Yang Kai even saw somebody driving up the prices. That person ultimately held on to two Space Rings, then he told the owners of the two Space Rings that he was very interested in the items inside these two Space Rings but could not choose between them. He also mentioned that it would be great if one of them could add a little something to the bargain… As a result, his remark egged the two owners of the Space Rings to quickly add more to their offer…
As time passed, Master after Master stepped onto the stage and the exchange meeting proceeded in an orderly manner.
In this exchange meeting, each person would only have one chance to take the stage during each round. Even so, some people would choose not to go up the stage. Hence, one round quickly ended in less than four hours even though there were so many Open Heaven Realm Masters present.
When the second round began, fewer people went up the stage to trade. Yang Kai watched the entire process with great interest and even got hooked on the excitement.
This exchange meeting was much higher-end than the earlier auction. Many precious materials appeared one after another. Aside from cultivation resources, there were also some pills and precious treasures. The experience greatly opened his eyes. Furthermore, the cultivation resources that appeared in this exchange meeting were at least in the Fifth Order. Even Sixth-Order materials could be found everywhere. The sight of these resources absolutely dazzled him.
Those participating in this exchange meeting were Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters after all. Nobody would bring out Low-Rank materials and invite the scorn of others upon themself.
All of a sudden, a tall, straight-backed, fair-faced, and beardless middle-aged man stepped onto the stage. Looking around, he cupped his fists in greeting.
Yang Kai immediately recognised this person as Ye Jian of Thunderclap Hall; thus, he could not help gnashing his teeth in secret. He had hoped to win the bid for the Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill and its pill recipe for slightly more than 30 million Open Heaven Pills during the auction earlier.
It was this person who kept raising the price until it reached 50 million Open Heaven Pills, forcing him to spend an extra 20 million Open Heaven Pills for no reason. 20 million Open Heaven Pills was practically equivalent to the price of a Sixth-Order material. It was an unmistakably huge loss.
During the first round of trading, Ye Jian had already been on the stage once to trade for a Sixth-Order material with another Open Heaven Realm Master. For him to go up the stage once more showed that he had a lot of good stuff on hand.
Under everybody’s gazes, he took out a long box. The box was as white as jade; moreover, it exuded a hint of coolness the moment it appeared and enveloped the entire secret room with a slight chill. The box was around the length of half an arm and the width of four fingers. There were mysterious patterns continuously surfacing and changing on the box. It was very mystifying.
“Heavenly Yin Jade?” Somebody suddenly exclaimed. The expressions of the others in the room stiffened abruptly at those words and their gazes instantly became scorching.
“Brother Ye sure is extravagant! I can’t believe he made a mere box out of Fifth-Order Heavenly Yin Jade!”
Only then did Yang Kai know that this clean and flawless jade box was also a Fifth-Order material. It was most likely a Yin Element treasure. Otherwise, it would not have given off such a cool feeling when it was brought out.
Just this jade box alone was extremely valuable. There was no telling what was placed inside that jade box.
The Proprietress suddenly reached out and nudged Yang Kai, “What you are looking for may have appeared.”
“What?” Yang Kai was so stunned that he could not react for a moment.
She gestured towards the round platform with her mouth.
On the round platform, Ye Jian smiled slightly and responded to the person who spoke earlier, “You have a good eye, Brother Zhao. That’s right! This is a jade box made from Fifth-Order Heavenly Yin Jade! However, what this Ye wishes to exchange this time is not this jade box but what is inside!”
Saying so, he formed several hand seals before light flashed at his fingertips and flowed into the jade box. Then, the jade box slowly opened to reveal the item inside.
Everybody looked in that direction with great interest. The item inside the jade box was a ginseng that was as thick as a baby’s arm. The ginseng roots were dense and one could tell that it was very old at a glance. Moreover, this ginseng had already begun to take a humanoid-like form. A ginseng like this was undoubtedly an existence among the Ginseng Kings. That was not all. The entire ginseng was a strange pale gold in colour and exuded a strong Yang Element Power. It was a Yang Element Ginseng King!
Yang Kai felt his entire body stiffening in shock and his heart pounding wildly in his chest. His eyes seemed to have grown roots in the way he stared fixedly at the Ginseng King.
Many restrictions had been placed on the Ginseng King with numerous peculiar forces sealing the Yang Element Power that it was exuding from its body. Even so, these forces were unable to completely seal the Yang Element Power away, so bits of it constantly clashed with the power of the Heavenly Yin Jade.
While everybody was still in shock, Ye Jian’s voice sounded once more, “A Seventh-Order Primordial Yang Profound Ginseng in exchange for some Sixth-Order cultivation materials. If there are any interested parties, please place your bids.”
Yang Kai’s heart pounded even harder than before and his lips went dry. His brain buzzed with a loud humming sound, leaving only the words ‘Seventh Order’ echoing around in his head. His gaze was fixed intently on the Primordial Yang Profound Ginseng and he could barely hold back the urge to throw his head back and laugh madly.
[A Seventh-Order Yang Attribute material! This Primordial Yang Profound Ginseng is a Seventh-Order Yang Attribute material! It really appeared in this exchange meeting!] During the first round of trading, he had not seen anything he really wanted; hence, he had already given up hope. Who could have known that his wish would come true during the second round of trading?
Forcefully composing himself, Yang Kai secretly gashed his teeth. [I have to obtain this Seventh-Order Primordial Yang Profound Ginseng, no matter what! Who knows when I will come across another chance like this if I let this opportunity slip through my fingers!?]
Whilst he was being absent-minded, a series of whispered discussions rang out in the secret room. Many people constantly released their Divine Sense to investigate the authenticity of the Seventh-Order Primordial Yang Profound Ginseng. Some of them even revealed a fanatical look. Yang Kai observed the situation around him and felt his heart sinking downward. [Looks like… there will be many competitors. But, regardless of how many competitors there are, I have to obtain this Primordial Yang Profound Ginseng!]
A gaze landed on Yang Kai from the side. Feeling the gaze, Yang Kai turned to look to the side and saw Senior Brother Guo smiling at him. Senior Brother Guo’s expression became extremely meaningful when their eyes met.
Yang Kai felt his heart thumping loudly, [This guy isn’t planning to get in my way… right?]
Senior Brother Guo’s previous words had been filled with the intention of recruiting and threatening. It was obvious that he knew Yang Kai was in need of Seventh-Order materials.
Yang Kai was not worried even if Senior Brother Guo tried to get in his way. It was just that he did not know how much money he would need to pay for no reason now. Nonchalantly withdrawing his gaze, Yang Kai began pondering how much he had to bid in order to impress Ye Jian.
Generally speaking, cultivators would never exchange High-Order materials for materials in a lower Order. That was because High-Order materials were much harder to obtain.
However, the Thunderclap Hall that Ye Jian belonged to was just a Second-Class great force. The strongest Master in Thunderclap Hall was only in the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm and there were no existences in the Seventh-Order. Therefore, this Primordial Yang Profound Ginseng had little practical value to Thunderclap Hall unless one of them could advance into the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm in the future. As such, it was more practical to exchange it for some Sixth-Order materials that could be used for cultivation purposes.
Yang Kai suddenly recalled something. During the auction earlier, Ye Jian had pledged an item to Red Clouds Auction House. Afterwards, he had significantly increased his bid. From the looks of it, the item he pledged earlier had been the Primordial Yang Profound Ginseng.
A Seventh-Order Yang Attribute material would be worth 200 million at least. Its value might be even higher than that, which certainly could give him enough confidence for his actions. If he had ruthlessly decided to continue bidding for the Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill, the price might have been raised to 100 million between him and Yang Kai.
Fortunately, he decided to back down when it was only 50 million. Judging by the situation, he either did not wish to waste so many Open Heaven Pills or the Primordial Yang Profound Ginseng belonged to the entire Thunderclap Hall and not just him alone.
Recalling the previous auction, Yang Kai’s eyes shone brightly. He secretly came up with a plan. Coincidentally, the Proprietress also secretly sent him a voice transmission at this time. Her idea happened to coincide with his own.
The reason Ye Jian bid for the Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill was out of consideration for his Son. Yang Kai had already noticed the young man with thick eyebrows and large eyes standing beside Ye Jian. Their appearances were not that different from each other, so he was probably Ye Jian’s son.
Ye Jian’s willingness to spend 50 million to bid for the Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill showed just how much he cared for his Son. It would certainly catch his attention if Yang Kai used the Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill to trade with him. Needless to say, the value of a Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill was far from that of the Primordial Yang Profound Ginseng.
Be that as it may, Yang Kai could make up for the difference. He originally planned to investigate the Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill thoroughly later, but now that the Primordial Yang Profound Ginseng had appeared, he could not afford to care so much. In any case, he had already scraped off some Pill Powder earlier, which was enough for research purposes.
The moment the thought came to mind, he immediately stuffed 200 million Open Heaven Pills in addition to the Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill into a Space Ring. He was about to hand the Space Ring over when he decided to stuff another 20 million into the ring just to be on the safe side.
It was not suitable for an Emperor Realm Junior like Yang Kai to make such an offer. Even though all the Cave-Heavens and Paradises were basically keeping an eye on him by now, it was still too eye-catching for a mere Emperor Realm cultivator to participate in the transaction of a Seventh-Order material. Hence, he immediately handed the Space Ring to the Proprietress for her to trade on his behalf.
Following a brief moment of shock and discussion inside the secret room, those who were interested in trading for the Seventh-Order materials had already taken out their cards. Yang Kai looked around and saw that not many people were participating in the trade. There were only a dozen or so while the rest were merely spectators.
Yang Kai quickly understood the situation. Those who were participating in this trade were the representatives of the Cave-Heavens and Paradises. They were backed by First-Class great forces with High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters who could put these Seventh-Order materials to good use. There were many Open Heaven Realm Masters from various Second-Class great forces, but none of them could use the Seventh-Order materials; therefore, there was no point in trading for it.
As expected, Senior Brother Guo also handed a Space Ring over. The Proprietress turned to glance at him and he returned her look with a smile.
Yang Kai instantly got a bad feeling. He was becoming more and more certain that Senior Brother Guo was going to cause trouble for him; thus, he couldn’t help worrying about his gains and losses. [Should I have added even more Open Heaven Pills? 220 million Open Heaven Pills in addition to the Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill… It’s certainly an amount on par with or higher than the Seventh-Order Primordial Yang Profound Ginseng, but who can say what the other bidders are offering? Right now, I can only hope that Ye Jian really cherishes his Son. That is the only way the Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill can impress him.]
With more than a dozen Space Rings in hand, Ye Jian began to check their contents carefully. He was a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, so his temperament was exceptional. The items contained within these Space Rings were extraordinary, but his expression remained as tranquil as an ancient well. It was difficult for others to guess what he was thinking from his expression alone.
On the other hand, Yang Kai was extremely nervous and secretly vowed that he would immediately increase his bid if Ye Jian did not select him! In the worst case, he would just spend even more Open Heaven Pills. It was no big deal. This Primordial Yang Profound Ginseng was going to be surnamed Yang today, no matter the cost!
In front of everyone’s eyes, Ye Jian stood on the round platform in the centre and carefully checked the Space Rings in his hand one by one. At a certain moment, he paused and looked up at the Proprietress. Even though he concealed his emotions very well, there was not a single person present who failed to notice the flash of joy in his eyes at that moment.
The memory of Room A3 and Room B2 fervently bidding for the Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill during the auction earlier was still very fresh. For that reason, many people realised what had happened when they saw his action. First Inn had probably offered the Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill from the auction just now.
This was certainly pandering to Ye Jian’s desires; after all, he had been extremely interested in the Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill. This Spirit Pill would certainly be able to catch his interest. For a moment, many people secretly felt a deep sense of regret. They would have also competed for the Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill had they known about this earlier. For all they knew, they could have used this Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill as bait to obtain a Seventh-Order material in exchange!
The old man from Red Clouds Auction House smiled bitterly. The one who regretted the most was none other than Red Clouds Auction House. They had brought out the Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill for auction, but in the end, First Inn was using it against him by making it a bargaining chip to compete for the Primordial Yang Profound Ginseng. The old man couldn’t help feeling as though he had lifted a stone only to smash his own foot with it.
On the round platform, Ye Jian composed himself. He returned most of the Space Rings, except for two. One of those Space Rings belonged to Yang Kai while the other was from an unknown party.
Yang Kai was secretly ecstatic upon knowing that he was only one step away from achieving his goal. Ye Jian had held on to the Space Ring belonging to Yang Kai. That could only mean that the Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill had an impact on him. It could be seen from this incident that he really did cherish his Son.
Thinking about it, it was not that strange. The young man had condensed Sixth-Order Elements, so he had the hope of advancing directly into the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm in the future. That was not just his desire, it was the future hope of Thunderclap Hall! It was worth the extensive investment!
Yang Kai finally felt a sense of relief as the burden lifted from his heart. He had been most afraid that the Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill would not impress Ye Jian. If that was the case, then the 220 million Open Heaven Pills would not have had much competitive ability either.
At present, there was only one more opponent left to defeat before he obtained the Primordial Yang Profound Ginseng! But, he had to figure out the owner of that Space Ring before that!
Without waiting for Yang Kai to figure out the answer, Ye Jian gave a wry smile from where he stood on the round platform. He cupped his fist slightly at the old man from Red Clouds Auction House, “To be honest, between the two rings that this Ye retained… Red Clouds Auction House has provided a better offer in terms of value.”
Yang Kai was stunned. At the same time, he immediately understood that the other Space Ring belonged to Red Clouds Auction House.
It was not surprising if he thought about it. Red Clouds Auction House had known about the existence of the Primordial Yang Profound Ginseng in advance when Ye Jian pledged this item during the auction. It was easy for them to guess that Ye Jian had brought this item with the intention of participating in the exchange meeting. Seeing as they had known about it in advance, then the auction house would definitely make preparations beforehand. It was only natural for them to bring out something that could impress Ye Jian.
On the other hand, the others had to quickly prepare their bids at a moment’s notice. It was difficult for them to compete with Red Clouds Auction House. It was only because Yang Kai had pandered to Ye Jian personally that he unexpectedly garnered a chance to stand against Red Clouds Auction House.
In other words, Red Clouds Auction House had provided the highest value offer out of all the other bids; however, Ye Jian suddenly turned the conversation around, “It is just that Madam Lan of First Inn has something that this Ye is deeply interested in. I apologise, but this Ye will be choosing Madam Lan’s offer.”
The old man from Red Clouds Auction House nodded, “You are free to trade with whom you please. Please don’t worry about it, Brother Ye.”
He regretted putting the Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill up for auction and that feeling was only growing stronger. Although the Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill had sold for a high price, Seventh-Order materials were not things that money alone could buy. The auction this time around was equivalent to giving First Inn a great opportunity in vain.
Then, Ye Jian turned to look at the Proprietress again and cupped his fist, “Madam Lan, this Ye is more inclined to choose your bid. But, this Ye has a request.”
The Proprietress nodded lightly, “Hall Master Ye, please speak.”
He continued, “Madam Lan, I know that you bought a large number of Sixth-Order materials during the auction earlier. This Ye wants those Sixth-Order materials. The remaining deficit can be made up with Open Heaven Pills. What do you say, Madam Lan?”
She pondered silently for a while until she received a reply from Yang Kai via transmission, “That’s not a problem!”
Although Yang Kai was a little reluctant to part with those Sixth-Order materials, he could not afford to care so much if he wanted to obtain the Primordial Yang Profound Ginseng. Sixth-Order materials could be bought at large-scale auctions or exchange meetings like this one, but that was not the case for Seventh-Order materials. Comparing the two, this amount of sacrifice was worth it. It didn’t matter even if he suffered some losses.
“Good!” Ye Jian smiled and nodded.
Just when Yang Kai was secretly feeling elated over the assumption that the situation had been settled, he heard Senior Brother Guo’s voice coming from the side, “Please wait, Brother Ye. This Guo wants to make another bid.”
On the platform, Ye Jian couldn’t help showing a troubled expression, “I will be honest with you, Brother Guo. I have my own reasons for choosing Madam Lan. Even if your bid is more valuable than hers, this Ye…”
Senior Brother Guo smiled slightly, “You are free to choose whomever you want, Brother Ye. But, you might as well take a look at what I’m offering first. Who knows? You might turn out to be more interested in this Guo’s bid.”
Yang Kai glared furiously at Senior Brother Guo from the side, wishing that he could summon the Azure Dragon Spear and stab the other party to death!
[I knew this bastard was up to no good! I had the feeling that he was going to get in my way, but I can’t believe it really turned out like this!] Suppressing the rage in his heart, he sent a Divine Sense transmission to the Proprietress, “Is that allowed in this exchange meeting?”
Likewise, the Proprietress scowled, “The exchange meeting is all about freedom. Nothing is forbidden.”
Yang Kai immediately grit his teeth and secretly vowed to himself. [In the worst case, I can just throw out all the Open Heaven Pills I have on hand. I have to get my hands on the Primordial Yang Profound Ginseng no matter what! I don’t believe that surnamed Guo can come up with something worth more than a billion Open Heaven Pills!]
On the round platform, Ye Jian nodded after hesitating for a bit. He was not in the position to embarrass Senior Brother Guo in public, “In that case, please go ahead, Brother Guo!”
Senior Brother Guo immediately threw a Space Ring to Ye Jian.
Under Yang Kai’s extremely nervous gaze, Ye Jian checked the Space Ring and immediately frowned. His expression wavered to reveal a look of indecision.
Yang Kai’s heart sank at the sight. He could tell that Senior Brother Guo’s bid had tempted Ye Jian. This bid had nothing to do with monetary value. Rather, it might be what Ye Jian required at the moment.
Yang Kai secretly cursed and swore in his heart. He was not sure what offer Senior Brother Guo had made; otherwise, he could have countered the offer.
Ye Jian smiled bitterly, “Brother Guo, this is extremely troubling.”
While speaking, he raised his head and glanced at his Son.
Senior Brother Guo responded with a small smile, “I believe you will make a wise choice, Brother Ye.”
Yang Kai seriously felt like punching that surnamed Guo at the sight of the latter’s smug expression. However, the more triumphant Senior Brother Guo looked, the more uneasy he felt. Based on his observation, the interval that Ye Jian’s eyes were lingering on Senior Brother Guo’s ring was becoming longer and longer. In other words, he seemed to be more interested in trading with Senior Brother Guo.
[The situation is bad!] Yang Kai’s heart sank. He was just about to ask the Proprietress to increase his bid when Yue He suddenly sent him a stealthy transmission. Her message startled him for a moment, then his eyes lit up. He had only been thinking about the difference in value between his bid and Senior Brother Guo’s bid; thus, he completely forgot the reason as to why he won the bid by surprise in the first place. The bid offered by Red Clouds Auction House had clearly been more valuable, but Ye Jian had still chosen to trade with him. That was because he had offered something that Ye Jian desperately desired.
If it were anybody else, they could only use this method once even with the Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill in hand; however, he could use that very method one more time! It was fortunate that Yue He had reminded him about this, or else he would have forgotten that he still had a certain useful item in his possession.
He immediately prepared his bid and secretly handed a Space Ring to the Proprietress along with a transmission.
The Proprietress turned to glance at him, but did not ask further questions. She simply said, “Hall Master Ye, I wish to increase my bid as well!”
Ye Jian was currently caught in a dilemma and at a loss for what to do; therefore, he quickly replied when he heard those words, “Madam Lan, please go ahead!”
She tossed the Space Ring Yang Kai had passed to her over to Ye Jian. At the same time, she turned a meaningful look towards Senior Brother Guo, one filled with a look of authority and confidence.
Senior Brother Guo scratched his nose and turned to the side, seemingly feeling rather guilty.
“This… This is…” On the platform, Ye Jian let out an exclamation of shock after he checked the contents of the Space Ring. He widened his eyes that were blazing with excitement.
Everybody looked in his direction, feeling curious about what was contained inside the Space Ring. Unfortunately, they could not tell. Consequently, their curiosity gave them an itch in their hearts that they could not scratch.
Even the Proprietress did not know what Yang Kai had handed to her. Judging from Ye Jian’s expression at this moment, it was obvious that he had obtained something incredible; otherwise, how could a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master lose his composure like this?
“Hahahaha!” Ye Jian suddenly threw his head back and laughed wildly, “It’s true that the Heavens will always leave open a path! Good! Very good!”
While saying so, he immediately tossed the Space Ring belonging to Senior Brother Guo back to its owner and cupped his fist, “Brother Guo, forgive me. This Ye has decided to choose Madam Lan’s bid. For your information, this Ye’s choice is not a matter of value. It’s just that Madam Lan’s bid is something this Ye desperately needs!”
The audience went into an uproar. It was not until this moment that they learned something shocking. Even though Madam Lan had increased her bid, what Senior Brother Guo offered was still more valuable. It could be seen that Senior Brother Guo had offered a fortune in this trade. Even so, it was still not enough to win off Ye Jian.
Just what did Madam Lan offer for Ye Jian for him to be willing to give up on such huge benefits?
Beside the Proprietress, the extremely nervous Yang Kai clenched his fists and let out a great sigh of relief. There was an obvious look of glee and excitement when he met Yue He’s eyes.
Although the handover had yet to be completed, Ye Jian’s response indicated that the Primordial Yang Profound Ginseng was as good as his unless somebody else could come up with an offer that would impress Ye Jian even more. It was just that the possibility was extremely unlikely.
Senior Brother Guo held his Space Ring and pondered for a while. Nevertheless, he was pretty carefree and did not continue to cause further trouble. He simply smiled and said, “Congratulations, Brother Ye.”
“Many thanks! Many thanks indeed! Hahaha!” Ye Jian’s expression was radiant. He was unbelievably happy, which made many people watch him curiously. Now that he made his decision, he no longer hesitated and immediately traded with the Proprietress.
According to Ye Jian’s previous request, Yang Kai took out all the Sixth-Order materials that he had purchased during the auction, then calculated the remaining deficit in value so that he could use Open Heaven Pills to make up the difference.
In less than an incense, the handover between both parties was completed and everybody involved was happy. The Proprietress nonchalantly put the Primordial Yang Profound Ginseng away, as though nothing had happened.
In the meantime, the exchange meeting continued. It was just that the rest of the transactions were much more muted following the trade of a Seventh-Order material.
Yang Kai was so happy that he felt like he was floating among the clouds. He couldn’t wait to enter retreat in order to refine the Primordial Yang Profound Ginseng, so he no longer had any mood to participate in the exchange meeting.
Approximately two hours later, the exchange meeting finally ended and many of the Open Heaven Realm Masters got up and dispersed.
The group of four from First Inn said their goodbyes to the old man of Red Clouds Auction House under the leadership of the Proprietress. Yang Kai walked along the streets in a good mood, trying hard to suppress his excitement.
Old Bai turned to look at Yang Kai, “Laugh if you want to. Why do you have to hold it in so painfully?”
Yang Kai immediately burst into laughter, causing other people to look sideways at him repeatedly as though thinking that this person had problems with his head.
The Proprietress pursed her lips, “I’m very curious about what you added into your bid at the ending that made Ye Jian so happy that he immediately decided to trade with you.”
Yang Kai shook his head lightly, “Proprietress, you are so beautiful and intelligent. Why don’t you take a guess?”
She reached out and flicked a finger at his forehead angrily, “Are you trying to test me?”
To which he replied unhappily, “Proprietress, I’m an adult. You can talk, but you should not resort to violence so often, okay?”
The moment the words left his mouth, her leg flew out from under her skirt to kick him in the calf. He immediately staggered and lost his balance. For a moment, he grimaced in pain and clutched at his leg while hopping around in agony.
She smiled lightly, “You first used the Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill to impress Ye Jian. That’s what made him choose you. Judging by his actions, he cherishes his Son, Ye Zi Ying, very much. Otherwise, he would not have declined the offer from Red Clouds Auction House. I’m guessing that the item you offered at the last moment was also something that will be useful for Ye Zi Ying.”
Yang Kai and Yue He looked at each other, then Yang Kai gave the Proprietress a thumbs up.
“Ye Zi Ying’s problem is very simple. It’s a case of forcibly condensing Sixth-Order Elements despite not having enough aptitude, which caused his Dao Seal to become unstable as a result. He will face a huge risk during his advancement. While the Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill can alleviate this situation a little, it cannot guarantee that he will succeed in his advancement. In that case, what you brought out… can also increase the success rate of his advancement?”
While saying so, the Proprietress smiled slightly, “But, precious treasures that can increase the success rate of advancing into the Open Heaven Realm are extremely rare throughout the vast universe. Normal people will never get the opportunity to come across these items. Nevertheless, you have one such item in your possession. So, I’m guessing that it is probably World Source Liquid.”
There was a slight pause, after which she frowned deeply, “That’s not right. The Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill is a Spirit Pill refined from World Source Liquid so they will have the same effect. Moreover, the effects will be stronger with the refined Spirit Pill. If I were Ye Jian, I would not have been interested in World Source Liquid since I already have the Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill in my possession; after all, these things do not work under the principle of ‘the more the better’ for a cultivator. Under the premise that the Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill works, World Source Liquid will not further improve the success rate of Ye Zi Ying’s advancement.”
Yang Kai nodded, “It’s not the World Source Liquid. Has Proprietress ever heard of the Divine Dao Water?”
“Divine Dao Water!?” She was taken aback by those words and stared at him in astonishment, “You actually have Divine Dao Water in your possession?”
She was very well-informed, so it was only natural that she knew about Divine Dao Water.
The Divine Dao Water that he possessed was something Zhu Jiu Yin had given to him in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary in order for him to strengthen his Dao Seal. Back then, he had used around a dozen drops to fortify his Dao Seal to its limit, but he still had some remaining. It was the perfect item to trade with Ye Jian for the Primordial Yang Profound Ginseng.
“Ye Zi Ying’s Dao Seal is unstable. Compared to the Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill, the effect of the Divine Dao Water will be more suitable for his situation.” The Proprietress was enlightened by the realization, “No wonder Ye Jian lost his composure and laughed so heartily. So that’s how it is.” Then, she glanced at him again, “You brat. You sure obtained quite a lot of good stuff in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary.”
Yang Kai just grinned meaningfully in response.
Old Bai sighed, “Now that Ye Zi Ying has the Divine Dao Water to strengthen his Dao Seal, all his worries have been eliminated. Furthermore, he also has the Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill to aid in his advancement into the Open Heaven Realm. It looks like Thunderclap Hall will have an additional Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master in the near future!”
The Proprietress nodded, “Thunderclap Hall has always been one of the top Second-Class great forces in the first place. Once Ye Zi Ying becomes a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, the strength of Thunderclap Hall will soar once more. Not to mention… Ye Zi Ying is different from Ye Jian. He advanced into the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm directly, so he has the possibility of growing into an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master in the future. He will be much stronger than his Father.”
Bai Qi was very envious, “Thunderclap Hall is flourishing now. Ye Jian sure received a great bargain.”
Similarly, Yang Kai was also very envious. Thanks to him, Ye Zi Ying would now have a bright and promising future. [When will I be able to advance into the Open Heaven Realm? I managed to obtain the Primordial Yang Profound Ginseng by chance today, so the problem regarding the Yang Element has been solved. But, what about the remaining Yin and Metal Elements? Maybe I should head to Golden Antelope Paradise to try my luck with a Metal Element treasure.]
When he first arrived in the 3,000 Worlds, Zhang Ruo Xi once told him that Golden Antelope Paradise was the only Paradise that was open to all cultivators. There was a Sealed World inside Golden Antelope Paradise and any cultivator was able to enter it as long as they were willing to pay a certain entrance fee.
There was a high possibility that he could find something like the Golden Blade Yuan Spirit inside the Sealed World. The Golden Blade Yuan Spirit was a Fifth-Order Metal Element treasure. Zhang Ruo Xi also mentioned that one could even find a Seventh-Order Metal Element treasure inside the Sealed World if they were lucky enough!
The reason she knew all this was that she had inherited the bloodline memories of her ancestor. As for how much one had to pay to enter the Sealed World, she did not say. It was probably not cheap.
On the other hand, it would be difficult to obtain a Yin Element treasure… Yin and Yang materials had always been scarcer and more valuable than those of the other Five Elements.
Take the Primordial Yang Profound Ginseng that Yang Kai acquired for example. His initial bid was 220 million Open Heaven Pills, plus a Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill.
Although he paid 50 million Open Heaven Pills for the Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill and its pill recipe, the true value of the Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill was not that high. Even so, judging from the competition between Ye Jian and Teng Wang, the value of the Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill could not be less than 20 million.
In other words, Yang Kai’s initial bid was worth at least 240 million Open Heaven Pills! Be that as it may, the bids from Red Clouds Auction House and Senior Brother Guo were even more valuable than that.
Including the two drops of Divine Dao Water that Yang Kai added at the last moment, the total value of his bid was more than 260 million Open Heaven Pills, possibly even higher. If he had only used Open Heaven Pills to bid, he might not have been able to buy the Primordial Yang Profound Ginseng even if he tossed out 300 million Open Heaven Pills! In the end, these items were not things that could be bought just because one had a lot of money.
Yang Kai secretly decided that if he failed to gain anything from the Blood Monster Cave Heaven, he would immediately set off for Golden Antelope Paradise. He was going to enter the Sealed World to try his luck. The only problem he now faced was that his existence had been exposed to the various Cave-Heavens and Paradises. There was no saying whether Golden Antelope Paradise would be hostile towards him.
At the moment, he was still far from advancing into the Open Heaven Realm; therefore, the Cave-Heavens and Paradises were not in a hurry to suppress him. They might even entertain the idea of trying to win him over, like what Senior Brother Guo had tried to do at first. In any case, there was no point in worrying about the future. His top priority at the moment was to refine his Yang Element Power as soon as possible. Everybody was aware that First Inn had obtained the Primordial Yang Profound Ginseng, so there was no saying what kind of unexpected situation might occur if he did not refine it quickly.
After returning to First Inn, Yang Kai immediately asked the Proprietress for a secret room and went into retreat. All the barriers in the secret room were activated and there were two Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters like the Proprietress and Yue He standing guard nearby. Therefore, the defence could be said to be impregnable. In addition, nobody would dare to act recklessly in the Star City under the jurisdiction of Great Battle Heaven.
Yang Kai sat down cross-legged and focused his mind.
Three days later, his mind was empty, free from distractions, and as tranquil as an ancient well. Only then did he finally take the Heavenly Yin Jade Box out of his Space Ring. A sense of coolness instantly permeated the entire secret room. The Heavenly Yin Jade Box itself was a Fifth-Order material. It was worth quite a lot, but it was nothing compared to the Primordial Yang Profound Ginseng contained inside.
When Ye Jian first brought out the Heavenly Yin Jade Box, the Proprietress had told Yang Kai that what he was looking for had appeared. She had probably guessed that an item held inside a box made from Fifth-Order material would not be something trivial. It was most likely a Seventh-Order material. In the end, it turned out that her guess was correct.
Yang Kai took the Primordial Yang Profound Ginseng out of the jade box and studied the item carefully. He did not know how long the Primordial Yang Profound Ginseng had lived as it had already begun to take on a humanoid shape, which made it look extremely lifelike and vivid. With the roots spread across its entire body, it was as thick as a baby’s arm and approximately a forearm in length. Furthermore, it was exuding an extraordinarily pure and potent Yang Element Power.
Without any hesitation whatsoever, he took a bite. The taste was ordinary, almost like he was chewing on a normal carrot. There was a sense of crunchiness, but it was nothing special and even tasted slightly astringent. It was hard to imagine that this was a precious treasure he spent 200 to 300 million Open Heaven Pills just to obtain.
Yang Kai took a few consecutive bites, but at his third, his expression suddenly changed and he quickly resealed the rest of the Primordial Yang Profound Ginseng in the Heavenly Yin Jade Box. Just as he finished doing that, he felt a burst of pure Yang Element Power erupting in his belly. The eruption of power caused his internal organs to shift. Looking inward, he saw that his body was filled with a golden energy. More importantly, that energy was still expanding madly without pause. He had clearly eaten too much!
He immediately knew that things were not looking too good for him. Although he had experience refining several High-Rank materials in the past, he had never eaten a High-Rank material to refine before. It was his first time and his lack of experience had led to an unfavourable outcome. He immediately fell into a dangerous situation.
Even so, he did not panic. If he were a normal cultivator, Yang Kai might have been injured by this mighty Yang Element Power. Fortunately, he had an intrepid physique thanks to his Dragon Clan bloodline, so how could he be scared of something like this?
He immediately adjusted his breathing and focused his mind. Mobilising his strength, he guided the Yang Element Power that was surging like a tumultuous sea in his body to flow into his Dao Seal. At the same time, he separated a thread of his consciousness to circulate the Defying Yin-Yang Five Elements Profound Universe Heart Scripture to maintain the stability of his Dao Seal.
Cultivators had to follow a certain step-by-step procedure when refining the Yin, Yang, and Five Element Powers. In order to maintain the stability of their Dao Seals. However, with the Defying Yin-Yang Five Elements Profound Universe Heart Scripture, Yang Kai could ignore the specific sequence of Elements. The price he needed to pay was that he needed to devote a thread of his consciousness to circulate this Secret Art at all times; otherwise, his Dao Seal would become unstable and result in endless negative consequences.
In the past, he had skipped the Metal Element Power and proceeded to refine his Water Element directly. He had already separated a thread of his consciousness for that purpose. In the long run, he was required to concentrate on two tasks at the same time no matter what he did. Now that he had refined the Primordial Yang Profound Ginseng, he would be required to concentrate on three tasks at the same time in the future.
Fortunately, his Soul was very powerful, so splitting his consciousness to do three things at once was nothing to him. Even so, it would place a heavy burden on his mind if things were to continue in this state for a long time. At some point, it would probably begin to affect his ability to engage in combat.
Under the guidance of his Dao Seal, the pure Yang Element Power slowly poured into his Dao Seal. The original four colours now had an additional faint golden radiance added. The golden colour gradually blended into his Dao Seal and complemented the other four existing colours. It was an extremely mysterious sight to behold.
After making it through the most difficult part, Yang Kai gradually felt that his stomach was no longer bulging so painfully. He had almost finished refining the Yang Element Power and the most notable change was that the golden colour in his Dao Seal had increased significantly.
Taking the Primordial Yang Profound Ginseng out of the Heavenly Yin Jade Box again, he determinedly took a few more bites. The golden Yang Element Power exploded in his body once more, squeezing his internal organs together painfully. The energy filled his entire body, along with his physique and meridians. It even made his entire body emit a faint golden light.
Mobilising the power of his Dao Seal again, he guided the Yang Element Power into it. Yang Kai simply repeated these steps over and over again. He did not know how long had passed but the Yang Element Power in his Dao Seal gradually became saturated while the Primordial Yang Profound Ginseng he spent nearly 300 million Open Heaven Pills to obtain was completely consumed in exchange.
When the last bit of the Primordial Yang Profound Ginseng’s medicinal efficacies dissolved into his belly and the Yang Element Power poured into his Dao Seal, Yang Kai suddenly felt an unusual change occurring in his body.
He immediately understood what had happened, his Yang Element had been completed. That meant that there were only two more steps left before he advanced into the Open Heaven Realm! Moreover, he had entered the Half-Step Open Heaven Realm.
Generally speaking, a cultivator could call themselves a Half-Step Open Heaven Realm Master once they condensed five Elements. This was not a Realm, but it was undeniable that they could exert more power than ordinary Emperor Realm Masters. Becoming a Half-Step Open Heaven Realm Master was of great significance to other cultivators. That was because they could look forward to advancing into the true Open Heaven Realm once they reached this point in their cultivation. In addition, their strength would also improve by leaps and bounds.
Unfortunately, it was useless to Yang Kai. That was because he was already on par with Low-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters in terms of strength when he had only condensed four Elements. Not to mention, he had to concentrate on three tasks at once now that he had refined the Seventh-Order Yang Element Power since he needed to operate the Defying Yin-Yang Five Elements Profound Universe Heart Scripture at all times to maintain the stability of his Dao Seal. Therefore, his strength had not increased by much.
It would not end at having to concentrate on three tasks at once. In the future, he might need to concentrate on four tasks at once upon condensing his Yin Element. The impact would be greater than what he was experiencing now. Hence, the best solution was for him to condense the Metal Element Power first. That way he could correct the sequence so that he no longer needed to work so hard to maintain the Defying Yin-Yang Five Elements Profound Universe Heart Scripture at all times.
It was just that… High-Rank resources were hard to come by. Who could say whether he would obtain a Metal Element treasure or Yin Element treasure first?
After calming down, Yang Kai checked his body and confirmed that there were no hidden dangers. Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief.
A quick calculation indicated that he had taken almost two months to refine the Primordial Yang Profound Ginseng. This period of time could not be considered long. If it were any other cultivator, they would likely have taken a year or two to complete the refinement process and that was only if they actually succeeded in the end. It might even have taken them three to five years to complete the refinement process.
Condensing the Yin, Yang, and Five Elements placed an extremely heavy burden on one’s Dao Seal after all. If one were overly hasty in the process, there was a high possibility that it would cause unnecessary trouble down the road. Which cultivator would not be cautious when refining their Yin, Yang, and Five Elements, lest their Dao Seal become unable to withstand the internal pressures?
Only Yang Kai, who had such a strong foundation and had taken more than ten drops of the Divine Dao Water to strengthen his Dao Seal to the limit, could ignore such consequences.
Yang Kai waved his hand to remove the barriers around the secret room. After a while, the door to the secret room opened. Both Yue He and the Proprietress entered together, they must have been waiting outside all this time. Otherwise, it would have been impossible for them to arrive so quickly.
The Proprietress came to a stop in front of him and glanced at him, “Is it done?”
He nodded lightly.
She seemed slightly surprised, “That was fast.”
Meanwhile, Yue He did not seem surprised. Yang Kai had taken about the same amount of time to condense his Earth Element Power back when they were in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary.
“What about the items that I asked for?” Yang Kai looked at Yue He.
“It’s all in here.” She immediately held out a Space Ring.
He nodded and accepted the Space Ring from her. Then, he swept his Divine Sense to check the contents.
At the same time, the Proprietress placed a hand on his forehead. The power in her body surged silently as she checked the situation with his Dao Seal. After a while, she retracted her hand when she confirmed that there was nothing wrong with him. Her gaze was solemn as she stared at him, “Brat, the path you are threading is extremely dangerous. There’s a very high possibility that it will lead to your death. Even if your life is not in danger, you will still face countless obstacles in your way. You must consider this matter thoroughly.”
He just grinned meaningfully though, “Proprietress, you’ve warned me about this many times. Since I have these unique advantages, I might as well give it a try; otherwise, I would definitely regret it for the rest of my life. As for the dangers and obstacles that I will face… I’ll deal with them as they come!”
In the beginning, he had refined the essence of the Immortal Tree without knowing it. That had given him an extremely high starting point. He later obtained the Golden Crow’s True Fire, followed by the Earth Attribute Great Dragon’s Dragon Bead… With such powerful heritage and advantages, how could he not strive to advance into the High-Rank Open Heaven Realm? It was only natural for people to aim high just as it was the everlasting logic that water would always flow downward.
She nodded lightly and said nothing more.
He asked, “When will the Blood Monster Cave Heaven open?”
She tidied her sleeves and said, “I’ve already sent people to monitor the changes in the Blood Monster Cave Heaven carefully. There has been no news yet. I’m afraid you’ll have to wait for a few more months.”
“In that case, I’ll have to trouble you to continue keeping an eye on this matter, Proprietress. I will continue to cultivate in retreat. Let me know as soon as possible if you receive news regarding the Blood Monster Cave Heaven.”
“Don’t worry. I will not let you miss this opportunity.” She gave him a displeased look. Knowing that he had other things to do, she said a few more things before leaving with Yue He in tow.
Inside the secret room, Yang Kai reactivated the barriers and took a short rest for two days to recover from his fatigue.
Two days later, he summoned an Alchemy Furnace. He took out the Space Ring that Yue He had given him earlier and the pill recipe of the Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill that he obtained from Red Clouds Auction House. He was going to refine the Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill!
This item was extremely invaluable. Ye Jian and Teng Wang had been willing to place a bid of more than 20 million Open Heaven Pills just to obtain this Spirit Pill. Once he managed to refine this item, Void Land would never need to worry about cultivation or development resources again.
Two months ago, Yang Kai instructed Yue He to purchase all the necessary Alchemy ingredients according to the pill recipe. The Star City in Thousand Birds Territory was a large-scale one where almost anything could be found for purchase with some effort. Not to mention, they were backed by an intelligence network of First Inn. Acquiring the ingredients listed in the pill recipe had not been hard. At present, the Space Ring contained enough ingredients for him to refine 200 Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pills.
The Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill was meant for cultivators in the Emperor Realm to consume when advancing into the Open Heaven Realm. Therefore, it was not a High-Grade Spirit Pill. It was just that the main ingredient had gone extinct, causing the Spirit Pill to be lost with the passing of time.
With his Alchemy skills, Yang Kai was confident he could refine the Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill; however, it was uncertain as to what quality he could produce. He was neither expecting to succeed on his first try nor to refine a Spirit Pill with Pill Veins or Pill Clouds. It would already be a huge harvest as long as he managed to successfully refine 10% of the two hundred portions of ingredients.
A short while later, he took out some of the Pill Powder that he previously scraped off from the Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill, extracted a small pinch, and placed it in his mouth to savour the taste. In doing so, he slowly deduced the process of refinement from the medicinal efficacies. All sorts of thoughts flowed through his mind like a shower of sparks.
Half a month later, he finally formed a plan in his heart and began warming the Alchemy Furnace.
The Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill could increase the success rate of a cultivator when advancing into the Open Heaven Realm while World Source Liquid had the same effects. Back then, Old Bai had suffered from interference during his advancement and nearly died as a result. At the time, Yang Kai had used the World Source Liquid to pull him back from the brink of death.
In comparison, the Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill which was refined with World Source Liquid as its main ingredient had even stronger effects. Not only did it have the effect of allowing a cultivator to experience the atmosphere of when a World was first born, but it also had the effect of stabilizing their Dao Seal. In addition, each Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill only needed one drop of the World Source Liquid.
Yang Kai had used two bottles of World Source Liquid to save Old Bai’s life back then, enough to produce several dozen Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pills. Therefore, World Source Liquid could not compare to the Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill in terms of the consumption rate either.
Half a day later, Yang Kai frowned when he was concentrating on his Alchemy. He could smell something burnt coming from the furnace and sighed before stopping what he was doing.
When the furnace fire went out, he opened the pill furnace. The burnt smell became even more intense, to the point that it was almost pungent. His first attempt at refining turned out to be a failure. He had failed to grasp the heat at a critical moment, so all the materials in the furnace were ruined.
This was perfectly normal, however. Although Yang Kai was quite accomplished in the Alchemic Dao, it was still his first time refining the Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill so he was unfamiliar with the various steps in the process. Still, he did not expect to succeed on his first try and was not discouraged as a result. After a brief rest, he reviewed what he had done wrong and started on his second attempt.
Another half a day later, the materials in the second furnace were also scraped as a similar scorched smell wafted from the pill furnace. He did not make the same mistake as he did previously though. This time he had failed to grasp the right timing for a certain critical step.
Alchemy has always been a rigorous process. The slightest error could lead to complete failure. That was also the reason why Alchemists were so widely sought after everywhere they went. Likewise, the worth of various rare Spirit Pills remained highly valued at all times.
In the following month, Yang Kai kept attempting to refine the Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill. He built up his experience from his repeated failures, improved his techniques, and mastered the amount of heat required at every step of the process. Every failure would leave him reflecting over his mistakes for a long time and every mistake he made allowed him to grow further.
According to the Proprietress’ previous estimation, each portion of ingredients would cost almost 100,000 Open Heaven Pills without taking the cost of the World Source Liquid into account. If the value of the World Source Liquid was added, then the worth of the Spirit Pill could no longer be estimated. It would cost at least 1 million Open Heaven Pills.
Over this period, Yang Kai had failed more than a hundred times. In other words, he had suffered a loss of more than 1 billion Open Heaven Pills. Nevertheless, this kind of investment was worth it. As long as he could successfully refine the Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill, it would turn into a steady stream of money in the future!
He couldn’t help but think about his Xia Ning Chang. Although he was certainly talented to a certain extent in the Alchemic Dao, his Little Senior Sister possessed the Sacred Spirit Medicine Body that was born for the sake of performing Alchemy. If she were here, she would definitely fare better than him.
It wasn’t until a certain day one month later that Yang Kai took out a Spirit Pill from the pill furnace. This Spirit Pill was no different from the Spirit Pill that he had bought from the auction house previously. He gently scraped off a layer of Pill Powder and tasted it. There was not much difference, be it in terms of taste or medicinal efficacies.
Yang Kai finally let out a soft sigh, knowing that he had succeeded in refining the Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill at last. It had taken him more than a hundred failures and a whole month to successfully refine the first Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill. It had not been an easy feat.
This was only under the premise that Yang Kai had the pill recipe. Without the pill recipe, he was certain that he could never have refined a similar Spirit Pill in his life. He had to admit that refining the Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill was extremely complicated compared to other Spirit Pills of the same Grade.
Everything was bound to be difficult in the beginning, but now that he had a successful experience in refining the Spirit Pill, the process would only become smoother and smoother. Likewise, his success rate would surely increase steadily. Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pills came out of the furnace one after another in a steady stream. By the time he finished the ingredients he had on hand, Yang Kai had more than 20 Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pills in his possession.
Out of a total of two hundred portions of ingredients, he managed to produce 20 Spirit Pills. That meant that he had a 10% success rate. Compared with his initial expectations, the results were barely up to the standard.
Be that as it may, it was only just the beginning. Yang Kai had completely scrapped more than 100 batches of ingredients at the beginning without producing even a single Spirit Pill. It could be said that these 20 or so Spirit Pills were completely refined out of the few dozen portions of materials left towards the end. Yang Kai firmly believed that his success rate in refining the Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill would only increase with the accumulation of experience.
During the previous auction, Ye Jian and Teng Wang had raised their bids to more than 20 million Open Heaven Pills in order to compete for this Spirit Pill. That was only possible since it was during an auction. Not to mention, it was under the premise that this Spirit Pill was the only one in the world.
If Yang Kai were to actually sell this Spirit Pill, the price of 20 million Open Heaven Pills was slightly on the higher side. Still, according to his estimation, there would be many people scrambling to buy these Spirit Pills if they were priced at 10 million Open Heaven Pills. Even if a single Spirit Pill was only sold at 10 million Open Heaven Pills, selling more than 20 of them would mean a profit of more than 200 million Open Heaven Pills.
However, Yang Kai had no plans to sell this Spirit Pill for the time being. The first reason was that everybody knew that World Source Liquid was the main ingredient to refine this Spirit Pill. More importantly, World Source Liquid was extinct in the current world. If he brought these Spirit Pills out to sell, anybody would be able to guess that he had World Source Liquid in his possession. Even with First Inn as a shield, it might attract unwanted attention and greed. Hence, the Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill would not be released for sale until Void Land had enough strength to protect itself from external threats.
The second reason was that Lang Qing Shan and the others had been following him since they were in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary. Most of them had condensed quite a few Elements, so they were not far from their respective advancements into the Open Heaven Realm. They could use these Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pills. It should also be mentioned that Void Land would have a high demand for these Spirit Pills in the future.
In the end, the Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pills had to first meet their own needs. Only the surplus would be sold to the public. That was also the reason why Yang Kai could not convert these pills into actual financial resources within a short period of time despite having access to such a huge fortune-making operation.
In the meantime, Yue He delivered more ingredients.
Yang Kai worked without food or rest to refine Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pills. When he saw batch after batch of pills leaving his furnace, he did not feel the slightest sense of fatigue. On the contrary, he became more and more energetic.
It wasn’t until he had almost accumulated 100 Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pills that the tightly-shut door to the secret room was opened from the outside without warning. The furnace fire in the pill furnace was affected by this unexpected disturbance and flared up all of a sudden. It was fortunate that Yang Kai quickly suppressed the flames in time; otherwise, the herbs in the furnace would have been scrapped again.
He turned to look in the direction of the door, only to see Yue He walking in and nodding lightly at him. He immediately understood. The Blood Monster Cave Heaven was about to open! She would not have entered the room and disturbed him otherwise.
Focusing his mind, Yang Kai finished refining the Spirit Pill inside the furnace before slowly getting to his feet.
Yue He stepped forward, “Young Master, Big Sister says that the Blood Monster Cave Heaven is showing signs of opening. She asks that you prepare to set off immediately.”
He nodded and strode out of the room. While walking, he asked, “Where are Guo Zi Yan and Lang Qing Shan?”
“They have all returned.”
After exiting the secret room, Yang Kai came to the backyard where he immediately saw Guo Zi Yan and the others standing in two rows. Every one of them was motionless and relaxed, but their entire bodies exuded the chilling sense of killing intent. When they noticed Yang Kai, they cupped their fists in unison, “Sir!”
Their combined voices were thunderous and the aura they gave off was extremely impressive!
Yang Kai swept his gaze over them and noticed that their exposed skin was covered in countless injuries. Lang Qing Shan even had a hideous scar that ran across his face, looking like a centipede baring its fangs fiercely. The wound stretched from his forehead and slanted downward to disappear around his lower jaw. Although Yang Kai did not know what caused Lang Qing Shan’s injury, he could tell that it had almost cost him his life.
Ever since arriving at Thousand Birds Territory’s Star City, Guo Zi Yan, Lang Qing Shan, and the others had been participating in the Asura Arena’s battles. Hence, they had experienced countless life-and-death fights over the past few months. The battles in the Asura Arena did not prevent casualties from happening, so every battle was fought with their lives on the line.
Lang Qing Shan was originally born with handsome looks. With the addition of this scar, his appearance suddenly became less handsome and more intimidating instead. The same was true for the others. Compared to how they were just a few months ago, they had all grown quite a bit. They resembled wild beasts that sprang out of the barren mountains and forests, ready to attack at any time.
Yang Kai grinned, “It looks like everybody had an exciting time over the past few months.”
Life-or-death battles were always the best catalyst for growth. He himself had crawled out of mountains of corpses and seas of blood, so he had a deep understanding of this. Lang Qing Shan and the others had pretty good aptitude, and under his vigorous training, they were bound to have a bright and promising future ahead. It was just that they lacked the experience of surviving against all odds in desperate situations, as well as the courage to fight without regard for anything else in order to survive.
The few months of fighting in the Asura Arena had been enough to fully bring out their hidden potential. Compared to before, the strength of these people had definitely improved greatly! They had been little-known figures before they arrived at Thousand Birds Territory’s Star City, but now, they were all listed in the Heaven, Earth, and Mortal Rankings of the Asura Arena.
Guo Zi Yan cupped his fists, “Sir, you urgently called for us to come back. Do you have orders for us?”
Yang Kai replied, “The Blood Monster Cave Heaven is about to open. I’m planning to go on a rampage there. You can join me if you wish. If not, you can remain behind and continue your training in the Asura Arena.”
“The Blood Monster Cave Heaven!” Guo Zi Yan raised his brow in surprise. Similarly, everybody else’s eyes lit up at those words.
The fact that the Blood Monster Cave Heaven was about to open was not a secret. Rumours regarding this matter had been flying around the Star City for the past few months. They might have been fighting day and night in the Asura Arena, but it was not surprising they had also heard about it. It was just that they had no idea when the Blood Monster Cave Heaven would open or what kind of qualifications were required for them to enter.
They never imagined that Yang Kai called them for the Blood Monster Cave Heaven. Thus, they immediately became excited at the prospect. Fighting in the Asura Arena was certainly a worthwhile experience, but that was also the case for the Blood Monster Cave Heaven.
Lang Qing Shan said, “I’ve heard that elite cultivators from Great Territories all over the 3,000 Worlds will swarm into the Blood Monster Cave Heaven every time it opens. This is a grand event that involves the entire Outer Universe.”
The shaved-headed man chuckled, “It might have been dangerous if Open Heaven Realm Masters were to participate. But, only Emperor Realm cultivators are able to enter, so what is there to fear? Sir, I’m going with you.”
The others quickly responded, “I’m going too.”
“Only Emperor Realm cultivators are able to enter?” Yang Kai was stunned. He turned to look at Yue He and asked, “Is there such a thing?”
The only thing Yang Kai knew about the Blood Monster Cave Heaven was its existence. If the shaved-headed man had not mentioned this prerequisite, he would not have known either.
Yue He gently nodded, “The Blood Monster Cave Heaven is the Small Universe of Blood Monster Divine Monarch. It is said that he preserved his Small Universe in order to choose his own Legacy Disciple. Before his death, he placed a restriction on his Small Universe so that no Open Heaven Realm Masters could set foot inside. There have been people who tried to force their way in, but nothing good came of their attempts.”
Yang Kai frowned, “Blood Monster Divine Monarch is an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. He may have been amazing in his time, but it’s not as if there are no other Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters among the Cave-Heavens and Paradises. Are you saying that the restriction placed by a dead man is too difficult for the living to handle?”
“A dead Master is naturally inferior to a living one.” The Proprietress’ voice came from the outside. He turned to look and saw her slowly making her way over from the hall. “However, Blood Monster Divine Monarch is an extremely decisive and ruthless man. Nothing will happen if his restriction remains intact. On the other hand, the Blood Monster Cave Heaven will immediately collapse the moment his restrictions are broken. In other words, even if somebody were to take great pains to break his restriction, they would never be able to enter the Blood Monster Cave Heaven.”
“So that’s how it is!” Yang Kai was stunned. It was true that nobody would waste their energy with a restriction like that in place; after all, cracking the restriction left behind by an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master after his death was no easy feat.
She continued her explanation, “The Blood Monster Cave Heaven only allows those under the Open Heaven Realm to enter for two main reasons. The first being that Blood Monster Divine Monarch is looking for his successor. The other being that he wants to prolong the existence of the Blood Monster Cave Heaven as much as possible.”
“Prolong its existence? What does that mean?” Yang Kai did not understand.
“If an Open Heaven Realm is allowed to enter the Blood Monster Cave Heaven, won’t they be able to refine and absorb the World Force contained within at will? How will the Blood Monster Cave Heaven exist without World Force to support it?”
He was surprised, “Does that mean that the World Force of Blood Monster Cave Heaven can also be refined and absorbed?”
She glanced sideways at him, “The Small Universe of a High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master is no different from a real Universe World. Since the World Force of a real Universe World can be refined, then why not the Blood Monster Cave Heaven?”
After giving it some thought, Yang Kai felt that her words made sense. The Small Universe of a High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master was no different from a real Universe World. Just like how Old Ancestor Mo Yu once targeted the Demon Realm, the Blood Monster Cave Heaven would have been long gone if Open Heaven Realm Masters were allowed to enter. It would not have existed until today.
“Are you all ready? If you’re ready, we can set off now. We will still need some time on the road and it will be too late if we set off any later,” The Proprietress called out.
Yang Kai turned to look at Lang Qing Shan and the others, who cupped their fists at him, “We will follow you to the end of the world, Sir!”
He said, “Let’s go then.”
Today, First Inn was closed for business. It even hung up a ‘Closed’ sign on its doors.
The chef and accountant were standing together in the hall. Luo Hai Yi was also standing next to them. The chef had packed many things. Heavens knew what was inside those bags, but he was holding his kitchen knife in his hand and grinned meaningfully when he saw Yang Kai approaching.
Meanwhile, the accountant turned his dead fish gaze towards Yang Kai, “You’re the slowest, kid.”
Yang Kai smiled, “Are you entering the Blood Monster Cave Heaven too?”
The accountant said, “What’s wrong? If you can go, then why can’t we? We’re also in the Emperor Realm. It’s a great opportunity for us to earn some riches.”
Yang Kai hurriedly cupped his fist, “Please take good care of me, Senior Brothers.”
The accountant snorted, “Brat, don’t worry. I will keep you safe inside the Blood Monster Cave Heaven!”
His reckless attitude seemed to say, ‘Below the Heavens and above the Earth, only I am supreme!’
The Proprietress kicked him in the shin, “Blabbermouth!”
He immediately clutched at his leg and hopped on the spot in pain.
Under the leadership of the Proprietress, everybody hurried to the Void Dock. Yang Kai summoned the Falling Lotus when they arrived, which transformed into a gigantic lotus. Several dozen people entered the ship before it rotated slightly and sped off into the distance.
They were not the only ones leaving from this Void Dock; there were many others besides them. There was an endless stream of flight-type artifacts in all shapes, sizes, and colours setting off at the same time. They departed one after another in a magnificent procession.
Yang Kai was dumbfounded by the sight, “Are all these people heading to the Blood Monster Cave Heaven?”
Bai Qi stood next to Yang Kai with a smile, “Of course. What else do you think they were doing? Every time the Blood Monster Cave Heaven opens, it becomes a grand event that involves the entire 3,000 Worlds. Who would not wish to claim a share of the pie? That is the Small Universe left behind by an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master after all. If they could inherit Blood Monster Divine Monarch’s inheritance… Tsk. Tsk. They would gain glory overnight.”
Yang Kai looked around in a daze. There were nearly a hundred flight-type artifacts just from what he could see, and there were many others that he did not see. There were nearly a thousand people just from the Star City in Thousand Birds Territory alone heading out, so what about Thousand Birds Territory as a whole? What about the rest of the 3,000 Worlds? If so many people flooded the place all at once, would he be able to find anything good? What if the place was filled to the brim when he entered the Blood Monster Cave Heaven?
Old Bai patted Yang Kai on the shoulder with a laugh, “Don’t worry. Don’t be fooled by the number of people here. Not many people will actually be able to enter. At most only ten thousand will succeed.”
“Why is that?” Yang Kai glanced at Old Bai puzzledly, “Could it be that there are other requirements to enter the Blood Monster Cave Heaven?”
“There aren’t any requirements in particular. How do I put it… Let Proprietress explain.”
At this moment, the Proprietress waved her hand and flung out a dozen or so streams of light that shot towards everybody. They immediately reached out and caught the light, which turned out to be a jade slip.
She then spoke, “The jade slip contains information on the Blood Monster Cave Heaven. Read it carefully. The map I acquired from Red Clouds Auction House has also been recorded into the jade slip. Although the map is incomplete, it should prove to be useful still. Who knows? It might save your life at a critical moment.”
After listening to her explanation, everyone quickly immersed their minds into the jade slip to investigate its contents.
Likewise, Yang Kai began reading.
This jade slip was probably something the Proprietress prepared specially for them. She knew that they were utterly clueless about the Blood Monster Cave Heaven. If they entered the Blood Monster Cave Heaven in their current state, it would be no different from going in blind. But, that would change completely now that they had this information.
The Blood Monster Cave Heaven would open every 200 years and several thousand people would enter every time it did. Although many people would die inside, there were also many who survived and came out wealthier than before. It was not surprising for them to bring back some information regarding the situation inside.
Something like that was not a secret. The Cave-Heavens and Paradises would generally retain the information. It was just that the information was not publicised anywhere. Fortunately, First Inn specialised in collecting information, so gathering this intel was child’s play for them.
According to the information inside the jade slip, Blood Monster Divine Monarch was proficient in the Dao of Blood and the Dao of Beast Taming when he was still alive; therefore, there were many Blood Beasts inside the Blood Monster Cave Heaven. These Blood Beasts were nurtured by Blood Monster Divine Monarch during his long life. For that reason, they were generally no different from ordinary Monster Beasts except for a few key points. In general, these Blood Beasts had strange abilities and ferocious strength, and over the years, most of the cultivators who entered the Blood Monster Cave Heaven would lose their lives to their claws.
The strongest Blood Beasts could compare to Low-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters in terms of strength. They were existences to be avoided at all costs; after all, the Blood Monster Cave Heaven was limited by a restriction that only allowed cultivators below the Open Heaven Realm to enter. A Blood Beast with the strength of a Low-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master was basically an invincible existence inside the Blood Monster Cave Heaven.
The Blood Beasts were vicious, but there were great benefits to killing them. That was because these Blood Beasts were nurtured by Blood Monster Divine Monarch personally and were a little different from ordinary Monster Beasts in the sense that their Monster Cores’ attributes were often extremely singular and pure. They were known as Blood Beast Cores and could be used as cultivation resources. According to the classification of Order, there were Blood Beasts ranging from the First-Order to Seventh-Order, and killing Blood Beasts of different Orders would result in obtaining Open Heaven materials of matching Orders.
Yang Kai’s eyes lit up at those words! [If I can find and slay a Seventh-Order Monster Beast in the Blood Monster Cave Heaven, won’t I have the chance to obtain Metal and Yin Element treasures? No wonder Proprietress said that the Blood Monster Cave Heaven would be an opportunity for me!]
The only problem was that the strength of a Seventh-Order Monster Beast would be extraordinary, no matter how singular the Attributes of its Monster Core. It was still in the Seventh Order after all.
Just like the Yuan Magnetic Divine Bottle Gourd in his possession, the Sixth-Order Yuan Magnetic Divine Light might have a singular attribute, but it was perfectly capable of dealing with Low-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters. If that was the case for a Sixth-Order Power, then what more need be said about a Seventh-Order Power? A Seventh-Order Blood Beast was definitely an existence on par with or stronger than a Low-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master.
[I wonder if there are any Eighth-Order Blood Beasts inside? Blood Monster Divine Monarch was an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master after all, so it would not be strange if he managed to nurture some Eighth-Order Blood Beasts. Besides, Blood Monster Divine Monarch has been dead for so many years now. The surviving Blood Beasts might have grown stronger since his passing. Regardless of the circumstances, it will be best to proceed carefully inside the Blood Monster Cave Heaven.]
In addition to the threat of Blood Beasts, the Blood Monster Cave Heaven was also filled with ancient traps and restrictions. Some of them had lost their powers over the years due to lack of maintenance, but some of them were still lethal. If these restrictions were activated, one would be heavily injured even if they were lucky enough to survive. Aside from the Blood Beasts, the restrictions inside were the second largest cause of death among cultivators!
Be that as it may, it didn’t matter how powerful the Blood Beasts were or how amazing the restrictions inside were, Yang Kai knew that what he had to guard against the most were the other cultivators who entered the Blood Monster Cave Heaven. As long as there were people, there would be conflict. Compared to the restrictions and Blood Beasts with low to no sentience, scheming and treacherous people would always be more dangerous.
The Blood Monster Cave Heaven might be extremely dangerous, but there were also many benefits to be gained. Leaving aside the fact that one could obtain cultivation resources of various Orders by killing those Blood Beasts, the entire Blood Monster Cave Heaven itself was filled with numerous Cultivation Paradises.
The Blood Monster Cave Heaven was the Small Universe of Blood Monster Divine Monarch, so it stood to reason that Blood Monster Divine Monarch’s Small Universe was extremely stable when he was still alive. Unfortunately, it had been many years since his death. Despite the measures he took when he was still alive to preserve his Small Universe, the effects of time and nature had taken its toll over the years. The Small Universe was showing signs of instability. The Yin, Yang, and Five Elements had begun to split apart and accumulate in certain regions inside the Universe Cave Heaven. That was why it was very likely to come across an area where a certain Element was extremely dense inside the Blood Monster Cave Heaven. Cultivating in these areas was not inferior to refining resources of various Orders in terms of efficiency.
In Seven Wonders Land, now known as Void Land, the seven Orchards were located at the places where the seven Powers of Yin, Yang, and the Five Elements accumulated. It was perfectly suitable for cultivators to cultivate in those areas and condense the powers into their Dao Seals. It was just that the power in the Orchards was of very low Order. Cultivating there would only allow one to condense a First-Order Power. If they did that, in the future, that person could only advance into the First-Order Open Heaven Realm. That was why it was rare for anybody to cultivate in the Orchards, even among the Workers and disciples of Seven Wonders Land.
On the other hand, the Cultivation Paradises in the Blood Monster Cave Heaven were incomparable to the Orchards of Void Land. These Cultivation Paradises could be regarded as the improved and upgraded version of the Orchards. Needless to say, what Order Cultivation Paradise one could find was completely based on one’s own luck.
Yang Kai secretly prayed that even if he couldn’t kill a Seventh-Order Blood Beast, he could find a place where Seventh-Order Metal Element Power and Yin Element Power converged. That way, he could cultivate in those places for a while and condense the powers that he needed.
Suppressing the excitement in his heart, he continued reading. A short while later, Yang Kai suddenly looked at the Proprietress with a peculiar expression, “There are people living in the Blood Monster Cave Heaven?”
The information recorded in the jade slip indicated that there were people living inside the Blood Monster Cave Heaven. He couldn’t help being surprised by the discovery.
The Proprietress said, “The Small Universe of a High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master is essentially no different from a real Universe World. If Monster Beasts can live inside, then why can’t people?”
“Then, these people are…”
“They are the people whom Blood Monster Divine Monarch kidnapped when he was still alive. The prosperity of a Universe World depends on the vitality of the creatures that are living in that particular Universe World. The more living creatures there are, the more prosperous a Universe World becomes. The same principle holds true for Small Universes. Compared to Monster Beasts, Humans have much stronger spirituality. If they settle down and continuously multiply across the generations, it will deepen the heritage of a Small Universe. In that way, the strength that a cultivator can exert will also be stronger. It isn’t just Blood Monster Divine Monarch. As far as I know, most High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters, if given a chance, will try to raise some Humans in their respective Small Universes.”
Yang Kai couldn’t help thinking of the Star Boundary. After the battle between the Great Emperors and Great Demon God, the Star Boundary had been on the verge of collapse. It had lost most of its Auspicious Spirit Essence. At the time, it was only through the continuous reproduction and development of the remaining survivors that the decline of the Star Boundary was delayed. It would now seem that the existence of living creatures was extremely important to any Universe World.
Yang Kai soon thought of another possibility and hesitantly asked, “Are there any Open Heaven Realm Masters among the people living in the Blood Monster Cave Heaven?”
“You don’t need to worry about that.” Proprietress laughed, “Blood Monster Divine Monarch placed a restriction on his Small Universe to prevent any Open Heaven Realm Master from entering. In that case, it stood to reason that he would not allow the people living inside to advance into the Open Heaven Realm either. They are only in the Half-Step Open Heaven Realm at best. It is impossible for them to advance into the Open Heaven Realm.”
He nodded lightly.
“But, try not to provoke these people if you can. They are very xenophobic. They call cultivators like you who enter the Blood Monster Cave Heaven aliens. It will be troublesome if you are discovered by them.”
“I got it.” Yang Kai responded before he continued to read the contents of the jade slip.
There was a lot of information recorded and he couldn’t help feeling thankful that the Proprietress had gathered all of it for him. Otherwise, he would have suffered badly if he had plunged into the Blood Monster Cave Heaven without knowing anything.
The jade slip also indicated that the deeper one ventured into the Blood Monster Cave Heaven, the more dangerous it became. It was rumoured that there was a Blood Monster Divine Palace in the deepest part of the Blood Monster Cave Heaven. That was where Blood Monster Divine Monarch left his inheritance. If he could find that place, he would be able to obtain the entire legacy of an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. The Blood Monster Divine Palace not only contained Blood Monster Divine Monarch’s inheritance but also the entire fortune that he amassed throughout his lifetime.
How amazing would the inheritance of an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master be? That was the reason why countless cultivators flocked to this place. Not to mention the unimaginable wealth. If nothing else, just finding some Seventh-Order materials was enough to make a person rich overnight.
It was just that the Blood Monster Cave Heaven only opened once every 200 years. Nobody had ever managed to enter the deepest part of the Blood Monster Cave Heaven throughout all these years, so nobody had ever found the Blood Monster Divine Palace either. It could even be said that nobody was certain whether the Blood Monster Divine Palace actually existed!
Yang Kai couldn’t help recalling the jade that he acquired for 10 million Open Heaven Pills. That jade was one-half of a two-piece jade apparently. It could be a key or it could be used to control a particular Grand Array. It could even turn out to be useless.
[If the Blood Monster Divine Palace really does exist, then will the jade be of any use?] He couldn’t help but daydream about all sorts of fanciful ideas.
An hour later, he finally finished reading and understanding everything that was recorded inside the jade slip. Carefully putting the jade slip away, he asked a question that had been puzzling him, “Proprietress, there are so many people heading towards the Blood Monster Cave Heaven. So, why are only several thousand people allowed to enter in the end?”
He had not found the answer to his question inside the jade slip.
The Proprietress glanced out at the starry void with a melancholic expression on her face, as though she had recalled something from the past. She answered the question softly, “It’s hard to explain right now. You’ll understand once we arrive.” Then, she ran her hand through her hair and languidly called out, “I’m tired. Old Bai, lead the way. Wake me up when we arrive.”
After saying that, she slipped into one of the rooms and vanished out of sight.
Yang Kai looked at her back thoughtfully. Just now, she seemed to have recalled something from her memories; moreover, it was probably something sad. Otherwise, her mood would not have turned gloomy so quickly.
“The Proprietress…” He glanced at Old Bai with a questioning look.
Old Bai sighed, “She probably recalled something unpleasant. The Proprietress has also been to the Blood Monster Cave Heaven in the past.”
“Huh?” Yang Kai was taken aback.
Old Bai laughed, “The Blood Monster Cave Heaven opens once every 200 years. It’s not strange for the Proprietress to have entered that place before, right? I heard that she gained a lot from the Blood Monster Cave Heaven. That’s how she managed to advance directly into the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm.”
Yang Kai immediately turned to look at Yue He. Yue He had known the Proprietress for a long time. To his knowledge, the relationship between those two went way back; therefore, she would know the Proprietress’ circumstances the best.
Yue He gently nodded and looked nostalgic, “It’s true that Big Sister and I entered the Blood Monster Cave Heaven before; otherwise, we would never have come this far with our humble backgrounds.”
The realization struck Yang Kai suddenly. The Proprietress came from Nine Nether Continent. He himself had been there before and although it was not a bad Universe World, it was also nothing special either. It was also not a Subordinate World under the control of a powerful great force.
Both the Proprietress and Yue He had come from a place like that. Without a chance encounter or a special opportunity, it was impossible for them to advance into the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm or the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm. Looking at the situation, it was highly likely that the Blood Monster Cave Heaven was where they turned their lives around!
Following the flow of his thoughts, Yang Kai couldn’t help thinking about Lan Ting Yu. Lan Ting Yu was the Proprietress’ Younger Brother. His knowledge of this person was very limited. All he knew was that his appearance was very similar to this person. Furthermore, Lan Ting Yu had also tried to advance directly into the High-Rank Open Heaven Realm. It was likely that something awful happened to him later. He ultimately failed in his attempt and lost his life for some reason.
Yang Kai once wondered where Lan Ting Yu managed to secure so many High-Rank materials. It would now seem that he had obtained many things from the Blood Monster Cave Heaven. Unfortunately, his actions went against the interests of many people. That was why he failed miserably in the end.
Lan Ting Yu was an example to learn from. It was also what Yang Kai needed to guard against the most. If there came a day when he had to experience what Lan Ting Yu once faced in the past, what should he do?
“The Blood Monster Cave Heaven might be extremely dangerous, but it should not pose a problem with your strength, Young Master. You just need to be careful. There’s another thing you need to be wary about. That is… the elite disciples of the Cave-Heavens and Paradises. Their individual strength might not compare to yours, but every one of them holds a hidden trump card,” Yue He warned.
Yang Kai nodded, “I’m well aware of that.”
It was not as if he had never interacted with the elite disciples of the Cave-Heavens and Paradises before. He had met some of them back in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, so he knew that each of them had their own Identity Tokens. These Identity Tokens contained a Divine Ability that their Masters or Elders had sealed inside for them so that they could use them as life-saving trump cards!
The lotus flew quickly, passing through many Territory Gates and travelling across many Great Territories. None of them talked again for the rest of their journey. They were all conserving their strength.
Yang Kai was meditating one day when the Proprietress sent a transmission to him. He immediately got to his feet and headed towards the room she was in. Pushing the door open, he was just about to greet her when he saw that her complexion was extremely pale; moreover, she was drenched in sweat as though she had suffered a serious injury.
Shocked, he hurriedly stepped forward and asked worriedly, “What happened?”
The Proprietress slowly shook her head, “It’s nothing.” Then, she handed a round bead to him, “Take this.”
“This is…” He lowered his head to look at the bead. Although he did not know what it was, he could keenly sense that this bead contained an extremely terrifying power in it.
“I sealed one of my Divine Abilities inside this bead. You can summon it when you are in danger. It might be able to save your life.”
Yang Kai stared at the round bead in his hand quietly for a moment before glancing back up at her. The realization struck him immediately, “Did you push yourself into such a state in order to create this bead?”
Sealing her own Divine Ability into this bead was no easy feat. Even the materials required to produce this bead were not something that could be found anywhere. Otherwise, the disciples of the Cave-Heavens and Paradises would not be limited to only one Identity Token as their trump card. Just by looking at the Proprietress’ current condition, Yang Kai could tell that sealing her Divine Ability into this bead had consumed a lot of her energy.
“You fool!” He glared at her, “I might only be in the Half-Step Open Heaven Realm right now, but it’s not as if you don’t know about my strength. More than one Low-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master has died at my hands. No matter how dangerous the Blood Monster Cave Heaven is, who can do anything to me?”
“Don’t be careless! The Blood Monster Cave Heaven is not as simple as you imagine. There is no saying whether you might run into some sort of trouble. It’ll be safer with one of my Divine Abilities protecting you. Although the power that can be summoned through this method is only half of my full strength, it should be more than enough to deal with the power of an Open Heaven Master below the Fifth Order.”
Yang Kai did not know what to say to her.
A moment later, she handed another item to him and said tiredly, “Take this with you too.”
“What is this?” He reached out a hand and took the item from her. He discovered that it was an extremely peculiar Wooden Token around the size of a palm. It looked rather old; furthermore, there were strange patterns carved into it like a totem.
“A favour!” She murmured softly.
“A favour? A favour from whom?” He was bewildered.
However, the Proprietress did not say anything else. She simply said, “In any case, just take it with you. Maybe it’ll come in handy, maybe not. It’s just in case.” After saying that, she did not give him a chance to speak again and waved him off instead, “Go out. I need to rest.”
A wave of gentle force wrapped around him and pushed him out of the door. Afterwards, the door of the room closed behind him with a bang. The Wooden Token and the round bead in his hands felt extremely heavy.
Half a month after leaving the Star City in Thousand Birds Territory, the Falling Lotus finally came to a gradual stop. Old Bai, who was in charge of navigating, let out a long breath, “We’ve finally arrived.”
“We’ve arrived?” Yang Kai raised his brow and hurriedly took out his Universe Chart to check their location.
A short while later, he was surprised. That was because this Great Territory was known as Blood Monster Territory. Unlike most other Great Territories, there were no other great forces in this Blood Monster Territory. There wasn’t even a single Universe World with any living creatures in it. It could be said that the entire Blood Monster Territory was completely devoid of life!
Yang Kai was extremely shocked.
It had to be said that it didn’t matter which Great Territory it was, as long as a Great Territory was labelled on the Universe Chart, then there was bound to be many great forces and Universe Worlds in it. All the known great forces and Universe Worlds were recorded in the Universe Chart. Even a Great Territory as isolated as the one where the Star Boundary was located was no exception. However, there was nothing recorded in the Blood Monster Territory. How could such a peculiar Great Territory exist in the world?
Seeming to notice Yang Kai’s confusion, Old Bai explained with a smile, “The Blood Monster Territory used to be no different from other Great Territories. It also used to have some great forces. Moreover, the number was not small.”
Yang Kai asked, “Then, why did it become like this?”
Old Bai replied, “Of course, it’s because of the Blood Monster Cave Heaven. Take a look outside.”
Yang Kai turned to look outside and quickly discovered a strange scene. There were countless flight-type artifacts weaving through the void as far as the eye could see. There were also some that were motionless in the void like the Falling Lotus. These flight-type artifacts clearly belonged to the great forces that had rushed to the Blood Monster Territory not too long ago. Aside from these artifacts, there were also many cultivators flying about. They were constantly looking around as though searching for something.
“What are they looking for?” Yang Kai frowned.
Yue He walked over and explained gently, “They are looking for the entrance to the Blood Monster Cave Heaven.”
Guo Miao looked curious, “Isn’t the entrance to the Blood Monster Cave Heaven fixed in a certain spot? Why do they need to search everywhere for the entrance?”
This was the same question that was puzzling Yang Kai.
Yue He chuckled softly, “It’s true that the entrance of the Blood Monster Cave Heaven used to be located at a fixed spot in the beginning. But, that was a very long time ago. Everybody would only need to gather in front of the entrance and wait for it to open in order to enter the Blood Monster Cave Heaven. It’s just that some changes gradually took place over time.”
“What changes?”
Old Bai answered from the side, “The entrance became two, then three, then four… Every time it opened, the number of entrances would increase. At this point, entrances to the Blood Monster Cave Heaven can appear anywhere in the Blood Monster Territory.”
Guo Miao covered her red lips, “Why does that happen?”
Old Bai sighed, “It is said that there are signs of the Blood Monster Cave Heaven becoming more and more unstable; after all, so many years have passed since the death of Blood Monster Divine Monarch. It’s amazing how his Small Universe managed to endure for so long without a Master. Even so, it is impossible for it to last forever. The Small Universe is merging with the Void of the Blood Monster Territory. An entrance will appear at the place where the two overlap with each other.”
Yang Kai revealed a look of realization, “So, the Blood Monster Cave Heaven will completely merge with the Blood Monster Territory one day?”
“That’s what they say. Who knows how much longer that will take though?” Old Bai shrugged, “But, these changes have made it easier for more people to enter and explore the Blood Monster Cave Heaven. If not for that, did you think the Cave-Heavens and Paradises would allow anybody else to meddle with such a wonderful place? At the beginning, the right to explore the Blood Monster Cave Heaven was exclusive only to the Cave-Heavens and Paradises. The other great forces were not allowed to participate at all.”
What Old Bai mentioned immediately resolved all the questions that had been puzzling Yang Kai.
He had felt that something was a little strange when he first heard about the Sealed World known as the Blood Monster Cave Heaven. The Blood Monster Cave Heaven was a Small Universe left behind after the death of an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master and contained the inheritance and wealth of that Master. How could anybody ignore such shocking benefits? Even the Cave-Heavens and Paradises would covet such riches.
If they coveted these riches, then why didn’t the Cave-Heavens and Paradises keep firm control over the Blood Monster Cave Heaven? Why did they allow other cultivators to enter? Why did they allow this to become a grand event that involved the entire 3,000 Worlds?
He had been unable to figure out the answer to these questions, so he eventually stopped wondering about it. It was not until this moment that he learned the truth. It was not that the Cave-Heavens and Paradises did not want to, but rather that they could not.
In the beginning, the entrances to the Blood Monster Cave Heaven were few and far between; thus, a few powerful forces could control the entrances and prevent the others from entering. Only disciples from their respective great forces would be selected to enter and explore the Blood Monster Cave Heaven. On the contrary, how could the Cave-Heavens and Paradises guard the entrances when one could appear anywhere in the Blood Monster Territory?
It was precisely because of this reason that the Second Class great forces, the Third Class great forces, the lesser-known organizations, and even the rogue cultivators acting alone had the opportunity to enter the Blood Monster Cave Heaven to take a share of the benefits.
Old Bai continued, “The entrances to the Blood Monster Cave Heaven are also becoming increasingly unstable. Sometimes, it is nothing more than a flash of light even when it appears in front of your eyes. It might vanish into thin air before you even get the chance to enter the Blood Monster Cave Heaven. Even if it did not vanish, each entrance can only allow one person to enter before it would collapse completely.”
“Each entrance can only allow one person to enter?” Yang Kai was stunned.
Old Bai gently nodded, “That’s right. You should now understand why I previously mentioned that although many cultivators flock to the Blood Monster Territory, not many can actually enter the Blood Monster Cave Heaven in the end.”
Yang Kai was enlightened.
According to Old Bai, one had to fight to enter the Blood Monster Cave Heaven. An entrance might appear in front of several cultivators, but that entrance could only support one person passing through before it vanished. The rest could only watch helplessly. In this way, only a few people could seize the opportunity to enter the Blood Monster Cave Heaven.
Old Bai snorted softly, “Every time the Blood Monster Cave Heaven opens, more than a million cultivators gather in the Blood Monster Territory. No, there might even be tens of millions of them. It’s just that most of them come here for nothing.”
Yang Kai agreed with those words. They, too, had arrived at the Blood Monster Territory; however, flight-type artifacts and cultivators were weaving about in the void everywhere as far as the eye could see. The numbers were indeed nothing to scoff at. Not to mention, these were only the ones that he could see. There were more out there that he could not see. After all, this situation was prevalent across the entire Blood Monster Territory at the moment.
After pondering in silence for a moment, he turned to look at Lang Qing Shan and the others, “When it’s almost time, you should enter the Small Sealed World.”
Many people had come with him on this trip. Leaving aside the fact that there were more than 30 people in the group who followed him from the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, he also had Guo Miao, as well as the chef and the accountant from First Inn, coming on this trip with him.
If so many people were to fight for an entrance each, not all of them would be successful. It was a different matter altogether if Yang Kai took them into the Small Sealed World and brought them into the Blood Monster Cave Heaven with him. At that time, he only needed to secure one entrance for everybody to be happy. Afterwards, he just needed to let everybody out of the Small Sealed World once he arrived.
With his attainments in the Dao of Space, it would not be difficult for Yang Kai to secure an entrance somewhere in this vast Blood Monster Territory. In particular, since there were several tens of thousands of entrances scattered around.
That was his original plan, but to his surprise, Lang Qing Shan and the others looked at each other for a while when they heard those words and did not answer immediately. As such, he asked curiously, “What’s wrong? Do you have something to say?”
The shaved-headed man laughed awkwardly and rubbed his hands together, “Sir, we would like to attempt this on our own. The last time we followed you into the Primordial Land, you protected us the entire time. In the end, we could only wait in the Small Sealed World without being able to help Sir in any way. Since we decided to follow you, we should also do our part. We cannot stay protected under your wings all the time.”
Lang Qing Shan cupped his fist, “Sir, this subordinate understood something during the days he spent in the Asura Arena. One can only grow rapidly by experiencing various hardships. A sheltered flower in the greenhouse will not live long when faced with a true storm. In the future, we would like to continue serving under you through all the ups and downs, Sir. We refuse to remain helpless and incompetent. Please allow us to act independently in the Blood Monster Cave Heaven, Sir.”
Yang Kai looked at Lang Qing Shan calmly before turning to look at the others, “Are you all of the same opinion?”
They cupped their fists and responded in unison, “Please allow it, Sir.”
He stroked his chin thoughtfully and nodded, “I’m very pleased with your ambitious spirit to keep improving yourselves. It’s a simple matter if you want to train yourself. Once we enter the Blood Monster Cave Heaven, you can act independently. But, before that, I think it’s better if I bring you in with me.”
More than 30 people would also mean having to search for more than 30 entrances. It was impossible for all of them to succeed. If they were to fight for the entrances on their own, some of them would surely fail. Moreover, it was likely that quite many of them would fail. It was such a rare opportunity; it would be a waste if they missed it before it even began.
The others had no objections to this suggestion; thus, they quickly agreed.
When their discussion was settled, the Proprietress said, “Let’s go. We need to secure a spot.”
“Secure a spot?” Yang Kai was taken aback by those words
Old Bai explained, “There are a few more days until the Blood Monster Cave Heaven opens. Since we arrived early, it stands to reason that we should occupy a favourable spot for ourselves. Take a look outside. Those with some measure of strength have claimed a large patch of the void and are preventing others from approaching them. That area is the territory that they have secured for themselves. If an entrance appears within their territory, they would have the advantage of being slightly closer to the target.”
Yang Kai immediately understood.
The Falling Lotus moved forward once more to head towards the depths of the void to find a suitable area to occupy. The people from First Inn could not be considered late, but even more people had arrived before them. They searched for a long time but could not find a suitable position. Everywhere they went, numerous great forces had already occupied territories of various shapes and sizes. In addition, Open Heaven Realm Masters constantly patrolled the edges of the territory to chase away other cultivators who accidentally stumbled too close.
Yang Kai even saw a gigantic and domineering palace towering in the void from a distance. A radius of ten thousand kilometres around that palace was completely empty. The artifacts and cultivators that came and went in a steady stream had to fly around the gigantic palace that was in the middle of their path. Needless to say, that gigantic palace belonged to either a Cave-Heaven or a Paradise. Only a First-Class great force could afford to create an artifact like that. That was a symbol of their identity and status. By placing this impressive and majestic artifact in the void, everybody had no choice but to show respect to them.
There was more than one palace similar to this gigantic palace scattered around. There were Thirty-Six Cave-Heavens and Seventy-Two Paradises in the 3,000 Worlds, which came to a total of 108 First-Class great forces. Each of these great forces would send representatives forward whenever the Blood Monster Cave Heaven opened. Furthermore, each of these great forces would dispatch many of their disciples and bring out their large-scale flight-type artifacts.
The Falling Lotus was quite extraordinary in and of itself, but it was nothing compared to those artifacts belonging to the First-Class great forces.
There were many artifacts and cultivators coming and going. Like First Inn, all of them were searching for a strategic but unclaimed position. Under most circumstances, everybody was rather restrained. There was an unspoken rule of ‘first come, first served’. If a certain spot was taken by somebody, then the others would bypass that area. Unfortunately, there were always people who liked to break the rules. They generally also believed that they were extremely powerful; therefore, fights constantly broke out all over the Blood Monster Territory. It was truly chaotic.
As the Falling Lotus travelled along, Yang Kai saw many battles occurring. Some were small quarrels with several disciples in the Emperor Realm attacking each other. There were also some battles that were fought with their respective lives on the line. Even the Open Heaven Realm Masters leading the groups were caught up in such fights. Divine Abilities and Secret Techniques bloomed everywhere. At the same time, blood and severed limbs flew in all directions.
Yang Kai also saw the broken remains of many artifacts that appeared to have been of no worse quality than the Falling Lotus. That just went to show the intensity of these battles. The fights were already so intense before the Blood Monster Cave Heaven even opened, so what kind of situation would occur when entrances began to appear? Just thinking about it caused him to shiver.
First Inn could be considered famous and influential. On this trip alone, they had the Proprietress and Yue He, two Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters; Old Bai, a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master; and Guo Zi Yan, a Third-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. There were a total of four Open Heaven Realm Masters with them. Even so, their line-up was still greatly inferior to the Cave-Heavens and Paradises. Hence, they gave the palace artifacts belonging to the First Class forces a wide berth.
Despite searching for half a day, they had yet to find a suitable spot. Just as Yang Kai was secretly beginning to worry that they might not find a suitable spot, the Proprietress suddenly stretched out a hand and pointed to the side, “Head there.”
Yang Kai glanced in that direction and saw a large-scale multi-storey ship floating in the void. Many people were standing on the deck of the ship. They were too far apart for him to see who those people were; however, judging from the size of the ship and the manpower that was dispatched, it probably belonged to a Second-Class great force.
The Proprietress was planning to snatch somebody else’s spot…
The Falling Lotus turned around and charged in that direction.
The cultivators on the ship seemed to have noticed this too. A commotion broke out among the people standing on the deck. Then, quite a few people leaped into the air. The illusory phantoms of their respective Small Universes flashed and disappeared behind their backs, indicating their powerful heritage. Their actions carried a hint of warning in them, as though trying to make the Falling Lotus back down in the face of difficulties.
The Proprietress naturally ignored those warnings.
“It’s that old bastard!” Old Bai suddenly cursed with a furious glare, seeming to recognise the identity of the people on the ship.
Simultaneously, an elderly man on the ship took the lead and displayed his full strength as he shouted loudly, “Who goes there? Ling Chun Qiu of Boundless Altar is here. Please leave and head elsewhere. This Old Master will be very grateful!”
“Grateful, your ass!” Old Bai roared furiously. Then, he turned to Lang Qing Shan and the others who were steering the Falling Lotus, “Ram them! Crush that old dog to death!”
Lang Qing Shan turned to look at Yang Kai with a questioning expression.
Yang Kai gently nodded in response. He had been wondering about the situation just now. The Proprietress was not somebody who used her strength to bully the weak. So, why did she suddenly decide to snatch somebody else’s territory? Now, it turned out that she had encountered an enemy.
The Proprietress and Boundless Altar had always held a grudge against each other. During Old Bai’s advancement into the Open Heaven Realm, Ling Chun Qiu of Boundless Altar had worked with Qin Ji and the others to interfere with the process. It had nearly cost Old Bai his life.
Now that the Blood Monster Cave Heaven was about to open, a Second Class great force like Boundless Altar would definitely participate for a share of the pie. They probably never imagined that their presence would be detected by the Proprietress.
If Ling Chun Qiu had remained hidden in the Headquarters of Boundless Altar, the Proprietress might have been helpless to lift a finger against him; however, they encountered each other in the Blood Monster Territory, so it stood to reason that she wanted to exact her revenge. At the same time, they would also be able to snatch Boundless Altar’s spot for themselves.
“Halt, or we will show you no mercy!” The Falling Lotus was giving off an aggressive air and it was obvious to Ling Chun Qiu that these visitors did not hold good intentions; thus, he immediately shouted a warning.
Who would heed his words though? The speed of the Falling Lotus did not decrease in the slightest. On the contrary, it accelerated even more after approaching a certain distance. The group of disciples standing on the deck of Boundless Altar’s ship suddenly turned pale with fright and quickly retreated. Some even went so far as to hide in the cabins.
Ling Chun Qiu was so livid that his expression turned blue then red with anger. He exchanged a glance with the other two Open Heaven Realm Masters beside him; then, they swiftly formed a set of hand seals. Several cannons suddenly protruded from the sides of the ship, brewing with a terrifying energy that caused the surrounding space to shudder. Dazzling rays of light shone out, aiming in the direction of the Falling Lotus.
“This is your final warning! If you stubbornly refuse to listen to reason, then don’t blame this Old Master for being ruthless!” Seeing that the Falling Lotus showed no signs of slowing down, he gritted his teeth and shouted, “You’ve gone too far!”
The entire ship shook with a loud boom and a blinding light burst forth brilliantly. At the same time, a mysterious beam that was as thick as a man’s torso shot out from the ship and quickly approached the Falling Lotus. The power of the beam was extremely terrifying. It seemed as though even the void could not withstand the force as pitch-black scorch marks were seared everywhere it passed.
Boundless Altar was a Second-Class great force. Needless to say, this ship artifact was also very expensive. It was originally produced as a weapon for besieging and taking down enemy fortifications, so the power of each cannon was comparable to a full-powered attack from a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master.
Everybody inside the Falling Lotus felt their vision going white, filled with the glare of the light beam. Just as it was about to strike the Falling Lotus though, a pale-yellow light barrier suddenly appeared. The beam slammed into the light barrier a moment later.
The light barrier dented inward so severely that the distortion was visible to the naked eye. The huge impact also forced the Falling Lotus’ speed to drop sharply. At the same time, the figures of Yang Kai and the others inside the Falling Lotus were thrown forward violently.
However, this only lasted for a moment. Everything returned to normal again in the next instant. The power cannon beam might be horrifying, but the Falling Lotus was also an extraordinary artifact. This artifact was something Flying Flower Boat had spent countless resources to create after all. Even Flying Flower Boat only had one such artifact.
The enormous lotus spun as it forcefully pushed forward against the weight of the cannon beam.
On the ship, Ling Chun Qiu and the others swiftly turned pale at the sight. They were clueless about the identities of the people aboard the lotus who were behaving in such a ferocious manner. It almost seemed as though the other party had a huge undying grudge against Boundless Altar.
Ling Chun Qiu gritted his teeth and formed a new set of hand seals, resulting in several more shots being fired from the ship’s cannons aimed straight at the Falling Lotus.
A blinding light completely drowned the lotus as its flower petals flew apart and seemingly disintegrated.
Many of Boundless Altar’s disciples stood on the deck of the ship, frozen in shock for a moment. After that, they began cheering excitedly while secretly thinking to themselves. [The fools in that lotus are absolutely reckless! Why didn’t they dodge in the face of such a powerful attack? Are they brain dead!?]
Similarly, Ling Chun Qiu secretly let out a breath of relief, but a moment later, one of the Open Heaven Realm Masters’ expressions changed as he roared, “Raise the shields! Hurry up and activate the Defensive Grand Array!”
Ling Chun Qiu looked up and saw that the lotus that should have been broken to pieces was still charging straight at them. The flying flower petals were spinning like indestructible blades and slicing through the void.
The cheers coming from the ship stopped abruptly and Ling Chun Qiu’s expression also changed drastically at that moment. Without hesitation, he desperately channelled his strength to activate the ship’s Defensive Grand Array. A light barrier had only just materialised when the flower petals arrived. Sparks flew in all directions and the light of the Defensive Grand Array quickly dimmed under the fierce barrage.
Due to a hasty response, the Defensive Grand Array shattered before it could reach the peak of its defensive abilities. The flower petals quickly closed in from all directions, turning the entire space within into a boundless killing Domain that covered the entire ship.
*Kacha…*
The deck of the ship was broken in half as huge gaps appeared all over the sides of the ship, sliced open by the flower petals. Shrill screams rang out incessantly as many Boundless Altar’s disciples were killed in an instant. They died with their bodies cut to pieces.
The three Open Heaven Realm Masters of Boundless Altar felt their hearts bleeding at the sight.
Which great force had not dispatched the elites among their disciples for the sake of entering the Blood Monster Cave Heaven? It could be said that all the cultivators who came to the Blood Monster Territory had been chosen through countless layers of rigorous selection. Having prevailed against all their peers, these disciples had obtained the qualifications to participate in this expedition. They represented the future hope of the entire Sect. Given enough time to grow and develop, they would have become part of the pillars supporting the great forces in the future.
However, Boundless Altar had suffered heavy casualties before the Blood Monster Cave Heaven even opened. Not only had their ship been broken to pieces, but many of their elite disciples that came along on this trip had also been killed or severely injured.
It was no wonder Ling Chun Qiu and the others were heartbroken! What depressed Ling Chun Qiu the most was that he still had no idea who was attacking them, but it didn’t take long before he discovered the identities of the perpetrators.
Three figures flashed out of the lotus. Two of them were women and the remaining one was a man. Moreover, each one of them was enveloped in an imposing aura. They consisted of two Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters and one Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master!
The rage of Boundless Altar’s three Open Heaven Realm Masters turned into ice-cold fear in an instant as a chill ran through their entire bodies. They also had three Open Heaven Realm Masters on their side, so both sides had the same numbers; however, their Orders could not compare with the enemy at all. Aside from Ling Chun Qiu, who was in the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm, the other two were only in the Fourth-Order.
What frightened Ling Chun Qiu even more was that he knew all the people who had just shown up.
“Lan You Ruo!” His voice was dry and his gaze was terrified.
The person next to him exclaimed, “What!? The one from First Inn!?”
He shouted, “Run!”
While speaking, he quickly steered the damaged ship around and fled. On the other hand, the Proprietress and the others chased after him without the slightest hesitation.
Old Bai roared furiously, “Old dog! I’ll hunt you down and rip your corpse into ten thousand pieces even if you flee to the ends of the universe!”
The feud formed from the time Ling Chun Qiu tried to end his Grand Dao could be said to be absolutely irreconcilable. How could he spare Ling Chun Qiu’s life so easily now that he encountered the latter here?
Three streams of light chased after the ship into the distance. During the pursuit, the Proprietress and the others attacked viciously. Their attacks were so fierce that the lights of Boundless Altar’s ship flickered incessantly. Everywhere they went, the passers-by around them hurriedly moved to the side to avoid them.
Inside the Falling Lotus, Yang Kai and the others looked at each other and sighed. They were of no help whatsoever in a battle of such magnitude. Even if they caught up to the Proprietress and the others, they would only get in the way. Thus, they simply stayed where they were. It so happened that the people from Boundless Altar had run away, so this huge empty spot had become a no man’s land. Judging from the current situation, this place would soon be occupied by other people if they chased after the Proprietress and the others. There would be no place for them to go again by the time they returned.
An hour later, three streams of light came from afar and landed on the lotus. It was the Proprietress and the others. Yang Kai went out to take a look at the situation. The three of them showed no signs of injury, which was not surprising considering how strong they were. No matter how hard Ling Chun Qiu and the others resisted, there was nothing they could do against the Proprietress and the others.
Contrary to expectations though, Old Bai was gnashing his teeth and looking depressed.
“What happened? Did you fail to catch up to them?” Yang Kai walked over and asked in a low voice. [That can’t be. Boundless Altar’s ship had nearly been torn to pieces. With the strength of the Proprietress and the others, how could they possibly fail to catch up to the enemy?]
“We had no problems catching up to them, but we couldn’t kill that old dog.” Old Bai clenched his fists so hard that his knuckles cracked loudly.
“Why?” Yang Kai furrowed his eyebrows.
Old Bai snarled through gritted teeth, “Somebody protected them.”
Yang Kai’s eyes flashed. Boundless Altar was a Second-Class great force. The only ones who could protect them were the Cave-Heavens and Paradises. If the Cave-Heavens and Paradises decided to intervene in this matter, then it was no wonder that the Proprietress and the others had no choice but to retreat.
“Brat, if you meet any of Boundless Altar’s disciples when you enter the Blood Monster Cave Heaven, help me kill them.” Old Bai turned to look at Yang Kai with a fierce look on his face.
Yang Kai patted Old Bai on the shoulder, “Rest assured. It’s one thing if I don’t meet any of them, but if I run into any of them, I will definitely help you vent some of your anger.”
Only then did Old Bai’s expression lighten slightly.
The enormous lotus stood quietly in the void. The Proprietress and the others stood on top of the flower petals, silently showing off their strength.
Two Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters and one Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master could be considered an extremely luxurious line-up. Nobody even dared to approach and stroke the tiger’s whiskers without the backing of a High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master. For that reason, even cultivators of the other great forces would leave after glancing over from a distance when passing by.
For a time, all was at peace.
The entrance to the Blood Monster Cave Heaven had yet to appear so far. Fortunately, the Proprietress had a wide range of connections, so after asking around, they determined that the Blood Monster Cave Heaven would open within three days. At that time, the entire Blood Monster Territory could turn into a battlefield where a fierce struggle between two evenly-matched opponents would take place.
Yang Kai had nothing to do; hence, he closed his eyes and preserved his strength. He strove to enter the Blood Monster Cave Heaven in his best condition.
Another day passed by and there was still no sign of the Blood Monster Cave Heaven opening, so the entire Blood Monster Territory continued to remain calm.
All of a sudden, Yang Kai was meditating when he suddenly heard Old Bai muttering softly, “What are they planning? Why are they coming towards us?”
He opened his eyes upon hearing those words and turned to look in the direction of Old Bai’s gaze. What he saw made him frown involuntarily. That was because a huge palace was rushing through the void in this direction. Moreover, it was showing no sign of detouring or slowing down.
“Are they here to snatch our territory?” He quickly came to understand the situation. Their current location was obtained by snatching the territory from Boundless Altar. Who could have known that karma would hit them so quickly? Only one day had passed and somebody else was already eyeing this spot.
Not to mention, the attack was coming from a First-Class great force! Such a humongous palace was not something a Second-Class great force could refine. Only the Cave-Heavens and Paradises had enough capital to produce an artifact of such scale.
Old Bai nodded solemnly, “That’s probably it.”
Yang Kai frowned deeper, “Which great force is that? Why are they targeting us?”
It did not make any sense. The Blood Monster Territory was so big, so even if there were people everywhere, each party had drawn clear boundaries around their territories. In addition, it was very easy for a First-Class great force to occupy a territory with their strength. However, the route of the palace seemed to indicate that it was coming straight in this direction. In other words, it was coming because it could recognise First Inn.
Atop the lotus flower petals, the Proprietress got up and said slowly, “It’s the Five Elements Palace of Xuan Yuan Cave Heaven!”
It was obvious that she had recognised the origins of that palace.
Yang Kai turned to look in that direction, feeling extremely surprised, “It belongs to Xuan Yuan Cave Heaven?”
The owner behind First Inn was a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master from Xuan Yuan Cave Heaven. In this way, it could also be said that the great force behind First Inn was Xuan Yuan Cave Heaven. Since First Inn belonged to Xuan Yuan Cave Heaven, then they could be considered members of the same family. Why were they coming here?
While Yang Kai was floundering in his confusion, the Proprietress took out a communication bead and poured her Divine Sense into it as though she was contacting somebody.
Yang Kai couldn’t help thinking about Senior Brother Guo. Senior Brother Guo was somebody Yang Kai once met in Thousand Birds Territory’s Star City. Based on the flow of logic, it made sense that he would also appear in the Blood Monster Territory seeing as he had appeared in the Star City back then. The Proprietress was probably trying to contact him.
A short while later, the Proprietress’ expression darkened. It was obvious that her attempt at communication had not gone smoothly.
At this moment, the enormous palace arrived in front of them and came to a steady halt.
Yang Kai looked up, feeling shocked. Just by looking from a distance, he could tell that the palace was huge. Even so, it wasn’t until it was right in front of him that he realised it truly was a giant existence.
The Falling Lotus was certainly not small and could accommodate several dozen to several hundred people without feeling the slightest bit crowded. Nevertheless, the Falling Lotus looked like a small blade of grass standing beside a huge tree when compared to the palace artifact of Xuan Yuan Cave Heaven.
The palace was at least ten times the size of the Falling Lotus. Its huge shadow loomed over the Falling Lotus, producing a kind of gloomy air. A plaque on the front of the main gate of the palace was emblazoned with the words ‘Five Elements Palace’. The characters shone brilliantly in radiant golden light. Three people stood side by side on the front steps of the Five Elements Palace. They consisted of two men and one woman. Moreover, one of them was Senior Brother Guo whom Yang Kai once met at the auction house.
At this moment, Senior Brother Guo squeezed out an embarrassed smile at the Proprietress. His smile was mixed with a slight sense of helplessness.
In addition to Senior Brother Guo, there was a dry elderly old man. He could only be described as thin and withered-looking, almost like a bamboo stick. His robes were flapping around him noisily. His expression was not angry, but he had an imposing temperament. On the other hand, the woman was extremely glamorous. She was petite and had exquisite features. She also had a pair of peach blossom eyes that overflowed with seductive charm.
Yang Kai could not determine the cultivation of these three people at all. He only knew that Senior Brother Guo was on par with the Proprietress in terms of strength. In other words, Senior Brother Guo was in the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm. Even so, it did not seem as though he was in charge of Xuan Yuan Cave Heaven’s current contingent. That was because both he and the glamorous woman were standing half a step behind the elderly man. With such obvious positioning, it could be seen that this elderly man’s status in Xuan Yuan Cave Heaven was higher than that of Senior Brother Guo and the glamorous woman.
Yang Kai was startled. [Senior Brother Guo is already in the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm. Could it be that the elderly man is in the Seventh Order!?]
However, that didn’t make sense. The Blood Monster Cave Heaven was indeed of great importance and a grand event that involved the entire 3,000 Worlds. Almost all the great forces would participate in this event. Even the Cave-Heavens and Paradises were no exception. Even so, the High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters held such noble statuses, so how could they possibly bother themselves over something like this? It had to be said that the incident involving the Golden Crow Divine Palace had only brought out several High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters because an Eight-Order material was involved.
Just as Yang Kai was feeling suspicious, the Proprietress bowed, “First Inn’s Lan You Ruo greets Elder Chu.” Then, she nodded to the glamorous woman lightly, “Junior Sister Han.”
As for Senior Brother Guo, she outright ignored him.
Junior Sister Han returned the greeting with a soft voice, “Senior Sister Lan!”
She then eyed Old Bai and Yue He with interest. In particular, she took a closer look at Yue He.
The Proprietress nodded and glanced at Elder Chu, “The Blood Monster Cave Heaven is about to open. Why did you come here, Elder Chu?”
Elder Chu had a dried-out appearance, and his voice was just as dry as his appearance. It was almost as if he had never drunk a drop of water in his life, “Are you sure you don’t know why this Old Master is here? Why ask when you already have the answer?”
She faintly said, “Please enlighten me, Elder.”
Senior Brother Guo lightly coughed into his fist and said, “It’s like this, Junior Sister Lan. I’m sure you know how far the Main Sect is from here. Although Elder Chu and the others had calculated the time of departure and should have arrived at the Blood Monster Territory half a month ago, there was some trouble on the road. Because of that, they only arrived today, which is… a bit late.”
“So?” She cast a glance at him.
He scratched his head, “We arrived too late, so we couldn’t find a suitable location anymore. The Blood Monster Cave Heaven has attracted too many people. At present, the entire Blood Monster Territory is crowded with people.”
She flicked her sleeve and snorted, “And? What has that got to do with me?”
Senior Brother Guo chuckled in embarrassment. Just as Senior Brother Guo was about to say something, Elder Chu suddenly raised his hand from where he stood to stop him from speaking. He looked at the Proprietress as he spoke, “This Old Master will not waste time with you. Let us have a frank discussion. The Main Sect is unable to find a suitable location, so this Old Master wishes for you to hand this spot over to become the Main Sect’s base.”
Yang Kai immediately lost his temper when he heard those words, “Why!?”
Although this territory was something the Proprietress and the others had stolen as well, there had been a valid reason for their actions. Be it the Proprietress or Old Bai, both of them held deep grudges against Boundless Altar, the previous owners of this spot. If not for that, the Proprietress and the others would not have abused their strength to rob the other party of their territory. They passed through many places that they could have snatched along the way, but the Proprietress and the others had not arbitrarily attacked anyone up until that point.
Be that as it may, this elderly man with the surname Chu was asking First Inn to give up its place so lightly. Was that not a clear sign that his intention was to harass them? What’s more, the elderly man with the surname Chu had maintained an arrogant attitude and an unquestionable tone throughout the conversation. It was almost as if the others owed him a million Open Heaven Pills. It was extremely annoying.
Yang Kai couldn’t help recalling what Senior Brother Guo mentioned at the exchange meeting. There also existed people who were unfavourable towards the Proprietress in Xuan Yuan Cave Heaven. It would seem that Elder Chu was one of these people.
Old Bai’s expression also fell upon hearing those words.
Meanwhile, Elder Chu glanced at Yang Kai calmly but did not bother to respond to him. In his opinion, he probably felt that there was no need for him to explain anything to a mere Emperor Realm Junior with his status. He simply glanced at the Proprietress and exerted an invisible pressure on her.
The Proprietress was obviously a little annoyed, but she managed to suppress her anger, “Although there are many people in the Blood Monster Territory at the moment, it should not be a problem for you to obtain a territory with your strength and prestige. Isn’t that right, Elder Chu? Why do you specifically target me?”
Elder Chu replied indifferently, “That’s true. It is very easy for this Old Master to occupy a territory if he wanted to. I believe no one would dare not give the Main Sect face; however, won’t the Main Sect be slandered as an entity that abuses its strength to bully the weak if this Old Master were to do that? That would definitely result in damage to the Main Sect’s reputation. That is not desirable! Not desirable at all!”
Yang Kai was furious, “Snatching somebody else’s territory is an abuse of your strength and bullying the weak, so you targeted one of your own instead!? For the sake of something like reputation, you can damage the interests of one of your own!? What kind of logic is that!?”
Both Elder Chu and Senior Brother Guo frowned and gave Yang Kai a displeased look. On the other hand, a young man who had been standing behind Elder Chu immediately leapt forward and scolded Yang Kai without a trace of politeness, “The Elders are speaking! How dare a mere Emperor Realm Junior interrupt them with your nonsense!?”
This young man had been standing behind Elder Chu without saying a word this entire time, but he had an extraordinary bearing. It was easy to tell that he was probably one of the elite disciples of Xuan Yuan Cave Heaven. Yang Kai had interrupted twice. Due to Elder Chu’s status, it was inconvenient for him to say anything. In comparison, this young man was not bound by such scruples.
Yang Kai glanced sideways at the young man and curled his lips, “With such bold talk, I was wondering which High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master it was. It turns out to be nothing more than an Emperor Realm Junior.”
The young man coldly snorted with a look of disdain, “There are vast differences between Emperor Realm cultivators. Although both you and I are Emperor Realm Masters at the moment, I am destined to stand above the clouds in the future while you are destined to wallow in the mud. I will be looking down on you from above. Let’s see if you still dare to speak to me in that manner then!”
Yang Kai sneered, “Then, you better start praying so that you never meet me in the Blood Monster Cave Heaven; otherwise, I will beat you so badly that you’ll resemble a pig’s head!”
The young man burst into laughter, “This is the first time I’ve ever met such a crazed Junior before! Let’s see whether you can even enter the Blood Monster Cave Heaven in the first place. Who knows? You might not even get the chance!”
Yang Kai nodded repeatedly, “Don’t worry. Even if you can’t enter the Blood Monster Cave Heaven, I can.”
The two Emperor Realm cultivators were arguing in front of a group of Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters. Furthermore, neither of them was willing to back down. It was quite a strange sight.
Senior Brother Guo couldn’t bear to listen any longer so he looked at the Proprietress with a grimace, “Junior Sister, please reprimand your people.”
The Proprietress replied calmly, “Senior Brother, why don’t you reprimand your people first?”
Elder Chu spoke up, “Why are you all making so much noise? Cease this nonsense!” His expression that had always remained as tranquil as an ancient well was tainted with a hint of rage. He glared at the Proprietress, “First Inn doesn’t have that many people in the first place. Why do you need to occupy such a large territory? Many people from the Main Sect came on this trip. Unfortunately, we arrived slightly later than expected. The Blood Monster Cave Heaven may open at any time, so there is no time to find another place. If you are still grateful for the kindness that the Main Sect has shown you, then you should be willing to sacrifice for the Main Sect.”
The Proprietress’ voice was cold as she retorted, “It was the old man who was kind to me. What does that have to do with Xuan Yuan Cave Heaven?”
Elder Chu snapped irritably, “The old man you are referring to is one of Xuan Yuan Cave Heaven’s Elders! Whether you admit it or not, you have received the kindness of the Main Sect!”
“That’s just your wishful thinking.” She sneered, “Besides, who said that First Inn doesn’t have many people? We naturally have our own reasons for occupying such a large territory. What will happen to the people under me if I hand this territory over to you? I suggest you should hurry and find another place while you still have time. Who knows? You might be able to find an unclaimed area. But, it will really be too late if you wait around any longer.”
His expression was as ugly as could be, “Do you insist on doing this?”
Senior Brother Guo stepped forward, “Please stop arguing. Look; I have a suggestion. First Inn won’t need to give up this territory either. Why don’t we both share this spot? This territory is quite large so when the Blood Monster Cave Heaven opens, many entrances will probably appear here. At that time, we can let the little ones compete for the entrances with their own strength. That way, they won’t have any complaints even if they failed to seize the opportunity.”
“Impossible!” The Proprietress refused flatly. This was the territory that First Inn had acquired. Yang Kai had mentioned earlier that he could bring everybody into the Blood Monster Cave Heaven with him by using the Sealed World Bead, so they only needed to fight for a single entrance. Nevertheless, she could not swallow this indignity. Why should she share with Xuan Yuan Cave Heaven? She would have nothing to say if the old man himself came forward; however, Elder Chu had always looked down on her. She had no reason to make things easy for this old man.
“Fine!” Contrary to expectations, Yang Kai nodded in agreement at the same moment that she refused.
She turned to look in that direction only to see Yang Kai winking at her furtively.
Senior Brother Guo hesitated, “Junior Sister, do the words of this boy… count? Do you need to discuss this first?”
Her expression was cold as she pondered in silence for a moment. Then, she nodded, “Since he has agreed to it… I’ll let him make the decision. But, we will agree on this in advance. If anybody dares to intervene when they are competing for the entrances, then don’t blame this Great Aunt for hitting back!”
Senior Brother Guo laughed, “Affairs between the children should be left to them. As Seniors, it’s enough if we just watch over them. What do you think, Senior Brother Chu?”
Elder Chu coldly snorted, but his expression did not change in the slightest. Although he did not agree with this method, the Blood Monster Cave Heaven could open at any time now. If he rejected this suggestion at this time, he might really fail to find even the last spot available. Thus, he immediately replied unhappily, “If you go back on your word, this Old Master will definitely report this matter to Elder Si Tu. I’ll see how you still dare to hold your head high to face him then!”
The Proprietress didn’t even bother to look at him, treating him as though he were a fart in the wind.
Hence, a strange sight appeared in the void. The gigantic Five Elements Palace and the much smaller Falling Lotus coexisted peacefully in that piece of territory that could not be considered large.
It had to be said that countless great forces from all over the 3,000 Worlds were gathered in the Blood Monster Territory at the moment. Both large and small great forces would occupy a territory that belonged solely to them. In that way, they would have the advantage of being closer if the entrance to the Blood Monster Cave Heaven were to appear in front of them.
There were no other great forces in the Blood Monster Territory in the same situation as First Inn and Xuan Yuan Cave Heaven.
“Smelly brat, what crazy idea are you cooking up now?” The Proprietress couldn’t help asking when she saw Yang Kai sneakily studying his surroundings. The one who agreed to Senior Brother Guo’s suggestion earlier had also been him. Although she could guess that he was up to no good, she had no idea what he planned to do.
Yang Kai did not answer; instead, he asked a completely different question, “Proprietress, is First Inn directly under Xuan Yuan Cave Heaven?”
She replied, “Nonsense! The old man is the Owner of First Inn. Even though the old man is one of the Elders of Xuan Yuan Cave Heaven, First Inn is considered the old man’s private asset.”
“Private asset!?” Yang Kai was dumbfounded. He might not know how much income First Inn brought in, but he was certain that they were raking in profit every single day. Not to mention that there were so many branches across numerous Great Territories. [I can’t believe such a great force is nothing more than the private assets of that old man surnamed Si Tu. I have to say; the heritage of a High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master is just so different from our own.]
“Then… Will it trouble First Inn if I were to make the people from Xuan Yuan Cave Heaven suffer a little?”
She sneered, “In that case, I’ll be looking forward to it. What do you plan to do?”
“You just need to watch the good show later.”
While speaking, Yang Kai’s gaze shifted towards the Five Elements Palace. He just so happened to meet the gaze of the young man who had been quarrelling with him before. Four eyes suddenly met but the young man’s expression was filled with contempt. He reached up and slowly slid his hand across his neck like a blade… The threat behind his actions were obvious.
Yang Kai sneered in his heart and directed a question at the Proprietress, “Who is that guy? He looks like a complete wastrel.”
She raised her head and glanced in that direction, “I forgot his name, but he is probably that old dog’s Legacy Disciple.”
“Is that so…” Yang Kai grinned, “I got it.”
Staring at the young man deeply, Yang Kai suddenly announced, “It’s still early. I’m going to take a walk.”
After saying that, he slipped out with his hands behind his back. He looked absolutely carefree, almost as if he was going sightseeing.
The Proprietress failed to stop him in time, so she could only remind him, “Don’t go off for too long and come back soon! The entrance to the Blood Monster Cave Heaven may appear at any time!”
“I know!” He didn’t even bother to turn back as he waved his hand at her dismissively.
…
Inside the Five Elements Palace, the young man watched Yang Kai and did not take his eyes off the latter at all. Yang Kai was acting like he was patrolling his own territory, looking around left and right in the vast void. There was no saying what he was doing. Hence, the young man couldn’t help snorting coldly, “Pitiful weakling!”
Senior Brother Guo was standing right next to the young man. Upon hearing those words, he laughed, “Nephew, don’t judge a person by their appearance.”
Jumping in surprise, the young man hurriedly turned around and bowed, “Martial Uncle Guo!” He frowned, “Martial Uncle, what do you mean? Is there anything worthy of respect in that brat?”
Senior Brother Guo said, “Do you know the name ‘Yu Luo Sha’?”
The young man did not understand why Senior Brother Guo suddenly brought up an irrelevant person; even so, he nodded seriously, “Of course. I went to Thousand Birds Territory’s Star City two years ago and participated in the Asura Arena on a whim. I fought Yu Luo Sha once!”
“Oh?” Senior Brother Guo raised an eyebrow at those words, “What was the result of your fight?”
“It was a draw. I fought her for six hours until I was completely exhausted in the end. But, don’t worry, Martial Uncle. This disciple has been working hard over the past two years. My strength has improved greatly compared to back then. If my estimation is correct, Yu Luo Sha will definitely enter the Blood Monster Cave Heaven. This disciple will not embarrass the Main Sect if I encounter her inside.”
Senior Brother Guo nodded, “I’m not worried about you meeting Yu Luo Sha. If you fought her on equal terms two years ago, then I’m sure you won’t be weaker than her two years later. Rather, I’m worried about you meeting that boy inside the Blood Monster Cave Heaven.”
The young man was astonished for a moment, then he immediately became annoyed, “Martial Uncle, why do you speak so highly of him and belittle me? Although my aptitude is poor, I have never failed the teachings of Honoured Master in all these years!”
Senior Brother Guo sighed, “I’m not trying to belittle you, but you wouldn’t be so carefree if you saw how the fight went between that boy and Yu Luo Sha went.”
The young man was dumbfounded, “He fought Yu Luo Sha before? What was the result of his fight?”
“One move!” Senior Brother Guo turned to look at the young man sternly, “Yu Luo Sha was completely defeated in a single move!”
“Impossible!” The young man reacted as if he was struck by lightning. His entire body stiffened in shock and his eyes were about to pop out of their sockets.
“There’s nothing impossible about it. I witnessed it personally.” Senior Brother Guo reached out a finger and pointed at the tall girl standing beside him all this while, “If you don’t believe me, you can ask Junior Sister Zhu yourself.”
The young man turned to look at the tall girl and she gently nodded in affirmation.
“One move…” The colour drained out of his face. He was as pale as a dead man, “How can Yu Luo Sha be defeated in a single move? Like me, she condensed Sixth-Order Elements. We are only one step away from advancing into the Open Heaven Realm. How can anybody below the Open Heaven Realm overwhelm her so completely?”
“It’s simple.” Senior Brother Guo glanced at Yang Kai’s back in the distance, “What you are condensing is the Sixth-Order Elements, but… that boy is condensing Seventh-Order Elements!”
“Seventh-Order Elements!?” The young man’s eyes narrowed as though he had received a great shock, “He…”
Senior Brother Guo said, “This Martial Uncle will give you a piece of advice. If you encounter him in the Blood Monster Cave Heaven, run as far as you can. I’m certain that brat is not a soft-hearted and forgiving young man. You were having a dispute with him just now, so be careful, just in case he does something to you inside the Blood Monster Cave Heaven.”
“He dares!?” The young man was livid.
Senior Brother Guo patted the young man on the shoulder, “It’s better to endure for a moment and keep the peace. He has condensed Seventh-Order Elements, so while his future might seem bright and promising, it is actually filled with misfortune and danger. The higher one stands, the harder one falls after all.”
After listening to what Senior Brother Guo said, the young man seemed to recall something. His complexion slowly returned to normal and he nodded, “This Disciple will remember your advice, Martial Uncle.”
Gazing in the direction that Yang Kai had left, the young man gripped his fists lightly and sneered in his heart. [Condensing Seventh-Order Elements… He doesn’t know his place!]
…..
Exactly half a day later, Yang Kai finally returned to the Falling Lotus. He looked up and saw that the Five Elements Palace was crowded with people. Many cultivators were standing on the deck and listening to Elder Chu’s teachings. He was amazed by the sight, “Just how many people did they bring?”
The Proprietress replied, “The Blood Monster Cave Heaven only opens once every 200 years. They might not have another chance in the future. It’s only natural for them to want a share of the pie while they still have the chance. The numbers from Xuan Yuan Cave Heaven are considered on the low side even. They only have 200 or so. Some great forces might even dispatch 4 or 5 hundred people.”
Old Bai chimed in, “It’s just that the entrances are limited. There’s no point even if many of them come. They have to successfully secure an entrance if they want to enter.” He turned to look at Yang Kai, “You should act now. It’ll be too late if you wait any longer.”
Yang Kai nodded and slipped into the Falling Lotus. He placed Lang Qing Shan and the others in the Small Sealed World, then he put the Falling Lotus away. By the time he finished doing everything, the 200 disciples from Xuan Yuan Cave Heaven had moved out and spread out into the surroundings. They were evenly distributed across the rather spacious void that was their territory. In this way, the person closest to the entrance would have the greatest advantage if an entrance appeared near them.
Glancing around carefully, Yang Kai discovered that the two hundred disciples had practically occupied the entire area within the Void. The distance between each person was rather evenly spaced. It was clear that they had no intention of leaving any space for First Inn at all. If there were more than thirty people from First Inn who were trying to enter the Blood Monster Cave Heaven, this would have turned into an awkward situation. Xuan Yuan Cave Heaven had the advantage in numbers after all. If it came down to a fight, First Inn had no advantages to speak of. It was truly fortunate that he had the Sealed World Bead.
“Proprietress, I’m going.” Yang Kai had his sights set on a certain location, so after a cursory goodbye, he immediately headed towards that spot.
“Young Master, please be careful!” Yue He called out from behind.
Guo Zi Yan cupped his fists and quickly said, “This subordinate wishes you all the best! May you return with success!”
Yang Kai waved goodbye.
A short while later, he came to a spot near one of Xuan Yuan Cave Heaven’s disciples and came to a halt. Although it was said to be near, he was still a few hundred metres away from the other party. It was just that the others had a distance of several kilometres between them, so this distance was relatively close.
The Xuan Yuan Cave Heaven disciple shouted at Yang Kai furiously when he noticed him, “Brat! Are you looking for trouble!?”
Not only had Yang Kai come alone, but out of all the places he could stop, he also just had to stop so close to this man. Therefore, it upset him greatly.
Upon hearing that, Yang Kai turned to look at the disciple and grinned. He pointed in another direction and asked, “Junior Brother, can I ask you a question? What is that guy’s name?”
The Xuan Yuan Cave Heaven disciple glanced in the direction that Yang Kai was pointing and blurted out, “That’s Yin Xin Zhao. Senior Brother Yin is Elder Chu’s Legacy Disciple. He is expected to advance into the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm in the future… Hey, what the Hell do you count for!? How dare you so shamelessly address me as ‘Junior Brother’!?”
“So his name is Yin Xin Zhao!” Yang Kai smiled lightly.
Even though there were several kilometres between them, that smile gave Yin Xin Zhao an inexplicable sense of horror. He had looked down on Yang Kai before learning what the latter was capable of. However, he knew that he was not Yang Kai’s opponent once he learned that even Yu Luo Sha had been defeated by Yang Kai in one move. It was only natural for him to feel uncomfortable when he was being watched by Yang Kai so wolfishly. [This guy can’t be trying to compete against me for an entrance, right? There is a distance of several kilometres between us after all. If the entrance appears near me, I’m bound to have the advantage. How can he win?]
“Junior Brother!” Yang Kai turned to smile at the disciple nearby, “Seeing as you answered my questions, I’ll give you a piece of advice!”
That person roared furiously, “Speak if you have something to say!”
“You should keep a distance from me; otherwise… You won’t be able to enter the Blood Monster Cave Heaven!”
That person was taken aback by those words for a moment. Then, he lost his temper completely, “Brat, don’t you dare snatch my entrance from me! I will cut off your head and use it as a urinal!”
“I’m just giving you a friendly warning!” After saying that, Yang Kai closed his eyes and spread his Divine Sense out to cover the surroundings.
That person glared at Yang Kai furiously, intending to spit out some insults; however, he saw that Yang Kai was no longer paying any attention to him. Although he was burning with rage, he simply opened his eyes wide and kept a close watch on his surroundings, lest an entrance to the Blood Monster Cave Heaven appeared all of a sudden.
Time passed slowly and a feeling of anxiety gradually filled the quiet void. Even cultivators from the same great force would feel tension when their gazes occasionally met. All of them had gone through rigorous selection of their respective Sects in order to obtain the qualifications to come here. Be that as it may, there was no guarantee that they could enter the Blood Monster Cave Heaven. This issue involved a matter of fighting over the entrances. Only those who could secure an entrance could enter the Blood Monster Cave Heaven. That was why everybody else was a rival in their eyes. How could they not be wary of the others?
Yang Kai kept his eyes tightly closed. He was completely motionless, almost as if he had fallen asleep.
In contrast, Xuan Yuan Cave Heaven disciple standing a few hundred metres away from Yang Kai was feeling incredibly anxious. Even though he kept his eyes wide open and vigorously searched his surroundings for so long, there were no signs of an entrance appearing nearby. His eyes were already starting to feel tired. Turning to glance at Yang Kai, he coldly snorted, “Hmph! Playing cheap tricks!”
He reached up to rub his tired eyes. Not a moment later, he suddenly noticed something out of the corner of his vision. He turned to look in that direction and saw a glimmer of red light appearing at a certain spot in the void. The light was not very conspicuous when it first appeared, but it quickly spread like a drop of ink in clear water.
It took only three breaths for that glimmer of light to transform into a swirling blood-red portal. The portal was not large, only able to accommodate a single person passing through it while the aura of a Universe World leaked out from beyond it.
The entrances to the Blood Monster Cave Heaven… had finally begun to appear! At that moment, all the Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master of Xuan Yuan Cave Heaven and First Inn turned to look at the blood portal at the same time.
How could that person continue to rub his eyes? He couldn’t help bursting into laughter as he cheered, “The Heavens are on my side!”
With a slight shift of his body, he immediately rushed in the direction of the blood portal. He never imagined that the first entrance would appear near him. It was a huge stroke of fortune. He had been extremely nervous while waiting earlier, afraid that no entrances would appear within his couple-kilometre range. If that was the case, then he would not be able to enter the Blood Monster Cave Heaven no matter how capable he was.
Who could have known that he would be so lucky? All his worries from before dissipated into nothing, causing him to throw his head back and laugh heartily.
[I’m going to be the first person to enter the Blood Monster Cave Heaven!] Although the Blood Monster Cave Heaven was filled with all sorts of dangers, he was already here, so who was not mentally prepared for all the possibilities? Just as there were dangers lurking everywhere inside the Blood Monster Cave Heaven, there was also an abundance of opportunities to be had. He might be able to achieve success overnight if he could obtain some benefit inside the Blood Monster Cave Heaven. It would be even more wonderful if he could advance into the Open Heaven Realm once it was all over.
He was feeling extremely excited and his expression reflected his emotional state. He hurriedly rushed towards the entrance as though he could see a bright future beckoning to him from within the Blood Monster Cave Heaven.
In the next moment, his smile froze on his face. Widening his eyes, he stared in the direction of the blood portal and exclaimed in disbelief, “How is that possible!?”
That was because a person had appeared right in front of the blood portal during that brief flight of fantasy he had! Moreover, it was a person who should have been several hundred metres behind him!
Thinking that he had seen wrong, he even turned back to look behind him. There was no sign of a person’s figure at the spot where Yang Kai had been standing earlier. Somehow, the hateful young man had vanished at some point in time and bypassed him directly to arrive in front of the blood portal.
…..
Inside the Five Elements Palace, the three Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters of Xuan Yuan Cave Heaven all had different expressions on their faces.
Senior Brother Guo was absolutely dumbfounded, “This…”
Elder Chu shouted through gritted teeth, “Space Secret Technique!”
The glamorous woman revealed a look of realisation and murmured to herself, “So that’s how it is!”
She had been puzzled when Yang Kai agreed so readily to Senior Brother Guo’s suggestion earlier; after all, the situation was very disadvantageous to First Inn. Judging by the current situation, this Junior by the name of Yang Kai was a Master of the Dao of Space and could perform Instantaneous Movement. He could shuttle back and forth across the Void in an instant without regard for the barriers of space. With such a Divine Ability, why would he worry about failing to secure an entrance?
She laughed and shook her head. [Taking petty revenge just because he suffered a bit of loss… That’s so childish. It’s just a single entrance. So what if that Xuan Yuan Cave Heaven disciple fails to secure it? We don’t expect all of them to enter the Blood Monster Cave Heaven. It’s a good result even if only 50 out of these 200 disciples managed to go in. Losing one entrance won’t cause a problem for the overall situation. It doesn’t matter how amazing this boy’s Space Secret Techniques are. In the end, he’s just one pers…]
As soon as that thought came to mind, everybody saw Yang Kai abruptly reaching his hand into the Void. Immediately after that, he fished a chubby fatty out of nowhere…
Senior Brother Guo was shocked, as were Elder Chu and the glamorous woman… Then, all three of them suddenly had a bad feeling.
…..
“The entrance to the Blood Monster Cave Heaven!” The chef immediately yelled in excitement when he appeared.
“Don’t talk nonsense. Hurry up and get inside!” Yang Kai kicked the chef in his butt and sent the chef falling into the blood portal. The swirling portal immediately collapsed upon itself and swiftly turned into a small red dot that vanished into thin air.
Just as the Proprietress and the others had mentioned before, the entrance to the Blood Monster Cave Heaven was extremely unstable. Each entrance could only accommodate a single person passing through before it collapsed, so after Yang Kai released the chef from the Sealed World Bead and tossed him straight into the Blood Monster Cave Heaven, the entrance immediately disappeared.
It wasn’t until this moment that the previous Xuan Yuan Cave Heaven disciple arrived, but he was too late. Staring blankly at the spot where the entrance used to be, he was completely dumbfounded at first. Then, his blank stare was followed by a furious roar, “You bastard!”
Yang Kai brushed past that disciple and patted him on the shoulder, “Good luck, Junior Brother. I hope another entrance will appear nearby!”
Manipulating Space Principles, his figure vanished out of sight again.
Only that disciple was left behind in the same spot, fuming with rage that had nowhere to go.
By the time Yang Kai appeared again, he was already several kilometres away. There was a small glimmer of red light in front of him, expanding quickly to become an entrance.
300 metres away, another Xuan Yuan Cave Heaven disciple had just spotted the entrance, but before that disciple could make a move, Yang Kai grabbed the accountant out of the Small Sealed World and tossed him into the entrance.
The accountant’s figure flashed and vanished. He probably did not even realise what was happening before everything was over.
Following that, Yang Kai’s figure flickered again. This time around, he appeared two kilometres away. It was almost like he had predicted the future as a small red dot was just appearing when his figure reappeared from the Void. Three breaths later, the entrance took form. Yang Kai grabbed another person from the Small Sealed World and tossed them into the portal.
In just a matter of several dozen breaths, Yang Kai had consecutively stolen three entrances. This large void was like his backyard where he could come and go as he pleased. Nobody could compete with him at all. It could even be said that Xuan Yuan Cave Heaven disciples who were checking their surroundings had failed to even discover the appearance of those entrances before Yang Kai acted.
…..
Inside the Five Elements Palace, Elder Chu’s expression was so ugly that one would cry at the sight of him. His gaze was fixed gloomily upon Yang Kai, who was several kilometres away. It was almost as though he wanted to rip Yang Kai into ten thousand pieces!
Three entrances represented three chances that should have belonged to Xuan Yuan Cave Heaven. Now that they were stolen away, the Main Sect had suffered a huge loss.
“This is difficult. The Brat is very proficient in the Dao of Space.” Senior Brother Guo fiercely scowled, “An entrance into the Blood Monster Cave Heaven appears when the Cave-Heaven and the Blood Monster Territory merge together for a moment, so there are bound to be subtle spatial fluctuations right before it becomes visible. The others might not notice anything, but these spatial fluctuations are as obvious as beacons in a sea of darkness to him. He can accurately locate each entrance before they even appear.”
The glamorous woman continued, “Furthermore, based on that boy’s actions, he probably has an artifact that can hold the living creatures; otherwise, how could he have conjured three people out of thin air?”
“An artifact that can hold living beings is extremely rare. Where did he obtain something like that?” He was puzzled.
She glanced at the Proprietress, “I’m afraid she must have given it to him.”
Elder Chu was furious, “That Junior thinks he can do whatever he wants just because he is proficient in the Dao of Space!? He is not respecting the Main Sect in the slightest! That bastard!”
“Elder, please calm down!” The glamorous woman quickly tried to comfort him, “The Dao of Space might be amazing, but there is still just one of him. He can’t create clones out of himself. It is only just the beginning. I’m sure many entrances will appear in this large void. It’s impossible for him to steal all of them. Besides… He is only in the Emperor Realm. Even if he is proficient in the Dao of Space, there must be limits to the distance he can teleport. As long as an entrance appears outside of his range, he will not be able to do anything either.”
As though to verify her words, five red points of light flickered throughout the void following the consecutive appearances of the three entrances earlier. The five red dots swiftly enlarged and turned into entrances.
Yang Kai’s figure flickered rapidly. Even so, he only managed to steal three entrances; the other two were taken by Xuan Yuan Cave Heaven disciples.
Elder Chu’s expression finally eased slightly at the sight. The Main Sect only managed to obtain two entrances, so only two disciples could enter the Blood Monster Cave Heaven. Nevertheless, it could be considered a good start.
More than a dozen kilometres away from the Five Elements Palace, the Proprietress shook her head slowly, “Smelly brat, you are the embodiment of the saying ‘revenge is a dish best served warm’.”
It was not until this moment that she understood the reason for the question he asked previously. It would seem that he had already planned to make things difficult for Xuan Yuan Cave Heaven beforehand. It was just that he was worried about causing trouble for First Inn. That was why he asked if First Inn would be placed in a difficult position if Xuan Yuan Cave Heaven was humiliated slightly.
At this rate, Xuan Yuan Cave Heaven would not just suffer a small loss, they would suffer a terrible one! Be that as it may, it was Elder Chu who came looking for trouble first. If he had chosen to station himself elsewhere, this would not have happened. Unfortunately, they assumed that First Inn was easily bullied and forced their way into this area.
With Yang Kai’s temperament, how could he let others be happy when he was unhappy? This was a typical act of hindering the success of others even though these actions served no benefit to him.
Entrances to the Blood Monster Cave Heaven appeared one after another throughout the endless void of the Blood Monster Territory, allowing the cultivators waiting nearby to succeed in entering. There were people everywhere in the Blood Monster Territory; as such, less than ten breaths would pass from the time an entrance appeared to the time somebody entered. Some entrances were taken not even a breath after they appeared.
Each entrance represented an opportunity. Whether a person could successfully seize that opportunity or not depended on one’s abilities and one’s luck. For the sake of securing an entrance for themselves, many fellow cultivators from the same great forces would even attack each other. This was also allowed. As long as one was careful when attacking and the attack was not lethal, the Elders leading the team would turn a blind eye to those actions.
The cultivators who managed to secure an entrance would vanish out of sight. On the other hand, those who failed would be extremely annoyed. They had no choice but to search for another entrance.
Inside the territory where First Inn and Xuan Yuan Cave Heaven were located, Yang Kai’s figure was flickering about without pause, pushing his Space Principles to their limits. As Senior Brother Guo had mentioned before, the entrances to the Blood Monster Cave Heaven were formed when the Blood Monster Cave Heaven merged with the Blood Monster Territory; hence, there was a subtle fluctuation right before an entrance formed. Other people might not be able to perceive anything, but the space fluctuations were extremely conspicuous to Yang Kai, who was proficient in the Dao of Space
For that reason, he was perfectly capable of taking the lead in seizing the opportunities. Even if he was all alone, he was practically unstoppable. Most of the time, the entrances had only just appeared and he was already standing in front of them. He would casually grab somebody from the Small Sealed World and throw them into the entrance, then turn around to leave. As a result, he left many Xuan Yuan Cave Heaven’s elite disciples stunned and annoyed in his wake.
However, the entrances to the Blood Monster Cave Heaven appeared at irregular intervals. Sometimes, it would take a long time before one appeared. Sometimes, several entrances would appear at the same time, so no matter how capable Yang Kai was, it was impossible for him to dominate all the entrances.
Be that as it may, he had stolen almost 70% of the entrances that had appeared so far. Although Xuan Yuan Cave Heaven had the advantage in numbers, they were only able to secure 30% of those entrances in this territory. Inside the Five Elements Palace, Elder Chu’s eyes were practically spitting fire at the sight. His murderous intent was also extremely dense and he was tempted to smack Yang Kai to death in a single move.
If not for Yang Kai’s constant interference, Xuan Yuan Cave Heaven could have secured nearly 20 of the entrances. On the contrary, only 6 disciples had entered the Blood Monster Cave Heaven so far. Every entrance represented an opportunity; therefore, this heavy loss left him feeling heartbroken.
Suppressing his rage, he shifted his gaze to look in another direction instead. His Legacy Disciple, Yin Xin Zhao, was standing in the void and looking around his surroundings with an anxious expression.
He was not very lucky. Almost an incense stick had passed by since the entrances to the Blood Monster Cave Heaven started appearing, but there were no signs of one appearing around him whatsoever. This had resulted in him being unable to obtain a chance to enter the Blood Monster Cave Heaven even though his strength was extraordinary.
Seeming to notice Elder Chu’s gaze, Yin Xin Zhao turned to look at his Honoured Master. Then, he took a deep breath and suppressed the anxiety in his heart to wait patiently.
And his patience paid off. Less than a cup of tea later, a small red dot suddenly appeared approximately 400 hundred metres away from him. He immediately noticed the changes and swiftly moved in that direction with an expression of excitement. As somebody standing at the peak of the Emperor Realm, a distance of 400 metres was nothing to him. He could cover it in the blink of an eye.
Inside the Five Elements Palace, Elder Chu let out a breath of relief at the sight. It didn’t matter if the other disciples failed to enter the Blood Monster Cave Heaven, but it would be an extremely devastating loss if his Legacy Disciple failed to enter the Blood Monster Cave Heaven. After all, he had very high expectations for this boy.
At that moment, Yang Kai suddenly came to mind. Elder Chu glanced vigilantly at a certain spot in the distance and discovered that Yang Kai was a few thousand kilometres away due to the constant struggle just now; thus, he immediately felt relieved.
With such a huge distance between them, it was impossible for Yang Kai to return in an instant. It was not possible even if he was a Master of the Dao of Space.
As soon as that thought crossed Elder Chu’s mind though, his face twitched. That was because Yang Kai, who was several thousand kilometres away, had abruptly vanished from his field of vision. Immediately following that, Yang Kai appeared not far from Yin Xin Zhao.
Elder Chu was absolutely startled and could barely believe his eyes. [How can this be!? He is only in the Emperor Realm! Even if he is proficient in the Dao of Space, how can he cover a distance of several thousand kilometres in an instant!?
What enraged Elder Chu even more was the fact that another entrance had appeared near the place where Yang Kai was originally located; however, the brat had ignored that entrance and chose to appear in the vicinity of Yin Xin Zhao instead. His actions clearly indicated that he was deliberately aiming at Yin Xin Zhao. Elder Chu couldn’t help feeling anxious; thus, he paid close attention to the situation at hand without looking away in the slightest.
On the other side, the Proprietress and the others had been keeping a close watch on Yang Kai; therefore, they immediately noticed his strange actions. Old Bai let out a frivolous whistle and snickered, his expression seemed to say that he was ready to watch a good show.
Meanwhile, the Proprietress looked pensive. Like Elder Chu, she was puzzled, “How did he achieve Instantaneous Movement over such a large distance? It should have exceeded his limits.”
She had once chased Yang Kai through the void, so she had an idea where his limits were.
Yue He replied gently, “It’s thanks to the Space Beacons, a special artifact that the Young Master refined himself. One is used for positioning while the other is carried around on hand. As long as the distance between these two Space Beacons is not too outrageous, they can be used as anchor points to connect two places across the Void.”
The Proprietress was enlightened, “So, you’re saying that brat left a Space Beacon in the vicinity beforehand?”
Then, she suddenly recalled how Yang Kai had wandered aimlessly throughout the territory with his hands behind his back before the entrances to the Blood Monster Cave Heaven began opening. Judging by the current situation, he was actually making preparations in advance even though he looked like he had only been taking a leisurely stroll. Furthermore, he must have scattered more than one Space Beacon.
“Crafty little bastard,” She spat softly. It would seem that he had already been conspiring to do this when he agreed to Xuan Yuan Cave Heaven’s unreasonable request back then.
Yin Xin Zhao was Elder Chu’s Legacy Disciple. Moreover, he quarrelled with Yang Kai earlier. It would have been strange if Yang Kai did not harass him.
Predictably, Yang Kai had immediately rushed back as soon as he detected an entrance appearing in this area. He even went so far as to ignore other entrances that appeared closer to him.
At this moment, Yin Xin Zhao looked like he had seen a ghost. He turned his head to the side to look at Yang Kai, who was racing forward side by side with him, with a horrified expression on his face.
On the other hand, Yang Kai winked at Yin Xin Zhao; then, his figure flashed and he vanished out of sight.
Yin Xin Zhao raised his head to look forward.
Sure enough, Yang Kai’s figure reappeared in front of the nearby entrance. However, he did not send anybody through the entrance immediately. He simply stood there with a teasing expression and gazed at Yin Xin Zhao. The blood portal swirled endlessly a dozen metres behind him, connecting to the Universe World like a huge mouth that was gaping open in silent mockery.
Yin Xin Zhao was furious. His Emperor Qi surged and he bellowed, “Scram!”
His speed abruptly increased, almost as if he intended to rush into the entrance while Yang Kai was unprepared.
Yang Kai did not bother to dodge aside. He simply stretched out his arm in front of him in slow motion. Space Principles surged and with a strike of his palm, he shouted, “Near… Distant Horizon!”
This palm strike held no destructive force. Yin Xin Zhao was initially on guard against the attack, but contrary to his expectations, no attack came. He was feeling bewildered when he suddenly discovered that he could not approach Yang Kai at all no matter how fast he flew forward. That hateful face continued to smile at him from a few hundred metres away. Meanwhile, the void beneath his feet seemed to extend infinitely despite his constant forward movement! It filled him with an inexplicable sense of terror!
Although he had heard from Senior Brother Guo about how Yu Luo Sha had been defeated by this man in a single move, he had subconsciously refused to believe it; after all, he was familiar with Yu Luo Sha’s abilities. More importantly, he had his pride as an elite disciple of Xuan Yuan Cave Heaven and the Legacy Disciple of Elder Chu. He did not consider himself inferior to anybody. He even had the impulsive thought of fighting Yang Kai in the Blood Monster Cave Heaven to determine who was better between them.
Unfortunately, it would now seem that this person’s methods were both profound and mysterious. It was certainly extremely unusual! Just the Divine Ability ‘Near Distant Horizon’ alone was something he had never heard of before.
Be that as it may, he was still a Core Disciple of Xuan Yuan Cave Heaven with amazing talent and disposition. As soon as he noticed that something was wrong, he immediately reacted with a loud roar. A violent force erupted from his body and his fists transformed into a rain of shadows that struck out in all directions.
Yang Kai simply watched him quietly, showing no intention of stopping him whatsoever.
Three breaths later, cracks began to appear around him, as if space itself was collapsing. Overjoyed, Yin Xin Zhao increased the intensity of his attacks!
*Kacha…*
The sounds of something shattering rang out and Yin Xin Zhao could clearly feel as though he had escaped from an invisible cage. His entire body felt lighter all of a sudden. The other party’s Divine Ability had been broken!
The moment the understanding struck him, Yin Xin Zhao moved to rush forward without hesitation; however, what entered his field of vision nearly made his eyes pop out of their sockets from rage. He watched as Yang Kai leisurely summoned a person out of thin air before pushing them into the entrance! The blood portal immediately shrank and turned into a red dot that dissipated into nothing.
His complexion was ashen due to his rage and the veins in his temples were throbbing madly. Glaring furiously at Yang Kai, he shouted through gritted teeth, “You bastard! How dare you humiliate me!?”
Yang Kai had come running here from several thousand kilometres away. It was bad enough that he was deliberately targeting him to steal this entrance, but he even went so far as to taunt and trap him until Yin Xin Zhao had broken free of the shackles to use the entrance. It was obviously a deliberate act to humiliate Yin Xin Zhao.
…..
Inside the Five Elements Palace, Elder Chu was so angry that he almost spat blood. His clothes flapped around him wildly as he roared solemnly, “This Junior does not know the immensity of Heaven and Earth! What impudence!”
Following that, he took a step forward and an endless wave of pressure came crashing down in that direction.
A figure flashed at that moment and the Proprietress stepped in between Yang Kai and him. With a flick of her hand, she lightly stopped the pressure that Elder Chu was exerting and raised her head to look at him, questioning in a cold voice, “What is the meaning of this, Elder Chu? You are a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master and the Elder of a famous Sect. Are you planning to attack a child? Who was it who said that adults should only watch over the affairs between children?”
When she spoke the last sentence, she glared at Senior Brother Guo with a vicious look.
Senior Brother Guo was a little embarrassed. Those were certainly his words; nevertheless, he never imagined that Yang Kai would behave so excessively immediately after. Yang Kai had continuously stolen entrances from Xuan Yuan Cave Heaven, practically pushing them to the verge of despair.
The rage brewing in Elder Chu’s chest was about to erupt like a volcano. His World Force fluctuated erratically, seemingly as though he might attack at any time.
Both Senior Brother Guo and Junior Sister Han were taken aback, with the latter hurriedly speaking, “Elder Chu, please calm down. Senior Sister Lan is a subordinate under Elder Si Tu. She is also considered part of Xuan Yuan Cave Heaven. We will only make a laughing stock of ourselves if a fight breaks out between us.”
There was something else that Junior Sister Han did not dare to say. The three Open Heaven Realm Master of First Inn were no inferior to Xuan Yuan Cave Heaven in terms of both cultivation and Order. If it really came down to a fight, nobody would hold an advantage over the other. It would only result in a situation where both parties suffered losses.
It was obvious that Elder Chu also knew this. Suppressing the rage in his heart, he shouted through gritted teeth, “Lan You Ruo, you better watch over your people carefully! If he dares to do something like that again, don’t blame this Old Master for being merciless!”
The Proprietress did not show any weaknesses though, “Go ahead and try. You’ll see whether or not this Queen breaks those old bones of yours. Old people should find a place to live out their old age. Why did you come running here?”
Elder Chu nearly exploded with rage. Stretching out a hand to point at her, he spoke in a voice trembling with anger, “This Old Master will definitely report this matter to the Sect. Just you wait! You’ll be punished for this!”
She snorted and threw Elder Chu to the back of her mind. When she saw that Yang Kai and Yin Xin Zhao were still glaring at each other in a stalemate, she couldn’t help sending a transmission, “It’s almost time. You should also head inside. All the entrances have almost finished opening. Unexpected changes might occur if you wait any longer.”
“Got it.” Yang Kai replied. Then, he smiled at Yin Xin Zhao and cupped his fist, “Good luck, Brother Yin!”
After saying that, he left with a flash.
[Fuck your good luck!] Yin Xin Zhao was about to explode with anger. He had waited for so long just for this wonderful opportunity. In the beginning, he believed that entering the Blood Monster Cave Heaven was a certainty. Who could have known that Yang Kai would interfere in his affairs so rudely!?
After such a long time, Yin Xin Zhao had discovered a pattern. The entrances to the Blood Monster Cave Heaven might appear without a fixed frequency, but they typically did not appear in the same location twice. In other words, there was not much hope for another entrance to appear in this location that he guarded so zealously. He had to search in another location. However, there were Xuan Yuan Cave Heaven disciples everywhere around him. Where could he go? For a time, his expression was extremely ugly.
On the other side, Yang Kai arrived at another newly-appeared entrance and slipped inside. After stepping into the entrance, he felt a blood light wrapping around him. Then, he was pulled, pushed, and squashed by an invisible force that pressed down on him. The scenery in front of him turned bizarre. A faint sense of dizziness came from the depths of his mind and golden stars filled his vision.
These were typical symptoms of teleportation, so he was all too familiar with this feeling. Moreover, he could tell from the severity of these symptoms that he was not being teleported too far. That was rather understandable. The Blood Monster Cave Heaven was hidden within Blood Monster Territory, not to mention that the entrances were formed when both sides merged together. Sooner or later, there would even come a day when the Blood Monster Cave Heaven and the Blood Monster Territory would completely merge together. That was why the distance between them was not that large.
It only took several breaths before the bizarre scenery suddenly disappeared. Yang Kai’s vision blurred for a moment and he discovered that he was in another world. He was in the Blood Monster Cave Heaven!
Before he could take a closer look at the surrounding scenery of the Blood Monster Cave Heaven though, he suddenly felt his body sinking downward. It felt like there was a huge mountain pressing down on his shoulders, causing his body to fall into a sharp descent. Only then did he realise that he was standing in mid-air. He hastily tried to correct his posture to stabilize his body, but to his horror and surprise, he found that there was an invisible restriction of some sort in the Blood Monster Cave Heaven, preventing him from flying!
This was the Small Universe left behind by an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master after all. The restrictions placed within the world were not something an Emperor Realm cultivator like him could ignore. This place had gone through the baptism of endless years and many of the restrictions had fallen into disrepair. Even so, restraining the abilities of Emperor Realm cultivators was not an issue.
Yang Kai was flustered for a short moment. Lowering his head, he saw that he was no more than a few dozen kilometres above ground. It was just that he was falling out of the sky at a high speed. Be that as it may, he did not panic. He had a Half-Dragon Body, so although it might hurt to fall from such a height, it would not endanger his life.
The key point was that he had not appeared at a very favourable location. There was a group of hyena-like Monster Beasts in the plain directly below him. These Monster Beasts numbered over a hundred and they had a ferocious aura about them. Seeming to detect the scent of a Human, one of the hyenas looked up and let out several short but fierce yelps. Consequently, more than a hundred hyenas soon raised their heads and swarmed around the area where Yang Kai was going to land. They bared their fangs and howled endlessly, seeming extremely hostile.
It was Yang Kai’s first time in the Blood Monster Cave Heaven, so he was clueless about the strength of these Monster Beasts. The idea of using them to practice his skills immediately popped into his head.
His figure fell rapidly, like a meteorite falling out of the sky. When he was about three kilometres away from the ground, he stretched out a finger and flicked repeatedly. Pitch-black Moon Blades slashed out, tearing space apart.
Slashing sounds echoed, accompanied by blood splattering everywhere. The bodies of the Monster Beasts that were gathered around in one spot were torn apart by the Moon Blades. They collapsed in a pool of blood. With one attack, more than half out of the hundred or so hyena-like Monster Beasts were either killed or severely injured.
Yang Kai crashed down a moment later, blasting a crater in the ground with a loud boom. The ground cracked and split apart around him. In addition, dust flew up in a cloud in all directions! The short but fierce barks of those hyenas sounded mournfully all around him. By the time he stood up and cast a Secret Technique to get rid of all the smoke and dust, there was only a pile of Monster Beast carcasses left lying on the ground. The rest of the Monster Beasts had turned tail and fled!
“Trash!” Yang Kai spat disdainfully. He had thought that these Monster Beasts were powerful when he saw how fierce and hostile they were. Who could have known that they would be so weak? Even an ordinary Emperor Realm cultivator could have dealt with them easily.
He casually gave a wave of his hand to retrieve one of the hyena’s carcasses and took out its Monster Core. A brief investigation revealed that this Monster Core was equivalent to a First-Order material. In other words, this was nothing more than a First-Order Monster Core!
Yang Kai checked a few more carcasses, but none of them was an exception. It would seem that these hyenas were the weakest First-Order Monster Beasts in the Blood Monster Cave Heaven. There was no value in hunting them.
Nonetheless, the situation here was consistent with the information from the Proprietress. The Monster Beasts in the Blood Monster Cave Heaven were cultivated and modified by Blood Monster Divine Monarch when he was still alive. The Attributes of every single Monster Core were singular and very pure. This was a very rare phenomenon.
The Monster Core of a Monster Beast was similar to a cultivator’s Dao Seal. It was a collection of a Monster Beast’s Spiritual Essence, so the energy within was generally more convoluted. Although there were Monster Cores with only a single, pure Element in the outside world as well, they were extremely rare.
Not only was that the case for Monster Beasts, but the same also held true for Divine Spirits. It was just that more Divine Spirits had Sources with a singular Attribute compared to these Monster Beasts. For example, Jin Wu’s Source was of the Metal Element. Yang Kai used to covet it greatly. Other examples included Bi Fang who had a Source of the Fire Element and Kun Sha who had a Source of the Water Element! There were all sorts of varieties out there.
On the other hand, Yang Kai had just randomly killed a bunch of Monster Beasts in the Blood Monster Cave Heaven. Even so, the Element of each Monster Core he obtained was singular and extremely pure. Although the Monster Cores in his hand were only in the First Order and were very low in value, they included the Metal, Water, Earth, and Fire Elements. There were more that he did not gather, but he should be able to obtain all seven types of the Yin, Yang, and the Five Elements from them.
Blood Monster Divine Monarch was definitely an expert in the Dao of cultivating and modifying Monster Beasts! Thus, Yang Kai could not help wondering what he had been aiming for. Cultivating such Monster Beasts would have required an enormous amount of effort and cost and incredible fortune. There must have been a reason for his actions.
A sudden idea occurred to Yang Kai and he couldn’t help thinking of a possibility.
Blood Monster Divine Monarch was in the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm. The next step would be to advance into the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm! If he wanted to advance further, resources like the Open Heaven Pills might not be useful to him. In that case, he would need to refine all sorts of cultivation resources. It was just that his Order was so high that refining ordinary resources was just a waste of time. The only method that could work was if he refined Eighth-Order materials.
However, Seventh-Order materials were already extremely scarce. Eighth-Order materials, which were one Order higher, were probably even harder to find. Even if he himself was in the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm, Blood Monster Divine Monarch would not be able to find such treasures just anywhere.
Since he could not find them, then he had no choice but to think of a way to create them himself! If he could produce an Eighth-Order Monster Beast, he could then slay that Monster Beast for its Monster Core! In that way, it might be possible to further improve his cultivation.
The jade slip from the Proprietress had recorded the existence of Seventh-Order Monster Beasts in the Blood Monster Cave Heaven. It was not a mere rumour but rather that cultivators had actually encountered Seventh-Order Monster Beasts in the Blood Monster Cave Heaven over the years.
Be that as it may, the jade slip did not contain any information on Eighth-Order Monster Beasts. Judging from the situation, it was either that Blood Monster Divine Monarch’s breeding efforts had failed and no Eighth-Order Monster Beast had ever been born, or all the Eighth-Order Monster Beasts had already been slaughtered by Blood Monster Divine Monarch!
Yang Kai shook his head. He did not know if his guesses were correct. It was just an idea that came to mind all of a sudden. Unfortunately, only Blood Monster Divine Monarch himself would know the actual reason why he began to cultivate and modify these Monster Beasts. This Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master had passed away so many millennia ago that the truth of ancient times had long been buried, becoming an unsolvable mystery.
In any case, countless cultivators had benefited from Blood Monster Divine Monarch’s legacy. As long as one was strong enough, one could easily obtain suitable cultivation resources in this place. Leaving aside the Monster Cores of different Orders and varying Elements hidden within the bodies of the Monster Beasts, just the Cultivation Paradises scattered all over the Blood Monster Cave Heaven was enough to make people go crazy.
Every 200 years, countless cultivators would flock here just to obtain the cultivation resources that they wanted in order to receive the qualifications to advance into the Open Heaven Realm. Naturally, great benefits would also come with great dangers. Only the elite disciples of each Sect would be able to enter the Blood Monster Cave Heaven. Nevertheless, how many of them actually left this place alive? Just as how great waves washed away the sand, only the best among the best would survive such trials.
Yang Kai casually put away the First-Order Monster Cores in his hand and ignored the rest. First-Order materials were only worth some 150 Open Heaven Pills. With his wealth, he had no interest in such baubles. He then waved his hand and eight figures came out of the Small Sealed World to appear in front of him.
With Lang Qing Shan in the lead, these people cupped their fists in greeting, “Sir!”
Yang Kai nodded gently, his gaze sweeping over each one of them. More than 30 people had been hidden in the Small Sealed World earlier; however, he had thrown most of those people into the Blood Monster Cave Heaven when he was stealing entrances from the Xuan Yuan Cave Heaven disciples. He did not know where they had been scattered at this point.
Since they had the resolution to train by themselves though, then their survival was up to their own respective fates. There was no point worrying about them. It was just as Lang Qing Shan and the others had mentioned previously, they could not keep relying on him and hiding under the shelter of his wings. When walking the path of a cultivator, one would only grow and become stronger by experiencing real hardships.
“This is the Blood Monster Cave Heaven.” Yang Kai got straight to the point, “Are you coming with me or going your own way?”
Lang Qing Shan and the others exchanged glances with each other before they responded in unison, “We would like to try exploring this Sealed World on our own. Please forgive our selfishness, Sir.”
This was the same resolve they had expressed previously. Otherwise, Yang Kai would not have thrown them, one after another, into the entrances of Blood Monster Cave Heaven earlier. Since they had made up their minds, then they would not change them easily.
He nodded, “In that case, please be careful.”
Everybody responded enthusiastically and rolled up their sleeves as though planning to demonstrate their skills in the Blood Monster Cave Heaven.
After that, he turned to look at Guo Miao, “What about you?”
Guo Miao glanced at Lang Qing Shan and quietly blushed before she said softly, “This Disciple would like to follow Big Brother Qing Shan.”
Yang Kai was taken aback by her words. He looked at Guo Miao, then looked at Lang Qing Shan. Quickly grasping the situation, he nodded, “Qing Shan.”
“Sir!” Lang Qing Shan stepped forward.
Yang Kai looked at Lang Qing Shan with a smile, “Guo Miao wishes to join you. What do you think?”
Lang Qing Shan was embarrassed. Sneaking a glance at Guo Miao, he cupped his fist and quickly said, “This subordinate will definitely keep Junior Sister Guo safe. Please rest assured, Sir.”
Yang Kai patted Lang Qing Shan on the shoulder, “I’m not worried, but you better not let anything happen to her; otherwise, you will have a hard time providing Commander Guo with an explanation when you exit the Blood Monster Cave Heaven.”
Lang Qing Shan nodded solemnly.
Yang Kai looked around again before saying loudly, “You are all ambitious men. This King is very pleased, so I will not stop you. This King wishes you all the best. I hope that any misfortune you encounter will turn into opportunity and good luck!”
Afterwards, he took out the jade slip that the Proprietress handed to him previously. Using his Divine Sense to make copies of this jade slip, he handed each person one. Only then did he wave his hands to tell them to leave.
A short while later, Yang Kai was the only person remaining in this place. He was holding the jade slip in his hand and trying to compare his location with the incomplete map recorded inside to determine his position. Unfortunately, he had only just entered the Blood Monster Cave Heaven. The information that he received was too little, so he could not determine where he was even after checking the map for some time.
With no other choice, he could only put the jade slip away and prepare to explore a little more. He could make a decision again once he had more information to compare.
Randomly choosing a direction, Yang Kai travelled onward. Along the way, he did some experiments and discovered that he could only float at a height of several dozen metres in this damned place. If he tried to go any higher, he would lose his ability to fly. There was probably a Flight Inhibiting Array covering the Blood Monster Cave Heaven. His discovery was in line with the feeling he got when he first arrived in this place.
The Blood Monster Cave Heaven was certainly worthy of being the Small Universe left behind after the death of an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. It was truly not much different from a real Universe World. In this place, the World Principles were essentially perfect, the World Force was lively and vigorous, and World Energy was abundant everywhere. It was a huge Cultivation Paradise.
According to Old Bai, at least some tens of thousands of people could enter the Blood Monster Cave Heaven every time it opened. This was not a small number. During his travels, he would occasionally encounter some people, most of them alone, like him. Thus, they tended to be wary of their surroundings and chose to give a wide berth to strangers whenever they sensed an unfamiliar aura so that they could avoid conflict.
The entrances of the Blood Monster Cave Heaven were widely scattered all over the Blood Monster Territory. As a result, the people who entered this place were not gathered in any one place either. Rather, they were scattered across every corner of the Blood Monster Cave Heaven.
It had to be said that the Blood Monster Cave Heaven was a paradise for Monster Beasts. There were countless Monster Beasts of various shapes and sizes roaming this place.
Yang Kai travelled forward for half a day but did not encounter many cultivators; he did, however, run into many Monster Beasts. Along the way, he came across many traces of fighting, as well as the corpses of various Monster Beasts. All their Monster Cores had been retrieved; there were no exceptions. Although he did not see any corpses belonging to cultivators, that was not to say that no cultivators had died. On the contrary, even if any cultivators were killed in battle, their corpses would have been devoured by the Monster Beasts.
Yang Kai’s true strength had already surpassed the limits of an Emperor Realm cultivator; after all, he had even killed several Low-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters in the past. Most ordinary Monster Beasts were not his opponents at all and he could instantly kill any Monster Beasts in the Fourth Order and below. He had yet to meet any Fifth-Order Monster Beasts, so he did not know the strength of one yet.
Aside from that, this place was also abundant with various Spirit Flowers and exotic plants. There was no saying whether they formed in the Blood Monster Cave Heaven by natural means or whether they were cultivated by the late Blood Monster Divine Monarch. Be that as it may, Yang Kai only selectively harvested some and did not waste his time with those of little value and rarity.
After surveying his surroundings for half a day, Yang Kai had gotten some understanding of his current location. Comparing his location with the map recorded inside the jade slip, he adjusted his direction slightly and headed towards the depths of the Blood Monster Cave Heaven. If he was heading in the right direction, then there should be a swamp up ahead.
An hour later, a huge swamp appeared in front of him. There was no end in sight to the swamp, which only made him more confident that he was heading in the right direction.
Floating ten metres above the ground, Yang Kai’s figure flew across the swamp. All of a sudden, he halted in mid-air and looked forward with a frown. There was an unusual fluctuation in the Void coming from a spot less than three metres from where he stood. He would not have noticed anything if he were not proficient in the Dao of Space.
[A Void Crack!] His brow rose, surprised to find a Void Crack in this swamp. Under careful probing, he discovered that the Void Crack was quite long, at least several dozen metres in length, stretching out invisibly and horizontally.
Void Cracks were extremely dangerous, to the point that even though he was proficient in the Dao of Space, Yang Kai was reluctant to touch something like that. Once touched, he would either be slashed in half by this invisible Void Crack, or dragged into the Void Crack with no means of determining his direction.
He was secretly shocked. This Void Crack was so well hidden that he had nearly run straight into it without realising it. It would seem that the Blood Monster Cave Heaven was indeed becoming rather unstable; otherwise, it was impossible for something like a Void Crack to appear in the middle of nowhere. The appearance of the Void Crack undoubtedly meant that the Blood Monster Cave Heaven would not last for much longer.
After perceiving his surroundings, Yang Kai couldn’t help feeling speechless. There was more than one Void Crack above the swamp. In fact, there were numerous Void Cracks messily scattered across the sky.
This place was highly dangerous. If somebody were to accidentally pass through this place, they would lose their lives nine times out of ten. Yang Kai’s gaze suddenly landed on a certain spot in the swamp. That spot had faint traces of bloodstains and he couldn’t help sighing. It looked like somebody had already met their demise here.
Not everybody was able to sense the dangers lurking in this place after all. The only reason Yang Kai managed to detect these dangers was by relying on his mastery of Space Principles.
Just as he was preparing to bypass this area, Yang Kai abruptly turned his head to the right and shouted, “Who is it sneaking around over there!? Show yourself!”
While speaking, he reached out a hand towards the depths of the swamp to grab at something.
At the same time that he made his move, a beam of light shot out from under the water. That beam of light was aimed directly at his face and was extremely hostile.
Yang Kai leaned to the side and dodged the attack, but immediately following that beam of light, a figure charged out of the swamp. Water splashed and rippled everywhere. A sword stabbed forward, shooting out thousands of sword waves that swarmed over him.
“Despicable!” Yang Kai roared furiously. His figure dropped sharply, instantly figuring out the intentions of the sneak attacker.
The other party was probably aware of the existence of the Void Cracks; therefore, they laid an ambush in this place to see if they could gain riches from the dead. After all, the wonderful chance to pick up the assets left behind by the dead without lifting a finger was not something one could easily encounter. It just so happened that the invisible and intangible Void Cracks that practically covered the entire sky above the swamp had created a chance like that for this person.
Who could have predicted that Yang Kai would be so alert though? He not only discovered the existence of the Void Cracks in advance but also noticed that person’s ambush. Thus, that person had no choice but to strike out openly.
While falling downward, Yang Kai flicked his fingers repeatedly. Numerous Moon Blades slashed towards the sneak attacker.
That person reacted quickly. Sensing that the Moon Blades were shockingly destructive, he hastily released numerous sword waves. The Moon Blades and the sword waves collided with each other and vanished without a trace in mid-air. The attacker frowned at the sight; then, he turned his body and fluttered to the ground several tens of metres away. Tilting his head to look at Yang Kai, he grinned, “Wait, Senior Brother! Don’t attack! This is a misunderstanding!”
It wasn’t until this moment that Yang Kai finally caught a clear glimpse of the sneak attacker’s appearance.
The young man appeared to be in his early twenties and looked quite capable. Although there was a smile on his face, his eyes were filled with deep wariness. He probably never expected Yang Kai to be such a difficult opponent. Besides, he was not weak in his own right. He also had the advantage of launching a sneak attack. His attempt would have succeeded if Yang Kai’s cultivation had been slightly weaker. If his attempt had succeeded, it would not have been a ‘misunderstanding’ anymore. It was precisely because he noticed Yang Kai’s strength that he said those words.
Yang Kai coldly snorted, “Seeing as it’s a misunderstanding, why don’t you invite your companion out to join us?”
While saying so, he suddenly punched at something behind him. That punch ignored the very barriers of space. When the force of the punch burst forth, a muffled grunt rang out.
Another figure appeared out of nowhere, no more than several tens of metres behind Yang Kai. At this moment, that person was pale-faced and retreating backwards. Blood was trickling out of his mouth and he was horrified to see that he had coughed up blood after just one of Yang Kai’s punches.
Startled, the young man smiled bitterly, “I admit defeat! You are amazing indeed, Senior Brother. My Brother and I have made a mistake. Please forgive us, Senior Brother.”
He immediately backed down upon realising Yang Kai’s strength. It could be said that he was rather flexible and adaptable.
Yang Kai looked at the young man calmly, “What is there to hide at this point? Ask your third companion to come out.”
The young man frowned, “There’s only my Brother and me here. We just wanted to take advantage of the situation to get some free benefits. What do you mean by a third person?”
All of a sudden, a stream of bubbles emerged behind the young man. Immediately after that, a whip-like object shot out from the swamp. Before the young man could react, it pierced right through his body.
He stiffened as if struck by lightning, his eyes widened in shock. Only now did he understand what Yang Kai meant by ‘a third person’. He and his Fellow Brother had been lying in ambush in this place, but something had been watching them all this while as well. The absurd part was that both of them had been completely unaware of this fact. If Yang Kai had not pointed out the truth, they would have remained in the dark even now. Unfortunately, it was too late by the time he realized…
The length of the whip was astonishing. Moreover, it did not lose its momentum even after piercing through the young man’s body and came straight at Yang Kai.
Yang Kai slammed his palm out and caught the end of the whip. However, what he caught in his hand was so slippery that he could not get a good grip on it. The whip rolled up and wrapped around his body several times. Then, a powerful pulling force was transmitted through the whip. Yang Kai abruptly lost his balance and as a result, the owner of the whip dragged him into the swamp, along with the young man who was pierced through the chest. Both of them instantly vanished from sight.
Only the cultivator who spat out blood after being punched by Yang Kai remained in the skies above the swamp, staring ahead blankly. The changes that took place in front of him were so sudden that he could not understand what was going on. He didn’t even manage to see what it was that had attacked from under the water. By the time he realised what was going on, his companion and the other man were gone. Only bubbles remained, emerging from underwater to burst at the surface of the swamp. It was absolutely terrifying!
Without even bothering to think twice, he immediately turned around and fled. How could he even think about rescuing the others? He had just seen a whip-like object piercing through his Junior Brother’s chest. Furthermore, his companion had been dragged into the swamp. It was almost certain that his Junior Brother was dead by now. They might be Fellow Brothers, but even a Husband and Wife would escape separately in the face of great danger. What was abandoning a Junior Brother under such dangerous circumstances? It was only natural that protecting his own life took precedence.
He had only just turned around when he heard a loud explosion coming from behind him. Turning around in shock, he saw a humanoid figure flashing out from under the swamp water at the speed of lightning. That person was dripping wet and his hair was a clumped mess. Even so, he immediately recognised that person as the man he and his Junior Brother had tried to ambush just now.
*Hong…*
A huge spout of water erupted from the place where that man came out of the water. Droplets filled the sky, falling down like torrential rain. Following closely behind that person, a huge figure leaped out of the depths of the swamp and landed heavily on the surface. It cast a dense shadow over the water, obscuring the two humanoid figures.
“A toad…” The cultivator raised his head to look, the word ‘toad’ flashing through his mind. It was not until this moment that he finally got a good look at the perpetrator’s true appearance. It turned out to be a large toad with bumpy warts all over its body and a pair of eyes that nearly bulged out of their sockets. Awe-inspiring Monster Qi exuded from its body and it was easy to see that this toad was not a creature to be trifled with.
When he realized he had been watched by this large toad during the time he and his Junior Brother had been secretly lying in ambush, he couldn’t help feeling a tingle of fear crawling across his scalp. At least he knew what that whip-like object was now. It was obviously the tongue that came flicking out of the toad’s mouth.
Ten metres above the ground, Yang Kai wiped the mud away from his face and secretly cursed his bad luck. He never imagined that such a Monster Beast would be hidden beneath the swamp. When he detected the hidden trace of vitality beneath the swamp earlier, he had simply assumed that it was a third person in this group of ambushers. It wasn’t until this incident occurred that he realised he was mistaken.
The first young man who launched a sneak attack on him earlier was gone. It was most likely that the young man had been eaten by this toad. At this moment, the Monster Beast was staring at him with bulging eyes; its gaze never left him as its lower jaw expanded and contracted, making a rumbling sound.
Yang Kai was just about to check which Order this Monster Beast was when the evil beast suddenly opened its mouth and spat out a large water ball. The water ball burst with a loud bang. Following that, a thick and dense fog covered the entire surroundings in a flash. Yang Kai’s entire vision was filled with white in an instant and he could not see anything. Even his Divine Sense was obstructed and could only stretch out approximately fifteen metres around him.
Pain spread out across the surface of his body as if burned by fire. It was also accompanied by a strange hissing sound. Yang Kai’s expression turned solemn. This fog was truly impressive. Not only did it have the effects of obstructing both his sight and Divine Sense, but it was also highly caustic! The poison was so strong that Yang Kai had never seen a match for it before.
If ordinary cultivators fell into such an environment, only death would await them. It was fortunate that he had a powerful Dragon Clan bloodline and Half-Dragon Body, so Yang Kai had a natural resistance to poison. The poison in this fog might be powerful, but it was not enough to kill him, it would only cause him some external injuries at most. With his restorative abilities, he would recover quickly once he was outside the range of this fog.
Not far away came the screams of the other cultivator from earlier. The screams were filled with great agony, as though suffering from horrible injuries. Judging by how the screams kept shifting around, he was probably searching for a way out.
“Don’t move!” Yang Kai shouted quickly.
Unfortunately, it was too late. The sound of a mighty wind slicing through the air rang out and that cultivator’s screams turned into a muffled groan.
“Help…” A cry for help resounded through the air, fluctuating erratically due to the rapid movement of his body. He only managed to shout for help once before he went completely silent.
Yang Kai could not see anything, but he could imagine what had happened to that person. That person must have been caught and delivered into that toad’s mouth, suffering the same fate that befell his companion.
[This is a Fifth-Order Monster Beast at the very least!] Yang Kai quickly made a judgement in his heart.
The cultivators that could enter the Blood Monster Cave Heaven were not generally weak, and if they were weak, then it would only mean that they had very good luck. Otherwise, they could not have managed to secure an entrance for themselves. Even so, the two cultivators from earlier were killed by the toad in an instant. Launching a sneak attack might have helped somewhat, but a Fourth-Order Monster Beast could not have killed a peak Emperor Realm cultivator in one move.
Yang Kai stood motionlessly in place and waited for a while, but the toad made no movements either.
Mulling over the situation, he had the feeling that this toad retained its wild instincts even though it was a high Order beast. Hence, it turned a blind eye to any stationary targets because it could only hunt with great accuracy when its target moved. This logic was in line with the previous two times it attacked.
After considering all this, Yang Kai could not be bothered to waste more time in this place. He immediately began to sway his body. He had only just begun moving when the soft sound of something slicing through the air came from the depths of the fog. Immediately after that, he felt something tightening around his body as though he had been caught by a whip. It was followed by a powerful pull that tried to drag him in that direction.
Yang Kai was waiting for this very moment; thus, he immediately broke out into a grin and reached out both hands to grab the thing that was binding him. The slippery feeling was extremely disgusting as there was no need to think to know that it was the toad’s tongue.
His hands transformed into Dragon Claw. Gripping the tongue firmly, his body abruptly sank downward as he shouted, “Come up!”
An overwhelming force poured out of his hands as he grabbed the toad by the tongue and forcibly threw it up into the air. At the same time, he silently surged the Fire Element Power in his Dao Seal. A layer of black flames covered his entire body. Burned by the Golden Crow’s True Fire, the toad’s tongue involuntarily loosened its grip.
The moment the restraints binding him disappeared, Yang Kai released his grip and threw the toad away. Standing still, he cocked his ear to the side and listened attentively. He soon heard the sound of something being sliced into pieces. These sounds were immediately followed by the sounds of large objects falling into the swamp with loud splashes.
[Done!] He dusted off his hands and quietly stood there waiting. A short while later, the fog in the swamp slowly dissipated and his vision returned to normal.
He looked in the direction of the sounds he heard towards the end and saw pieces of a corpse scattered all across the swamp. The incisions on the corpse were precise and crimson red blood dyed the ground red. The direction in which he threw the toad was where the Void Cracks were distributed. Those Void Cracks were something even he was reluctant to touch, let alone the toad. Its huge body had passed through several of those Void Cracks. The only ending for the toad was to be sliced into pieces, thereby losing its life in an instant!
Yang Kai waved his hands in front of him to disperse the fog that still lingered before walking in that direction and lowering his head to examine the pieces of the corpse. He soon found two Human corpses that were so badly corroded that they were no longer Human-shaped. He was secretly rendered speechless. It had not been long since these two people were devoured by the toad and yet they were already in such a state. It could be seen just how corrosive the acid in the stomach of this toad was.
These two men had been lying in ambush in this place, hoping to earn some money from the dead. Who could have known that they would end up in the stomach of this Monster Beast? It could be said that they got what they deserved.
After retrieving the Space Rings belonging to these two people, Yang Kai got to work and finally found the toad’s Monster Core. As expected, it was in the Fifth-Order. Moreover, it was a Water Element Monster Core. The energy contained within the Monster Core was extremely pure and singular, which was perfectly suitable for a cultivator to refine and use.
Blood Monster Divine Monarch was certainly impressive. The method to cultivate and modify these Monster Beasts was absolutely invaluable. It could guarantee every single Monster Beast would have a Monster Core that could be transformed into an Open Heaven material. If one could obtain this method, it would not be long before their great force rose to power and prosperity.
It was uncertain whether this method was included in Blood Monster Divine Monarch’s inheritance, but if it was, the value of the inheritance would greatly increase.
This was the first Fifth-Order Monster Core that Yang Kai received so far, so he carefully put it away. However, he was in no hurry to leave. On the contrary, he carefully searched his surroundings until he found a certain spot. After that, his figure sank and disappeared into the swamp.
He had discovered something interesting when the toad dragged him into the water just now. It was just that he was attacked without warning and did not dare to take his enemy lightly until he could figure out his strength; therefore, it stood to reason that he would investigate the area carefully now that the fight was over.
There was poison in the water. Moreover, it was even stronger than the poison in the fog. It was obvious that the toad Monster Beast had been living in this place for countless years. During that time, the toxins in its body must have merged with the nearby water source and caused this phenomenon.
Yang Kai activated his Dragon Source and a layer of Dragon Scales appeared on the surface of his body, instantly making him feel much more comfortable.
After sinking to a depth of several dozen metres, Yang Kai came to a halt. Although the muddy water was turbid and his visibility was poor, he could clearly perceive his surroundings with his Divine Sense. There was an area in front of him that was several tens of metres wide. More importantly, the area was filled with a dense and pure Water Element Power. The Water Element Power was so dense that it condensed into a fog, occupying a small space underwater that was incompatible with the turbid and dark muddy waters in the surroundings!
Yang Kai slipped into the fog and took a sniff. What entered his nose was a faint but clean scent. This was most likely the hiding place of the Toad Monster Beast. It had probably relied on this dense Water Element Power to become a Fifth-Order Monster Beast. If a cultivator were to refine and absorb the dense Water Element Power in this place, they would definitely be able to condense a Fifth-Order Power. It was no different from refining Fifth-Order materials.
This place was one of the Cultivation Paradises scattered across the Blood Monster Cave Heaven that he had heard so many stories about.
The Blood Monster Cave Heaven was the Small Universe left behind after the death of an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. After the death of Blood Monster Divine Monarch, this place experienced the baptism of countless years. The Yin, Yang, and Five Element Powers in this Cave-Heaven were divided and transformed as a result. Eventually, they gathered and accumulated in numerous areas within the Cave-Heaven to form Cultivation Paradises.
That was why it was not a must for cultivators to slay Monster Beasts for benefits when they entered the Blood Monster Cave Heaven. They could achieve the same results if they could find a Cultivation Paradise that was suitable for their cultivation use.
If any other cultivator came to this place, they could only choose to cultivate and refine the Water Element Power; however, Yang Kai had the Sealed World Bead. He could transfer this Cultivation Paradise into the Small Sealed World and transfer it out again when he returned to Void Land. By doing so, Void Land’s disciples could use this Cultivation Paradise for their cultivation.
To make a comparison, it was like going to an inn for dinner. The others could only dine in, so they were limited as to how much food they could eat. Yang Kai, on the other hand, could choose to either dine in and take-away. This ability naturally had its own advantages.
When Yang Kai emerged from the swamp again, he had already transferred the Cultivation Paradise that contained the Water Element Power into the Small Sealed World.
He turned around to look at the corpse of the Fifth-Order Monster Beast and secretly thanked the Heavens for his luck. That Monster Beast was not weak in any way; otherwise, it could not have killed two peak Emperor Realm cultivators in the blink of an eye. He might have been able to defeat the Monster Beast if it really came down to a frontal fight, but it would have taken him quite a lot of effort. By taking advantage of the Void Cracks in this place, Yang Kai swiftly slaughtered the Monster Beast and saved himself a lot of time and trouble.
According to his estimation, the strength displayed by a Fifth-Order Monster Beast was almost equivalent to the strength of a Half-Step Open Heaven Realm Master. Fortunately, the singular Attribute of the Monster Cores of the Monster Beasts in the Blood Monster Cave Heaven made them easier targets.
Take the Toad Monster Beast for example. It had a Water Element Core, so it was naturally weaker to Fire Element Power. The reason Yang Kai used the Golden Crow’s True Fire in his Dao Seal was out of this consideration.
Although such a Monster Beast had a weakness that was easy to target, a Fifth-Order Monster Beast was still equivalent to a Half-Step Open Heaven Realm Master in terms of raw strength. Most Emperor Realm Masters would be in danger if they encountered a Fifth-Order Monster Beast. If that was the case for a Fifth-Order Monster Beast, then what about a Sixth-Order Monster Beast? Wouldn’t a Sixth-Order Monster Beast be equivalent to a Low-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master in strength?
This information was in line with his understanding and knowledge; after all, he had used the Sixth-Order Yuan Magnetic Divine Light to fight Low-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master. The power of the Sixth-Order Yuan Magnetic Divine Light was great, so many Low-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters would have a hard time blocking its attack.
What about a Seventh-Order Monster Beast, which should be much stronger? Wouldn’t a Seventh-Order Monster Beast be equivalent to a Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master in strength?
Yang Kai was secretly alarmed by the prospect. Not too long ago, he had wanted to find a Seventh-Order Monster Beast in order to slay it for its Monster Core. Looking at the current situation though, he might have no choice but to turn tail and flee if he encountered a Seventh-Order Monster Beast.
There was no point thinking about such possibilities at the moment. It was true that Seventh-Order Monster Beasts existed in this place, but they were not something that could be found so easily. If he really were to run into a Seventh-Order Monster Beast, then he could only react as the situation called for.
He took out the Space Rings from those two people earlier and checked the contents. Both of them were extremely poor, with only a couple hundred Open Heaven Pills between them as well as some random trinkets that Yang Kai turned his nose up at. Looking at the situation, it had not been long since they arrived in this place. It was a pity that they died before they could even make a fortune from the assets of the dead.
[What a tragedy…] Yang Kai did not mourn their deaths. They should have been mentally prepared to be killed when they entered the Blood Monster Cave Heaven. Just as he was about to put their Space Rings away though, his expression changed drastically as he took out a piece of animal skin from one of the Space Rings.
It was easy to tell that the animal skin was very old at a glance. In addition, there were jumbled patterns drawn closely together on the animal skin. It was just that many spots on the animal skin were blurry and hard to read after countless years of wear and tear.
At first, he could not understand what was drawn on the animal skin; however, he seemed to remember something a short while later. Hurriedly taking out the jade slip the Proprietress had given to him, he split his Divine Sense into two parts. He immersed one part of his Divine Sense into the jade slip to study its contents and used the other part of his Divine Sense to pay close attention to the patterns on the animal skin.
Sometime later, he revealed a look of astonishment, “A map?”
What was recorded on this animal skin turned out to be a worn-out and incomplete map. Moreover, it was a map of a certain area inside the Blood Monster Cave Heaven. It was only because part of this animal skin map was relatively consistent with the map recorded in the jade slip that he could identify it.
That was not to say that the animal skin map was more comprehensive. On the contrary, the map in the jade slip given by the Proprietress was much more complete. It was a map purchased through auction from Red Clouds Auction House after all. This map was compiled from all the experiences of countless cultivators exploring the Blood Monster Cave Heaven over the years. Be that as it may, the animal skin map contained additional locations that were not recorded in the jade slip map, although there were parts in both maps that overlapped with each other.
Holding the animal skin map in hand, Yang Kai fell into deep contemplation. The hundred copies of the Blood Monster Cave Heaven map that Red Clouds Auction House sold off might not have been complete, but it was enough to provide the cultivators with an idea of their position and bearings. Yang Kai was also not so naïve that he would believe Red Clouds Auction House publicised this secret information out of kindness; after all, a relatively complete map could bring about huge and unimaginable benefits in a place like this.
Red Clouds Cave Heaven, who was the actual figure behind the Red Clouds Auction House, would definitely have a more complete map in their possession. That was their biggest trump card after all. The only information they could disclose to the public would be information on places that they had thoroughly explored and deemed to be of little value.
It was not just Red Clouds Auction House of course. All the other Cave-Heavens, Paradises, and even the Second-Class great forces would have their own respective maps compiled from information and experiences over the years. It was hard to say who had a more comprehensive map or who had a more valuable map.
That logic applied even to the map in Yang Kai’s hands. He was certain that this was not an exact copy of the map obtained from Red Clouds Auction House. The Proprietress would have definitely added some information of her own into this map; after all, she herself had been to the Blood Monster Cave Heaven in the past.
Yang Kai did not know to which great force those two who died just now belonged. This animal skin map could also have been an accidental acquisition by one of the two, which would explain why it had accumulated such an ancient aura.
There was a certain location on the animal skin map that had been circled and was very eye-catching. Generally speaking, places that were marked with such great emphasis would surely contain some sort of treasure.
Just looking at that spot on the map made Yang Kai’s heart itch with anticipation. When he compared the two maps, he discovered that the circled location on the map would take several days of travel to reach. He would first need to pass through the areas where the two maps overlapped.
Still, Yang Kai put away the animal skin map for now. He was in no hurry to make a decision. It would not be too late to decide once he arrived at the location. Raising his head, he looked at the swamp in front of him and did not choose to take a detour. The first reason was that it would consume more time if he wanted to bypass this region, and the second reason was that this place was the best battlefield for him even though there were Void Cracks all over the place. If he were ambushed by another Monster Beast like the Toad Monster Beast earlier, he could make use of the Void Cracks to slaughter it for its Monster Core. Not to mention, it would not take much effort on his part.
Thus, Yang Kai spread his Divine Sense into the surroundings then headed towards the depths of the swamp at a high speed. There certainly were quite a few Void Cracks in this damned place but fortunately, he was proficient in the Dao of Space. He was also staying vigilant at all times, so he generally detected the Void Cracks in advance and smoothly avoided them.
Contrary to his expectations, he did not encounter any other Monster Beasts. It would seem that this place was also an extremely dangerous place to the Monster Beasts in the Blood Monster Cave Heaven. Thus, they were reluctant to step foot here lightly. Even the toad had only been living at the edge of the swamp. Since there were no Monster Beasts, Yang Kai focused only on travelling and quickly crossed most of the swamp.
All of a sudden, Yang Kai heard a person’s voice coming towards him, “Friend, please wait! The road ahead is dangerous!”
Yang Kai immediately stopped and turned to look in the direction where the voice came from. A group of five was standing above the swamp more than a dozen kilometres away. All of them were dressed in full armour and carried weapons in hand. Although there were only five of them, their aura was so overwhelming that they gave off the impression of a mighty army.
Yang Kai couldn’t help thinking that this method of dressing was very familiar. Raising his brow, he recalled the name of a certain great force. His figure flashed and he arrived in front of those five people in a matter of moments as he tentatively asked, “Great Battle Heaven?”
Only the disciples of Great Battle Heaven would dress in this manner. It was only his guess, but he became more confident of his guess when he got closer. That was because all five of them gave off a chilling iron-blooded air. That was an aura that could only be acquired over the years if one lived under permanent military discipline.
Furthermore, Great Battle Heaven was the only great force in the entire 3,000 Worlds that was governed and managed by the iron law of an army. Any military order that was issued could not be disobeyed!
Thousand Birds Territory’s Star City was governed by Great Battle Heaven, so Yang Kai had seen a few Great Battle Heaven disciples at the Void Dock before. These people were not so much cultivators as they were soldiers!
These five people consisted of four men and one woman. They were staring at Yang Kai as though they were looking at a ghost. Shock and disbelief were written all over their eyes.
Upon hearing Yang Kai’s questions, the young man in the lead nodded, “That’s right.” Then, he examined Yang Kai once more and exclaimed, “Your luck is quite good.”
As soon as Yang Kai heard this young man’s voice, he immediately identified this person as the one who called out to him earlier. This person had thick brows and large eyes, making him look lively and spirited. The lines of his face were rigid though, giving him the feeling of an insightful but battle-tested young man. It could be seen that this person was the leader among these five.
Yang Kai smiled, “And your luck is not very good. How did you get trapped here?”
He could tell at a glance that these five were standing motionless in this place not because they did not wish to move, but because they were stuck here. There were Void Cracks surrounding them in all directions; moreover, some of the Void Cracks were moving about slowly and silently. These Void Cracks were imperceptible even with the help of Divine Sense.
Among these five, three of them were covered in blood, making it obvious that they were injured by these Void Cracks.
The young leader shook his head in response, “It’s difficult to explain! Let’s not talk about this for now. How should I address you?”
“Yang Kai!”
The young man was visibly taken aback by Yang Kai’s answer, “You are Yang Kai?”
The four people behind him also looked surprised and glanced at Yang Kai curiously.
Similarly, Yang Kai was stunned, “Do you know me?” Then, he immediately understood the reason, “Of course. You’ve probably heard of me.”
He most likely caught the attention of many Cave-Heavens and Paradises after the battle in Thousand Birds Territory’s Star City’s Asura Arena. First, there was the warning given by the man in charge of the Asura Arena; then, there was the recruitment offer from Senior Brother Guo from Xuan Yuan Cave Heaven. Seeing as both Asura Heaven and Xuan Yuan Cave Heaven had noticed his existence, it was not surprising that the great force in charge of Thousand Birds Territory’s Star City, Great Battle Heaven, had also heard about him.
The young leader did not deny the statement. He simply cupped his fists and said, “So it is Brother Yang. I apologise for my disrespect. This one is Bu Lian Zhong.”
“You’re too polite, Brother Bu!” Yang Kai nodded.
Bu Lian Zhong pointed at the four people behind him and introduced them to Yang Kai. After that, he solemnly said, “Brother Yang, this one has a request.”
Yang Kai gestured, “Please speak freely, Brother Bu.”
Earlier, Bu Lian Zhong had shouted a warning to him after seeing him travelling at high speed, so it was obvious that this person was good-natured. Yang Kai had always believed in the philosophy of mutual respect, so he would not show enmity to a person who showed him kindness. Nevertheless, he would not agree to a request easily until he knew what kind of help the other party wanted from him.
Bu Lian Zhong explained, “We are trapped in this place and I’m afraid things will not end well for us. Brother Yang, when you leave here, please head to the Governor’s Mansion in Thousand Birds Star City and report our deaths to Governor Ye!”
The Governor in charge of Thousand Birds Star City, Ye Tian Xiong, was a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. Even Yang Kai knew of him. There was no denying that Thousand Birds Territory’s Star City was a large one; therefore, only a Master as capable as Ye Tian Xiong could manage it. After all, he would not have been able to control the situation in the Star City if he was not strong enough.
Yang Kai was wondering what kind of help Bu Lian Zhong would request of him, but he hadn’t anticipated such a request.
He couldn’t help bursting into laughter, “Brother Bu, you can tell that to Governor Ye yourself, but I don’t think he will believe you.”
Bu Lian Zhong frowned, “Brother Yang, it’s just a small effort on your part. It won’t take up much of your time. Since it won’t harm your interests, why refuse my request?”
The other four people were also looking at Yang Kai, frowning.
Yang Kai knew that they had misunderstood him, but he could not be bothered to explain himself. Instead, his figure flashed as he passed through the area surrounded by the Void Cracks and came to stand before Bu Lian Zhong.
Bu Lian Zhong was startled. Involuntarily taking a few steps back as he stared at Yang Kai in shock, “Why… Why did you come in!?”
The few of them had been trapped inside this space for a long time now. It was not as if they had not tried to escape from this place, it was just that they could not determine which path was safe. Three of them had been injured after several attempts to escape and they ended up unable to move from their current spot. On the contrary, Yang Kai entered this place with so little effort. It was almost as though the Void Cracks trapping them here did not exist.
[Isn’t his luck a little too good?] To their knowledge, this person had travelled across the swamp without encountering any danger, and just now, he even slipped into this highly dangerous place so easily. It was a miracle how he managed to survive until now.
Yang Kai smiled and said nothing. He simply pushed his strength to wrap up the five of them. Before Bu Lian Zhong and the others could react, Yang Kai’s figure flickered again and he escaped from the area surrounded by the Void Cracks together with the others.
“Brother Bu, it’s best if you report to the Governor yourselves,” He nodded at Bu Lian Zhong.
Bu Lian Zhong and the others were stunned. They quickly looked around their surroundings and confirmed that they were no longer standing in the same spot as before. Rather, they had left that place by several kilometres. Only now did they reveal expressions of surprise and joy.
A realization struck Bu Lian Zhong as he turned to Yang Kai in astonishment, “Brother Yang, can you see those Void Cracks? Could it be that you cultivate the Dao of Space?”
Yang Kai replied reservedly, “I know a little something!”
Bu Lian Zhong was extremely impressed. Yang Kai had brought him and his fellow Brothers and Sister out of that place so easily; that was far beyond the level of ‘knowing a little something. It definitely required a high level of attainment in the Dao of Space, so he quickly understood. [It’s not luck that allowed him to safely travel through the swamp! There was simply no danger to him in the first place!]
“Many thanks, Brother Yang!” He cupped his fist solemnly, with the four people behind him following suit.
“It was nothing.” Yang Kai waved his hand dismissively, “This swamp is extremely dangerous and there are hidden dangers everywhere. Strangely enough, the map did not mark this place as hazardous.”
He had the map bought from Red Clouds Auction House in his possession; likewise, Great Battle Heaven’s disciples would definitely have a superior version of it. That map not only indicated various routes but also various dangers and opportunities. These were the results of countless cultivators exploring this place throughout the ages.
It was just that the map in Yang Kai’s hand had only indicated the location of the swamp. There were no warnings about the dangers hidden in this area. Thus, he guessed that the map owned by Great Battle Heaven disciples was similar; otherwise, they would not have ended up in this situation.
Bu Lian Zhong explained, “The Blood Monster Cave Heaven is unstable, so the situation inside sometimes changes. This place was probably safe 200 years ago. These changes must have occurred recently, which is why the dangers were not marked on the map. Brother Yang, although maps are useful, you should not trust them completely. We have already learned our lesson. Please be careful in the future.”
Yang Kai understood, “You’re right, Brother Bu!” Turning to look at Bu Lian Zhong, he asked, “Where were you trying to go?”
Bu Lian Zhong pointed in a certain direction.
Yang Kai smiled, “It looks like we are heading in the same direction. Let’s go together then.”
After saying that, he took the lead.
Bu Lian Zhong and the others exchanged glances with each other before hurriedly following after him. Since Yang Kai could bring them out of that place surrounded by Void Cracks so easily, it should not be difficult for him to bring them out of the swamp. It was only natural that they did not wish to pass up on this opportunity.
It was hard to tell whether Great Battle Heaven’s disciples were generally on the reticent side, but along the way, Bu Lian Zhong and the four others barely spoke. Even if they occasionally made conversation, it was because Yang Kai was the first to bring up a topic.
After a casual conversation, Yang Kai learned that these five had entered the swamp from another direction. They had not encountered any dangers at the beginning, and by the time they realised that something was wrong, it was already too late for them to turn back. If not for their luck in meeting Yang Kai, they would most likely have lost their lives in the swamp.
Even though they did not say much, the gratitude in their hearts was overflowing beyond words; after all, Yang Kai had saved their lives. Great Battle Heaven’s disciples were generally taught to be straightforward and upright. They would always repay the kindness they received and return the grudges they were given.
Despite having five people in tow, Yang Kai’s speed did not decrease in the slightest and they managed to leave the swamp after travelling for half a day.
Bu Lian Zhong and the others exhaled fiercely, finally feeling relieved. The feeling of not being in control of their own lives was simply awful. They never wanted to experience something like this again.
“We’re now out of danger, so we’ll be parting ways here.” Yang Kai cupped his fist to Bu Lian Zhong and the others. He had only brought them out of the swamp since they were going the same way. Hunting for treasure was better done alone after all. In that way, he could monopolise anything he found.
Bu Lian Zhong returned the gesture, “We five will never forget the kindness you showed us today, Brother Yang. We will definitely repay this favour in the future.”
Pausing for a moment, his expression suddenly became extremely solemn as he continued, “Brother Yang, please be careful. Don’t trust others easily.”
Yang Kai frowned slightly. He couldn’t shake the feeling that there was more to those words. Just as he was about to inquire further, he suddenly heard a cry for help coming from afar; moreover, it was getting closer.
Everybody hurriedly turned to look in the direction of the sound only to see two figures speeding in this direction like bolts of lightning. One was chasing while the other was fleeing. The person in the back continuously blasted out fierce attacks, causing the person in front to jump left and right to avoid those attacks.
The person who was being chased had probably noticed the presence of Yang Kai and the others, so he rushed in their direction while shouting for help. It only took a few breaths for him to arrive in their vicinity while his complexion was extremely pale.
Staggering to the ground, he hurriedly begged, “Senior Brothers, please save me!”
Yang Kai, Bu Lian Zhong, and the others simply looked at him calmly. They neither promised to help nor refused to. The main reason was that they did not know anything about this person nor what kind of grievances this person had with the other party. Therefore, it was not their place to interfere.
Be that as it may, the cultivator chasing after this person faltered and came to a stop when he saw this person landing in front of Yang Kai and the others. He glanced in this direction from afar and seemed to recognise the origins of the Great Battle Heaven disciples. Coldly snorting, he turned and left.
The Great Battle Heaven disciples were dressed so distinctively that it was difficult not to recognise them. With the reputation of one of the 36 Cave-Heavens behind them, nobody would willingly come into conflict with them.
When the cultivator who asked for help earlier saw his pursuer leaving quickly, he finally let out a breath of relief. He slumped to the ground tiredly as though all the energy in his body had been drained. His face was filled with lingering fears. After a while, he finally struggled to his feet and cupped his fist at Yang Kai and the others, “Many thanks, Senior Brothers.”
Bu Lian Zhong replied, “No need. We didn’t do anything.”
That person shook his head and said, “Although Senior Brothers did not act, this Junior Brother still knows that he only survived because of you. If I had not happened to meet you here, that person would not have given up so easily.”
Bu Lian Zhong waved his hand dismissively, “Since you survived, you should get a good rest. The Blood Monster Cave Heaven is a dangerous place. I’m afraid it will be difficult for you to do anything in your current state.”
That person’s expression darkened at those words as he smiled bitterly, “You’re right, Senior Brother. I will go and search for a place to treat my wounds. Before I leave, I want to tell you something. Somebody located about an hour’s travel in that direction found Blood Monster Divine Monarch’s inheritance. Many people have gathered there to compete for it. If you are interested, you should go and check it out.”
“Blood Monster Divine Monarch’s inheritance?” The expressions of Yang Kai, Bu Lian Zhong, and the others stiffened at those words.
That person explained, “That’s what they said. I don’t know if it’s true. I was just watching from the side when that guy suddenly tried to kill me. It’s probably because he was afraid that the news might leak out and attract more people to investigate.”
Yang Kai and Bu Lian Zhong exchanged a glance with each other and could see the excitement in each other’s eyes. If this person’s words were true, then a huge treasure had appeared, one that would definitely cause a reign of terror in the Blood Monster Cave Heaven.
That person continued, “I don’t know much about the situation there. You can check it out if you are interested, Senior Brothers. This Junior Brother will take his leave first.”
He bowed after saying that and swiftly left upon deciding a direction.
Yang Kai and Bu Lian Zhong watched as that person gradually vanished out of sight; then, Bu Lian Zhong asked, “What do you think, Brother Yang?”
Yang Kai licked his lips, “If there’s a possibility of it being Blood Monster Divine Monarch’s inheritance, then we should go and check it out.”
If he could obtain the Seventh-Order materials that he needed there, then his trip to the Blood Monster Cave Heaven would be complete. It didn’t matter even if that person had been lying. It was only an hour away after all.
Bu Lian Zhong nodded, “I think so too.”
It was impossible to resist the temptation with such a huge prize dangling in front of them. Having come to a decision, they did not hesitate and immediately headed in the direction that man pointed earlier.
After going forward for a little less than an hour, Yang Kai suddenly frowned. He turned to Bu Lian Zhong and asked, “Brother Bu, do you notice anything?”
Similarly, Bu Lian Zhong had a serious expression on his face as he responded, “The smell of blood!”
Yang Kai nodded. He could also smell the scent of blood; however, this bloody scent gave him a strange feeling. It did not smell like when somebody was killed. Moreover, the smell of blood became stronger and stronger the further forward they went. It almost felt as though the World Energy itself was infused with blood.
A short time later, the group of six came to an abrupt halt and stared ahead blankly.
In front of them was a huge blood-coloured lake that spanned a diameter of a dozen or so kilometres. The lake water was crimson, as though it was made from fresh blood. The surface of the lake was strangely calm; there was not the slightest ripple in sight. Everybody couldn’t help feeling a little disturbed by the sight. It felt like countless ghosts and corpses would emerge from within the lake at any moment.
Currently, at least a few hundred people had gathered by the shore of the blood lake. They were either standing in groups of three to five, or standing alone. Many people were scattered around the edges of the lake, staring at its centre. Even more people were gathered in front of a large stone monument and looking up at something.
Yang Kai looked up and saw a palace standing in the centre of the lake; thus, he couldn’t help but wonder, [Could that be the Blood Monster Divine Palace? Is that where Blood Monster Divine Monarch’s inheritance is hidden? But, that can’t be right.]
According to the rumours, Blood Monster Divine Monarch’s inheritance was indeed hidden in the Blood Monster Divine Palace. Be that as it may, the Blood Monster Divine Palace was said to be located in the deepest depths of the Blood Monster Cave Heaven. It was impossible for it to appear in this place. Regardless of whether Blood Monster Divine Monarch’s inheritance was hidden in this palace, there must be something precious inside a place like this. Therefore, countless cultivators were eagerly looking forward to the opportunity to explore.
Many cultivators were gathered around the stele by the side of the blood-coloured lake. Even more cultivators were rushing over from all directions, probably having heard about the news here. Otherwise, they noticed the strange movements here by chance.
Aside from that, Yang Kai also noticed that there were three small islands in the lake. Each island was separated by a distance of a couple thousand metres. They were located between the palace in the middle of the lake and the shore of the lake. In other words, one could use these three small islands as a foothold in order to reach the palace in the middle of the lake.
It was just that nobody was trying to head towards the palace in the middle of the lake even though many people were gathered around the shore. Most of them were gathered around the stele. Some stood with their hands behind their backs while others sat cross-legged on the ground. There were also some who were randomly shaking and swaying their heads. It was unknown what they were trying to do.
“Hahahaha! The Blood Monster Divine Palace!” A loud burst of laughter rang out. A burly figure rushed over from afar and charged towards the palace in the middle of the lake without hesitation. While doing so, he arrogantly yelled, “Blood Monster Divine Monarch’s inheritance is mine! Get out of my way!”
Yang Kai turned to look in that direction and saw the cultivator charging across the blood-coloured lake. The cultivator was heading for the first island that was nearest to the shore. Before he could fly very far though, a huge wave suddenly rose up from the blood-coloured lake, which had seemed like a pool of undisturbed and stagnant water all this time, before coming crashing down on him. He let out a furious roar and immediately surged his strength in defence. Splendid colours lit up around his body and a violent power fluctuation spread out.
It was clear that he was a Half-Step Open Heaven Realm Master who had condensed the Fifth-Order Elements. He was only one step away from advancing into the Open Heaven Realm; thus, his heritage was quite impressive. Given enough time, he would surely become a powerful individual as long as he did not die along the way.
However, the burly cultivator was completely powerless to resist the blood-coloured wave. The wave crashed down on him, swiftly dissolving the layer of defence around his body like snow under the scorching sun. His defenses didn’t even last for a breath. Turning pale with fright, he didn’t have the time to do anything else before he was showered from head to toe in blood water.
After encountering such a sudden change, how could he not know that he had activated some sort of restriction with his rash actions? For a moment, cold sweat drenched his entire body. He stood in place and did not dare to move.
The wave subsided and the blood-coloured lake returned to its peaceful state. It was almost as if the scene just now had been nothing more than an illusion.
“Hahaha! I’m fine!” That person laughed heartily once more. That was because he turned out to be completely unscathed even after waiting for some time. He initially thought that he had activated some sort of restriction previously and assumed that he was going to die. It turned out that he had simply been overthinking things.
“Fool!” Somebody by the shore looked at the burly cultivator coldly with an expression of scorn and ridicule.
Yang Kai also found the situation strange. That burly cultivator had been doused in the blood water, so how could he come out unscathed? Just as he was mulling over this question, he heard that burly cultivator’s voice again, “The restriction in this place has fallen into disrepair. It lost its effects a long time ago! And yet, you guys are being so cautious! How laughable! Just you wait! I’m going to get the Divine Monarch’s inheritance!”
After saying that, he rushed towards the small island in the middle of the island again.
He had just made his move when a burst of exclamations rang out among the people along the shore of the lake. Some women even looked horrified. They covered their red lips with their hands, staring ahead with widened eyes as though they were watching something extremely horrifying.
Likewise, Yang Kai also narrowed his eyes and stared in shock at the burly cultivator who was charging across the surface of the lake.
As that burly cultivator continued to charge forward, pieces of his flesh began to peel off and fall into the lake. In the blink of an eye, his head had turned into a fleshless skull. All the flesh on his body was gone too. His wide robes covered his body, making flapping sounds with every step he took. Even so, he seemed completely oblivious to the fact and continued to charge forward. It was a chilling sight to behold.
A short while later, the burly cultivator who was turned into a skeleton finally fell apart. He collapsed straight into the blood lake and was swallowed up silently. The surface of the lake was so calm that it was almost as if nothing had happened just now.
“Blood Monster Divine Monarch is an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. Even if the restrictions he placed when he was alive had fallen into disrepair, how can just any stray cat or dog ignore them?” The cultivator, who called the burly cultivator a fool just now, sneered coldly.
It was obvious that it was not his first time seeing this situation. Somebody else must have died in this blood lake earlier; otherwise, it was impossible for so many people to be so indifferent towards the Palace in the middle of the lake despite gathering in this place.
Yang Kai turned to look in that direction and his eyes involuntarily narrowed all of a sudden. That was because he discovered that the speaker was brimming with Demon Qi. He couldn’t help thinking that it felt very familiar. After giving it some serious thought, he realised that he had felt this feeling from Great Demon God before.
[Is this person from Myriad Demons Heaven?] Yang Kai mulled over the possibility. Based on what he knew, there was a high probability that Great Demon God, Mo Sheng, had originated from Myriad Demons Heaven!
Seeming to notice Yang Kai’s gaze, the Myriad Demons Heaven disciple turned around and grinned fiercely, “What are you looking at, boy? Are you courting death?”
Yang Kai smiled slightly and looked away calmly. It was not that he was afraid of the other party, but that he was too lazy to be caught up in a conflict now.
Contrary to expectations, the other party was unrelenting. He studied Yang Kai with a measuring gaze and revealed a look of interest. With a shift of his body, he appeared within ten metres of Yang Kai as he rubbed his chin and said, “Brat, I realised that you resemble somebody a lot.”
Yang Kai turned to look at the other party and asked faintly, “Senior Brother, how may I help you?”
The Myriad Demons Heaven disciple observed Yang Kai carefully and nodded repeatedly, “I knew it! It’s you!”
When he said the last word, the Demon Qi in his body churned violently. He raised a hand and slammed his palm down on Yang Kai. Sixth-Order Elements surged in the palm of his hand, turning into a swirling vortex that tried to drag Yang Kai into the depths and strangle him to death.
Yang Kai was just about to counter the attack when Bu Lian Zhong and the four others activated their Powers at the same time and charged out from behind him. The auras of these five people connected tightly to form a peculiar Formation in an instant. Then, the power of these five gathered around Bu Lian Zhong’s body. Bu Lian Zhong raised a hand to counter the attack.
With a boom, the Myriad Demons Heaven disciple’s Demon Qi was shaken and he was pushed back several steps. On the other hand, Bu Lian Zhong and the others gave a muffled grunt and retreated. This fight was evenly matched.
It was just that Bu Lian Zhong had borrowed the might of that Formation to gather the power of all five of them. Meanwhile, the Myriad Demons Heaven disciple was all alone. It could be seen that the strength of Bu Lian Zhong and the others was far inferior to this Myriad Demons Heaven disciple.
“Great Battle Heaven?” The Myriad Demons Heaven disciple glanced at Bu Lian Zhong and the others coldly, “Are you courting death!? How dare you intervene in my affairs? If you dare make another move, I will kill you along with him!”
Bu Lian Zhong quickly said, “I have long heard that the disciples of Myriad Demons Heaven are extremely arrogant and tend to look down on everybody else. I originally thought that those claims were an exaggeration, but it turns out to be true! You might be powerful, Senior Brother Pei, but my Fellow Brothers and I are not weak either if we fight with our lives on the line!”
The Myriad Demons Heaven disciple tilted his head to the side, “Do you know me?”
Bu Lian Zhong said seriously, “Pei Wen Xuan of Myriad Demons Heaven. Senior Brother Pei, you are so famous, how can I not recognise you?”
His words might seem like he was answering the question, but he was actually explaining this person’s origins to Yang Kai.
Pei Wen Xuan grinned, showing off his fangs. He looked at Bu Lian Zhong with approval, “You can recognise me, yet you still dare to say such words to me. The people of Great Battle Heaven are courageous indeed! But, you’re dreaming if you think you can stop me with your abilities. It might work if it were your Eldest Senior Brother instead. Get out of my way if you don’t want to die!”
Bu Lian Zhong and the others were Great Battle Heaven disciples. It would not have mattered if he had killed them in secret, as long as the secret was not leaked. However, there were so many eyes watching in this place. It would be troublesome if he killed them here; after all, Great Battle Heaven was not to be trifled with.
“What if you include me?” A soft and gentle voice rang out. It was accompanied by a delightful fragrance that tickled the nose. At the same time, a beautiful figure appeared in front of Yang Kai.
The person who arrived had an extremely graceful image. Her appearance was exquisite and captivating. Her twin peaks were also so generous that it drew many people’s attention. Her dark hair was tied behind her head with a red ribbon and her beautiful eyes were mesmerising. Her every frown and smile gave off an amorous attraction. It was as though this woman was a flower in full bloom. Extremely eye-catching.
Many of the cultivators in the surroundings exclaimed in their hearts. [What a seductive woman!]
Their eyes were fixed relentlessly on this woman like leeches biting into flesh. They secretly swallowed nervously. As a result, many male cultivators were pinched hard by their Junior Sisters. They involuntarily grunted in pain and shifted their eyes away in embarrassment. Clutching the small hands of their Junior Sisters, they apologised profusely.
“Senior Sister Qu?” Yang Kai exclaimed in astonishment.
He had not expected to meet an acquaintance in this place. Many people had certainly entered the Blood Monster Cave Heaven this time. The entire 3,000 Worlds had been involved in this event, so it was only natural for the people he was acquainted with to enter the Blood Monster Cave Heaven as well. It was just that the Blood Monster Cave Heaven was simply too large so the possibility of running into them was simply too miniscule. Who would have known that he would meet one of them so quickly?
Qu Hua Shang of Yin-Yang Cave Heaven! Yang Kai’s memory of this woman was still quite fresh in his mind. She was the one and only woman who could clearly and eloquently discuss the matters of Yin-Yang Union Cultivation with him. Moreover, she did so with a straight and serious expression. She truly was a woman with a firm Dao Heart.
Although Su Yan had performed Yin-Yang Union Cultivation with him countless times, she had never discussed this aspect with him before. She was a woman who would blush if he so much as spoke affectionately to her, so how could she possibly discuss Yin-Yang Union Cultivation with him?
“Qu Hua Shang!” Pei Wen Xuan’s gaze turned cold.
He did not recognise Bu Lian Zhong and the others because they were not at his level even though their strength was not bad. However, that was not the case with Qu Hua Shang. Ever since she came out of the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary and became a Yin-Yang Cave Heaven Core Disciple, she had become quite famous in her own right. It could be said that her future achievements would not be inferior to his.
“Senior Brother Pei!” Qu Hua Shang bowed elegantly, “It has been years since we last met. I see you are still as arrogant as ever.”
He coldly snorted as his gaze shifted between Yang Kai and her before he asked, “Do you know who he is? Why are you so anxious to stand up for him?”
She smiled, “I’ve known Junior Brother Yang for more than 10 years now. Of course, I know who he is.”
He couldn’t help scoffing at those words. Then, he seemed to recall something and grinned, “Interesting. How interesting. I see that Yin-Yang Cave Heaven is playing these tricks again. But, you better watch him carefully if you want to protect him. I’m not the only one who wants to kill him.”
She smiled in response and thought to herself, [This fool has never seen how powerful Yang Kai is. That’s the only reason why he dares to boast so shamelessly!]
Unlike the others, she had accompanied Yang Kai for some time inside the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary; therefore, she had a deep understanding of how strong he was. Despite originating from one of the 36 Cave-Heavens, even she was confident there was no one in the 3,000 Worlds beneath the Open Heaven Realm who could be his opponent. Even Pei Wen Xuan would not survive for long against him.
“Forget it! This is boring!” Pei Wen Xuan glared for a while. Then, he flicked his sleeves in annoyance and strode towards the stele, “You can play by yourselves. I won’t accompany you.”
When Qu Hua Shang saw him leaving, she couldn’t help breathing a sigh of relief. [If that guy did not give up, he would have suffered great humiliation today. At the same time, it would be very troublesome if Yang Kai killed him.]
She turned around and looked at Yang Kai with a smile. The look in her eyes seemed to speak volumes, revealing a trace of pleasant surprise, as her voice was as soft and gentle as ever, “Junior Brother Yang, it truly is a small world. I never expected to meet you here.”
Yang Kai bowed, “It has been many years since we last met, but your noble bearing remains the same, Senior Sister. Many thanks for resolving that conflict just now.”
Qu Hua Shang giggled happily with her hand over her mouth, “If anyone should thank me, it isn’t you. That bastard should be the one showing his gratitude.”
She then waved her hand dismissively and continued, “Let’s not talk about that. Why are you with the people from Great Battle Heaven?”
She glanced curiously at Bu Lian Zhong and the others, her beautiful eyes filled with curiosity.
Bu Lian Zhong stepped forward to reply, “We owe Senior Brother Yang our lives. We were stuck in a desperate situation and Senior Brother Yang came to our rescue.”
After listening to his explanation, she was struck by understanding, “I see! But, you don’t need to worry about it too much. Junior Brother Yang has always been a righteous man. He has saved the lives of many in the past. I’ve also received his life-saving grace. Since I have nothing to repay him for his favour though, I was just thinking about promising myself to him.”
Back then, Yang Kai used the Small Sealed World to bring all the surviving Bearers out of the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary at the last moment. If not for that, they would each have had to suffer the wrath of their Divine Spirits when they eventually lost the Spirit Seizing War. At least half of them would have died in the process.
Bu Lian Zhong and the others looked at each other and were surprised to learn that even Qu Hua Shang from Yin-Yang Cave Heaven had been saved by Yang Kai before.
On the other hand, Yang Kai nearly choked for a moment when he heard her saying that she wanted to promise herself to him. [This woman is truly daring to say such things!]
Outwardly, he couldn’t help laughing, “Senior Sister, please don’t joke around like that.”
Qu Hua Shang covered her mouth and laughed gently, looking extremely charming as she did so.
Bu Lian Zhong and the others came from Great Battle Heaven, so they all had calm and steady temperaments. Even so, they nearly fell into a daze at the sight. [Eldest Senior Brother was right, all the women from Yin-Yang Cave Heaven are indeed walking catastrophes…]
“Senior Sister Qu, what is going on here? Why are there so many people gathered in this place? What is that palace in the middle of the lake?” Yang Kai changed the subject to prevent this woman from saying anything crazy again.
Qu Hua Shang composed her expression and replied, “The palace in the middle of the lake probably contains a part of Blood Monster Divine Monarch’s inheritance.”
Yang Kai and the others stiffened at those words and could barely believe their ears, “Is it really the inheritance?”
They had first heard about this from a random cultivator, but that person couldn’t be sure either. Now that even Qu Hua Shang was saying the same thing, it might actually be true.
Qu Hua Shang shook her head, “Blood Monster Divine Monarch was an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. He was very powerful. While he was alive, he was proficient in the Dao of Blood and the Dao of Beast Taming. Aside from these two, his achievements would surely include many other Daos. Although this place might contain part of Blood Monster Divine Monarch’s inheritance, it is unknown what kind of inheritance it might be. Many people speculate that the inheritance hidden here is related to the Dao of Blood.”
“What is the basis of their speculation?” Yang Kai was puzzled.
“The blood lake is one reason.” While speaking, she pointed at the stele by the shore of the lake, “But, the greatest reason is the Grand Evolution Immortal Blood Light Scripture. That’s the reason for their speculation.”
“Grand Evolution Immortal Blood Light Scripture?” Yang Kai felt his heart trembling in anticipation. If memory served him right, that Secret Art was one of the main cultivation methods Blood Monster Divine Monarch used before his death. Its name was even recorded in the jade slip given to him by the Proprietress. It could be said that the reason Blood Monster Divine Monarch was able to become an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master was partly thanks to the Grand Evolution Immortal Blood Light Scripture.
Bu Lian Zhong exclaimed, “Senior Sister Qu, do you mean to say that the secrets to the Grand Evolution Immortal Blood Light Scripture are carved on that stele!?”
She nodded solemnly, “That’s right. I was comprehending the mysteries behind it before you came.” While saying so, she invited them to join her, “Let’s go and check it out together.”
Yang Kai and Bu Lian Zhong exchanged a glance with each other before they immediately followed behind her and came to stand before the stele without any hesitation.
There were many people crowding around the stele. It was just that this stele was very big. Even with so many people surrounding it, they could still see the stele clearly. Sure enough, there was a line of characters that seemed to be written in fresh blood at the top of the stele which read ‘Grand Evolution Immortal Blood Light Scripture’!
Yang Kai was speechless.
This was one of the main Secret Arts that Blood Monster Divine Monarch cultivated. People used to speculate that this Secret Art would be hidden within Blood Monster Divine Monarch’s inheritance. It was a Secret Art that allowed one of their Seniors to advance into the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm. Who would not covet it? Nonetheless, who could have expected this Secret Art to appear unconcealed by the side of the blood lake? All the people who came here could observe, emulate, and comprehend this Secret Art. What was Blood Monster Divine Monarch thinking?
Be that as it may, this stele only had these few characters on it. There was nothing else aside from them.
Suppressing the suspicions in his heart, Yang Kai raised his head, focused his mind, and stared forward. An invisible force immediately seemed to pull his mind into the stele and a bizarre image involuntarily formed in his head. The circulation paths of the Secret Art flashed through his mind, shocking him so much that he hastily took a few steps back. The moment he moved, his mind was released and he immediately broke free of the stele’s hold.
Qu Hua Shang’s voice sounded next to his ear, “The circulation method of the Grand Evolution Immortal Blood Light Scripture is hidden within this stele. If you can comprehend this Secret Art thoroughly; if nothing else, you can at least obtain that!”
Yang Kai shook his head and said doubtfully, “Senior Sister Qu, this method seems to be incomplete.”
Although his mind had only been held by the stele for a short moment and what he saw was not much, he could sense that the knowledge contained within this stele was incomplete.
Hearing this, Qu Hua Shang glanced at him in surprise, “Junior Brother, you deciphered the mystery in such a short time? You’re as amazing as ever. It took me several dozen breaths to notice that.” Pausing for a moment, she continued, “But, you’re right, Junior Brother. The Grand Evolution Immortal Blood Light Scripture recorded here is indeed incomplete. It is probably only the first segment. Unfortunately, you have to comprehend this segment carefully in order to advance towards the palace in the middle of the lake. Do you see those islands in the middle of the lake?”
Yang Kai nodded, having noticed them as soon as he arrived. The stele was situated on the shore while the palace was situated in the middle of the lake. On the other hand, there were three islands separated by a couple thousand metres each between the stele and the palace.
She pointed at the first island, “Only by comprehending the first chapter will you have the qualifications to set foot on the first island. And, you will find the second chapter of the Blood Light Scripture on that island. Following this logic, you still have the third chapter, the fourth chapter, and the fifth chapter! Only by combining all five chapters of the Blood Light Scriptures can you truly obtain the complete version of the Grand Evolution Immortal Blood Light Scripture. Only then can you obtain Blood Monster Divine Monarch’s inheritance, the Blood Dao Secret Art!”
“So that’s how it is!” Yang Kai now understood.
He had witnessed the peculiarity of the blood lake with his own eyes just now. Even if one wanted to step foot on the islands in the lake, choosing to fly was simply courting death. Fortunately, Blood Monster Divine Monarch intended to pass on his inheritance. It stood to reason that he would prepare many tests. The contents recorded in this stele was one such test. Only by comprehending the mysteries of the Blood Light Scripture could one obtain the qualification to receive this inheritance!
After considering all this, Yang Kai felt his heart sinking. He had never really dabbled in the Dao of Blood before. Even if the Grand Evolution Immortal Blood Light Scripture was right in front of him, he could only look on in despair.
Seeming to see through his concerns, Qu Hua Shang chuckled, “Don’t think too much about it, Junior Brother. I studied the Secret Art earlier. Although the Blood Light Scripture is mysterious and obscure, it is not as if we don’t stand a chance. Since Blood Monster Divine Monarch set up his inheritance in this place, then he must not want to see everybody going home empty-handed.”
“You’re right, Senior Sister.” He nodded lightly, “In that case, let’s give it a try.” [In any case, I won’t lose anything even if I fail. But, what if I succeed?]
The words had only just left his mouth when he saw one of the cultivators sitting cross-legged by the stele suddenly stand up and laugh loudly, “I’ve comprehended it! Blood Monster Divine Monarch’s inheritance is mine!”
He was speechless. [Uttering those words in front of so many people… That only serves to draw the people’s hatred. The last person who said something similar has already lost all the flesh on his body and turned into a skeleton that was lying dead at the bottom of the blood lake. I wonder what fate this guy will face.]
In front of everybody’s eyes, the man walked towards the lake. When he reached the shore, the space around his body abruptly shimmered. A layer of Blood Qi wrapped around his body, turning into a red blood mist that enveloped him. Immediately after that, he took a step forward and lightly stepped on the surface of the lake.
Many people turned their gazes away. They did not dare to watch, lest they saw him being dissolved by the blood water. Strangely enough though, he did not fall into the blood lake when he took a step forward. On the contrary, his foot stayed steadily above the surface of the lake. Then, he lifted his other foot and stood on top of the blood lake.
Everybody was shocked!
Meanwhile, that man let out a low chuckle, “This much is nothing!”
He strode forward and continued onward. Large blood-coloured ripples spread out under his feet with every step that he took, but he remained completely unhurt. As he moved forward, the blood mist around his body kept squirming and wriggling. It seemed to be operating under some sort of mysterious method to form a resonance with the ripples that formed on the surface of the lake under his feet to support him as he continued to move forward. It only took him a short while to cross the distance of a few thousand metres and he soon set foot on the first island.
A burst of exclamation sounded. Everybody stared at him in shock and envy. Although he was still two islands away from the palace in the middle of the lake, he had successfully taken the lead and seized an important advantage in this competition. Even if somebody else could comprehend the mysteries after this, they would still lag behind his progress.
“Amazing!” Yang Kai sincerely praised.
Qu Hua Shang whispered quietly, “If my guess is correct, he is probably a disciple of Great Thousand Blood Land.”
“Great Thousand Blood Land?” Yang Kai asked curiously.
“It’s one of the top Second-Class great forces. Although it is inferior to the Cave-Heavens and Paradises, it is quite an impressive great force. This great force is proficient in the Dao of Blood. The reason that person can comprehend the mysteries of the Blood Light Scripture’s first chapter so quickly is that he already has a deep foundation in the Dao of Blood.”
Yang Kai sighed, “This part of Blood Monster Divine Monarch’s inheritance is related to the Dao of Blood. Doesn’t that mean this person had an unfair advantage?”
She said nothing. It was obvious that she had the same opinion.
At that moment, another burst of exclamation rang out from the side. Many people were staring fixedly at the small island. Yang Kai followed their gaze and couldn’t help being amazed.
On that small island, three round platforms had appeared in front of the Great Thousand Blood Land disciple at some point. A Monster Core was placed on each of the round platforms, covered in individual light barriers.
Three Monster Cores lay quietly on the round platforms, shrouded by transparent light barriers which isolated the power fluctuations coming from them. As such, they appeared to be identical from the outside, without the slightest bit of difference between them.
The distance of a couple thousand metres was not that great, so everybody on the shore could see the Monster Cores clearly if they focused their eyesight. Nevertheless, nobody could determine what Order those Monster Cores belonged to. Not even the Great Thousand Blood Land disciple standing on the small island could. He was rubbing his chin and examining the three round platforms in front of him with curiosity.
“Is that a reward?” Somebody asked in surprise and doubt.
These objects had appeared when the Great Thousand Blood Land disciple set foot on the first island; therefore, it was clearly a reward. It was just that nobody could say whether all three Monster Cores were given to him as a reward or whether he could only choose one out of the three.
Everybody stared blankly in that direction. A short while later, the Great Thousand Blood Land disciple made his decision and reached his hand out towards the round platform on the right. There was no resistance as his hand slipped right through the light barrier and he took out the Monster Core from within.
For a time, everybody was itching to know what Order the Monster Core was and what Element it was!
Unfortunately, the Great Thousand Blood Land disciple put the Monster Core away directly without giving the others a chance to investigate. Immediately after that, he stretched out his hand again at the speed of lightning to reach for the round platform in the middle; however, his attempt failed this time around. The light barrier enveloping the round platform might look as thin as a cicada’s wings, but it was extremely strong. There was no way to retrieve the Monster Core without breaking the light barrier.
After a brief delay, the three round platforms sank back into the ground and vanished out of sight. Everybody immediately understood that the Monster Core was a reward after watching this scene. How could they not? It was just that only those who could set foot on the island were eligible to obtain this reward. Although it was just a Monster Core, it still greatly roused everybody’s enthusiasm as a result.
All the cultivators who came here were attracted by Blood Monster Divine Monarch’s Dao of Blood inheritance. It was just that many people had backed away from the challenge after witnessing the horror and peculiarity of the blood lake. Be that as it may, the appearance of this Monster Core reward made many cultivators become eager again. If they could just obtain a Sixth-Order, a Seventh-Order, or even an Eighth-Order Monster Core, then there was no need to worry about money for the rest of their lives. The riches they stood to gain would be enough for them to live luxuriously for an entire lifetime.
Once the Great Thousand Blood Land disciple took away the Monster Core, a loud rumbling sound came from the centre of the first island. Following that, a huge stele burst out of the ground and stood in the centre of the island.
“There’s a second chapter after all!” Qu Hua Shang’s beautiful eyes lit up. She had told Yang Kai about the existence of the second chapter, third chapter, and so on earlier, but those were simply her own speculations. It wasn’t until the appearance of this stele that her conjecture received immediate confirmation.
The people by the shore used all their might to stare in that direction, hoping to get a glimpse of the contents on the second stele. To their surprise, the stele seemed to be covered in a layer of fog. Nobody could see what was written on it. This immediately made it clear that one had no choice but to step onto the first island in order to understand the contents of the Blood Light Scripture’s second chapter.
Blood Monster Divine Monarch’s inheritance was designed to be interlinked so that one could only advance step by step. It would seem that he really had the intention to choose his successor; otherwise, there was no need to make the design so complicated.
The Great Thousand Blood Land disciple came to the stele and looked up at it for a while; soon after, he sat down cross-legged without moving as he began to comprehend the mysteries of the Blood Light Scripture’s second chapter.
“Junior Brother Yang, do you want to give it a try?” Qu Hua Shang turned to look at Yang Kai.
“Of course.” Yang Kai nodded. Besides, he was already here. There was an opportunity right in front of him, so how could he be reconciled with himself if he didn’t even make an attempt? He might never have dabbled in the Dao of Blood before, but most of the cultivators here were no different from him.
Blood Monster Divine Monarch must have already taken this aspect into consideration when he set up a test in this place; after all, if his successor was chosen because of a prior foundation in the Dao of Blood, then it could almost be said that the disciples of Great Thousand Blood Land had secured the winning spot. There would also be no need for tests.
Yang Kai had the vague feeling that the tests for this inheritance could not be that simple.
Bu Lian Zhong and the others had no objection either. They quickly found a place to sit and immersed their minds into the stele to begin comprehending.
Meanwhile, Yang Kai did not begin studying the mysteries of the stele immediately; instead, he secretly manipulated Space Principles to see if he could directly teleport himself to the first island or the palace in the middle of the lake via Instantaneous Movement. If he could travel there instantly, then there was no need to comprehend the mysteries of the stele.
He had only started taking action when a huge sense of crisis flooded his heart for no reason. It felt like an imminent disaster would befall him if he tried to teleport himself there via Instantaneous Movement. This feeling shocked Yang Kai and he hastily gave up on the attempt. The sense of crisis that loomed over him vanished the moment he did so, causing him to sigh. [I knew it was not going to be easy. Blood Monster Divine Monarch had carefully prepared his inheritance. He would never allow later generations to take advantage of any loopholes. Those who tried to step foot on the small island or the palace in the middle of the lake without using his intended methods would definitely suffer a terrible fate.]
Unable to make use of Space Principles, Yang Kai had no other choice but to obediently begin comprehending the mysteries of the stele. Just like before, there was an inexplicable force that pulled his mind in, allowing the mysteries of the Blood Light Scripture to flash through his head.
Yang Kai had only gotten a brief glimpse earlier, so he didn’t think much about the Blood Light Scripture. Now that he was calmly focusing on comprehending it though, he quickly realised that the Blood Light Scripture was not obscure or difficult to understand. Strictly speaking, that only applied for the first chapter. There was no way for him to know how difficult the rest would be.
Nevertheless, it was not difficult for a person to comprehend the mysteries of the Blood Light Scripture’s first chapter as long as one’s heritage and comprehension abilities were not too poor. Focusing his mind, Yang Kai concentrated harder.
Time passed little by little. More and more people gradually stood up from under the stele to head towards the location of the first small island. One after another, they successfully stepped foot on the island. Moreover, the number of people who succeeded was not small.
Be that as it may, the number of cultivators gathered around the monument continued to increase steadily. That was because more and more people were arriving here. These people had clearly heard about the news and rushed over to get a piece of the pie.
By the time Yang Kai thoroughly comprehended the Blood Light Scripture’s first chapter and was confident that he would have no problem circulating the Secret Art, half a day had already passed. He slowly opened his eyes, just in time to see Qu Hua Shang turning to look at him from where she sat beside him.
Qu Hua Shang was obviously taken aback, “You finished so quickly?”
After all, she herself had only just come to a thorough understanding of the Blood Light Scripture’s first chapter.
She could not compare with the Great Thousand Blood Land disciple who already had a profound heritage in the Dao of Blood. She might be one of the Core Disciples of Yin-Yang Cave Heaven, but like Yang Kai, she had never dabbled in the Dao of Blood before; therefore, she could not compete with the Great Thousand Blood Land disciple who held a unique advantage since she had to start from zero.
It was just that she had already begun comprehending the Blood Light Scripture before Yang Kai arrived, so she did not expect to finish at the same time as him. However, she was not surprised when she recalled his extraordinary performance in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary.
Pursing her lips into a coquettish smile, she commented, “It’s not a good thing for men to finish too fast!”
Yang Kai’s expression darkened at those words. [Has this woman gotten addicted to teasing me?]
He irritably replied to her teasing, “Would you like to try?”
Her eyes lit up and her expression changed, “Really?”
Feeling ashamed, Yang Kai quickly waved his hand to dismiss the notion, “No…”
He looked away only to see that Bu Lian Zhong and the others were still comprehending with their eyes closed. Just as he was wondering whether he should talk to them, Bu Lian Zhong’s eyes opened.
Bu Lian Zhong said, “Brother Yang, please go on ahead. We will catch up to you later.”
Yang Kai nodded, “In that case, we will go ahead and wait for you there.”
Bu Lian Zhong gave Qu Hua Shang a deep look and secretly sent a voice transmission to Yang Kai, “Brother Yang, remember not to trust anybody too easily!”
His words seemed to contain another hidden meaning behind them, causing the look in Yang Kai’s eyes to flicker in response. Yang Kai smiled and nodded at him in acknowledgement.
Afterward, Yang Kai and Qu Hua Shang came to the shore of the lake together. Looking around them, they saw many cultivators circulating the Blood Light Scripture’s first chapter on the surface of the lake. All of them were covered in a layer of Blood Qi as they carefully made their way across the blood water.
Most of these people moved forward cautiously, lest they encountered something unexpected. Only a few of them walked confidently and soon came to the first island. Like the Great Thousand Blood Land disciple from before, three round platforms would appear in front of each cultivator that stepped foot on the island. Each round platform would contain a Monster Core. Once one of the Monster Cores were taken, the remaining two Monster Cores would sink back into the ground along with the round platforms and vanish out of sight.
A miserable cry suddenly rang out. One of the cultivators had stumbled for some reason, causing one of his legs to sink into the lake. Panicking, he reached out to grab at a companion beside him. His actions made his companion who had also been extremely on edge make a mistake. Thus, both of them lost their balance for a moment. The blood mist surrounding their bodies dissipated and they immediately fell into the lake.
The tranquil blood lake was like a fierce beast that selectively devoured people. Not a single ripple would crease the calm surface of the lake under normal circumstances, but it reacted viciously when somebody fell into it. A blood wave surged and came crashing down. The two cultivators who made a mistake were swept into the blood lake and disappeared without even a single bubble emerging.
Many people were horrified by the sight. The cultivators standing by the shore and preparing to make their attempt suddenly lost their courage to step forward onto the lake. They hesitated for a time, unable to make up their minds.
Yang Kai said, “Let’s find a spot with less people.”
Qu Hua Shang expressed her agreement, “Good.”
Although both of them had confidence in their respective abilities, they could not withstand the interference of others. Things would most likely end in tragedy for them if they were dragged down by a cultivator who stumbled like what happened in the situation just now.
After searching around for some time, they soon arrived at a location with less people. Yang Kai turned to look at Qu Hua Shang, “Senior Sister Qu, be careful.”
Qu Hua Shang smiled sweetly, “Rest assured. If I sense that something is wrong, I will definitely drag you down into the water with me. Although we could not be born on the same day and year, we can always die together. We can be a pair of lovebird ghosts. I’m sure it’ll be better than dying alone. Right, Junior Brother?”
Yang Kai sighed out loud as he commented, “I never realised that you were such a vicious cunning snake, Senior Sister Qu. I’m considering whether I should stay away from you.”
To which she giggled, “It’s too late!”
At the same time, she reached out her hand and grabbed his arm. She even pressed her ample bosom against him without hesitation, transmitting a sense of amazing elasticity to him. Before he could react, she jumped into the blood lake and pulled him in with her.
Shocked and frightened, Yang Kai hurriedly circulated the first chapter of the Blood Light Scripture to control the Blood Qi in his body according to the Secret Art that he had just learned. A pale golden light immediately enveloped his entire body.
*Pa…*
The two of them landed steadily on the surface of the blood lake. Ripples spread out from beneath their feet, slowly spreading outward.
Yang Kai felt cold sweat drenching his entire body. A breeze blew by, making his body shiver from the cold. He turned around and glared at Qu Hua Shang furiously, “Are you insane!? Couldn’t you have given me a warning, at least!?”
Qu Hua Shang looked at Yang Kai with surprise evident in her beautiful eyes, “Junior Brother Yang, your blood… is golden?”
Under normal circumstances, it was impossible for other people to tell the difference unless he was injured; however, he was circulating the Blood Light Scripture at the moment. The blood mist covering his entire body immediately revealed just how different he was from the others.
She tilted her head to the side. Sniffing him like a dog, she furrowed her eyebrows together, “The aura of a Divine Spirit?” Then, she stared at him in shock and exclaimed, “Junior Brother, do you have a Divine Spirit bloodline? Are you part of the Monster Race?”
Yang Kai became visibly irritated, “Monster Race, my foot!”
On the other hand, Qu Hua Shang’s expression was pure and innocent as she pursed her lips and asked with a twinkle in her eye, “Junior Brother, are you angry?”
At this point, he was practically on the verge of exploding from rage so his expression became surly, “No.”
He extricated his arm from her embrace. Following that, he carefully observed the blood lake and sensed the flow of the blood water under his feet. It didn’t take long before he discovered the secret behind the blood lake.
The ‘water’ in the blood lake might seem calm and undisturbed, but it was actually constantly shifting. It was just that these changes were so hidden that they were very difficult to detect. These changes could only be detected if one was standing on top of the lake. Furthermore, these changes gave the lake a peculiar suction force that caused a person to involuntarily fall into it. Only those who were circulating the Grand Evolution Immortal Blood Light Scripture could resist this pulling force and stand above the surface of the lake.
After becoming aware of this fact, Yang Kai felt a sense of understanding flooding his heart. He became certain that the Blood Light Scripture recorded on the stele was indeed the foundation of passing this test. It could be said that there was no danger as long as one remained focused and constantly maintained the Blood Light Scripture at all times while standing on the surface of the lake. In fact, one would have no trouble reaching the first island at all. The cultivators who fell into the lake and lost their lives either failed to comprehend the Blood Light Scripture thoroughly or made a mistake due to their nerves. Whichever the case, their actions ultimately resulted in their deaths. In truth, the first part of this test was not difficult to overcome!
Yang Kai gained confidence from this knowledge and strode forward. Sure enough, he could walk safely across the blood lake as long as he continuously maintained the Blood Light Scripture. After taking a few steps forward though, he abruptly turned back to look at Qu Hua Shang, who was standing there blankly, “Why are you just standing there?”
Qu Hua Shang looked at him pitifully, “I was wrong. Junior Brother, please don’t be angry. Okay?”
He was speechless, “I’m not angry.”
She quietly said, “You clearly look angry. Haih… It looks like you won’t forgive me, Junior Brother. Then, this Senior Sister has no reason to continue living. I might as well die.”
While saying that, the blood mist around her body showed signs of dispersing on its own.
Yang Kai was shocked and shouted, “Senior Sister Qu, stop fooling around!”
At the same time, he hurriedly reached out to grab her, but to his surprise, she giggled and flicked her sleeves. A ribbon flew out and wrapped around his arm. Immediately after that, she fluttered like a dancing butterfly and threw herself into his arms. Lifting her head, she looked at him with her elegant and beautiful eyes.
Exhaling an orchid scent, she whispered sweetly, “I knew you’d be unwilling to let me go, Junior Brother.”
“Crazy woman!” He cursed through gritted teeth, “Is this the place to fool around?”
“I was wrong…” She said pitifully as she pressed her exquisite body up against him slightly.
All of a sudden, Yang Kai felt extremely uncomfortable. A gorgeous and seductive woman was literally in his arms. Moreover, she was rubbing herself up against him. Having such a mesmerising beauty in such close proximity left him feeling dry-mouthed and confused. Thus, he quickly grabbed her by the shoulders and pushed her away slightly as he sternly said, “Senior Sister Qu, please behave yourself!”
[She was not this forward the last time we met each other in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary! What is wrong with her today? Her behaviour is too much to bear!]
Her expression turned cold and she glared at him, “Junior Brother, are you saying that I’m behaving badly?”
[Why is she suddenly being so unreasonable?]
Just as he was about to explain himself, she went against his expectations and stomped her foot in anger, “If that’s what you think, Junior Brother, then this Senior Sister won’t disturb you anymore! Hmph!”
Her hair slapped him in the face as she whipped her head around and strode away without a backward glance.
Stunned, Yang Kai was left standing stupidly in place, realizing once more that a woman’s heart is impossible to fathom.
The two of them looked like a pair of lovebirds quarrelling on the surface of the lake. Their flirtatious actions made many cultivators look at them in annoyance; therefore, many of them applauded in their hearts when they saw Qu Hua Shang abandoning Yang Kai.
Qu Hua Shang moved very quickly and it didn’t take more than a few moments for her to arrive on the first island. Meanwhile, Yang Kai was stunned for a while before he came back to his senses and hurriedly caught up to her.
The first test was not very difficult. As long as one could maintain the Blood Light Scripture smoothly, one could resist the pulling force coming from the blood lake
A moment later, Yang Kai also set foot on the first island. Three round platforms appeared out of nowhere in front of him the moment both his feet touched the ground. The round platforms were covered in a light barrier and they each contained one Monster Beast Core.
When he tried to investigate the Monster Cores with his Divine Sense, Yang Kai quickly determined that he could not probe into the contents of the barriers. He couldn’t even figure out what Element the Monster Cores belonged to. It looked like Blood Monster Divine Monarch had no intention of giving anybody any basis to make a judgement. The reward one would receive after arriving on this island was completely based on luck.
Realizing this, he randomly reached out towards one of the round platforms. The light barrier did not hinder his movements in any way. He was holding an Earth Element Monster Core when he retracted his hand from the light barrier. The three round platforms abruptly sank back into the ground and vanished out of sight after he retrieved the Monster Core.
Qu Hua Shang happened to be standing beside him and nudged him with her elbow before asking in a whisper, “Junior Brother, what Order Monster Core did you get?”
He turned to look at her and laughed, “I thought you were ignoring me, Senior Sister.”
She blinked, “I was joking just now. Couldn’t you tell? You sure are dense.”
[Who plays a joke like that!?] Yang Kai was speechless. Nevertheless, he revealed the Monster Core in his hand, “See for yourself, Senior Sister.”
She glanced at the Monster Core in his hand and said proudly, “You only received a Fourth-Order Monster Core. I got a Fifth-Order one!”
While saying that, she stretched out her hand to show him her Monster Core.
He glanced over and discovered that she had indeed received a Fifth-Order Monster Core. It would seem that the rewards here were not all the same. Turning around to observe the others around him, he saw that some had obtained Third-Order Monster Cores while others had Fourth-Order Cores like him. Only one other person received a Fifth-Order Monster Core, just like Qu Hua Shang.
Judging from the situation, the rewards for the first island ranged from Third-Order to Fifth-Order Monster Cores. Third-Order and Fourth-Order Monster Cores were far more common, but Fifth-Order Monster Cores were rare.
This discovery made his heart pump with excitement. If that was the case for the first island, then what about the second island, third island, and the palace in the middle of the lake. It might actually be possible to find Seventh-Order Monster Cores in this place! Hence, Yang Kai became even more determined to check out the palace in the middle of the lake.
At the moment, at least hundreds of people had gathered on the first island and more were heading here from the shore. Looking at the situation, the cultivators gathered on the shore had an 80% chance of reaching the first island. Furthermore, they would receive a reward as long as they arrived on this island. Those with great luck might even obtain a Fifth-Order Monster Core as a reward.
The first person to step foot on this island was the Great Thousand Blood Land disciple. Nearly half a day had passed since then. In other words, he had already been comprehending the stele here for slightly less than half a day. His progress was much faster than everybody else.
Yang Kai and Qu Hua Shang did not dare to procrastinate. They quickly found a place to sit and immersed their minds in meditation, allowing the stele to guide them as they studied this Secret Art.
The stele on the first island indeed turned out to be the second chapter of the Blood Light Scripture. It was the continuation of the first chapter, but in comparison, the second chapter was much more esoteric and difficult to cultivate.
The expressions of many cultivators were difficult as they furrowed their brows together, looking as though they were having trouble understanding what they were seeing. Nonetheless, they tried their best to persevere.
Yang Kai immersed himself into the second chapter of the Blood Light Scripture, unable to extricate himself. About half a day had passed by the time he opened his eyes again. Looking around, he saw that the Great Thousand Blood Land disciple was nowhere to be seen. He immediately glanced in the direction of the second island and sure enough, he could see that person’s figure on the second island.
The Great Thousand Blood Land disciple had an extremely deep foundation in the Dao of Blood; therefore, he held a unique advantage over the others here. He also arrived on the first island earlier than all the others, so it was only natural for him to be in the lead. Aside from him, more than a dozen other cultivators had also arrived on the second island. Meanwhile, more than twenty others were cautiously making their way across the surface of the lake.
Yang Kai then turned to look at Qu Hua Shang and discovered that she was still in the middle of comprehending the Secret Art, and it did not look like she was going to wake up anytime soon. It was not to say that her aptitude was not as good as others. Having arrived later than the others, it stood to reason that she would be a little behind compared to the lead group. Be that as it may, Yang Kai did not rush to leave and simply sat beside her and waited patiently.
About an hour later, Qu Hua Shang slowly opened her eyes and gently let out a breath of turbid air. She turned to look at Yang Kai and said, “I apologise for making you wait such a long time, Junior Brother. Next time, you can set off on your own. You don’t need to wait for me.”
Although she had been comprehending the mysteries of the stele, she was not ignorant about what was going on in the outside world; hence, she was aware that he had been waiting for her for a long time. It was just that she was at a critical juncture of her comprehension so it had not been convenient for her to stop partway, forcing her to continue her meditation.
“It’s fine!” He smiled, “Besides, I didn’t wait that long.”
“Let’s go.” She called out to him.
Walking side by side, they headed in the direction of the second island. When they came to the lake, he said, “Be careful, Senior Sister Qu. The second stage is much more difficult than the first stage. The casualty rate is also much higher.”
He had been observing his surroundings for the past hour, so it was only natural that he noticed more things than the others. Compared with the first stage, it was obvious that the difficulty of the second stage had increased significantly. Many cultivators who passed the first stage had easily lost their lives in the second stage.
“You be careful too, Junior Brother,” she said.
Yang Kai nodded and stepped forward while circulating the Blood Light Scripture. A layer of golden blood mist immediately burst out from all over his body. It was denser and more imposing than before. After that, he gently stepped onto the surface of the lake. Resisting the pulling force of the blood lake, he moved forward step by step.
Qu Hua Shang followed close behind.
The pair immediately revealed how different they were from most people the moment they set off. Despite setting off a little later than others, their speed was not slow at all. They proceeded forward step by step with no hesitation at all. On the other hand, most of the other cultivators seemed to experience great hardship with every step that they took and many of them were sweating profusely. Their sweat slid down their faces and dripped into the blood lake. Every step required immense time and effort, so they could not move quickly.
It was only a short distance of a couple thousand metres, but Yang Kai and Qu Hua Shang surpassed those who came before them one after another. It only took both of them less than a cup of tea worth of time to arrive at the second island. Unlike Yang Kai’s calm and relaxed demeanour though, Qu Hua Shang let out a sigh of relief. Her complexion was slightly pale and it could be seen that she had consumed a lot of energy to keep up with his pace.
Just like when they set foot on the first island, three round platforms that were covered by a light barrier immediately appeared in front of the two of them out of nowhere. Three Monster Cores lay quietly on the round platforms. After their previous experience, how could they not know that this was their reward for reaching the second island?
Qu Hua Shang was still comparing the three Monster Cores, feeling hesitant and uncertain about which Monster Core to pick. On the other hand, Yang Kai had already stretched out his hand to the round platform in the middle. There was nothing to compare. He could not tell which Monster Core was better, so he simply decided to leave it up to luck.
He easily passed through the light barrier sealing the Monster Core, took out the Monster Core in the round platform, and glanced at the Monster Core. It was a Fifth-Order Wood Element!
Turning to look at Qu Hua Shang, he saw that she had made her decision and took out a Monster Core. The power fluctuation coming from the Monster Core indicated that it was also in the Fifth-Order, but it was a Fire Element Monster Core.
The reward from the first island were Monster Cores ranging from the Third-Order to the Fifth-Order. Third-Order and Fourth-Order Monster Cores were common, while Fifth-Order Monster Cores were very rare. Upon arriving on the second island, both of them had obtained a Fifth-Order Monster Core each. The reward had clearly increased by a whole Order.
[Based on this conjecture, won’t the reward for the next island be in the Sixth-Order? In that case, there will definitely be Seventh-Order Monster Cores in the palace in the middle of the lake!] Yang Kai’s heart blazed with flames of excitement. He was becoming more and more determined to check out the palace in the middle of the lake. Although he could ignore Blood Monster Divine Monarch’s Dao of Blood inheritance, he could not let the opportunity slip him by when there was a high possibility that the resources he needed were in that place.
Closely following behind them, a steady stream of people was beginning to arrive on the second island. When they received their rewards, Yang Kai secretly paid attention to them. He discovered that only those with terrible luck would receive Fourth-Order Monster Cores. Most of them received Fifth-Order Monster Cores, but nobody received any Sixth-Order Monster Cores.
After getting a taste of sweet rewards, the cultivators that arrived on the island became more and more motivated. They quickly found a place to sit down and began to comprehend the Blood Light Scripture on the stele. The stele by the shore had contained the Blood Light Scripture’s first chapter and the one on the first island had contained the second chapter. Hence, the second island probably contained the third chapter.
Yang Kai and Qu Hua Shang each found a spot to sit down. They immersed their minds in the stele and discovered that it really contained the third chapter; thus, they concentrated on their cultivation.
Compared to the first two chapters, the third chapter was much more profound and mysterious. Be that as it may, the aptitudes of the cultivators who could reach the second island would not be poor. It should not be a problem for them to comprehend the mysteries of this Secret Art. The hard part was circulating and maintaining the Blood Light Scripture.
Yang Kai had failed to notice anything when he was learning this Secret Art earlier, and it was not until he reached the second island that he suddenly realised something. Those with more robust vitality had a greater advantage among those who cultivated the Blood Light Scripture. It was not hard to understand why. The Blood Light Scripture was a Secret Art related to the Dao of Blood, so it would naturally require a strong and robust vitality, and thus a strong Blood Qi.
After noticing this point, Yang Kai failed to stifle his laughter. He previously assumed that the Great Thousand Blood Land disciple would have a larger advantage when comprehending the Blood Light Scripture due to his foundation in the Dao of Blood; however, it would now seem that he had the greatest blessing of them all!
Due to the Dragon Source in his body, nearly pure Dragon Blood flowed through his veins. He could transform into a 3,000-metre-tall Half-Dragon Form when he used his Dragon Transformation Secret Art. In a contest of the most robust Blood Qi, there was nobody among his peers who could compare with him. Even the Great Thousand Blood Land disciple who took the lead could only look up at him from behind.
All of a sudden, realisation struck Yang Kai. Back on the first island, he and Qu Hua Shang had started comprehending the Blood Light Scripture at the same time; however, he finished comprehending the Secret Art much earlier than her.
As one of Yin-Yang Cave Heaven’s Core Disciples, it was a given that Qu Hua Shang’s aptitude and comprehension abilities were among the best of the best in the entire 3,000 Worlds; otherwise, she would not have the success she enjoyed right now. Even so, the reality was that he was much faster than her when it came to comprehending the Blood Light Scripture.
He had not given much thought to this matter before, but it would now seem that it was not because his aptitude and comprehension abilities were much better than hers. Rather, it was the abundant vitality in his body that gave him a natural advantage in comprehending the Blood Light Scripture.
It was not just Qu Hua Shang. The same went for Pei Wen Xuan from Myriad Demons Heaven. His speed of progress was similar to hers. Although he was slightly slower than her, it was by no more than a cup of tea worth of time. He also departed not long after they departed from the first island. Similarly, he also arrived on the second island not long after they arrived.
Just as Yang Kai’s thoughts were wandering, he suddenly felt an unusual power fluctuation coming from the side. He hurriedly jerked his eyes open and looked in the direction. Not far away, steam was coming out of a cultivator’s head as though he was a cooked bun that just came out of the oven. His exposed skin was blood-red and the veins in his neck throbbed wildly. It was a truly horrifying sight. That in itself was bad enough; unfortunately, the main point was that a dense blood mist was oozing out of the pores on his skin. He was completely enveloped in a blood-red mist in the blink of an eye.
“He’s experiencing cultivation dissonance!” Somebody exclaimed in horror, quickly standing up and distancing himself from that person.
Yang Kai’s expression stiffened. He knew that the person who spoke was correct. This cultivator was experiencing dissonance in his cultivation while cultivating the Blood Light Scripture. Things would end disastrously for that cultivator if he did not figure out a way to resolve this crisis. But, who could afford to take care of others at this time?
It happened right in front of everybody, and in less than three breaths, a cry of agony rang out from within the dense blood mist. The blood mist exploded to reveal that cultivator’s miserable figure.
“Save… Save me!” That cultivator reached out a hand and begged for help. His complexion was haggard and his body had become incredibly thin. Those words had only just left his mouth when blood lines spurted out of his body like tens of thousands of fine red strands. The blood shot out in all directions. Immediately after that, his head drooped and all the aura in his body disappeared.
Everybody on the island stared at the sight in horror. After this person suffered from cultivation dissonance, all the essence in his body swiftly dissipated and he became a corpse that was nothing more than a skeleton wrapped in dry skin. It went to show how horrifying the Grand Evolution Immortal Blood Light Scripture was. This was the first time somebody experienced cultivation dissonance while cultivating the Blood Light Scripture; moreover, most had never seen such a miserable and tragic way of dying before. Thus, they couldn’t help feeling worried.
“Ah!” Another miserable cry rang out.
Everybody turned to look in the direction of the sound. There was another person experiencing dissonance in his cultivation. All the Blood Qi in his body gushed out. His plump body quickly dried out and withered away. The essence of his body turned into a blood mist that covered him completely. A moment later, the blood mist exploded. Countless blood spouts shot out of his pores and turned him into a mummified corpse.
In just a short span of time, two people had suffered from cultivation dissonance and lost their lives as a result. It deeply drove home the realization that the Blood Light Scripture was not something that could be cultivated by just anybody, and the slightest negligence would result in death.
Nobody had suffered from cultivation dissonance back at the lakeshore or on the first island. That was because they had not cultivated critical parts of the Secret Art yet. It was not until the second island that the power of the Blood Light Scripture began to show.
Some of the cultivators scowled fiercely and the thought of withdrawing came to mind. The two who died might not be well-known, but since they could reach this point, it went to show that they were undoubtedly elite disciples of some powerful great force out there. Even a person like that had suffered such a terrible fate. If the others continued to comprehend the Secret Art, there was no saying who would follow in their footsteps.
“I’m not doing this anymore.” Somebody decided that he could not withstand the pressure. He knew the extent of his own aptitude and comprehension abilities. Things would not end well for him if he continued to comprehend this Secret Art so he shouted, “Screw the Dao of Blood inheritance! I don’t need it!”
Up to this point, he had received two rewards for managing to arrive on the second island. It was not as if he was leaving empty-handed if he turned back at this point. Besides, staying here would only take up more time. He might as well use this time to explore other places. Who could say whether he might obtain even better gains than staying here? Thus, he moved decisively. He went back along the way he came while speaking. Activating the Blood Light Scripture, he used the blood mist to protect his body as he headed towards the first island.
Contrary to expectations though, he had only just stepped onto the blood lake when the blood mist enveloping his body suddenly seemed to be drawn by something else and was immediately absorbed by the blood lake. There was no way for him to defend against the pulling force of the blood lake without the blood mist protecting him, so he sank into the lake before he even realised what was going on and without the slightest splash.
Everybody was dumbfounded! That person had arrived on the second island safely, which went to show that he was a rather capable individual. He had already comprehended the mysteries of the Blood Light Scripture’s second chapter. Nevertheless, he met his death on the way back; it came out of nowhere and seemingly for no reason.
More importantly, everybody clearly noticed that the blood mist did not disappear on its own. It had been absorbed by the blood lake. They did not encounter this phenomenon when they were coming here. It was almost as if the blood lake did not allow him to turn back.
“Blood Monster Divine Monarch was not a benevolent man. How could he allow you to come and go as you please at the place where he prepared his inheritance?” A cold sneer rang out. It came from Pei Wen Xuan of Myriad Demons Heaven.
Somebody politely cupped his fists, “Senior Brother, are you saying that… those who turn back will die?”
Pei Wen Xuan coldly snorted, “I didn’t say that, but anybody who wishes to return can go ahead and try. Even I would like to know for sure whether only death awaits us if we try to turn back. Who can satisfy my curiosity? I can thank him for his efforts.”
[Thanks!? What good will that do!? We may even lose our lives in the process!] With the previous example right in front of them, who would dare to make an attempt lightly? Although there was no way to confirm the truth, what Pei Wen Xuan mentioned was not without reason. This place was where Blood Monster Divine Monarch’s Dao of Blood inheritance was located. It was impossible for people to come and go as they pleased.
A woman turned pale as she asked, “Does that mean we can only keep moving forward?”
If she had known that the path would be so dangerous, she would not have waded into these muddy waters. She initially planned to leave after obtaining enough benefits from this place, but it would seem that she no longer had the option of leaving even if she wanted to.
Looking at the current situation, it would seem that the rewards on the island were simply bait. The rewards were used to incite countless cultivators to penetrate deeper into the blood lake and force them to proceed forward in order to check out the palace in the middle of the lake.
Yang Kai’s expression was gloomy. He had also been lured into this place by the rewards; however, what attracted him was not the Dao of Blood inheritance but the Monster Cores provided as rewards.
“You can also choose to remain here!” Pei Wen Xuan grinned meaningfully. Without saying anything else, he continued to comprehend the Blood Light Scripture.
Everybody knew that what he said was unreasonable. Choosing to remain here was a dead-end option; they would be trapped here until they died. They couldn’t just stay here for the rest of their lives, right? At the very least, they might have a chance of survival if they continued to press forward. It could be said that their retreat was cut off the moment they set foot on the first island. The crisis of life and death gave them no choice but to continue.
What was obvious now was that Blood Monster Divine Monarch was an extremely insidious man. It was not difficult to reach the first island, so 80% of the cultivators present could succeed, which allowed them to obtain a reward with little effort. For that reason, everybody racked their brains to arrive on the island and fell into this trap as a result.
Regardless of what other people might think, Yang Kai refused to give up halfway. It was true that he was only lured in by the Monster Cores given as a reward, but be that as it may, his strong Blood Qi gave him some natural advantages. If even he could not pass this trial, then everybody else in this place could only wait for their deaths.
He then turned to look at Qu Hua Shang and likewise, her eyes were firm.
It could be said that most cultivators would not back down easily from challenges. People like the cultivator earlier, who wanted to return via the same path he came, were in the minority; after all, who among the cultivators present were not people with great perseverance? That was how they achieved everything they had so far in their lives. Which one of them did not experience life and death struggles countless times? If they turned tail and fled at every setback they encountered, they would not have reached the Emperor Realm in the first place.
Closing his eyes again, Yang Kai continued to comprehend the third chapter of the Blood Light Scripture.
In the meantime, a steady stream of people moved to head towards the third island. It was just that the casualty rate was noticeably higher than before. Many of the cultivators successfully arrived at the first and second islands with ease only to perished en-route to the third island.
A long while later, Yang Kai opened his eyes. He integrated the essence of all three chapters of the Blood Light Scripture from the three steles and circulated the Blood Light Scripture. A golden blood mist immediately appeared around his body. Nodding lightly to himself, he was certain that he would have no problem crossing the blood lake and reaching the third island in his current state.
He turned to the side and saw that Qu Hua Shang was still comprehending the Secret Art. Just as he was debating as to whether he should wait for her or not, she abruptly opened her eyes on her own, “Are you done, Junior Brother?”
He nodded.
She said, “Then, you should go ahead first, Junior Brother. I will catch up to you later. You don’t need to wait for me.”
He raised his head and glanced in the direction of the third island. Then, he slowly shook his head, “No. Let’s go together.”
It was obvious that she did not expect that response from him; thus, she couldn’t help blinking at him in surprise for a moment before she exclaimed with a touched expression, “You are so good to me, Junior Brother!”
He sweated slightly at those words, “I just think that Blood Monster Divine Monarch’s inheritance can’t be that simple. It’s better to let the others test the waters first.”
She leaned into his embrace, tilted her head upward slightly, and spoke in a coquettish voice, “This Senior Sister can’t help it anymore. I want to promise myself to you right now. What should I do?”
Yang Kai naturally acted like he heard nothing, “Senior Sister, stop playing around. Hurry up and finish comprehending.”
“En.” She nodded repeatedly, acting like an obedient little girl, “I will listen to everything you say!”
After saying that, she closed her eyes and continued to comprehend the Blood Light Scripture.
There was nothing to do, so Yang Kai watched the movements in his surroundings. Even now, many people continued to head in this direction from the shore. The number of people on the first island remained high. Similarly, there were over 300 people gathered together on the second island. In contrast, only 6 people were gathered on the third island. The Great Thousand Blood Land disciple was among those 6.
Yang Kai could not help being amazed. [It really is different when one has a foundation in the Dao of Blood.]
Among the cultivators gathered here, Qu Hua Shang and Pei Wen Xuan were not the only ones who came from various Cave-Heavens and Paradises. There would surely be others; even so, the Great Thousand Blood Land disciple remained in the lead. It clearly indicated that his heritage was also very impressive. At this rate, he might really be the first person to arrive at the palace in the middle of the lake.
Be that as it may, Yang Kai was not worried that the Great Thousand Blood Land disciple might get a head start over them and obtain Blood Monster Divine Monarch’s inheritance. It was unconfirmed whether the Dao of Blood inheritance was even inside the palace in the middle of the lake, and if it was, the test to obtain it would not be that simple. Just as Yang Kai mentioned earlier, the first to arrive might not have an advantage. Although the pioneer would get the first attempt at the prize, the very same pioneer might also end up paving the road for the others.
After waiting for approximately four hours, Qu Hua Shang finally opened her eyes. The look in her beautiful eyes was as gentle as water as she said softly, “Junior Brother, I’ve made you wait.”
“It’s fine.” Yang Kai stood up and called out to her, “Let’s go.”
They walked to the lake together. Circulating the Blood Light Scripture, he took a step onto the lake.
“Junior Brother, please be careful. I don’t wish to become a widow at such a young age,” she reminded him from the side.
Yang Kai stumbled upon hearing those words and the Secret Art he was circulating nearly stopped. Therefore, he couldn’t help glaring fiercely at her. It made her giggle madly. For a moment, she was so gorgeous that her flirtatiousness practically oozed out like water.
There was a cultivator standing next to them. They did not know which great force he came from. Unfortunately, he was so befuddled by the sight of her beauty that he fell into the blood lake with a splash and lost his life.
Qu Hua Shang stopped laughing with an innocent expression.
Yang Kai sighed, “Let’s go.”
She nodded and stepped onto the blood lake before him. Ripples spread out from beneath her feet as she stood steadily on the surface of the water. Turning to look back at him, she playfully said, “Junior Brother, stay close, okay?”
He involuntarily snorted at those words but followed behind her nevertheless as they set off for the third island; however, the smile soon slid off his face. It reached a point where he didn’t even dare to look forward anymore. The main reason was that this crazy woman was twisting and swaying her hips in front of him hypnotically. He could not tell whether she was doing so intentionally or whether her actions were simply a natural habit, but her graceful and seductive curves evoked endless imagination in his head. Unable to take it anymore, he quickly caught up to her in a few steps and walked side by side. Only then did he get some peace of mind.
The third island was also located a couple thousand metres away from the second. As long as they circulated the Blood Light Scripture correctly and maintained the blood mist around their bodies to protect themselves, they would be able to cross the blood lake safely.
In less than the time it takes to boil a cup of tea, the pair arrived on the third island. At this moment, there were only a dozen or so people present. The elimination tests at each stage were becoming more and more difficult. Accordingly, the number of people who safely passed those tests became lower.
Upon arriving at this spot, Yang Kai finally became a little nervous even though he had remained calm all this time. According to his estimation, it was possible that the reward they would receive at the third island was a Seventh-Order Monster Core. Although the possibility was not high, there was always a glimmer of hope.
Three round platforms appeared in front of the two of them once more.
Yang Kai stared at the three Monster Cores in front of him and was unable to make up his mind. While he was hesitating, he suddenly detected a strange energy fluctuation coming from the side. He turned to look and saw Qu Hua Shang staring fixedly at the Monster Core in her hand with her mouth gaping open in shock. Her beautiful eyes were filled with surprise and joy.
That Monster Core was Seventh-Order! Moreover, judging from the aura it was exuding, it was an extremely rare Yang Element Monster Core!
Yang Kai was completely dumbfounded by the sight! Although he had the feeling that a Seventh-Order Monster Core might appear on the third island, he never imagined that it would actually appear in front of him, much less that Qu Hua Shang would obtain it!
“Put it away!” He quickly sent her a transmission.
Qu Hua Shang snapped back to her senses and lifted her head to glance around. A dozen or so people in front of them were all staring in this direction. It was obvious that they had sensed the energy fluctuations coming from the Seventh-Order Monster Core. They all had shocked and greedy expressions on their faces.
That was a Seventh-Order Monster Core, a treasure worth hundreds of millions of Open Heaven Pills! Back at the exchange meeting in Red Clouds Auction House, Yang Kai had paid more than 200 million Open Heaven Pills in exchange for the Primordial Yang Profound Ginseng! In other words, the Yang Element Monster Core that she received was worth at least 200 million Open Heaven Pills!
For something like that to simply fall into Qu Hua Shang’s hands so easily… Even a Core Disciple from Yin-Yang Cave Heaven like her felt as though she had been struck by a huge blessing.
It wasn’t until she stored the Seventh-Order Monster Core into her Space Ring that those gazes slowly retracted. They could probably tell that she was not an easy prey; otherwise, it would not be surprising for them to attack and rob her.
After being stimulated by this incident, Yang Kai couldn’t help rolling up his sleeves in anticipation. He took a deep breath and reached his hand into the light barrier on the left. When he withdrew his hand and spread open his palm, his anticipation immediately turned into disappointment.
It was not a Seventh-Order Monster Core. It was not even a Sixth-Order Monster Core. It was a Fifth-Order Monster Core! He nearly spat blood when he saw it. [This is the third island! How can I obtain a Fifth-Order Monster Core as a reward!? Are you joking with me!? I would have grudgingly accepted even if it was only a Sixth-Order Monster Core!]
Compared to what Qu Hua Shang had obtained, the Fifth-Order Monster Core he received was trash. It deserved to be thrown away without a second glance. Upon further consideration, a Seventh-Order Monster Core would not appear so easily even though this was the third island. It was amazingly lucky of her to receive a Seventh-Order Monster Core. The others would never get another opportunity to obtain a Seventh-Order Monster Core again.
Seeming to sense Yang Kai’s disappointment, Qu Hua Shang whispered, “Junior Brother Yang, do you want my Monster Core? I can give it to you.”
“Give it to me?” He glanced at her in surprise. That was a Yang Element Seventh-Order Monster Core! How could she just offer to give it away like that? There would definitely be more than one Master in Yin-Yang Cave Heaven who would need this resource. It could be said that it would be a huge achievement if she brought this Seventh-Order Monster Core back!
She continued, “Don’t you need High-Rank materials?”
Even if not for the fact that they had known each other since the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary and she was aware that he had condensed High-Rank Powers, his existence had caught the attention of the major Cave-Heavens and Paradises at this point. As long as Qu Hua Shang casually inquired, she would be able to get this information.
Yang Kai was stunned for a moment before he chuckled and shook his head, “Many thanks, Senior Sister. Unfortunately, I can’t use this Monster Core anymore.”
If it was before he participated in the exchange meeting, he might have considered trading with her for the Yang Element Seventh-Order Monster Core; however, he had already condensed his Yang Element now. This Monster Core was useless to him for the time being. Although it might be necessary for him in the future, that was still something far, far off from now.
How could he ask somebody else for something so precious? Nevertheless, he was moved by the fact that she wanted to give this Monster Core to him. [This woman can’t have truly fallen for me, right?]
Be that as it may, his current future was extremely bleak. There was no saying when he would have to face great pressure from multiple parties. Qu Hua Shang was no fool, so how could she fall for him at a time like this?
“Is that so…” She nodded, “Then, I’ll keep it for now. If you need it in the future, you can come to me at any time.” Glancing at him with a shy smile, she added, “Not just the Monster Core. I can even give myself to you.”
“Cough. Cough. Cough…” Yang Kai nearly choked to death on his own saliva. Qu Hua Shang’s boldness was a little difficult to handle. Looking at her was like looking at Shan Qing Luo from before. The seductive charms of the Beguiling Demon Queen were not something just anybody could withstand.
Yang Kai quickly pointed to the front, “Let’s just comprehend the Blood Light Scripture first. Is Blood Monster Divine Monarch sick in the head? Why does he have to make the test so complicated?”
Shaking his head, he walked towards the stele, listening to coquettish laughter coming from behind.
The stele was not small. Moreover, not many people had managed to reach the third island, so Yang Kai and Qu Hua Shang casually found a spot and sat down together as usual. Afterward, they immersed their consciousness into the stele and immediately began to comprehend the fourth chapter of the Blood Light Scripture. Many subtle mysteries poured into their minds.
The two of them had only just sat down for less than six hours. They were comprehending the Secret Art when they suddenly heard a loud laughter, “I did it! I comprehended it! Blood Monster Divine Monarch’s inheritance is mine!”
The wild laughter was extremely wanton and arrogant.
Affected by this disturbance, all the cultivators who were quietly comprehending the Secret Art under the stele involuntarily opened their eyes. They looked forward and saw the Great Thousand Blood Land disciple laughing maniacally with his head thrown back. The blood mist surrounding his body churned violently. It was terrifying to see.
At this moment, he was laughing while striding towards the blood lake. His eyes were filled with a look of desire. As long as he could pass the final section of the blood lake, then he could arrive at the palace in the middle of the lake and get a glimpse of the inheritance!
A black mist suddenly surged forward and turned into a pitch-black python. The black python opened its mouth wide and lunged at him. It looked extremely lifelike. Moreover, it was overflowing with Demon Qi, making it all the more horrifying.
The man jumped in fright and hurriedly backed away. The blood mist around him shuddered, wriggling and changing to transform into a blood-coloured knife that came slashing down on the black python’s head.
The blood knife beheaded the black python, but before the Great Thousand Blood Land disciple could let out a breath of relief, the severed pieces of the black python suddenly exploded into countless tiny snakes. Their tongues flickered as they hissed and shot towards him like lightning.
He gave a roar and used both hands to send out Secret Techniques. The blood knife instantly turned into a thousand blades that he slashed out as he backed away.
Black snake after black snake was cut to pieces and dissipated as Demon Qi. The blood blades also vanished in a short time. By the time all the black snakes were beheaded, the blood mist surrounding the Great Thousand Blood Land disciple had weakened considerably. He abruptly turned around and glared in a certain direction, “Pei Wen Xuan, what’s the meaning of this!”
The attack just now had been too obvious. He didn’t even need to guess to know that the attack came from Pei Wen Xuan of Myriad Demons Heaven and he was both shocked and furious.
Pei Wen Xuan sat there motionlessly and stared at the Great Thousand Blood Land disciple coldly, “I just can’t stand the sight of you!”
The Great Thousand Blood Land disciple was absolutely livid. Unfortunately, his strength was lacking. He knew that he was not Pei Wen Xuan’s opponent, so he was forced to suppress his rage, “Brother Pei, this Zhou Yi will not forget your gift today and will be certain to return the favour in the future!”
The meaning behind his words clearly indicated that he would get his revenge one day.
After throwing out those harsh words, he moved to set out for the palace in the middle of the lake. He had only just started walking when he heard Pei Wen Xuan saying faintly, “I dare you to take a step forward and see what happens.”
Zhou Yi paused mid-step and did not dare to put his foot down. He glared at Pei Wen Xuan, “What do you mean, Brother Pei?”
He could sense that Pei Wen Xuan’s gaze was locked tightly on him like a panther that was about to pounce on its prey. The rage in his heart was like a volcano that was about to erupt, squeezing him to the point where it was very uncomfortable.
Pei Wen Xuan calmly replied, “If you left quietly after comprehending the Blood Light Scripture, this Pei would not have bothered to cause trouble for you, but you deliberately made such a ruckus to disturb me. Because of that, all of my previous efforts were wasted. Did you think this Pei was so easily bullied!?”
Zhou Yi gritted his teeth, “I was simply overjoyed just now and lost control of myself. It was not intentional!”
Pei Wen Xuan sneered, “Whether it was intentional or not, it’s up to me to decide. It’s pointless for you to argue with me.”
Zhou Yi shouted, “What do you want, Brother Pei?”
“Nothing!” Pei Wen Xuan lazily cracked his neck, “You just need to stand there quietly. Once this Pei finishes comprehending the Blood Light Scripture, you can set off together with me.”
Zhou Yi was furious. He had been in the lead ever since he came to the blood lake. Not to mention that it was the final stage and he was much further ahead compared to everybody else. How could Pei Wen Xuan force him to wait here!? How could he be willing!? If that truly were the case, then all his efforts and advantages from before would come to nothing. He had planned to set off early to see if he could obtain Blood Monster Divine Monarch’s Dao of Blood inheritance. No matter what, it would always be advantageous to be the first to enter the palace in the middle of the lake before everybody else.
“Brother Pei, did you think that this Zhou was a pushover? You might be a disciple of Myriad Demons Heaven, but none of us are in the Open Heaven Realm yet. The difference between our strengths is not that great. If you really want to stop me, Brother Pei, this Zhou will have no choice but to ask you for a demonstration of strength. If we end up fighting each other, it will only be advantageous for the others.”
His words were a mixture of reason and threat, but his response was not bad.
Pei Wen Xuan sneered and pointed at the people around him, “If you think that way, then you are sorely mistaken. Ask them yourself. Let’s see if they agree to let you leave first?”
Zhou Yi turned to look in that direction. Sure enough, there were many malicious gazes staring at him. Many of them looked like they were itching to take action; hence, he immediately became frightened. He realised that his actions just now had incited public anger. In addition to everything that he had done earlier, he had made himself into a target.
Therefore, his complexion turned pale. It was just as Pei Wen Xuan mentioned, he had deliberately laughed out loud to disturb the others who were in the middle of comprehending the Blood Light Scripture. He wanted to make them waste a little more time. Who could have expected that he would lift a rock only to drop it on his foot instead?
He might have gotten away with it if nobody had stepped forward to complain, but Pei Wen Xuan just had to stop him from leaving. With all the commotion they made, how could he possibly be allowed to leave now? If he really were to force his way out of here, he would instantly be besieged by everybody.
With that thought in mind, he gritted his teeth, “Good! I will do as you say, Brother Pei. I will wait for you. I just hope you won’t make me wait too long!”
Zhou Yi was a man who knew how to adapt to the situation. Now that things had come to this point, it was better to wait patiently than to be besieged by everybody. Even if everybody entered the palace in the middle of the lake together, he would still have his own unique advantages; after all, his attainments in the Dao of Blood were much greater compared to the others.
Pei Wen Xuan grinned and nodded, “Rest assured, this Pei won’t let you wait too long.”
The storm finally subsided. Aside from Zhou Yi who was standing there with a hideous expression on his face, everybody else on the third island continued to comprehend the Blood Light Scripture recorded in the stele.
Yang Kai was speechless. He initially wanted the others to enter the palace in the middle of the lake before him so that they could scout the way ahead for him. Unfortunately, his plans were completely ruined after what Pei Wen Xuan did. He had no other means to let the others take the initial risks for him.
Judging from the current situation, it was also not appropriate for him to stand out too much; otherwise, there was a high chance that he would be attacked by the others!
Aside from Zhou Yi of Great Thousand Blood Land, he had the greatest advantage among all the other cultivators here. His abundant and robust Blood Qi allowed him to comprehend the Blood Light Scripture more easily. He could confidently say that he would be able to finish comprehending the Secret Art in another hour. From the looks of things now though, he would have to conceal his advantage.
As expected, Yang Kai attained mastery of the Blood Light Scripture’s fourth chapter through comprehensive study after another hour. He came to realise something when he was on the previous islands; the more robust the Blood Qi of a cultivator, the easier it was for them to cultivate the Blood Light Scripture. At this point, this discovery was only becoming more obvious.
Still, Yang Kai pretended as though he was in the middle of comprehending the Secret Art. At the same time, he stealthily monitored his surroundings with his Divine Sense.
Zhou Yi was still standing there, not daring to make a careless move lest he provoke a violent reaction. It was just that his expression was uglier with the passing of time. He should have been investigating the palace in the middle of the lake by now, but he was forcibly held up in this place by Pei Wen Xuan. How could he not feel resentful?
During this period, more and more people arrived on the third island. Their numbers were not high, but the cultivators who made it this far were the elites among the elites. Bu Lian Zhong was one of them; however, his Junior Brothers and Junior Sister were nowhere to be seen. They probably remained behind on the second island.
Another 7 or 8 hours passed when Yang Kai suddenly noticed a short man secretly opening his eyes by a narrow slit. The short man’s eyes twinkled behind those narrow slits as he surveyed his surroundings.
Yang Kai couldn’t help laughing in surprise. Like Yang Kai, the short man had already attained mastery of the Blood Light Scripture. Despite having the qualifications to set off for the palace in the middle of the lake, he did not reveal the fact immediately. It was clear that he had his own plans.
Yang Kai quietly sighed in amazement. All the cultivators who could arrive on the third island were sneaky tigers hiding their claws. Pei Wen Xuan and Qu Hua Shang were still in the middle of comprehending the Secret Art, but this short man had already finished. It made Yang Kai wonder which great force he belonged to.
Another hour passed and Pei Wen Xuan suddenly let out a turbid breath of relief. He opened his eyes and sighed in amazement, “The Grand Evolution Immortal Blood Light Scripture is profound indeed!”
While saying so, he stood up and glanced lightly at the cultivators who were gathered around the stele. A trace of murderous intent flashed through his eyes, but in the end, he shook his head and strode towards the blood lake. If possible, he would have liked to slaughter every single person here. After that, he could slowly take his time to explore the palace in the middle of the lake. However, he knew that it was not realistic to think that he could kill all these people.
After waiting for such a long time, Zhou Yi immediately followed suit when he saw that Pei Wen Xuan was finally moving forward.
In the next moment, the short man that Yang Kai noticed earlier also stood up. Another three or four others stood up at the same time. They looked at each other before tacitly shifting their gazes away.
There were five or six people heading towards the palace in the middle of the lake all at once, so it was only natural that it caught the attention of many people. They raised their heads to look in that direction with expressions of envy.
Yang Kai glanced at Qu Hua Shang suspiciously. Logically speaking, she should have finished around the same time, but on the contrary, she was frowning deeply. It was obvious that she was still immersed in comprehending the Secret Art and seemed to have encountered a problem.
This puzzled him; after all, she was one of Yin-Yang Cave Heaven’s Core Disciples. Moreover, she condensed Sixth-Order Elements. Both her aptitude and her comprehension abilities were the best among the best, so why was she taking so long?
After further consideration though, Yang Kai realised that it might be related to her gender. She was a woman, so her body was inherently more Yin aligned which would make her Blood Qi less vigorous. These two points might be the reason why her progress was slower than the others. Not to mention, there were no other women on the third island aside from her.
Still, Qu Hua Shang was not that much slower than the others. An hour after Pei Wen Xuan and the others left, she finally opened her eyes and glanced at Yang Kai affectionately.
Yang Kai gestured, “Let’s go.”
He was slightly unsettled by this woman. He had not noticed anything when they were in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, so he did not know why she was being so affectionate and forward when he met her again today.
“En!” She nodded.
The two of them walked side by side towards the blood lake. Circulating the Grand Evolution Immortal Blood Light Scripture, a layer of blood mist immediately surged around their bodies to protect them.
When they stepped onto the blood lake, the various disturbances and the pulling force that came from the blood lake were more than ten times stronger than before. It was conceivable that one could not safely cross this stretch of the blood lake if they did not integrate and link all four chapters of the Blood Light Scripture recorded on all four steles together.