Great Moon Province alone was powerless to ensure Yang Kai’s safety. Wei Que and Great Moon Province’s Leader gave him some compensation and left. Before leaving, they were entrusted by Yang Kai to take Old Fang and Die You to Great Moon Province.
Meng Hong’s disposition was quite good, and he could be considered as the leader of the younger generation of Great Moon Province. Overall, a generous and honest fellow.
Since it was an acquaintance, Yang Kai naturally won’t be standing idly by. He promptly rushed in their direction as Moon Blades flew from his fingertips, slaying exotic beasts left and right. In the blink of an eye, he had arrived by Meng Hong.
“It really is you, Brother Yang!” Meng Hong was shocked and delighted, “I thought I was mistaken.”
Yang Kai smiled in return, “I too hadn’t expected to meet Brother Meng here. Follow me.”
Meng Hong nodded, “Many thanks, Brother Yang.” He then turned around and called his companions over, “Let’s go!”
When Yang Kai rushed to pick them up, Yue He, who was leading the charge, immediately stopped, waiting for Yang Kai. She only continued moving ahead when Yang Kai returned with Meng Hong and his companions.
The old man surnamed Kang frowned at this act, slightly displeased, but since nothing major happened and very little time was spent, he was too lazy to make a fuss.
There were over a hundred people in their group now, and although they were powerless to overturn things in the face of the overwhelming Beast Tide, they at least had some strength to protect themselves. They might not know each other, but their wills had united like a fortress to survive. Everyone’s strength wound into a sturdy spear that acted like a sharp arrow, cutting its way toward the outside.
“Brother Meng, why are you here?” Yang Kai asked while attacking.
Meng Hong explained, bitterly smiling, “Our Great Moon Province has a property in this Star City. I was here to check the accounts.”
Yang Kai failed to hold his laughter after hearing this, “You are really unlucky.”
Meng Hong asked, “Brother Yang, what about you? How did you end up here as well?”
“By some chance and coincidence,” Yang Kai casually replied, not bothering to explain. He couldn’t very well say that he was kidnapped as it would be too embarrassing.
“Oh, I forgot to introduce them to Brother Yang. These are my Junior Brothers and Sisters. And this is Junior Sister Chen Yue of Hundred Spirits Province,” Meng Hong introduced to Yang Kai, pointing at his companions one by one. When he was introducing his Junior Brothers and Sisters, Meng Hong looked quite carefree and natural, but when he introduced Hundred Spirits Province’s Chen Yue, his voice carried a little warmth and sweet feelings of affection.
Yang Kai couldn’t help but glance at Chen Yue and found her appearance to be quite pleasing to the eyes and her demeanour quite elegant, causing him to raise his brow slightly.
[Meng Hong must be interested in her.]
And among the disciples of Great Moon Disciples, Yang Kai found two of them to be familiar. Obviously, he had met them before.
Everyone greeted each other; after all, Yang Kai had shown them kindness by saving them. Chen Yue even sweetly smiled and thanked him, “Many thanks, Senior Brother Yang, for saving us from trouble.”
Her voice was sweet, yet filled with innocence, quite pleasing to the ear.
Yang Kai nodded his acknowledgement, “Junior Sister Chen is too polite, it wasn’t any trouble at all. Let’s find a way to get through this first before we speak further.”
Chen Yue generously stated, “We will listen to Senior Brother Yang’s command.”
While they were chatting, the ground suddenly started quaking as an extremely fierce aura assailed them. The old man surnamed Kang, who was leading the way at the time, shouted in shock, “Roaring Thunder Beast!”
Everyone looked up and saw an enormous figure surrounded by lightning arcs up ahead. It resembled a rhino and was charging straight at them, and even though its figure was incomparably huge, it wasn’t slow in any way. As it got closer, lightning arcs appeared in the air, spreading around and numbing anyone that came in contact with them.
Everyone started screaming in shock and horror, panic-stricken.
Yang Kai’s pupils also shrank. The Roaring Thunder Beast was also a notorious Ominous Beast in the 3,000 Worlds, and judging by the might of this Roaring Thunder Beast, its cultivation might have already reached the utmost peak of the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary.
Who would dare to take such a fierce beast head-on?
Even in this overwhelming Beast Tide, an exotic beast like this Roaring Thunder Beast might be the strongest, and judging by how all the other beasts retreated seeing it charging over, only further proved its power.
When it was a thousand meters away, the Roaring Thunder Beast suddenly let out a deafening roar and lowered its head as a bolt of lightning shot straight at the old man surnamed Kang. The blazing white bolt of lightning carrying earth-shattering might traversed a thousand meters in a blink, ignoring all barriers of space.
What made everyone’s expression distort was that the old man surnamed Kang flickered aside right away in the face of this terrifying blow without giving it a thought. Even when he reacted this quickly though, he was a moment too slow. The lightning bolt brushed past his body as a nauseating smell of burned flesh filled the air.
He was in the lead, so when he stepped aside like that, everyone behind him was immediately exposed. Fortunately, even though Yue He, who was right behind him, could also dodge the blow, she didn’t. The chakram in her hand spun up and turned into a red defensive shield, blocking the front.
A deafening crash immediately reverberated as a glaring white flash of light blinded everyone.
The blood-red shield only lasted a breath before it shattered and the blazing white lightning bolt struck Yue He. She was immediately sent flying through the air like a rag sack, bleeding profusely.
Yang Kai was sharp enough to timely catch her and take a good look at her. Yue He was pale and continuously bleeding from the corner of her mouth. Her soft and tender body was uncontrollably shaking; obviously, she was seriously injured.
*Dong dong dong…*
The ground quaked as the Roaring Thunder Beast came stampeding after its successful attack.
From the start, the hundred or so people of this group had come together because their interests were aligned, so they were no better than a handful of sand. Seeing the two Open Heaven Realm Masters either escape or become seriously injured, how could they dare continue to stick together? They all fled in the blink of an eye.
Only Meng Hong and his companions remained in their spot; after all, Yang Kai had come to save them, and it would not look good to leave him and flee at this juncture. Meng Hong still anxiously shouted, “Brother Yang, quickly run!”
Yang Kai ignored him, however, and stared at Yue He in his arms with a bewildered look on his face as he asked, “Why didn’t you dodge?”
Yue He forced a laugh, “You were still behind me. What would happen to you if I dodged?” An Open Heaven Realm Master like her ended up like this, so wouldn’t Yang Kai immediately die if he was struck by the bolt.
“You and I are just strangers, so why?” Yang Kai speechlessly looked at her.
Yue He pursed her lips before keeping them stubbornly shut.
“Ha…” Yang Kai heaved a slight sigh before he turned around and said to Chen Yue, handing Yue He to her, “Help me take care of her.”
“What are you doing?” Yue He asked in surprise.
Meng Hong and the others also looked bewildered. The next moment, they saw Yang Kai walking ahead, step by step. His clothes flapped and his hair danced along the oncoming wind, painting his straight and tall figure like a brave and heroic mountain. His figure was deeply etched in everyone’s mind.
Another blazing white bolt shot out from the single horn on the Roaring Thunder Beast’s forehead at that moment, zooming straight at Yang Kai like the Flood Dragon going out to sea.
“Dodge!” Yue He screamed in shock and horror.
Meng Hong couldn’t help but cry out as well, “Brother Yang, be careful!”
Just as they spoke though, Yang Kai threw a punch as his reverberating voice echoed in everyone’s hearts.
“Exile!”
Space shattered at the point of impact, instantly forming an enormous black hole. The next moment, an aura of nihility and chaos from the black hole filled the air. As for the blazing white bolt that was strong enough to injure an Open Heaven Realm, it shot into the black hole and disappeared from everyone’s sight.
The black hole disappeared in a flash as Yang Kai withdrew his fist, leaving him completely unscathed and causing everyone to sink into complete silence.
Yang Kai’s brave and heroic figure was akin to a mountain or a harbour that could block all violent storms. It brought everyone an inexplicable sense of security in this chaotic land of exotic beasts.
Yue He, who was held in Chen Yue’s arms, had her mouth agape, gawking at the back that was defending her in a daze. Slowly, Yang Kai’s figure overlapped with the figure of a person in her memory, who once stood before her in a similar fashion, blocking all the oncoming dangers for her. The memories etched in the deep recess of her mind started rearing their heads, making Yue He’s soft and tender figure tremble.
Chen Yue was also dumbfounded, murmuring, “Senior Brother Yang is this strong?”
Just an attack from the Roaring Thunder Beast had forced the old man surnamed Kang to dodge, and seriously injured Yue He. Yet the same attack had been blocked by Yang Kai, and quite easily at that. The massive difference between both sides had given everyone a huge shock.
Meng Hong slowly shook his head, dumbstruck. He had no idea whether Yang Kai was strong or not, all he knew was that Yang Kai was extremely bold. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have robbed the Golden Crow carcass right in front of dozens of Open Heaven Realm Masters in the Golden Crow Divine Palace back then, and miraculously escaped back to First Inn.
[That’s right, if he didn’t have such skill, how could he escape with so many Open Heaven Realm Masters chasing him down? I heard from Martial Uncle Wei that Yang Kai’s ability to escape is unparalleled, but now it seems that not only is he proficient in escaping, his strength is also exceptional.]
While all kinds of thoughts were running through Meng Hong’s mind, a thunderous roar reverberated across the sky. It was none other than the Roaring Thunder Beast, who, after seeing Yang Kai block its attack, was completely provoked.
Lightning arcs started to crackle on the horn of its forehead, forming a terrifying bolt. By the looks of it, it was about to fire its attack again.
“Brother Yang, be careful!” Meng Hong shouted.
Just as he exhorted, a figure suddenly flickered ahead. Yang Kai had appeared before the Roaring Thunder Beast like a ghost, his small figure before the Roaring Thunder Beast’s enormous one forming a sharp contrast; however, the auras of the two were in no way inferior to the other.
Right before everyone’s eyes, Yang Kai punched again as Space Principles flared.
Rupture!
An enormous black abyss rapidly expanded, engulfing the enormous head of the Roaring Thunder Beast before Space Principles started wreaking havoc as the blackness fiercely shrank back.
The Roaring Thunder Beast reeled in pain. Meanwhile, the black hole was flickering with lightning arcs as if lightning dragons were wandering inside it, competing with the Space Principles that seemed capable of annihilating all creation.
The black abyss collapsed, forcing the Roaring Thunder Beast to retreat. Its eyes, which were originally gleaming with a fierce glow, were completely red at this moment. When everyone looked at it, they couldn’t help but gasp in shock. Much to everyone’s surprise, the horn on the Roaring Thunder Beast’s forehead was nowhere to be found. Not only that, its enormous head was covered in cuts and bruises that continuously bled.
Exotic beasts tempered their bodies like artifacts, and the physical strength they could exert was not much worse than that of an artifact. The horn was the hardest part of the Roaring Thunder Beast, but it had disappeared into thin air at this instant, which made everyone understand how terrifying Yang Kai’s attack was.
No one below the Open Heaven Realm would be able to withstand such a punch.
Yue He was dumbfounded and finally understood how terrifyingly strong this young man was.
Chen Yue’s beautiful eyes also lit up as her gaze was completely glued onto Yang Kai, staring at his every action.
On the other hand, the old man surnamed Kang, who had been killing the surrounding exotic beasts and had been paying attention to the situation here, had a complicated expression on his face, wondering which great force had given birth to this little monster. He had been struggling all his life and finally became a Third-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, but he still couldn’t fathom how a mere Emperor Realm Junior could bring out so much power.
*Huchi…*
After the Roaring Thunder Beast staggered back, it started wheezing loudly, but not only did the destruction of its horn not make it flinch, it instead made it fiercer.
“Hmm?” Yang Kai was also taken aback. Much to his surprise, Rupture had failed to take the Roaring Thunder Beast’s life. [I guess that the exotic beasts of the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary really cannot be judged by common sense.]
Right then, the ground started quaking as the Roaring Thunder Beast started charging, heading straight at Yang Kai. Lightning arcs started cracking around its enormous body and as it started galloping, tiny little lightning arcs enveloped a radius of a thousand meters as bolts came down from the sky one after another, painting an extremely dangerous picture.
A wicked grin appeared on Yang Kai’s lips as he cracked his neck and tightened his fists before suddenly assuming a horse stance.
“What is he doing?” Chen Yue was stunned.
Meng Hong turned pale, “He’s… he’s planning to wrestle with the Roaring Thunder Beast?”
“Crazy, he’s crazy!” The old man surnamed Kang, who had been paying attention to the situation, also shook his head wildly. He felt that there was something wrong with Yang Kai’s head, or else why would he want to engage in a contest of strength with such an enormous exotic beast? Yang Kai’s previous performance might be pretty eye-catching, blocking the lightning bolt with one punch and injuring the Roaring Thunder Beast with another, but with such an inflated ego, this young man was simply courting death!
No matter how great the physical strength of a cultivator was, how could it be stronger than a beast’s? Monster Beasts were generally innately gifted with great physical prowess, not to mention that the Roaring Thunder Beast was an Ancient Exotic Beast.
*Dong dong dong…*
Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, the Roaring Thunder Beast arrived before Yang Kai in an instant. It lowered its head as if it was about to crash into a huge mountain. If there was a star before it, even that might shatter into pieces from this attack.
Chen Yue turned her head; she couldn’t bear to watch. Meng Hong too shut his eyes.
Only Yue He’s pretty eyes were staring at Yang Kai without batting a lash; her gaze was filled with worry and anxiety.
*Hong…*
A reverberating crash resounded, along with the Roaring Thunder Beast’s growl.
Following which, everyone’s cries of shock filled with disbelief rang one after another.
“Ah?” Yue He cried out in shock and amazement, covering her cherry red lips with her hands as her pretty eyes quivered.
The old man surnamed Kang visibly shivered at what he saw. In his momentary shock, he had made a mistake and was injured by an exotic beast at his waist, nearly losing his life. He was so terrified that he quickly focused his attention on dealing with the matters at hand, but he still paid close attention to Yang Kai from the corner of his eye.
As if she had noticed that something wasn’t right, Chen Yue slowly turned her head back, and what entered her sight next shocked her to her core.
She saw Yang Kai with his hands propped up, pushing against the Roaring Thunder Beast hard, the ground under him cracking into a vast, spider web-like series of gullies.
“How is that possible?” Chen Yue murmured.
Meng Hong, having noticed the shock in her voice, quickly opened his eyes as well. The next moment, he was similarly dumbfounded, his whole body quivering.
[How can a Human block an exotic beast’s head-on charge? An attack with so much terrifying force behind it?] Yang Kai’s clothes were flapping hard, and although he was being pushed back by the Roaring Thunder Beast, he had really halted its charge.
After three breaths, Yang Kai’s retreating figure finally stopped, and in the next moment, he was the one pushing forward while the Roaring Thunder Beast was being forced backwards.
This scene was unbelievable to all who witnessed it.
And the next moment, something even more shocking occurred as Yang Kai angrily bellowed, “Fly!”
Holding the Roaring Thunder Beast’s enormous head with his hands, he fiercely lifted, throwing the enormous beast into the air, dumbfounding all those who were watching. The sight of the Roaring Thunder Beast baring its fangs and claws in the air looked ridiculous, but no one laughed at it. They all felt their cognition completely subverted.
With a loud bang, Yang Kai flew into the sky, heading straight at the Roaring Thunder Beast.
In the air, he reached out and summoned the Azure Dragon Spear.
The next moment, his Qi explosively surged as he thrust out his spear. A dragon roar resounded as the spear soared out like an Azure Dragon flying into the sky.
The red eyes of the Roaring Thunder Beast immediately flickered with terror.
The spear immediately pierced through the soft underbelly of the Roaring Thunder Beast. Yang Kai’s figure followed along with the spear before smashing through the back of the Roaring Thunder Beast, creating a bloody mist.
Yang Kai’s figure flew out like a sharp arrow, while the Roaring Thunder Beast’s enormous body exploded in the air as its blood and mangled pieces of its flesh rained down from above.
Suddenly, Yang Kai caught sight of a Monster Core surrounded by lightning arcs and emanating powerful energy fluctuations. Yang Kai promptly grabbed it before looking back, meeting the terrified eyes of the old man surnamed Kang.
Yang Kai coldly snorted before slowly flying back down.
Meng Hong and the others stared at him in a daze, all of them completely overwhelmed by his display. Compared to Yang Kai’s majestic sight of slaying the Roaring Thunder Beast with his last attack, what shocked them even more was the fact that he had stopped the Roaring Thunder Beast head-on with his physical strength alone.
After all, his last attack had targeted the weak underbelly of the Roaring Thunder Beast. Even though he had slain such a fearsome beast with just a spear thrust, at the end of the day, he had resorted to tactics to do so. How could that compare to winning a contest of strength with an Ancient Exotic Beast?
Yue He heaved a sigh of relief, while Chen Yue’s eyes flickered with a strange glow, whereas Meng Hong’s face was filled with admiration.
“Let’s go!” Yang Kai didn’t say anything more as he beckoned everyone before taking the lead.
Originally, the two Open Heaven Realm Masters were leading the group, but the old man surnamed Kang had abandoned everyone at a critical moment, whereas Yue He was seriously injured. Now, Yang Kai had assumed the responsibility of leader.
Surprisingly, the exotic beasts coming straight at them parted to either side as Yang Kai moved forward, ignoring him while attacking the cultivators in the rear.
Meng Hong excitedly shouted, “Even these lowly beasts know to bully the weak but fear the strong. It seems that they are afraid of Brother Yang after watching him slay the Roaring Thunder Beast.”
The truth of the matter though was that the Azure Dragon Spear was radiating a noble Dragon Pressure. How could these exotic beasts dare to challenge the majesty of a Dragon?
In any case, it saved Yang Kai a lot of trouble.
And seeing their team strolling across the battlefield where thousands of beasts were charging straight at them like they were taking a walk in the park, pushing their way through, the cultivators who had fled before started regretting their actions.
Had they known, they wouldn’t have fled no matter what. It would have been great if they could follow Yang Kai’s team, but at this moment, they didn’t even have the time to think about it. Ominous Beasts were swarming at them from every possible direction, leaving them no choice but to slaughter their way out.
“Senior Brother, help me! This Little Brother is willing to give his entire fortune as a reward,” someone nearby shouted.
“Sir, please save me! If I survive, I will be at Sir’s beck and call in the future.”
“I don’t want to die. Senior Brother, please save us. We will do anything!”
Along the way, the speculation in Yang Kai’s mind was confirmed; the Dragon Pressure emanated by the Azure Dragon Spear really had a deterrent effect on these exotic beasts. He met with no obstruction along the way. The few enormous exotic beasts with fearsome auras he encountered also had fear in the depths of their eyes and showed no intention of bothering him as long as he hefted his spear.
After the time it takes for an entire incense to burn, a team of several dozen people finally broke out of the range of the Beast Tide. Looking back, they saw beasts charging inward along with occasional glows of artifacts and Secret Techniques. Cultivators were dying at almost every breath as their blood splashed all over.
Everyone’s heart was rapidly beating after having escaped their crisis. At the same time, they found it inconceivable that they could escape from such a disaster.
Just as everyone was reeling from the happiness of escaping the crisis, a deafening explosion and a powerful blast of Qi startled everyone.
When they looked toward the source, they found Yang Kai holding the spear with one arm, staring at the old man surnamed Kang; murderous intent clearly oozing from his figure.
The old man surnamed Kang’s face was a little pale at the moment. He wasn’t weak and he also seized the chance to get out following Yang Kai’s lead, but he didn’t expect that just after escaping one crisis, Yang Kai would make a move on him before he could even take a breath of respite.
“Junior, what is the meaning of this?” The old man surnamed Kang asked with an annoyed look, staring at Yang Kai.
“What do you think? Of course, this is your death!” Yang Kai grimly smiled, “Why else do you think I brought you out?”
“You want to kill me?” The old man surnamed Kang furrowed his brow, feeling that Yang Kai was being a little unreasonable; after all, there wasn’t any deep grudge between them, so there was no reason for them to fight to the death. All he did was abandon everyone at a crucial moment, but anyone would have made the same choice if they were in his shoes.
[The Heavens help those who help themselves. It has been that way since the beginning of time, so there is no reason to fight. Is there something wrong with this young man?]
Although this thought crossed his mind, the old man surnamed Kang still asked, “Your Excellency, why do you want to kill me?”
“I don’t like your face, is that reason enough?” Yang Kai looked like he had made up his mind.
“Bold Junior!” The old man surnamed Kang was extremely indignant, “This Old Master was polite to you on account of you bringing him out this time, but do you really think that this Old Master is afraid of you?”
Even though he saw Yang Kai slay the Roaring Thunder Beast like a dog, at the end of the day, the Roaring Thunder Beast was just a beast, unintelligent and incapable of flexible thinking like a Human.
He was a Third-Order Open Heaven Master, and although his Small Universe was suppressed and sealed by the Grand Ancient Ruins Rolling Fog, his foundation was still intact. It remained to be seen whether Yang Kai could kill him or not.
But after having fallen into the current predicament, the old man didn’t want to have a conflict if he could avoid it; after all, the last fight with Ding Yi ended very badly for him.
“Enough nonsense, let’s fight!” Just after speaking this, Yang Kai pushed his strength and thrust out his spear!
A ferocious look flashed on the old man surnamed Kang’s face as he promptly retreated, avoiding Yang Kai’s attack. He then turned around and fled into the distance like a bolt of lightning.
His voice then echoed from the distance, “Junior, this Old Master is injured today and doesn’t want to quarrel with you. The next time we meet, I will take your dog life!”
He had been injured by the Roaring Thunder Beast and half of his body was scorched by lightning. He was also wounded a few times while they were breaking out of the Beast Tide, so at this moment, he didn’t have the will to fight with Yang Kai. Naturally, he wanted to quickly flee and find a place to heal. So, although Yang Kai was being aggressive, he decided to temporarily withdraw.
“You want to leave?” Yang Kai sneered, “Like I’d let you.”
While speaking, he stretched his hand ahead and grabbed in the air. The next moment, Space Principles fluctuated and the surrounding space became rigid.
The old man surnamed Kang, who was quickly escaping, suddenly froze, feeling as though the space around him becoming extremely heavy and viscous. He immediately cried in horror, “Space Principles!”
Although he had seen Yang Kai using Space Secret Techniques and knew that he was extremely proficient in the Dao of Space, he hadn’t personally faced such methods. Only now did he understand how terrifying the strength of this young man was.
The old man surnamed Kang’s face slightly changed as he madly shouted, “Break!”
His thin and lean body doubled in size all of a sudden as a fearsome burst of energy swept outwards, smashing apart the frozen space and allowing him to regain his freedom!
However, before he could escape any further, he felt a burst of hair-raising Qi behind him. The old man surnamed Kang was horrified and had no choice but to summon his long sword and swing it backwards. The next moment, an enormous wave split space, flying straight at Yang Kai.
At the sight of this, Yang Kai showed no surprise or shock; instead, he broke into laughter and stated, “My spear has been dry for a long time; it thirsts!”
Since young, Yang Kai had fought countless battles, both big and small. He had also grown a little weary and tired of bloodshed. He had even been asking himself whether the essence of the Martial Dao was slaughter and death, but ever since he had arrived at the Outer Universe, he had very few chances to fight with others. He had run into quite a few Open Heaven Realm Masters, and whether it was in terms of methods or cultivation, he was too far below them to even think of challenging them.
After having not fought for a long time, Yang Kai suddenly discovered that combat instincts had already been branded into every inch of his body. He felt incomparable pleasure when he was locked in a fierce battle.
The only real battle he had fought was when he was ordered to hunt down Fang Tai, but even then, there were two Open Heaven Realm Masters guarding him. Wounded and distracted, Fang Tai simply couldn’t bring out his full strength.
Even if he was protected by the Proprietress of First Inn, even if 99% of the Emperor Realm Masters longed for the life he now had, Yang Kai felt as if something was missing. He felt as though his body had gone soft, and his firm and indomitable Dao Heart was weakening.
Finally, the moment he had been waiting for was here!
Finally, he could fight to his heart’s content!
Finally, he could fight to the death against a strong enemy using all his skill and strength without any external assistance.
Yang Kai finally felt at ease and happy from the bottom of his heart! When he looked at the old man surnamed Kang’s face, not only did he not find it disgusting or revolting, but rather he found it quite pleasant.
As he thrust his spear, the wind and cloud changed their colour, and so did the expression of the old man surnamed Kang.
The sword wave shattered while the long spear kept moving forward. When the old man surnamed Kang stared at it, it was as if a great Dragon was charging at him, shaking its head and waving its tail, trying to swallow him whole.
The old man surnamed Kang screamed in horror as he promptly formed a hand seal while the long sword in hand shook, instantly transforming into countless sword flashes that filled the entire sky. The sword flashes were a mix of real and illusionary phantoms, making it hard to discern real from false. Each and every long sword image was vibrating slightly and emanating soaring Sword Intent, pointing straight at Yang Kai.
“Go!” The old man surnamed Kang shouted.
*Sou sou sou…*
The sword flashes cut through the air, raining down at Yang Kai, covering the entire area in the blink of an eye, blinding all others from seeing what was going on inside.
Everyone’s faces couldn’t help but pale at the sight of this move. Yue He involuntarily clenched her fist, staring ahead without batting an eye. She asked herself what she would do in the face of this terrifying move and quickly concluded that in her current state, she couldn’t do anything apart from dodging.
What would happen to Yang Kai, who was bearing the full brunt of the countless swords?
Blood drained from Meng Hong’s face turning white as paper.
“Sigh, that Little Brother is too arrogant. In any case, Old Kang is a Third-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. How can he not have any trump cards up his sleeve?” Someone on the sideline sighed.
“When I saw his fearsome strength, I thought that a genius had been born, but by the looks of it, the Heavens must be jealous.”
Someone sneered, “Genius? Only those who can grow into something are real geniuses! Haven’t quite a few promising geniuses fallen in the 3,000 Worlds before? In the past, wasn’t Lan Ting Yu amazing and brilliant? He could have become a High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master, known by all across the 3,000 Worlds, but in the end, he died, didn’t he?”
“You are right…” Someone agreed with him.
Suddenly, Murderous Intent started filling the air. Yue He, who had been paying close attention to Yang Kai all the while, coldly turned her head and stared at the people who were gossiping as she growled, “Shut up if you don’t want to die!”
Sensing the cold murderous intent, everyone immediately fell silent.
“Ke ke…” The old man surnamed Kang coughed lightly as he bled from the corner of his mouth. The last attack had exhausted a lot of his energy, and a trace of regret flashed across his eyes, looking at the rioting Sword Intent, he muttered, “You might be outstanding, but you have no reverence for your Elders. Even if you don’t die today, you won’t live much longer. Be sure to remember this lesson in your next life!”
“Really?” A figure walked out from the rioting Sword Intent and instantly arrived before the Old Kang, coldly staring at him, “Do you only know how to fight with your mouth? In any case, you are a Third-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, don’t disappoint me.”
Old Kang turned pale in horror and involuntarily stepped back. When he focused his gaze to see who it was, he found that it was none other than Yang Kai. What shocked him was apart from some minor injuries, Yang Kai wasn’t wounded at all.
[Impossible!] The sword barrage was the most potent attack he could unleash. He knew that Yang Kai was strong, so he didn’t dare to hold back. He thought that Yang Kai would be left seriously injured if not dead, but now it was apparent he only had some flesh wounds.
Horrified, the old man instinctively raised his hand and thrust the sword he was holding out.
With a clang, two artifacts collided as Yang Kai made a sweep with his spear. Old Kang suddenly felt a fearsome and uncontrollable force assailing him along the long sword in his hand.
His eyes instantly widened in disbelief.
[Too strong! No wonder he could wrestle with that Roaring Thunder Beast.]
Just as this thought flashed across his mind, the old man’s body flew out uncontrollably.
Old Kang didn’t panic though, rather he used this opportunity to distance himself. At the same time, he quickly formed hand seals as the longsword flew out, slashing down at Yang Kai.
Yang Kai followed like a shadow, the long spear in his hand shaking as spear shadows blotted the entire sky, shrouding Old Kang.
Deafening rumbles rang out to no end as two figures flew back and forth, colliding from time to time, causing the entire world to go pale.
Everyone was watching the battle without batting an eye. They found the entire situation unbelievable. Even if Old Kang’s Small Universe was suppressed and sealed, it wasn’t like he could be beaten by a random Emperor Realm cultivator. But the facts proved otherwise. Much to their surprise, Old Kang was completely suppressed and could only defend himself without the ability to fight back.
[Is he really just an Emperor Realm Junior?]
After thirty breaths, two figures clashed in the air once more before separating and standing face to face a thousand metres apart.
Yang Kai’s imposing manner and fighting spirit soared as he pointed his spear forward. On the other hand, Old Kang’s aura was waning. He seemed to have grown a few hundred years older over the past few breaths and the long sword artifact in his hand had become somewhat dull.
Old Kang’s head hung low, standing completely still and staring at the longsword in his hand.
Suddenly, a dismal voice passed into everyone’s ears amid the howling winds and the dark and dreary world, “Little Brother, please spare me!”
Everyone’s face turned pale once they heard this.
[Old Kang actually lost?] Watching the battle, Yang Kai did appear to have the advantage, but when they heard Old Kang really beg for mercy, they still found it hard to believe.
Much to their shock and dismay, a Third-Order Open Heaven Realm Master had lost at the hands of an Emperor Realm cultivator. Even if it was inside the Grand Ancient Ruins, where Small Universes were suppressed and sealed, it was still unbelievable.
Furthermore, a Third-Order Open Heaven Realm Master was forced to lower his head and beg for mercy, which clearly meant that Old Kang had no confidence in even escaping alive from Yang Kai’s grasp.
Yue He’s pretty eyes quivered as if she was recalling something, looking at Yang Kai. Who knew what she was thinking, but there was a complex look on her face. Chen Yue, who was holding her, had a stranger gleam in her beautiful eyes as well.
Meng Hong let out a sigh as he murmured, “A real man should be like this!” He was yearning to be like Yang Kai, wondering when he could reach Yang Kai’s level in his life, thinking it might be more than a little difficult. And when he accidentally noticed Chen Yue’s expression, sadness struck him.
“When this King declared he would kill you, it wasn’t a joke!” Yang Kai thrust his spear as he arrived before Old Kang in the blink of an eye.
Horrified, Old Kang instantly summoned a shield-type artifact and quickly retreated, holding it before him. But that shield couldn’t even block the Azure Dragon Spear for a breath before shattering to pieces. Under the shocked gaze of Old Kang, the long spear penetrated through his chest and came out through the back, directly pinning him in place.
The world seemed to have frozen as all were shocking beyond belief.
Yang Kai’s arm shook as a violent burst of energy started wreaking havoc in Old Kang’s body, crushing his five viscera and six organs.
“Ke…” Old Kang coughed, coughing pieces of his internal organs. His face turned hideous as he looked at Yang Kai, “Junior, you are truly bold to use a Dragon Artifact. The Dragon Clan will not spare you. This Old Master will be going first, but he will see you soon in Hell!”
“Keep waiting!” Yang Kai pulled his spear back before sweeping it out, smashing Old Kang’s head and sending a blood rain down from the sky.
Yang Kai’s heart was pounding. After a bloody battle, he had finally vented the suffocating feeling that had bogged down his Martial Heart for a long time. He felt elated. Had he not been thrust into this mysterious Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, he wouldn’t have been able to experience this feeling of freedom again for a much longer time.
Everyone looked at him with focused gazes, wearing all kinds of expressions on their faces.
Much of their attention was on the Azure Dragon Spear in his hand, as what Old Kang had said before his death had caught their attention.
A Dragon Artifact, meaning that it was an artifact forged from a Dragon’s Body. Naturally, it was extremely powerful. Although they felt that the Azure Dragon Spear was extraordinary when Yang Kai fought with Old Kang, they didn’t pay that much attention to it.
But when Old Kang said this, they finally learned the truth!
The long spear was radiating a faint Dragon Pressure, so if it wasn’t a Dragon Artifact, what was it? No wonder when they were breaking through the Beast Tide, many exotic beasts backed away on their own initiative. Initially, they thought that it was because of Yang Kai’s overbearing strength, but now it became apparent that it was because of this Dragon Artifact.
For a moment, a trace of greed flashed in many people’s eyes.
Dragon Artifacts were taboo in every part of the 3,000 Worlds. As Old Kang had said before his death, if the Dragon Clan came to know about it, Yang Kai would be doomed.
But then again, a Dragon Artifact was an extremely rare treasure. In the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, the Ancient Exotic Beasts were just about everywhere, so if they had this Dragon Artifact in their possession, it could act as a deterrent in many cases, helping them avoid some unnecessary troubles.
But Yang Kai was strong enough to overwhelm and kill a Third-Order Open Heaven Realm Master all by himself, so even though some people were having malicious thoughts at the moment, they didn’t dare to attack him. After witnessing him fight Old Kang, who could say that they would be his opponent? The chance of failure and the price to be paid were simply too high.
After a long time, Yang Kai finally calmed down his emotions and put away the Azure Dragon Spear. He then approached Old Kang’s corpse and searched him before taking his Space Ring away. He then beckoned Meng Hong and the others, “Let’s go.”
It wasn’t suitable to stay here for a long time as doing so would attract trouble. Who knows if the nearby exotic beasts would suddenly start attacking them?
Why would the members of Great Moon Province have any objections? Having witnessed Yang Kai’s combat power, they naturally felt more secure accompanying him.
But after taking just a few steps, Yang Kai looked back and asked, “What are you guys doing?”
He had only asked the people of Great Moon Province to come with him, but he had not expected the dozens of other cultivators, who had escaped together with him, to follow suit.
A fat young man stepped out and explained, cupping his fists and wearing a smile on his face, “Senior Brother, regardless of the circumstances, we all fought side by side. You could say that we have shared life and death. Furthermore, the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary is fraught with crises. It would be better if we stick together. After having witnessed Senior Brother’s invincible might, I would like to follow Senior Brother, heading your every order. Our only request is to safely leave the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary.”
Everyone behind him nodded in agreement.
Yang Kai glanced at him and indifferently replied, “No need. You can go wherever you want, just don’t follow me!”
Having finished his piece, he ignored them and continued ahead.
“Senior Brother… Senior Brother, please wait a moment…” The young fatty shouted aloud, chasing after him.
Yang Kai promptly turned around as the Azure Dragon Spear appeared in his hand all of a sudden. With his spear pressed against the young fatty’s chest, Yang Kai coldly glared at him and snarled, “If you keep chattering, don’t blame this King for pushing this spear straight through you.”
The young fatty immediately froze on the spot as a drop of cold sweat trickled down his forehead. The corner of his mouth twitched before he raised his hands and entreated, “Senior Brother, please calm yourself…”
Yang Kai stared deeply at him and let out a cold snort before putting away his spear and turning around, continuing on.
The young fatty sighed, watching Yang Kai and his group leave as if he had missed a great opportunity. Some people were indignant, feeling that Yang Kai was too arrogant, but since he didn’t want them to follow him, they weren’t shameless enough to pursue. The crowd looked around at each other for a time before dispersing.
After advancing for three hundred kilometres, Yang Kai and the people of Great Moon Province inadvertently entered a mountain valley. The valley was lush with green plants everywhere, along with various exotic and beautiful flowers. It was beautiful and refreshing like a spring day here.
As soon as they entered the valley, everyone couldn’t help but have an illusion that they had entered a paradise. The eyes of the women in the group especially lit up bright as they started looking around.
Yang Kai looked around before suggesting, “Let’s take a break here. Brother Meng, you and I will split up and scout this place to check if there is any hidden danger.”
“Good!” Meng Hong nodded in agreement.
After inspecting the valley, they found that it wasn’t very big, spanning only a few kilometres and lacking any fearsome Ominous Beasts. This put everyone’s taut heart at ease at least.
After having been swallowed by the Grand Ancient Ruins Rolling Fog, everyone found themselves in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, and before they could catch their breath, they were attacked by a ferocious Beast Tide. There were tens of thousands of people in that part of the Star City, but who knew how many of them would survive the Beast Tide?
No wonder Yue He said that entering the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary was both an opportunity and a disaster.
The last battle had left everyone mentally and physically exhausted, and after having escaped the crisis, exhaustion finally hit them. They each found someplace to take rest and heal their wounds.
Yang Kai too sat down cross-legged under a tree. He spread his palms before him, staring at them; immersed in his thoughts.
Although only a short time had passed since he entered the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, it felt like a year or two already. He had witnessed Emperor Realm cultivators fight in the Outer Universe every now and then, but not as many as he had seen today.
This led him to a discovery that he hadn’t noticed before.
The Emperor Realm Masters of the Outer Universe who had condensed their Dao Seals and were able to harness their Yin, Yang, and Five Elements, could mobilize this power to wield in battle, thereby increasing their combat efficiency and prowess.
Suddenly, he recalled that Old Bai had done something similar back in Wind and Cloud Auction House, though he was quickly silenced by Old Yu. At that time, Yang Kai hadn’t paid much attention to it.
[When I was fighting that old man surnamed Kang, he did something similar.]
[It should have something to do with the power inside my Dao Seal!]
Yang Kai heard someone approaching as a sweet fragrance tickled his nostrils. The next moment, a soft and tender figure sat down next to him.
Yang Kai’s thoughts were interrupted, and when he turned his head to look, he saw Yue He looking at him with a smile on her face.
Yang Kai couldn’t help but furrow his brow, “What is it?”
She smiled slyly, like a fox who had stolen a chicken. Yang Kai immediately put his guard up, but since they were in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, he wasn’t afraid of her.
Yue He hugged his knee and rested her cheek on it, giving the impression of a young girl who was ignorant of the world and was looking forward to the promising future ahead of her, “Why did you kill that old man?”
“What do you mean why? I killed him because I didn’t like him,” Yang Kai impatiently replied.
“Because he injured me?”
“Stop deluding yourself!” Yang Kai ignored her.
But Yue He remained persistent. She came closer as her fragrant breath trickled Yang Kai’s nose, “It’s because of that, am I right? Otherwise, why would you kill him?”
“Are you in heat or something?” Yang Kai was a little speechless.
Although that was indeed a part of the reason, Yang Kai would never admit it. When the Roaring Thunder Beast attacked, the old man surnamed Kang dodged without any hesitation, and though Yue He could have done so too, she instead chose to take the thunderbolt head-on.
She probably thought that if she were to avoid it as well, Yang Kai and the others behind her would surely die.
This caused Yang Kai to see her in a new light, feeling that she wasn’t truly a bad person.
[Be that as it may, it’s because of her that I got swept into this Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary; otherwise, I would have met up with Proprietress at the Universe Temple.]
Thinking of her, Yang Kai directly asked, “Is she alright?”
He had only heard that the Proprietress had suffered serious injuries and was recuperating in the Universe Temple. He hadn’t asked Yue He about the specifics as they weren’t familiar with each other. What’s more, he was a prisoner so he wasn’t entitled to ask any questions.
Yue He disdainfully spat, scoffing, “Of course she’s alright. What else?”
“Is she seriously injured?”
Yue He remained silent for a while before she shook her head, “Whether she is heavily or lightly injured is irrelevant as you have no idea about her abilities. Now that she has sought shelter in the Universe Temple, she will recover sooner or later.”
Yang Kai gently nodded his acknowledgement; it could be said that the weight on his heart was finally lifted.
“Do you think that you have the time to worry about others? Worry about yourself first.” Yue He jealously continued, “After entering the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, you can’t leave until it closes on its own. I’m afraid we will be staying here for a long time.”
When she brought this up, Yang Kai grew a little worried, “Is the period which this Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary remains open really different every time?”
Yue He slowly nodded, “As far as I know, that is the case. It will remain open for between a decade to a century, but even if it remains open for a century, for cultivators like us, it’s still just a snap of the fingers.”
For an Open Heaven Realm Master like Yue He, a century was indeed like a snap of one’s fingers, but it was completely different for Yang Kai.
The Star Boundary was in a precarious situation. It was in danger and its World Principles were collapsing. If Yang Kai couldn’t find the World Tree to repair the Star Boundary soon, the entire Universe World would die sooner or later.
[A century? Can the Star Boundary hold on till then?]
“Young Master, what are you thinking?” Yue He couldn’t help but ask, looking at the change in Yang Kai’s expression.
Yang Kai furrowed his brow, looking at her; he was rendered speechless, “In any case, you are an Open Heaven Realm Master, and a Fifth-Order one at that. Why are you humiliating yourself?”
Yue He asked, surprised, “How am I humiliating myself?”
Yang Kai continued, shaking his head, “I am just a trivial Emperor Realm Junior. How can you allow yourself to address me as Young Master?” She had said the same before the old man surnamed Kang as well.
Yue He pursed her lips into a sweet smile, “Oh, that’s what you are referring to. I’m happy to do it, so what?”
“Do as you wish!” Yang Kai didn’t want to dwell on this topic. He hesitated for a moment before asking, “Can I ask you a question?”
Yue He turned serious, “Ask ahead.”
“Will frequent use of the Power of Yin, Yang, and Five Elements in one’s Dao Seal affect it in any way?”
Yue He was astounded, “Why would it affect one’s Dao Seal? Since it’s your power, it will always be yours.” She suddenly furrowed her brow, “Why don’t you even know this? Lan You Ruo didn’t tell you?”
Yang Kai explained, “I’ve only been in the Outer Universe for about a year. I don’t know much about many things. Usually, Proprietress didn’t pay attention to my cultivation.”
Thinking about it though, since it was the Power within his own Dao Seal, why would it matter if he used it? In the Seven Wonders Land, he had once used his Wood Element to assist the growth of the Fire Spirit Fruit Trees after all.
After giving it a thought, he realized that he had made a wrong assumption.
Yue He was mouth agape in shock, “You only entered the Outer Universe a year ago?”
“What’s the problem?”
Yue He slowly shook her head, “I thought that you had been with Lan You Ruo for a long time. So it’s like that. How many Elements have you gathered?”
Yang Kai naturally had nothing to hide; furthermore, since he was the one asking for advice, he would obviously speak the truth, “Two, Wood and Fire.”
Yue He continued, “The Yin, Yang, and Five Elements have their own characteristics. Wood is filled with vitality and is best for healing and cultivation. Fire is hot and explosive, suitable for attacking. Metal is sharp and aggressive. If it’s applied to an artifact, it boosts the offensive power of that artifact. Earth is thick and heavy, so its defence is outstanding. Water is formless, making it suitable for all roles from healing to offence to defence. As for Yin and Yang, they both have their own effects. The battle between the Masters below the Open Heaven Realm Masters is basically a competition of quality and control over the Powers of Yin, Yang, and Five Elements.”
Yang Kai appeared to be pondering it deeply, but soon nodded before requesting, “Please enlighten me!”
Yue He stated, “Attack me!”
Saying so, a yellowish-brown aura suddenly covered her entire body. A tremendous Earth Element was congealed in that aura. Obviously, Yue He had mobilized the Power in her Dao Seal for defence.
Yang Kai casually launched a palm attack at her. He had wanted to try this combat style, so he held nothing back. The moment he swung his palm, a reddish aura suddenly surged around it, radiating tremendous heat.
A deafening bang immediately followed. Yue He’s figure shook as a ripple visible to the naked eye spread over the yellowish-brown aura covering her body before it fiercely caved in. Not only that, Yang Kai’s palm also sank in. The consolidated defence around her body seemed to be on the verge of shattering.
Fortunately, Yang Kai timely withdrew his palm.
Yue He’s beautiful eyes widened in shock, looking at Yang Kai, “What Order of Fire Element did you condense?”
“What’s wrong?” Yang Kai looked at her in confusion.
Yue He murmured, “As I just said, the battle between cultivators below the Open Heaven Realm is a competition between the quality and control of their Yin, Yang, and Five Elements. The Earth Element I have condensed is Fifth-Order, so any Power below Fifth-Order would not put a dent in the defence created using it, unless one struck multiple times. But you nearly broke my defence in just one palm… Did you refine a Sixth-Order Fire Element material? No… that’s not right either. It’s impossible for a Sixth-Order Fire Element Power to have such tremendous power… Could it be of Seventh-Order!?”
Just as she spoke of this, Yue He covered her red lips with her hand as her pretty eyes quivered in shock.
Yang Kai was also astounded. He hadn’t expected Yue He to draw such a conclusion from just a casual attack, and her inference was not wrong. The Golden Crow Fire was absolutely not just Seventh Order!
“Damn!” Yue He’s face turned ashen, “Lan You Ruo, you’ve gone mad! You actually dare to do this!?”
Who knows why, but Yue He’s face turned as pale as paper and she abruptly stood up while speaking, clenching her fists so tightly her knuckles had turned white.
“What does this have to do with Proprietress?” Yang Kai frowned.
Yue He ground her teeth as she replied, “Didn’t she assist you in condensing your Fire Element?” Yang Kai had told her himself that he had been in the Outer Universe for just about a year, so how could he have strength and resources to find such a High-Order Open Heaven material?
It must be known that a Seventh-Order material was worth over a hundred million Open Heaven Pills! She didn’t believe that Yang Kai possessed such wealth; furthermore, it wasn’t something he could buy unless Lan You Ruo helped him.
It was quite natural for her to make such an assumption as she had no idea that Yang Kai had his own opportunities.
Yang Kai didn’t want to explain, but he was a little curious so he instead asked, “So what? Doesn’t condensing higher Order materials just mean breaking through to a higher Order Open Heaven Realm?”
“You don’t understand at all!” Yue He shook her head. Suddenly, she asked another question, “What about your Wood Element? It couldn’t also be Seventh-Order, right?”
Yang Kai himself was wondering about its Order, only figuring that the essence of the Immortal Tree should be very high.
Yue He’s face, seeing his reaction, turned even paler. She crouched down and solemnly looked at him, “Never, ever let anyone know that you have condensed Seventh-Order Elements, promise me!”
There was a pleading look on her face as if she was requesting something very important.
A confused look appeared on Yang Kai’s face as he wondered, [Has she gone insane? We don’t have that deep a relationship.] Had it not been for Yue He’s previous conduct, he would have parted ways with her already. Still, Yang Kai felt really uncomfortable when she was talking to him in this tone.
His reaction didn’t go unnoticed by Yue He and her face turned slightly red as she tucked her hair behind her ear, stating, “I know that there are some misunderstandings between us, and you don’t trust me much, but please believe me when I say I will never try to harm you…”
She hesitated for a while before continuing, “There was once a man who was monstrously talented, overwhelming all other geniuses in his generation. Just like you, he condensed Seventh-Order Elements, and throughout the entire 3,000s World, no one below the Open Heaven Realm was his opponent. He had even fought a Low-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master to draw. But in the end, he died.”
“How did he die?” Yang Kai furrowed his brow.
Yue He’s eyes flickered with a sliver of sadness, “The tallest tree in the forest always faces the strongest winds. Do you know that Lan You Ruo herself had a chance to break through directly to the Seventh Order?”
“I heard something about it.”
“Then do you know why she’s stuck in the Sixth Order?” Yue He lightly sneered.
Yang Kai shook his head, “I’ve never heard the reason.”
“Because if she tried to break through to the Seventh Order, she would be dead! Therefore, she only advanced to the Sixth-Order. She did so just to safeguard her dog life!” Yue He’s tone was solemn.
Yang Kai unhappily rebuked, “Proprietress has done me many big favours, don’t speak ill of her.”
Yue He added in a cold voice, “If she was really thinking of your own good, she wouldn’t have let you condense Seventh-Order Elements! She is only harming you just like back then… back then when…” While speaking, Yue He’s eyes turned wet as she choked with sobs.
Yang Kai, seeing this, didn’t know what to say. He could clearly tell that there was some kind of deep grievance between the Proprietress and Yue He. They should have some past grudges between them, as well as a complicated story.
After a while, Yue He wiped the corner of her eyes before exhorting in a lonesome voice, “In any case, you must remember this. You should never let anyone know about your secrets. And as for the Dragon Artifact, it would be better if you never used it again; otherwise, you would be in big trouble after you leave the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary.”
After advising him so, Yue He turned around and left, her figure looking bleak and lonely.
Yang Kai, watching her departing back, sunk into his own thoughts. In fact, he didn’t need Yue He to specifically tell him to hide his secrets. Only, judging by how seriously Yue He had warned him, he realized he needed to be extra careful in the future. As for the Dragon Artifact, the Azure Dragon Spear, Yang Kai actually couldn’t wait for the Dragon Clan to come looking for him. He was alone and had no one to rely on in the Outer Universe, so it would be great if he could get in touch with the Dragon Clan.
After Yue He left, Yang Kai tried to manipulate Space Principles to see if he could tear space and leave the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary.
According to Yue He, they would be here for at least a decade and possibly up to a century, but if he could shatter the Void and leave this place, he wouldn’t need to stay.
Furthermore, he had faced this kind of situation many times before, so Yang Kai wasn’t unfamiliar with it.
But after a few tries, he discovered that the World Principles of the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary were extremely firm. He couldn’t break through the World Barrier with his current mastery of the Dao of Space.
Yang Kai couldn’t help but be a little frustrated. It seemed that he would have to find some other way or wait for the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary to close by itself.
“Senior Brother Yang!” A sweet voice suddenly rang in Yang Kai’s ears, interrupting his thoughts.
He looked up and saw Chen Yue standing right before him. Her eyes were completely glued on him, and when their eyes met, a slightly red hue embellished her pretty face.
Yang Kai asked, nodding, “What’s wrong?”
Chen Yue replied, “Nothing’s wrong. Yue’er just wanted to thank Senior Brother Yang. Had it not been for Senior Brother Yang, I would have been dead.”
Yang Kai humbly stated, “It was nothing. Don’t worry about it.”
Chen Yue continued, “It might be nothing for Senior Brother, but it was a life-saving grace for me. This Junior Sister is unable to repay your kindness right now, but if Senior Brother needs anything from me in the future, please just say it. Yue’er will do everything to fulfil it.”
Yang Kai raised his hand, stating, “You don’t have to be so serious. Brother Meng and I are old acquaintances. Since you are his friend, then you are also my friend. It’s only right and proper to help each other out.”
Chen Yue asked, “How did Senior Brother and Senior Brother Meng become acquaintances? Why haven’t I heard Senior Brother Meng mention it before?” Her eyes were brightly shining, as if she was looking at some rare treasure.
“If Junior Sister wants to know about it, why not ask Brother Meng? He can tell you all about it,” Yang Kai pointed in a certain direction.
Chen Yue turned to look and saw Meng Hong approaching. Her expression immediately turned a little unnatural, but she still put on a smiling face when Meng Hong arrived by her side, “I came to thank Senior Brother Yang.”
Meng Hong nodded his acknowledgement, “That’s alright, but Junior Sister, you are injured. You shouldn’t move around too much. You should focus on recovering first.”
Chen Yue obediently agreed, “Then I will be on my way. Please continue.”
“Junior Sister Chen is a good girl, and quite talented as well,” Meng Hong stated, looking at the departing Chen Yue. He seemed to be talking more to himself than Yang Kai.
Yang Kai smiled, “Brother Meng, if you are interested in her, you might as well boldly pursue her.”
Meng Hong shook his head with a wry smile, “I’m interested in her, but I’m afraid she is not interested in me.”
Yang Kai added with a stern look on his face, “Absolute sincerity can move even the hardest of hearts. As long as Brother Meng shows his sincerity, how can Sister Chen not feel it?”
Meng Hong, lowering his head, pondered for a while before he nodded, “Brother Yang is right. I was wrong.” He then switched the topic, “Brother Yang, you are not seriously injured, are you?”
Yang Kai had brought them out of the Beast Tide and then fought with Old Kang; naturally, he wouldn’t have come out unscathed.
“I’m fine, it’s just some minor injuries.” Yang Kai shook his head.
Meng Hong was filled with great admiration, “Today, I have learned how great Brother Yang is. You even killed a Third-Order Open Heaven Realm Master and a Roaring Thunder Beast. This Meng was really a frog in the well, thinking that the sky was just this big.”
He was truly shocked this time. He too was an Emperor Realm cultivator, but he had never thought that a cultivator of his realm could display such fearsome combat power. Every sweep of Yang Kai’s spear blew away the Ancient Exotic Beasts into a bloody mist, even a Third-Order Open Heaven Realm Master could only retreat in defeat before dying. Meng Hong couldn’t help but yearn for such power.
“It was just a fluke,” Yang Kai modestly stated, “By the way, how are Old Fang and the others doing in Great Moon Province?”
Meng Hong replied with a smile, “Junior Brother Fang and Junior Sister Dié You are doing well. Ah Sun’s cultivation is back on track too. I too have been receiving personal training from Martial Aunt Tao. They all miss Brother Yang though. I don’t know how they are doing right now, but before I left, all of them asked me to inquire about you while I was out. Unfortunately, before I could carefully check up on Brother Yang, we came here. Fortunately, we encountered the Grand Ancient Ruins Rolling Fog; otherwise, I would have never met Brother Yang so quickly.”
Hearing that Old Fang and the others were doing fine, Yang Kai’s heart was put at ease; after all, Old Fang and Dié You were the first friends he had made after arriving in the Outer Universe. They had also taken good care of him in Seven Wonders Land. When he escaped from Seven Wonders Land, they followed him, blazing their way through all obstacles together, sharing life and death.
The world was so vast though, so who knows when he would meet them again? Thinking of this, Yang Kai couldn’t help but be struck with a little melancholy.
[But as long as we are living, we will have a chance to meet sooner or later!]
“What does Brother Yang plan to do next?” Meng Hong solemnly asked.
In their group, Yue He was a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master and Yang Kai had shown overwhelming combat prowess, the remaining few people were fellow brothers and sisters of Great Moon Province, and Chen Yue, so their group wasn’t that big, seven in total. They couldn’t really do much in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary on their own.
“What does Brother Meng think we should do?” If Meng Hong hadn’t asked, Yang Kai himself would have asked the very same question.
Meng Hong pondered for a moment before replying, “Self-preservation! We should seek self-preservation first before thinking about doing anything else!”
He eloquently continued, “The Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary this time is completely different from the past. Even if the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary opened in the past, not many people would be swept into it. But this time, an entire Star City has been swallowed up, dragging in a couple hundred thousand cultivators. Anyone with a little brains could tell that we should stick together. Even that Ding Yi did the same. He raised his own banner and gathered together a group of followers. Although Brother Yang has strength and courage that not even ten thousand men can match, you are just one person in the end. Whatever conflict arises, if you remain alone, you will be the one to suffer, always.”
“Furthermore, the Beast Tide attacked the ruins of the Star City the moment we arrived, so who knows what other crises are lurking inside the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary. Many Masters have lost their lives in this place over the millennia. If we aren’t careful, I’m afraid we will be following their footsteps.”
Yang Kai lightly nodded. Although Meng Hong’s idea was a little conservative, it was also in line with his thoughts.
What Yang Kai saw and heard today gave him much to think about, and he needed some time to digest all of it, especially about the Power within his Dao Seal. He had experienced too few real battles after entering the Outer Universe and had yet to discover the effectiveness of his Yin, Yang, and Five Elements. No one had even told him about this until today.
But since he had come to know about it today, Yang Kai naturally wanted to carefully study it.
“Haa…” Meng Hong heaved a sigh, “Speaking of which, we are the ones causing trouble for Brother Yang. If Brother Yang was on his own, he would be able to accomplish great deeds in the Grand Ancient Ruins.”
Yang Kai couldn’t stop himself from laughing, “Brother Meng, you are taking this all too seriously. Just as you said, the Grand Ancient Ruins is fraught with unknown crises. I am just an Emperor Realm cultivator, so what can I even accomplish on my own?”
While the two were talking, Yang Kai suddenly raised his head, looking in a certain direction and slightly frowned.
Very soon, Meng Hong also sensed something. He looked in the same direction, frowning and beckoning his nearby Junior Brothers at the same time.
Chen Yue came closer at that time and asked, “Senior Brothers, what’s the matter?” Although she was an Emperor Realm cultivator as well, it was evident that her Divine Sense wasn’t as powerful as Meng Hong’s, otherwise, how could she have failed to notice the disturbance?
The nearby Yue He softly sneered, “A large number of people are approaching. If I’m right, they are those who have made their way out of the Star City.”
Chen Yue’s face slightly changed after hearing this; after all, the Star City wasn’t that far away from here, just a thousand kilometres at most. It was natural for some to flee in their direction.
As expected, a bunch of blazing auras appeared in their sight shortly after. Slowly, they could make out human figures amongst those auras, heading straight towards this mountain valley.
The aura of the figure leading the group was like a shooting star, and was drenched in blood. Surprisingly, it was none other than Ding Yi.
There were over a thousand cultivators behind him at this moment.
Soon, the streaks of light fell down on the valley one by one. Ding Yi glanced at Yang Kai from a distance as a smile appeared on his lips, “We meet again. It seems we share some destiny.”
Although he was smiling, there was no warmth behind it. Yang Kai, on the other hand, ignored him altogether.
Yang Kai’s attitude made Ding Yi coldly snort. He then looked around before his gaze landed on Yue He, wandering over her lithe figure. He smacked his lips and proposed, “Madame, what this Ding said before is still valid. Why don’t you give it another thought?”
In the Star City, Ding Yi had once offered to accept Yue He as his woman. Naturally, it was impossible for Yue He to agree. She was alone at that time and not wanting to have any conflict with Ding Yi and the others, she immediately fled. But unfortunately, she was forced to return by the Beast Tide.
With disaster knocking at the door, Ding Yi couldn’t have cared less about Yue He, he just wanted to survive. But now that he had made it out of the siege, and gathered a large number of people under him, his self-confidence was bolstered. His dark thoughts couldn’t help but rear their heads again.
After all, Yue He was a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. Ding Yi himself had no idea when or even if he could reach the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm, and he would not find such a great opportunity once he left the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary. If he could taste a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm woman here, then this trip to the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary would not be in vain.
Just as Ding Yi proposed this, his minions immediately started clamouring.
“Oye, you there, you are lucky, my Emperor Heaven’s Commander has taken a liking to you. You should obediently become his wife!”
“If you obey our Commander, he will keep you safe; otherwise, it will be difficult for you to take even a single step in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary!”
“That chick isn’t bad either. Why don’t I take her with the Commander?”
“Hahaha! Since the Commander is eating the meat, naturally we will have to drink the soup. Why would the Commander be interested in that little girl when he has such a feast already?”
…..
One by one, the men behind Ding Yi started shouting. Ding Yi, on the other hand, stood carrying his hands behind his back. His face was ruddy and filled with pride. Today, Emperor Heaven had killed their way out of the Beast Tide under his lead. Everyone admired him and it was his charisma that brought this ragtag bunch together, leading them by example and raising everyone’s morale.
Ding Yi believed that as long as he was given some time, he could surely make Emperor Heaven rise to prominence in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary! And at that time, he would be the true ruler of this place. Everyone’s life and death would be in his hands. He was drunk on this sense of superiority, which he could never have in the 3,000 Worlds.
The unique environment of the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary gave all Emperor Realm cultivators a chance to be the masters of their own destiny. Ding Yi believed that this was a Heaven-sent chance, an opportunity bestowed on him by the Heavens themselves.
Chen Yue’s face turned pale after hearing their calls. She had never thought that she would suffer such an unexpected crisis and couldn’t help but lean towards Yang Kai and Meng Hong, as if she wanted to seek a sense of security.
On the other hand, Yue He smiled and her pretty and captivating eyes flickered with a bright and intelligent gleam, “Then you will have to ask my Young Master. If Young Master agrees, this maid will not complain, no matter who she is sent to do. But if Young Master refuses, then this maid must remain with her Young Master…”
Saying so, she shamelessly grabbed Yang Kai’s arm and held it between her twin peaks.
Yang Kai calmly glanced over at her as Yue He’s fragrant breath blew on his face, “Young Master, I will obey you.” Her submissive attitude and charming temperament caused many men’s breathing to turn ragged. They were secretly jealous of Yang Kai’s luck. [What great force does this bastard belong to that he actually has a maid like this serving him?]
A wry smile appeared on Yang Kai’s face as he muttered, “You’re really making me the public’s enemy!” While speaking, he reached out and pinched Yue He’s tender cheek, to the point where red marks appeared on her fair face.
Yue He’s brow twitched slightly. Who knew what was going on in her mind, but she didn’t avoid Yang Kai’s touch.
Meng Hong blushed at the sight of this while Chen Yue’s mouth fell agape. As for the disciples of Great Moon Province, they all quickly averted their gazes.
The two kept flirting in the open, causing Ding Yu to turn livid. Having come over with the might of the thousand men of Emperor Heaven behind him, he believed that Yue He would not be able to resist him. He would definitely take her to his bed tonight and make her his. But after watching this display, he immediately felt insulted.
He thus shouted in an ice-cold voice, “Brat, you court death!”
“Commander, let me kill him!” A burly bald man behind Ding Yi stepped forward. His aura was thick and head, and he was wielding a menacing broadsword. The blood on the blade was still not dry, so obviously, he had killed a lot of exotic beasts in the battle just now.
Ding Yi solemnly nodded, “Since this Little Brat has shamelessly rejected a face-shaving offer, go and teach him to show proper respect!”
The burly man rubbed his bald head, snickering, “Don’t worry Commander, I will let him know the might of our Emperor Heaven.”
He then pointed his broadsword at Yang Kai and grimly stated, “Boy, come accept your death!”
Yang Kai raised his hand, “Wait a moment.”
The burly bald man sneered, “If you have any last words, speak up, or forever hold your tongue.”
Yang Kai chuckled and then stated, ignoring him and staring only at Ding Yi, “If you want, I can give this cheap slut to you, I don’t really want her anyway.”
Saying so, he pushed Yue He away, causing the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Master to stagger.
Ding Yi was startled and immediately nodded with satisfaction, “Seems like even a brat like you can be tactful!”
Yue He was even more stunned. She glared at Yang Kai, her pretty eyes burning with fury as her body shook in anger.
Infuriated, Yue He turned around and started kicking and punching Yang Kai, though she wasn’t using any real power; so, it looked like a lovers’ spat to others.
Ding Yi’s face turned ashen, “You dare to lie to me?”
He waved his hand, roaring, “Kill the man, capture the woman!”
Just as the order was issued, the burly bald man slashed his broadsword down. The broadsword was surrounded by a faint golden glow, giving everyone the feeling that it was extremely sharp and could cut through any obstacle like a hot knife through butter.
Yang Kai hadn’t paid attention to it before, but at this moment, when he took a closer look, he knew that the burly bald man was using the Metal Element Power in his Dao Seal.
Yang Kai promptly pulled Yue He behind him before raising his hand and pressing it forward. His hand was radiating a scorching heat as he drew on his Fire Element Power.
Yang Kai also wanted to give this combat style a try.
Yang Kai’s palm passed by the sharp broadsword, pressing straight towards the burly bald man’s chest. The burly man was also ruthless and vicious so he didn’t try to dodge or block the oncoming palm; rather, the golden glow around the broadsword grew brighter. Surprisingly, he wanted to trade injury with injury as his lips rose into a hideous smile.
With a clang, Yang Kai’s figure staggered backwards a little as the broadsword slashed at his chest. In an instant, his clothes were slashed through while the burly man was sent flying by the palm.
No one seemed to seize the advantage in this exchange.
Yue He was greatly taken aback and quickly rushed over and checked Yang Kai’s chest, “Are… are you alright?”
When she lifted up his damaged clothes, she just saw a white scratch on Yang Kai’s skin. The broadsword had only managed to scratch him a little, not even drawing a drop of blood.
Yue He was dumbfounded.
The burly bald man might not have used his entire strength just now, but that still wasn’t something an Emperor Realm cultivator would be able to block with just his body alone. However, Yang Kai was completely alright even after taking that blow.
[Is this boy even Human?]
Yang Kai sneered as flicked his chest, “A waste like you wants to injure this King? In your dreams! Go back and cultivate for a few more centuries.”
Yue He stared at him in a daze, her pretty eyes flashing fiercely. The nearby Chen Yue, on the other hand, stared at Yang Kai with a look of admiration on her face. She too was an Emperor Realm cultivator, but she didn’t dare to take such an attack head-on.
“Interesting!” The burly bald man, after regaining his footing, pointed his broadsword at Yang Kai, smiling wickedly, “Brat, I hope you can remain so bull-headed until the end, don’t…”
Mid-sentence, the burly bald man’s face suddenly turned red, and before he could finish his words, he spurted a mouthful of blood. The blood he spurted seemed to be boiling as it was radiating scorching heat.
Ding Yi exclaimed, “What’s wrong?”
The burly bald man didn’t even have the time to answer his question as his entire body quickly turned red as boiling blood bubbled out of his mouth.
In just ten breaths, the burly bald man let out a miserable scream before he collapsed to the ground and stopped breathing.
Much to everyone’s surprise, he died just like that.
The entire field sunk into pin-drop silence!
The surrounding cultivators looked aghast at Yang Kai, as if they were looking at a ghost; after all, Yang Kai had only swung his palm once, but that was enough to take the life of the burly bald man. Everyone present knew they weren’t any stronger than the burly bald man, which meant that if they were in his situation, they too would not have survived.
Yang Kai, on the other hand, looked at the burly bald man as if it had nothing to do with him, a thoughtful expression on his face.
The way this man died reminded him of what happened back on the Sun Star. Back then, when a number of Low-Rank Open Heaven Masters were burned by the Golden Crow’s True Fire, they died similar deaths.
The Golden Crow’s True Fire was extremely fearsome. When even those Open Heaven Realm Masters couldn’t hold on for too long after having been burned by the True Fire, what could an insignificant Emperor Realm Master do? The bald man had no way to deal with the Golden Crow’s True Fire invading his body, dooming him from the start.
[Fortunately, I refined my Wood Element from the Immortal Tree’s essence; otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to suppress the Golden Crow’s True Fire in my Dao Seal.]
[So this is the might of the Seventh-Order Fire Element!] Yue He’s pretty eyes looked at Yang Kai as a complicated look appeared on her face. With this Seventh-Order Fire Power, how could anyone in the Emperor Realm be his opponent if it was a one-on-one match?
“You court death!” The tragic death of his subordinate made Ding Yi blow his top; thus, he waved his hand and shouted, “Kill him!”
The moment he issued the order, everyone charged at Yang Kai all at once. Even though everyone was afraid of Yang Kai’s methods, they had an overwhelming advantage in numbers. When even their Commander, Ding Yi, was attacking, how could they fall behind?
In the blink of an eye, the brilliance of Secret Techniques and artifacts dazzled everyone as they launched their attacks at Yang Kai.
“Take care of them!” Yang Kai sent Yue He a Divine Sense transmission before throwing himself straight into the approaching crowd.
His intrepid physique was more than enough to negate a large part of the damage from these attacks. Furthermore, using Space Principles, Yang Kai came and went like a ghost. Yang Kai didn’t resort to any other methods and instead kept attacking with the same flaming palm.
Many people were struck by his palm without even catching sight of Yang Kai’s figure. Immediately, scorching hot energy started to rampage in their bodies, burning them from the inside out. They couldn’t get rid of that scorching energy no matter how hard they tried.
Cultivators fell to the ground one by one, coughing up scorching hot blood.
Every time Yang Kai swung his palm, an Emperor Heaven member would inexplicably lose his life, striking panic into the hearts of the others.
Ding Yi’s eyes cracked wide open as his heart bled. Emperor Heaven had recruited over a thousand men, so the death of a few of them would be a drop in the bucket, but Yang Kai’s actions were extremely detrimental to their morale. If he couldn’t bring down Yang Kai today, how would he convince the public in the future?
Gritting his teeth, Ding Yi turned his head toward Yue He and the others before raising his arm and ordering, “Follow me!”
Hundreds of people immediately gathered around him before charging towards Yue He and the others. Unable to take down Yang Kai, Ding Yi focused his attention on the others. As long as he could capture them, Yang Kai couldn’t do anything.
Meng Hong’s face turned pale as he clenched the artifact in his hand tighter. Chen Yue was also shivering in fright.
In the blink of an eye, when he and his men were just within three hundred metres of Meng Hong and the others, Ding Yi raised his arm and ordered, “Capture them alive!”
Yue He remained cool-headed and just sneered at Ding Yi and the others before summoning a small flower umbrella-like artifact. The umbrella opened up and slowly started rotating; immediately afterwards, transparent filaments drooped down from the umbrella one after another.
Surprisingly, it was a defensive artifact. It might look small but it was enough to cover everyone in it.
As Yue He was unable to display her full strength in this place, the might of the artifact was naturally much lower than normal. Under the attack of over a hundred Emperor Realm cultivators, it might not last long and its defence would be broken.
At that time, apart from Yue He, who could defend herself a little, the life and death of Great Moon Province’s people would be left to the Heavens.
Yang Kai seized a moment to take a look at Yue He and the others. After checking their situation, he forced everyone around him back with a few palm attacks before teleporting to the front of Yue He and grinning at Ding Yi. Immediately after, he smacked a palm at him.
Ding Yi quivered visibly!
Having witnessed the tragic deaths of so many of his subordinates, he was well aware of the terror of Yang Kai’s palm. As such, he immediately halted his charge and promptly kicked the ground, taking flight.
Yang Kai, on the other hand, remained like maggots on rotting bones.
Ding Yi’s mouth was filled with bitterness. His intestines had turned green in regret. He finally made it out of the Beast Tide and was able to gather a large group of followers in the process. This was a big victory for him, leaving him in high spirits. But he had never expected to run into a freak like Yang Kai the very next moment.
He secretly decided that if he could escape from this crisis, he would run in the opposite direction at the mere sight of Yang Kai in the future.
As Yang Kai’s palm came closer, Ding Yi could feel the scorching heat radiating from it and he exclaimed in his heart, [My destined end has come!]
At that moment, the ground started quaking and cracked apart, causing everyone to stagger.
The next moment, an enormous figure suddenly rushed out from the crack. The figure was several tens of metres wide and tall, and jet-black in colour. It seemed to have no eyes, ears, or nose. The only thing at its frontmost end was an enormous mouth that was constantly squirming like a rotating millstone, creating a terrifying suction.
The few Emperor Heaven cultivators who were caught off guard were directly swallowed by that mouth and disappeared!
“Earth Dragon?” Yang Kai raised his brow, looking at the exotic beast that had suddenly risen out of the ground. Surprise was clearly written on his face.
Yang Kai had carefully checked this valley when they arrived here, but he hadn’t discovered anything unusual. Who knew where this Earth Dragon had been hiding that Yang Kai had failed to discover it. Perhaps it had been disturbed by the battle; otherwise, it would not have rushed out at this moment.
Furthermore, judging by the aura of the Earth Dragon, it was in no way inferior to the Roaring Thunder Beast in terms of strength.
Amid the deafening rumbles, the Earth Dragon’s entire body was displayed before everyone. Impressively, it was 300 metres long and every time it snapped its jaw, it would swallow a few cultivators.
On the other hand, the attacks of the cultivators couldn’t even scratch the creature’s skin. Yang Kai personally witnessed several cultivators attacking it with their respective artifacts, only for them to simply slide off the Earth Dragon’s body.
Emperor Heaven had suffered a complete defeat at the hands of Yang Kai, and now, a strange exotic beast had suddenly appeared. How could they still have the will to remain? Everyone fled. Witnessing this, Ding Yi could only clench his teeth and glare at Yang Kai in rage before pulling back from the valley.
It had only been thirty breaths since the Earth Dragon had made an appearance, but in this short period, all of the surviving Emperor Heaven Masters had fled from the valley. If they were given ample time, they might be able to kill the Earth Dragon, but Yang Kai was still lurking about. He would not give them any opportunity to cooperate and hunt down the Earth Dragon.
The Earth Dragon leapt out and chomped down yet again, devouring a few cultivators who were slightly slower in escaping.
Once the Emperor Heaven Masters had escaped, the Earth Dragon turned around and charged straight at Yang Kai. As it was approaching, its enormous mouth began to squirm, making Chen Yue feel nauseated and almost causing her to empty her stomach.
Yang Kai, on the other hand, remained where he was, calm and composed, not showing any intention of dodging.
Seeing the Earth Dragon getting closer and closer, Meng Hong and the others’ hearts jumped to their throats and even Yue He furiously shouted, “Do you want to die? Why are you still not running away!?”
Just as she shouted, the Earth Dragon was already upon Yang Kai, its enormous mouth open right above him.
Yue He clutched her flower umbrella and prepared to defend.
“Hmph!” Yang Kai let out a cold snort.
The next thing that happened blew Yue He and the others’ minds away. The moment Yang Kai snorted, the Earth Dragon froze on the spot. Its squirming mouth was just a metre away from Yang Kai and it could swallow him up if it just pushed forward slightly. Slowly, drops of its saliva dripped from its mouth, creating enormous potholes in the ground the next moment. Obviously, its saliva was highly corrosive. But in the end, the Earth Dragon didn’t move.
Just a single snort made the Earth Dragon terrified!
It was an amazing feat, but how did he do it? Meng Hong and the others’ eyes couldn’t help but widen as a look of incredulity blanketed their faces.
Even Yue He couldn’t figure out what was going on. If Yang Kai had repelled or killed it in a straight-up battle, Yue He and the others would not have found it too hard to accept, but what they saw confused them greatly.
[What is this Earth Dragon afraid of exactly? Or is there something on Yang Kai that is making the Earth Dragon afraid?]
In front of everyone’s eyes, the Earth Dragon remained frozen in its place for a while before it slowly prostrated before Yang Kai’s feet. Even its squirming mouth was tightly shut.
It might not have said anything, but everyone understood.
Much to their surprise, the Earth Dragon was surrendering to Yang Kai!
Everyone was shocked!
Yang Kai raised his foot and stepped on the Earth Dragon’s enormous snout, laughing, “Seems you’re a tactful fellow!”
If it was any other exotic beast, Yang Kai would have no choice but to fight it out, but this Earth Dragon possessed a weak Dragon Clan bloodline. It might be very impure and in trace amounts, but as long as one possessed the Dragon Clan’s bloodline, they would be subjected to bloodline suppression.
Others couldn’t feel the Golden Divine Dragon Source Strength in Yang Kai’s body, but how could the Earth Dragon fail to notice it? How could the Earth Dragon presumptuously act before such a mighty bloodline?
“Considering it wasn’t easy for you to cultivate your current realm, I won’t kill you today. You can go!” Yang Kai shouted.
The Earth Dragon seemed to have understood, or perhaps it could feel the meaning behind Yang Kai’s words, so it slowly stood up before turning around and slowly ambling off in a different direction, leaving large patches of mucus wherever it passed by. It looked extremely disgusting.
However, after moving off a short distance, it suddenly turned around and returned to Yang Kai, sending some vague Divine Sense fluctuations to him.
Yue He curiously asked, “What does it want?”
Yang Kai listened for a long time, frowning, before a weird expression came over his face, “I think it wants to take me somewhere.”
Just as he said this, the Earth Dragon arched its head down and carried Yang Kai up. Afterwards, it ignored everything else and turned around, slithering toward another direction. Its 300 metres long body slid along the ground, making deafening rumbles.
“Where is it taking you?” Yue He flashed over, standing beside Yang Kai.
Yang Kai shook his head in response, “No idea.”
Although the Earth Dragon had some sentience, it was still quite vague and chaotic, so it couldn’t express itself clearly. Its Divine Sense transmissions were also obscure and confusing, leaving Yang Kai baffled. All he knew was that the place it was taking him to was very important.
*Shua shua shua…”
Those from Great Moon Province also flew over and landed on the Earth Dragon’s back. Its back wasn’t too wide but it was very long, so it wasn’t a problem for a few people to stand on it. The only negative for the women was the strange smell coming from the Earth Dragon’s body. Furthermore, almost its entire body was covered in mucus. If they weren’t careful, they might get it smeared on their clothes or bodies, which was something they couldn’t possibly bear.
“Since we have nothing to do, we might as well check it out. Maybe we will find some kind of treasure,” suggested Yang Kai.
Meng Hong agreed with a nod, “We will obey Brother Yang’s decision.”
Since Yang Kai somehow subdued an exotic beast, it would give anyone an extra sense of security. It was natural for them to follow anywhere Yang Kai went.
Yue He lightly poked Yang Kai in the waist as she curiously asked, “What exactly did you do? Why is this big guy so obedient to you? It’s even taking you to some amazing location?”
Yang Kai calmly replied, “Maybe I subdued it with my awesome charisma.”
Yue He pouted her lips, “Shameless!”
Along the way, they caught up with the scattered troops of Emperor Heaven. Under Ding Yi’s astonished and horrified gaze, Yang Kai and his group slithered towards the distance right before their eyes.
It wasn’t until Yang Kai and his team had disappeared from his sight that Ding Yi finally ordered his men with a solemn look on his face, “Pass on my order, if you ever meet that guy in the future, stay clear from him. Never have any conflict with him.”
The previous battle had really scared him. Several dozen people had died at Yang Kai’s hands while they couldn’t even touch the corner of Yang Kai’s shirt. And now, when they saw him having subdued such a powerful exotic beast, how could they still muster the courage to fight him?
The dead were dead, nothing could be done for them, and numbers could always be filled. But if morale was destroyed, it would undermine Ding Yi’s leadership.
The Earth Dragon wasn’t slow, and Yang Kai and his team ran into some cultivators along the way every now and then. But after sensing the Earth Dragon’s fearsome aura, everyone distanced themselves right away.
After travelling for three days and three nights, Yang Kai’s closed eyes finally opened as he declared, “We are here.”
Yue He looked at him, “How do you know?”
Yang Kai tapped his foot, “He told me.”
Judging by the Divine Sense transmitted by the Earth Dragon, it was obvious that it had become excited and eager. Obviously, it was approaching a special place. Yang Kai couldn’t help but be a little curious as he wondered what could make this big guy so enthusiastic.
After travelling another few hundred kilometres, Yang Kai suddenly raised his brow as he stared straight ahead. He faintly felt an unusual aura radiating from that direction.
[Dragon Aura!]
Although it was very weak and almost imperceptible, the Dragon Aura was extremely pure. This kind of aura was imperceptible to outsiders. Only those with a Dragon Source could sense it a little.
Yang Kai’s heart skipped a beat. [There is actually a member of the Dragon Clan in this Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary? Did the Earth Dragon bring me here to look for this Dragon? Just why did it come to find this Dragon?]
After another hundred kilometres, the Dragon Aura became more and more obvious.
The next moment, a majestic mountain range entered Yang Kai’s eyes. It was continuous and undulating, looking like a Great Dragon crawling on the ground; its head and tail quite vivid and distinct.
Yang Kai slightly furrowed his brow at the sight of this mountain range.
Suddenly, a streak of light shot into the air ahead as a man hovered in the mid-air, blocking the road ahead. When everyone arrived, he raised his hand and shouted, “Little Brother, please wait a moment!”
The Earth Dragon immediately came to a halt as Yang Kai ordered it via Divine Sense. Upon looking closer, Yang Kai found that the person blocking the way ahead appeared to be a young man. He was wearing a golden blue robe and carried himself with grace. On top of it all, he was extremely handsome as well. Yang Kai couldn’t get a clear picture of his cultivation for the time being, but he could tell this man should be an Open Heaven Realm Master.
Meng Hong’s face slightly changed as he stepped forward and whispered in Yang Kai’s ears, “He is Thunder Light’s Bie Jian.”
“Who?” Yang Kai glanced at him.
Meng Hong explained, “Even though the Star City was under no one’s jurisdiction, there were three great forces who lorded over it. Thunder Light is one of them. Bie Jian is a Manager of Thunder Light and rumour has it that he is a Fourth-Order Master.”
Meng Hong had been residing in the Star City for some time, so he knew a fair bit more about it than Yang Kai. As such, he immediately recognized the young man blocking the road at a glance.
Yang Kai turned and glanced at Yue He, who gently nodded. This gave him the confirmation that Meng Hong’s information was accurate.
Apart from Bie Jian, who was blocking the road, there were over a hundred Masters nearby who were staring in their direction with all kinds of looks on their faces. When their gazes fell on the Earth Dragon, many people looked quite curious.
Obviously, all these people were from Thunder Light.
However, who knew what they had encountered as quite a few of them were injured. They seemed to have just fought a hard battle.
“What is it?” Yang Kai gently nodded.
The young man cordially smiled, “This King is Bie Jian of Thunder Light. I wonder how I should address Little Brother?”
Yang Kai remained silent for a moment before introducing himself.
Bie Jian continued, smiling, “So it is Little Brother Yang… Little Brother Yang, are you going to enter Crouching Dragon Mountains?” He was a Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, so had it not been for the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary strange suppression, he would never have even spared Yang Kai a glance. Now, he was addressing him as Little Brother Yang to be cordial with him though.
“Crouching Dragon Mountains?” Yang Kai glanced at the distant mountains.
Bie Jian explained, “Since these mountains look like a Great Dragon crawling on the ground, we called it the Crouching Dragon Mountains.”
“En, I’m planning to enter this place.” Yang Kai nodded, “What can I do for Your Excellency?”
Bie Jian replied, “I won’t hide it from Little Brother Yang. We just returned from Crouching Dragon Mountains.” While speaking, he sighed and looked deeply ashamed.
Yang Kai curiously asked, “Oh? How dangerous is it?”
“There is a Scarlet Flame Flood Dragon on the verge of becoming an actual Dragon inside. It’s extremely ferocious!”
Bie Jian’s face turned solemn as he pointed to his side and added, “Although we had over a hundred men, our formation was destroyed by that Scarlet Flood Dragon and we suffered serious casualties. So, we had to make a temporary retreat.”
“A Scarlet Flame Flood Dragon?” Yang Kai raised his brow before looking in the Crouching Dragon Mountains’ direction. [The Dragon Aura I sensed before couldn’t possibly be this Scarlet Flame Flood Dragon’s, could it?]
[That’s not possible. The Dragon Aura I’m sensing is very pure. A Flood Dragon can’t project such an aura. But if there really is a member of the Dragon Clan there, how could it allow a Scarlet Flood Dragon to settle in its domain?]
[That’s not right. It doesn’t make any sense!]
While he was contemplating, Bie Jian continued, “Little Brother Yang, I can see that the Earth Dragon below you is quite extraordinary. If we team up, we might be able to defeat that Scarlet Flame Flood Dragon. As for the loot we will get, we can negotiate on its distribution.”
“How are we going to divide it?”
“How about based on the number of people?” Bie Jian suggested with a smile.
Yang Kai was amused after hearing this, “You want to divide the loot according to the number of people?”
Bie Jian earnestly added, “Little Brother Yang, there is not just the Scarlet Flame Flood Dragon in the Crouching Dragon Mountains. There are many other precious treasures. As long as we can take down the Scarlet Flood Dragon, the entire Crouching Dragon Mountain Range will be ours for the taking. Why bother about petty profits?”
Yang Kai denied, shaking his head, “No need, I’m not interested in your proposal. Goodbye!”
Bie Jian’s face turned slightly cold.
An elderly man flew over from the crowd and coldly shouted, “The Crouching Dragon Mountains belong to our Thunder Light. Any who dare to trespass it without our Thunder Light’s permission will be considered our enemy and killed without mercy!”
“Are you sure?” Yang Kai turned his gaze at the elderly man as his narrowed eyes flickered with a cold gleam.
A disciple of Great Moon Province also shouted, “Why? Everything in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary belongs to no one. Why do you say we can’t enter without your permission?”
Just as the elderly man was about to speak, Bie Jian stopped him with a raise of his hand and stated with a smile, “You can go, nobody is going to stop you. The Crouching Dragon Mountains indeed belong to no one. And naturally, you can enter if you want. Our Thunder Light will not stop you.”
Yang Kai meaningfully glanced at him before chuckling and tapping his foot. The next moment, the Earth Dragon stretched its body before slithering towards the Crouching Dragons Mountains.
Bie Jian kept an eye on their disappearing backs. The moment he confirmed that Yang Kai and the others had entered the Crouching Dragon Mountains, he raised his hand and issued an order, “Follow them!”
The surroundings zoomed past everyone as Yang Kai and his team, atop the Earth Dragon, advanced into the Crouching Dragon Mountains.
Yue He glanced back before elbowing Yang Kai, “Those guys are following us.”
Yang Kai let out a snort but there was no change in his expression. He just stared deep into the depths of the Crouching Dragon Mountain. After having arrived here, he became certain that the Dragon Aura didn’t belong to a mere Scarlet Flame Flood Dragon. The aura was too pure to be coming from a Flood Dragon-type exotic beast. And this Dragon Aura was distributed over a wide range, even extending beyond the entire Crouching Dragon Mountain Range. More importantly, it was hidden very deeply, so apart from other Dragonkin, no one could detect it.
The Earth Dragon became even more excited as it moved forward. Impressively, its emotions gave the impression of a wanderer returning home.
As the Earth Dragon got closer, a sinister and fearsome aura surged from the depths of the Crouching Dragon Mountain. Somehow, it felt as if a pair of invisible eyes filled with malice and rejection were staring in this direction.
It was none other than the Scarlet Flood Dragon residing deep in the Crouching Dragon Mountains.
The Earth Dragon wasn’t afraid though and its 300 metres long body twisted as its speed became faster. Its mouth began to squirm, spewing puddles of corrosive mucus, leaving huge potholes in its wake.
The next moment, a roar that resembled a Dragon’s roar yet wasn’t one echoed from up ahead. It was filled with warning and even the air became scorching hot.
The Earth Dragon momentarily paused as if it was afraid, but under Yang Kai’s prodding, it soon continued forward.
This move completely angered the Scarlet Flood Dragon and the next moment, a cloud of fire emerged from the Crouching Dragon Mountains together with deafening rumbles as a colossal figure approached.
From the distance, the exact appearance of the Scarlet Flood Dragon couldn’t be seen, but its fearsome aura could be felt. The Great Moon Province disciples turned pale in fright, stricken with panic. Even Yue He got a little nervous.
She couldn’t display her full strength in this place. If she encountered any danger, she could only protect herself and couldn’t spare any energy to take care of others.
She turned to look at Yang Kai, but seeing him so calm and even a bit distracted, thinking about something else, she couldn’t help but get angry.
“Hmm?” Suddenly, Yang Kai looked in a certain direction as if he noticed something. The next moment, his expression changed as he cried out in surprise, “Dragon Blood Flowers?”
While speaking, his figure flickered. After just a moment, his figure reappeared again, but there was a red flower in his hand.
The red flower was big, delicate, and fragrant. It gave the impression that it was watered with blood. Although it was just a flower, it gave everyone a sacrosanct feeling.
“Peak-Rank!” Yang Kai was greatly surprised.
“A Dragon Blood Flower?” Yue He also came over and muttered in surprise, “There are actually Dragon Blood Flowers here?” As a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, she naturally recognized the Dragon Blood Flower. Her cultivation might be higher than Yang Kai’s, but when it came to knowledge of Dragon Blood Flowers, it naturally wasn’t as thorough as Yang Kai’s.
Yang Kai remained silent. He had once pillaged all the Dragon Blood Flowers on Dragon Island in the Star Boundary, but most of the Dragon Blood Flowers he had obtained back then were either Mid-Rank or Low-Rank. Even High-Rank Dragon Blood Flowers weren’t numerous. As for Peak-Rank Dragon Blood Flowers, there were only two, that’s all. But in this Crouching Dragon Mountain Range, the very first Dragon Blood Flower he came across happened to be Peak-Rank…
“Brother Yang, there’s more over there!” Meng Hong suddenly pointed in a certain direction.
As Yang Kai gazed along his finger, his pupils couldn’t help but shrink.
There was indeed a Dragon Blood Flower blooming on the slope in that direction, but that Dragon Blood Flower was even more delicate and beautiful than the one in his hand. Furthermore, there was a three-coloured halo over it.
[What’s the grade of this Dragon Blood Flower?] Yang Kai was confused.
He had never seen such a Dragon Blood Flower on Dragon Island.
“Wow, so many Dragon Blood Flowers!” Chen Yue screamed in surprise. At this moment, they were already deep within the Crouching Dragon Mountains, so wherever they looked, they found Dragon Blood Flowers growing.
As the Earth Dragon moved forward, it opened its mouth and swallowed Dragon Blood Flowers into its belly, one by one. After a while when it had eaten three or four flowers, it shook its head and waved its tail as if it was very satisfied.
Right then, a scorching heat wave blew in everyone’s faces as an enormous figure rushed out of the forest. The figure had two horns, was covered in red scales, and radiated a fearsome aura. It was none other than the Scarlet Flame Flood Dragon that sent over a hundred members of Thunder Light packing.
The Scarlet Flood Dragon was furious. It opened its mouth and breathed a jet of scorching hot flames straight at the Earth Dragon.
Chen Yue screamed in horror, feeling the terrifying aura.
Yue He glanced at Yang Kai, who wrapped everyone in his energy, and flew off the Earth Dragon, hovering in the air.
When everyone looked below, the Earth Dragon and Scarlet Flame Flood Dragon were already locked in a battle. These two colossal exotic beasts were rampaging through the forest with amazing momentum. Scorching flames and highly corrosive acid were continuously breathed and spewed. From time to time, they would bite a chunk of each other’s flesh. It was an earth-shattering battle.
In terms of size and momentum, these two exotic beasts were on par with each other, but judging through Yue He’s eyes, the Earth Dragon should not be the Scarlet Flood Dragon’s opponent. If things went on like this, the Earth Dragon would definitely lose.
In the air, Yang Kai gazed around with a profound look on his face.
When he picked the first Dragon Blood Flower, he had a bad premonition, and now, his premonition had come true.
There were who knows how many Dragon Blood Flowers growing in the Crouching Dragon Mountains. Furthermore, there weren’t any Low-Rank, Mid-Rank, or even High-Rank Dragon Blood Flowers at all. Most were Peak-Rank Dragon Blood Flower while the grade of the remaining ones Yang Kai couldn’t make out at all.
Apart from the Dragon Blood Flowers, there were Dragon Ambergris Grasses, Dragon Blood Trees…
The entire Crouching Dragon Mountain was an enormous treasure trove, but the treasures here were all related to the Dragon Clan, which was extremely rare.
The Dragon Blood Flowers needed to be nurtured with the Dragon Blood for them to be able to grow. The same was true for the Dragon Blood Trees.
In other words, a member of the Dragon Clan might have fallen in this Crouching Dragon Mountain, spilling its blood over it; otherwise, so many Dragon Blood Flowers shouldn’t have grown here.
Whether it was the Scarlet Flame Flood Dragon or the Earth Dragon, both of them possessed a faint Dragon Clan bloodline. Naturally, they were zealous about this place. Obviously, the Earth Dragon should have benefited from this place before and had never forgotten about it, but the Scarlet Flood Dragon was guarding this place, so it led Yang Kai here. Although its sentience was low, the Earth Dragon had made an instinctive choice.
“So many spirit flowers and grasses!” Suddenly, a pleasantly surprised cry rang as the Thunder Light members rushed over. Their Manager, Bie Jian’s eyes couldn’t help but beam with joy at the bountiful sight within the Crouching Dragon Mountains.
The Thunder Light group also looked excited. Many of them even shot a sarcastic look at Yang Kai.
Just now, Bie Jian had invited Yang Kai to team up with him to hunt the Scarlet Flame Flood Dragon, but he was rejected. Now, the Scarlet Flame Flood Dragon was preoccupied with the Earth Dragon, so they didn’t have to worry about anything at all.
“Spread out. Don’t miss a single thing. Pick them all!” Bie Jian waved his hand as the hundred or so Thunder Light members scattered.
Looking at Yang Kai with a smile, Bie Jian stated, “Many thanks, Little Brother. If you didn’t bring this exotic beast here, things would have been really difficult for us.”
Arrogance and ridicule were perfectly visible in his smile.
Yang Kai glanced at him as he put away the Dragon Blood Flower in his hand into his Sealed World Bead. Next, he flicked his sleeve and indifferently stated, “It’s a little early to thank me.”
Bie Jian furrowed his brow. Although he could make out some hidden meaning in Yang Kai’s words, he didn’t care about it; after all, there were over a hundred Thunder Light members with him. Why would he be afraid of Yang Kai and his small group?
The Great Moon Province disciples were a little vexed; after all, it was really frustrating to have been taken advantage of by others in such a blatant manner. They wanted to pick some Dragon Blood Flowers, but seeing Yang Kai and Yue He not making any moves, they didn’t dare to take action.
The Earth Dragon and Scarlet Flood Dragon were still locked in a heated battle. These two should have fought with each other before as they were quite familiar with each other’s fighting style. This battle was simply phenomenal. Every time they attacked each other, it created an earth-shaking momentum.
Yang Kai didn’t intervene. So, Yue He and the others could only watch the battle from the sideline. Even Bie Jian was watching with great interest. At the same time, he was a little curious about how Yang Kai subdued the Earth Dragon.
In the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, subduing such an exotic beast would be quite advantageous. Although its appearance was ugly, it could at least guarantee some extra safety.
Time ticked by, and after an hour, the members of Thunder Light returned one after another. They were all beaming with joy. Obviously, their harvest was excellent. Bie Jian, after chatting with the elderly man from before, even started laughing very happily.
After the time it took for an incense stick to burn, everyone had returned.
Bie Jian glanced at the Earth Dragon and Scarlet Flame Flood Dragon who were still fighting, then bid goodbye to Yang Kai with a smile, “Little Brother, this King will be taking his leave. Until next time!”
This time, they had hit it big thanks to Yang Kai, so in his opinion, Yang Kai was not only stupid but his lucky charm as well.
“What’s the hurry!” Yang Kai finally turned to look at him.
Bie Jian asked with a smile, “Little Brother, do you need anything?”
“You can go, but leave the treasures behind!” Yang Kai waved his hand.
Just as he said this, Bie Jian’s expression became extremely strange. Even Yue He speechlessly looked at Yang Kai, wondering what he was doing.
The Thunder Light cultivators all looked at him like he was a lunatic.
Bie Jian held his smile back and pretended to ask, “Little Brother, what did you just say? This King didn’t hear it clearly!”
Yang Kai repeated, “I said you guys can go, but you must leave everything you collected behind. Everything on these mountains belongs to me!”
After a long silence, an eruption of laughter echoed across the mountains.
Many of the Thunder Light cultivators broke into laughter, holding their stomachs, like they had heard the world’s funniest joke.
Bie Jian had the biggest smile on his face as he quipped, “Little Brother, you really know how to joke.”
“You think I’m joking with you?” Yang Kai indifferently looked at him.
Bie Jian’s face slowly turned colder, “I don’t care if you are joking or not, but some things are better not said or they might bring trouble to you.” After a pause, he sarcastically smiled, “Besides, why would my Thunder Light members leave their things behind? Just because you said so?”
“Of course not…” Yang Kai raised his hand and snapped his fingers. The next moment, the Earth Dragon and the Scarlet Flame Flood Dragon, who had been locked in a fierce battle, suddenly separated as if they had received an absolute command. Then, they rushed straight towards the Thunder Light group and sandwiched them.
The enormous mouth of the Earth Dragon was squirming continuously, dripping corrosive acid. Its head was hung below as if it was picking whom to devour. As for the Scarlet Flame Flood Dragon, it stood arrogantly, breathing scorching flames through its snout.
Instantly, everyone fell silent.
“Because of these two.” Yang Kai’s voice echoed, “Are they enough?”
The Thunder Light members broke out into cold sweats. They took a defensive stance as if they were facing their nemesis. Bie Jian turned livid as disbelief filled his being and his face madly twitched.
Even Yue He could not help but cover her luscious red lips. Meng Hong was mouth agape as well, staring blankly at the Scarlet Flame Flood Dragon that was several hundred metres long.
Although he had witnessed the Earth Dragon surrendering to Yang Kai with his own eyes, how could he have ever expected the Scarlet Flame Flood Dragon to be obedient as well? Just a moment ago, it was fighting a life-and-death battle with the Earth Dragon, but the next moment, it was doing Yang Kai’s bidding.
Not to mention, Yang Kai hadn’t done anything since he arrived here. [Could it be that this Scarlet Flame Flood Dragon is a prior acquaintance of Yang Kai’s? But this is the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, that makes no sense.]
Meng Hong was confused and unable to find any explanation.
Bie Jian looked at Earth Dragon and then looked at the Scarlet Flame Flood Dragon, grinding his teeth hard. Previously, just the Scarlet Flame Flood Dragon had utterly routed their hundred-member team, and now, with the Earth Dragon, which was no less inferior to the Scarlet Flame Flood Dragon, joining the mix, they would be lucky if half of their Thunder Light group could escape alive.
[How did it turn out like this? How can this brat make two exotic beasts obey him?]
Although things had taken a turn for the worse, he was still a Fourth-Order Open Heaven Master and had his own sense of dignity. It was impossible for him to bow just like that, so he instead praised with a sullen face, “Little Brother, your Beast Taming methods are superb. It’s truly admirable!”
He thought that Yang Kai was proficient in some kind of beast-taming technique; otherwise, he was unable to explain the situation before him. Bie Jian couldn’t help but grow jealous and envious. The Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary was full of Ancient Exotic Beasts, and since Yang Kai could ride the Earth Dragon and the Scarlet Flame Flood Dragon, controlling other exotic beasts should be a snap for him. With such unique skills, this boy wouldn’t have to fear anyone in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary at all. All he needed to do was call forth an army of exotic beasts and command them to trample his enemies while he sat back and reaped the rewards.
“This time, I admit it is my Thunder Light’s loss.” Bie Jian cupped his fists, “Little Brother, how about we leave half?”
Yang Kai loudly shouted, “Enough with the nonsense. Everything on this mountain is mine. Don’t even think about taking even a blade of grass from here!”
Yang Kai might have compromised had it been other types of precious treasures, but everything on this mountain was related to the Dragon Clan, so how could he let it go? Especially these Dragon Blood Flowers which were very useful to him.
Bie Jian’s face sank, “Little Brother, if you show proper respect, it will be helpful for you in the future. Why do something like this?”
Yang Kai gazed at him from the corner of his eyes, “If you keep talking nonsense, I’ll keep your Space Rings too.”
The Thunder Light members were immediately incensed and many people’s faces turned dark. Bie Jian was also fuming with anger and could not wait to rush out and fight Yang Kai to death to maintain his face. But as soon as his gaze fell upon the Earth Dragon and the Scarlet Flame Flood Dragon, forming an impenetrable wall around them, all he could do was choke down his anger.
Clashing under these conditions would be disadvantageous for Thunder Light.
As their gazes met, Bie Jian found impatience filling Yang Kai’s eyes, so after a brief hesitation, Bie Jian finally heaved a sigh, “Leave everything. Let’s go!”
Yang Kai warned in a calm and composed manner, “Don’t think about hiding anything. When you were collecting things, I made note of every item that you gathered. The consequences of concealing things from me are not something you can withstand.”
Bie Jian was so incensed he broke out into laughter, “Little Brother, the rivers of the mountain eventually meet! We will see each other again!”
Thunder Light was a great force in the Star City and they had far more than the hundred members who were currently here. So, although they had suffered a loss this time, as long as he could gather the full strength of Thunder Light, they wouldn’t need to fear Yang Kai.
Yang Kai kept nodding, “I too hope that we can meet again.”
A shadow of a smile appeared on Bie Jian’s face, “We will. Definitely.”
After deeply staring at Yang Kai, he turned and left. The Thunder Light members put down the precious treasures they had collected in the Crouching Dragon Mountain Range as well and hurriedly followed.
In just a few dozen breaths, the hundred Thunder Light cultivators had completely departed.
Yang Kai finally stepped forward and put the Dragon Blood Flowers and other precious treasures away. During the entire process, the Earth Dragon’s wriggling mouth was constantly dripping as if it was greedy for them. Chen Yue and Yue He’s skin crawled at the sight of this; they were afraid that this brainless beast couldn’t take it and would devour Yang Kai.
On the other hand, the Scarlet Flame Flood Dragon’s eyes flickered with almost human-like distress.
Judging by this, the Scarlet Flame Flood Dragon’s sentience was far more developed than the Earth Dragon’s.
“Don’t feel bad, I’ll give you something better later,” Yang Kai raised his hand and patted the Scarlet Flame Flood Dragon’s head. Whereupon, the Scarlet Flame Flood Dragon’s head slumped in dejection.
“What just happened?” Yue He stepped forward and asked, frowning.
“What do you mean?” Yang Kai didn’t even look up.
“Don’t play dumb.” Yue He glared at him, “What’s going on with the Scarlet Flame Flood Dragon?”
Yang Kai gave an arbitrary reply, “I must have conquered it with my awesome charisma again.”
Yue He ground her teeth in anger, “Do you know that sometimes I just want to punch your face?”
Yang Kai ignored her and exhorted, “I will be venturing deep into the mountains. You all stay here. Don’t run around. I might be gone for a few days, so while I’m not here, Xiao Hong and Xiao Hei will protect you.”
“Xiao Hong? Xiao Hei?” Yue He was stunned for a moment before she understood. Yang Kai was referring to the Earth Dragon and Scarlet Dragon, which left her speechless.
Much to her surprise, these two majestic exotic beasts had been given such simple and childish names…
Yang Kai was decisive, however, and started rushing towards the depths of the mountains immediately, disappearing in the blink of an eye while leaving Yue He glaring in his direction.
Chen Yue straightened her clothes and approached, “Big Sister Yue He… with Senior Brother Yang gone, they wouldn’t become aggressive and eat us, would they?” While speaking, she glanced at the Earth Dragon and the Scarlet Flame Flood Dragon in worry.
Yue He rebuked angrily, “You are so soft and tender, so if they are going to eat us, you will definitely be first!”
Chen Yue’s face turned pale.
In the depths of the Crouching Dragon Mountains, Yang Kai had a serious look on his face. When the Earth Dragon and Scarlet Flame Flood Dragon were fighting, he was communicating with the Scarlet Flame Flood Dragon via Divine Sense. The Scarlet Flame Flood Dragon was highly sentient, a step or two above the Earth Dragon. It might not have reached the point of having normal conversation, but it could communicate little details like a young child.
And through these little conversations and slight release of his Dragon Pressure, the Scarlet Flame Flood Dragon recognized its situation and surrendered just like the Earth Dragon.
According to the information from the Scarlet Flame Flood Dragon, the Crouching Dragon Mountains was originally Xiao Hei’s home. It had arrived afterwards, but as it was stronger than Xiao Hei, it snatched this treasure land.
That was the reason Xiao Hei was obsessed with the Crouching Dragon Mountains. It was to the point that Xiao Hei immediately brought Yang Kai here after sensing the pure Dragon Aura inside him, expecting Yang Kai to stand up against the Scarlet Flame Flood Dragon for it.
The Dragon Blood Flowers grown in the Crouching Dragon Mountain Range were beneficial for both of these beasts’ growth.
In addition, Yang Kai had also inquired about other things from the Scarlet Flame Flood Dragon.
On the Crouching Dragon Mountains, the Dragon Aura was stronger the deeper one went. Whether it was the Earth Dragon or the Scarlet Flame Flood Dragon, neither of them had ventured more than a few hundred kilometres deep as they couldn’t bear the Pureblood Dragon Aura after that. The overwhelming Dragon Pressure would immobilize them once they passed a certain region.
This information caught Yang Kai’s attention.
Various signs indicated a high possibility of a True Dragon’s remains lying deep inside the Crouching Dragon Mountains.
Furthermore, these remains didn’t belong to any ordinary Dragon, otherwise, it would be impossible for the mountain to be full of Dragon Blood Flowers and Trees, and for the Dragon Blood Flowers to reach at least the Peak Rank.
Although Yang Kai was Human, he possessed the Golden Divine Dragon Source since he was but a novice in cultivation. Over the years, he kept on cultivating the Dragon Transformation Secret Art and now Dragon Blood flowed through his veins, making him essentially a Dragonkin. In truth, Yang Kai saw himself as part of the Dragon Clan.
It would have been fine if he wasn’t aware of it before, but now that he knew about this priceless treasure, he couldn’t let these True Dragon’s remains keep lying here unprotected. He had to collect them on behalf of the Dragon Clan.
Otherwise, if other people got their hands on these Dragon remains, it might cause trouble.
Yang Kai kept venturing deeper into the mountain range, carefully sensing the intensity of the Dragon Aura.
At some point, Yang Kai abruptly came to a halt and stared at his feet.
He could feel that the Dragon Aura was the strongest here, so it was likely the True Dragon’s remains were right below him.
Yang Kai heaved a deep breath before squatting down and then jumping into the air. The next moment, he flipped and fell straight towards the ground with his head down and feet up.
Mid-air, he reached out and clasped, summoning the Azure Dragon Spear into his hand. Immediately afterwards, his figure started rotating like a top.
Without any noise or commotion, a hole appeared on the ground out of nowhere while Yang Kai was found nowhere to be seen. He was now drilling several dozen metres each breath.
The further he drilled, the stronger the Dragon Aura grew.
After three hundred metres or so the Dragon Aura’s intensity rose to another level. The Scarlet Flame Flood Dragon and the Earth Dragon would really not be able to bear this kind of bloodline suppression with their current bloodline purity.
In the blink of an eye, Yang Kai had drilled another thousand metres, whereupon the Dragon Aura jumped to another level.
The Azure Dragon Spear became excited as a faint Dragon Aura resounded from it.
The Earth Dragon and the Scarlet Flame Flood Dragon up above shivered as they slumped on the ground the next moment.
Yang Kai kept drilling into the ground without joy or sadness.
After some time, he couldn’t feel any resistance from his spear and suddenly felt that he had fallen into an empty space.
He immediately put away his spear and flipped right-side-up. It was pitch-black all around him, so he couldn’t see anything, but he did scan the area with his Divine Sense, and the next moment, a look of surprise filled his face.
Yang Kai discovered that he was actually inside an enormous body, but one that lacked all vitality. Furthermore, there was a huge tear from the direction he came from. Apparently, before this Dragon’s death, this enormous figure had fought against a very powerful enemy.
[It really is the remains of a True Dragon!]
Yang Kai’s face turned solemn as he slowly closed his eyes and released his Divine Sense to check the condition of the Dragon’s remains.
This investigation gave him quite a bit of shock. Only after an incense stick worth of time did he finally open his eyes, astonishment filling his face.
This True Dragon was over 10,000 metres long, essentially spanning the entire length of the Crouching Dragon Mountains’ core region. It could even be said that the Crouching Dragon Mountain’s geography was the result of this corpse.
A 10,000-metre-long Great Dragon!
Yang Kai was dumbfounded. When he took his own Half-Dragon form, he stood some 2,000 metres tall or so, which could already be considered quite impressive, but compared to this Great Dragon, it was like the difference between a grandfather and his grandkid. It was ten times bigger than him.
Who knew how long ago this Great Dragon had died? Who knows what kind of fierce battle it fought before its death? From what Yang Kai could tell, its entire body was covered in wounds, many of which were extremely terrifying and pierced straight through it. If not for this fact, Yang Kai wouldn’t have been able to enter its belly with such ease.
Xiao Hong – Little Red
Xiao Hei – Little Black
A 10,000 metres long Great Dragon was buried under the Crouching Dragon Mountains, and over the years, its blood had completely drained.
However, even after so many years, the Great Dragon’s corpse showed no signs of decay. It was quite evident that its physique was extremely resilient. It only looked dry and desiccated because of a lack of blood. Furthermore, Yang Kai also found that the Great Dragon was missing many of its organs.
From the horrifying wounds all over its body, it wasn’t difficult to imagine what a terrifying battle it must have fought before its death.
The carcass of such a Great Dragon was full of treasure even after countless years. The Dragon Scales, Dragon Bones, and Dragon Tendons could all be used for Artifact Refining, making its value immeasurable.
What Yang Kai couldn’t figure out was who or what had killed this Great Dragon. Judging by its size, it must have been tremendously powerful, yet it still perished in battle. What’s more, from the shape of its wounds, its opponent should not have been small either.
The Dragon Clan was the Head of Myriad Spirits, so who could threaten it? Even someone as strong as Mie Meng was imprisoned by the Dragon Clan.
Suddenly, Yang Kai thought of an entity, one that was called the nemesis of the Dragon Clan, treating Dragons as prey!
It was absolutely impossible for a member of the Dragon Clan as strong as this to be a native of the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary. It was very likely that it was sucked into the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, just as he was, and after arriving here, it succumbed to its injuries.
Yang Kai was just making speculations though and had no way to find out the truth.
Suddenly, Yang Kai’s attention was drawn to something.
He noticed unusual energy fluctuations coming from somewhere inside the Dragon’s body, so he started moving along it in the direction of the energy fluctuations.
After an incense stick of time, Yang Kai finally reached the location of the source, a sphere the size of a basin. The sphere was perfectly round and gave off a light brown glow.
The Dragon Blood in Yang Kai’s body boiled as he stood before the ball in a daze for a while before his eyes lit up, “A Dragon Bead!”
Every True Dragon had a Dragon Bead, an essential part of their foundation. Just like a Monster Beasts’ Monster Core, the Dragon Bead was where Dragons stored their Spiritual Essence.
The Dragon carcass was buried here for countless years, and although Xiao Hei and Xiao Hong could tell that there was something strange below ground, they couldn’t reach it because of the bloodline suppression, so the Dragon Bead had remained untouched to this day.
What surprised Yang Kai was that this Dragon Bead was actually an Earth Attribute treasure!
And what he desperately needed now was an Earth Attribute material!
Of the Yin, Yang, and Five Elements, Yang Kai had already condensed his Wood and Fire Elements. Wood stoked Fire, and Fire gave birth to Earth. So, the next Element he had to condense was Earth. Previously, Yang Kai had been thinking about where he could find a suitable Earth Element. He had inquired about it many times, but unfortunately, he had been unable to find anything. He had never expected his quest to end here.
But whether this Dragon Bead met his requirements or not was yet to be tested.
[It should be okay.] Yang Kai thought in his heart; after all, this Great Dragon was 10,000 metres long before its death, so the quality of its Dragon Bead couldn’t be poor.
Yang Kai reached out towards the Dragon Bead.
The moment he came in contact with it, a fearsome Dragon Pressure radiated from it. The next moment, a vivid illusion of a fierce-looking Great Dragon charging straight at him like it was going to swallow him in one bite appeared.
Yang Kai shivered and promptly stimulated his Golden Divine Dragon Source Strength. With a great dragon roar, the illusion collapsed.
Immediately after, a gentle and heavy Power of Earth came from the Dragon Bead. Yang Kai couldn’t help but smile, feeling the purity and richness of this Earth Element.
Yang Kai’s guess was right. The Power of Earth in the Dragon Bead indeed met his criteria. Although he didn’t know how to determine its Order, he could tell that it wasn’t any inferior to the Golden Crow’s True Fire.
[This is really wearing out iron shoes while seeking one’s feet!] Yang Kai had the urge to throw back his head and laugh towards the Heavens.
This discovery alone made his trip to the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary worthwhile!
Rubbing his hands, Yang Kai respectfully bowed to the huge Dragon Bead as he spoke, “Senior, you have been dead for many years, so it would be a waste for your Dragon Bead to remain here. Today, this Junior will take the liberty to borrow Senior’s Dragon Bead. If my cultivation someday succeeds, I will not bring disgrace to the Senior’s prestige!”
After saying so, Yang Kai rubbed his hands and circled around the Dragon Bead a few times. After he found a more comfortable position, he sat down cross-legged and placed his hands on the Dragon Bead. He closed his eyes and prompted his Dao Seal to absorb the Power of Earth in the Dragon Bead.
In an instant, the Dragon Bead started glowing brighter as the rich Power of Earth that had been collecting dust for many millennia flowed along Yang Kai’s palms and madly poured into him like he was a whale swallowing water.
There were only two colours, black and green, in Yang Kai’s Dao Seal, but as he absorbed the Power of Earth, a khaki-coloured wisp was gradually being added to it, giving onlookers a thick and robust feeling.
The Earth Element’s speciality was defence. Not to mention that it was the Dragon Bead energy of a 10,000-metre-long Great Dragon.
Slowly, Yang Kai forgot himself and the outside world, completely devoting himself to refining this Earth Element.
Days passed by one by one. Outside, Yue He and the others found a spot and set up camp. As they were guarded by Xiao Hei and Xiao Hong, no one dared to trouble them. Occasionally, some cultivators would pass by, but seeing the two vicious exotic beasts, they would immediately keep their distance.
But Xiao Hei and Xiao Hong were like natural enemies. They were very unreasonable. They often got entangled with each other for some inexplicable reason and started fighting. Fortunately, they had a sense of propriety and never fought to the death. But these kinds of battles would inevitably result in injuries.
In the blink of an eye, half a month had gone by. Everyone had passed this time at ease and leisure, but the fact that Yang Kai wasn’t back yet made Yue He a little worried.
Before Yang Kai had left, he too had said that he would return in three to five days, but now, half a month had passed and he was nowhere to be found. Yue He was becoming worried and restless.
Just as she was about to venture deeper to investigate, she suddenly felt the World Energy flow change.
Upon silently sensing it, the source was the depths of the Crouching Dragon Mountains, which was the direction Yang Kai left in. It made Yue He slightly frown, wondering, [What is he doing there? What is taking him so long? Now, he has even caused the flow of World Energy to change.]
But because of this, she could say for sure that Yang Kai was safe and sound.
Over the next few days, the change in World Energy became more and more obvious. It had turned into a World Energy tide as if there was a behemoth breathing in the aura of the entire Crouching Dragon Mountain Range. And every time it breathed, it also caused a World Energy turbulence within a thousand kilometres.
Suddenly, Yue He looked shocked!
Xiao Hei and Xiao Hong also stopped fighting as they looked towards the depths of the Crouching Dragon Mountain. Obviously, they too had sensed something.
Suddenly, a Dragon Roar reverberated through the world, reaching the highest Heavens.
Yue He and others turned their heads and looked in that direction in unison while Xiao Hei and Xiao Hong’s reaction was even more exaggerated as they directly prostrated on the ground, trembling.
Chen Yue leaned over and nervously asked, “Senior, what was that?”
Yue He solemnly replied, “A Dragon Roar!”
Meng Hong asked in shock, “There’s a True Dragon there?”
Yue He furrowed his brow before her figure moved, “You guys stay here, I’ll go take a look.”
Saying so, her figure disappeared into thin air.
In the depths of the Crouching Dragon Mountains, Yang Kai was still sitting with his legs crossed, maintaining his previous posture, but at this moment, his clothes were dancing in the air even when there was no wind blowing here. Even his black hair was dancing.
His body was surrounded by a tri-coloured glow. The essence of the vibrant Immortal Tree, the unstoppable Golden Crow’s True Fire, and the thick and heavy energy of the Dragon Bead, the three energies were circling around Yang Kai like three rings of light, rotating endlessly.
The huge Dragon Bead in front of him was now dull and bleak. The Power of Earth that had been stored in it for countless years had been absorbed down to the last strand by Yang Kai.
Yang Kai finally opened his eyes, which were full of brilliance at the moment.
With a cracking sound, the huge Dragon Bead shattered into dust and dissipated.
Yang Kai slowly stood up and gently clenched his fists. He could clearly feel that his body was filled with explosive power. He scanned his body and found the Power of Wood, Fire, and Earth in his Dao Seal were coexisting perfectly, mutually promoting and restraining each other.
His body shook as the three coloured rings around his body dissipated as everything returned to normal.
Yang Kai slightly furrowed his brow.
The process of gathering the Power of Earth this time could be said to be extremely smooth. It was much easier than when he was condensing the Golden Crow’s True Fire. It might be because he was familiar with the process now, or it may be related to the Dragon Bead itself.
Yang Kai could be considered as a member of the Dragon Clan, so he had a unique advantage in gathering the energy of the Dragon Bead.
Furthermore, Yang Kai vaguely felt that not only had he successfully absorbed the Power of Earth in the Dragon Bead, but he also seemed to have gained something else.
Yang Kai stretched his hand out and pointed towards the front. The next moment, a prismatic yellowish-brown shield appeared out of thin air. Even though it looked as thin as a cicada’s wing, Yang Kai could feel that it was extremely strong and robust.
This was the Innate Dragon Technique found in the Dragon Bead!
Yang Kai raised his brow at this sight. Although he had entered the Dragon Palace on Dragon Island of the Star Boundary, and practised many Secret Techniques of the Dragon Clan with the help of his Golden Divine Dragon Source, at the end of the day, what he was doing was just imitation and it took him a lot of time and effort to use these techniques.
But now, he could cast this Dragon Technique at will, just like it was his own Innate Divine Ability. Not only was it fast, but its consumption was almost negligible.
Yang Kai sunk into his thoughts. [I guess this Innate Dragon Technique was mastered by this 10,000-metres-long Great Dragon, and now I have inherited it. What’s more, it should not be just this one technique. There should be some more, but I have just gathered this Earth Element, so I can only slowly comprehend these techniques.]
Yang Kai couldn’t help but think, [I now possess the Innate Dragon Techniques of a 10,000-metre Great Dragon after absorbing its Dragon Bead. So what about the Golden Crow’s True Fire? Are there any Secret Techniques in the Golden Crow’s True Fire? And then there is also the Immortal Tree’s essence, I might learn something from it too, right?]
[I will need time to test these theories. I shouldn’t hurry.]
After settling his mood, Yang Kai looked around.
After having gathered the Earth Element, the next thing to do was to collect this Great Dragon’s carcass.
The Dragon’s corpse was 10,000 metres long and buried deep under the Crouching Dragon Mountain. For ordinary people, just coming here would have been extremely difficult while no Space Ring was big enough to fit it unless the dragon carcass was dismembered and taken into separate rings.
Fortunately, Yang Kai had the Sealed World Bead!
Suddenly, deafening rumbles started coming from deep below the Crouching Dragon Mountains before they began collapsing. It looked as if the world was coming to an end. The disciples of Great Moon Province promptly flew into the air, watching in amazement.
Right before their eyes, the ground below them sank as the entire mountain range collapsed. They had no idea what just happened.
The dust took a long while to settle, but before it could, a figure flew out from the underground. The figure’s face was pale and was panting for breath. It was none other than Yang Kai who had disappeared twenty days ago.
Yue He, who had been searching for Yang Kai, rushed over immediately and supported him as she asked, “Are you alright?”
Yang Kai glanced at her before shaking his head, “I’m fine!”
Taking a 10,000-metre-long Dragon carcass into the Sealed World Bead was very exhausting for him. Fortunately, the Great Dragon had been dead for many years and had lost much of its natural energies; otherwise, his consumption would have been even greater. He was already on his last leg now, feeling as if his entire strength had been drained.
“Where did you go and for what? Why hasn’t anyone seen you these days?” Yue He asked angrily, carrying him back.
Yang Kai just grinned and didn’t answer, causing Yue He to snort in anger.
Even though she had no idea what Yang Kai had been doing these days, the moment she glanced at him, she had a vague feeling that he was a lot stronger than before.
[He shouldn’t have been sitting idle these days. He should have run into some kind of opportunity.]
Having returned to the camp, Yang Kai stuffed some pills into his mouth and slowly recovered.
When he opened his eyes again, the Scarlet Flame Flood Dragon and the Earth Dragon were prostrating on the ground, eagerly looking at him.
Yue He was rendered speechless at this sight, “Are these two staring at you for Dragon Blood Flowers?”
Yang Kai stated in an annoyed voice, “You two gluttons. Just wait a moment!”
Saying so, he immediately took out an Alchemy Furnace.
The Dragon Blood Flower must be refined into Dragon Blood Pills in order to maximize its medical efficacy. It would be a waste to just swallow the flowers raw, especially when the Dragon Blood Flowers harvested this time were so extraordinary. Most of them had reached Peak-Rank, with quite a number of them even having surpassed that grade. How could Yang Kai see them simply wasted?
Each Dragon Blood Flower was extremely rare and precious. Who knows when he would find another one?
“You also know Alchemy?” Yue He sceptically looked at him.
Yang Kai replied without even lifting his head, “This King can do many things.”
Yue He couldn’t help but scoff and ignored him.
While speaking, Yang Kai had already taken out a bunch of herbs, all of which were the auxiliary ingredients for the Dragon Blood Pill he had picked from the medicine garden.
When he checked what he had obtained from the Thunder Light, Yang Kai couldn’t help but feel elated.
Previously, he was anxious to explore the depths of the Crouching Dragon Mountains, so he didn’t check his gains carefully. But after inspecting them now, Yang Kai found that he had gained hundreds of Peak-Rank Dragon Blood Flowers while those that had surpassed Peak-Rank were even more numerous. Each of these flowers either had a three, five, or seven-coloured halo. Yang Kai had no idea how to differentiate their grades, but there were at least a thousand of them.
Just from this, he could imagine how strong the Great Dragon that died beneath the Crouching Dragon Mountains was. Only the blood of a Great Dragon could cultivate Dragon Blood Flowers of this level.
Yang Kai took out two Peak-Rank Dragon Blood Flowers and two Dragon Blood Flowers surrounded by three coloured lights.
To maximize the efficacy, he put the herbs into the pill furnace and refined them one by one.
When he was on Dragon Island, Yang Kai refined many Dragon Blood Pills. Although he hadn’t refined them for many years, he had not forgotten the process.
His every action and every movement was smooth and practised. Yue He was amazed. She found out that Yang Kai really knew Alchemy; furthermore, he was quite proficient in it.
Gradually, a tempting fragrance spread from the furnace.
Xiao He and Xiao Hong started to become more and more eager. Especially Xiao Hei, whose sticky saliva was dripping from its mouth like a river. For exotic beasts like them who carried Dragon Clan bloodlines, the Dragon Blood Pill’s fragrance could make them go crazy. They might have rushed over and snatched it right away had Yang Kai not been sitting there.
After half a day, the first batch of the Dragon Blood Pills was refined. When the pills were condensed, a faint Dragon Roar resounded from the Alchemy Furnace, surprising Yue He.
The first batch resulted in a total of nine pills. Yang Kai casually threw one into his mouth to check its efficacy and found it to be satisfactory. Although he hadn’t performed any Alchemy in many years, his skills had not degraded. The medicinal efficacy of the Dragon Blood Flower and many auxiliary ingredients had been completely concentrated.
Right then, two obscure Divine Senses reached him, expressing desire. The Scarlet Flame Flood Dragon and the Earth Dragon were growing impatient and were restlessly fidgeting.
Yang Kai chuckled before throwing a pill at each of them, which immediately made the two exotic beasts calm down.
For the next ten days, Yang Kai focused on refining Dragon Blood Pills. He had obtained far too many Dragon Blood Flowers though, so by his estimate, he believed that even if he continued performing Alchemy for an entire year non-stop, he still wouldn’t be able to refine all of them.
While performing Alchemy, Yang Kai was constantly taking the Dragon Blood Pills to purify his Dragon Clan bloodline. Yang Kai could clearly feel his bloodline improving, but as he hadn’t utilized the Dragon Transformation Secret Art, he couldn’t tell the difference for the time being.
At the same time, the Scarlet Flame Flood Dragon and the Earth Dragon became more and more submissive. Taking the Dragon Blood Pills was more efficient than directly eating the Dragon Blood Flowers raw, and these two exotic beasts were especially keen about this.
Even Yue He and Great Moon Province disciples had gotten a few Dragon Blood Pills, though they didn’t dare to swallow them directly. Rather under Yang Kai’s advice, they dissolved them in water and consumed one pill over several days.
Dragon Blood Pills could be used to purify a Dragon Clan bloodline, but they could also strengthen a normal person’s physique. However, the Dragon Blood Pill’s efficacy was too overbearing, so ordinary people couldn’t stand it. So, they could only use it in a diluted form.
Yang Kai finally stopped after about ten days.
It wasn’t that he was tired from refining, but rather that he had run out of auxiliary ingredients.
Even though there were many herbs in his medicine garden, made nearly inexhaustible thanks to the two Wood Spirits managing the garden, the growth of herbs still required time.
After more than ten days of continuous refining, all the mature auxiliary ingredients needed for the Dragon Blood Pill had been picked clean. So naturally, Yang Kai couldn’t continue.
Regarding his stay in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, Yang Kai had been planning to just go with the flow, not desiring anything in particular.
But now, not only he had found a lot of Dragon Blood Flowers whose grade had surpassed Peak-Rank, and even obtained a precious Earth Element, he realized that this Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary was a huge treasure trove.
If he could find a suitable Earth Element here, he might also find suitable Metal, Water, and even Yin and Yang materials here!
If he could gather all the Yin, Yang, and Five Elements, he could break through to the Open Heaven Realm Master after leaving this place! At that time, he might be able to stand tall in the Outer Universe and have the strength to protect himself.
Yang Kai couldn’t help but be filled with anticipation for what the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary held for him.
But no matter what, the opportunities would not come to him if he remained here. Not to mention, he also needed to search for the auxiliary ingredients for refining Dragon Blood Pills. He had been staying here in this Crouching Dragon Mountain for over a month, so without any hesitation, he called everyone over and set out right away.
When he arrived here, Yang Kai had used the Earth Dragon as a mount, but now, it had been replaced by the Scarlet Flame Flood Dragon.
Compared to the Earth Dragon, the Scarlet Flame Flood Dragon was undoubtedly more imposing and far more suitable for riding. At least it wasn’t covered in sticky mucus or smelled bad.
Xiao Hei was obviously a little disappointed…
The Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary was indeed filled with resources. Yang Kai had gathered many precious treasures along the way, but it was a drop in the bucket compared to Yang Kai’s needs.
Today, Yang Kai and his group were crossing a foggy forest, searching for various herbs. It had been seven or eight days since everyone had entered the forest, but because they had no destination, they weren’t in a hurry to leave.
Suddenly, Yue He came over and asked, “Did you notice that we have been running into more and more people these days?”
Yang Kai gently nodded, “En.”
When they had first entered the forest, they hadn’t run into anyone, but over the last two days, they had frequently encountered small groups of cultivators.
Some people were startled by the appearance of the Earth Dragon and the Scarlet Flame Flood Dragon and immediately attacked them. Fortunately, Yang Kai stopped them in time and avoided some unnecessary troubles.
“What do you want to say?” Yang Kai looked at Yue He.
Yue He’s pretty eyes gleamed as she replied, “It means that either these people were drawn here by some treasure, or there are a lot of people gathered nearby.”
“So, which one is the most likely possibility?” Yang Kai asked.
“What do you think?”
Yang Kai pondered for a moment before answering, “The latter. The people we met didn’t show any signs of being in a hurry; on the contrary, they were moving in an orderly manner, like they just came out from somewhere, which indicates that somewhere in this forest, there should be a gathering place for cultivators.”
Yue He agreed with a nod, “I think so too.”
Yang Kai grinned, “Then let’s go and take a look.”
Compared to searching for the herbs required for the Dragon Blood Pill themselves, it was easier and faster to trade for them with others. If cultivators were indeed camped somewhere in this forest, it was also a piece of good news for Yang Kai.
After searching in the direction where the cultivators were coming from, they came across a settlement.
Somewhere in the forest, there was a large open space. The travel-worn Yang Kai’s team were slightly lost when they caught sight of buildings before them.
Yang Kai failed to hold his laughter as he asked, “This is a part of Star City, right?”
The Grand Ancient Ruins Rolling Fog had swallowed the entire Star City, but the Star City where Yang Kai and the others had landed first was just a small ruin. There were only 10,000 or so cultivators there at the time, which meant that when the Star City was sucked into the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, it was broken apart under some mysterious force and scattered about.
Immediately after, a Beast Tide appeared where Yang Kai and the others landed, forcing everyone to flee for their lives and naturally, lose their shelter.
From one glance, it was clear that this part of the Star City was well preserved. What’s more, the cultivators living here had built many new buildings with the original Star City buildings as the core, occupying a large swath of land and forming a small city in this foggy forest. They had even built city walls around it.
There was a city gate from the direction the cultivators were coming from, one that was guarded and through which many people were entering and exiting.
After scanning with his Divine Sense, the life auras Yang Kai sensed in the city were as many as stars in the sky. There were at least 20,000 people residing here.
After suddenly finding a city filled with cultivators in this chaotic Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, everyone beamed with joy, no matter whether it was Yang Kai or the Great Moon Province disciples.
It was a bit troublesome to enter the city. Xiao Hei and Xiao Hong were too big and fierce-looking, so naturally, they couldn’t be brought inside.
Yang Kai didn’t dare to take them into the Sealed World Bead either. He had tried something similar before and knew that the Small Sealed World could only accommodate entities below the Open Heaven Realm. If he forcefully tried to accommodate anyone with the strength of the Open Heaven Realm, the Small Sealed World would risk collapsing.
And according to Yang Kai’s insight, whether it was Xiao Hei or Xiao Hong, they probably had strength comparable to Open Heaven Realm Masters. But because of the unique environment of the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, they could not display their full strength.
Fortunately, he also had the Six Fated Paths Bag. It might be a little small for them, but he had no choice but to squeeze them in.
He squeezed the two into the Six Fated Paths Bag whether they liked it or not, amazing Yue He; after all, even in the Outer Universe, not many artifacts could accommodate living creatures and each one was extremely rare and precious. She couldn’t even begin to guess where Yang Kai got this artifact.
After having done this, Yang Kai’s team of six finally made their way towards the city gate.
Unsurprisingly, they stopped at the entrance and needed to pay a hundred Open Heaven Pills to enter.
A hundred Open Heaven Pills was a large amount of wealth for any Emperor Realm cultivator, so Meng Hong’s heart ached. If it was before, Yang Kai wouldn’t have so many Open Heaven Pills either, but fortunately, he killed Old Xu of the Wind and Cloud Auction House, who was a Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, and took his Space Ring. Old Xu was a powerful figure from a prosperous auction house, so his net worth was quite high.
The entrance fee of six hundred Open Heaven Pills wouldn’t put a dent in Yang Kai’s wallet, so he readily paid and entered the city.
Everyone couldn’t help but be dumbfounded after entering the city. When they first walked inside, they were surprised to find that it still retained the appearance of the former Star City; streets crowded with people, all kinds of shops everywhere, and stalls lining the streets selling all kinds of items.
If what they had faced over the past few days wasn’t still fresh in their minds, everyone would have thought that they had entered a typical Star City in the Outer Universe, rather than someplace in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary.
Along the way, Yang Kai’s Divine Sense remained active, and whenever he found the herbs he required, he would buy them right away.
It was a rare opportunity to find such a settlement of cultivators, so Yang Kai splurged and shopped a lot. All the Dragon Blood Flowers had been picked, so he needed to refine them into Dragon Blood Pills as soon as possible in order to ensure that they didn’t lose their medicinal efficacy. Yang Kai believed that he would need to stay in this city and refine pills for a long time.
After sweeping several streets of herbs, he had gained a huge number of necessary ingredients.
Everyone else had kept their ears open all along the way, learning that a great force called Scarlet Star was in control of this small city. Scarlet Star was just like Thunder Light, one of the former three great forces that controlled the previous Star City. Scarlet Star’s luck was relatively good as well as they didn’t encounter any kind of attack after their section of the Star City was swallowed by the Grand Ancient Ruins Rolling Fog. Only a few exotic beasts came to attack them sporadically, which were easily defeated. As a result, they gained a lot of fame and thereby, took over this place, becoming the ruler of the surrounding region.
Today, the one who maintained order in this Star City, the one who made rules here, and the one who was charging exorbitant fees at the city gate was Scarlet Star. By occupying such a large piece of land in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, Scarlet Star could reap benefits just by sitting back and waiting.
In this city, Scarlet Star members were like local tyrants. No one dared to provoke them.
After roaming around the city for a long while and buying many herbs, Yang Kai finally led everyone to an inn to rest.
At first, they wanted to take six rooms, but unfortunately, the rooms available were quite few, so in the end, they could only get three.
Yang Kai took a room to himself; after all, he would be refining pills for a long time and couldn’t be disturbed. Yue He and Chen Yue took another room, and the remaining room was taken by Meng Hong and Great Moon Province disciples.
After everything was decided, everyone went to their rooms and closed their doors. Yang Kai handed over all his Open Heaven Pills to Meng Hong beforehand and told him to visit the Star City if he had the time and buy the required herbs when he found them. As long as the price wasn’t too expensive, he had complete discretion.
Naturally, Meng Hong readily agreed; after all, this wasn’t a difficult task. As for the herbs Yang Kai required, he had been Yang Kai all this time and remembered them well.
The days from then on were uneventful.
Yang Kai remained in his room, opening all the barriers so he could focus on Alchemy. Day after day, batches of Dragon Blood Pills were refined.
Yang Kai didn’t remain idle while he was practising Alchemy though and would take Dragon Blood Pills from time to time to purify his bloodline. Even Xiao Hei and Xiao Hong, who were kept inside the Fated Paths Bag, got to eat a lot.
Every seven or eight days, Meng Hong would come over and deliver the purchased herbs to Yang Kai’s room.
It was only at this moment that Yang Kai would temporarily take a rest and chat with Meng Hong to understand the situation outside.
From Meng Hong, Yang Kai learned that this Star City was managed quite well by Scarlet Star. After many people came to know that there was such a place in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, where cultivators were gathered and safety was provided, people flocked to join.
The most obvious indication of this rise in population was through the rising price of the inn. The price had already risen thrice in less than a month and now a room was more than double the cost of when they first arrived. Still, the inn was completely full every day.
Scarlet Star was also growing bigger and bigger as many people wanted to join but couldn’t!
Because the Star City was located in the foggy forest, it was surrounded by abundant natural resources, so no matter which direction one searched, they would find something if they were lucky.
Rumour had it that someone had obtained Fifth-Order and even Sixth-Order Open Heaven materials! As for Fourth-Order, they were nearly endless. This was a huge temptation for any Emperor Realm cultivator. Compared to the other harvests such as precious herbs and treasures, Open Heaven materials of these Orders were far more valuable.
What the Emperor Realm cultivators needed most now were these Open Heaven materials. It was true that they couldn’t break through to the Open Heaven Realm in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, but as long as one could accumulate enough here, they could reach the Open Heaven Realm the moment they left the Grand Ancient Ruins.
Therefore, countless cultivators formed teams and went out to obtain the cultivation resources they needed.
Many people had their wishes fulfilled, but some people encountered a crisis and never returned!
The Martial Dao had always been like this though. Only after endless struggles and overcoming various obstacles, what one finally sees might not necessarily be the fruits of their labour, but death.
Today, Meng Hong delivered Yang Kai many herbs.
Yang Kai thanked him and stated, “You don’t need to bring any more.”
After non-stop Alchemy for three months, Yang Kai had finally consumed almost all of the Dragon Blood Flowers. He had refined thousands of Dragon Blood Pills, using a small portion of them before storing the rest in his Space Ring. Presumably, it would take him years to finish refining all these pills.
Meng Hong casually nodded.
Yang Kai added, “Have the Open Heaven Pills I gave you run out?”
Although he got a windfall after plundering Old Xu’s Space Ring, the cost of buying so many herbs for such a long time would definitely not be small. At first, Yang Kai was a little worried that his Open Heaven Pills would be insufficient, but when Meng Hong kept delivering the herbs, he didn’t ask much.
Meng Hong replied, “The Open Heaven Pills you gave me had long been used up. Now, Lady Yue He is paying for these herbs.”
Yang Kai was stunned when he heard this as he hadn’t expected it to be like this.
Meng Hong continued, “Lady Yue He has very deep feelings for Brother Yang. You are very lucky.” Meng Hong sighed with a look of envy on his face.
Yang Kai’s brow twitched as he had no idea what to say. But after giving it a thought, Yue He was a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master so she was definitely rich. Spending this much shouldn’t be a big deal to her. [In any case, I will remember this and will pay her back when I find an opportunity in the future. I will not take advantage of her.]
“Brother Meng, is something wrong?” Yang Kai asked, seeing a rather mournful look on the other’s face.
“Nothing’s wrong!” Meng Hong forced a smile before bidding goodbye, “Brother Yang, you carry on with your things. I will stop bothering you.”
Saying so, he retreated out of the room.
Yang Kai, staring in the direction of the door and pondered for a while before burying himself in Alchemy.
After half a month, Yang Kai was sitting cross-legged before the Alchemy Furnace, quickly forming hand seals. The room was filled with pill fragrance and the furnace was rattling.
At a certain moment, Yang Kai slapped the pill furnace as its lid flew up and several red pills with a bloody aura flew out.
Yang Kai took out a jade bottle he had prepared beforehand and took these pills into the bottle.
Looking at the pills in the bottle, Yang Kai started grinning.
After four months, he was finally finished. All the Dragon Blood Flowers had been consumed while he was completely exhausted. He hadn’t refined pills with so much dedication in many years. Sitting in the room all day was also a very big test of his will and temperament.
[It’s finally over.] Yang Kai was in a good mood.
After deactivating the many barriers around the room, Yang Kai walked out and felt as if he had been reborn.
Yang Kai was in high spirits and wanted to look for Meng Hong and the others to have a drink, but he couldn’t find anyone in their rooms. Yue He was nowhere to be found either.
Yang Kai couldn’t help but be stunned.
He had been holed up in his room doing Alchemy for four months and only learned about the outside situation from Meng Hong. He had no idea about anything else or what Yue He and the others were doing.
After taking out a communication artifact and sending some messages, Yang Kai finally learned that they were all in the lobby.
When Yang Kai came down, he found four people from his group sitting around a table full of empty wine bottles.
Yue He called Yang Kai over and offered, patting the seat next to her, “Come here.”
Yang Kai wasn’t polite and sat down straight away. Yue He smiled, resting her cheek on her palms, “You are finally out. If you hadn’t come out, I would have almost forgotten you.”
Her breath reeked of alcohol.
Yang Kai glanced at her and then at the others before asking with a frown, “Why are you drinking so much during the daytime? What is making you so happy?”
Yue He looked away with a pout, muttering, “We are drowning sorrows with drinks!”
Yang Kai looked again and noticed that Meng Hong was sitting with his head hung low. He looked dejected. It wasn’t clear what he had experienced, but he seemed to have lost his soul over it.
“What’s the matter? Yang Kai asked in a low voice.
Yue He replied, “Lovesick!”
Yang Kai finally seemed to understand. He looked around but was unable to find Chen Yue! Meng Hong was interested in Chen Yue, an obvious fact, and now, when Yue He told him that Meng Hong was lovesick, he immediately understood that Meng Hong must be acting like this because of Chen Yue.
Yang Kai may not have been with Meng Hong for a long time, but he could tell that Meng Hong was a bright and generous guy, but he was a little conservative when it came to matters of men and women. As for Chen Yue… Yang Kai couldn’t find anything worth noting about her, all he felt was that she was a little eager. Her character wasn’t that bad, but he hadn’t had in-depth contact with her so he didn’t dare to jump to an early conclusion about what kind of person she was.
After all, it was impossible to judge a person’s heart from their face. More often than not, the people who seem the most trustworthy turn out to be devious.
Knowing that it was because of Chen Yue, Yang Kai failed to stifle his laughter, “Brother Meng, since you are interested in her, just pursue her frankly and openly. Why are you condemning yourself?”
“He can’t.” Yue He looked as if she wanted to stir up trouble. She clucked her tongue and continued, “She has been taken away by someone.”
As soon as Yue He said so, Meng Hong, who was sitting in a daze, had his expression twist in pain as he grabbed the nearest bottle of wine and started guzzling it down.
“Senior Brother, stop drinking.” A Great Moon Province disciple couldn’t take it any longer and reached out to snatch the bottle as he angrily rebuked, “Since that woman is so fickle, she is not worthy of Senior Brother’s time! There are so many better girls out there, Senior Brother, you shouldn’t be like this.”
The Great Moon Province disciple wasn’t as strong as Meng Hong; thus, even after trying a few times, he failed to snatch the bottle, allowing Meng Hong to drain it as his eyes turned red.
“What happened, exactly?” Yang Kai was confused. Yue He was saying Chen Yue was taken away by someone, and this disciple was saying she was a fickle woman. It seemed something had happened while he was refining pills for a few months in seclusion.
Yue He lightly sighed and explained, “While you were in seclusion, they met someone, who seemed to have some influence in Scarlet Star. He helped them a lot and they slowly grew closer. They originally thought that he was someone righteous and warm-hearted but never expected him to have ulterior motives. From the start, he was interested in that girl. And that girl… hehe, she had aspirations. If one could find a backer in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, one wouldn’t have to worry about anything in the future.”
Although she had only said a little, Yang Kai got the gist of it. Furthermore, she judged everything in a very objective manner.
If Yue He was right, then Chen Yue was just holding this newcomer’s thigh.
It was human nature. As Yue He said, if one could find a backer in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, they would have it easy and could also have an extra sense of security.
Scarlet Star was a powerful great force that had occupied this Star City and was using it as a base to take in more disciples. Even if it was still just a small gathering, many people still lined up to flatter them.
Yang Kai couldn’t help but think back on how Chen Yue had once expressed her interest towards him…
No one could intervene in matters between a man and a woman. Although Yang Kai sympathized with Meng Hong a little, he couldn’t say much. All he could do was persuade, “Brother Meng, if you can’t let her go, it’s not too late to rise up and pursue her, but if you can let it go, don’t think too much. Go back and take a good rest. We will leave this place tomorrow.”
Meng Hong’s knuckles, grabbing the bottle, turned white as his lips moved, but he didn’t speak a word in the end.
Yang Kai could see that he really loved Chen Yue. He may be reluctant to leave just like that, but if Meng Hon remained here, it would only add to his troubles.
Yang Kai gave the two Great Moon Province disciples a wink, signalling them to take Meng Hong back to rest.
But before they could act, Meng Hong suddenly lifted his head, looking towards the door with excitement.
Yang Kai turned his head and found Chen Yue standing at the door, looking at Meng Hong with a slightly embarrassed look on her face. She couldn’t look straight into his eyes.
Meng Hong excitedly got up, his lips parted, but before he could shout ‘Junior Sister Chen’, another person entered through the door.
He was handsome and wearing a blue robe. He was fair and had a bright smile on his lips. After entering the store, he put his arm around Chen Yue’s slender waist without any hesitation and asked, looking at her, “Go on in, why are you standing here?”
Chen Yue became a little more embarrassed and started fidgeting.
The young man seemed to have noticed something and looked up to see Meng Hong’s red eyes, immediately causing him to smile. His arm around Chen Yue’s waist tightened as he brought her over, whether Chen Yue liked it or not.
Yue He elbowed Yang Kai a little as she explained via transmission, “That’s him. His name is Zhao Xing Chen and I’ve talked to him before. He is very impudent and far from being anything good!”
Yang Kai nodded his acknowledgement with a slight frown.
When he heard that Meng Hong’s crush had been taken by someone, he didn’t care that much about it. It was a matter of love, so although he was a little biased toward Meng Hong, since Chen Yue wasn’t interested, Yang Kai couldn’t do anything about it.
To win the heart of a woman like Chen Yue, who lacked a sense of security, only strength mattered.
But by the looks of it, no matter what Chen Yue was like, Zhao Xing Chen left a very bad impression on Yang Kai. Since he had won her heart, he should just be concerned with love and romance. He didn’t need to come over and rub salt into Meng Hong’s wounded heart. He deliberately assumed this behaviour to set up his prestige.
It could be seen that Zhao Xing Chen had some status in this Star City as, when he entered the store, many cultivators got up and cupped their fists, “Commander Zhao!”
Everyone started greeting him one after another. Zhao Xing Chen’s lips rose as a restrained smile appeared on his lips, but his eyes were filled with pride. He ignored others and went straight to Yang Kai’s table. He looked at Meng Hong with a smile and continued, “Brother Meng, you are all here.”
Meng Hong clenched his fist, staring straight at Chen Yue. The latter didn’t dare to look him in the eye and just kept her head lowered.
“Brother Meng?” Zhao Xing Chen called out again, his voice slightly colder.
Only then did Meng Hong return to his senses. He turned his gaze and squeezed out a smile that was uglier than crying as he weakly replied, “Brother Zhao, what are you doing here?”
Zhao Xing Chen continued, “I brought Yue’er here to thank Brother Meng for taking care of her until now. Yue’er said that if it wasn’t for Brother Meng, she might have already lost her life when she entered the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary. If that’s the case, then this Zhao would never have met Yue’er.”
He kept shouting Yue’er and Yue’er with extreme affection, but that only caused Meng Hong’s face to grow uglier and uglier.
Zhao Xing Chen seemed to have failed to notice it and gently nudged Chen Yue, “Yue’er, didn’t you say that you wanted to thank Brother Meng? Brother Meng is here.”
Being pushed forward, Chen Yue silently lowered her head.
Meng Hong kept staring at her. His mouth opened and closed several times but he couldn’t speak a word. The nearby Great Moon Province disciples glared at Chen Yue in anger. It looked like they couldn’t wait to cut Chen Yue into a thousand pieces.
Zhao Xing Chen’s eyes brightly gleamed as he smilingly kept watching like an outsider.
“Senior Brother Meng…” After a long time, Chen Yue softly muttered.
Meng Hong hurriedly greeted, “Junior Sister Chen.”
Chen Yue finally looked up at him, “Many thanks, Senior Brother, for taking care of me all the while. Yue’er will keep it in my heart forever. I am forever grateful to you!”
Meng Hong replied, “It was my pleasure. You and I have known each other for so many years, I couldn’t do anything for you, just these small things. But I’m afraid… I won’t be able to take care of you in the future. Junior Sister, you have to take care of yourself.” Meng Hong was slightly trembling when he spoke.
Chen Yue lightly nodded. She looked rather obedient.
Zhao Xing Chen added with a smile, “Brother Meng, don’t you worry. This Zhao will never let Yue’er feel wronged. En, I have found a place for her in the city where she will not be in any danger.”
Meng Hong forced a smile, “Then I will be able to rest assured.”
Zhao Xing Chen added, “Brother Meng, why don’t you come and work under me? Scarlet Star is currently expanding and is short on manpower. If Brother Meng can join us, I can’t guarantee other things but within three years, you will definitely become a Team Leader.”
As soon as he offered this, many cultivators in the lobby looked over with envy.
Scarlet Star was very popular right now and many people wanted to join it but not everyone could find the opportunity to. Now, Zhao Xing Chen guaranteed that he could make Meng Hong a Team Leader within three years, exciting the crowd. They secretly envied Meng Hong for receiving Commander Zhao’s favour.
“We don’t want your help, you hypocrite!” A Great Moon Province disciple couldn’t stand it any longer and angrily shouted.
Meng Hong was their Senior Brother. Seeing the woman their Senior Brother liked get snatched by an unscrupulous man who then deliberately came over with that fickle woman to show off was bad enough. Now, he actually wanted Meng Hong to work under him? Clearly, this Zhao Xing Chen was trying to humiliate Meng Hong. How could they take it anymore?
As soon as he said this, Zhao Xing Chen’s smile instantly became cold as he looked at the person who had just spoken, “What did you say?”
The Great Moon Province disciple couldn’t help but turn pale. He lost his mind in anger just now, but when he met this reaction, he was naturally a little scared. No matter how evil Zhao Xing Chen was, no matter how much they hated Chen Yue for harming Meng Hong, Zhao Xing Chen was a member of Scarlet Star. Furthermore, he was a Commander-level character. How could they offend him?
Being questioned by Zhao Xing Chen, the disciple didn’t dare say anything.
Meng Hong was also taken aback. Zhao Xing Chen may be addressing him as ‘Brother’, but they weren’t that close. Now that his Junior Brother couldn’t say anything, he had no choice but to apologize, “Brother Zhao, please calm yourself. This bastard is just drunk. Don’t take his ramblings to heart.”
Zhao Xing Chen sneered, “Brother Meng, rice may be eaten at will, but words may not be spoken indiscriminately. Speaking thoughtlessly may sometimes lead to death.”
Seeing him still pressing the issue, Meng Hong cupped his fists and added, “Brother Zhao, please don’t be angry. This Meng has failed to discipline him but will give him a good lesson later so that he will learn what to say and what not to.”
Zhao Xing Chen kept glaring at the Great Moon Province disciple, whose scalp began to tingle. After a while, Zhao Xing Chen coldly snorted, “Since Brother Meng says so, then this Zhao will give Brother Meng face and forget this matter. But there will be no next time.”
Meng Hong couldn’t help but heave a sigh before continuing with an apologetic smile, “Many thanks, Brother Zhao, for showing mercy.”
Zhao Xing Chen declined to comment. He then turned his attention to Chen Yue and stated, “It is fate that we meet today. Since you’re all here, why don’t you give a toast to them, Yue’er?”
“En.” Chen Yue obeyed Zhao Xing Chen before stepping forward and picking a glass of wine.
Meng Hong’s face grimaced in pain more and more, seeing her like this. He secretly hated that he wasn’t strong enough to provide Chen Yue a safe shelter. All he could do was helplessly watch his beloved jump into another’s arms. He was heartbroken.
Chen Yue raised her glass as she toasted, staring at Meng Hong, “Senior Brother, please accept my toast. If you need help in the future, feel free to ask me. Junior Sister will not refuse to do what she can.”
Zhao Xing Chen also nodded and added, “Good. I, Zhao Xing Chen, hold some sway here. If you encounter anything, you can come to me.”
The Great Moon Province disciples helplessly raised their glasses before downing them in one go.
Zhao Xing Chen, on the other hand, stared at Yang Kai and asked without any fear, “Friend, are you not going to give me face?” After entering the restaurant, he hadn’t paid any attention to Yang Kai, but when Chen Yue gave a toast on his order, only Yang Kai remained still, suddenly becoming conspicuous. He naturally became interested.
As for Yue He, who also hadn’t raised a glass, he didn’t dare to provoke her; after all, she was a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. Scarlet Star had always been trying to invite Yue He to join them, even offering her the position of Great Commander without hesitation. Unfortunately, Yue He hadn’t given a clear answer.
“Do I know you?” Yang Kai looked at him and indifferently asked, “How much is your face worth?”
He had been sitting here and disinterestedly watching from the sidelines. He didn’t want to provoke Zhao Xing Chen, so he didn’t bother to intervene, but who could have expected Zhao Xing Chen to actually provoke him instead? Naturally, Yang Kai wasn’t polite to him.
Although they were meeting for the first time and he had no idea about Zhao Xing Chen, his first impression was terrible. Yang Kai was too lazy to speak politely with him.
As soon as Yang Kai said so, Zhao Xing Chen’s face suddenly sank, “Friend, you are really crazy. What’s your name? You look unfamiliar.”
Meng Hong also didn’t expect Yang Kai to say something like this, so he hurriedly intervened, “Brother Zhao, this is Brother Yang, Yang Kai!”
“So you are Yang Kai?” Zhao Xing Chen’s eyes lit up when he heard this. He could help but size up Yang Kai.
Yang Kai looked at him indifferently, “Do you know me?”
Zhao Xing Chen pursed his lips into a smile before cupping his fists and replying, “So it is Brother Yang! Forgive this Zhao for being disrespectful just now. Yue’er has told me much about you. Actually, this Zhao came here today specifically to see you. I didn’t expect to meet here. It seems we share some fate.”
He was acting all close and enthusiastic, even pulling up a chair and sitting down.
Meng Hong and the others looked at Chen Yue suspiciously. They had no idea what Chen Yue had told Zhao Xing Chen for him to be so enthusiastic towards Yang Kai.
Yang Kai also glanced thoughtfully at Chen Yue, who couldn’t help but blush and avoid his gaze.
After sitting down, Zhao Xing Chen placed a barrier around the table, isolating them from the surroundings. Judging by the energy fluctuations leaking from his hand, he was quite strong, a little stronger than Meng Hong and the others.
Only then did he lean closer and continue with a bright smile, “Brother Yang, Yue’er said that you are adept at beast taming and now control a Scarlet Flood Dragon and an Earth Dragon. I wonder if this is true or false?”
Meng Hong’s face sank when he heard this and looked at Chen Yue with reproachful eyes.
Chen Yue had climbed onto a higher branch, throwing herself into Zhao Xing Chen’s arms, for which Meng Hong hated himself from preventing. Nonetheless, she shouldn’t have revealed information about Yang Kai. Many times, information could make the difference between life and death. What’s more, Chen Yue had also received Yang Kai’s life-saving grace as he had brought her all the way here, yet instead of repaying this favour, she even revealed sensitive information to an outsider. It was tantamount to repaying kindness by stabbing Yang Kai in the back.
Chen Yue only came to know Yang Kai through him, so Meng Hong was feeling extremely embarrassed.
“So what if it’s true? So what if it’s false?” Yang Kai flashed Chen Yue a meaningful smile, immediately causing her to lower her head with an embarrassed look on her face.
Obviously, she also knew that what she had done was shameless and immoral.
Zhao Xing Chen chuckled, “Since Yue’er said so, it should be true. Brother Yang, you are really something. Beast taming is a superb ability. This Zhao is in admiration. I’ll toast to you.”
While speaking, he raised his glass.
Yang Kai turned a deaf ear and didn’t even glance at him.
Zhao Xing Chen’s facial muscles twitched slightly, but the next moment, he laughed it off as if he didn’t care about it. He put down the glass and continued, “Brother Yang, it’s like this, this Zhao has an Elder Sister who heard about this. She is very interested in one of your exotic beasts. She would love to keep one. I wonder if Brother Yang is willing to give it up. Whatever may be the price, I will definitely not disappoint you.”
“Your Elder Sister wants one?” Yang Kai strangely looked at him, “Which one does she want?”
“My Elder Sister is more interested in Scarlet Flood Dragon. Forget the Earth Dragon. Brother Yang, you should know, the Earth Dragon is a little ugly and dirty. Haha.”
Yang Kai agreed with a nod, “True.”
Zhao Xing Chen continued, “Brother Yang, please name your price, this Zhao will pay it. In difficult times, everyone should be friends. If Brother Yang needs any help in the future, this Zhao will not refuse.”
Yang Kai refused, shaking his head, “I apologize, neither the Scarlet Flood Dragon nor the Earth Dragon are for sale.”
Zhao Xing Chen became anxious after hearing this and raised his hand and offered, “Brother Yang, don’t be in a hurry to refuse. How about listening to this Zhao’s offer before making a decision?”
Yang Kai still shook his head, “I’m not selling, not for any price!”
“Are you really not going to sell?” Zhao Xing Chen slightly narrowed his eyes.
Yang Kai stared at him, “I don’t want to repeat the same thing thrice!”
As their gazes met, Zhao Xing Chen’s eyes turned slightly cold. Yang Kai, on the other hand, remained indifferent. Meng Hong and the others were growing nervous and restless. Only Yue He was smilingly sitting next to Yang Kai, resting her cheek on her palms, looking at him with a sidelong glance. She didn’t bat an eye, as if she could never get enough of staring at him.
After a while, Zhao Xing Chen laughed, “Good, since Brother Yang has said so, then this Zhao will have to drop the idea.” He then switched the conversation, “Let’s stop talking about the two exotic beasts. Let’s talk about the Dragon Blood Pills.”
Yang Kai narrowed his eyes, “You seem to know many things about me.”
Needless to say, Chen Yue must have also revealed the existence of the Dragon Blood Pills. Previously, Yang Kai had refined many such pills and apart from taking them himself and giving them to Xiao Hei and Xiao Hong, Meng Hong and the others also enjoyed a few. Taking it in a diluted form would strengthen a cultivator’s physique, so it was of great use to anyone.
Since Zhao Xing Chen knew about the Dragon Blood Pills, how would he not care about them?
Ignoring Yang Kai’s teasing words, Zhao Xing Chen continued with a solemn face, “Scarlet Star wants to buy some Dragon Blood Pills. Price is not a problem. We are willing to buy as many as you have.”
This time, he presented himself as Scarlet Star’s representative. In other words, he was acting on Scarlet Star’s behalf to discuss this transaction with Yang Kai, trying to pressure him.
“Scarlet Star wants to buy my Dragon Blood Pills?” Yang Kai failed to stifle his laughter.
Zhao Xing Chen nodded, “Indeed!”
“I’m not selling!” Yang Kai decisively refused. He finally came across Dragon Blood Flowers that surpassed Peak-Rank after so many years, and spent four months refining them all into Dragon Blood Pills, all to improve his bloodline. Why would he take them out and sell them now?
They were already insufficient for his own use.
Zhao Xing Chen seemed to have expected this answer. Hearing this, he indifferently smiled and calmly took a sip of wine and continued in a calm and composed manner, “Brother Yang, I heard that you have been in retreat. So you might not be aware of the situation outside. Now, this entire Star City is my Scarlet Star’s territory. Once you enter this Star City, you are under my Scarlet Star’s jurisdiction. People who don’t obey will not be able to live here for long.”
Yang Kai looked at him with a smile and calmly asked, “Are you threatening me?”
“I am just presenting the situation to Brother Yang.” Zhao Xing Chen put down his glass, “Right now, my Scarlet Star has seven Managers. All of them are above the Third-Order Open Heaven Realm. We also have 3,000 people under our command. To put it bluntly, only a few people can offend our Scarlet Star in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary! Brother Yang, it must have been very hard for you to reach your current cultivation. You must understand how to correctly appraise your circumstances! Scarlet Star just wants to buy some Dragon Blood Pills from Brother Yang, that’s all. Why would Brother Yang remain unreasonable and keep us at arm’s length?”
Having said this, a smile appeared on his face as he continued, “Furthermore, as Brother Yang is able to refine Dragon Blood Pills, you must be very proficient in the Alchemic Dao. My Scarlet Star lacks geniuses like Brother Yang. This Zhao is willing to recommend you. As long as Brother Yang is willing to become my Scarlet Star’s Honoured Guest Alchemist, everyone will be one family in the future.”
“Brother Yang, what do you think?”
After finishing his offer, Zhao Xing Chen stared at him with burning eyes.
Yang Kai straight out refused, “I said I’m not selling, so I’m not selling. Anything you say is useless.”
Zhao Xing Chen’s face turned cold, “Brother Yang, are you not going to take your time to consider it? I’m afraid Brother Yang will regret it!”
Yang Kai coldly looked at him, “If you dare to speak nonsense again, I will make you regret sitting down!”
Zhao Xing Chen’s face turned black. He stood up, glaring at Yang Kai with murderous intent. After a while, he looked at Yue He and suggested, “Lady Yue He, why don’t you persuade him?”
Yue He faintly replied with a love-struck look on her face, “Whatever Young Master says is right. I will obey Young Master.”
“Good!” Zhao Xing Chen laughed in anger, “Very good!”
He then clapped and shouted, “Guards!”
A dozen or so people suddenly rushed in and immediately stood behind Zhao Xing Chen. Each and every one of them had a magnificent aura.
Zhao Xing Chen pointed at Yang Kai and his team, “This Commander suspects that these people are spies planted by other great forces. Apprehend them immediately!”