It started with one of the young man’s arms being crushed. Then, it was his second arm, followed by both his legs…
The continuous sound of bones breaking was extremely disturbing.
The fear and despair in his eyes grew stronger and stronger, but his screams slowly grew weaker and weaker. He became breathless instead. The entire process took no more than a half cup of tea’s time. In that time, all the bones in his body had been crushed to pieces and all the meridians in his body were destroyed.
This kind of pain was not something ordinary people could withstand. The most important point was that he could clearly feel the traces and movements of each bone when they were broken. What horrified him even more was Yang Kai’s expression, which remained completely calm and indifferent, almost cold and meticulous, making him look like he was handling something very serious.
“Please kill me…” The young man murmured with lifeless eyes, “Kill me!”
It didn’t matter if all his bones were broken. With his cultivation, he only needed to recuperate for three to five years and consume some Spirit Pills to recover from even such major injuries. However, there was no way to recover once his meridians had been destroyed. Even if he could heal all the broken bones in his body, he would only be a cripple in the future. He could never cultivate again. For a cultivator, it was a fate worse than death. There was no crueler fate than that.
“Won’t killing you be going too easy on you?” Yang Kai stood up and looked down on this person contemptuously, his expression still as calm as ever, “I’m a man who means what he says. I said I won’t kill you, so I won’t kill you!”
After that, he took off the young man’s Space Ring and retrieved the Space Rings from the others. Turning around, he walked back to Qu Hua Shang.
Qu Hua Shang was in shock. It was her first time seeing Yang Kai acting so cruel. He had always given her the impression of a mild-tempered man. At the very least, he was warm and gentle with her. Be that as it may, his current actions could only be described as cruel and ruthless. It was true that he had not killed the young man from Heavenly Sword Union, but this fate was more despairing than death.
[Just who is this woman?] She lowered her head to look at Zhang Ruo Xi, who she was carrying in her arms. [I can’t believe seeing her hurt made Yang Kai so furious.]
Although she did not know the answer to her question, Qu Hua Shang could be certain that he had a close relationship with this young woman.
“How is Ruo Xi?” Yang Kai came to Qu Hua Shang and placed two fingers on the young woman’s wrist to probe her condition while asking. After a while, he breathed a sigh of relief. She was heavily injured, but her injuries had not damaged her foundation; hence, she would recover fully after recuperating for some time.
“Many thanks for your life-saving grace, Senior Brother!” A voice came from the side suddenly. It was the man who had been fleeing alongside Zhang Ruo Xi earlier. Seeing that his pursuers were gone, he returned and thanked Yang Kai.
Yang Kai turned to look in that direction and his originally gentle gaze instantly turned frosty. What happened earlier had not escaped his notice.
Both this person and Zhang Ruo Xi were being pursued just now. It was bad enough that he had not protected her. When an attack came from behind, it was only she who turned around to defend. On the other hand, he had taken the opportunity to flee even faster. He didn’t even bother to look back to see what had happened to her. It was one thing if they did not know each other; however, they had been escaping together, so how could they be unrelated to one another?
How could Yang Kai have any good impression towards a person like that? Even Qu Hua Shang looked at this man with an expression of disgust.
“Sir, this is my Senior Brother, Du Xu.” Zhang Ruo Xi introduced weakly.
Why would Yang Kai care to know that person’s name? He simply shouted, “Scram!”
Du Xu originally had a smile on his face, but when he heard Yang Kai telling him to get lost, his expression suddenly became incredibly awkward. He said falteringly, “Senior Brother, why must you be so hurtful with your words? Although you rescued my Junior Sister and I, we are still from Lang Ya Paradise.”
“It’s a disgrace to Lang Ya Paradise for having a disciple like you! Get lost!”
Du Xu’s face flushed red in embarrassment and then he became angry out of shame. It looked like he wanted to say something back, but he did not dare to speak the words that were on the tip of his tongue when he recalled the strength and brutality Yang Kai displayed earlier. In the end, he could only glance at Zhang Ruo Xi angrily before he turned to leave.
Qu Hua Shang watched that person’s back and frowned, “Is that person really from Lang Ya Paradise? He is a disciple of one of the 72 Paradises. How could he act like that?”
Lowering her head, she asked Zhang Ruo Xi, “Are you also from Lang Ya Paradise?”
Zhang Ruo Xi replied, “Yes. Senior Brother Du and I might belong to Lang Ya Paradise, but we are just Inner Disciples.”
Qu Hua Shang understood. Most Sects divided their disciples into three grades. The first were the Outer Disciples. They had the lowest status and worst potential. Next came the Inner Disciples. They had much better aptitudes and potential. The strongest among the disciples were the Core Disciples or Legacy Disciples. These talents were the future hope and pillars of the major Sects.
Both Qu Hua Shang and Gu Pan were Core Disciples while Zhang Ruo Xi and that man called Du Xu were Inner Disciples.
Legacy Disciples and Core Disciples were the smallest in number. Generally, only the cultivators who could condense Sixth-Order Elements were qualified to be chosen. Even among the major Cave-Heavens and Paradises, each Sect did not have more than a dozen Legacy or Core Disciples. Nevertheless, it was hard to say how many out of this dozen or so people would succeed and advance into the Open Heaven Realm and how many would fall.
Upon knowing that they were from Lang Ya Paradise, Qu Hua Shang became even more curious, “Heavenly Sword Union might be relatively powerful, but they wouldn’t dare to provoke Lang Ya Paradise. Why did those people pursue you so doggedly just now?”
Zhang Ruo Xi said, “We accidentally discovered a medicine garden earlier. It seemed to be one created by Blood Monster Divine Monarch. We found many valuable herbs, so those people were blinded by their greed.”
Yang Kai immediately snorted coldly, “Men die for wealth.”
As long as the people from Heavenly Sword Union could kill Zhang Ruo Xi and Du Xu, who would know that they had attacked people from Lang Ya Paradise? This matter would not be exposed.
If Zhang Ruo Xi and Du Xu had not met Yang Kai here, they would certainly be facing a bleak future. What Zhang Ruo Xi never expected was that Du Xu would be so unreliable. He had been very eager to flirt with her and constantly displayed his affection when they were at Lang Ya Paradise. His usual demeanour was also rather upright. Although she had explicitly rejected him on numerous occasions, he had continued to persevere.
Afterwards, they happened to encounter each other in the Blood Monster Cave Heaven. Considering the dangers of this place, she decided to travel together with him. It had made him very happy, so he had been extremely diligent in every way.
Even so, he turned out to be as timid as a mouse when faced with a crisis. With their strength, they would not have been able to kill those people from Heavenly Sword Union even if they fought back with everything they had, but their enemies would also have suffered greatly as a result. The best chance at surviving would have been if they could scare their opponents off. However, Du Xu chose to escape without even trying to fight, leaving Zhang Ruo Xi no choice but to escape with him. In the end, it turned into the situation Yang Kai had witnessed earlier.
“Ruo Xi, the top priority is treating your wounds. We can talk about the rest later,” Yang Kai said.
Zhang Ruo Xi gave a non-committal grunt in response.
He took her from Qu Hua Shang’s arms and placed her into the Small Sealed World without another word. Then, he called out to Qu Hua Shang, “Let’s go, Senior Sister.”
The two of them continued on their journey while the cries of the young man from Heavenly Sword Union came from behind them as he begged in despair, “Please kill me!”
There were no traces of other cultivators along their journey and they did not see many traces of Monster Beast activity either. Many of the cultivators were in possession of a map sold by Red Clouds Auction House. Naturally, they moved forward by relying on the directions of the map. It was not surprising that their journey was calm since they were travelling the path that others had travelled earlier.
This only happened because Yang Kai and Qu Hua Shang had encountered too many hardships along their way, which delayed their travels; otherwise, they would not have fallen behind the others.
After travelling for two days, Yang Kai’s expression suddenly changed and he immersed his mind into the Small Sealed World. He might have been travelling all this while, but he had always kept an eye on Zhang Ruo Xi’s condition inside the Small Sealed World. Just now, she had called for him.
Sending his Soul Avatar inside, Yang Kai stood in front of Zhang Ruo Xi. She smiled slightly and said delightedly, “I knew you would come to the Blood Monster Cave Heaven, Sir.”
Yang Kai was surprised and asked, “Did you come here just to look for me?”
“En.” Blinking, she continued, “Hasn’t Sir been looking for me all this while as well? Senior Sister Gu told me everything. She said that you once sought her out in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary to ask about me.”
“Gu Pan came to look for you?”
Upon further consideration, Yang Kai understood the situation. He had asked Gu Pan for information on Zhang Ruo Xi back in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary. At the time, she said she had never heard of the name ‘Zhang Ruo Xi’ before. It was not until she returned to Lang Ya Paradise that she deliberately went around inquiring for information. That was how she found Zhang Ruo Xi.
“Senior Sister Gu has taken great care of me. I would not have been able to become an Inner Disciple if not for her.”
“Then, I’ll have to thank her properly next time.” Yang Kai nodded lightly. The image of a petite young girl with a paintbrush in hand, eating dried fish with her head lowered slightly involuntarily flashed through his mind.
Sitting crossed-legged opposite Zhang Ruo Xi, Yang Kai looked at her and grinned, “I’m glad. Although it has been years since we’ve last met, you’ve not gotten thinner. Good, very good.”
She blushed beet red, “Sir, are you calling me fat?”
“Of course not. You’re perfect the way you are right now. You’re neither fat nor thin.” Yang Kai chuckled, “By the way, did you go straight to Lang Ya Paradise after we parted ways back then?”
She nodded, “That’s right. I couldn’t find Sir; however, I knew you knew that my ancestor came from Lang Ya Paradise. I believed that you would surely look for me there, so I went there.”
Zhang Ruo Xi had not been very strong at the time. Moreover, she had to wander the 3,000 Worlds alone. How difficult had it been for her to go to Lang Ya Paradise? It was fortunate that she had some of her ancestor’s memories and knew quite a lot about the Outer Universe; otherwise, a lone girl like her would have been devoured cleanly by others.
Even so, the journey had taken her more than 10 years. It was not until several years ago that she finally arrived at Lang Ya Paradise. Joining Lang Ya Paradise was not difficult. Her ancestor had been a Lang Ya Paradise disciple after all, so she received some preferential treatment. Besides, her own aptitude was not poor. Lang Ya Paradise was also happy to accept a disciple like her.
It was just that it had not been easy to survive in Lang Ya Paradise. That place was one of the 72 Paradises, so although it had a grand reputation, it was still a large Sect. It was not easy to stand out among the countless disciples. Zhang Ruo Xi had crawled her way through the lower levels and finally borrowed Gu Pan’s help before she successfully became an Inner Disciple.
Be that as it may, she did not tell Yang Kai about these matters. The hardships she went through in the past were not worth mentioning. Meeting her Sir once more in this vast universe was the greatest gift from the Heavens she could ask for.
Yang Kai nodded, “I guessed as much. I wanted to head to Lang Ya Paradise, but I was held up by some other things.”
After he came out from the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, he had wanted to go to Lang Ya Paradise to look for Zhang Ruo Xi. It was just that he later obtained Void Land and the root from the World Tree, so he had to hurriedly return to the Star Boundary instead.
After Zhang Ruo Xi finished her story, she asked Yang Kai about what he had encountered over the years.
Yang Kai did not conceal anything from her. He told her that he had been lured to a place called Seven Wonders Land where he served as a Worker for some time following their separation. Later, he took the opportunity to escape when an incident arose and inadvertently joined First Inn. Afterwards, he wandered into the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary…
Zhang Ruo Xi’s eyes filled with pleasant surprise upon learning that he had gone back to the Star Boundary and repaired the shattered World Principles. She was different from him in the sense that she was truly born and raised in the Star Boundary; therefore, she held a special affection for that world. When the World Principles shattered and the Star Boundary was on the brink of collapse, she too had hoped to find a method to restore the world one day. Nevertheless, she knew that it was bound to be an extremely long and difficult process.
Contrary to her expectations, Yang Kai had succeeded in such a short time. [Sir is really amazing. He is capable of performing feats that ordinary people can never hope to achieve. If I think back to everything he has done in the past, which of those feats were something an ordinary cultivator could have done?]
When she learned that he had acquired a Spirit Province in the 3,000 Worlds, established Void Land, and brought several hundred thousand people from the Star Boundary there, her admiration for him grew stronger and stronger.
Over the past few years, she had cultivated extremely hard just to become one of Lang Ya Paradise’s Inner Disciples. On the other hand, Yang Kai had founded a Sect in the Outer Universe. The gap between them was apparent at a glance.
She had condensed the Fifth-Order Elements. Since entering the Outer Universe, she had spent most of her time journeying to Lang Ya Paradise. She did not have any means to earn resources either; therefore, it could be said that she achieved nothing for the past decade. Her strength had not grown by much either. It wasn’t until she entered Lang Ya Paradise that her circumstances changed for the better.
Disciples from any Sect had to obtain their own cultivation resources through hard work, meaning it was impossible for them to receive anything without effort. For that reason, Zhang Ruo Xi had no resources available for use even after she joined Lang Ya Paradise; after all, she was only an insignificant Outer Disciple at the beginning.
That might be the reason why many disciples of various Sects had such slow progress in their cultivation. They often had to perform various tasks for years, decades, or even longer just to build up enough merits to exchange for necessary cultivation resources. When they finished consuming these resources, they would have to continue completing tasks until they could gather all of the required Open Heaven Element Powers. If they had a sufficient supply of resources, then their speed of cultivation would surely increase significantly.
After Gu Pan returned from the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, she sought out Zhang Ruo Xi, checked her aptitude, and gave her some Fifth-Order materials. It was only then that Zhang Ruo Xi finally began cultivating for real.
Gu Pan was one of Lang Ya Paradise’s Core Disciples. Although she had condensed Sixth-Order Elements, even she could not obtain Sixth-Order materials at will; after all, each Sixth-Order material was worth ten or twenty million Open Heaven Pills. These resources were treated as strategic reserves in any Sect, so it was impossible to obtain them casually. It was the limit just for her to acquire Fifth-Order materials.
“Senior Sister Gu has been very good to me. She told me that you helped her greatly in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary. Moreover, she said she would not have come out of the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary alive without Sir’s help.”
Yang Kai smiled, “She is a virtuous and upright woman.”
Pondering quietly for a moment, he continued, “Do you want to start over again? I have some Tai Yi Soul Cleansing Water in my possession. It can wash away the Powers in your Dao Seal and allow you to condense new ones. There’s no need to worry about the resources. I have quite a lot of them.”
Zhang Ruo Xi shook her head at those words, “No need, Sir. I know my own limits. Even though I am capable of forcefully condensing Sixth-Order Elements, I’m afraid I won’t be able to survive the breakthrough to the Open Heaven Realm.”
The consequence of failure was the destruction of her body! That was one of the problems that plagued countless cultivators. In order to advance into the Open Heaven Realm, one of the problems the cultivators faced was obtaining resources. The higher the Order of the material, the more expensive and difficult to obtain such resources became. The other problem was the carrying capacity of a cultivator’s Dao Seal. That was why cultivators would only choose resources within the range of their financial abilities and carrying capacities, regardless of who they were.
While Zhang Ruo Xi’s aptitude was certainly not bad, it was not as good as Qu Hua Shang or Gu Pan’s. It was undeniable that condensing Sixth-Order Elements would be dangerous for her.
However, Yang Kai had the Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pills in his possession. The Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill was refined with World Source Liquid as its main ingredient and could significantly increase a cultivator’s chances of entering the Open Heaven Realm successfully. Therefore, Yang Kai believed that her risks of failure when advancing into the Open Heaven Realm was not high even if she condensed Sixth-Order Powers.
But upon further consideration, Yang Kai realised that Fifth-Order Elements were enough. Zhang Ruo Xi could slowly cultivate until she reached the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm one day. There was a risk even if she used the Tai Yi Soul Cleansing Water, so he decided to leave the decision to her.
After telling her to get a good rest, Yang Kai withdrew his mind from the Small Sealed World.
A few more days passed. Zhang Ruo Xi was almost fully recovered at this point, so Yang Kai released her and properly introduced her to Qu Hua Shang. Only then did Zhang Ruo Xi learn that the other party was a Core Disciple of Yin-Yang Cave Heaven. Her expression became a little weird when she looked at him. Needless to say, she had heard of the name ‘Yin-Yang Cave Heaven’.
Qu Hua Shang and Yang Kai had been travelling together all by themselves. Not to mention that the way Qu Hua Shang looked at him and spoke to him were clearly suggestive. It was inevitable that Zhang Ruo Xi would misunderstand.
As they gradually moved forward, they began to come across traces of other cultivators. They also encountered the occasional fleeing Monster Beasts and even found several battlefields.
Yang Kai knew that they had finally caught up to the others after rushing to get here. Be that as it may, the gains he received inside the Blood Monster Cave Heaven were practically negligible. It was extremely depressing. Qu Hua Shang had obtained a Seventh-Order Monster Beast Core at the blood lake, while he only obtained a Fifth-Order Monster Beast Core.
By contrast, he had acquired so many treasures back in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary that he nearly couldn’t carry them! Just as Yang Kai was wondering whether he had used up all his luck back in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, he suddenly noticed a large group of people gathering at a spot not too far ahead; thus, he couldn’t help feeling surprised.
It had to be said that this place was located quite deep in the Blood Monster Cave Heaven. It had far exceeded the range of the areas marked on the map. Throughout history, nobody had ever gotten this far since the Blood Monster Cave Heaven was first opened.
It was rumoured that the deeper one ventured into the Blood Monster Cave Heaven, the greater the dangers became; however, their journey here had been completely unimpeded, without the slightest hint of danger. It was not just Yang Kai’s group who managed to get this far; there were also many others who had gotten there before them. Hence, it was strange why these people were gathering in that direction.
Curious, Yang Kai led Qu Hua Shang and Zhang Ruo Xi over. It didn’t take long before they arrived atop a crowded mountain. Yang Kai swept his gaze around and saw several acquaintances whom he once met in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary. These people were Bearers chosen by the Divine Spirits. In the end, it was only thanks to his help that they could leave the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary safely.
When they parted ways, these people had left their respective Faith Tokens with Yang Kai so that he could visit them at their Sect when he had the time. They promised to provide him with the best hospitality they could offer. For that reason, many eyes immediately lit up upon seeing Yang Kai again. They quickly came forward and cupped their fists at him in greeting.
Yang Kai returned the greeting, but before they could exchange pleasantries, he heard a furious roar, “Yang Kai, I can’t believe you actually have the guts to come here!”
For some reason, listening to this voice enraged Yang Kai greatly. He looked in the direction of the voice only to see a group of people flying over from another mountain with great fanfare. It was clear that this group of people had been resting over there but came over after spotting him.
The person in the lead was none other than Yin Xin Zhao of Xuan Yuan Cave Heaven. Yin Xin Zhao and Yang Kai had a feud between them. Before the Blood Monster Cave Heaven opened, Yang Kai had stolen his entrance and almost caused him to lose out on this opportunity. Yin Xin Zhao later led a pair of his Junior Brothers to hunt Yang Kai down. There was no saying what would have happened if Yang Kai had not borrowed the strength of Golden Gorilla King and a Monster Beast wolf to escape their pursuit.
It was only natural for these two sworn enemies to blaze with hatred now that they came face to face with each other.
Yin Xin Zhao was surrounded by many people; however, what surprised Yang Kai slightly was that Pei Wen Xuan of Myriad Demons Heaven was among them.
[This guy didn’t die?] Yang Kai glanced at Pei Wen Xuan in astonishment. He recalled Black Crow Divine Monarch shooting a blood arrow at him and Pei Wen Xuan no longer had an Identity Token to protect him. How did he survive? As expected of a disciple from a major Sect, his heritage was indeed extraordinary.
The sight of these two together caused Yang Kai’s teeth to grind slightly.
“Is he Yang Kai?” A handsome young man swept his eyes over him and asked.
Yin Xin Zhao said, “That’s right! He is Yang Kai!”
The young man arrogantly said, “I heard you defeated my Junior Sister Yu Luo Sha in one move in the Asura Arena.”
Yang Kai raised a brow at those words, “Yu Luo Sha is your Junior Sister? Who are you?” [If Yu Luo Sha is his Junior Sister, then he must also be from Asura Heaven.]
The young man replied, “My name is Ba Liang. Remember it well, for I will be the one to kill you.”
While saying so, he grinned at Yang Kai, revealing a set of white teeth.
Another young man stepped forward, “Brother Ba, where does your confidence come from? Yang Kai’s head is mine.”
“And you are?” Yang Kai was so furious that he laughed. He had heard from Qu Hua Shang that many people wanted to kill him. The Cave-Heavens and Paradises had taken notice of him already, but it was inconvenient for the renowned Open Heaven Realm Masters to take direct action against him because they had their reputation and their Sects’ reputations to maintain. For that reason, they left this matter to their Juniors. The Blood Monster Cave Heaven was undoubtedly the best place to resolve this issue. Nobody would say anything if Yang Kai was killed in this place.
Nevertheless, rumours were simply rumours. He never imagined that so many people would actually want to kill him as soon as he arrived at this place.
It was one thing if Pei Wen Xuan and Yin Xin Zhao wanted him dead. They had personal grudges against him after all. It was also reasonable for Ba Liang of Asura Heaven to come looking for trouble. Ba Liang had a justifiable reason to avenge his Junior Sister and recover Asura Heaven’s face. On the other hand, the last person who popped up out of nowhere was completely unfamiliar to Yang Kai.
“Clear Mind Heaven, Qiu Kang Xian!”
[Clear Mind Heaven?] Yang Kai couldn’t help thinking that the name sounded familiar. After thinking carefully about it, he suddenly recalled where he heard the name before. He had met a Clear Mind Heaven disciple with the name ‘Young Master Hai’ during his first time in Thousand Birds Star City. That person had been harassing Luo Hai Yi, so Yang Kai taught him a little lesson. As a result, he was captured and punished by the law enforcement team of Thousand Birds Star City.
The incident had enraged the Proprietress so badly that she silently pursued and killed Young Master Hai in the void outside the Star City. Due to this incident, Hai Ping Le of Clear Mind Heaven joined forces with Qin Ji and the others to besiege the Proprietress during Old Bai’s breakthrough to the Open Heaven Realm.
Another person stepped forward and politely cupped his fist at Yang Kai, “Azure Nether Paradise, Ye Cheng, here for your head, Brother Yang!”
Four Cave-Heavens and one Paradise. All of them wanted Yang Kai to die! These were only those who openly announced their intentions. There were even more who kept silent but watched Yang Kai with great interest. Many gazes were fixed on his neck and heart, as though wondering which location was better to target should they make their move.
A rough estimate indicated that there were as many as a dozen Cave-Heavens and Paradises, with approximately twenty to thirty other cultivators together with Pei Wen Xuan and Yin Xin Zhao in the lead. These people were the elite Core Disciples of the various Cave-Heavens and Paradises and had condensed Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Elements at the very least. Even so, many amongst them had condensed Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Powers!
It could be said that the most excellent and talented cultivators in the younger generation of the 3,000 Worlds were gathered here! One day, the cultivators in this place who managed to advance into the Open Heaven Realm would surely become powerful Great Experts who ruled over the world.
The audience was horrified as many people looked over from the mountains in the vicinity. They did not know who Yang Kai was or how he managed to provoke so many Cave-Heavens and Paradises that so many people hated him and wanted to take his life.
On the mountain where Yang Kai was standing, the expressions of the cultivators who came over and greeted him earlier became very solemn. They only came to greet him because they received his help back in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary. Who could have known that they would be mixed up in this mess as a result?
They were not ungrateful people who did not know how to repay their debts, and a life-saving debt was heavier than a mountain. It was only natural that they paid him back in full. It was just that each of them was a representative of their respective Sect. If they got caught up in Yang Kai’s mess, there was a high chance that their actions would also affect the force behind them. Thus, they hesitated to take action.
Ye Cheng of Azure Nether Paradise gave a small smile and looked at Yang Kai with a warm expression, “I’ve long heard of you, Brother Yang. After meeting you today, I can see that you are worthy of your reputation. It’s a pity that I can’t chat with you, Brother Yang. It truly makes me sigh with regret.”
Yin Xin Zhao coldly snorted, “Why are you spewing so much nonsense? Let’s attack him altogether! His head will belong to whomever manages to kill him!”
Pei Wen Xuan smiled deviously, “In that case, all of you should stand aside. I’ll be the one to kill him.”
If not for the fact that he had some means to protect himself, he would have died a long time ago due to Yang Kai’s schemes; therefore, he was holding a rather heavy grudge.
“Outsiders, step back! Otherwise, you will be killed without mercy!” Another person shouted. It was unknown which Cave-Heaven or Paradise he came from, but the aura around him was impressive.
Yang Kai had arrived here late, so many people had gathered around on the mountains. Some had quietly escaped after seeing that a conflict was about to break out, and at this moment, even more people retreated after hearing this person’s warning. These cultivators quickly scattered into the distance in an instant, like swallows leaving their nests.
On the other hand, the cultivators who came over to greet Yang Kai earlier were looking very troubled. A long while passed before one of them cupped his fist and said, “I’m sorry, Brother Yang.”
With a heavy sigh, he turned and left. It was true that he received a huge favour from Yang Kai in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary; nevertheless, he had no intention of making enemies with so many Cave-Heavens and Paradises. There was a high possibility that not only would he die in this place, but he would also bring trouble to his Sect. If he were killed by these people, his Sect would not dare to seek revenge either. His death would be in vain. With such a bright and promising future ahead of him, why would he willingly choose to die in this place?
With the retreat of one person, the others also quickly followed suit, each of them apologizing in shame as they did.
“Qu Hua Shang, why aren’t you leaving?” Ba Liang of Asura Heaven looked at Qu Hua Shang and questioned.
“Why would I leave? The world is so vast, so I can go anywhere I want. Can you stop me?” Qu Hua Shang snorted.
Ba Liang snorted, “It looks like Yin-Yang Cave Heaven is standing on the side of this bastard.”
She replied, “All of you should stop speaking in the name of your Sects. You can only represent yourselves.”
Ba Liang gently nodded, “There’s nothing I can say to refute your words, Junior Sister Qu. I just hope you won’t blame me for being ruthless when the fight begins later.”
To which she chuckled softly, “You can try.”
“Junior Sister Zhang, why are you still standing there!? Hurry up and come here!” Somebody shouted through gritted teeth from among the crowd.
Zhang Ruo Xi looked up and saw that it was the man who had previously been her travel companion, Du Xu. He had arrived at some point and was looking at her sternly from amongst the crowd at this moment.
She glanced at him and slowly shook her head, “I’m not going.”
Du Xu’s expression changed slightly as he snarled, “Junior Sister, do you know what you are doing!? Do you know who he is!?”
Du Xu and Zhang Ruo Xi were both Inner Disciples of Lang Ya Paradise. They had yet to reach the level of Core Disciples or Legacy Disciples, so they had not heard about Yang Kai before. Nevertheless, that did not stop Du Xu from assessing the current situation. With so many elite disciples of various Cave-Heavens and Paradises seeking Yang Kai’s life, it was only natural that he did not wish to bring trouble upon himself. When he saw Zhang Ruo Xi standing beside Yang Kai, he immediately tried to call her over so as not to implicate him.
“Of course, I know who he is! He is my life’s saviour and benefactor! If anybody wishes to kill him, they will have to go through me first!” Zhang Ruo Xi raised her hand and summoned the Heavens Order Sword, displaying a heroic demeanour.
Yin Xin Zhao turned to look at Du Xu, “Junior Brother Du, is that your Junior Sister? Then, you better persuade her well. Weapons have no eyes; it will be bad if she were injured once the battle begins.”
Du Xu cupped his fist in horror, “Please forgive me, Senior Brother Yin. Junior Sister Zhang might be part of Lang Ya Paradise, but she only joined the Sect a few years ago and is not very sensible. However, her attitude does not represent Lang Ya Paradise. Senior Brothers, Senior Sisters, please do what you need to. If she were injured in the fight, then I’m afraid that is her fate.”
“Not bad, Brat.” Pei Wen Xuan glanced at Du Xu approvingly, but the depths of his eyes were overflowing with deep disdain and contempt.
“She cannot represent Lang Ya Paradise, but I can. Isn’t that right?” A clear voice rang out and a petite figure landed nearby.
Zhang Ruo Xi looked in that direction with an expression of pleasant surprise, “Senior Sister Gu?”
Du Xu looked embarrassed and awkwardly cupped his fist, “Du Xu greets Senior Sister Gu!”
The person who came was none other than Gu Pan. As a Lang Ya Paradise Core Disciple, there was no denying that she could represent Lang Ya Paradise’s stance in this matter.
Everybody was stunned. They did not think that another person, apart from Qu Hua Shang, would dare to support Yang Kai at this time.
One was from Yin-Yang Cave Heaven and the other was from Lang Ya Paradise. A mere two Sects might not seem like much, but the momentum was not heading in a good direction.
It was said that the major Cave-Heavens and Paradises had two opposing attitudes towards Yang Kai. One side wanted to kill him as early as possible while the other side wanted to win him over to their side. It would now seem that was indeed the case. The attitudes of those Cave-Heavens and Paradises were clearly reflected here.
“Dao is nature and nature is the heart. Ning Dao Ran greets daoist brothers!” An elegant voice sounded. At the same time, another figure landed beside Yang Kai and bowed slightly with one hand on his chest.
“How lively! Hahaha! Why is everybody gathered over here?” A loud hearty laughter rang out, followed by a burly figure landing nearby. He had a huge sword strapped to his back and his aura was sharp and fierce. This man immediately drew everybody’s attention to him. He was very tall and burly, almost one head taller than the average cultivator. The huge sword on his back was even larger, seeming to pierce the sky even while being carried. It was easy to imagine that this sword would have the power to split mountains with a single swing.
“This Senior Brother is?” Yang Kai glanced over suspiciously. He was certain he had never met this person before. When Gu Pan and Ning Dao Ran appeared to support him, he was pleasantly surprised; however, their reasoning was understandable. They had interacted with each other in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, so it could be said that they had some friendship between them. It was just that the current situation was so tense that he could not greet them properly. He could only nod his head at them in response.
[But, who is this tall and muscular guy? Why is he standing on my side?]
Ning Dao Ran smiled slightly, “This is Wei Bu Que of Divine Cauldron Heaven. I don’t think you’ve met Brother Wei yet, Brother Yang.”
“Divine Cauldron Heaven?” Yang Kai immediately understood, “Where is Senior Brother Xu?”
The image of a little fatty popped into his mind. The Yuan Magnetic Divine Bottle Gourd in his possession was something the little fatty had refined for him.
Wei Bu Que said, “Junior Brother Xu is busy and could not participate in the Blood Monster Cave Heaven. Nevertheless, before I left, he told me to thank you on his behalf should I meet you in the Blood Monster Cave Heaven, Little Brother Yang!”
Yang Kai replied, “Senior Brother Xu is too kind.”
Yin Xin Zhao’s expression turned dark, “Wei Bu Que, why is Divine Cauldron Heaven meddling in this matter and not focusing on Artifact Refining?” [It’s bad enough that Divine Cauldron Heaven is meddling in this matter. I can’t believe they are opposing us! This is outrageous!]
Wei Bu Que tilted his head to the side and picked his nose with a finger. Flicking a booger in Yin Xin Zhao’s direction, he said, “Is Divine Cauldron Heaven only capable of Artifact Refining? So what if I want to meddle in this matter? Not only is Divine Cauldron Heaven choosing to meddle, but people from True Martial Cave Heaven are choosing to meddle too.”
He then turned to the side and shouted impatiently, “Lin Feng, you’re already here. Why are you hesitating like a little girl? Hurry up and get out here!”
A handsome man with a face like a jade crown coldly snorted from among the crowd in the distance and walked in this direction, snarling while walking, “Wei Bu Que, if you dare to utter just a single rude word again, I will knock out all your teeth!”
Wei Bu Que laughed heartily, “You’ll get the chance. We should find a time to spar together next time. We’ll see who knocks out whose teeth!”
Lin Feng coldly snorted and came to stand beside Yang Kai in a few steps.
Yang Kai’s heart warmed slightly and cupped his fist, “Yang Kai greets Senior Brothers and Senior Sisters! Many thanks for your help!”
Various Cave-Heavens and Paradises had joined hands to work against him; therefore, he couldn’t help feeling extremely grateful that there were people willing to stand up for him at this moment. Their willingness to side with him undoubtedly sent out a glaring signal that their respective Sects wanted to win him over to their side! Be that as it may, the reason their Sects made this decision was definitely related to their persuasion and efforts.
Lin Feng glanced at Yang Kai and spat in disdain, “Even women are capable of protecting you. It makes no sense for men to do any less than them.”
“What do you mean by ‘women’?” Qu Hua Shang immediately became unhappy, “Lin Feng, you better watch your words.”
Lin Feng turned his head to the side and feigned ignorance.
On the opposite side, the expressions of Yin Xin Zhao and the others turned ugly. At first, there were only Qu Hua Shang and Gu Pan, but now there was also Ning Dao Ran, Wei Bu Que, and Lin Feng. Although there was a huge contrast in numbers still, it would be troublesome to actually attack them. Aside from Zhang Ruo Xi, who they considered insignificant, the others would be very difficult to deal with.
After pondering for some time, Yin Xin Zhao finally spoke up, “Senior Brothers, the 36 Cave-Heavens and 72 Paradises have always been intricately linked and connected since ancient times. Why damage our relations for this? I ask that you retreat as a favour to this Yin.”
Wei Bu Que smiled, “What if I refuse to retreat?”
Yin Xin Zhao replied grimly, “Although you are talented people, Senior Brothers, you are few in numbers. If it really came down to a fight, are you sure you can protect that bastard surnamed Yang?”
Wei Bu Que frowned slightly. As one of Divine Cauldron Heaven’s Core Disciples, he did not fear these people, but if it really came down to a fight, the opposing side only needed to send somebody to keep him busy. The same held true for the others. It could be said that the opposing party would only need to send out a small group of people to distract them while the others continue to besiege Yang Kai.
[Even if Yang Kai is extremely powerful, it will be hard for him to survive this calamity. The best outcome at the moment is if he escapes immediately. But…] He turned to look at Yang Kai and saw that the latter was perfectly calm. Despite being watched by so many great talents of the same generation, Yang Kai showed not the slightest hint of fear. [He has no intention of escaping. Truly admirable.]
Wei Bu Que had heard about Yang Kai from Xu Zhen, so he knew that he was very strong. It was just that he had never seen Yang Kai in action before. He did not believe that Yang Kai could turn the current situation around all on his own. [If it comes down to a fight, I’m afraid things will end badly for Yang Kai.]
“You want to compete with numbers?” A furious roar rang out, “Do you think nobody from First Inn is here?”
Following the appearance of that voice, a chubby fatty ran over from a great distance. He had a kitchen knife in his hand and an apron tied around his waist. The apron was covered in grease stains and the word ‘Butcher’ was written in large characters across it. He looked like a chef who just came right out of a kitchen, and it really was none other than the chef!
Yang Kai’s eyes lit up. [I can’t believe Chef is here too!]
Chef rushed over aggressively, the fats on his face jiggling with every movement as he called out, “Don’t worry, Brat. Just see what I can do.”
Then, he raised his hand and shot out an arrow into the sky. A sharp piercing sound entered their ears. He shouted vigorously, “One cloud-piercing arrow, calling upon a thousand-man army!”
He did not summon thousands of troops of course. Be that as it may, the accountant, Lang Qing Shan, and the others quickly appeared right behind him.
When the entrances to the Blood Monster Cave Heaven first appeared, Yang Kai had stolen many of Xuan Yuan Cave Heaven’s entrances and sent his subordinates into the Blood Monster Cave Heaven instead. After Yang Kai entered the Blood Monster Cave Heaven, he parted ways with the rest of them. The people gathered in this place were not many. There were only ten or so of them. Another ten or so were nowhere to be seen. They were probably not in the vicinity. The Blood Monster Cave Heaven covered a vast area after all. Not everybody would travel in this direction.
The accountant glanced sideways at Yang Kai through his triangular eyes and muttered under his breath, “Brat, why do you have to cause trouble wherever you go?”
Yang Kai said, “It’s not that I like to cause trouble. On the contrary, trouble likes to come knocking on my door. What can I do?”
The accountant gave those words some serious thought and nodded, “I can’t blame you for that.”
“Brother Yang, is that you? What a coincidence!” A pleasantly surprised voice rang out. Immediately after that, a person emerged from the crowd. He was followed by a large group that numbered around forty or fifty people.
“Brother Ding!” Yang Kai exclaimed in astonishment. The person who popped up out of nowhere turned out to be Ding Yi!
Yang Kai had a deep impression of this person. Back in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, Ding Yi had established an organisation known as Emperor Heaven and took in a large batch of subordinates. He travelled extensively across the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary and made a name for himself. When the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary closed, most of Emperor Heaven dispersed and scattered around. Only a small number of people remained united around Ding Yi.
It was not surprising to meet Qu Hua Shang, Gu Pan, and the others here; the Blood Monster Cave Heaven was an important event after all. It was a given that the Cave-Heavens and Paradises would let their disciples enter as well. That being said, it was rather shocking for Ding Yi to enter this place. [He is only in the Half-Step Open Heaven Realm. How did he manage to snatch an entrance? Not to mention, there are so many people following behind him!]
“It’s been many years since we last met, Brother Yang. Have you been well?” Ding Yi roared with laughter. His posture was arrogant, almost as if he was not bothered by all the disciples from the major Sects on the opposite side.
Yang Kai smiled, “Brother Ding, your bearing is as imposing as usual!”
Yin Xin Zhao was furious as he roared, “Where did these wastes come from? How dare they jump out and embarrass themselves!? Get lost!”
He had been incredibly upset by the sudden appearance of Gu Pan, Ning Dao Ran, Wei Bu Que, and the others in support of Yang Kai. Unfortunately, there was nothing he could do as their strengths and statuses were all similar. On the other hand, he could tell at a glance that Ding Yi did not have much of a background. [How dare he meddle in this affair? He does not know his place.]
While snapping, Yin Xin Zhao raised a hand and shot a stream of light in Ding Yi’s direction. Although it was a casual blow, his strength was extraordinary. The power behind this stream of light was absolutely shocking and all the people gathered around the mountain peaks in the vicinity were horrified by the sight, secretly thinking to themselves, [As expected of a Core Disciple from Xuan Yuan Cave Heaven.]
They would find it difficult to defend themselves even though it was just a casual blow. Out of all the cultivators present, 90% would be killed within ten moves if they fought Yin Xin Zhao one-on-one.
His attack was also intended as a warning to the others, lest more and more people popped up again, creating an unending cycle.
Ding Yi, however, burst out laughing. Raising his hand into the air, he summoned a blade, “I was just wondering about the abilities of a Cave-Heaven disciple.”
His blade came slashing down. The flames wrapped around the blade swept upward and transformed into a stream of light that easily cut down Yin Xin Zhao’s attack.
The disciples of the various Cave-Heavens and Paradises were shocked by the sight. They initially assumed that Yin Xin Zhao’s attack would cause Ding Yi to panic, even if it could not kill the latter. Who could have known that the other party was so powerful? Ding Yi easily stopped Yin Xin Zhao’s attack, but that was not all. After destroying that stream of light, Ding Yi’s flame blade did not stop swinging and he shouted loudly, “Receiving without returning is impolite. Hey, you! Take this!”
A blade light mixed with flames came slashing down towards Yin Xin Zhao.
Yin Xin Zhao coldly snorted. Summoning a longsword, he flicked out countless sword shadows to meet the attack. The flames flashed though and the sword shadows were annihilated.
Yin Xin Zhao abruptly turned pale as he shouted out, “Seventh-Order Fire Element Power!?”
Just from this exchange of blows, he immediately noticed that something was wrong. [This guy can unleash a Seventh-Order Fire Element Power!? No wonder he was able to block my attack!]
In desperation, Yin Xin Zhao immediately drew on the Powers in his Dao Seal. A dense wave of water vapour spread out and enveloped his entire body. He had not condensed a Seventh-Order Element, so all he could do at the moment was use Water to suppress Fire.
*Hong…*
The moment Water and Fire collided, Yin Xin Zhao groaned and a cloud of steam exploded in all directions. By the time the mist dispersed, everybody gasped in surprise. Although Yin Xin Zhao was perfectly fine and unhurt, his appearance was dishevelled and messy.
Everybody stared at Ding Yi in shock, wondering where this freak came from. They couldn’t believe he bested Yin Xin Zhao!
Only Yang Kai was aware that Ding Yi could unleash the Seventh-Order Fire Element Power because he was chosen by Bi Fang to become a Bearer in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary. Bi Fang had forced him to condense Seventh-Order Fire Element Power in order to increase his strength. This approach had heavily impacted Ding Yi’s future as he would be forced to withstand the Seventh-Order Fire Element Power when he advanced into the Open Heaven Realm in the future. If he could not survive the impact, then his future would be bleak.
Even now, Ding Yi’s face was flushed red after using Bi Fang’s Fire and his entire body was steaming with heat. Nevertheless, he feigned calmness, resting his blade on his shoulder as he loudly proclaimed, “Cave-Heaven disciples are nothing special after all!”
Yin Xin Zhao was rendered speechless. If it really came down to a fight, Ding Yi would not be his opponent. Ding Yi could clearly not use Bi Fang’s Fire many times, so he only needed to block the Seventh-Order Fire Element Power once or twice to stand in an invincible position. It would be an easy victory once Ding Yi could not use that power.
It was just that he did not know anything about Ding Yi. [Is he the disciple of some unknown Old Monster? Otherwise, how could he be capable of unleashing a Seventh-Order Fire Element Power?]
He asked through gritted teeth, “What is your name, Your Excellency?”
Ding Yi burst out laughing, “Do you take me for a fool? You are a Cave-Heaven disciple. If I tell you my name, won’t you remember my name and come after me for revenge in the future? I’m not telling you. I won’t tell you even if you beat me to death!”
What he didn’t seem to realise was that Yin Xin Zhao would remember his appearance even if he did not know his name.
Ding Yi had brought his men as reinforcements, and counting Lang Qing Shan and the others, the numbers on Yang Kai’s side were almost equal to the opposing side now. However, only their numbers were equal. There was a huge disparity in terms of quality. Core Disciples and Legacy Disciples of the various Cave-Heavens and Paradises were abundant among the opposing side, and even the weakest among them were Inner Disciples who had condensed Fifth-Order Elements.
On the contrary, aside from Gu Pan, Ning Dao Ran, Wei Bu Que, Lin Feng, Qu Hua Shang, Ding Yi, Chef, and Accountant, there were not many who had condensed Fifth-Order or higher Elements on Yang Kai’s side. The people from Emperor Heaven were even more of a mixed bunch.
Yang Kai was not afraid of anyone in a one-on-one fight, but there was a problem now. As long as Yin Xin Zhao and the others had their Identity Tokens on them, he could not kill them unless he was willing to die with them. At present, he could only injure them at most. But, what was the point of doing that? That was why it was hard to tell who would win and who would lose if it actually came down to a fight.
The scene was tense. Ding Yi’s attack had greatly frightened Yin Xin Zhao and the others. If they did not attack, then Yang Kai and the others naturally would not attack either; thus, the situation fell into a stalemate.
“Are you done making a fuss? If you’re done, then shut up. Everyone keeps shouting at each other. It’s so noisy,” All of a sudden, somebody leisurely walked over from the foot of the hill with his hands behind his back.
Yang Kai’s expression changed drastically. Reacting as though he was facing a great nemesis, he prepared all the strength in his body to attack at any time and directed all his focus at this newcomer solemnly. There was only one person in the entire Blood Monster Cave Heaven whom he considered a formidable enemy, Black Crow Divine Monarch, who had returned to life through possession! Yang Kai had never thought much of anybody else, no matter which Cave-Heaven or Paradise they belonged to.
Similarly, Qu Hua Shang’s expression became grave.
On the opposite side, Pei Wen Xuan narrowed his eyes and inconspicuously took a few steps back. He had suffered badly at the hands of Black Crow Divine Monarch previously. In addition, his Identity Token had been destroyed. If Black Crow Divine Monarch attacked him once more, he would be powerless to resist, so upon hearing Black Crow Divine Monarch’s voice, he immediately began to consider whether he should flee.
“Now who the Hell are you!? How dare you speak so arrogantly!?” Yin Xin Zhao had nowhere to vent the rage in his heart. Just as he was about to deal with Yang Kai, various people had popped up one after another to get in his way. Ding Yi’s sudden appearance had also caused him to fall into such a dishevelled state, losing a great deal of face. And now, another unknown nobody had emerged. This series of happenings made him incredibly angry. It felt as though the entire world was looking down on him.
Yin Xin Zhao had never been to the blood lake, so he did not know about Black Crow Divine Monarch or the latter’s strength. Although Pei Wen Xuan was aware, he did not think to warn Yin Xin Zhao for some reason. Most likely, he was racking his brains and single-mindedly thinking of ways to protect himself.
A cultivator approached Yin Xin Zhao and whispered something in his ear, causing the murderous intent in Yin Xin Zhao’s eyes to flare brightly, “A Great Thousand Blood Land disciple? How dare a disciple of a trivial Second-Class great force utter such arrogant words in this place!? Scram!”
Black Crow Divine Monarch had possessed the body of Zhou Yi from Great Thousand Blood Land. It was obvious that the person who whispered in Yin Xin Zhao’s ear earlier had recognised the former’s appearance.
Black Crow Divine Monarch turned to look in that direction and grinned meaningfully, “What did you say, boy? I dare you to repeat those words again.”
Yin Xin Zhao was further enraged and snapped, “If you dare act disrespectful again, I’ll take your dog life!”
Black Crow Divine Monarch nodded repeatedly, “It has been many years since this Monarch appeared in the world. I was not aware that young people were so bold nowadays.”
While chuckling to himself, he raised a hand and pointed in Yin Xin Zhao’s direction.
Yin Xin Zhao originally did not think much of Black Crow Divine Monarch as, in his eyes, the other party was just a disciple from a Second-Class great force. There was no need for him to take notice of the other party. Even if he killed the other party here for irritating him, Great Thousand Blood Land would not dare to make a single complaint. However, Yin Xin Zhao suddenly felt that something was wrong when Black Crow Divine Monarch pointed at him and a suffocating aura of death suddenly enveloped him.
A small crimson point of light appeared in Yin Xin Zhao’s vision and rapidly magnified in front of him. It obscured his vision and flooded his other senses. Before he could realise what was happening, he suddenly heard the sound of something shattering coming from his waist. The Identity Token hanging on his belt suddenly crumbled to dust. Amidst the cloud of dust, a stream of light burst out and slashed towards the crimson light. The crimson light broke apart, but the stream of light did not lose its momentum and crashed towards Black Crow Divine Monarch.
Black Crow Divine Monarch had suffered badly due to a similar incident before. Back at the palace in the middle of the lake, he had been sliced in two by Pei Wen Xuan’s Identity Token, so how could he be unprepared now? After unleashing his attack, Black Crow Divine Monarch kicked off slightly and floated backwards. At the same time, he left a blood shadow that looked exactly like him in the place where he was standing before. The blood shadow was almost like a Soul Clone, its aura was no different from his.
That stream of light slashed down upon the blood shadow and it collapsed with a loud splash, transforming into a crimson pool. The stench of blood permeated the air. After slashing down this blood shadow, the stream of light dissipated.
The entire place went dead silent. Only Yang Kai, Pei Wen Xuan, and Qu Hua Shang were mentally prepared for this situation. All the remaining people stared at Black Crow Divine Monarch in shock, regardless of which Sect they came from. Their eyes were filled with horror.
Yin Xin Zhao was also as pale as a piece of paper! Even now, he was completely clueless about the situation. All he knew was that the Identity Token his Master had painstakingly created for him had been activated and his protective charm had been up. The Identity Token he carried would only activate automatically at times where his life was in danger. In other words, he would be a corpse by now if not for the protection of that stream of light.
[What just happened!?] His thoughts were all over the place.
“Are all the Cave-Heaven and Paradise disciples so shameless nowadays? How boring,” Black Crow Divine Monarch shook his head. He had tried to kill Pei Wen Xuan before but failed, and now, he once again failed to kill Yin Xin Zhao. It was all because his attacks were blocked by the Divine Ability released by their Identity Tokens. He turned to look at Yang Kai with a smile, “These kids are so much weaker than you.”
There were so many talented young people present, but the only person that interested him was Yang Kai. Only Yang Kai was capable of actually fighting him and surviving despite being pursued over ten thousand kilometres.
Yang Kai coldly snorted in response.
“Who are you?” Yin Xin Zhao no longer dared to underestimate Black Crow Divine Monarch. Somebody who could nearly kill him in a single move could not have been nurtured by Great Thousand Blood Land. Although Ding Yi’s display had surprised him, it was nowhere near as terrifying and shocking as what he experienced just moments ago.
He originally thought that the Blood Monster Cave Heaven would be where he could display his talents and rise to fame. Who could have known that each person he met in this place would be stronger than the last?
Black Crow Divine Monarch turned to look at Pei Wen Xuan and grinned, “Who is this Monarch? Why don’t you ask your companion?”
If it was someone else speaking such words, they wouldn’t hold much weight, but after his little display, Black Crow Divine Monarch certainly had such capital.
Everyone save for a few glanced towards Pei Wen Xuan.
Pei Wen Xuan was standing very far away by now, with all the energy in his body prepared to attack at any time. He had the posture of escaping at the first sign of something going wrong. When Black Crow Divine Monarch looked in his direction, his heart tightened in fear and he nearly fled.
To his surprise, Black Crow Divine Monarch smilingly assured him, “Don’t worry. I won’t attack you since you’re capable of reaching this place.”
Pei Wen Xuan did not know whether to believe those words or not; however, he realised that he would not be able to escape if Black Crow Divine Monarch had appeared here with the intention of actually killing him. Upon arriving at this conclusion, he relaxed considerably and quickly said, “This is Black Crow Divine Monarch.”
“Divine Monarch?” Everybody was so astonished that they could barely believe their ears. Since ancient times, the only ones with the qualifications to call themselves ‘Divine Monarch’ were High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters. Open Heaven Realm Masters were unable to enter the Blood Monster Cave Heaven, so how could there be a High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master in this place? Besides, they had never heard of the name ‘Black Crow Divine Monarch’ before.
Pei Wen Xuan explained, “The Divine Monarch was trapped in this place by Blood Monster Divine Monarch, but his Soul did not perish. He recently possessed Zhou Yi of Great Thousand Blood Land and came back to life.”
Everybody felt their scalps going numb with fear as Ba Liang exclaimed in horror, “Is that the truth!?”
Pei Wen Xuan nodded solemnly in response.
Nobody doubted his words; after all, they witnessed what happened just now with their own eyes. Aside from a Divine Monarch possessing somebody and coming back to life, nobody else could have the strength to nearly kill Yin Xin Zhao in one move. In an instant, it wasn’t just the Cave-Heaven and Paradise disciples who looked at Black Crow Divine Monarch warily. Even the people standing around Yang Kai became anxious and uneasy.
From the actions of Black Crow Divine Monarch earlier, it was obvious that he was not a compassionate man. There was a high possibility that he was subject to shifting moods and killed others casually. If a person like him were consumed by bloodlust, nobody in this place could stop him.
“Don’t be so nervous.” On the other hand, Black Crow Divine Monarch was smiling cheerfully, “This Monarch did not spend so much effort to gather all of you in this place just to kill you.”
“You gathered all of us in this place?” Yang Kai furrowed his eyebrows.
“Of course.” Black Crow Divine Monarch tilted his head to the side, “If not for this Monarch, do you think all of you could have arrived here safely? I was the one who removed all the dangers and barriers along the way for you.”
Yang Kai did not doubt those words. His journey here had certainly been very smooth. Logically speaking, that should not have been possible. It was not until this moment that he learned Black Crow Divine Monarch had removed all the dangers and obstacles along the way. [No wonder so many people arrived here even though nobody had ever managed to arrive at the depths of the Blood Monster Cave Heaven after so many years.]
“This Junior has a question,” Ding Yi suddenly spoke up.
“Speak,” Black Crow Divine Monarch turned to him.
“Sir Divine Monarch, you could have quietly cultivated after possessing somebody and coming back to life. Why did you have to gather all of us here? What are your intentions, Sir Divine Monarch?”
This question hit the nail on the head. Everybody wanted to know the answer.
Black Crow Divine Monarch chuckled softly, making him seem rather insidious, “Of course, it’s for the Blood Monster Divine Palace. Why else would this Monarch spend so much effort to gather you all here?”
“The Blood Monster Divine Palace!?” A series of exclamations rang out. Everybody’s eyes blazed with excitement.
It had long been said that the Blood Monster Divine Palace was located in the depths of the Blood Monster Cave Heaven, wherein the inheritance and legacy of Blood Monster Divine Monarch were hidden. Anybody who could locate the Blood Monster Divine Palace and pass Blood Monster Divine Monarch’s various tests would be able to inherit everything within the Blood Monster Cave Heaven!
Nevertheless, rumours were just rumours. Nobody had ever confirmed these rumours; after all, nobody had ever found the Blood Monster Divine Palace throughout the years, so how could these rumours be verified?
Be that as it may, Black Crow Divine Monarch had mentioned the Blood Monster Divine Palace!
“Does the Blood Monster Divine Palace really exist? You’re not trying to deceive us, right?” Yang Kai stared at Black Crow Divine Monarch suspiciously.
Black Crow Divine Monarch laughed, “Of course the Blood Monster Divine Palace exists. I don’t mind telling you. The Blood Monster Divine Palace is right in front of you. In this very mountain valley.”
While speaking, he reached out and pointed downward.
They looked down but did not see the Blood Monster Divine Palace anywhere. The mountain valley might be green and lush with beautiful scenery, but there was no sign of a palace at all.
Black Crow Divine Monarch calmly explained, “As long as the barrier is not broken, the palace will not show itself. If you want to find the Blood Monster Divine Palace, you have to destroy the barrier first!”
Yang Kai quickly asked, “What does that have to do with you gathering all of us in this place?”
Black Crow Divine Monarch snickered, “If this Monarch had his full strength… No, with just 10% of the strength I possessed before, it would have not been a problem destroying that barrier. Unfortunately, you have also seen this Monarch’s current situation. The strength I can wield currently is very limited. Although I know the secrets behind the barrier, my strength is not enough for me to break it alone. I need the help of many people!”
Upon hearing those words, everybody understood the situation. They finally knew why Black Crow Divine Monarch had gathered so many people in this place. It was not rare to see barriers like this which required the joint efforts of many people to destroy; therefore, there was nothing strange about his words.
“There’s one more thing.” Black Crow Divine Monarch’s expression became a little solemn, “There is probably a Monster Beast protecting the palace, and if this Monarch’s guess is correct, it is a Seventh-Order Monster Beast!”
“Seventh-Order!?” Everybody exclaimed in surprise. All of them had killed some Monster Beasts during their travels, so they each had a rough idea of the strength of these Monster Beasts. A Fifth-Order Monster Beast was roughly equivalent to a Half-Step Open Heaven Realm Master. On the other hand, a Sixth-Order Monster Beast was as strong as a Low-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master at the very least. Wouldn’t that mean that a Seventh-Order Monster Beast could exert the strength of a Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master? Who among all the people present could resist such a Monster Beast? Even Black Crow Divine Monarch himself could not win against it in his current state.
“You are unable to detect the existence of the Monster Beast because it is sleeping at the moment; however, it will awaken once we begin breaking the barrier. That’s why this Monarch doesn’t just need some people to help him break the barrier. I also need some people to help fend off the Seventh-Order Monster Beast.”
“Are you insane?” Yang Kai jokingly asked. He had already been at a serious disadvantage during his previous battle with Golden Gorilla King at Abundance City. Golden Gorilla King was only at the peak of the Sixth Order, not to mention that he was heavily injured at the time. If Golden Gorilla King was already so powerful, how much stronger would a Seventh-Order Monster Beast be? With their current strength, meeting a Seventh-Order Monster Beast was no different from courting death.
Black Crow Divine Monarch laughed, “A Seventh-Order Monster Beast might be extraordinary, but it’s been asleep for a very long time. It is unknown how much strength it can exert at the moment. Every one of you are the elite disciples of major Sects. I’m sure it won’t be a problem if you join forces and work together to fight it. Besides, this Monarch is not asking you to kill it. You only need to distract it for some time. Once we enter the Blood Monster Divine Palace after the barrier is broken, what can that Seventh-Order Monster Beast do to us?”
Yang Kai ignored Black Crow Divine Monarch’s little speech. Before entering the Blood Monster Cave Heaven, he had hoped to encounter a Metal Element or Yin Element Seventh-Order Monster Beast and obtain the Monster Core by slaying it, but he completely gave up on that idea after his battle with the Golden Gorilla King. A Seventh-Order Monster Beast was not something he could challenge.
Black Crow Divine Monarch continued, “The Blood Monster Divine Palace is where Old Ghost Xue Yao lived. There are countless hidden treasures inside there. If you can obtain some of those treasures, you will surely experience a soaring improvement in your cultivation.”
Although his words were bewitching, not many people were moved. After witnessing the methods Black Crow Divine Monarch displayed previously, many people were very scared of him. He was a Divine Monarch who not only came back to life through possession but also had a deeper understanding of the Blood Monster Cave Heaven than them. Even if what he said was true, even if they could work together to fend off the Seventh-Order Monster Beast and destroy the barrier, who could remove the treasures from beneath his nose? Wouldn’t he take all the good things for himself?
Who would be willing to sacrifice themselves for the benefit of others? The disciples of the various Cave-Heavens and Paradises were not stupid and understood this point clearly.
Black Crow Divine Monarch stretched his arms and shouted, “Everyone, please lend me your strength! This Monarch can only rely on you. Once we succeed, we will split the treasures in the palace according to our respective opportunities!”
Countless pairs of eyes stared at him indifferently, but nobody responded.
Yang Kai sneered, “Black Crow Divine Monarch, I’m afraid you took the wrong approach by trying to borrow our strength to open the Blood Monster Divine Palace. I suggest you give up on that idea as soon as possible.”
Black Crow Divine Monarch looked around after hearing those words, “This Monarch is being sincere. Is nobody going to show some appreciation?”
Ba Liang quickly said, “Divine Monarch, you are a Senior Master and we can only sigh at our inferiority before you. Please help yourself to all the treasures in the Blood Monster Divine Palace. I’m afraid we will have to decline your offer to participate.”
Black Crow Divine Monarch chuckled lightly, “What are you so afraid of? Are you afraid that this Monarch will simply slaughter you once we enter the Palace? If that’s the case… this Monarch can swear a blood oath!”
While saying so, he bit the tip of his tongue and sprayed out a mouthful of blood mist. Both his hands quickly formed seals, guiding the blood mist to transform into a mysterious blood pattern. He faced the blood pattern and solemnly swore, “This Monarch, Hei Ya, will swear a blood oath on his Dao Seal. If you all cooperate with this Monarch to open the Blood Monster Divine Palace, we will split the treasures according to our respective opportunities once we enter the palace, and as long as you do not provoke me first, this Monarch will not harm you. May my Soul be extinguished if I break this oath!”
After saying that, he formed a final seal and the blood pattern transformed into a blood light that shot straight into his forehead. Grunting softly, he staggered backwards and turned a few shades paler.
Upon seeing that, everybody looked at each other in shock. The fact that Black Crow Divine Monarch would decisively swear a blood oath on his Dao Seal was something nobody expected. Moreover, this oath sounded rather sincere. As long as they entered the Blood Monster Divine Palace, he would not attack anyone who did not provoke him. Those words essentially guaranteed their safety.
Of course, they could guess that the more sincere he seemed, the more it meant that he desperately wanted something from within the Blood Monster Divine Palace. Even so, there was no denying that many people became interested after Black Crow Divine Monarch made the blood oath. The main reason for their hesitation previously was their fear of his strength. He could force Yin Xin Zhao’s Identity Token to activate with a single move, which meant if he really wanted to kill them, nobody could stop him. However, things were different now that their safety was guaranteed. In any case, his actions had clearly shown his sincerity.
Yin Xin Zhao and the others looked at each other and saw the interest in each other’s eyes. They were the first batch of people to arrive in this place since ancient times, so there was no saying what kind of treasures they could find if they managed to open the Blood Monster Divine Palace.
Qiu Kang Xian of Clear Mind Heaven asked, “Divine Monarch, can you tell us what kind of treasures can be found inside the Blood Monster Divine Palace?”
Black Crow Divine Monarch chuckled softly, “How would this Monarch know? I’ve never entered the Blood Monster Divine Palace before. Nevertheless, that Old Ghost Xue Yao was an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. There must be some treasures inside. Who knows? There might be some Seventh-Order or Eighth-Order cultivation resources within.”
Those words made Qiu Kang Xian and the others breathe a little quicker in excitement. Even Yang Kai’s eyes flickered slightly. Although he could not let his guard down around Black Crow Divine Monarch, he desperately needed Seventh-Order Metal and Yin Element resources. If there really were Seventh-Order or Eighth-Order resources inside, then he had to try his luck no matter what. Even though those thoughts swirled in his heart, Yang Kai revealed nothing on the surface.
Ba Liang considered for a moment before he gritted his teeth and said, “Nothing ventured, nothing gained. How can this Ba back down after coming here? Sir Divine Monarch, this Ba Liang is willing to lend you a hand no matter what the others may choose!”
“Good. Very good. Boy, you’re not bad.” Black Crow Divine Monarch looked at Ba Liang approvingly.
Qiu Kang Xian said, “There’s no reason for me to refuse if Brother Ba agrees.”
Ye Cheng of Azure Nether Paradise smilingly chimed in, “This Ye will lend a hand too.”
As soon as these people expressed their stance, more people immediately expressed their willingness to help Blood Monster Divine Monarch break the barrier.
Even so, there were also some cultivators who realised that their strength was inferior to others present. After hesitating for some time, one of them cupped his fist and said, “Sir Divine Monarch, please forgive us. Our strength is lacking and I’m afraid we won’t be of much help even if we joined you. We will take our leave now.”
That person quickly led several of his Fellow Brothers and retreated down the mountain after saying that.
Black Crow Divine Monarch did not stop them. He simply watched their departing backs with a faint smile.
Those people had not walked further than several tens of metres away when a layer of crimson-red blood mist emerged from the ground and enveloped them. Their screams of agony immediately rang out, followed by several energy fluctuations.
The blood mist disappeared as quickly as it appeared. It didn’t take more than several breaths of time before the crimson-red mist vanished out of sight. What entered their sights made them gasp in horror. The cultivators that were preparing to leave just now had been turned into mummified corpses that collapsed to the ground without a shred of vitality.
Black Crow Divine Monarch grinned, “This Monarch even went so far as to swear a blood oath. Who else dares not give me face?” He turned and looked around, “Who else wishes to leave? Reveal yourselves to this Monarch!”
Who else would dare to step forward with such a precedent? Even though those people died a horrible death right in front of them, nobody had noticed when Black Crow Divine Monarch made his move. It was only natural that nobody wanted to follow their footsteps.
As such, he sneered, “I don’t mind telling you. This Monarch has already arranged a Grand Array in this area. Nobody can leave without this Monarch’s approval!”
Yang Kai calmly said, “Don’t wag your tongue so wildly, Divine Monarch, you might bite it.”
Yang Kai had tried to activate his Space Principles just now and discovered that he was not bound by any restrictions. In other words, Black Crow Divine Monarch could not stop him if he wanted to leave.
Black Crow Divine Monarch glanced sideways at Yang Kai, murderous intent overflowing from his eyes; however, he quickly composed himself and snickered, “You’re quite capable, brat. It’s true that this Monarch cannot stop you if you wish to leave. You can escape, but… can the people by your side do the same?”
Yang Kai’s expression immediately darkened. There was really nothing he could do if Black Crow Divine Monarch threatened the people around him. While he might be able to place everybody into the Small Sealed World and leave with them, Black Crow Divine Monarch would surely act before he could finish.
Ignoring Yang Kai, Black Crow Divine Monarch looked at the others and asked, “Does anybody else wish to leave?”
[Leave, my ass! Those who tried to leave died right in front of us! Who would dare try to leave?] Regardless of whether they were willing or unwilling, they had no choice but to follow Black Crow Divine Monarch now.
Pleased with the situation, Black Crow Divine Monarch nodded repeatedly. Then, he turned to look at Yang Kai, “What about you? Are you coming or not?”
Only the people around Yang Kai had yet to express their stance, which meant as long as Yang Kai agreed, then all the pieces were in place.
“Do you agree to let me leave, Divine Monarch?” Yang Kai asked.
“You can try.” Black Crow Divine Monarch smiled brightly in response; however, his gaze swept across Qu Hua Shang, Zhang Ruo Xi, and the others with malicious intent.
Yang Kai was so furious that his teeth hurt. After a brief consideration, he quickly said, “Divine Monarch, I can assist you, but I have a condition.”
Black Crow Divine Monarch burst into laughter, “You want to negotiate with this Monarch? I’m afraid you don’t have the qualifications to do so!”
Yang Kai shook his head, “I believe I do.” After saying that, he immediately changed his tone, “You mentioned it yourself, Divine Monarch. There are two main issues. One is to destroy the barrier and the other is to fend off the Seventh-Order Monster Beast. We are completely clueless about the barriers in this place while you seem to know something. In other words, you will be presiding over the process of breaking the barrier. During this time, you will be preoccupied so you won’t be able to do two things at once. As such, you will need somebody else to distract the Seventh-Order Monster Beast.”
“So what?” Black Crow Divine Monarch looked over calmly.
Yang Kai said, “You know the ferocity of a Seventh-Order Monster Beast. Out of everybody here, I am the only one who stands a fighting chance against it. Who else can fight a Seventh-Order Monster Beast?”
Black Crow Divine Monarch snorted, “Many of those little ones have those nameplates. When they are in grave danger, the Divine Abilities within the nameplates will automatically be activated. Forget keeping the Seventh-Order Monster Beast occupied, even killing it won’t be an issue.”
Yang Kai said, “They will need to be in grave danger for that to happen. Do you think they will intentionally place themselves in grave danger and use up the Divine Abilities in their Identity Tokens? Why fool yourself, Divine Monarch? These people are unreliable. You know you can only rely on me to distract the Seventh-Order Monster Beast. You’ve seen what I can…”
At this point, Yang Kai frowned and murmured, “No. Were you waiting for me, Divine Monarch?”
Yang Kai suddenly recalled that Black Crow Divine Monarch arrived here a long time ago; however, it was not until he arrived here that the latter leisurely showed up. It was clear Black Crow Divine Monarch was waiting for him. Upon understanding this point, Yang Kai immediately realised something else. [This Old Ghost planned to use me to hold off that Seventh-Order Monster Beast from the start! This Old Ghost is so sly! I nearly fell for his trick!]
Black Crow Divine Monarch coldly snorted, “Brat, those who are too smart tend to die young.”
Yang Kai burst out laughing, “Divine Monarch, why are you getting angry out of shame?”
Since Black Crow Divine Monarch had planned for him to distract the Seventh-Order Monster Beast in the first place, there was no reason to be reserved, so Yang Kai immediately asked, “Do you think I have the right to negotiate with you now, Divine Monarch?”
Black Crow Divine Monarch’s expression became gloomy and uncertain for a time before he coldly snorted, “What is your condition? Let’s hear it. But, I’ll say this in advance. If it’s too excessive, then don’t blame this Monarch for acting ruthless.”
“Don’t worry, Divine Monarch. My condition is not excessive.” Yang Kai smiled brightly, “I only need a Seventh-Order Metal or Yin Element material.”
Upon hearing those words, Black Crow Divine Monarch shook his head so hard that it rattled, “I don’t have any.”
Yang Kai said, “Divine Monarch, how can you be so unreasonable? You are a High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master who came back to life through possession. Although Seventh-Order materials are valuable, they should not be a problem for you, right? Don’t you have any kind of legacy?”
Black Crow Divine Monarch angrily snarled, “This Monarch was trapped in this place by Xue Yao for countless years! What legacy would I have to speak of!? I would not hesitate to give you such trash if I had one in my possession, but I don’t have anything right now.”
He paused for a moment before he continued, “Why don’t we do this instead? Help me open the Blood Monster Divine Palace, and if I find what you need inside, this Monarch will deliver it to you. I’m sure there are some Seventh-Order materials inside the Blood Monster Divine Palace.”
Yang Kai scoffed at those words, “Divine Monarch, do you take me for a three-year-old child?” [If this bastard finds anything good inside, he would never hand them over to me. It’s not the first time I’ve encountered betrayals.]
Black Crow Divine Monarch said, “There’s nothing I can do if you don’t trust this Monarch. It’s just that this Monarch really does not have what you want. Why don’t you change your request to something this Monarch can satisfy?”
Yang Kai rubbed his chin thoughtfully, “Since you said that, Divine Monarch, then I won’t make things difficult for you. I’ll change my condition to something you have. That’s right. I’ll take the true Grand Evolution Immortal Blood Light Scripture.”
Black Crow Divine Monarch’s expression immediately darkened upon hearing this, “Junior, don’t go too far!
Yang Kai looked at Black Crow Divine Monarch coldly, “Divine Monarch, don’t you think you’re being rather insincere? I wanted High-Rank materials, but you claimed that you don’t have any. Now, I’m asking for the Grand Evolution Immortal Blood Light Scripture. Are you going to tell me you don’t have it either?”
Black Crow Divine Monarch was furious, “Who is the one being unreasonable here!? This Monarch is simply asking for your help to distract the Seventh-Order Monster Beast for a while. How dare you try to covet the Blood Light Scripture for such a small task? It’s unfortunate that this Monarch has only just been reborn and not recovered his strength, or I would have killed you a long ago!”
“You know that if I have to face a Seventh-Order Monster Beast, I will have to risk my life, Divine Monarch.”
“The Grand Evolution Immortal Blood Light Scripture is the Core Secret Art of that old dog Xue Yao’s Dao of Blood inheritance! This Monarch spent countless years obtaining it! Handing it to another person is impossible! Not unless it’s a dead person!”
“This won’t work; that won’t work. Divine Monarch, are you trying to benefit without giving anything in return? I may be young, but I’m not so easily fooled either.” Likewise, Yang Kai looked annoyed.
Black Crow Divine Monarch furrowed his brow tightly and softened his tone, “Brat, don’t make things difficult for me. This Monarch is unable to fulfil the two conditions you asked for, so why mention them? You’re simply causing everybody to become unhappy as a result. Change your condition. This Monarch will not refuse you if it is within my abilities to satisfy you.”
“Really?” Yang Kai raised his eyebrows.
Black Crow Divine Monarch arrogantly said, “Of course. This Monarch will not deceive a Junior like you.”
Yang Kai pretended to think for a while before he finally said, “In that case, please hand over the Blood Principles Restriction Secret Technique in the Grand Evolution Immortal Blood Light Scripture.”
“Why would you need that?” Black Crow Divine Monarch glanced at Yang Kai suspiciously, but a few moments later, he suddenly realised something, “Are you trying to bring somebody out of here?”
He looked Yang Kai up and down, then he grinned meaningfully, “Brat, you beat around the bush for so long, but it seems your real aim was the Blood Principles Restriction Secret Technique.” He seemed delighted to have seen through Yang Kai’s heart.
Yang Kai revealed nothing, “Just tell me whether you’ll give it to me or not.”
The truth was that Black Crow Divine Monarch was reluctant. It was just that he had already rejected Yang Kai twice, and doing so a third time would likely lead to a complete breakdown in negotiations. If that was the case, then there was no need to continue discussing this matter. Besides, the Blood Secret Technique was not related to the core of the Blood Light Scripture even though it was part of it. There was no need to worry about Yang Kai deducing the rest of the Blood Light Scripture from this derivative technique.
Thus, he immediately nodded, “This Monarch can agree to this condition.”
Black Crow Divine Monarch agreed so readily that Yang Kai couldn’t help feeling uneasy, so he frowned and said, “Divine Monarch, don’t try to deceive me. I’ve also comprehended a bit of the Blood Light Scripture myself, so I’ll know whether those Secret Techniques are real or fake. If you dare to play tricks on me, don’t blame this Junior for turning around and betraying you.”
Black Crow Divine Monarch coldly snorted, “Rest assured. This Monarch made a promise to you. I will not cheat. Why do you need to be so suspicious, Brat?”
While saying so, he took out a jade slip. His Divine Sense surged for a moment, seeming to inscribe something, before he tossed the jade slip over to Yang Kai.
Yang Kai reached out to catch the jade slip. While maintaining a thread of consciousness to watch Black Crow Divine Monarch warily, he examined the contents of the jade slip.
If not for the experience at the blood lake, Yang Kai would not have been able to determine the authenticity of the information contained within the jade slip. Fortunately, he had comprehended several chapters of the Blood Light Scripture previously and did not find any flaws after he carefully examined the Secret Technique in the jade slip.
The Blood Principles Restriction Secret Technique was not hard to undo, the only issue was that he needed to consume some of his own Blood Qi. [If only I could return to Abundance City. I’d be able to experiment on the cultivators there. That way, I’d know whether this information is real or fake.]
Everybody paid close attention to the conversation Yang Kai and Black Crow Divine Monarch were having via Divine Sense transmission; however, they had no idea what was being said. They saw various expressions flitting across the faces of those two and a short while later, Black Crow Divine Monarch tossed a jade slip to Yang Kai, who then began examining it.
Everybody couldn’t help looking at each other, wondering what kind of deal Black Crow Divine Monarch made with Yang Kai…
A quarter-hour later, Black Crow Divine Monarch urged impatiently, “Brat, are you done? Do you have to study it so carefully? You’ll have plenty of time to study it once we’re out of the Blood Monster Cave Heaven.”
Yang Kai put the jade slip away and nodded, “Good.”
Black Crow Divine Monarch looked satisfied, “In that case, let us begin. But, there’s something I have to say in advance…”
He looked around him and his expression gradually became colder as he darkly added, “You will all need to work together to enter the Blood Monster Cave Heaven. If this Monarch discovers that somebody is secretly attacking another or holding back, then this Monarch will kill him!”
While speaking, he specifically glanced at Yang Kai and Yin Xin Zhao. It was obvious he knew that these two were not on good terms.
Yang Kai nonchalantly said, “I won’t do anything if nobody provokes me first.”
Yin Xin Zhao cupped his fists, “Divine Monarch, please rest assured. In the current situation, the Blood Monster Divine Palace is the top priority. This Junior understands his priorities.”
“Very good.” Black Crow Divine Monarch laughed, “In that case, this Monarch will explain how we will work together to break the barrier. As long as we can break through and enter the Blood Monster Divine Palace, this Monarch guarantees that you will all gain something!”
Nobody understood the Blood Monster Divine Palace better than him, so it was only natural that he presided over the process of breaking the barrier. In addition, Black Crow Divine Monarch was very well-prepared. Now that he was in charge of coordinating the entire situation, he immediately conveyed order after order. That was not all though as he brought out Array Flags from somewhere and distributed them to the cultivators.
The cultivators gathered in this place numbered a thousand at the very least. Soon, everybody except the people around Yang Kai were divided into sixty-four groups to stand at various positions according to Black Crow Divine Monarch’s arrangement. The leaders of each group were elite disciples from the Cave-Heavens and Paradises, each of whom carried an Array Flag with them.
Yang Kai frowned slightly at the sight. Black Crow Divine Monarch had been imprisoned in this place for so many years. Not to mention, he himself was a High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master who came back to life through possession. Logically speaking, he should have a deeper understanding of the Blood Monster Cave Heaven than anybody else, and yet, even with his extensive knowledge, experience, and ability, he still needed to go to such lengths to set up such a Grand Array in order to break the barrier here. Furthermore, there was also a slumbering Seventh-Order Monster Beast that would awaken the moment they began to break the barrier.
[Did Blood Monster Divine Monarch really have the intention to pass down his legacy and inheritance?] Yang Kai seriously doubted that Blood Monster Divine Monarch had truly considered such a thing; otherwise, why would he set such high-difficulty tests? These were not obstacles that ordinary Emperor Realm Masters could overcome.
Be that as it may, it was too late to think about it now. Black Crow Divine Monarch had already begun his preparations. Whether or not they could open the Blood Monster Divine Palace would depend entirely on his methods.
The entire process took no more than an hour before the Grand Array was ready. Black Crow Divine Monarch appeared in front of Yang Kai and solemnly said, “Brat, it will be great if the Seventh-Order Monster Beast does not appear later, but if it does, then I can only rely on you and the people around you to distract it. The others will be part of the Grand Array, so they will be unable to move. Don’t disappoint this Monarch.”
Yang Kai said, “I’ll do my best!” [I have no idea how much strength a Seventh-Order Monster Beast can exert. If I can’t win, then I’ll definitely make my escape. How can I just stay here and wait for death to come?]
Black Crow Divine Monarch clearly read between the lines and understood the thoughts that Yang Kai did not express; thus, he glared at Yang Kai deeply. Nevertheless, there was nothing he could do except try to entice Yang Kai with the benefits, “Didn’t you want Metal Element and Yin Element High-Rank materials? If you help this Monarch distract the Monster Beast, I will surely bring you what you need if I find them in the Blood Monster Divine Palace.”
Yang Kai nodded, “That can be discussed later.”
Needless to say, Black Crow Divine Monarch could not be trusted. He might be showing a kind and friendly facade at the moment, but that was only because he needed him right now. Once Yang Kai’s value vanished, why would Black Crow Divine Monarch bother playing nice?
[But…] Yang Kai was a little excited. [I wonder what element the Monster Beast sleeping in this place is. If it happens to be the Metal or Yin Element… I’ll definitely kill it! I haven’t used the Divine Ability Bead given to me by Proprietress yet. If I do, there’s a high chance I can kill the Monster Beast in one blow!]
Black Crow Divine Monarch transformed into a blood light and departed. By the time he reappeared, he was standing in the middle of the mountain valley. He formed a set of hand seals and shouted, “Get ready! Our success or failure depends on this! Start the Array!”
As he spoke, he reached his hand into the void and pulled out a large banner from somewhere. He opened his mouth and sprayed out a mouthful of blood mist. The large banner absorbed the Blood Qi and immediately seemed to come alive.
The large banner fluttered, flapping loudly in the wind. The cultivators holding the Array Flags at all sixty-four Array Nodes activated them according to the Secret Technique taught to them by Black Crow Divine Monarch. Then, the Array Flags began to resonate with the control banner.
A vibration that came from the depths of one’s Soul resounded through the air. The entire world seemed to shudder for a moment and crimson red mist emerged from the ground before spreading out to cover the entire mountain valley in the blink of an eye.
They had all witnessed the strangeness of this blood mist earlier. The cultivators who fell into it had quickly turned into mummified corpses; therefore, everybody was terrified when the blood mist appeared once more and their scalps tingled with fear.
Black Crow Divine Monarch shouted, “Focus! If you dare to slack off, then don’t blame this Monarch for being ruthless!”
Everybody felt very uneasy. Nevertheless, they could only grit their teeth and continue cooperating with him to activate the Grand Array when they thought about his horrifying methods. Fortunately, the blood mist only lingered within the mountain valley and flowed around their bodies.
The blood mist soon squirmed like a living creature under the influence of those Array Flags and gradually gathered together to form a gigantic array in the mountain valley! A faint outline suddenly appeared out of nowhere. The outline only revealed the tip of the iceberg, but it looked like a part of an enormous palace.
All the cultivators were stunned by the sight of that outline. Only then did they realise that Black Crow Divine Monarch did not deceive them. The rumoured Blood Monster Divine Palace was truly hidden in this place. It was just that it had always been protected by a barrier, so it was never revealed. If not for Black Crow Divine Monarch’s guidance, most would have never noticed any of the mysteries in this place even if they were standing in front of them.
Yang Kai stood at the top of the mountain in his original spot. He looked at the outline and became more certain that Blood Monster Divine Monarch had no intention of passing his legacy and inheritance down to anyone. Everything in this place could not be accessed by a cultivator in the Emperor Realm. Without Black Crow Divine Monarch, it would have been impossible for them to even find any traces of the Blood Monster Divine Palace.
The blood mist twisted and squirmed back and forth within the mountain valley, constantly climbing over the outline of the palace. Over time, the outline revealed more and more parts of the palace while at the same time, the outline became more and more solid.
Next to Yang Kai, Qu Hua Shang, Gu Pan, Zhang Ruo Xi, Lin Feng, Ning Dao Ran, Wei Bu Que, Ding Yi, Chef, Accountant, and Lang Qing Shan were all ready to attack at a moment’s notice. However, there were no signs indicating the appearance of the Seventh-Order Monster Beast despite waiting for so long.
Ding Yi scratched his head and chuckled, “Could Black Crow Divine Monarch have been mistaken? There doesn’t seem to be a Seventh-Order Monster Beast sleeping in this place. With such a commotion going on, any Monster Beast would have woken up a long time ago if they were sleeping here.”
Wei Bu Que grinned, “It’s best if there’s nothing. We can just watch them work; then, we can rush in and search for treasure once the Blood Monster Divine Palace opens.”
Ding Yi reacted like he had found his best friend and looked at Wei Bu Que enthusiastically, “I was thinking so too.”
“Keep your guard up!” Yang Kai suddenly shouted. Although they had yet to see anything resembling a Seventh-Order Monster Beast, there was obviously a reason why Black Crow Divine Monarch was so serious about this matter. It was most likely that there really was a Seventh-Order Monster Beast sleeping in this place.
During the conversation between Ding Yi and Wei Bu Que, a faint and barely perceptible Monster Qi suddenly spread out. It didn’t take long before the Monster Qi became dozens of times more potent. Moreover, the Monster Qi was so pure that it was simply indescribable. Even the Golden Gorilla King could not compare. There was no doubt that the Seventh-Order Monster Beast sleeping in this place had been awoken from its slumber.
Everybody’s expressions froze. The mouths of Ding Yi and Wei Bu Que, who had been joking around, twitched slightly. They realised that their words had jinxed the situation. They had only just mentioned the Monster Beast and the Monster Beast immediately showed signs of appearing.
Yang Kai’s expression was solemn. Spreading out his Divine Sense, he monitored the surroundings. He wanted to know where the Monster Beast would emerge from for, at this moment, there was no sign of it. Even so, just the Monster Qi permeating the air alone was enough to create a sense of terror in their hearts. One could only imagine the horror of a Seventh-Order Monster Beast.
A short while later, Yang Kai looked down and shouted, “It’s coming from below!”
The entire view in the mountain valley was unobstructed, but there was no trace of the Monster Beast at all. Thus, the only possibility was that the Monster Beast would emerge from underground.
As soon as the words left Yang Kai’s mouth, they heard a loud rumbling coming from deep below. It was followed by an earthquake, almost as though a behemoth was crawling out of the ground.
Without any warning, an enormous head suddenly popped out from below the ground, accompanied by a deep roar. A large bloody mouth opened and swallowed up several dozen people standing nearby in one bite, along with the soil they were standing on.
All of a sudden, there was one less Array Node among the sixty-four. Fortunately, Black Crow Divine Monarch had obviously anticipated this issue when setting up the Grand Array. Even though there was one less Array Node, it did not affect the operation of the Grand Array at all. The blood mist continued to drift over the Blood Monster Divine Palace, making it appear more and more solid. It was even starting to show signs of emerging from the Void.
*Hong hong hong…*
The Monster Beast broke out of the ground in the next moment, causing a gigantic pit to appear. Its enormous body was as large as a small hill, with thick scales covering its body forming a powerful defence. The blood mist swirled around the sides of its body but could not corrode it at all.
It was not until this moment that Yang Kai, who had been paying close attention to his surroundings all this while, finally had a good look at the Monster Beast. It was a Star Turtle with a 200-metre-long and 50-metre-tall body. In addition, it was covered in a layer of dazzling yellow light.
Yang Kai was both disappointed and relieved, “An Earth Element Monster Beast!”
He was disappointed that this Monster Beast was not of the Metal Element or Yin Element like what he desperately needed, but rather the Earth Element. He had already condensed an Earth Element Power; moreover, he had used the Dragon Bead of a Great Dragon. There was nothing much to gain even if he killed this Star Turtle.
At the same time, he was relieved that it was an Earth Element Monster Beast. The Earth Element was mainly about defence, so although it would be difficult to kill, the posture of this Star Turtle indicated it had poor offensive abilities so the risk of facing it was minimised to a great extent.
Furthermore, the Star Turtle had been sleeping for many millennia, so at this moment, it was still a little dazed and sluggish from having just woken up. It blankly rolled its eyes around, looking very drowsy.
The cultivators forming the Array Nodes nearest to the turtle trembled uncontrollably. They had witnessed with their own eyes as the Star Turtle gulped up an entire batch of cultivators as soon as it appeared. Therefore, they were scared that it might turn around and eat them too. One should not be fooled by its dazed appearance. Nobody present was its opponent if it decided to attack; after all, its strength lay in its defence. The possibility was high that nobody could put a scratch on it.
One of the cultivators from a Second Class great force gulped nervously and subconsciously took a few steps back. He wanted to hide behind the others to seek a sense of security, but who could have known that his retreat would cause him to fall into the blood mist? There was a series of sizzling sounds and that person screamed in pain. The blood mist crawled up his body like snakes, enveloping him completely. By the time the blood mist dissipated, the man had become a mummified corpse.
Black Crow Divine Monarch coldly snorted while waving the control banner, “Stand where you are! Whoever dares to move about rashly will die!”
Everybody felt a bitter taste in their mouths. It was not until this moment that they realised they were stuck in this situation with no way out. Out of all the areas covered by the Grand Array, only the areas around the Array Nodes were safe. Everywhere else was flooded with the blood mist. In other words, they could only stand at their respective Array Nodes once Black Crow Divine Monarch activated the Grand Array; otherwise, they would have to bear the risk of death.
Yang Kai was delighted when he saw this situation. He initially thought that he and the others had taken on a laborious task while the others had it easy, but it would now seem that fighting the Star Turtle was undoubtedly better than having no say about one’s own life.
He couldn’t help looking in Yin Xin Zhao’s direction, secretly hoping that the Star Turtle would kill the latter. Coincidentally, Yin Xin Zhao also happened to be looking this way. Their gazes met for a moment and Yin Xin Zhao immediately figured out what Yang Kai was thinking; thus, he angrily shouted, “Yang Kai, why aren’t you moving yet!?”
The Array Node he was managing was not that far from where the Star Turtle was located, so he had reason to be uneasy.
Yang Kai calmly called out, “There’s no rush!”
Yin Xin Zhao nearly spat blood at those words. [You might be in no rush, but I’m about to die from anxiety!]
Yin Xin Zhao never imagined that the situation would turn out this way after the Grand Array was activated. If he had known earlier, he would have volunteered to trade places with Yang Kai. At the very least, he would have some control over his own life or death. At this moment, he was unable to move a single step from this spot. Whether he lived or died was completely up to fate. It was a horrible feeling.
“You should act now before it’s too late.” Black Crow Divine Monarch’s voice rang out, “This Monster Beast has been sleeping for aeons, and now that it’s just woken up, its strength has yet to recover. This is the best time to take it down. If you delay, it will be even harder to handle.”
How difficult would it be to inflict heavy damage upon such a defence-oriented Seventh-Order Monster Beast? Yang Kai was not sure if they could put a scratch on it even if everybody on his side used their full strength. Nevertheless, Black Crow Divine Monarch was right about one thing. This was indeed the time when the Star Turtle was at its weakest!
At that thought, Yang Kai nodded, “Since Divine Monarch has said so, then this Junior will comply!” Then, he shouted, “Kill!”
Swinging his arm widely, Space Principles surged to form a huge Moon Blade that broke the void and slashed towards the Star Turtle.
Everybody around Yang Kai swiftly unleashed their Secret Techniques one after another. Colourful lights swept towards the Star Turtle, showering down on its huge figure in an instant.
The people gathered around Yang Kai were a mix of both the strong and weak. For example, many from Emperor Heaven were rather weak. However, there was no shortage of elites like Gu Pan, Qu Hua Shang, and Ning Dao Ran either. The attacks of these Core Disciples from the various Cave-Heavens and Paradises were extraordinarily deadly.
*Hong hong hong…*
Explosion after explosion rang out deafeningly as numerous halos of light from these explosions spread out in all directions. When the lights dissipated, everybody looked over and felt a headache. Although they had known that the Star Turtle would have high defensive strength, they never imagined that it would be so outrageous. Their previous barrage had not even broken through the yellow layer of light surrounding its body, let alone cause any form of damage.
Wei Bu Que grinned, “This bastard sure is tough!”
Yang Kai shouted, “Again!”
Another round of attacks was launched and nobody dared to hold back. The best method to deal with the Earth Element was to counter with the Wood Element. Among the Five Elements, Wood suppressed Earth. Unfortunately, the Wood Element was generally focused on restoration and healing. Few people could comprehend Offensive Divine Abilities from their Wood Element.
Although Yang Kai had condensed his Wood Element Power from the essence of the Immortal Tree, he had yet to comprehend a Wood Element Divine Ability. On the other hand, his originally strong restorative and healing abilities had been greatly enhanced as a result.
There were precious few among the crowd who had realised any form of Wood Element Divine Ability at all, so even if they unleashed these Divine Abilities, the effects on the Star Turtle were negligible. This was a Seventh-Order Monster Beast; therefore, the Earth Attribute light surrounding its body was formed from a Seventh-Order Earth Element Power. It was very difficult to destroy such a barrier without a high enough Order strength.
When everybody attacked at this moment, the disparity between their strength was revealed.
Qu Hua Shang, Gu Pan, and the others were undoubtedly the strongest in the group. They were Core Disciples of their respective Cave-Heavens and Paradises after all. As the future pillars of their respective Sects, they had been vigorously nurtured since young. The power behind their Secret Techniques was amazing, difficult for ordinary cultivators to match up to.
Meanwhile, Chef, Accountant, Lang Qing Shan, Ding Yi, and several others were slightly inferior in comparison. As for the ones from Emperor Heaven, their attacks were quite weak by comparison; however, what they lacked in individual strength they made up for in numbers. Their attacks raining down on the Star Turtle gradually made the light surrounding its body slightly dimmer.
At this moment, the Star Turtle seemed to be slowly awakening and soon it swivelled its head around and looked in their direction. Roaring up into the sky, it immediately began moving. It rushed over towards them at an extremely high speed despite looking clumsy and heavy. Every step it took made a thunderous thud against the ground.
“He’s coming!” Yang Kai shouted at the top of his lungs. At this moment, he did not dare to hold back any longer. Drawing Power from his Dao Seal, Golden Crow’s True Fire spread out and began burning everything before him.
Yang Kai had condensed five types of High-Rank Elements and had managed to comprehend Divine Abilities from two of them so far. One was the Dragon Shield and the other was the Golden Crow Casts the Sun. Be that as it may, it did not prevent him from mobilising these powers in other ways.
The pitch-black flames threatened to burn down the space around them and even the horrifying blood mist evaporated upon contact. When the pitch-black flames reached the Star Turtle’s body, a series of crackling sounds rang out. The khakis-yellow light dimmed further by a considerable extent.
The others continued to provide support while at the same time, they quickly retreated and scattered in all directions. It was not until the Star Turtle approached to within 1,000 metres that its yellow light barrier finally shattered.
Yang Kai was overjoyed by the sight. Without even pausing to think about it, he summoned the Yuan Magnetic Divine Bottle Gourd and opened its lid. A dazzling light immediately swept out and wrapped around the Star Turtle.
A loud cry sounded once more. The Yuan Magnetic Divine Light contained devastating destructive power that tore into the softer parts of the Star Turtle’s body that were not covered by its shell, slicing open countless bloody wounds all over its body.
When a dim light suddenly lit up, a sense of terror descended on the world. Everybody felt a shudder going through their hearts. It felt as though they could hear death calling out their names.
Yang Kai looked up and saw that the Star Turtle had opened its large mouth to reveal its jagged fangs. Moreover, there was a small ball of khakis-yellow light the size of a washbasin taking shape in its mouth. The attack was aimed directly at where Yang Kai was standing.
“Watch out!” Qu Hua Shang screamed. Touching her fingers together, she quickly formed a seal and pressed her hand down in the direction of the Star Turtle.
At the same time, Wei Bu Que slashed out with his sword. The whip-like sword light caused all the colours to drain out of the world. Ding Yi summoned Bi Fang’s Fire and stirred the clouds. Lin Feng drew his sword and flicked out countless sword shadows that covered the sky. Gu Pan held a paintbrush in her grip, drawing in the air. An enormous ‘Seal (封)’ character appeared as though printed upon the Star Turtle’s mouth.
Meanwhile, the peach wood sword behind Ning Dao Ran’s back came flying out to transform into a flitting shadow that cut down the stars. Last but not least, Lang Qing Shan, the people of Emperor Heaven, and the others also attacked all at once.
It was an extremely lively scene, with all kinds of blinding lights bursting forth and dazzled their sight. Unfortunately, the Star Turtle was unaffected. It allowed the numerous attacks to simply land on its body as the ball of light spewed out from its mouth like a winding bolt of lightning.
The sword lights shattered and the sword shadows were erased. Moans and groans rang out from all around. Qu Hua Shang was thrown backward like a paper kite, spitting up blood in mid-air. Wei Bu Que was pushed back several dozens of metres by the huge impact force, dragging his feet and creating long troughs in the dirt. Ding Yi’s face was flushed and his body glowed red as though cooked through. Creaking sounds came from the wooden sword in Ning Dao Ran’s hand as slim cracks appeared along its length.
The combined strength of so many elites could not stop a single blow from the Star Turtle, horrifying them all.
In the meantime, the ball of light continued to shoot towards Yang Kai even though the momentum had decreased somewhat.
Yang Kai raised his hand and summoned out the Azure Dragon Spear. Gripping it in both hands, he thrust out. A Dragon Roar resounded, reverberating through the sky as the figure of a Great Dragon seemed to flash out from the Azure Dragon Spear to collide with the ball of light.
In the next moment, the ball of light exploded and a shockwave spread out in all directions. Yang Kai felt a mighty force slamming straight into his chest and the sound of his bones breaking rang out. Several of his ribs were broken in an instant and the bone fragments stabbed into his lungs. The pain was absolutely unbearable. Unable to hold back, he sprayed out a mouthful of blood.
The khakis-yellow force raged about wildly. Everybody present was forced back and thrown into a miserable state. Some of the weaker Emperor Heaven cultivators were heavily injured by the impact and collapsed on the spot. It was hard to tell if they were even still alive.
Only Yang Kai advanced instead of retreating. Raging flames blazed in his eyes because he knew that at least half of the people on his side would die in the next instant if it backed down. Black Crow Divine Monarch had valid reason for choosing him to challenge the Seventh-Order Monster Beast. He was the only person who could stand a fighting chance against this Seventh-Order Monster Beast.
Holding his spear in one hand, Yang Kai kicked off slightly and swiftly arrived in front of the Star Turtle. Taking advantage of the latter’s lack of vigilance, Yang Kai flipped himself onto the opponent’s back with several agile leaps. In the next moment, spear shadows rained down endlessly to stab into the vulnerable spot behind the Star Turtle’s neck.
*Du du du…*
Several muffled thuds rang out. The Azure Dragon Spear that had never failed Yang Kai before turned out to be ineffective. Although the defences on the back of the Star Turtle’s neck were relatively weak, that was only in comparison to the other parts of its body. For a Seventh-Order Earth Element Monster Beast like this, every part of its body was as solid as rock.
It was not that the Azure Dragon Spear was weak, but rather that Yang Kai was not strong enough. The Azure Dragon Spear was bestowed to Yang Kai by Ah Da; moreover, it was refined from the corpse of a true Azure Dragon. Yang Kai had never been able to bring out the full power of his spear.
Hundreds of consecutive thrusts might have turned the back of the Star Turtle’s neck into a bloody mess, but such injuries were no more threatening than an insect bite to it. The turtle shook its head and flicked its tail, trying to throw Yang Kai off, but how could Yang Kai comply with the Star Turtle’s wishes? He didn’t budge in the slightest, almost as though his feet were nailed in place.
Needless to say, everybody else did not hold back in this situation. They quickly unleashed their killing moves and attacked the Star Turtle from all directions.
Bursts of light exploded against the Star Turtle’s body, but although these attacks were incredibly violent, they did not cause any effective damage to it at all.
Suddenly, the turtle stopped struggling and its entire body shuddered for a moment. Immediately following that, countless rays of khakis-yellow light flickered and shot out from its body, each ray containing incredible power.
Yang Kai was caught off guard, and as a result, he was hit by one of the light rays and immediately grunted in pain. His body flew high into the air while the others were similarly flustered by the attacks and many were now lying motionless on the ground.
Upon shaking Yang Kai off, the Star Turtle reacted like a Flood Dragon that had escaped its bonds. Its ferocity was greatly magnified and its enormous body thrashed about from side to side. Nobody dared to approach within a radius of a thousand metres.
“Move aside! Leave it to me!” Chef roared furiously, suddenly charging forward. He was holding his kitchen knife in his left hand and a chopping board in his right. His appearance made him look like it was about to butcher a pig or a goat. It was a rather funny sight; however, what he was aiming to butcher this time was a Seventh-Order Monster Beast.
The chopping board in Chef’s hand flew out and rapidly expanded in the wind before it slid under the Star Turtle’s body. It was hard to determine what kind of artifact the chopping board was, but it was emitting a strange and mysterious aura. A Monster Beast as powerful as the Star Turtle was trapped on the chopping board in a moment of negligence.
Chef strode over with a wide grin, “I am the knife and the chopping block, you are the fish!”
As he shouted, his body suddenly swelled and transformed into a several-dozen-metre tall giant. That was not all; the kitchen knife in his hand also became incomparably huge. His expression was so savage that it could only be described as terrifying. He stretched out a large hand and pressed the Star Turtle against his chopping block. The apron around his waist showed the large printed ‘Butcher’ character. At the same time, the kitchen knife in his hand swung down.
For a moment, it looked like Chef was in control of the situation. The Star Turtle seemed no different from a fish that was being cut up in the kitchen.
Everybody was stunned by the sight. They never imagined that Chef had such skill! Such means were beyond the reach of even the Core Disciples from the various Cave-Heavens and Paradises. Even Yang Kai never expected Chef to be so astonishing. He had always believed that Bai Qi was the strongest among all the shop hands working under the Proprietress and only now did he realise that he might have been mistaken. [If Chef successfully advances into the Open Heaven Realm, he will surely end up stronger than Old Bai.]
Every time the knife chopped down, Chef caused dazzling bursts of sparks to shoot out from the Star Turtle’s shell. He was forcefully gouging a white mark into the shell with every cut!
While everybody was in a trance, Accountant flew over with an abacus in hand. His fingers flew across the abacus, shooting out bead after bead that enlarged and came crashing down on the Star Turtle’s head.
*Hong hong hong…*
Every single blow made the Star Turtle’s head dip downward slightly. The Star Turtle’s head was smashed deep into the ground by the time hundreds of beads finished crashing down.
Everybody quickly took out their artifacts and unleashed their Secret Techniques, viciously attacking the Star Turtle.
All of a sudden, Chef’s expression changed drastically as he shouted, “It’s up to you now.”
While saying that, his huge figure shrunk back to his original size like a deflated balloon. The chopping board also flew back to his hand. After returning to his original appearance, his aura was so weak that he could barely stand. Moreover, his complexion was as pale as a sheet.
Upon seeing that, Yang Kai immediately understood that the Secret Technique Chef executed just now had consumed essentially all of the latter’s strength. It was not as if Chef could actually transform into such a big giant, it was simply a manifestation of the Secret Technique he used.
Therefore, Yang Kai immediately stopped his indiscriminate bombardment of the Star Turtle and flashed to appear beside Chef while shouting, “Don’t resist!”
Reaching out to grab him, Yang Kai tossed Chef into the Small Sealed World. Since the latter was no longer in any condition to fight, leaving him outside would only put him in danger. Since that was the case, it was better to let him rest in a safe place.
The Star Turtle seemed to have been agitated greatly by Chef’s attack. When it raised its head again, it shook its body hard. Its tail swept out in all directions like a meteor hammer, the power behind each blow so immense that nobody could defend against it. Countless people were thrown into the air and instantly suffered grievous injuries.
Zhang Ruo Xi was about to be hit by the sweeping tail of the Star Turtle. Seeing that she could not dodge the attack in time, Yang Kai flashed to her side and thrust out with his spear. When the mighty impact came, they both crashed into each other and became entangled. Yang Kai quickly got back to his feet and confirmed that she was alright before shouting, “Hei Ya, we’re all going to die here if you don’t do something quick!”
Black Crow Divine Monarch, who was presiding over the Grand Array, coldly snorted at those words, “Brat, don’t you dare shirk your responsibility!”
It was obvious that Yang Kai had not gone all out. If nothing else, he had yet to use the Divine Manifestation that he showed previously. That Divine Manifestation contained an impressive amount of destructive power. Unleashing that move here would surely be of great help to the current situation.
Nevertheless, Black Crow Divine Monarch could not ignore Yang Kai’s plea for help. Should Yang Kai’s side be defeated, his Grand Array would also be affected. He was at a critical juncture to break the barrier and did not wish for all his efforts to be in vain.
Therefore, he waved his large banner despite his dissatisfaction with Yang Kai’s inadequacy. A large part of the blood mist suddenly converged to form a blood cloud that floated towards the Star Turtle and wrapped around it. Immediately after that, the blood cloud condensed into two Blood Beasts that were no smaller than the Star Turtle, as well as countless blood snakes that wriggled like living creatures.
The two Blood Beasts fearlessly flanked the Star Turtle from both sides. On the other hand, the countless blood snakes swarmed the Star Turtle’s body by crawling along the edges of its shell.
The Star Turtle flicked its tail and one of the Blood Beasts immediately exploded, only to regroup immediately in a seemingly immortal and indestructible manner. Thanks to these Blood Beasts, the others had some time to catch their breaths and readjusted their formation. Then, the barrage of Divine Abilities and Secret Techniques resumed once more.
Yang Kai took a small breather. It was true that he had not used his full strength; after all, under these circumstances, he did not dare to exert his full strength. Although the power of the Golden Crow Casts the Sun was explosive, its power consumption was simply too high. He might not have any strength left for self-protection if he consumed too much energy in his battle against the Star Turtle. How could he do something so stupid?
Fortunately, Black Crow Divine Monarch valued the Blood Monster Divine Palace so much that he could not afford to be distracted even though he understood Yang Kai’s intentions. As a result of the two immortal and indestructible Blood Beasts charging the enemy and the countless blood snakes distracting the Star Turtle, everybody’s safety was greatly increased.
Even though the Star Turtle was strong, its sentience seemed to be somewhat lacking. There was no saying whether the cause was its long years of sleep or its inherent nature. Annoyed by the Blood Beasts’ badgering, it fought them endlessly. The battle occupied it so much that it had no time for anything else.
This situation delighted Yang Kai and the others. Before they could rejoice though, the Blood Beasts were destroyed to the point where they could no longer re-condense. Similarly, the blood snakes crawling all over the Star Turtle’s body were destroyed by the Earth Element Power it emitted.
Yang Kai secretly cursed. With no other choice, he stepped forward once more. The Azure Dragon Spear flew out and pierced forward to draw the Star Turtle’s attention. This was something he had promised Black Crow Divine Monarch earlier after all. It was also related to whether the Blood Monster Divine Palace could be opened, so Yang Kai could not simply stand back and watch. Nevertheless, the pressure was as heavy as a mountain. Any negligence could turn into a fatal mistake when facing such a Seventh-Order Monster Beast, so Yang Kai had no choice but to remain alert at all times.
The others provided support from the side, and for a time, they successfully kept the Star Turtle at bay.
Taking a slight breather amidst the pitched battle, Yang Kai glanced in the direction of the Blood Monster Divine Palace and discovered that it had become far more solid in such a short time. It would seem that Black Crow Divine Monarch and the others were making good progress. According to the agreement from before, Yang Kai’s task would be over once the Blood Monster Divine Palace was completely opened and he would no longer have to strive so hard against this Monster Beast.
Meanwhile, Wei Bu Que was secretly shocked. He had heard about Yang Kai’s strength from his Junior Brother, Xu Zhen. He had also heard about how Yang Kai defeated Yu Luo Sha in the Asura Arena of Thousand Birds Star City in one move. Even so, it was one thing to listen to the stories and quite another to witness it for himself. It was not until this moment that he understood how wide the gap between him and Yang Kai was.
Everybody had done their best when facing the Star Turtle, but the majority of the pressure was borne by Yang Kai who constantly charged forward to attack the enemy. Wei Bu Que had to admit that he would have been exhausted in less than an incense stick if he were in Yang Kai’s shoes. He might even face the risk of death. On the contrary, Yang Kai persevered against all odds. The scene might seem precarious and sometimes extremely dangerous, but things also seemed to be in his control.
[Black Crow Divine Monarch truly has a good eye for people. It’s also no wonder that Junior Brother reminded me countless times before my departure that I should try and win Yang Kai over should I meet him. With such talent, he will be incomparable to ordinary Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters even if he only achieves that realm upon breaking through.] A ray of light suddenly shot in Wei Bu Que’s direction. Shaking his head, he cleared his mind of the many distracting thoughts and slashed forward with his sword.
With the passage of time, the number of wounded increased. Even Wei Bu Que and the other elites were covered in injuries. There was no need to mention Yang Kai’s condition. If not for his strong recovery abilities and endurance, he would have died countless times over by now.
The strength of a Seventh-Order Monster Beast was terrifying indeed. Despite combining so many people’s strength, they could only keep the Monster Beast at bay. It was impossible for them to kill it.
Yang Kai had the feeling that only a Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master had hope of killing the Star Turtle; moreover, it had to be a Fifth-Order or Sixth-Order Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master. A Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master was not capable of such a feat.
With the Star Turtle being held back, Black Crow Divine Monarch was undisturbed and made rapid progress. In the short span of an hour, the Blood Monster Divine Palace was almost fully condensed into solid form.
On the other hand, the Star Turtle’s purpose in sleeping here was probably only to protect the Divine Palace. As such, the further Black Crow Divine Monarch progressed, the more violent and powerful its attacks became.
Yang Kai and the others who were fighting the Star Turtle could feel these changes clearly.
All of a sudden, there was a soft crack. It was followed by a horrifying aura that permeated the air. Immediately after that, a Sword Qi slashed out from Lin Feng’s waist and shot towards the Star Turtle. The Sword Qi swept out wantonly and the Void shattered.
A several-metre-long crack was sliced open, stretching across the Star Turtle’s solid back. Through that crack, they could practically see the wriggling flesh and internal organs inside.
Yang Kai, who was struggling against the Star Turtle at the time, couldn’t help feeling stunned for a moment; likewise, the others were stunned too.
Meanwhile, Lin Feng stiffened and looked down at his waist. In the next moment, his eyes narrowed slightly. The Identity Token at his waist was shattered. In other words, his life had been in mortal danger just now. That was why the Divine Ability Sealed within the Identity Token had been triggered.
He was instantly drenched in cold sweat! He barely even understood what had happened. All he knew was that a yellow stream of light had shot out from the Star Turtle and flew in his direction. It had happened so fast that he had no time to react…
“Good job!” Black Crow Divine Monarch laughed loudly. Another blood cloud wriggled over and slipped into the Star Turtle’s body via that wound to wreak havoc from the inside.
The Star Turtle’s shell and flesh were extremely tough. Even though such a large group of people had been attacking him for half a day, the damage they managed to cause was negligible. In contrast, the Sword Qi Divine Ability unleashed from Lin Feng’s Identity Token had inflicted heavy damage in an instant. How could Black Crow Divine Monarch miss out on such a good opportunity? He took the initiative to attack without waiting for Yang Kai’s call for help.
The blood cloud vanished out of sight and the Star Turtle roared in pain while the pressure on Yang Kai and the others fell noticeably.
“Are you alright, Brother Lin?” Wei Bu Que asked while taking a breather.
Lin Feng slowly nodded, but a trace of fear lingered on his face. Never once had he ever felt so close to death before. He had never been so terrified in his life; not even when he was captured by Kun Sha in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary back then.
It would now seem that it was unrealistic to rely on the hope that the Divine Abilities sealed within the Identity Tokens of the Cave-Heaven and Paradise disciples could kill this Star Turtle. That Sword Qi just now had been indescribably powerful, but even so, it had only managed to open a single wound on the opponent’s back. Based on the outcome of this situation, they could not take the Star Turtle’s life even if they activated all of their protective Divine Abilities.
Nevertheless, it was thanks to this sealed Divine Ability that broke open the tough shell and allowed Black Crow Divine Monarch’s methods to take effect that Yang Kai and the others could catch their breath for a moment.
In the meantime, the Blood Monster Divine Palace was becoming more and more solid. Another quarter hour passed and there was a loud rumble accompanied by an earthquake that shook the entire world. Then, the gates of the Blood Monster Divine Palace slowly opened.
Black Crow Divine Monarch’s eyes blazed with a raging heat. Similarly, the cultivators standing at the various Array Nodes looked excited.
“Success!” Black Crow Divine Monarch laughed out loud, “This Monarch will be leaving first.”
After saying that, he ignored everybody else and charged forward. He rushed straight into the Blood Monster Divine Palace and disappeared out of sight. Upon seeing that, the others did not hesitate to follow suit. All of them quickly swarmed towards the Blood Monster Divine Palace, scrambling to be the first!
On the contrary, Yang Kai wanted to curse and scream! That was because the Star Turtle was no longer restrained by Black Crow Divine Monarch following his departure. Like a tiger that had been released from its cage, the Star Turtle’s aura soared wildly.
Yang Kai and the others had barely been able to cope earlier, but the pressure increased sharply at this moment. Several people gathered near the Star Turtle were swept away by its aura and swiftly retreated into the distance.
A battlefield was like a game of chess. One wrong move would lead to another, then another, until everything collapsed. Black Crow Divine Monarch’s sudden departure had left Yang Kai and the others in an extremely difficult and precarious position.
The Star Turtle shook its body. Dozens of figures collapsed on the ground, bleeding profusely as a result. This attack was swiftly followed by numerous yellow bolts of light shooting out from its body, causing the remaining people to panic.
Black Crow Divine Monarch probably never intended to bother about the lives of Yang Kai and the others in the first place. From his standpoint, he couldn’t be happier if Yang Kai and the others were killed by the Star Turtle. That was why he left without the slightest hesitation.
Although Yang Kai struggled hard to fight back, it was difficult for him to block the onslaught of a Seventh-Order Monster Beast.
“Go quickly!” He shouted while stabbing out continuously with his spear.
As soon as the words left Yang Kai’s mouth, the Star Turtle raised his meteor-hammer-like tail. A blinding yellow light gathered at the tip of its tail and a moment later, it moved at lightning speed and smashed down at the place where the most people were gathered.
Qu Hua Shang stood in that spot, her beautiful face drained of all colour. She knew that she would die if she didn’t move, but the Star Turtle’s horrifying aura locked her firmly in place. A feeling that she could not escape in time washed over her. The light in front of her eyes became obscured and the world darkened around her.
Yang Kai felt his teeth nearly cracking at the sight. Manipulating Space Principles, his figure flashed and appeared in front of her as a terrifying wind pressed down on him. He already felt suffocated before the Star Turtle’s attack arrived. [I can’t block this! With my current strength, I can’t block an attack of this magnitude! It’s not enough even if I use Golden Crow Casts the Sun! But, if I can’t stop this attack, then Qu Hua Shang will definitely die!]
In that moment between life or death, an aura flashed through his mind and the Wood Element Power shone brightly in his Dao Seal. An emerald aura flowed out and a great tree appeared out of nowhere behind his back, holding up a huge canopy that swayed in the wind. The tree gave off the feeling that it would stand tall even if the sky came crashing down.
*Hong…*
The Star Turtle’s tail smashed down and the yellow light collided with the canopy of the great tree. The emerald light and yellow light impacted with an explosive sound that shook the world.
Qu Hua Shang stared blankly at the figure standing in front of her, feeling as though some kind of barrier which wrapped around her heart was struck by something and shattered in an instant, making it race faster than it had ever before.
She was one of Yin-Yang Cave Heaven’s Core Disciples. Having been vigorously cultivated by the Sect since she was young, she never lacked for anything. Not only did she have great aptitude and high cultivation, but she also had a beautiful appearance. Countless Senior Brothers and Junior Brothers in Yin-Yang Cave Heaven had tried to woo her in the past.
What she cultivated was the Heartless Dao. In order for her to advance into the Open Heaven Realm, she would first need to experience love. She herself knew that it was only a matter of time before she had to settle down with a man.
Most of the other female disciples in the Sect from her generation had long since fallen in love and became intimate with their partners of choice; however, she had never been able to find a suitable candidate. Hence, she was always honest and straightforward with the Senior Brothers and Junior Brothers who approached her.
It was only when she entered the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary that she encountered a man who could clearly and eloquently discuss Yin-Yang Union Cultivation with her. Although she found the man rather interesting, she did not give much thought to the matter at the time.
After returning to Yin-Yang Cave Heaven, she underwent intensive cultivation to absorb all the benefits she received in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary. It was not until she finally came out of retreat that she heard many things about Yang Kai.
Feeling appreciative of the life-saving grace she received from him in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, she persuaded her Sect to take a softer approach to win him over instead of trying to kill him. Her status as a Core Disciple gave her some say in making decisions, and due to her constant lobbying, the higher-ups in the Sect agreed. Naturally, the task of winning Yang Kai over fell upon her as the person who proposed this idea in the first place. Besides, she was already acquainted with him so there could be no better candidate than her.
Upon entering the Blood Monster Cave Heaven, Qu Hua Shang was not surprised to meet Yang Kai again. She was entrusted with a task from her Sect and had her own Grand Dao to consider as well; therefore, she was much more proactive in approaching him than before.
During this period, she survived through various hardships and even shared life and death together with him. The admiration in her heart grew greatly after she witnessed his abilities and temperament with her own eyes. Despite the mutual protection and unfaltering support during their travels, she only felt that he was a very responsible man. A trace of affection would occasionally bloom in her heart, but she knew that those feelings were a far cry from love.
She had more than once asked herself, ‘What is love?’ Unfortunately, she could not find the answer to her question.
However, at this very moment, when her life flashed before her eyes as the darkness of death enveloped her, that familiar figure had descended from the sky without hesitation to stand in front of her. That figure was akin to a majestic mountain that shielded her from rain and storm…
Qu Hua Shang suddenly felt as though a seed in her heart had germinated and burst out of the ground with great vigour. It was a strange feeling that instantly permeated her entire body. Even though she was standing at the threshold of life and death, she broke out into a smile. Her aura that had gone chaotic when danger loomed over her suddenly cleared up and became calm once more, even becoming more vigorous than before.
*Hong…*
The Star Turtle’s tail came slamming down to crash against the huge canopy. The yellow light and emerald light symphonically blended together. The great tree stood strong below, forcefully holding up the enormous tail.
Everybody was stunned by the sight, and even Yang Kai was taken aback. He looked up and stared at the large tree and huge canopy behind him and a single question flashed through his heart, [What is this?]
In that moment just now, he had instinctively pushed the Wood Element Power in his Dao Seal. It never occurred to him that a giant tree would appear behind him.
Among the Five Elements, the Wood suppressed Earth. What the Star Turtle unleashed was undoubtedly a Seventh-Order Earth Element Power. On the other hand, the Wood Element Power in Yang Kai’s Dao Seal was condensed from the essence of the Immortal Tree. In terms of Order, his Wood Element Power was definitely much higher than the Star Turtle’s Earth Element Power. In addition, these two Elements mutually restrained each other, so it was not hard to understand how he managed to block that terrifying blow.
What Yang Kai could not understand was what he did just now. He was astonished that he managed to comprehend a Wood Element Divine Ability at such a critical moment.
All this while, he had been trying to unlock the mysteries of the Elements in his Dao Seal in hopes of comprehending a Divine Manifestation no weaker than his Golden Crow Casts the Sun. If nothing else, comprehending a Divine Ability or Secret Technique like the Dragon Shield was not bad either. In particular, the Wood Element was the first Open Heaven Power that he condensed, so he had been rather disappointed that he could not comprehend any Divine Abilities from it.
Over the years, Yang Kai had wondered if the Order of the Wood Element Power that he condensed from the essence of the Immortal Tree was simply too high for him to comprehend anything from it. Nevertheless, he knew that some things could not be forced. Everything would remain an unreachable dream if the timing was not right. Correspondingly, everything would naturally fall into place once the moment arrived. Even so, he never imagined that the Wood Element Divine Ability would emerge right here and right now due to necessity!
[Sure enough, the fine line between life or death not only contains great terror but also holds great opportunities!] At the time, Yang Kai simply wanted to save Qu Hua Shang. There were no other thoughts in his head, so he drew on the Wood Element Power in his Dao Seal instinctually, causing the giant tree behind him to suddenly appear out of nowhere.
[This must be a Defensive Divine Ability!] Yang Kai immediately understood the situation. It was just that he did not have time to investigate it carefully. He could sense that the large tree could not withstand the Star Turtle’s aggressive attacks for long; thus, he quickly shouted, “Go quickly!”
Everybody returned to their senses. How could they dare to delay a moment longer? They hurriedly rushed towards the gates of the Blood Monster Divine Palace. Black Crow Divine Monarch was the first person to rush inside while the rest of the cultivators acting as Array Nodes soon followed out of fear and greed. Therefore, those fighting the Star Turtle were the last ones remaining outside.
At this moment, the Blood Monster Divine Palace had been opened so there was no longer any need to fight this Seventh-Order Monster Beast. Since it was impossible to kill this Star Turtle, it was only logical to flee as soon as possible.
One after another, their remaining figures slipped into the Blood Monster Divine Palace. Before leaving, Lin Feng, Wei Bu Que, Ning Dao Ran, and the others each sent a Divine Ability in the direction of the Star Turtle, giving one last burst of effort to help relieve some of the pressure on Yang Kai. Ding Yi also followed close behind with the rest of the surviving members of Emperor Heaven.
Accountant shouted, “Brat, we’re going on ahead. Take care of yourself!”
After saying that, he summoned Lang Qing Shan and the others before they charged into the Blood Monster Divine Palace.
Zhang Ruo Xi was not willing to leave, but Gu Pan dragged her into the Blood Monster Divine Palace by the arm and vanished out of sight.
Qu Hua Shang quietly whispered, “Junior Brother, I’ll be waiting for you inside. Hurry and catch up.”
Her emotions were a little agitated at the moment and for some reason, her body felt soft and weak. She knew that she would only add to his worries if she stayed here, so she forced herself to leave.
Yang Kai grunted in reply without looking back, sensing her aura quickly disappear.
In a blink of an eye, he was the only person left in the entire mountain valley. The great tree condensed from the Wood Element Power was already beginning to falter. It was true that the Wood suppressed Earth. Moreover, this newly comprehended Defensive Divine Ability was absolutely amazing in terms of power. Unfortunately, even the strongest defence could only last so long in the face of a furious attack.
Seeing that the huge canopy of the large tree was about to break, Yang Kai grit his teeth and stared up at the Star Turtle. Space Principles fluctuated around him and he appeared outside the gates of the Blood Monster Divine Palace in a flash.
If possible, he would have preferred to kill the Star Turtle. Although he was not in need of a Seventh-Order Earth Element Monster Core, it was still an invaluable cultivation resource. If he brought this back with him, he might be able to exchange this for something that he did need. It was a pity that a Seventh-Order Monster Beast was not something he could defeat with his current strength. So many people working together had been unable to leave a scratch on that Monster Beast earlier, so what could he do now that he was alone?
Standing in front of the gates of the Blood Monster Divine Palace, Yang Kai gave one last glance at the enraged and roaring Star Turtle before he turned around and rushed inside. The furious roars behind him stopped abruptly. Instead, he was greeted by a vast expanse of white everywhere he looked. Although his Divine Sense was not restricted by anything, he could not detect any other presences in this place. All the cultivators who rushed in before him were nowhere to be seen.
Yang Kai stopped and looked back, only to see that the gates of the Blood Monster Divine Palace were gone, replaced by a completely white world. It was as though there was nothing else in this place aside from the dazzling whiteness that stretched out in all directions.
[Where are the others?] Yang Kai frowned. Judging by the current situation, there seemed to be a strange restriction in the Blood Monster Divine Palace. It might not be harmful, but it gave off an indescribably peculiar feel.
After trying for a while, Yang Kai did not sense any danger; furthermore, he could neither see anything within his field of vision nor detect any life auras within the range of his Divine Sense. It was as though the people who came in before him had vanished without any rhyme or reason. Seeing as it was impossible for them to have gone missing, Yang Kai suspected that they were stuck in the same situation as he. They had all fallen into this world of pure white.
[How can the inside of the Blood Monster Divine Palace look like this? Why was Black Crow Divine Monarch so desperate to enter this place?] Yang Kai was a little worried about Zhang Ruo Xi, but upon further consideration, he recalled that Gu Pan had dragged Zhang Ruo Xi by the arm and entered the Blood Monster Divine Palace together. The two of them were most likely together at this moment. Even if something dangerous were to appear, Zhang Ruo Xi would have Gu Pan taking care of her. At the very least, she would not have to deal with the dangers alone.
With that thought in mind, Yang Kai relaxed slightly. He pondered for a moment before activating the Demon Eye of Annihilation. His left eye immediately transformed into a majestic column of golden light.
The Demon Eye of Annihilation had impressive power and utility, and Yang Kai had never been disappointed whenever he used this skill. However, he gained nothing this time around. He suspected that this was some sort of Spirit Array like an Illusion Array or a Bewildering Array. Seeing as he did not gain anything from the use of his Demon Eye of Annihilation though, it could only mean that there was nothing odd about this place, or that his Demon Eye of Annihilation was not strong enough.
Thinking about it, Yang Kai realised that this was not surprising. This place was the Blood Monster Divine Palace, the home of Blood Monster Divine Monarch. If an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master decided to place a restriction on this place, it would not be something Yang Kai could see through so easily.
Withdrawing his Divine Ability, he let out a sigh. This damned place had nothing. There was only whiteness all around. Furthermore, it gave off the feeling of infinity which made him somewhat anxious.
With no other clues, Yang Kai could only take things one step at a time. He adjusted his breathing and recovered his strength. At the same time, he decided on a direction and walked forward. There was no saying how much time had passed. He even had the feeling that the flow of time in this place was very strange. For that reason, he was unable to judge just how long he had been walking.
It seemed like it was only a moment, but it also seemed like several days had passed. Just as Yang Kai was starting to get frustrated, he suddenly heard a scream coming from a certain direction. His expression stiffened in shock and he hurriedly turned to look in that direction; however, he frowned deeply the next moment. That was because a figure had appeared in his field of vision. It was almost as if that person had been there all along and he simply had not noticed the man all this while.
It was a male cultivator who looked around forty years old or so. There was no way to tell which Sect’s disciple he was, but at this moment, he seemed absolutely panicked. His eyes were filled with terror, as though he had seen something extremely horrifying, and he was running around screaming, “Don’t kill me! Don’t kill me!”
This person seemed to have encountered something extremely terrifying and his expression was filled with fear. Having finally come across another person, Yang Kai could not let this man leave so easily even though he knew that the other party was seemingly in trouble. He moved forward and stopped in front of that person with his hand raised up in the air, “Excuse me, Friend!”
Unexpectedly, that person ran straight at Yang Kai as though he didn’t see him at all.
Yang Kai’s scowl grew deeper. He exerted some strength and stretched his hand forward to stop that person by force, but to his surprise, his arm passed through that person’s body. This scene shocked him greatly but before he could recover from his shock, that person had already passed through his body and ran off.
Yang Kai abruptly turned back to look. There was nobody there at all. It was almost as though everything that happened just now was just an illusion. A disquieting feeling rose in his heart and he felt a chill running down his back.
This damned place was full of mysteries. It was not a place one should stay for long. Unfortunately, he was completely clueless about this place and had no idea how to get out of here at the moment.
After walking for a while, Yang Kai suddenly saw a round platform ahead with something seemingly placed on it. He couldn’t help rubbing his eyes and looking vigilant. That was because he was certain that there had been nothing in this direction when he looked earlier, and yet, this round platform suddenly appeared when he looked in this direction once more.
Holding his breath and focusing his mind, Yang Kai stared forward, frowning. Even so, he could not see what was placed on top of the round platform. He hesitated for a long time before he steadily walked in that direction.
It didn’t take long for him to arrive in front of the round platform. He walked up the short flight of stairs and looked up. What he saw made his expression change drastically. That was because there was a severed head sitting on top of the round platform. Furthermore, the owner of that severed head was Qu Hua Shang!
[How did Qu Hua Shang die here? And, who placed her head here?] He suddenly felt as though his eyes were going to explode from the sight. A ball of rage burned in his chest like a volcano that was about to erupt. He wanted to burn everything in the world.
He had travelled with this Senior Sister from Yin-Yang Cave Heaven, mutually supporting each other all the way. If she had not carried him on her back while fleeing desperately, he would have been killed by Yin Xin Zhao in his unconscious state; thus, he had a good grasp of her character by now. It could be said that he already considered her as one of his friends. Be that as it may, she had died in this place! Yang Kai’s heart felt like it had been sliced to pieces by a knife!
At this moment, Qu Hua Shang’s severed head jerked its eyes open and cried out to him miserably, “Save me! It hurts!”
Yang Kai lurched back and retreated slightly, staring in the direction of the head in shock and disbelief. She repeatedly pleaded for help, but his expression slowly became cold and calm instead.
[This is definitely not Qu Hua Shang’s head! It’s impossible for a dead person to speak.] He was almost certain that he had fallen into some sort of Illusion Array. What he was seeing at the moment was nothing more than some kind of hallucination. As soon as the thought crossed his mind, he quickly slipped into the Small Sealed World without delay!
He originally wanted to use this method to break free from the illusion in front of him. To his surprise, he discovered that there was something wrong with him when he entered the Small Sealed World. At some point in time, his body had been surrounded by faint traces of energy. This energy emitted a hint of malevolence that lingered and wrapped around his body. If he had not entered the Small Sealed World, he would not have noticed this phenomenon. This bizarre energy constantly twisted and distorted upon itself, creating all sorts of peculiar sights. The illusion he saw just now was definitely caused by this energy.
His expression darkened and he immediately activated the Golden Crow’s True Fire around his body. There was a crackling sound as the traces of evil energy entangled around his body were instantly burned to a crisp. After confirming that he no longer had that bizarre energy around him, Yang Kai finally slipped out of the Small Sealed World and returned to the outside world again. However, he remained cautious this time around. He did not withdraw the Golden Crow’s True Fire and instead coated his body in a protective layer of it.
As soon as he appeared in the outside world, Yang Kai heard sizzling sounds coming from his surroundings. Black smoke rose into the air as though something was being burned by him. It was similar to the scene where he burned off the evil energy inside the Small Sealed World; therefore, he immediately understood something. This weird place was filled with that strange energy and anybody who entered this place would begin to hallucinate as a result.
The Order of this evil energy was not low and was most likely one of the means set up by Blood Monster Divine Monarch to guard this palace. Fortunately, Yang Kai’s Golden Crow’s True Fire was of extremely high Order and was able to fully restrain it. If it were any other cultivator in this place, they would not be able to deal with this scenario.
Yang Kai couldn’t help becoming worried. Be it Gu Pan, Zhang Ruo Xi, Qu Hua Shang, Ning Dao Ran, Accountant, or Lang Qing Shan, none of them had a heritage as great as his. At this moment, they were probably being tortured by those illusions. It was almost certain that all the cultivators who rushed into the Blood Monster Divine Palace had encountered the same situation. Just because he could break free of those hallucinations did not mean that those people had the ability to do so!
Yang Kai looked back at the round platform and naturally Qu Hua Shang’s head was nowhere to be seen. Even the round platform was gone. Thus, he breathed out a sigh of relief. It would seem that what he saw previously was really just an illusion. Qu Hua Shang had not been beheaded after all!
Constant crackling sounds came from around him as the strange energy was steadily burned away. He took a step forward and compared to earlier, he now felt much more clear-headed. A long while passed when he suddenly heard a weak but extremely miserable cry. It sounded like somebody was going through unimaginable torture.
Yang Kai frowned slightly. He did not know whether the voice was an illusion or whether there really was somebody screaming. Just in case, he entered the Small Sealed World once more to check on his body. He confirmed that he was not affected by the evil energy before he returned to the outside world. The miserable cry sounded again, so this time around, Yang Kai could be sure that it really was somebody screaming.
After listening for a while, he followed the source of the sound and headed in that direction. He walked for a while and came to a stop in front of a ball of fire. Then, he stared at the flames solemnly. He did not know what kind of flames these were but even if they were incomparable to his Golden Crow’s True Fire, they were still quite strong. However, what shocked him was not this ball of fire but rather what was inside this ball of fire.
There was a humanoid figure inside the ball of fire. Under the burning of those flames, that figure screamed out again and again. He constantly writhed in pain. Once in a while, he would collide with the flames in an attempt to break free. However, every time he tried to do that, he would be restrained by an inexplicable force that immobilised him.
Yang Kai felt his scalp going numb with horror. The humanoid figure inside the flames was emitting the aura of a Soul Avatar! It was somebody’s Soul!
Ever since he started cultivating, Yang Kai had offended many people, and many of them had also threatened him with all sorts of things. For example, they would threaten to torture him or subject him to Soul Extraction and Refinement! Even so, those people were normally just making threats.
At this moment, he was actually witnessing a person’s Soul being continuously burned by flames but unable to die. This was the process of Soul Extraction and Refinement! The Soul was truly experiencing a fate worse than death!
Yang Kai wanted to see the identity of the Soul within the flames, but could not get a clear glimpse. That person was far too distorted. Moreover… he had the vague feeling that this Soul did not belong to any of the cultivators who came in before him. That was because the person gave off a feeling that he was once very powerful, even though he was incredibly weak now.
Just as Yang Kai was suspiciously eyeing this scene, that Soul suddenly stopped screaming or struggling. A twisted transformation revealed a face staring straight at him through the flames. It was an unfamiliar face that he had never seen before so Yang Kai subconsciously circulated his strength and raised his guard.
“Who is it!? Who is standing there!?” The person shouted through gritted teeth. It was not out of fury. It was simply because he was suffering immense pain from the flames burning his Soul at all times.
Yang Kai frowned and looked into the Soul Avatar’s eyes. Unexpectedly, he discovered that those eyes were unfocused even though the other party was looking in his general direction. In other words, that person probably could not see Yang Kai and simply sensed his presence.
[This person must have been a powerful Master in the past! Otherwise, it’s impossible for a Soul to persist for so many years!] Yang Kai couldn’t help thinking about Black Crow Divine Monarch. [Could it be that Black Crow Divine Monarch is not the only one imprisoned inside the Blood Monster Cave Heaven? Are there other High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters?]
“Who is standing there!? Speak!” That person yelled impatiently, like a wounded beast.
Yang Kai frowned, “And, who are you? Why are you being imprisoned inside those flames?”
“Me?” The Soul Avatar seemed taken aback, “I’ve forgotten who I am… Wait. You can see me?”
How could Yang Kai know that he was being imprisoned in a ball of flames unless Yang Kai could see him?
“I can see you.” Yang Kai nodded affirmatively.
“That’s impossible. What Order within the Open Heaven Realm are you? How can you see me? This place is the Nothingness Array set up by that old dog Xue Yao. It’s difficult for anybody to see through the mysteries in this place unless they are a High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master. Don’t tell me… You are in the High-Rank Open Heaven Realm?”
Yang Kai replied, “I’m only in the Half-Step Open Heaven Realm…” Pausing for a moment, he firmly added, “But, I’ll become a High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master one day.”
“A Half-Step Open Heaven Realm Junior…” That person seemed stunned for a moment but quickly reacted, “Did you condense High-Rank Elements?”
“Indeed!”
The figure immediately understood, “No wonder you can see me. Were you also captured and brought here by that old dog?”
Yang Kai fell silent for a moment. [Based on what he said, it is likely that Blood Monster Divine Monarch captured him, extracted his Soul, and left him to suffer the pain of being burned by these flames. How long has he suffered here? How did a Soul survive for so long without being extinguished? And, what did he do to offend Blood Monster Divine Monarch…]
After thinking about it, Yang Kai explained truthfully, “Blood Monster Divine Monarch died a long time ago and the Blood Monster Cave Heaven has turned into a Sealed World. I came here for training.”
“That old dog is dead!?” That person’s expression became rather complicated, muttering to himself for a bit before he burst out laughing, “Hahahaha! Xue Yao! So what if your strength was greater and your fist bigger!? I still lived longer than you!”
Yang Kai lightly coughed into his fist, not knowing what to say. [It’s better to die than to be stuck in this living Hell, neither dead nor alive.]
That person continued to laugh, then he suddenly burst out crying, “If that old dog is dead… then there’s no more reason for me to persevere!”
He couldn’t even remember his own name, but he never forgot Blood Monster Divine Monarch. It could be seen that there was a deep grudge between the two of them. It was also precisely because of that hatred that he had persevered until today and his Soul remained indestructible.
Soon, he composed his emotions once more. Enduring the pain from the burning flames, he said in a surprisingly calm voice, “Junior, please do me a favour.”
“What do you want me to do, Senior? This Junior’s cultivation is low and may not be able to help you.” Although Yang Kai felt sorry for what this man had experienced, he did not dare to talk too much. The main reason was his meeting with Black Crow Divine Monarch previously. All these Old Monsters who lived for countless years were not easy to deal with. He could fall into their trap at the slightest negligence.
The Soul replied, “Rest assured. It’s nothing too difficult for you. I just want you to kill me.”
Yang Kai fell silent. He had seen this person suffering a life worse than death due to the Soul Extraction and Refinement, so he was not surprised by the request. Rather than being stuck in this state, it was certainly better to die.
“Little Friend, are you still there?” The Soul asked tentatively when Yang Kai did not answer for a long time.
“I’m still here.” Yang Kai breathed out lightly, “What must I do, Senior?”
The Soul replied, “My Soul has completely integrated with this Soul Flame. As long as the Soul Flame exists, my Soul will not die. If you wish to kill me, you need to extinguish this fire. I’m sure you’ve condensed a Water Element Power, right? You only need to use it.”
Yang Kai nodded, “Please wait a moment, Senior. I will send you off!”
The Soul, who had been tortured and trapped in pain for such a long time, suddenly seemed to calm, “Many thanks, Little Friend.”
Yang Kai did not say anything else. Activating the Water Element Power in his Dao Seal, he reached out his hand towards the Soul Flame.
His Water Element Power was Seventh-Order, condensed from the Moon Essence back in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary. Although it was technically of the Water Element, it leaned more heavily towards the Icy Attribute; thus, a bone-chilling cold aura permeated the air when Yang Kai drew upon it, seemingly holding a hazy ball of moonlight in the palm of his hand…
Among the Five Elements, the Water extinguished Fire. Using the Water Element Power to destroy the Soul Flame was akin to using the right tool for the right situation. If anybody else were to come here, they might not succeed even if they knew the correct method because the Order of this Soul Flame was not low. Fortunately, Yang Kai’s Water Element Power was more than enough to deal with it.
A chill spread out, wrapping around the Soul Flame. In response, the Soul Flame began to shrink at a rate visible to the naked eye.
The Soul was completely integrated with the Soul Flame, so he immediately noticed the changes, his voice calling out in a somewhat conflicted tone, “I’m finally free!”
Yang Kai asked while working, “Senior, do you have any last wishes?”
The Soul, who was sitting cross-legged within the Soul Flame, quietly waiting for death to come, laughed when he heard the question, “I don’t even remember who I am anymore. How can I still have any last wishes… Oh, that’s right! I think I used to have a Sect. What was the Sect called…” After pondering for some time, he could not remember anything; thus, he could only sigh in resignation, “Forget it. So many years have passed. I’m sure the Sect is gone by now. There’s nothing for me to worry about.”
In that short time, Yang Kai had worn the Soul Flame down with his Water Element Power until it became extremely dim. Even the Soul inside became hazy and indistinct, almost as though he was about to be completely extinguished.
Another short while passed. Be it the Soul Flame or the Soul integrated with the Soul Flame, only a faint shadow of them remained. With a crisp sound coming from the depths of the Soul, the Soul Flame disintegrated and the Soul was extinguished. The last vestiges of the Soul’s voice entered Yang Kai’s ears, “This place is the Nothingness Array set up by that Old Dog. It operates on the principle of the Five Elements mutually reinforcing each other. If you want to find the exit, you must first reverse the flow. Perhaps, you might still have a chance to survive!”
Looking at the spot where the Soul and the Soul Flame had vanished, Yang Kai couldn’t help sighing in regret. He was certain that this Soul was not inferior to Black Crow Divine Monarch. [I wonder what he did to offend Blood Monster Divine Monarch so terribly that he was subjected to the Soul Extraction and Refinement torture, unable to die even after being tormented for so many years.]
It could be seen that Blood Monster Divine Monarch was by no means a kind man. How could such a cruel and ruthless person be so kind as to leave his inheritance behind for others? Without Black Crow Divine Monarch, the Blood Monster Divine Palace would never have been found, much less opened.
Nevertheless, the words that Soul left behind before his death had given Yang Kai great inspiration. He probably wanted to reciprocate the favour. Since Yang Kai gave him eternal relief, he wanted to return the kindness in full.
It truly was as the saying went, ‘When one door closed, a window would open’.
Yang Kai immediately sat down cross-legged. [The Nothingness Array operates on the principle of the Five Elements mutually reinforcing each other. If I reverse the surrounding flow, then the Five Elements would mutually oppose each other.]
He cautiously perceived his surroundings and sure enough, it didn’t take long before Yang Kai detected the pure Five Element Powers in this vast white world. He had failed to perceive this phenomenon previously for two reasons. The first was that he had not investigated this place calmly and the second was that he had been too anxious searching for an exit. It was not until the Remnant Soul gave him a hint that he discovered this phenomenon.
At present, Yang Kai had condensed four out of the Five Elements; Wood, Fire, Earth, and Water Element. As he had yet to come across a suitable Metal Element treasure, he had not condensed his Metal Element Power. Be that as it may, he had the Yuan Magnetic Divine Bottle Gourd which contained the Sixth-Order Yuan Magnetic Divine Light, so he could use that as a replacement.
After coming to a decision, Yang Kai didn’t hesitate. [Regardless of the circumstances, there’s no harm in trying. It will be great if I can find the exit. In any case, it’s not too late to figure out another solution if I fail to locate one!]
Taking out the Yuan Magnetic Divine Bottle Gourd, he opened the lid and focused his mind. He then quietly drew on the four Powers in his Dao Seal and guided the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light out of the Yuan Magnetic Divine Bottle Gourd. Following that, he activated them in a sequence where the Five Elements mutually suppressed each other. In an instant, the energy in his surroundings surged violently and bursts of crackling sounds kept ringing out.
When Yang Kai activated the Wood Element Power, he suddenly remembered the Wood Element Divine Ability that he had the fortune to comprehend earlier. The situation had been too urgent back then, so he had no time to study it further. It would now seem that the Wood Element Divine Ability contained more than mere defensive abilities. There were even more aspects to it that he had yet to discover. Unfortunately, the current situation was not the right time to ponder about this Wood Element Divine Ability either. [I have to find a time to research this Divine Ability properly once I leave the Blood Monster Cave Heaven.]
The Power of the Five Elements circulated endlessly, mutually suppressing each other.
Yang Kai separated a thread of his consciousness to monitor the changes in his surroundings; however, nothing happened even after waiting for a long time.
This situation made his heart sink. He did not suspect the Soul of lying to him as, generally speaking, the words of a dying man tend to be the truth. The Soul had been tortured by Blood Monster Divine Monarch for so many years so it was highly unlikely for him to leave behind lies when Yang Kai was the one to relieve him of his suffering. There could only be two reasons for this outcome. Either Yang Kai’s strength was insufficient or the Soul was so confused that he remembered wrongly. The Soul had been tortured for so many years that he forgot his own name, so it was possible that his memory was flawed.
An idea came to Yang Kai the moment that thought crossed his mind. He reversed the Power of the Five Elements once more, instantly transforming the cycle so that the Five Elements mutually reinforced each other!
As soon as he completed the change, he suddenly noticed the faint outline of a step appearing in front of him! Yang Kai’s expression bloomed in excitement, but before he could take a closer look, the step vanished out of sight again.
[I’m confident that what I saw just now is not an illusion. It’s a real staircase, even if it’s only one step…] Stopping the movements of his hands, Yang Kai considered for a brief moment. Then, he repeated his previous action. Sure enough, the step appeared before him again. It was just that the step vanished out of sight once more when he blanked out in astonishment. Soon however, a light flashed through Yang Kai’s eyes and seemed to have understood something.
He breathed out softly and stood up. Activating his Dao Seal and the power of the Yuan Magnetic Divine Bottle Gourd, he drew on the Five Elements and the step appeared before him again.
This time around, he did not hesitate. Simultaneously climbing the step, he repeated his previous action once more and the second step appeared…
Yang Kai did not hesitate and stepped forward. The Power of the Five Elements surged around him, mutually suppressing then mutually reinforcing one another in a cycle. The third step appeared under his feet.
In the beginning, Yang Kai moved fast but cautiously. It was not until he verified the conjectures in his heart that he no longer held back. Every time he put his foot down, the next step would appear beneath his feet at a suitable time. The higher he walked, the further he went. His footsteps were steady, almost as though he wanted to walk above the clouds and slip through the barriers of the sky.
He did not know how long had passed, but it felt like he had climbed at least a thousand steps. At one point, he lifted his foot and realised that there were no further steps in front of him. His first reaction was shock. He originally thought that he had made a mistake somewhere and caused something to go wrong as a result, but when he looked ahead, he discovered that he had somehow appeared in a Grand Hall.
Looking back, there was no sign of a staircase and even the world of white was gone.
[I’m out!] Yang Kai felt a mixture of astonishment and joy. The Soul had not remembered the method to break the Grand Array wrongly, it was just that what he recalled was incomplete. It was fortunate that Yang Kai had a flexible mind; otherwise, he might not have been able to escape that strange Grand Array.
There was a whirring noise coming from the side, similar to the pumping of an old and broken bellows. Yang Kai turned to look and immediately became horrified. Taking a large step backward, he retreated into the distance and shouted through gritted teeth, “Hei Ya!”
[I can’t believe I’m meeting Black Crow Divine Monarch here!] At this point, how could he not realise that this old bastard had tricked everybody?
Earlier, Black Crow Divine Monarch had to borrow everybody’s power to break the barrier around the Blood Monster Divine Palace and distract the Seventh-Order Monster Beast guarding it. For that reason, he had given a lot of sweet promises to the others. He even went so far as to swear a blood oath on his Dao Seal, claiming that he would not attack anybody once they entered the Blood Monster Divine Palace as long as they did not provoke him first!
His attitude had been extremely sincere, which was why everybody willingly cooperated with him; after all, the Blood Monster Divine Palace would surely contain many treasures. It was not easy for them to arrive this far, so who would not want to go in and take a look around?
Even Yang Kai had been extremely tempted, but after his experience just now, how could he not understand that everybody had fallen for Black Crow Divine Monarch’s schemes?
Black Crow Divine Monarch clearly knew about the white world. He also knew that anybody who tried to enter the Blood Monster Divine Palace would fall into that Nothingness Array. However, he alone knew the way out. If everybody else was trapped inside the Grand Array and he alone could escape, then wouldn’t that mean that the entire Blood Monster Divine Palace would belong to him?
If Yang Kai had not received guidance from that Remnant Soul, he would not have been able to escape this quickly either. What he did not expect was that he would come face to face with Black Crow Divine Monarch as soon as he entered the Grand Hall.
Similarly, Black Crow Divine Monarch was as shocked as Yang Kai. His eyes widened as large as eggs and he breathed rapidly as though he had seen a ghost, blurting out incredulously, “Brat, why are you here!?”
Yang Kai coldly snorted, “That’s what I wanted to ask you.”
Upon taking a closer look, Yang Kai realised that Black Crow Divine Monarch was severely injured and covered in blood.
Black Crow Divine Monarch looked as though he had undergone enormous pressure. Despite his knowledge about the mysteries of the Nothingness Array, it would seem that escaping had still taken quite a lot of effort from him. It was no surprise considering that he had possessed Zhou Yi’s body. Zhou Yi was simply a Great Thousand Blood Land disciple who had condensed Fifth-Order Elements. There was quite a large gap between his foundation and Yang Kai’s.
Black Crow Divine Monarch probably received those injuries during his escape from the Nothingness Array.
Recalling the blood oath Black Crow Divine Monarch made just now, Yang Kai’s expression became calm. [What is there to fear? He is restricted by his own blood oath inside the Blood Monster Divine Palace. As long as I don’t provoke him, he cannot attack me.]
Yang Kai flicked his wrist and put away the Divine Ability Bead given to him by the Proprietress; then, he coldly asked, “Hei Ya, where are the others?”
Black Crow Divine Monarch chuckled, “Why ask when you already know the answer? They are stuck in the same place you just came out from.”
[I was right!] Yang Kai previously suspected that everybody who entered through the gates of the Blood Monster Divine Palace would fall into that world of pure white. Now that he received confirmation from Black Crow Divine Monarch.
This knowledge made Yang Kai so furious that his teeth hurt. The Nothingness Array was not only incredibly peculiar, but also filled with deadly dangers. There was no saying what kind of fate one might face inside that place.
It could be said that everybody had been tricked by Black Crow Divine Monarch. They had helped him open the Blood Monster Divine Palace only to be trapped in the Nothingness Array.
Yang Kai was very tempted to summon the Azure Dragon Spear and stab this bastard to death!
“This Monarch is truly astonished. I can’t believe you escaped that place in such a short time. You truly are extraordinary.” Black Crow Divine Monarch looked at Yang Kai with admiration. The only reason he made it this far so quickly was that he had known about the Nothingness Array in advance. On the other hand, Yang Kai managed to reach this place despite knowing nothing. His aptitude and comprehension ability were simply astonishing.
Yang Kai ground his teeth and said, “The only thing I want to know right now is how I can get them out.”
Black Crow Divine Monarch grinned meaningfully, “You want to save them? It’s simple. You just need to refine the Blood Monster Divine Palace. If you successfully refine the Blood Monster Divine Palace, forget rescuing them, it won’t be difficult for you to control the entire Blood Monster Cave Heaven.”
Yang Kai stiffened at those words, “Has your aim been to snatch the Blood Monster Cave Heaven all along?”
Based on what Black Crow Divine Monarch said, it was clear that he planned to refine the Blood Monster Divine Palace and take control of the entire Blood Monster Cave Heaven. How could Yang Kai tolerate something like that? If Black Crow Divine Monarch succeeded in his endeavour, then the lives of all the people in the Blood Monster Cave Heaven would fall into his hands!
“Why else did you think this Monarch spent so much effort to come here?” Black Crow Divine Monarch stared at Yang Kai with a measured look and quickly said, “Junior, you’re a talented one. In the future, you will achieve greatness. If you submit to this Monarch, I will share a portion of the Blood Monster Cave Heaven with you. What do you think?”
“Good!” Yang Kai agreed readily, “Tell me how to refine the Blood Monster Divine Palace first.”
Black Crow Divine Monarch snorted with disdain, “The opportunity is right in front of your eyes, but you don’t know how to grasp it. Junior, you are so short-sighted. It will cost you your life one day!”
After saying that, his body shuddered and turned into a blood cloud that rushed to the back.
Yang Kai exclaimed, “Where are you going!?”
At this moment, Yang Kai couldn’t care less about Black Crow Divine Monarch’s blood oath anymore. He immediately pushed his Space Principles to imprison the world around Black Crow Divine Monarch. However, the blood cloud abruptly exploded and shot out in all directions. Although Yang Kai managed to trap most of the blood lights, some still slipped through his fingers.
*Xiu…*
The blood lights transformed into several clusters of blood that flew about inside the Grand Hall, but Black Crow Divine Monarch was nowhere to be seen.
Yang Kai gnashed his teeth, knowing that Black Crow Divine Monarch was not afraid of him. Rather, Black Crow Divine Monarch was simply eager to refine the Blood Monster Divine Palace and did not want to be held up here. How could Yang Kai allow such a thing though? He immediately chased after Black Crow Divine Monarch.
At this moment, Yang Kai was the only other person aside from Black Crow Divine Monarch who could move freely inside the Blood Monster Divine Palace. If Yang Kai failed to stop Black Crow Divine Monarch and the latter successfully refined this place, he would gain total control over the Blood Monster Cave Heaven. Everybody would end up enslaved by Hei Ya as a result. It would be a life worse than death!
Be that as it may, Yang Kai had no idea which direction Black Crow Divine Monarch was heading. The Grand Hall was connected to the rest of the palace and there were many corridors heading in different directions; thus, he could only choose a direction at random in his pursuit of Black Crow Divine Monarch.
Rushing out of the Grand Hall, Yang Kai arrived at a long corridor with rooms on either side. He frowned and came to stand in front of one of the rooms. After investigating with his Divine Sense and confirming that there were no dangers inside, he pushed open the door and entered the room.
What he saw stunned him for a moment. It was probably a woman’s bedroom. Yang Kai might not know the identity of the owner, but the furnishings in the room gave off a feminine aura. It was just that too much time had passed and everything inside had long ago rotted away. The slight gust of wind that stirred up from when he opened the door caused many things to disintegrate into dust.
Yang Kai glanced around and determined that there was nothing of value inside the room. There were no signs of Black Crow Divine Monarch either, so he immediately left. He then pushed open the door to another room and found that it was rather similar to the previous room.
After investigating the rooms one by one, Yang Kai found nothing at all. This area seemed to be filled with women’s bedrooms; thus, he secretly guessed that this place used to be the living quarters of Blood Monster Divine Monarch’s harem. Blood Monster Divine Monarch was an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master after all, so it was not strange for him to have several women by his side. Even so, his women couldn’t survive until today when he himself had already passed away.
Passing through the harem, Yang Kai arrived at another Grand Hall. This Grand Hall covered an extremely large area. Moreover, it was surrounded by strange and seemingly indestructible stones that emitted a constant brilliant light.
Looking around, Yang Kai couldn’t help but shudder. There were many cages inside the Grand Hall. Furthermore, these cages were filled with many Monster Beast skeletons. Some were as small as one’s palm while others were several metres tall. These Monster Beasts came in all shapes and sizes. The list could go on forever. It could be conceived that countless Monster Beasts had once been imprisoned here a long time ago. With the passage of time though, they had reached the end of their lifespans and finally died.
Yang Kai walked over to one of the cages and studied the pile of bones. When he noticed a dull and faded bead among the bones, a sudden thought came to him and he immediately retrieved it.
Upon careful investigation, however, Yang Kai sighed. This dull and faded bead turned out to be the Monster Core of a Monster Beast. Judging from the weak aura remaining in this Monster Core, this Monster Beast used to be a Fifth-Order Monster Beast at the very least. It was just that too much time had passed. The Monster Beast Core had not been properly preserved, so most of the energy within had dissipated. A Monster Beast Core like this had very little value.
Weaving through the Grand Hall, Yang Kai found Monster Core after Monster Core that had long lost their value. He even suspected that some were Seventh-Order Monster Cores; thus, he couldn’t help feeling his heart ache. If these Monster Cores had retained their usefulness, then he would no longer need to worry about cultivation resources.
This place seemed to be where Blood Monster Divine Monarch used to research Monster Beasts. He was proficient in the Dao of Blood and the Dao of Beast Taming, but that was not all. He also managed to modify Monster Beasts so that they only had singular Attributes in the Blood Monster Cave Heaven. It was proof of his supreme attainments in the Dao of Beast Taming.
Unlike in the Blood Monster Cave Heaven, the Monster Beast Cores in the outside world would normally have a complex mix of Elements. Not many of them could be refined and used by cultivators directly. However, the Monster Beast Cores in the Blood Monster Cave Heaven were different in the sense that they could be used directly as Open Heaven resources. If this method was leaked to the outside world, the various Cave-Heavens and Paradises would surely scramble over themselves to get their hands on it.
[Since this place used to be where Blood Monster Divine Monarch did his research on the Monster Beasts, wouldn’t he have left some notes here?] Yang Kai had a sudden idea and carefully searched the surrounding area. It didn’t take long before he found a few remaining jade slips lying around. He carefully picked these jade slips up and confirmed that they were not damaged. Only then did he immerse his Divine Sense into the jade slips to check their contents.
A short while later, he revealed a look of pure joy. These jade slips might not contain information that fully described the methods to nurture these Monster Beasts, but there were some scattered records within them.
There were many parts that Yang Kai did not understand; however, that was not a problem. Martial Beast Great Emperor, Mo Huang, would surely be very interested in these research notes; after all, he rose to the status of Great Emperor by cultivating the Dao of Beast Taming.
Yang Kai solemnly put these jade slips away. Afterwards, he circled around the Grand Hall once more. When he confirmed that he had not missed anything else, he finally continued to head deeper into the palace.
There were many Grand Halls and rooms in this place, but most of them were empty. Apart from those jade slips, Yang Kai did not find anything else that was of value. It was not that this place did not contain great treasures, it was just that too much time had passed and many of these treasures had long since lost their spirituality. Take for example the Monster Cores he came across earlier. Some of those Monster Cores were originally Seventh-Order resources. Unfortunately, they had long since lost their effects and became worthless as a result. Yang Kai also found some artifacts that were of very high quality, but their aura was so dim that they could not be refined at all.
It could be seen that the rosy picture that Black Crow Divine Monarch had previously painted in front of everybody was nothing more than a bunch of nonsense. He simply wanted to borrow their strength to help break the barrier of the Blood Monster Divine Palace. There was no saying where he was hiding at the moment. He might even be refining the Blood Monster Divine Palace right now!
Even if Yang Kai wanted to search for Black Crow Divine Monarch though, he had no idea where to even begin. As such, he could only proceed one step at a time.
At a certain moment, Yang Kai pushed open the door of a room and was surprised to discover a large Alchemy Furnace inside. There were many wooden shelves in the surroundings which contained various herbs and jade bottles.
[Is this the Pill Refining Room?] Yang Kai’s heart skipped a beat in excitement. Blood Monster Divine Monarch was an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, so the things that he would keep in this place would surely be of high quality!
Be that as it may, Yang Kai was disappointed once more when he stepped forward to examine the shelves. There were many herbs on the wooden shelves. Not only were they of very high quality, but they also had various barriers and methods cast on them to preserve them. It was just that far too long had passed so most of the barriers had lost their effects, causing these herbs to lose most of their medical efficacy.
It was the jade bottles that Yang Kai held out some hope for. After checking through the rows of jade bottles, he finally obtained some results. Most of the Spirit Pills in the jade bottles had lost their effects, but Blood Monster Divine Monarch seemed to be fairly skilled in Alchemy. Quite a few of the Spirit Pills here had Pill Veins.
Once a Spirit Pill produced Pills Veins, they would retain their efficacy no matter how much time passed as long as they were properly stored. They would be even more incredible if they formed Pills Clouds, in which case their medicinal efficacies would continue to increase with the passing of time.
Spirit Pills with Pill Clouds were extremely difficult to refine. Many Alchemists might never even refine a single Spirit Pill that formed Pill Clouds in their entire lifetime. Yang Kai had refined countless Spirit Pills since he first started cultivating, but the number which formed Pill Clouds could be counted on one hand.
There were no Spirit Pills with Pill Clouds in this place, but there were quite a few with Pill Veins. Moreover, there was quite a wide variety of them. Some were used to facilitate cultivation and some were for healing purposes. There were also some Yang Kai did not recognise. Nevertheless, he swept all of them into his Space Ring without exception.
When he picked up one of the jade bottles to investigate the content, he couldn’t help but frown as it only had a single Open Heaven Pill.
Blood Monster Divine Monarch was an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, so why would he place a bottle with a single Open Heaven Pill here with such solemnity?
What surprised Yang Kai even more was that this Open Heaven Pill still retained its medical efficacies.
He casually tossed the bottle into his Space Ring, but just as he was about to continue with his search, he froze in surprise. [That can’t be right. If that really was an Open Heaven Pill, then it should have lost all its medical efficacies over the years. It’s impossible for them to be preserved so perfectly. Besides… that Open Heaven Pill seemed a little different from the other Open Heaven Pills that I’ve seen before.]
Yang Kai quickly took the jade bottle out again and opened it and poured out the single Open Heaven Pill. At a glance, there was no doubt that it was an Open Heaven Pill. Both the size and colour of the Spirit Pill were almost identical to that of a common Open Heaven Pill, but even so, Yang Kai could clearly sense that this Spirit Pill contained an energy that was countless times stronger than ordinary. There was also… a faint hint of the World Force leaking out of this Open Heaven Pill.
Yang Kai’s Divine Sense surged as he immersed it into the Spirit Pill to investigate.
*Hong…*
A wave of dizziness swept over him as it felt as though he had tried to sweep his Divine Sense over an entire Small World; his Soul shaken under the oppression of the World Force. That was not all. A distinct kind of Grand Dao aura emanated from this Open Heaven Pill, making him feel enlightened all of a sudden.
Sucking in a breath of cold air, Yang Kai focused his mind and studied the Spirit Pill in his hand intently. It was not until this moment that he noticed that there were countless fine and delicate patterns on this Open Heaven Pill. These patterns intertwined with each other and covered the entire surface of the Spirit Pill, seeming to contain 10,000 Grand Daos within them. These patterns made a person subconsciously yearn to investigate them further.
These were neither Pill Veins nor Pill Clouds. More importantly, this Spirit Pill was definitely not an ordinary Open Heaven Pill.
Yang Kai suddenly thought of a possibility that excited him so much that his hands trembled.
When he set off from the Star Boundary, Zhang Ruo Xi had once explained to him about the use of Open Heaven Pills. Open Heaven Pills were generally used by Open Heaven Realm Masters to increase their strength. They were also the hard currency used throughout the 3,000 Worlds.
It was just that there were limits to consuming Open Heaven Pills for advancement. Generally, one could only increase their Order twice by consuming Open Heaven Pills, and they became completely useless after that.
The cultivators who had reached this point had also reached the limits of their strength; however, those who were lucky enough to find Innate Open Heaven Pills could go a step further!
The Heavens never sealed off all hope, so there was always a path forward, no matter how narrow and dangerous. There was a mysterious Supreme Treasure in this vast universe known as the Universe Furnace. Most of the time, the Universe Furnace was hidden in the Void and it was something most people would never have the chance to encounter. The Universe Furnace drew upon the very essence of the Universe to produce Innate Open Heaven Pills. These Innate Open Heaven Pills not only had incredibly potent medical efficacies but also carried no side effects for cultivators.
It was rumoured that the cultivation and Order of a cultivator could be improved continuously without any risk or hidden dangers as long as one had enough Innate Open Heaven Pills.
Be that as it may, these Innate Open Heaven Pills were extraordinarily rare and a reign of terror would be unleashed every time the Universe Furnace appeared. Even the Cave-Heavens and Paradises would do everything in their power to snatch these naturally-formed Open Heaven Pills. That was why they were considered treasures that ordinary cultivators would never even lay eyes on. Not many people even knew what these Innate Open Heaven Pills looked like.
The Open Heaven Pills circulating in the 3,000 Worlds today were actually imitations of the Innate ones refined by Alchemists in the ancient past. There was a large difference between imitations and the genuine product, be it in terms of medicinal efficacies or effects.
Yang Kai gulped nervously. He was almost certain that this Spirit Pill in his hand was a legendary Universe Furnace Open Heaven Pill!
Thinking about it carefully though, it was not that surprising. Blood Monster Divine Monarch was an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, so it would not be impossible for him to obtain such a treasure.
This bottle contained only one Spirit Pill, but although this one pill did not seem significant or useful, its value was practically immeasurable. Just imagine; a cultivator who had initially broken through to the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm then spent countless years and energy to finally advance to the peak Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm. Unfortunately, this was the pinnacle of his or her life and the limit of their Martial Dao.
At this point, they could not increase their strength again no matter how many Open Heaven Pills they consumed or how many cultivation resources they refined. However, this Innate Open Heaven Pill gave a glimmer of hope in that desperate situation! If that were the case, they would probably agree to any condition just to obtain it.
This Spirit Pill was simply priceless!
Yang Kai’s heart pounded with excitement. Regardless of whatever else he gained, this trip to the Blood Monster Cave Heaven would be worthwhile just with this pill alone.
Yang Kai took a moment to compose himself. Although he was almost certain that what he received was the legendary item, he would still need the Proprietress to verify whether it was genuine; after all, she had far more experience and a better eye than him and would definitely be able to tell whether they were real or fake.
Placing this bottle into the Small Sealed World, Yang Kai continued to look around. The results made him very excited. He actually found 5 bottles with Innate Open Heaven Pills! In other words, he now had 5 of these Spirit Pills!
Yang Kai did not know how many Innate Open Heaven Pills an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master would need to consume to advance into the Ninth-Order, but since these 5 pills were stored so carefully here, they would definitely be of at least some use!
Compared to these 5 Spirit Pills, all the other gains he obtained up until now could only be regarded as bonuses. Yang Kai quickly stored them away and looted the rest of the Spirit Pills that could still be used. He didn’t even spare the furnace.
Void Land would surely need to refine their own Open Heaven Pills in the future, and this Alchemy Furnace belonged to Blood Monster Divine Monarch, so it would definitely be of great quality. It would be perfect if he brought this back for Wondrous Pill Great Emperor to use.
Yang Kai exited the Pill Room and continued his search. It was just that he seemed to have used up all his good luck now and had no gains for a while after that.
All of a sudden, he heard a loud rumbling sound coming from the depths of the Blood Monster Divine Palace. This phenomenon made his expression change drastically
At this moment, the only one who could move about freely inside the Blood Monster Divine Palace aside from him was Black Crow Divine Monarch. Seeing as he was not the one creating this sound, then it had to be the doing of Black Crow Divine Monarch. Such a large commotion could only mean that Black Crow Divine Monarch had already begun to refine the Blood Monster Divine Palace.
Yang Kai became desperate. He hurriedly followed the source of the sound but could not find Black Crow Divine Monarch no matter where he searched. On the other hand, the rumbling sounds could occasionally be heard from a certain direction in the Blood Monster Divine Palace. These sounds were extremely upsetting.
He searched for another hour only to find no clues, causing him to grind his teeth hard. If Black Crow Divine Monarch succeeded at refining the Blood Monster Divine Palace, then he would be able to control the entire Blood Monster Cave Heaven. At that time, everybody’s life or death would be his to control.
Moreover, Yang Kai had greatly offended Black Crow Divine Monarch, so the first person to die would undoubtedly be him. It was impossible to retreat now, not unless the Blood Monster Cave Heaven opened again and ejected them all.
Just as he was at a loss for what to do, Yang Kai suddenly had a tingling feeling in his heart and he turned to look in a certain direction while shouting, “Who!?”
What he saw made his expression freeze in surprise. There was a bright figure floating in mid-air and staring at him expressionlessly. This figure looked like a seven or eight-year-old boy. He seemed to exist between the lines of ethereal and corporeal. Moreover, he wore a child’s traditional outfit. His hair was tied into a braid, making him look very soft and adorable. It was just that his expression was so cold that it was terrifying. Even his gaze gave off an air of indifference.
Yang Kai frowned. This child was clearly not a living creature as he could not sense the slightest hint of vitality coming from the other party. The boy was not a dead creature or a Yin Soul either because he did not give off a gloomy feeling. Rather, he gave Yang Kai a vague sense of familiarity. It felt as though they had met somewhere before… But, Yang Kai could not recall where at the moment.
“Child, who are you?” Yang Kai asked, watching the other party warily.
The child swept his eyes over Yang Kai and said, “I can offer you a fateful encounter. Do you want it?”
It was a child’s voice but it spoke in an old-fashioned manner, so it sounded extremely strange to the ears.
“What do you mean by fateful encounter?” Yang Kai remained unmoved.
The child replied, “This world!”
Yang Kai immediately sneered in response, “Such a small child, but what arrogance! What gives you the right to offer this world to me in the name of a fateful encounter?”
The child calmly said, “You only need to swear a Dao Oath to obey me in the future. Then, I can give you this world.”
Yang Kai rolled his eyes and pursed his lips, “Such a small child spouting such nonsense. Aren’t you afraid that the wind might slice off your tongue? I can’t believe you want me to swear a Dao Oath…”
While speaking, Yang Kai seemed to recall something. He looked the young boy up and down, then he exclaimed in astonishment, “Are you the Artifact Spirit of this place?”
He finally recalled why this small child gave him such a familiar feeling. This was clearly the aura of an Artifact Spirit, similar to how Liu Yan used to be. Combined with the child’s seemingly shameless boasting, how could Yang Kai not realise the truth?
The child nodded, “That’s right. I am the Artifact Spirit of the Blood Monster Divine Palace.”
Yang Kai’s expression turned serious, “Isn’t there somebody refining the Blood Monster Divine Palace right now?”
“Yes!” The child nodded.
Yang Kai became greatly anxious, “If somebody is refining the Blood Monster Divine Palace, then why are you still wasting time here with me!? Why aren’t you stopping him!?”
The child shook his head, “I am just an Artifact Spirit. I can’t stop anybody from refining me, no matter who comes to do so.”
Yang Kai frowned at those words, “Didn’t you just say you can give me this world? Doesn’t that mean you want me to refine the Blood Monster Divine Palace?”
“That’s right.”
“Why?” Yang Kai was truly puzzled.
“The one who is trying to refine the Blood Monster Divine Palace right now is a great enemy of my Master. I don’t want him to inherit the Blood Monster Divine Palace. So, I came to you.”
Yang Kai’s eyes lit up at those words. This Artifact Spirit was the Artifact Spirit of the Blood Monster Divine Palace, so he definitely inherited a part of Blood Monster Divine Monarch’s will. It made sense that he would instinctively hate Black Crow Divine Monarch, and at this moment, the only one who could move around in the Blood Monster Divine Palace aside from Black Crow Divine Monarch was Yang Kai. That meant that he basically had no other choice!
Yang Kai excitedly said, “Sounds good! Hurry up and tell me how to refine the Blood Monster Divine Palace.”
The Artifact Spirit said, “You must first swear a Dao Oath to obey me in the future.”
Yang Kai snarled furiously, “How dare a trivial Artifact Spirit speak so arrogantly? You truly don’t know your place!” [Sure enough; this place is a den of rats and snakes. Blood Monster Divine Monarch was not a good thing during his lifetime, so it makes sense that the Artifact Spirit born from the Blood Monster Divine Palace wouldn’t be good either. I can’t believe he wants to control me.]
“Don’t you want the Blood Monster Divine Palace? Don’t you want the Blood Monster Cave Heaven?” The Artifact Spirit looked at Yang Kai curiously, seeming not to understand why Yang Kai would refuse him.
Yang Kai coldly snorted, “What is there in this vast world that can compare to my freedom?”
The Artifact Spirit said, “If you can refine the Blood Monster Divine Palace, then everything in the Blood Monster Cave Heaven will be under your control. You will have endless resources at your fingertips. With enough time, you might even grow to rival the heights of my Master. What is losing a little bit of your freedom in comparison? Besides, I won’t make you do anything that will trouble you even if you swear the Dao Oath. I just want to protect myself.”
Yang Kai looked at the Artifact Spirit in surprise, “You even understand the art of temptation! It looks like your sentience is not that low.” Shaking his head, he continued, “But, you don’t need to waste your efforts on me. I cannot agree with your condition.”
There was no guarantee that he would die even if Black Crow Divine Monarch refined the Blood Monster Divine Palace. On the contrary, his life would be forfeited the moment he agreed to this Artifact Spirit’s condition.
The Artifact Spirit scowled deeply.
Yang Kai said, “Black Crow Divine Monarch was a great enemy of your Master. If he is allowed to refine the Blood Monster Divine Palace, do you think he will tolerate your existence? It’s a given that he will immediately wipe out your sentience. If not for that, you would not have come to me on your own. Since you need my help, then don’t bother trying to force such nonsensical conditions on me. Why don’t we cooperate instead?”
The Artifact Spirit asked, “How do we cooperate?”
Yang Kai relaxed slightly when he saw the Artifact Spirit’s attitude. This Artifact Spirit might have some measure of sentience, but he was not a living creature. Seeing as he could ask this question though, then there was room for negotiation.
“Take me to Hei Ya. I will help you to stop him from refining.”
“I’m afraid you won’t be able to stop him,” The Artifact Spirit shook his head disbelieving.
“If I don’t try, how will you know?” Yang Kai looked at the Artifact Spirit, “Compared to standing here waiting for your death, why don’t you take a gamble instead?”
The Artifact Spirit fell silent for a while and only after a long time passed did he respond, “Come with me.”
While saying that, he drifted in a certain direction at an extremely high speed.
Yang Kai did not hesitate and quickly followed.
The Artifact Spirit was born from the Blood Monster Divine Palace, so it was only natural that he knew this place better than anybody else. Yang Kai followed closely behind him, twisting and turning inside the various halls and corridors.
After travelling for a whole quarter hour, Yang Kai suddenly found himself inside a Grand Hall. The Grand Hall was completely empty, with only a Grand Array glowing faintly on the ground. At this moment, a figure was sitting cross-legged at one corner of the Grand Array. Who else could it be but Black Crow Divine Monarch who had taken possession of Zhou Yi’s body?
Blood mist was spreading out from Black Crow Divine Monarch’s body. The crimson-red Blood Qi frantically expanded outward, trying to fill the patterns of the Grand Array. Following his unrelenting actions, the entire Blood Monster Divine Palace rumbled in response.
With a single glance, Yang Kai knew that he could not allow Black Crow Divine Monarch to finish refining the Grand Array in this place. Once Black Crow Divine Monarch finished, then control of the Blood Monster Divine Palace would fall into his hands.
It was obvious that Black Crow Divine Monarch had been refining the Grand Array for some time now. At this moment, approximately 10% of the Grand Array had been taken over by him. The places where he refined were filled with blood mist while the rest of the area was still dull.
Nevertheless, Yang Kai breathed a sigh of relief when he saw this situation. He was not too late yet. Even if he rushed over, there was nothing he could do to stop Black Crow Divine Monarch if too much progress had already been made in the refinement process.
“Artifact Spirit, how dare you disrupt this Monarch’s plans!? The first thing I’m going to do when I finish refining this Blood Monster Divine Palace is to extinguish your Soul!” Black Crow Divine Monarch immediately snapped hatefully when he looked up to see Yang Kai and the Artifact Spirit. After saying that, he turned to Yang Kai and snarled through gritted teeth, “Boy, you’re such a persistent little bastard! Why do you keep getting in this Monarch’s way!? Damn you!”
“Enough nonsense, Hei Ya! Hand over your life!” Yang Kai shouted. Lifting a hand, he summoned the Azure Dragon Spear. A black hole the size of a fist swirled above the tip of the spear, containing Heaven-destroying and Earth-shattering power. When the spear thrust out, everything around it collapsed.
Rupture!
Black Crow Divine Monarch’s expression changed slightly and the layer of blood mist surrounding his body immediately became denser. At the same time, the area around him turned into a Blood Sea.
Yang Kai plunged into the Blood Sea and fervently attacked with everything he had; however, he could not tell North from South or even up from down inside the Blood Sea. He was unable to determine Black Crow Divine Monarch’s location, much less kill him. In the end, he rushed out of the Blood Sea with an extremely ugly expression after attacking fruitlessly for some time.
Black Crow Divine Monarch’s mocking voice came out from within the Blood Sea, “Junior, you don’t know the immensity of Heaven and Earth! You overestimate yourself just because you’re a little capable! Your little tricks are nothing more than pitiful tricks in this Monarch’s eyes. If you want to play so much, then this Monarch will play with you. You better play to your heart’s content!”
The Blood Sea squirmed and a large number of Blood Crow’s charged out from it, clawing loudly. The noise they made was extremely distracting as they swooped down on Yang Kai in an overwhelming manner.
Yang Kai quickly raised his spear and thrust out rapidly. Blood Crow after Blood Crow exploded into blood mist, but they could not be killed completely.
On the contrary, Black Crow Divine Monarch did not stop refining the Grand Array during the battle with Yang Kai. In fact, his blood mist continued to spread towards the middle of the Grand Array at even greater speed!
“What you’re doing is not working.” The Artifact Spirit spoke up from the side, “Nobody can stop him anymore once he finishes refining the Grand Array.”
How could Yang Kai not know that forceful methods were ineffective? It was just that he was currently riding a tiger and had no other solutions to the problem at hand.
“Quickly enter the Grand Array to compete with him for the right of control over the Grand Array,” the Artifact Spirit added.
Yang Kai grimly replied, “It looks like that’s the only way!”
With a flicker of his body, Yang Kai swept out his spear and turned countless Blood Crows into mere splattered blood. Then, he arrived at the opposite corner of the Grand Array in a flash. His Divine Sense surged and burrowed into the Grand Array as he frantically began refining it.
Upon seeing Yang Kai’s actions, how could Black Crow Divine Monarch allow this situation to continue? He controlled the countless Blood Crows to madly swarm Yang Kai.
However, Yang Kai was as steady as a rock. Separating his consciousness, he continued refining the Grand Array while simultaneously dealing with the Blood Crows. Yang Kai’s Divine Sense was immensely powerful; moreover, he also had the support of a Supreme Treasure like the Soul Warming Lotus. Hence, it was not difficult for him to do two things at once. It was just that he could not move once he started refining the Grand Array, so he could only stand there and become a target for the Blood Crows. This enraged him greatly!
On opposite sides of the Grand Array, Black Crow Divine Monarch and Yang Kai sat. They were both competing for the right of control over the Grand Array. The person who succeeded in completely refining the Grand Array would have total control over the Blood Monster Divine Palace.
As the Blood Monster Divine Palace was the core of the Blood Monster Cave Heaven, controlling the Blood Monster Divine Palace was equivalent to controlling the Blood Monster Cave Heaven. It could be said that the lives of the natives and Monster Beasts, as well as all the people who entered the Blood Monster Cave Heaven, were resting on Yang Kai’s shoulders alone.
However, Yang Kai’s expression soon turned ugly. That was because he discovered that Black Crow Divine Monarch was much faster at refining the Grand Array compared to him.
The blood mist had already occupied 20% of the Grand Array in such a short amount of time. It would not take more than a few more hours for Black Crow Divine Monarch to completely refine it. In the first place, he had begun refining before Yang Kai. This increase in speed clearly indicated that Hei Ya was also working hard to move faster. Thus, it would be difficult for Yang Kai to catch up to him at this rate.
Yang Kai gritted his teeth and yelled, “Artifact Spirit, help me!”
The Artifact Spirit shook his head and said, “There’s nothing I can do. Although I was born from this place, my Master has restricted what I can do.”
Yang Kai was so furious that he nearly spat blood, “Then, why were you shamelessly boasting that you can give me this world earlier!?”
He thought that he could easily refine the Blood Monster Divine Palace if he cooperated with the Artifact Spirit. Only now did he realise that he was greatly mistaken.
The Artifact Spirit said, “Although I cannot help you, I can explain the mysteries of the Grand Array to you. Whether or not you can comprehend these mysteries will depend entirely on you.”
“Explain them then!”
The Artifact Spirit immediately began teaching, while Yang Kai listened attentively. By combining the information with the situation in front of him, there was no doubt that his refining speed improved greatly; even so, it was still difficult for him to catch up to Black Crow Divine Monarch’s progress.
As time passed, the Grand Array was gradually flooded with two different colours. One was Black Crow Divine Monarch’s crimson while the other was Yang Kai’s black. Nevertheless, it was very obvious that the area occupied by Black Crow Divine Monarch was much larger than Yang Kai’s. In this huge Grand Array, Black Crow Divine Monarch occupied a little more than 60% of the territory while Yang Kai only occupied some 30% or so.
In the beginning, things had remained somewhat peaceful when they were both refining separately, but once all the parts of the Grand Array had been filled with their respective energies, a clash between them would become inevitable.
Looking down from above, the Grand Array that controlled the Blood Monster Divine Palace was like a large plate. Black Crow Divine Monarch currently held some 65% of the plate while Yang Kai held the rest. If they wanted to occupy the entire plate, then they would first have to drive out their opponent’s power.
When their powers bordered on each other, Yang Kai’s body stiffened. He could feel an immense force rumbling towards him from the opposite side, giving him the feeling that the opposing force was unstoppable. Be that as it may, he had no choice but to defend even if it was futile. He hurriedly urged the part of the Grand Array that he controlled and viciously slammed his energy forward.
*Pu…*
Yang Kai spat out a mouthful of fresh blood. On the other hand, Black Crow Divine Monarch just swayed slightly in response.
In this collision, who was stronger was abundantly clear. Black Crow Divine Monarch had obviously occupied the absolute advantage. This was not something that could be helped. The two of them were currently fighting with their respective control over the Grand Array, it had nothing to do with their personal strength.
For that reason, Black Crow Divine Monarch was going all out. Even the Blood Crows that had been pestering Yang Kai all this while vanished without a trace. It could be seen that he had no time to care about anything else.
During their first clash, Yang Kai clearly felt that a part of his territory had been lost. Black Crow Divine Monarch’s energy continuously crept in his direction and gradually occupied the territory that he controlled previously.
Seeing this, Black Crow Divine Monarch laughed wildly, “Junior, stop being stubborn. Obediently accept your death! It will save you some pain!”
Yang Kai gritted his teeth and ignored the other party.
Black Crow Divine Monarch coldly snorted, “Stubborn fool!”
While speaking, he controlled the power of the Grand Array he controlled and it slammed towards Yang Kai once more.
Even though Yang Kai had prepared himself in advance and used all his strength to defend, he was still overwhelmed. At the same time, he lost another part of the Grand Array that he controlled. It gave Black Crow Divine Monarch a chance to take further control of the Grand Array, allowing his progress to reach 70%.
[I can’t let this continue any longer. Although I still control 30% of the Grand Array, it will only be a matter of time before I am completely overtaken by this Old Dog. If that happens, there will be no hope left.]
“Artifact Spirit, is there any other way to stop him?” Yang Kai asked through gritted teeth while struggling to defend.
The Artifact Spirit remained silent.
Looking at the Artifact Spirit, Yang Kai knew that the other party was powerless to help; thus, he couldn’t help feeling desperate.
Under normal circumstances, the Artifact Spirit would have absolute control over the Blood Monster Divine Palace; however, he had said that Blood Monster Divine Monarch had limited his abilities, so he was utterly powerless to help at this time. Otherwise, he would not have gone to Yang Kai for help in the first place.
*Hong…*
Black Crow Divine Monarch guided the power of the Grand Array to slam towards Yang Kai once more. Even though Yang Kai struggled desperately to defend, he was once again driven back, allowing the territory controlled by Black Crow Divine Monarch to expand a little bit more.
The situation was extremely precarious and Yang Kai had almost fallen into a desperate situation.
Black Crow Divine Monarch let out a wicked cackle, “Boy! Let’s see how long you can resist! The moment this Monarch completely refines this Grand Array will be the moment you die!”
Then, he turned to look at the Artifact Spirit, “And you! It was not easy for you to be born and gain sentience. If you acknowledge and repent for your mistakes, this Monarch is not opposed to forgiving you and sparing your life!”
The Blood Monster Divine Palace was not a living creature so it was indeed extremely difficult for an Artifact Spirit to be born out of it. Besides, his current strength was not that great. If Black Crow Divine Monarch could obtain the support of the Artifact Spirit, then it would be easier for him to control the entire Blood Monster Cave Heaven. If that were not the case, why would he bother wasting his time on a mere Artifact Spirit?
The Artifact Spirit remained silent and glanced in Yang Kai’s direction.
Seeming to notice the Artifact Spirit’s gaze, Yang Kai jerked in surprise and quickly said, “Artifact Spirit, don’t listen to his nonsense! Even if you join him now, things will not end well for you in the future!”
However, the Artifact Spirit drifted over and landed behind Black Crow Divine Monarch and bowed deeply, “This Artifact Spirit greets Master!”
Black Crow Divine Monarch burst into laughter, “Good! Good! Good! Obediently stand to the side. This Monarch will speak to you once I deal with this annoying ant!”
“Yes!” The Artifact Spirit immediately stood to the side.
Yang Kai coldly snorted at the sight. [This Artifact Spirit is completely unreliable after all. A two-faced coward. Earlier, he came to me in hopes that I could defeat Black Crow Divine Monarch. I can’t believe how eagerly he submitted himself to Black Crow Divine Monarch after seeing that I am having trouble defeating the opponent.]
Nevertheless, it didn’t matter who the Artifact Spirit recognised as his Master. It did little to change the current situation since he had no power to interfere with the Grand Array in the first place. For that reason, Yang Kai ignored the Artifact Spirit even though he scorned his actions.
Meanwhile, the attacks from Black Crow Divine Monarch were getting stronger and stronger with each passing moment. The portion of the Grand Array that Yang Kai refined had always been smaller compared to Black Crow Divine Monarch’s; moreover, their repeated collisions caused Yang Kai to lose large tracts of his territory.
On the contrary, Black Crow Divine Monarch’s territory grew larger and larger with each clash. This situation created a vicious cycle that quickly exhausted Yang Kai to the bone. It didn’t take more than an hour before the territory that Yang Kai controlled in the Grand Array was reduced to a mere 20%. At this point, it could be said that he was suffering from a crushing defeat.
Although they were both holding the right of control over the Grand Array, Black Crow Divine Monarch was using 80% of its power against Yang Kai’s 20%. It was practically impossible for Yang Kai to resist.
[Have I reached my limits?] Yang Kai grimly asked himself. [If I fail to stop him here, then he will take control of the entire Blood Monster Cave Heaven. Leaving aside whether or not I can escape if that happens, Qu Hua Shang, Zhang Ruo Xi, Chef, Accountant, Lang Qing Shan, and the others will surely become his prisoners. Knowing Black Crow Divine Monarch’s personality, everybody will be better off dead by then!]
[Chef!] Yang Kai abruptly recalled something and his eyes suddenly lit up with hope. Hurriedly activating his Divine Sense, he released Chef, whom he previously placed into the Small Sealed World.
Earlier, Chef had used a powerful Secret Technique against the Star Turtle, one that consumed a massive amount of his strength, leaving him almost completely drained. As such, Yang Kai later placed him into the Small Sealed World for his safety. He had almost forgotten about him.
At this moment, Yang Kai was facing off against Black Crow Divine Monarch and neither side could afford to be distracted, so whoever had an extra helper would surely gain a huge advantage over the other!
As soon as Chef appeared, he took in his surroundings warily. What entered his eyes left him stunned and he exclaimed in amazement, “What’s going on?”
Black Crow Divine Monarch was just as taken aback. Even though he wanted to ask the same question, it didn’t matter how this fatty appeared in this place as it was incredibly disadvantageous for him. The only thing that reassured him slightly was that this newcomer did not seem to be in a good state.
Even though Chef had recovered some of his strength, his complexion was still very pale and his aura was quite weak.
Yang Kai explained the current situation to Chef in the briefest manner possible.
When Chef finished listening to the explanation, he understood the severity of the matter. Thus, he gritted his teeth and glared at Black Crow Divine Monarch, “In other words, everything will be fine as long as I can take this opportunity to kill this guy, right?”
“You can say that, but…”
Before Yang Kai could finish his sentence, Chef summoned his kitchen knife. His chubby figure moved with indescribable agility as he rushed towards Black Crow Divine Monarch and roared, “Old Dog, die!”
Black Crow Divine Monarch’s expression was incredibly gloomy. Things had reached a critical juncture where he was about to take full control over the Grand Array. He initially thought that this matter would be settled soon, but how could he have predicted that a disturbance would pop up at the last moment?
While Black Crow Divine Monarch was not afraid of Chef, he was forced to split his attention in order to defend against him. Opening his mouth, he spewed out a massive blood cloud that wrapped around Chef tightly.
Yang Kai glanced in that direction and saw that Chef could no longer be seen. All that could be seen were the wriggling and squirming movements coming from within the blood cloud. In addition, violent bursts of energy would occasionally erupt from within the blood cloud. It was obvious that Chef was struggling fiercely!
Yang Kai ground his teeth. There was no time for him to be concerned about Chef’s safety though. Taking this opportunity, he quickly drew upon the power of the Grand Array to counterattack.
Black Crow Divine Monarch had anticipated this move though and pretended that he was being pushed back, retreating slightly before suddenly surging forward with a counterattack.
Yang Kai was caught off guard. Not only did he fail to turn the situation around, but he made the situation worse instead! This outcome nearly depressed him to the point of spitting blood!
*Hong…*
Chef, who had been enveloped in the crimson blood cloud finally broke out at that moment. His eyes were widened with rage and the kitchen knife in his hand glinted with a cold light. He was about to charge forward once more when Yang Kai hurriedly sent a Divine Sense transmission to him, “Attack the Grand Array!”
At this moment, it was unrealistic to try and wrestle control of the Grand Array from Black Crow Divine Monarch; the latter held the absolute advantage in this situation. If things were to continue, nobody would be able to stop Black Crow Divine Monarch once he completely assimilated Yang Kai’s territory.
Since competing for control was no longer viable, then they could only choose to destroy the Grand Array. In the worst case, it would be ruined for good and nobody could try to refine the Blood Monster Divine Palace again.
Chef’s eyes brightened and he nodded at those words, “Good idea!”
Following that, he brought his knife slashing down on the patterns of the Grand Array that covered the ground.
Black Crow Divine Monarch paled in shock at the sight and roared, “Junior, you dare?!”
Chef just sneered, “Watch me!”
His attack did not falter in the slightest and the blade light sliced down hard.
At the same time, Yang Kai took the opportunity to counterattack. He needed to distract Black Crow Divine Monarch so that the latter could not interfere with Chef.
A series of clanging noises rang out and sparks flew in all directions. Both Yang Kai and Chef were a little dumbfounded by the situation. Chef’s attack was incredibly fierce, but even so, it did no damage to the Grand Array at all.
Black Crow Divine Monarch burst out laughing at this sight, “Ignorant child! This Control Array was arranged personally by that old dog Xue Yao! It cost him a massive fortune to even just refine its base! How could it be something you pitiful weaklings could destroy? Stop making me laugh!”
Yang Kai’s expression darkened, “Don’t listen to his nonsense! Just keep attacking!”
Chef gritted his teeth and grunted in reply. Leaping onto the Grand Array, he used all his strength to launch a barrage of attacks down on it.
Black Crow Divine Monarch’s expression remained calm though. When he saw that Chef could not damage the Grand Array in any way, he stopped trying to interfere and simply watched coldly from the sidelines.
After attacking for some time, Chef panted for breath and called out, “Brat, this isn’t working. My strength isn’t high enough. I’m afraid this method will not work.”
Yang Kai’s expression was extremely ugly. At this moment, he only retained control over some 10% of the Grand Array. It could be said that he was being pushed into a corner, literally. Black Crow Divine Monarch only needed to attack a few more times to completely remove his energy from the Grand Array. If that happened, Black Crow Divine Monarch would easily refine the Blood Monster Divine Palace and take control of the Blood Monster Cave Heaven.
[The situation is desperate!] Yang Kai sighed. [It looks like I will have to use the Divine Ability Bead given to me by Proprietress in this place.]
He was very reluctant to use this Divine Ability Bead unless he really had no other choice. Besides, he did not know whether the Divine Ability Bead could destroy the Grand Array. Proprietress might be powerful, but she was only in the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm. How much power her Divine Ability Bead could unleash remained unknown, so it would be a waste if it had no effect on the current situation,
It had been extremely difficult for the Proprietress to refine this Divine Ability Bead, so how could he willingly let it go to waste? But, Yang Kai had no choice now that things had come to this. He had to use it even if he was reluctant. Aside from the Divine Ability Bead, he had no other means to stop Black Crow Divine Monarch.
Yang Kai glared coldly in the direction of Black Crow Divine Monarch, but just as he was about to bring out the Divine Ability Bead, his gaze landed on the Artifact Spirit. A light flashed through his eyes at that moment and a bold conjecture emerged from the depths of his heart in the next moment. Then, he secretly sent a Divine Sense transmission to Chef.
Chef was still gasping for breath, but he raised his brow at those words and nodded almost imperceptibly. Swinging his kitchen knife, he slashed several dozen sword lights towards Black Crow Divine Monarch.
Black Crow Divine Monarch coldly snorted, “How dare a mere ant act so impudent!?”
The blood mist around his body boiled and countless Blood Crows flew out to meet the sword lights. They cawed noisily when they were cut down but still easily blocked the assault.
Taking this opportunity, Chef raised his hand and summoned his chopping block. He casually tossed the block out and it rapidly enlarged, radiating a strange aura as it quickly slid under its target.
At the same time, Chef’s figure abruptly swelled up and became massive. He looked extremely ferocious. The apron around his waist was covered in grease stains and the ‘Butcher’ character stretching across his chest was absolutely horrifying. He grinned savagely as he roared, “I am the knife and chopping block, you are the fish!”
The Artifact Spirit jerked in surprise. He was astonished to discover that he was standing on top of the chopping block without him noticing. Furthermore, he was being restrained by a strange force. He couldn’t help feeling the situation was all rather absurd. At this moment, he felt like a pig waiting to be slaughtered.
How could Black Crow Divine Monarch not realise Chef’s intentions after seeing this situation? He did not know what effects would come from killing the Artifact Spirit, but he did not dare to take this gamble; hence, he roared, “Don’t you dare!”
Raising his arm, he shot a blood arrow in Chef’s direction.
Yang Kai flashed forward. At this moment, he completely gave up on the territory he had been guarding.
If Black Crow Divine Monarch wanted, he could have taken this opportunity to finish refining the Grand Array, it was just that he was distracted in his efforts to stop Chef and failed to notice this point. By the time he realized Yang Kai was attacking, the spear was already rapidly enlarging in his vision. The pitch-black Golden Crow’s True Fire lingered at the tip of the spear and its power was too great for him to simply ignore.
The spear shadows shrouded the sky, looming over Black Crow Divine Monarch. It was accompanied by crackling sounds that rang out endlessly.
Hei Ya gave a furious roar. Under normal circumstances, it would have been easy for him to block this attack from Yang Kai. In the worst case, he could simply dodge; however, he was currently in the last stages of refining the Grand Array, so not only was he unable to move, but most of his attention was also focused on the Array itself. There was no way for him to avoid this attack, much less defend himself.
His entire body was instantly riddled with holes by Yang Kai’s spear and countless large and bloody holes appeared on his body, gushing with fresh blood. Any other person would have died from such injuries, but he had cultivated the Grand Evolution Immortal Blood Light Scripture. He even resurrected on the spot after being split in two by the protective Divine Ability from Pei Wen Xuan’s Identity Token; hence, Black Crow Divine Monarch’s injuries would only cause him to expend his Qi and did not threaten his life in any way.
At the same time, Chef made several consecutive chopping motions with his kitchen knife all while shouting, “Chop chop chop!”
A chilling blade light loomed down upon the Artifact Spirit. Three breaths later, Chef gave a muffled groan. His enlarged body deflated rapidly and the chopping block flew back into his hands. His complexion as pale as a sheet, he muttered weakly, “It’s up to you now.”
When he last used this Secret Technique, he had exhausted all his energy in an instant; thus, Yang Kai had placed him into the Small Sealed World for his safety. Performing this Secret Technique again after such a short time made his condition worsen even more than the first time. Yang Kai quickly appeared beside Chef at that moment, lifted a hand to grab him, and tossed him into the Small Sealed World.
On the other hand, the flesh around Black Crow Divine Monarch’s wounds squirmed vigorously and his injuries healed at a speed visible to the naked eye. At this moment, Yang Kai was no longer opposing him in the Grand Array and it could be said that there was nothing stopping him now. As long as he willed it, he would be able to refine the Grand Array to completion. Even so, he seemed numb to this fact and was simply staring in the Artifact Spirit’s direction with an ugly expression.
Similarly, Yang Kai was watching the Artifact Spirit closely. His spear was held loosely by his side and his expression was a mixture of nervousness and vigilance. His other hand was holding the Proprietress’ Divine Ability Bead; moreover, his strength was circulating wildly, ready to attack at a moment’s notice.
The Artifact Spirit looked perfectly fine, standing there motionlessly as though Chef’s Secret Technique had been completely ineffective on him.
Black Crow Divine Monarch burst out laughing, cackling so hard that he nearly cried; however, his expression began to stiffen in the middle of his laughter.
The Artifact Spirit lowered his head to look down at his body. All of a sudden, he gave a soft sigh and murmured to himself, “This is fine too.”
While speaking, his body shattered without warning and turned into wisps of light that soon faded into nothing. He was just an Artifact Spirit without any real defensive strength, so how could he withstand the ferocious attacks of Chef’s Secret Technique when he could not mobilise the power of the Blood Monster Divine Palace?
The Artifact Spirit was annihilated!
Both the gazes of Yang Kai and Black Crow Divine Monarch turned to look at the Grand Array in unison. Yang Kai’s gaze was cold while Black Crow Divine Monarch’s entire face twitched.
*Kacha…*
A soft sound suddenly came from the Grand Array and they both looked over to see that a crack had appeared in one of its corners.
Yang Kai was overjoyed. How could he not realise that his conjecture had been correct? The Artifact Spirit might have seemed useless, but his very existence was closely tied to the Grand Array. Chef might have been powerless to destroy the Grand Array, but killing the Artifact Spirit was well within his means.
As soon as the Artifact Spirit was destroyed, the Grand Array was deeply affected too. There was no reason to hesitate, so Yang Kai thrust his spear at the crack.
“Don’t even think about it!” Black Crow Divine Monarch roared furiously and a blood arrow shot directly at Yang Kai.
Yang Kai used his Dragon Shields to protect himself while focusing all his strength into his spear thrust.
*Hong…*
A violent force burst forth and the crack in the Grand Array immediately spread outward like a spiderweb.
At the same time, the Dragon Shields protecting Yang Kai shattered to pieces and his body was sent flying out.
*Kacha…*
A series of cracking sounds came from various spots of the Grand Array. Black Crow Divine Monarch hurriedly activated his power to try to stabilize the situation, but unfortunately for him, the damage had already been done. There was nothing he could do to reverse it with his current strength.
It didn’t take longer than ten breaths before the Grand Array completely lost all spirituality and broke apart.
“Damn you, Junior!” Black Crow Divine Monarch felt as though his eyes were going to explode at the sight. The raging flames of fury in him threatened to burn him alive. There was only a little bit left to refine! If he finished refining that remaining bit, then he would have gained complete control over the Blood Monster Cave Heaven. At that time, recovering to his full strength would have been a breeze. However, that little bit was now as wide and deep as a mountain valley. He had fallen short at the very last moment!
There had never been a time where the murderous intent he felt towards Yang Kai had been so intense. Although Yang Kai had ruined his plans back at the blood lake, it had not affected the overall situation. He had managed to possess Zhou Yi’s body and came back to life in the end. Unlike that time though, there was no way to recover from this loss.
A deep sense of regret filled Black Crow Divine Monarch’s heart. If he had known this would happen earlier, he would have slaughtered Yang Kai back at the blood lake. If he had known earlier, he would never have allowed Yang Kai to enter the Blood Monster Divine Palace! But, it was too late for regrets now!
Yang Kai stood up and wiped at the trickle of blood at the corner of his lips before letting out a wild loud laugh, “Hei Ya, let’s see how you refine the Blood Monster Divine Palace now!”
Black Crow Divine Monarch’s voice was low, but his entire body gave off a bone-chilling coldness, “Since I can’t refine the Blood Monster Divine Palace, this Monarch will refine you instead!”
Yang Kai’s heart clenched. He knew that he had truly enraged Black Crow Divine Monarch by ruining his plans. [It looks like this guy is determined to kill me now.]
Before Black Crow Divine Monarch could do anything though, a huge change suddenly occurred. A rumbling sound came from the depths of the Blood Monster Divine Palace, like distant thunder. Both Yang Kai and Black Crow Divine Monarch looked surprised.
Releasing their Divine Senses, they examined their surroundings and it didn’t take long for their expressions to change drastically. That was because the Blood Monster Divine Palace was showing signs of collapse. The surrounding walls came crumbling down one after another, turning the structure into ruins. Similarly, the bedrooms and Grand Halls also came crashing down with a loud rumble.
Yang Kai never imagined that destroying the Artifact Spirit would trigger a chain reaction of this scale. First, the Grand Array had broken apart, and now, even the Blood Monster Divine Palace would soon cease to exist.
Regardless, this was a good thing for Yang Kai. His friends had been trapped inside that strange Nothingness Array and were unable to extricate themselves, so if the Blood Monster Divine Palace was destroyed, then they would regain their freedom. With that thought in mind, Yang Kai’s figure flashed away as his voice lingered in the air, “Hei Ya, I’ll spare your life today. I’ll definitely kill you when we meet again!”
How could Black Crow Divine Monarch allow Yang Kai to escape though? He roared, “Don’t even dream about escaping!”
His entire body shuddered for a moment and a blood cloud that blocked out the whole sky appeared. However, Yang Kai was proficient in the Dao of Space, so if he was determined to flee, there was no way for Black Crow Divine Monarch to stop him without sealing the world in advance. Yang Kai vanished in the blink of an eye, leaving behind Black Crow Divine Monarch who was so furious that he nearly coughed up blood in response.
The reason Yang Kai fled was not that he was afraid of Black Crow Divine Monarch. The Old Dog might be powerful, but he was not yet an Open Heaven Realm Master. If it came down to a fight, neither of them would come out unscathed. On the contrary, Yang Kai was thinking that the Blood Monster Divine Palace contained many treasures. Now that it was on the verge of collapse, he was anxious to do one last search to see if he could find anything else of value. He barely had any time to search though when the entire Blood Monster Divine Palace fell apart completely.
One after another, numerous silhouettes suddenly appeared in the initial mountain valley, every one of them in a miserable state. All of these people had entered the Blood Monster Divine Palace, but their situation was different from Yang Kai’s. They had been trapped inside the world of white from the moment they entered the Blood Monster Divine Palace, unable to tell North from South or find an exit.
Yang Kai had relied on the power of his Golden Crow’s True Fire and the guidance of a Remnant Soul he helped to break free of that Array, but the others had neither the strength or the luck to do so. It was not until this moment when the Blood Monster Divine Palace collapsed completely that they were freed.
Looking around, there was no trace of the Blood Monster Divine Palace. All that remained in front of them was a huge ruin. Therefore, they couldn’t help feeling shocked. Nobody knew what had happened earlier, but before they could recover from their shock, they heard a gloomy roar. Immediately after that, an overwhelming aura enveloped them.
Somebody shouted in horror, “It’s the Star Turtle!”
The Seventh-Order Monster Beast was still guarding the mountain valley. Having lost all his targets when all the cultivators fled into the Blood Monster Divine Palace previously, how could it hold back when it saw these people re-appear? Countless rays of yellow light shot out like a storm of arrows, raining down on the cultivators. Many of the cultivators were caught off guard and nearly lost their lives as a result.
The Star Turtle had previously been restrained thanks to the efforts of Yang Kai and his allies, not to mention that they had prepared themselves in advance. The current events had happened so abruptly though that none of them could stop the might of this Seventh-Order Monster Beast. It didn’t matter whether it was the disciples from the Cave-Heavens and Paradises or the cultivators from weaker forces. All of them quickly fled for their lives.
Yang Kai was also flying away at the time when he spotted Qu Hua Shang and Gu Pan. Each of them was fleeing in different directions. Zhang Ruo Xi was following closely beside Gu Pan. It was likely that Gu Pan had located Zhang Ruo Xi as soon as they were freed from the Spirit Array.
Yang Kai was about to join up with them when a blood cloud appeared in front of him. The blood cloud morphed into Black Crow Divine Monarch’s furious face and his eyes searched the surroundings as his howls rang out endlessly, “Boy, show yourself!”
“Persistent bastard!” Yang Kai was a little annoyed. He knew that Black Crow Divine Monarch was not going to let him go this time, so he stopped trying to chase after Gu Pan and the others; instead, he summoned the Shadowless Veil and covered himself, concealing himself in an instant.
The Shadowless Veil was an absolutely invincible artifact in the Blood Monster Cave Heaven. It was impossible to trace by anybody below the Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm, much less Black Crow Divine Monarch who was just a Remnant Soul that did not have such a powerful Divine Sense.
Just as Yang Kai was considering if he should take the chance to launch a sneak attack on Black Crow Divine Monarch, the world rumbled. It was followed by a deafening sound. Large fissures suddenly appeared throughout the sky like ferocious and terrifying wounds. That was not all. Continuous rumbling sounds also came from the deep underground. Countless large ravines suddenly emerged, turning many places into canyons that were thousands of metres deep.
The world split apart and rumbled violently! Cracks and ravines continued to extend outward while at the same time, more scars appeared in the sky.
Yang Kai was dumbfounded for a moment. It took a long while for him to realise what was happening but once he did, a bitter taste filled his mouth as he muttered, “This is bad.”
He never imagined that the chain reaction from killing the Artifact Spirit was not over yet. It was not until this moment that the true extent of the consequences appeared. The entire Blood Monster Cave Heaven was about to collapse!
Thinking about it again, this was not too surprising. Black Crow Divine Monarch wanted to refine the Blood Monster Divine Palace in order to seize control of the Blood Monster Cave Heaven. That meant that the Blood Monster Divine Palace was the core of the Blood Monster Cave Heaven. Now that the Blood Monster Divine Palace was destroyed, it made sense that the Blood Monster Cave Heaven would also be affected.
If the Blood Monster Cave Heaven had been completely stable, it might not have been affected so badly. Unfortunately, the Blood Monster Cave Heaven was already showing signs of collapsing in recent years. The destruction of the Blood Monster Divine Palace was simply the last straw that broke the camel’s back.
When the Blood Monster Cave Heaven first appeared, there was only one entrance. That entrance had been firmly controlled by the major Cave-Heavens and Paradises. Only disciples of the Cave-Heavens and Paradises had the right to enter the Blood Monster Cave Heaven to train, gain experience, and search for treasures.
With the passage of time though, the Blood Monster Cave Heaven became more and more unstable. There were signs that it was gradually merging with the Blood Monster Territory. The most obvious sign was that more and more entrances were appearing. This was the result of both worlds colliding and coming into contact with each other.
Consequently, it became difficult for the Cave-Heavens and Paradises to maintain control over the entrances. Things gradually evolved into a situation similar to what happened when the Blood Monster Cave Heaven most recently opened. Everybody would each occupy a spot in the Blood Monster Territory and wait for entrances to appear to enter the Blood Monster Cave Heaven. The Blood Monster Cave Heaven’s opening evolved into a huge event throughout the entire 3,000 Worlds, drawing countless cultivators to this place.
In any case, it was undeniable that the Blood Monster Cave Heaven had become unstable. This was something Mo Mei and the others from Abundance City had also mentioned. One day, the Blood Monster Cave Heaven would eventually merge with the Blood Monster Territory and dissipate into it. When that happened, the Universe Cave Heaven left behind by an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master would be completely exposed to the outside world.
The collapse of the Blood Monster Divine Palace had simply hastened the timeline.
With the collapse of the world, a scene of the apocalypse approaching spread to all corners of the Blood Monster Cave Heaven. The world hummed continuously, as though crying. Countless Monster Beasts hiding in the depths of the Blood Monster Cave Heaven fled for their lives in a panic. The native cultivators living in the Blood Monster Cave Heaven looked up at the sky, ashen-faced with despair filling their souls.
Their ancestors had been captured by Blood Monster Divine Monarch, who then planted a Blood Principles Restriction in them so that they could only live and breed inside his Small Universe. If not for the Blood Principles Restriction, they would have been the happiest about the collapse of the Blood Monster Cave Heaven. That was because they could finally be free of the restrictions of this world and head out into the vast 3,000 Worlds instead. Unfortunately, they were trapped in this world and unable to leave because of the Blood Principles Restriction in their bodies. Once they stopped receiving nourishment from the Blood Monster Cave Heaven’s aura, they would all die!
In the mountain valley where the Blood Monster Divine Palace used to stand, Black Crow Divine Monarch rampaged around as a blood cloud to search for Yang Kai. Everywhere he went, he left a reign of terror in his wake. Countless cultivators had the vital essence of their bodies devoured by him and died on the spot.
Yang Kai remained hidden for some time before he suddenly thought of something and couldn’t help cursing aloud, “Damn it!”
He originally wanted to remain hidden until the end as once the Blood Monster Cave Heaven collapsed completely, he would be able to escape from here and return to the Blood Monster Territory.
Black Crow Divine Monarch would not be able to continue to do as he pleased in the Blood Monster Territory. He was cruel and ruthless. Moreover, he was an Old Monster from the distant past that came back to life through possession. The Cave-Heavens and Paradises would never let him walk free. It was not that they were allies of justice and wished to purge evil out of kindness. Rather, it was that an Old Monster like Black Crow Divine monarch would surely have many valuable secrets on him. His strength was still rather low at the moment, so if they could capture him, then they could interrogate him for information and receive some benefits. At the very least, he knew the Grand Evolution Immortal Blood Light. Such a Heaven-defying Secret Art would surely tempt some people.
However, Yang Kai suddenly recalled Mo Mei and the others in Abundance City. It was very safe for him to hide there as with the Shadowless Veil concealing his body and his aura, Black Crow Divine Monarch would never be able to find him amidst all the surrounding chaos. However, wouldn’t the people in Abundance City die if the Blood Monster Cave Heaven collapsed completely?
Earlier, Yang Kai even went out of his way to ask Black Crow Divine Monarch for the Secret Technique to remove the Blood Principles Restriction. Didn’t he do that so that he could help the people in Abundance City? Not only were they related to the Proprietress, but Yang Kai also had his eye on their potential. It was almost certain that Mo Mei and the other Great Elders were existences who could advance into the Open Heaven Realm as long as he could save them!
They had lived their entire lives in the Blood Monster Cave Heaven, so they had no place to go even if they left this place; therefore, it should not be a problem to take them into Void Land if he could save them. Void Land was currently in urgent need of Open Heaven Realm Masters, so Yang Kai could not let such a good opportunity pass him by.
When that thought crossed his mind, he couldn’t afford to be so cautious anymore. Doing his best to conceal his figure and his aura, Yang Kai hurried in the direction of Abundance City while secretly praying fervently in his heart. [I hope the Blood Monster Cave Heaven doesn’t collapse too quickly. At the very least, please wait until I finish removing the Blood Principles Restriction from the people in Abundance City!]
After flying for some time, he finally stepped out of Black Crow Divine Monarch’s detection range; thus, he was no longer held back by any scruples and increased his speed to a whole other level. Manipulating Space Principles, his figure flickered again and again to reach Abundance City at a high speed.
Humongous Void Cracks would appear in front of him from time to time. These were the signs the World was collapsing. Large tracts of land in the Blood Monster Cave Heaven vanished, flowing into these Void Cracks and disappearing. Under these circumstances, most people would have a hard time moving forward as they would be swallowed into the Void Cracks if they were not careful.
Yang Kai could feel the aura of the Blood Monster Territory coming from these Void Cracks. In other words, there was no danger even if a person was swallowed into them. The most likely scenario would simply be finding themselves back in the Blood Monster Territory. After understanding this point, he felt slightly more at ease. It shouldn’t be a problem for Accountant, Lang Qing Shan, Zhang Ruo Xi, and the others to return to the Blood Monster Territory safely.
Thanks to his mastery of Space Principles, Yang Kai could detect the existence of these Void Cracks in advance; hence, he was not greatly delayed in his travels.
While moving forward, Yang Kai separated a thread of his consciousness and immersed his mind into the jade slip given to him by Black Crow Divine Monarch. He had glanced through the contents of the jade slip earlier, and based on his foundation in the Blood Light Scripture thanks to the few chapters that he comprehended previously, he could basically confirm that the contents of the jade slip were real and this information could indeed remove the Blood Principles Restriction.
It was just that he had never used this Secret Technique before. Even though he was confident he could reach Abundance City in time, time would still be very tight. He needed to practice what he learned from the jade slip in advance. That was the only way he could rescue all the people in Abundance City in the shortest time possible.
The collapse in the World was becoming more and more obvious, so there was a possibility that it would fall apart at any moment. Therefore, Yang Kai became anxious and desperately rushed towards Abundance City. It was just that there was still some distance to go. It would still take at least half a day before he could arrive so all he could do was fervently pray that the Blood Monster Cave Heaven would last for a little longer.
Four or five hours later, Yang Kai had already gone over the contents of the jade slip a hundred times. He was very skilful in theory, so now he just needed practical experience to pull it off.
At this moment, a panicked figure suddenly rushed in Yang Kai’s direction like a headless fly. His figure floated about erratically and his complexion was extremely pale. He was a young man in the Half-Step Open Heaven Realm. It was just that the energy fluctuation coming from his body indicated that the Order of the Open Heaven Elements that he condensed was not very high.
Yang Kai initially planned to ignore this person, but a sudden idea came to mind. With a flash of his figure, Yang Kai arrived next to that person and captured him. At the same time, he did not stop moving and continued to head towards Abundance City.
The young man instinctively fought back after being caught so suddenly; however, the power that leaked out of Yang Kai’s hand shocked him. He could tell that he was not Yang Kai’s opponent at all, so he wisely gave up struggling and simply looked at Yang Kai in puzzlement, “Who are you? Why did you capture me?”
Yang Kai asked, “Are you a cultivator born in the Blood Monster Cave Heaven?”
“So what if I am?” The young man gritted his teeth.
[As expected, he is a native after all.] Yang Kai did not waste any time and got straight to the point, “Do you want to live?”
The young man was stunned as he thought to himself, [Isn’t that a stupid question?] Still, he bitterly replied, “Who would want to die if they can live?”
Yang Kai nodded, “Good. I want to perform an experiment on you. If it works, you’ll survive. If it doesn’t…”
The young man sighed and gloomily said, “I don’t know what you want to do, but you don’t need to waste your energy. You’re an Outer World visitor, right? I’m afraid you don’t know, but those who live in the Blood Monster Cave Heaven have a restriction placed on our bloodline. As long as this restriction exists, we can never leave the Blood Monster Cave Heaven. We will immediately explode and die without the nourishment of this World’s aura. Now that the Blood Monster Cave Heaven is about to collapse, we can only wait for our deaths to come to us.”
“I know about the Blood Principles Restriction. What I want to do is remove it.”
The young man was dumbfounded, but immediately after, his eyes lit up, “Do you have a way to remove the Blood Principles Restriction?”
He originally thought that his only option was to wait for death. All the cultivators who lived in the Blood Monster Cave Heaven had heard from their Elders that they would die alongside the Blood Monster Cave Heaven once this land ceased to exist. That was because the Blood Principles Restriction would immediately activate without the nourishment of the Blood Monster Cave Heaven’s aura.
When the changes in the world occurred and the apocalypse arrived, all the native cultivators living in the Blood Monster Cave Heaven suddenly realised that what their Elders mentioned was about to come true. Unfortunately, all they could do was prolong their dying breath. When he had fled from his residence, he never imagined that he would encounter a person with the ability to remove the Blood Principles Restriction. It was only natural that he became overjoyed.
“Yes. But, I have no idea whether it will work!” Yang Kai replied truthfully. He had never experimented with the Secret Technique in the jade slip after all. Only the Heavens knew whether Black Crow Divine Monarch had done anything to the Secret Technique, although the possibility was small.
“Go ahead and try. In the worst case, I’ll just die if it doesn’t work,” the young man quickly said. He originally thought that there was no way to escape death. But now, a chance for survival had appeared in front of him. It was only natural that he firmly grasped this opportunity.
Yang Kai gently nodded, “In that case, cooperate with me and don’t resist.”
While speaking, Yang Kai cut his fingertip and squeezed out a drop of blood. He flicked his wrist, turning the drop of blood into blood mist. After that, he used one hand to guide the blood mist so that it formed into a mysterious seal.
“Go!” Yang Kai raised his hand and slapped the seal against the young man’s forehead. The seal sank into the young man’s body and disappeared.
The young man’s body shuddered slightly; then, an inexplicable look appeared in his eyes.
“How is it?” Yang Kai asked anxiously.
The young man smacked his lips, “I can’t say for sure, but I feel a little more relaxed for some reason.”
Yang Kai’s eyes brightened, “A little more relaxed?” [If he can feel something, then it can only mean that the Secret Technique is working!]
The young man said, “I can’t confirm whether the Blood Principles Restriction has been removed or not. I will only know when this place collapses completely.”
If he was not dead when the Blood Monster Cave Heaven collapsed, then that would mean he no longer needed the nourishment of this World’s aura. It would also mean that Yang Kai’s methods had worked.
“There’s no need to go to such trouble. I’ll send you somewhere.” How could Yang Kai possibly wait until the Blood Monster Cave Heaven collapsed? It would be too late by then. He tossed the young man in his grasp into the Small Sealed World while speaking. At the same time, he paid close attention to the young man’s condition.
It was not as if he had never thought of hiding the people from Abundance City in the Small Sealed World to bring them out of the Blood Monster Cave Heaven; it was just that the limitations of the Blood Principles Restriction had ruined his plans. The Small Sealed World was an independent world, so without removing the Blood Principles Restriction, rashly sending Mo Mei and the others into the Small Sealed World was tantamount to sending them to their deaths.
At this moment, the success of the Secret Technique recorded in the jade slip obtained from Black Crow Divine Monarch depended entirely on the young man’s survival.
Under Yang Kai’s careful watch, the young man entered the Small Sealed World and looked around his surroundings in confusion, not feeling uncomfortable in any way. After a while, he seemed to realise what had happened and threw his head back to release something that seemed to be a mixture of a roar and laughter. The excitement and joy in his heart could not be expressed.
He initially thought that he had no other option aside from death. Unexpectedly, he encountered a person who helped him remove the Blood Principles Restriction and sent him to an unfamiliar world. Although he had no idea what kind of world this was, at least he no longer needed to worry about dying. The feeling of waiting helplessly for his death was not something he ever wanted to experience again!
Yang Kai let out a small breath of relief. It would now seem that the jade slip given to him by Black Crow Divine Monarch was real. The Secret Technique recorded inside had not been falsified.
Thinking about it again, it made sense. The situation had been very urgent at the time, so Black Crow Divine Monarch had no time to do anything after he came up with his request. It was one thing if he was completely clueless about the Blood Light Scripture; however, Yang Kai had comprehended several chapters of the Blood Light Scripture. If Black Crow Divine Monarch had falsified the information, there was a chance Yang Kai might have noticed something. Besides, this Secret Technique was unrelated to the Core Secret Art of the Blood Light Scripture, so Black Crow Divine Monarch was more than happy to oblige.
Now that it had been proven that the Secret Technique worked, all that was left was whether or not Yang Kai could arrive at Abundance City before the Blood Monster Cave Heaven collapsed.
In addition to his joy though, Yang Kai couldn’t help feeling troubled. The residents in Abundance City were neither too many nor too few, somewhere between 3,000 and 4,000 in total. It would take a lot of time for him to remove the Blood Principles Restriction from so many people. Clearly, he would not be able to rescue everybody. Still, he could only do his best and leave the rest up to fate!
Space Principles fluctuated and Yang Kai’s figure flashed erratically. The shaking in the world had gotten worse, and the World Principles in the Blood Monster Cave Heaven were showing signs of shattering. He became extremely anxious. Even though he was travelling very quickly, it had taken him half a day’s time before he could see the lake where Abundance City was located in the distance.
At this moment, the Spirit Array outside Abundance City had been destroyed due to the changes in the Blood Monster Cave Heaven. In the first place, the lake was a product formed from an Illusion Array, not a real existence. At this moment, it had become heavily distorted and Yang Kai could vaguely see the cultivators of Abundance City fleeing in a panic through the Spirit Array’s disguise.
Just before he arrived at Abundance City, an incomparably large ravine suddenly appeared outside Abundance City. It was immediately followed by the appearance of another Void Crack in the sky, as though the sky had been torn apart.
Abundance City, along with several hundred kilometres of land in the surrounding areas, were swallowed up by the Void Crack and vanished in an instant. Screams rang out from all over Abundance City and many of the cultivators turned pale with fear as they stood absolutely petrified.
Yang Kai’s heart sank at the sight! Despite his rush, he was still one step too late. Nevertheless, he did not slow his pace. His figure shifted and he rushed straight into the Void Crack. A wave of dizziness washed over him, but he ignored it. His Divine Sense was fixed firmly upon the land where Abundance City was located as he hurriedly gave chase.
…
The Blood Monster Territory was a vast and desolate void. It was one of the few Great Territories without any great forces or even living creatures.
The Blood Monster Territory was originally no different from other Great Territories with several great forces and many Universe Worlds. However, things changed because of the entrances of the Blood Monster Cave Heaven that would appear at random all over the Blood Monster Territory. These entrances eventually resulted in the instability and collapse of the Universe Worlds, as well as the destruction of the Spirit Provinces. Thus, this Great Territory became dead and silent over time. Only when the Blood Monster Cave Heaven opened would it become extremely lively once more.
At present, countless cultivators were gathered on top of a large platform in the middle of the Blood Monster Territory. There were as many Open Heaven Realm Masters here as the hairs on an ox, including many in the Mid-Rank.
It was unknown which Senior Expert had brought out the platform, but it had become the base of many cultivators. These Open Heaven Realm Masters had led their disciples here to participate in the Blood Monster Cave Heaven, and after their disciples had entered, there was no reason for them to wait around doing nothing. Hence, they gathered here and this place became a kind of shopping district.
With so many Open Heaven Realm Masters gathered together, meeting up with friends or holding an exchange meeting was a great way to pass the time. They might even obtain some unexpected benefits in this place.
At this moment, all the cultivators in the shopping district were staring at the void around them in shock. Half a day ago, some unusual changes seemed to have taken place in the Blood Monster Territory. It started out with frequent space fluctuations, followed by the emergence of large Void Cracks. Many people could even see the situation inside the Blood Monster Cave Heaven through these Void Cracks.
“Proprietress, what’s going on?” Bai Qi asked with a frown while looking at the Void Crack located a thousand kilometres away.
The Proprietress’ expression was unbelievably solemn as she observed the situation for a while before shaking her head, “I’m not sure. But, something seems to have happened in the Blood Monster Cave Heaven.”
Yue He suddenly became nervous, “Something happened in the Blood Monster Cave Heaven? What will happen to the Young Master?”
The Proprietress remained silent. Yang Kai, Chef, Accountant, and the others were all in the Blood Monster Cave Heaven. Even so, nobody knew what the situation was like inside. Judging by the situation in front of them though, something major had happened.
After pondering in silence for some time, the Proprietress took out several communication beads and sent out various messages to inquire about the situation.
A figure suddenly flew over from not far away and landed beside her. It was the man with a crown on his head from Xuan Yuan Cave Heaven, Guo Nu. He asked, “Junior Sister Lan, do you know what happened?”
She glanced sidelong at him and sneered, “How would I know when even Xuan Yuan Cave Heaven doesn’t know?”
Still, he shook his head, “First Inn is renowned for its intelligence-gathering abilities. Did you not hear anything about this?”
The Proprietress might be annoyed with him, but she was in no mood to argue at the moment. Hence, she simply shook her head in response, “This happened too suddenly. I have not received any news. What’s wrong? Are you worried about your treasured apprentice?”
“That kid might have good aptitude, but he does not have much experience with worldly affairs. It’s inevitable that I will worry about him.” Guo Nu sighed. In this field, it was not easy to find a disciple suitable to inherit his mantle. It was only natural that he regarded his Disciple like a treasure.
Bai Qi asked, “Proprietress, could it be that the Blood Monster Cave Heaven is about to close?”
Guo Nu shook his head, “The closing of the Blood Monster Cave Heaven would not have created such a huge commotion. The current situation seems a bit more like…”
“Like what?” Bai Qi asked.
Guo Nu said nothing. He simply glanced at the Proprietress, who solemnly spoke, “It looks like the Blood Monster Cave Heaven is collapsing.”
Bai Qi jumped in fright and exclaimed in shock, “The Blood Monster Cave Heaven is collapsing!? Why so suddenly!?”
Although everybody knew that the Blood Monster Cave Heaven would collapse and merge completely with the Blood Monster Territory one day, that was something far in the future. Anybody would be surprised to be faced with this situation so suddenly.
“Something is coming out,” Yue He suddenly pointed at one of the Void Cracks in front.
The words had only just left her mouth when they saw numerous figures rushing out of the Void Crack. Upon a closer look, it turned out to be Monster Beasts.
Guo Nu reached out a hand and grabbed at the void. Even though it didn’t look like he had moved, a Monster Beast suddenly appeared in his grip. He gave a slight shake and the Monster Beast exploded into a cloud of blood mist. All that remained was a Monster Core in his hand, “A Fifth-Order Water Element Monster Core. This Monster Beast came from the Blood Monster Cave Heaven.”
Even the Monster Beasts had come rushing out of the Blood Monster Cave Heaven, which was a clear indication that the Blood Monster Cave Heaven was about to collapse.
Not far behind these Monster Beasts, a huge mountain came floating out of the Void Crack. Monster Beasts fled from the mountain peak, leaving several trembling people behind.
Inside the shopping district, a certain Master turned into a giant and rushed into the mountain peak to bring those cultivators back to the shopping district.
“What happened inside the Blood Monster Cave Heaven?” Somebody asked.
Those cultivators were only in the Emperor Realm, with the strongest among them being just Half-Step Open Heaven Realm Juniors. Therefore, they were so frightened that they couldn’t speak when they suddenly found themselves surrounded by a huge group of Open Heaven Realm Masters.
At this moment, a Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master squeezed out of the crowd and cupped his fists in all directions, “Sirs, please wait a moment. These are the disciples of my Heavenly Crane Palace.”
The Open Heaven Realm Master who brought them back said, “Don’t worry. We don’t want to cause trouble. We just want to ask a few questions.”
The Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master wiped at the cold sweat on his forehead and spoke to those young cultivators, “Answer any questions that these Seniors may ask. Don’t hide anything.”
Heavenly Crane Palace was just a Second-Class great force. Furthermore, it was somewhat weak even among the Second Class. How could this man dare to be impolite in front of these Masters from the various Cave-Heavens and Paradises?
The disciples calmed down upon seeing an Elder from their Sect. Thus, the leading disciple took a breath and said, “This Disciple has no idea what happened either. We were hunting a Fifth-Order Monster Beast when the world suddenly began breaking apart without warning. Then, we found ourselves here for some reason.”
Another disciple added, “Countless Void Cracks appeared in the sky of the Blood Monster Cave Heaven. Numerous ravines also split the ground open. It was like… like the Blood Monster Cave Heaven was about to be destroyed.”
Many of the Open Heaven Realm Masters turned solemn at those words. How could they not know that the Blood Monster Cave Heaven was truly about to fall apart? Judging from the current situation, the collapse of the Blood Monster Cave Heaven would not mean its exile to the Void, but rather its dispersion into the Blood Monster Territory.
Many Open Heaven Realm Masters stood on the platform with different expressions on their faces. Some were worried while others were excited.
They were worried about the safety of their disciples. Judging by the current situation, the collapse of the Blood Monster Cave Heaven was inevitable. The vast Blood Monster Cave Heaven was bound to break apart and become countless pieces scattered across the Blood Monster Territory. It was an unknown factor as to whether their disciples could return safely; after all, they would be lost forever if they got trapped inside the Void Cracks.
On the other hand, some were excited that Open Heaven Realm Masters like themselves would finally have the qualifications to participate.
Throughout the ages, whenever the Blood Monster Cave Heaven opened, the responsibilities of the Open Heaven Realm Masters had always been to escort their respective disciples to the Blood Monster Territory, quietly wait for the Blood Monster Cave Heaven to close, and bring their disciples back to the Sect.
There were many valuable treasures inside the Blood Monster Cave Heaven that made their eyes turn green with envy. Unfortunately, the Blood Monster Cave Heaven was a Universe Cave Heaven left behind by an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. With restrictions in place, there was no way for them to enter.
If the Blood Monster Cave Heaven really were to collapse and countless parts were to merge with the Blood Monster Territory, then they could go around searching for the various treasures that came from the Blood Monster Cave Heaven. If nothing else, even obtaining a High-Order Monster Beast Core would earn them a fortune.
After recovering from their shock, many of the Open Heaven Realm Masters immediately flew off, heading straight for the depths of the Blood Monster Territory to search for opportunities.
In this short span of time, countless humongous Void Cracks had appeared throughout the entire Blood Monster Territory; moreover, enormous Spirit Peaks and vast Spirit Provinces had appeared out of the Void Cracks. They quietly floated in the void of the Blood Monster Territory, adding some life to this dead and silent space.
Soon, there were Open Heaven Realm Masters swarming all over every Spirit Peak and Spirit Province in search of treasure. Those who found anything valuable were few and far between. The Blood Monster Cave Heaven had been opened so many times before after all, so most of the valuable treasures had already been taken away. Of course, there were also some lucky enough to find invaluable treasures as soon as they arrived.
Be that as it may, those Open Heaven Realm Masters who landed on the Spirit Provinces also revealed looks of great jubilation despite not finding anything valuable.
Somebody exclaimed in amazement, “Such dense World Force!”
The Blood Monster Cave Heaven was a Universe Cave Heaven left behind by an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. It was only natural that the World Force it contained was extraordinary. The most basic method for cultivators in the Open Heaven Realm to strengthen their power was to enhance the World Force of their Small Universe; therefore, any Open Heaven Realm Master would benefit greatly if they could refine the World Force from the Blood Monster Cave Heaven.
It was just that cultivators would need to have great compatibility between their own Small Universes and the World Force in order for them to refine a World Force that did not belong to them. Take Old Ancestor Mo Yu for example. The reason he had his eyes on the Demon Realm and tried to conquer it was that the Demon Realm’s aura was highly compatible with his Small Universe. Not only would he not suffer major drawbacks after refining the Demon Realm, but he would also recover from his injuries and improve his cultivation in a very short time.
On the other hand, if their compatibility was low, there were heavy repercussions that could result in one’s own World Force becoming unstable or even damage being done to the foundation of their Small Universe.
The opening of the Blood Monster Cave Heaven was a great event that swept across the entire 3,000 Worlds, so there was no shortage of cultivators who came here. As such, there were bound to be some people who met the refining conditions. These people were absolutely overjoyed. Landing on the Spirit Peaks and Spirit Provinces, they quickly used various means to collect them into their respective Small Universes to slowly refine at a later date.
Even though most people did not meet the refining conditions, there was no reason for them to pass up on the Spirit Peaks and Spirit Provinces from the Blood Monster Cave Heaven either. If they brought these Spirit Peaks and Spirit Provinces back to their Sects, the World Force contained within could greatly enhance the heritage of their respective Sects.
For that reason, many battles over the Spirit Peaks and Spirit Provinces broke out across the Blood Monster Territory in a very short period of time. The Open Heaven Realm Masters fought viciously among themselves and some of them would die from time to time.
Even the Proprietress and the others joined in the fight. They collected several Spirit Provinces into their respective Small Universes and placed a seal on them for later use.
The Small Universes of Open Heaven Realm Masters would only turn from ethereal to corporeal when they advance into the High-Rank Open Heaven Realm. At that point, their Small Universes would be no different from actual Universe Worlds and could even accommodate living creatures in them. Even so, the Small Universes of Mid-Rank and Low-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters were not mere decorations either.
Back when Yang Kai first entered the Outer Universe, he had been lured into Duan Hai’s Small Universe. Duan Hai was the Fire Spirit Land Protector Venerable of Seven Wonders Land, but he was only in the Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm. It could be seen that even the Small Universes of Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters could accommodate living creatures as long as certain conditions were met and techniques were used. The only difference was that their heritage was not as majestic as a High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master’s Small Universe.
The Proprietress and the others had spread out to search for the traces of Yang Kai and the others as at present, the Blood Monster Territory was in chaos. Yang Kai and the others were not yet in the Open Heaven Realm, so they had no means to protect themselves if they encountered danger.
Unfortunately, the Blood Monster Territory was a Great Territory, so it was incredibly vast. Even if they split up their forces to search, it was difficult for them to obtain results in short order. As such, they could only spread the news around in hopes of contacting Yang Kai and the others.
…..
Meanwhile, Yang Kai burst out of the Void Crack in pursuit of the Spirit Province. When he abruptly found himself in a vast and dead environment, he immediately realised that he had returned to the Blood Monster Territory.
Not far away, a large Spirit Province floated in the void. All the cultivators in Abundance City stood on the Spirit Province, looking very uneasy. They might not know what had happened, but they had witnessed the sudden collapse of the world around Abundance City.
Looking around, they found that they were currently in a completely unfamiliar environment. Numerous Spirit Provinces not inferior to the one Abundance City sat on floated about in the void. The World Force was beginning to dissipate and the aura of the Blood Monster Cave Heaven gradually weakened as a result. When the aura of the Blood Monster Cave Heaven completely dissipated, the Blood Principles Restriction in their bodies would immediately burst out. At that time, the only thing waiting for them was death!
Inside the City Lord’s Mansion, Mo Mei and the Great Elders stood side by side. They looked out at the chaotic Abundance City and gave a small sigh. Despite having always known that such a day would eventually come, it was not until that day actually arrived that they realised how weak and powerless they were.
“Everyone, do you have any last wishes?” Mo Mei was slightly ashen-faced, but her tone was calm. She could be considered a person who had weathered many storms in her life, so her mentality was stronger than most. Otherwise, it would have been impossible for a woman to take up the City Lord’s position. Although what was happening before her was literally a world-ending disaster, it was not enough to cause her to panic. Thanks to her influence, the Great Elders also became much calmer as a result.
Pang Duo spoke after some thought, “I still want to go and see what the world outside looks like. Unfortunately, we will never get this chance.”
Gong Yang Xi stroked his beard and smiled, “This Old Master has lived a long time. I don’t really have any regrets.”
Jin Yuan Lang said, “I kind of want to know what the Open Heaven Realm is like. It’s a pity we could not advance any further in the Blood Monster Cave Heaven.”
Mu Qian Xuan laughed softly, “Big Brother Yuan Lang, do you want to try advancing into the Open Heaven Realm right now?”
His expression changed upon hearing those words. What she mentioned was correct. They had already finished condensing their Yin, Yang, and Five Element Powers, it was just that they had always been stuck inside the Blood Monster Cave Heaven, so they could not advance into the Open Heaven Realm. Now that they had broken free of the Blood Monster Cave Heaven’s limitations, they could advance into the Open Heaven Realm as long as they were willing.
However, he soon shook his head and said, “I’m afraid it’s too late.”
Even though he had never tried to break through before, he knew that advancing into the Open Heaven Realm was not such an easy matter. He would almost certainly explode and die from the activation of the Blood Principles Restriction before he could finish preparing himself for the advancement.
Mo Mei suddenly bowed elegantly, “This Mistress is honoured to have received your help all these years. Many thanks for all your hard work.”
Everybody quickly turned towards her while Pang Duo spoke, “You are far too polite, City Lord. We were only performing our duties. Rather, it is your dedication to Abundance City that I highly admire, City Lord.”
Mo Mei smiled, “It’s not that bad to have your company on the road to the Yellow Springs.”
He laughed loudly, “Let us build another Abundance City when we arrive in the next world. We will behead anybody who dares to look down on us!”
The others roared their agreement.
“What are you talking about so happily?” A voice entered their ears suddenly, and in the next moment, their vision blurred slightly as a figure abruptly appeared in front of them. They jumped in fright and Pang Duo even took a few steps back without realising. After taking a good look at the newcomer though, he exclaimed in astonishment, “Yang Kai!? Why did you come back?”
Yang Kai smiled, “Of course, it’s to fulfil my promise.”
Mo Mei was puzzled, “Promise?” Seeming to recall something all of a sudden, she exclaimed in a mixture of surprise and joy, “Did you find a way to remove the Blood Principles Restriction!?”
When Yang Kai left earlier, he had mentioned that there was somebody who could remove the Blood Principles Restriction in their bodies. He also promised that he would do his best to obtain that method; even so, it had not been long since he left. Despite asking that question, Mo Mei had only asked out of a small sliver of hope. She did not actually believe that he had succeeded.
Contrary to her expectations, Yang Kai nodded in affirmation, “En. I obtained the necessary Secret Technique. I can help you remove the Blood Principles Restriction in your bodies so that you will never be bound by the Blood Monster Cave Heaven again.”
Gong Yang Xi accidentally tore out his beard hairs as his eyes widened when he heard those words and shouted, “Are you serious!?”
Likewise, Mu Qian Xuan’s eyes gleamed, “Yang Kai, you better not be lying to us.”
Yang Kai replied seriously, “Of course I wouldn’t lie to you. I’ve already experimented on the way here. The Secret Technique works.”
Pang Duo was taken aback for a moment, before he burst out laughing, “There’s always a way out! The Heavens have eyes after all! Hahahaha!”
Yang Kai raised a hand to interrupt, “Don’t get so happy just yet. There’s still a difficult problem to solve first.”
Mo Mei seriously asked, “What is it? Can we help? If so, then please speak freely.”
Yang Kai swept his gaze over them and answered in a troubled voice, “There are too many people in Abundance City. Using the Secret Technique depletes my strength. If I do this one at a time, I’m worried that the World Force here will dissipate completely before I can remove the Blood Principles Restriction from everybody.”
There were some 4,000 or so people in the city, so Yang Kai estimated it would take him at least one month to finish lifting the Restriction from all of them. However, the cultivators in Abundance City would lose the nourishment of the Blood Monster Cave Heaven’s aura when the World Force in this place fully dispersed. The only reason they were safe and sound at the moment was that Abundance City was located on a rather large Spirit Province; hence, some of the Blood Monster Cave Heaven’s aura still remained.
Yang Kai’s meaning could not be any clearer, time waited for no man.
When Mo Mei heard those words, her expression became grim. If that were the case, she would be stuck with the extremely unenviable problem of choosing who to save and who not to save. Having served as the City Lord for so many years, she knew every single person in the city personally, from the oldest man to the youngest child. All these faces floated in front of her eyes. It would be extremely cruel if she had to choose a person’s death in exchange for another person’s survival at a time like this.
Fortunately, Yang Kai continued, “There is another possibility, but it will be a gamble. If it works, then everybody in Abundance City will be saved. If it fails… Well, we’ll discuss that when that happens.”
Mo Mei immediately asked, “What’s the gamble?”
Yang Kai explained, “I have an independent world. I can collect this piece of land into that independent world and use certain means to lock the World Force in place. It’s just that I’m not certain whether I can maintain and preserve the unique World Force in this land for long.”
If he could preserve the World Force for an extended period of time, then the aura of the Blood Monster Cave Heaven would not dissipate so quickly and the Blood Principles Restriction in their bodies would not be triggered. In that way, he could slowly set everyone free. On the other hand, this method would be useless if he could not preserve the World Force for long enough.
Mo Mei’s eyes lit up at those words and she immediately agreed, “If you have a method like that, then please perform it as quickly as possible, Sir Yang.”
Nodding, Yang Kai requested, “Please wait for a moment. I also need you to tell everyone in the city not to resist what happens next.”
He was quite certain that it would not be difficult for him to collect this Spirit Province into the Small Sealed World; after all, his current Spiritual Energy was extraordinary. The main issue was that there were so many strong cultivators in the city as well. If anybody were to resist, it would add great strain to the load. Especially at a time like this where all the cultivators in Abundance City were already on edge. The slightest disturbance could send them into a panic, so it was crucial that they cooperated with him.
Mo Mei and the other Great Elders quickly relayed orders to the people. While comforting and reassuring everyone, they explained the current situation and told them not to resist under any circumstances. The cultivators in Abundance City slowly calmed down and soon there was not a single sound in the entire city, only their uneven breathing and the sound of pounding hearts remained.
Floating in the void above the Spirit Province where Abundance City was located, Yang Kai spread his Divine Sense into the surroundings to cover every corner of the floating piece of land. Even though he had already mentally prepared himself in advance, it was not until he actually attempted it that he discovered his initial assumption was far too naïve.
Even if his Divine Sense was incredibly powerful, his Spiritual Energy was gushing out like a waterfall at this moment. It didn’t take long before his Knowledge Sea was almost drained dry. If not for the Soul Warming Lotus’ continuous nourishment, he would probably be a dry oil lamp before he could even take action.
At times like this, Yang Kai couldn’t help missing the aspect of the Sealed World Bead that could transform into Gun-Gun. After all, Gun-Gun had even devoured the entire Demon Realm.
Everybody watched Yang Kai nervously only to see that his complexion was pale and his body was trembling slightly. Nevertheless, they could sense his overwhelming Divine Sense that was madly spreading out into the surroundings like a tidal wave.
Mo Mei and the others were shocked by the sight. Restrained by the limitations in the Blood Monster Cave Heaven, they could only linger in the Emperor Realm for their entire lives. For that reason, their accumulation and precipitation in this Realm were by no means comparable to most other cultivators. Be it in terms of the purity and density of their Emperor Qi or their mastery of their Spiritual Energy, it was rare for Outer World cultivators to match up to them.
However, it was not until they compared themselves with Yang Kai that they understood their ignorance. Just in terms of Spiritual Energy alone, comparing themselves to him was like comparing a creek to the vast ocean.
A whole incense stick later, Yang Kai finally felt his Divine Sense wrapping around the Spirit Province without leaving out a single gap! His eyes, which had been closed all this time, jerked open abruptly and he roared, “Receive!”
The boundary of the Small Sealed World opened and Space Principles fluctuated violently and the Spirit Province became distorted. A series of ripples spread across the surface, then the Spirit Province suddenly disappeared.
Yang Kai exhaled softly in relief. Taking out some Spirit Pills, he stuffed them into his mouth and flashed into the Small Sealed World at the same time.
A large Spirit Province suddenly appeared in the Small Sealed World, its World Force clashing with the ambient World Force, causing the Blood Monster Cave Heaven’s aura to dissipate rapidly.
There was no time to rest as Yang Kai hurriedly communicated with the Sealed World Bead to seal the space around the new Spirit Province, preventing its World Force and the Blood Monster Cave Heaven’s aura from dissipating.
After working so hard, Yang Kai was so tired that he could see stars dancing in his vision. Nevertheless, the results were gratifying despite the huge effort required. The World Force of the Spirit Province that Abundance City was located on finally stopped dissipating. The preservation of the World Force meant that the Blood Monster Cave Heaven’s aura would not disappear; hence, the Abundance City cultivators had no need to fear or worry about the Blood Principles Restriction being activated.
It would seem that Yang Kai’s idea was feasible. A wave of relief washed over him after confirming this fact; then, he informed Mo Mei and the others about the results. Likewise, they also let out a deep sigh of relief.
“City Lord Mo, now is not the time for me to perform the Secret Technique. I’ll come to help you remove the Blood Principles Restriction in your bodies when I’ve settled down in a safe place,” Yang Kai said. The Blood Monster Territory was in chaos at the moment, so even if he wanted to help them, it was impossible for him to do so immediately.
Mo Mei bowed, “Please take care of your matters first, Sir Yang. This Mistress will manage Abundance City. Abundance City is greatly indebted to you for your life-saving grace, Sir.”
Pang Duo and the others solemnly cupped their fists, “Many thanks, Sir!”
Yang Kai returned the gesture and slipped out of the Small Sealed World. Even so, he was in no hurry to leave. He stayed there and took a short rest. All of a sudden, his eyes flickered. He had just noticed something rather interesting. When he was collecting the Spirit Province where Abundance City was located into the Small Sealed World, the Small Sealed World had absorbed the World Force that dissipated from the Spirit Province!
Upon further consideration, he realised that it was nothing to be surprised about. Back when he killed some Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters in Void Land, the Small Universes in their bodies had collapsed upon their deaths. Accordingly, a portion of the World Force that dissipated and filled Void Land had been absorbed by Void Land to enhance its heritage.
It was said that the Masters of various Cave-Heavens and Paradises would choose to return to their respective Sects when their predestined time of death was approaching. When the Small Universe in their bodies collapsed, their World Force would enhance their Sect’s heritage. In that way, the World Force of those Cave-Heavens and Paradises became incredibly dense and rich with the accumulation of many years. That was also how they grew to their current scale and power.
Being an independent world, it was only natural that the Small Sealed World could devour and absorb World Force from external sources to strengthen itself.
Yang Kai suddenly regretted it a bit. [If I had known earlier, I would have tossed the corpses of those Open Heaven Realm Masters I killed into the Small Sealed World. That way, the Small Sealed World could have absorbed the World Force from their Small Universes!]
Nevertheless, it was not too late to understand this now. He might not be able to kill any Open Heaven Realm Masters at the moment, but there was no shortage of Spirit Provinces in all shapes and sizes in the Blood Monster Territory.
The Blood Monster Cave Heaven had collapsed to form countless Spirit Provinces scattered across the Blood Monster Territory. These were all unowned property. If Yang Kai could collect some of them into the Small Sealed World, the Small Sealed World would surely be greatly enhanced as a result.
In the past, a bold idea had unintentionally formed in his heart. This idea was closely related to the Small Sealed World. If the Small Sealed World could become stronger, then it would only benefit him even more when his idea came to fruition!
All of a sudden, Yang Kai felt that the destruction of the Blood Monster Cave Heaven might not be such a bad thing for him after all. How else could he have obtained an opportunity like this?
After a short rest, Yang Kai immediately rushed in the direction of a nearby Spirit Province. At present, there was no shortage of Spirit Provinces in all shapes and sizes in the Blood Monster Territory. They practically filled the entire Blood Monster Territory, so he could easily find one or two without putting in much effort. It was just that this particular Spirit Province did not contain any native cultivators from the Blood Monster Cave Heaven. It didn’t even contain the slightest hint of life. Not to mention, it seemed significantly smaller than the Spirit Province with Abundance City.
Yang Kai spent a lot of effort to collect this Spirit Province into the Small Sealed World, but fortunately, there was no need to preserve the World Force of this place, so he simply allowed it to freely dissipate and add to the Small Sealed World’s heritage.
After two previous experiences, Yang Kai was becoming more and more skilful. He collected Spirit Province after Spirit Province into the Small Sealed World. Around half a day later, Yang Kai suddenly realised that he was not the only one doing this. Many other Open Heaven Realm Masters were also doing this!
It would seem that he was not the only one to realise that these Spirit Provinces contained great benefits. Thinking about it again, it was not that strange. The Open Heaven Realm Masters here were not stupid, so how could they ignore the benefits in front of them? This was the World Force of a Universe Cave Heaven left behind by an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master after all.
[As things stand, I have to move faster.] The Blood Monster Cave Heaven was vast, so it broke into countless Spirit Provinces after its collapse. Even so, these Spirit Provinces could not last long with so many people gathering them. It was conceivable that the entire Blood Monster Cave Heaven would be divided up among the Open Heaven Realm Masters and cease to exist before long.
Unwilling to compete with the Open Heaven Realm Masters, Yang Kai found a relatively remote area and rushed in that direction.
The truth was that he still held a glimmer of hope that he would come across a city similar to Abundance City. There should be many native cultivators within the Blood Monster Cave Heaven. If he could rescue them at a time like this, they would surely bring great benefits to Void Land in the future.
Unfortunately, he collected some Spirit Provinces along the way but did not encounter any native cultivators from the Blood Monster Cave Heaven. Yang Kai couldn’t help sighing slightly, knowing that these native cultivators would not meet a good end. The other Open Heaven Realm Masters had no way to remove the Blood Principles Restriction even if they collected the Spirit Provinces that had native cultivators inhabiting them. All that awaited these native cultivators was death.
With the passing of time, Yang Kai noticed that the World Force contained in the Spirit Provinces that he collected into the Small Sealed World was getting weaker and weaker. It was understandable; after all, the World Force contained in the Spirit Provinces would slowly dissipate as they drifted about in the void. In the end, these Spirit Provinces would all turn into dead land.
At one point, Yang Kai was floating in the sky above a certain Spirit Province located several hundred metres away. Opening the boundaries of the Small Sealed World, his Divine Sense surged as he made a move to collect the Spirit Province.
However, a violent aura erupted from the depths of the Spirit Province at that moment and smashed his Divine Sense to pieces in an instant. Not only did Yang Kai fail in his endeavour, but he also received some backlash from this encounter. For a moment, he was so dizzy that stars danced in his vision.
Yang Kai was extremely shocked. He had checked the Spirit Province just now and found no traces of life, so where did this violent burst of aura come from?
This aura was clearly hidden somewhere in the Spirit Province. It was only exposed because Yang Kai’s actions had disturbed it. Not to mention, this aura… gave him a sense of déjà vu. It felt like he had encountered it before.
Before he could figure out the answer, an enormous figure emanating a sharp and overwhelming Monster Qi burst out of the Spirit Province. In addition, the figure was covered in dazzling golden light!
Yang Kai took a good look and exclaimed in surprise, “Golden Wolf King!”
[No wonder I found the aura familiar. I’ve actually met this fellow before!]
When Yang Kai and Qu Hua Shang were being hunted down by Yin Xin Zhao, he had accidentally stumbled upon a battle between two peak Sixth-Order Monster Beasts. One of them was Golden Gorilla King while the other was a Golden Wolf King. Those two Monster Beasts were very powerful. At the time, the fight was evenly matched and both parties ended up wounded as a result.
It was with the borrowed strength of these two Monster Beasts that Yang Kai had escaped the pursuit of Yin Xin Zhao and the others. He later arrived at Abundance City.
During Yang Kai’s stay in Abundance City, Golden Gorilla King had taken advantage of the time when the barrier over the city had been torn open by Tan Luo Xing to enter and wreak great havoc. In the end, Yang Kai fought him and managed to force him back.
According to the explanation from Mo Mei and the others, Golden Gorilla King was a Sixth-Order Monster Beast that they supported. He also helped Abundance City out of trouble several times in the past. For that reason, Mo Mei pleaded on his behalf after Yang Kai severely injured him. Thus, Yang Kai allowed him to go free.
Yang Kai never expected to meet the Golden Wolf King in this broken Spirit Province after the collapse of the Blood Monster Cave Heaven. He gnashed his teeth wondering just how unlucky he could be.
It was clear that the intense battle between the Golden Wolf King and Golden Gorilla King had left both parties heavily injured; therefore, they had both been treating their wounds in hiding. Yang Kai’s actions just now must have disturbed the Golden Wolf King.
The Golden Wolf King and Golden Gorilla King were both peak Sixth-Order Monster Beasts and the grudge between them was not something that was just one or two days old. They were both Metal Element Monster Beasts, so both of them were coveting each other’s Monster Core.
When Yang Kai and Qu Hua Shang encountered these two Monster Beasts during their escape, both had been covered in serious wounds. Some of these injuries were fresh while others were fully healed. It could be seen that they had fought each other numerous times. It was just that they were so evenly matched that neither could finish the other.
Upon meeting the Golden Wolf King again, Yang Kai discovered that the other party’s wounds from earlier had not healed; furthermore, new wounds had been added into the mix. The flesh around those bloody wounds squirmed, looking extremely disturbing. In other words, the Golden Wolf King was currently in extremely poor condition.
Yang Kai was capable of pushing back the heavily injured Golden Gorilla King even when he himself was not fully healed; therefore, he was not afraid of the Golden Wolf King in the slightest. As such, he immediately raised the spear in his hand.
A furious roar reverberated through the air and the golden light around the Golden Wolf King’s body shone out brightly. He swiftly moved about on all fours and arrived within several dozen metres of Yang Kai in an instant. Opening his large and bloody mouth as he bit at him.
An overwhelming aura loomed over Yang Kai from above. He could even smell the nauseating stench coming from the Golden Wolf King’s mouth! Just as he was about to engage in battle against the Golden Wolf King, he suddenly became shocked and hastily retreated with a kick of his foot. That was because he discovered that the Golden Wolf King was not in the Sixth-Order anymore. The entire body of the Golden Wolf King was radiating with the aura of a Seventh-Order Monster Beast!
If Yang Kai had not encountered the Star Turtle previously, he might not have been able to judge this accurately. Fortunately, he had fought a great battle against the Star Turtle not long ago. The ferocity of a Seventh-Order Monster Beast was still fresh in his mind. That was why the realisation struck him immediately the moment the Golden Wolf King attacked. This was not the Sixth-Order Monster Beast that he knew, it was a Seventh-Order Monster Beast!
[Is it a different Golden Wolf King? That can’t be. This is the same Monster Beast I met previously. The wounds on his body look very familiar. But, I’m certain it was only at the peak of the Sixth Order when I last saw it. How did it advance into the Seventh Order?] Looking at the wounds on the Golden Wolf King, Yang Kai immediately understood. [This guy probably killed Golden Gorilla King and devoured the latter’s Monster Core. That’s why he advanced into the Seventh Order!]
Both the Monster Beasts had been at the peak of the Sixth Order, so no matter who killed whom, the surviving party would definitely be able to break through because they were only one step away from the Seventh Order. It was impossible for them to remain stagnant at their previous level after devouring the Monster Core of another Monster Beast at the peak of the Sixth Order.
Under normal circumstances, these two Monster Beasts would have been evenly matched; however, Golden Gorilla King had been badly beaten by Yang Kai in Abundance City, causing his already serious injuries to worsen.
[The Golden Wolf King must have taken that opportunity to kill his long-time enemy!] Yang Kai could almost imagine the scenario. The Golden Wolf King had been silently stalking Golden Gorilla King and waiting for a chance to finish him off after he invaded Abundance City. After Golden Gorilla King was driven away by Yang Kai and went into hiding to quietly lick his wounds, the Golden Wolf King finally made his move and dealt the finishing blow!
The Golden Wolf King managed to kill Golden Gorilla King, devour his opponent’s Monster Core, and advance into the Seventh Order. Even so, he had paid a heavy price for his success. That much was evident from the fresh injuries all over his body.
In an instant, many thoughts flashed through Yang Kai’s mind. Although he could not prove his conjectures, he was certain that his guesses were not too far from the truth. Nevertheless, he couldn’t help feeling a mixture of fear and joy upon learning that the Golden Wolf King was now a Seventh-Order Monster Beast.
He was apprehensive towards the terrifying might of a Seventh-Order Monster Beast; after all, he had a previous experience with the power of the Star Turtle. Even though so many people had joined forces, they failed to harm the Star Turtle in any meaningful way. The defences of an Earth Attribute Monster Beast were already extraordinary, so nothing need be said about one that was in the Seventh Order.
On the other hand, Yang Kai was happy because the Golden Wolf King’s body currently contained a Seventh-Order Metal Element Monster Core!
Why did he enter the Blood Monster Cave Heaven in the first place? Wasn’t it because he was searching for Metal and Yin Element cultivation resources? Out of all the Yin, Yang, and Five Elements, Yang Kai only needed two more. Once he gathered all of them, he would be able to advance directly into the High-Rank Open Heaven Realm. Only then would he finally have the qualifications to face all sorts of dangers and create a place for himself in the vast 3,000 Worlds for himself.
[Do I fight or flee?] Yang Kai only hesitated for a moment before he reached a decision.
The Golden Wolf King might be a Seventh-Order Monster Beast, but it had not been long since it broke through. Besides, its injuries had yet to heal. Why else would it be hiding here instead of leaving when such a huge disaster had befallen the Blood Monster Cave Heaven? In other words, it was hard to say whether it could fully exert the strength of a Seventh-Order Monster Beast.
More importantly, Yang Kai had no idea when he might come across another Seventh-Order Metal Element treasure if he passed up on this opportunity!
Kill!
Yang Kai held his spear horizontally by his side. His gaze was fixed on the Golden Wolf King who was charging at him fiercely. While drifting backwards continuously, he gripped the Divine Ability Bead that the Proprietress had given to him in his other hand!
He had always been reluctant to use this Divine Ability Bead. Even when facing Black Crow Divine Monarch or the Star Turtle, Yang Kai had reserved the use of this Divine Ability Bead; however, this was related to a Seventh-Order Metal Element Monster Core. He could not afford to hold back or delay.
After Yang Kai poured his strength into the Divine Ability Bead without restraint, the Proprietress’ familiar aura permeated from the inconspicuous Divine Ability Bead.
The Golden Wolf King was charging straight at Yang Kai when it seemed to detect a great crisis. Its enormous figure halted abruptly in the void and its strangely humanised eyes revealed uncertainty. In the next moment, it turned and fled.
It was also at this moment that the Divine Ability Bead in Yang Kai’s hand shone brightly. A slender jade finger suddenly appeared and gently pointed forward. That movement was absolutely gentle and did not carry the slightest hint of aggression. It was almost as if it was a flirtatious act between lovers, stirring up faint ripples in one’s heart.
However, this gentle movement contained an extremely horrifying power. In an instant, the world was turned upside down. It seemed as though even a Universe World would shatter to pieces if it stood before that finger.
The slender jade finger pressed down in the direction that the Golden Wolf King was fleeing. The Golden Wolf King clearly noticed that it was in a dangerous situation; thus, its figure moved about erratically in an effort to dodge.
A short while later, the jade finger vanished out of sight. On the other hand, the Golden Wolf King had already fled several hundreds of kilometres away.
Meanwhile, Yang Kai stood frozen on the spot in shock. He was feeling slightly dumbfounded.
[Is that… all?] Nothing dramatic had happened. The Divine Ability didn’t seem to have done anything to the Golden Wolf King either. When he first felt the power contained within that finger, Yang Kai wondered whether it could even kill a Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. Contrary to his expectations, the results were completely unexpected.
[That can’t be right. Proprietress spent so much energy to refine that Divine Ability Bead. It’s impossible for it to be useless.] As soon as that thought crossed his mind, Yang Kai quickly chased after the Golden Wolf King.
At this moment, the Golden Wolf King who had fled forward suddenly howled in agony. It stumbled and collapsed in the void, blood mist violently gushing out of all the pores on its body. Even the golden light around it dimmed in an instant.
The damage caused by that gentle finger might not be apparent from the outside, but it was clearly effective on the inside!
Before the Golden Wolf King could get up once more, Yang Kai swooped in and fiercely thrust his spear out!
Blood splattered everywhere. Although the Golden Wolf King tried hard to avoid the blow, this spear stabbed straight into its eye socket and caused it to burst. If the Golden Wolf King had not shifted his head away at the last moment, Yang Kai was certain he could have killed his opponent in one move!
The pain made the Golden Wolf King howl again. The golden light around its body fluctuated and a beam of light aggressively shot out from its mouth, aiming directly at Yang Kai. The destructive power was extremely high.
Yang Kai did not dare to underestimate this attack and dodged aside. Surging his Space Principles, his figure floated about erratically as he rained down spear attacks on the Golden Wolf King like a storm.
An endless wave of stabbing sounds sliced through the air as the Azure Dragon Spear pierced again and again. Although Yang Kai had experienced some setbacks in his battle against the Star Turtle, that was mainly because the Star Turtle’s defences were beyond terrifying.
The Golden Wolf King might also be a Seventh-Order Monster Beast, but it had only just finished its advancement and was also heavily injured. More importantly, the Metal Element was specialized in attacking, not defending; therefore, countless new wounds were added to the Golden Wolf King’s body in the blink of an eye, constantly drawing blood.
Yang Kai swung his spear with the speed of lightning. There were no tricks to his attacks, they were simply a barrage he unleashed without restraint. In spite of his calm exterior, Yang Kai’s emotions were incredibly excited.
[I can kill him! I can kill this Seventh-Order Golden Wolf King! As long as I kill the Golden Wolf King, I will obtain a Seventh-Order Metal Element Monster Core! Then, I will only be missing the Yin Element!]
It was impossible for the Golden Wolf King to do nothing and wait for death under the endless rain of spears. It endured the pain and injuries on its body and fought back with all its strength. Its battle against Yang Kai was fierce. Although it was not an evenly matched situation, it was not a landslide victory either.
The heritage of a Seventh-Order Monster Beast was truly extraordinary. Even if it was just a newly-advanced Seventh-Order Monster Beast, it was absolutely incomparable to a Sixth-Order Monster Beast.
The same logic applied for Open Heaven Realm Masters. A Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master and a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master might only have a difference of one Order between them, but it was the difference between a Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master and a High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master. Even 10 Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters working together might not win against a single Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master.
It was not until this moment that Yang Kai was thankful that he had not tried to hold back and had used the Divine Ability Bead given to him by the Proprietress from the start. Otherwise, he would not have been a match for the Golden Wolf King.
Thanks to the gentle finger within the Divine Ability Bead, the Golden Wolf King had been considerably weakened. It was conceivable how powerful it would have been if Yang Kai had not heavily injured it from the start.
A vicious battle ensued. Although Yang Kai inflicted wounds all over the Golden Wolf King’s body, actually killing the opponent would take much more effort. It would take at least an hour or more for him to succeed. Of course, the longer the battle went on, the more advantageous it would become for Yang Kai. That was because the Golden Wolf King’s injuries would only worsen with time and the strength it could exert would also weaken. At some point, it would become easy for Yang Kai to kill it.
However, Yang Kai could not afford to drag things out. He had to end the battle as soon as possible as this place was the Blood Monster Territory. There were Open Heaven Realm Masters everywhere and there was no shortage of Mid-Rank ones among them. It would definitely attract unwanted attention if somebody detected the commotion here. A Seventh-Order Monster Beast’s Monster Core was extremely valuable, so it would inevitably arouse the greed in others and incite their killing intent.
Taking a deep breath, Yang Kai raised his spear and surged the Power in his Dao Seal. Golden Crow’s True Fire spread out, distorting the void. A Great Sun suddenly leaped out from behind his back and the sound of the Golden Crow’s cry rang out. Inside the Great Sun, a Three-Legged Golden Crow danced happily. The moment the Divine Manifestation appeared, Yang Kai’s aura increased madly.
A look of shock and fear flashed through the Golden Wolf King’s humanised eyes and it hesitated for a moment before turning around and fleeing.
How could Yang Kai allow the Golden Wolf King to escape though? His expression was calm as he manipulated Space Principles to turn the void into a prison, instantly slowing the Golden Wolf King’s movements.
Meanwhile, with the Great Sun perched atop the tip of his spear, Yang Kai thrust forward fiercely.
At the critical juncture of life and death, the Golden Wolf King turned around angrily and shot out a beam of golden light from its mouth to meet the dazzling Great Sun.
A violent collision erupted. Beams of light spread out everywhere and brutal energy ran rampant. When the golden light finally went out, the Great Sun enveloped the Golden Wolf King completely.
A short while later, the dazzling light dissipated. Yang Kai’s complexion was slightly pale as he held his spear and breathed heavily.
Not far from Yang Kai, the Golden Wolf King’s head had been blasted to pieces. The headless carcass twitched slightly as its vitality rapidly faded.
This battle began abruptly and ended swiftly. Nevertheless, Yang Kai was extremely lucky to have killed the Seventh-Order Monster Beast. If the Golden Wolf King had not been heavily injured in the first place and he did not have the Proprietress’ Divine Ability Bead, the only thing Yang Kai could have done upon encountering a Seventh-Order Monster Beast with his current strength would be to flee. It was only because of multiple coincidences overlapping with each other that led to the death of the Golden Wolf King.
Suppressing the excitement in his heart, Yang Kai flashed over to the Golden Wolf King’s carcass. He swept his Divine Sense over the carcass and quickly found something in the chest area. Thrusting his arm into the carcass, Yang Kai grasped something and pulled his hand out, holding a bloody Monster Core that emitted a golden radiance. The Monster Core was about the size of his fist.
[Seventh-Order! It really is a Seventh-Order Metal Element Monster Core!] The urge to throw back his head and laugh wildly consumed Yang Kai. He originally thought that he would not obtain what he desired from the Blood Monster Cave Heaven this time around, but who could have known that he would gain a Seventh-Order Metal Element Monster Core after the collapse of the Blood Monster Cave Heaven? It truly was a blessing from the Heavens. [Great efforts will be rewarded indeed. I’m glad the Proprietress’ Divine Ability Bead was well-used.]
Before he could put away the Monster Core though, a figure appeared suddenly and landed not far away from him. Yang Kai’s heart sank at the sight. He knew that he would attract the attention of others if he did not finish the fight quickly. Unfortunately, he was still too slow. Both the Proprietress’ Divine Ability Bead and his own Divine Manifestation were incredibly powerful after all, so it would be more difficult for people not to notice if they were nearby.
The person who came was an elderly man. Yang Kai glanced at the man briefly and was surprised to realise that he could recognise this person. He did not know the name of this elderly man and only knew that other people called him ‘Old Hong’. If he remembered correctly, this elderly man came from a great force known as Heaven’s Border.
Back when Yang Kai snatched the carcass of the Golden Crow in the Golden Crow Divine Palace, Old Hong and several other Open Heaven Realm Masters had chased after him.
Afterwards, Yang Kai escaped into First Inn.
When the matter in the Golden Crow Divine Palace was exposed, Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters like Old Hong lost the qualifications to participate. And so, Old Hong backed down quickly.
As soon as Old Hong arrived, he glanced at the Golden Wolf King’s carcass with a gloomy expression. His eyelids twitched at the sight, “A Seventh-Order Monster Beast!”
The Golden Wolf King might be dead, but the aura of a Seventh-Order Monster Beast coming from his body had yet to dissipate completely. Being rather knowledgeable, it only took one glance for Old Hong to understand this. He then turned to look at Yang Kai and his gaze immediately became fierce, “Brat, it’s you!”
It was obvious that he recognised Yang Kai. His memory of this boy was still fresh in his mind. There were few who could survive the pursuit of several Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters after all. It had been his first time meeting such a person.
Yang Kai ignored the other party. Quietly taking out some Spirit Pills, he stuffed them into his mouth. Following that, he waved his large hand and kept the Golden Wolf King’s carcass into his Space Ring.
“Brat, hand over the Monster Beast’s Monster Core and this Old Master will spare your life!” Old Hong’s expression was a mixture of excitement and greed. It was a Seventh-Order Monster Beast’s Monster Core after all! He had never seen one in his life. As a Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, he was vastly superior to Yang Kai in terms of identity, strength, and status. However, he had less than a hundredth of Yang Kai’s wealth.
[How many cultivation resources can I receive in exchange for a Seventh-Order Monster Core?] It could be said that Old Hong would never have to worry about money again. How could he not be moved by such huge benefits in front of his eyes? Recalling how Yang Kai escaped in the past, he secretly drew upon the World Force in his Small Universe to seal this surrounding space while he was speaking. As long as he could seal this place, Yang Kai would never be able to escape from the palm of his hands no matter what kind of method he employed.
He was not clear as to how Yang Kai managed to slaughter a Seventh-Order Monster Beast with his trivial Emperor Realm strength. In any case, it was obvious that Yang Kai had a great stroke of luck; otherwise, how could a little brat who was not even in the Open Heaven Realm kill such a powerful existence? The might of a Seventh-Order Monster Beast was such that even he did not dare to face it lightly.
Yang Kai immediately noticed the moment Old Hong made a move. Raising a hand, he tossed a brilliant golden Monster Core at Old Hong and shouted, “Here!”
Old Hong instinctively reached out and grabbed the Monster Core in his hand, but after looking down at it, he nearly exploded with rage, “How dare you deceive me, boy!?”
It was indeed a Metal Element Monster Core, but it was a Third-Order Monster Core that was only worth 10 or 20 thousand Open Heaven Pills at most. By the time he looked up again, Yang Kai was already a black dot in the distance. Yang Kai had taken advantage of his momentary distraction to use Space Principles to escape.
Old Hong felt as though his teeth were about to crack from rage. Having learned from his past experience where this Brat had escaped his clutches, how could he give chase only to be left behind again? He knew that it was unrealistic to catch up to Yang Kai with his abilities alone. Even so, the temptation of the Seventh-Order Monster Core made him unable to give up so easily. Burning his Blood Essence, he struggled to catch up. At the same time, he took out communication bead after communication bead and sent various messages out.
Old Hong would never have informed others if he could enjoy the benefits alone; however, he wouldn’t even be able to catch up to Yang Kai with his abilities alone. He could only rely on others to help. Besides, the value of a Seventh-Order Monster Core was so great that he would still receive quite a lot even if he had to divide his gains with others.
Old Hong’s cultivation and identity might not be particularly outstanding, but he still had some friends. Not to mention, several Open Heaven Realm Masters from Heaven’s Border also came here with him. Be that as it may, he was cautious and did not inform the others about the specific details. He only asked them to help intercept Yang Kai and promised to reward them greatly afterwards.
Somebody soon responded to his message. Overjoyed, Old Hong desperately chased in that direction.
An incense stick later, Yang Kai had only just planted his feet in the void when he sensed World Force surge and lock him in place, creating a sealed space. Yang Kai was shocked as he never imagined that somebody would block the path in front of him. Looking at this situation, it seemed to be targeting his Space Principles. Why else would somebody purposely seal off space around him?
[Did Old Hong call for help?] The moment that thought flashed through his mind, he heard a loud voice entering his ears, “Junior, obediently surrender without a fight!”
Yang Kai desperately pushed his Space Principles again and Moon Blades slashed out in all directions, but could not tear apart the opponent’s World Force that was holding him in place. When he looked up again, he saw a middle-aged man approaching him and cutting off his escape.
The middle-aged man studied Yang Kai curiously. He did not know the reason why Old Hong had sent him a message asking him to stop this young man. It was just that he happened to be nearby and Old Hong promised great benefits, so he simply acted in passing.
Yang Kai’s thoughts flashed through his head like lightning before he immediately shouted, “Who are you? Why are you blocking my way?”
The middle-aged man asked, “And, who are you?”
[Does this guy not know who I am?] Yang Kai opened his mouth to respond, “I am a manager under Madam Lan of First Inn. I have an urgent matter I must report to her and need to meet up with her immediately. If there’s a misunderstanding, please allow me to pass. It will be very serious if Madame blames you for this delay.”
“Madam Lan!?” The middle-aged man jumped in fright. [This kid belongs to First Inn!? What the Hell is Old Ghost Hong up to? Did he swallow the heart of a bear or the gall of a leopard!? How could he dare to pursue somebody from First Inn!? What would happen if that crazy woman, Lan You Ruo, finds out about this!?]
He might not have heard about there being managers in First Inn, but he had no time to think about it either. After frowning and pondering for a while, he asked, “Little Brother, you claim to be from First Inn. Do you have any proof?”
“Madame’s token is right here. I’m just afraid that you might have eyes but fail to recognise her greatness!” Yang Kai coldly snorted. Raising his hand, he tossed a token towards the other party. He could sense the other party’s cowardice, so his courage increased sharply. At a time like this, he could not afford to be polite. It was better to be arrogant instead.
Besides, the token was not fake. It was something the Proprietress handed to him in the past so that he could go around collecting debts. He had been keeping it all this while; hence, her aura was indeed contained inside the token.
The middle-aged man took the token and probed the contents with his Divine Sense and instantly his expression cramped. He could sense a strong residual aura was contained within the token. Although he could not confirm that the aura belonged to Lan You Ruo specifically, it definitely belonged to a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. Like Old Hong, he was simply a Fourth Order, so how could he dare to go against a Sixth Order? Furthermore, First Inn was very well-known.
The token felt like a hot potato in his hand; thus, he quickly returned the token and cupped his fists, “So Little Brother is a subordinate of Madam Lan of First Inn. Forgive me, Little Brother. Everything was just a misunderstanding.”
Yang Kai shook his head and impatiently said, “If this is a misunderstanding, then hurry up and release me!”
“Please go ahead, Little Brother!” After confirming that Yang Kai had a powerful supporter, the middle-aged man no longer dared to stop him, releasing his World Force and returning the token.
Yang Kai nodded gently and moved to leave.
The middle-aged man said, “Little Brother, you should head this way if you are looking for Madam Lan. I last saw her graceful figure from afar in that direction one day ago.”
He stretched out his hand and pointed in a certain direction.
Yang Kai cupped his fists, “Many thanks. I hope we meet again!”
With a flash of his figure, Yang Kai hurried in the direction that man had pointed.
At present, the Blood Monster Territory was in chaos. Being only in the Half-Step Open Heaven Realm, Yang Kai did not feel very safe moving alone. It would be best if he could meet up with the Proprietress and the others.
After Yang Kai departed, the middle-aged man angrily took out a communication bead and poured his Divine Sense into it to question why Old Hong had tried to harm him.
Old Hong was rushing over when he saw the message, so furious that he nearly spat blood, “Brother Xu, you let him go!?”
The man surnamed Xu snapped, “He is First Inn’s manager. How could I dare to stop him?”
Old Hong scolded scathingly, “What do you mean by the ‘Manager!? First Inn is just an inn! Why would it need another manager when Lan You Ruo is already there!?”
The man surnamed Xu couldn’t help realising the oddity of the situation when he heard those words. He had been frightened by the reputation behind the names ‘Madam Lan’ and ‘First Inn’ earlier, but now that he thought about it, he realised the truth behind those words. First Inn was just an inn, a place that collected and sold information. Why would it need multiple managers?
Despite feeling cheated, he replied, “Even so, that kid is from First Inn. We can’t afford to provoke them. Old Hong, I suggest that you give up as soon as possible to avoid accidents.”
Regardless of Yang Kai’s real status, the token was not fake. The aura contained within the token had terrified him. More so with the current situation in the Blood Monster Territory. There were disciples from major Cave-Heavens and Paradises everywhere. One could not be fooled by the fact that the other party was only in the Emperor Realm. Who could say which Sect the other party came from? What if he offended somebody he could not afford to? Not only would he suffer misfortune, but his actions might also endanger his Sect.
If this were a more hidden environment, he could have silenced the witness to his crime and be done with the matter; however, it was not easy to silence someone out in the open with so many people crawling all over the Blood Monster Territory. Determined to stay out of this shady business, the man surnamed Xu cut off contact with Old Hong.
Old Hong put away the communication bead and scolded angrily, “Cowardly rat! You are not qualified to participate in this great plan!”
Be that as it may, Old Hong could not be sure whether or not Yang Kai was from First Inn. If that were really the case, then he did not dare to provoke them either. Thinking about it carefully, Yang Kai had escaped into First Inn after snatching the Golden Crow carcass back then. Taking that opportunity to join First Inn did not seem unreasonable.
[In that case, that damned brat might really be part of First Inn!] Old Hong’s heart sank at the thought. [It feels like the Seventh-Order Monster Core will no longer have anything to do with me.]
Nevertheless, it was a miserable feeling to have such a tempting delicacy in front of him that he could only stare at but not eat. Old Hong stood there hesitating for a while. Then, he seemed to recall something all of a sudden. An idea came to him and he took out another communication bead. His expression became very respectful as he poured his Divine Sense into the communication bead and sent a message.
…
Inside the void, Yang Kai swiftly headed in the direction pointed to him by the middle-aged man earlier. At the same time, he took out his communication beads and kept sending messages to the Proprietress, Yue He, and Old Bai in hopes of getting in touch with them.
He was certain that the Proprietress and the others were also looking for him, it was just that they didn’t know each other’s location. The communication beads were certainly very useful and convenient, but they were limited by a certain distance; thus, they would not be able to communicate with each other if they were too far away from one another.
Half a day later, Yang Kai finally managed to contact Yue He. Once they exchanged information on each other’s locations, he finally calmed down slightly. Yue He was relatively close to him, so it would only take her an hour or so to arrive. Not daring to move around carelessly, Yang Kai found a dead Spirit Province nearby and hid there.
The Spirit Province he was hiding on clearly came from the Blood Monster Cave Heaven. It was just that it wasn’t very large, only kilometres wide and long. Several days had passed since the collapse of the Blood Monster Cave Heaven, so the World Force of these Spirit Provinces that were not collected in time had dissipated completely and merged with the void, causing these remnants to become barren.
There were not many similar wastelands like this. Some 80% of the Spirit Provinces had been collected. It could almost be said that the entire Blood Monster Cave Heaven had basically been divided up between the Open Heaven Realm Masters who came here. This was the first time Open Heaven Realm Masters had benefited from the Blood Monster Cave Heaven. Unfortunately, this chance only came once. The Blood Monster Cave Heaven had collapsed, so it was impossible for another opportunity like this to arise again.
Before an hour was up, a graceful figure landed nearby. Yue He swept out her Divine Sense and looked around for a bit before she glanced at Yang Kai’s hiding place and called out softly, “Young Master?”
Yang Kai stepped out and took off the Shadowless Veil to reveal his figure.
She hurriedly greeted him and asked in concern, “Young Master, are you alright?”
Her expression was filled with worry. The main reason was that Yang Kai seemed to have experienced various difficult battles. His outer appearance was quite a miserable sight. His clothes were ragged and torn. Moreover, the dried blood crusting his clothes could almost form a complete shell.
He shook his head and said, “I’m fine. Have you found the others?”
Yue He examined his condition carefully and confirmed that he was really fine. Only then did she relax and answer his question, “We found almost all of them; five or six of them are still missing.”
Yang Kai fell silent. Those missing people had probably met with a disastrous end. Before he entered the Blood Monster Cave Heaven, he had mentally prepared himself for this eventuality when his subordinates decided to explore on their own. The Blood Monster Cave Heaven was not a safe place after all. There would always be a risk when going for training, but he could not stop them. If he refused their request and protectively brought them around with him all the time, they would never grow stronger.
Only losing five or six people could even be said to be a great fortune amidst the various misfortunes. Furthermore, those who had survived the Blood Monster Cave Heaven would surely have grown tremendously. This would be of great benefit to their future.
Yang Kai composed his emotions and nodded, “Let’s go see Proprietress!”
Yue He immediately summoned her flight-type artifact and returned the way she came with Yang Kai.
Searching for the Proprietress took quite a lot of time as she was also searching for Yang Kai. It was quite troublesome not to have a fixed meeting place in this vast Blood Monster Territory. It was fortunate that the Proprietress had not been too far away from Yue He in the first place. Half a day later, a familiar-looking ship came into view.
When Yang Kai and Yue He boarded the ship, Lang Qing Shan and others rushed up to greet Yang Kai, cupping their fists as they shouted, “Sir!”
Yang Kai swept his gaze over them and nodded lightly. It was certainly as Yue He had mentioned earlier. There were a few missing from this group of subordinates that he brought along with him.
Yang Kai couldn’t help feeling a little sad. These subordinates had been serving under him since the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary. Having carefully nurtured them over the years, they would surely have been able to advance into the Open Heaven Realm with enough time. The most important point was that they were extremely loyal to him and had accompanied him through many dangerous and life-threatening situations in the past.
Guo Miao was also back, standing beside Guo Zi Yan.
Accountant looked at Yang Kai with his triangular eyes and asked, “Where’s Chef?”
Yang Kai slapped his forehead. He had nearly forgotten about Chef again; thus, he immediately brought him out of the Small Sealed World.
Chef had previously used his knife and chopping block Secret Technique twice in a row, but his complexion was better after recuperating in the Small Sealed World for the past few days. As soon as he came out of the Small Sealed World, he immediately hooked his arm around Accountant. Then, they slipped away into the cabin to do something.
The Proprietress looked at Yang Kai and said, “Smelly Brat, I heard that you caused a lot of trouble inside the Blood Monster Cave Heaven.”
She might have remained outside all this while, but she had received all sorts of news following the collapse of the Blood Monster Cave Heaven.
Yang Kai replied shamelessly, “There’s no such thing. Whoever said that must be slandering me.” Then, he hurriedly changed the topic, “By the way, Proprietress, there was this guy called Black Crow Divine Monarch in the Blood Monster Cave Heaven…”
Before he could finish his sentence, she raised a hand to interrupt him, “The news regarding Black Crow Divine Monarch has spread already. At present, all the Territory Gates of the Blood Monster Territory have been blocked. The Cave-Heavens and Paradises are currently searching for this person’s whereabouts.”
Black Crow Divine Monarch had returned to life via possession. That in itself was not a big deal as he would only have offended Great Thousand Blood Land. The body he possessed belonged to Zhou Yi of Great Thousand Blood Land after all. It was just that he had killed many people in the Blood Monster Cave Heaven, including many disciples of the various Cave-Heavens and Paradises. More importantly, draining a person’s Blood Essence was an infringement of a serious taboo.
That was why the Cave-Heavens and Paradises immediately took action to block the Territory Gates of the Blood Monster Territory as soon as the news of Black Crow Divine Monarch was exposed. Anybody who wanted to leave the Blood Monster Territory would have to undergo a strict inspection. They were determined to find Black Crow Divine Monarch.
The Cave-Heavens and Paradises had taken an extremely aggressive approach towards this matter. The first reason was that they wanted to avenge their dead disciples, but a bigger reason was that Black Crow Divine Monarch was an extremely valuable source of information. If nothing else, the Grand Evolution Immortal Blood Light Scripture was enough to make anybody envious. Who would not want such an extraordinary Secret Art? Even if they could not cultivate that Secret Art, they could not let it fall into another person’s hands.
Yang Kai breathed a sigh of relief to hear the Proprietress’ words. If the Cave-Heavens and Paradises were taking the lead to deal with Black Crow Divine Monarch, then things were not going to be easy for that old dog. Nevertheless, Yang Kai had the sneaking suspicion that Black Crow Divine Monarch would not be captured so easily. There was a high possibility that the people deployed by the Cave-Heavens and Paradises would return empty-handed.
In any case, this matter was no longer related to him.
Yang Kai had obtained some benefits from the Blood Monster Cave Heaven, so his top priority was to digest them as soon as possible, especially the Seventh-Order Metal Element Monster Core. Just thinking about it made him excited. [Once I refine that Metal Element Monster Core, I will only be one more step away from the Open Heaven Realm!]
“By the way, Proprietress, do you know where the people of Lang Ya Paradise are?” Yang Kai asked.
The Proprietress looked at him strangely, “Why? Did you quarrel with the people from Lang Ya Paradise?”
“I have a friend in Lang Ya Paradise. I want to check up on her.” He had seen Gu Pan escaping with Zhang Ruo Xi when the Blood Monster Cave Heaven collapsed. It was just that he was not sure what happened after that.
She replied, “The people of Lang Ya Paradise left one day ago. If you want to find them, you will have to go to Lang Ya Territory.”
Yang Kai was a little disappointed to hear those words. He had wanted to talk to Zhang Ruo Xi some more, but it would seem that his plan was no longer feasible. In any case, the fact that Lang Ya Paradise had left had to mean that Gu Pan and Zhang Ruo Xi had met up with the others. There was no need to worry about Zhang Ruo Xi’s safety with Gu Pan watching out for her.