“If this brat can’t break through the fog of chaos, he’ll definitely lose his life,” An old voice was heard coming from one of the four High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters.
Ti Zheng and the others exchanged glances as they felt that they had probably overestimated Yang Kai’s potential. He was going through so much danger although he was just ascending to the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm, so it probably wouldn’t have mattered even if they allowed him to obtain a Seventh-Order Yin Element treasure. Based on their observation, if Yang Kai really attempted to achieve the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm, he wouldn’t stand a chance of succeeding.
The chaotic aura around Yang Kai was so thick that it had engulfed him entirely. Looking from afar, they felt as though he had been covered in a large cocoon that totally obscured his figure.
Inside the cocoon, Yang Kai was completely at ease as he silently felt the chaotic aura and the state before Heaven and Earth split apart. It was as though he had travelled through time and returned to the beginning of history, when there was still nothing but chaos.
Just then, cracking sounds were heard coming from his heart as his Dao Seal began to shatter. The Dao Seal was the very core of an Emperor Realm cultivator as it was the essence of their cultivation. When the Dao Seal broke apart, it meant that their Grand Dao also started dispersing. If this Dao Essence wasn’t quickly integrated into a Small Universe, the consequences would be dreadful.
Therefore, before the Dao Seal completely collapsed, a Small Universe had to take shape.
In order to achieve that, one had to break through the chaos by splitting Heaven and Earth apart in their body, melding the Seven Elements together into a new World.
At this life-and-death moment, Yang Kai seemed to be oblivious to the situation he was in.
He couldn’t help recalling the moment his body was destroyed by Great Demon God Mo Sheng. It was the final battle between the Star Boundary and the Demon Realm. In order to win that battle, all the Masters from the Star Boundary, including all the Great Emperors, waged war against Great Demon God.
It was in that battle that Yang Kai lost his life under a horrifying attack from the Great Demon God. If it weren’t for the Immortal Tree, he wouldn’t have stood a chance to be reborn.
It could be said that he was someone who had died and come back to life before, so he knew better than anyone else about the cycle of life or death.
Most other people wouldn’t have a chance to experience dying and then being reborn.
All of a sudden, a realisation dawned upon Yang Kai as he felt that he gained enlightenment.
“All life starts with chaos and returns to chaos in the end. What is life? What is death? That doesn’t matter. One will only realise life or death if he’s aware of it. There is no life or death if he knows nothing of it. What is reality? What is an illusion? There are no boundaries in this world, all is a construct of one’s mind!”
As his murmur was heard coming from the cocoon, there seemed to be a spiritual light that penetrated his mind and broke through the thick fog, which allowed him to see a glimmer of the future.
At the same time, the chaotic aura around Yang Kai seemed to have been seized by an invisible hand as it stopped churning entirely.
Just three breaths later, a crack appeared on the chaos cocoon, and soon after, it was covered in cracks.
The aura of Heaven and Earth exuded from it as a brand new World was taking shape, and through the cracks, Yang Kai’s own World Force began to permeate.
*Hong…*
The void shook.
The cocoon shattered all of a sudden and revealed Yang Kai’s figure. His eyes were still tightly closed as he remained seated with his legs crossed in the void; however, there was a storm swirling around him, which made his clothes and hair flap in the wind.
The Dao Seal in his body completely shattered, but there wasn’t a risk of his Grand Dao collapsing. That was because at this exact moment, his newly formed Small Universe absorbed this Grand Dao and integrated with it.
Chaos was broken, and a new World was born!
At that moment, the illusory image of a Small Universe manifested behind Yang Kai’s back. It was his very own world that had just taken shape.
Ti Zheng narrowed his eyes and spoke up, “He actually succeeded.”
He was puzzled as he could see that Yang Kai was about to be consumed by the swirling chaos just now; however, he somehow managed to break through that fog at the last moment and enter the Open Heaven Realm. He didn’t understand what Yang Kai had gone through during that life-and-death moment.
Only Yang Kai knew exactly what had happened.
The moment the Small Universe appeared, Ti Zheng exerted more power with his eyes in an attempt to peer into it. Unfortunately, the Heaven Covering Web was still in place, so he was unable to see it clearly even though he was a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master.
Upon seeing that Yang Kai had advanced to the Open Heaven Realm, Zhu Jiu Yin breathed a sigh of relief, but the next moment, she was stunned as she gazed forward with a frown.
That was because instead of immediately consolidating his newly formed Small Universe, Yang Kai actually turned his hand over and revealed a rounded bead.
Zhu Jiu Yin immediately recognised that it was his Sealed World Bead. She knew that there was an independent World inside this bead, but she had never entered it due to it not being able to withstand her immense power.
[What’s this brat trying to do by taking his Sealed World Bead out at this point?]
While she was wondering, she saw Yang Kai’s body shake as his Small Universe’s illusory image appeared behind him again. Following that, he nonchalantly tossed his Small World Bead into his Small Universe.
Zhu Jiu Yin’s brows twitched as she exclaimed, “What the hell are you doing, you crazy brat!?”
Yang Kai opened his eyes and grinned at her, “Just taking a little gamble!”
Zhu Jiu Yin felt her chest tightening while Bai Qi and the others widened their mouths in disbelief. Their expressions changed when they realised Yang Kai’s intention.
While they were staring anxiously at him, Yang Kai performed a hand seal and shouted, “Open!”
Following his shout, the Sealed World Bead exploded inside his Small Universe. The bead had been with Yang Kai for many, many years, and it had helped him overcome numerous dangers.
It could be said that the Sealed World Bead was one of the most important treasures throughout his cultivation journey.
At this moment, the bead had completed its last duty and detonated following Yang Kai’s order.
Following that, the Small Universe’s illusory phantom trembled violently because it was suffering from a huge impact that was coming from the collapsed Small Sealed World.
Although the Sealed World Bead looked like a small rounded bead, it contained an entire World within it. At this moment, it was exploding within Yang Kai’s Small Universe, so the immense impact could be imagined.
If Yang Kai was unable to bear such an impact, his newly formed Small Universe would be destroyed, and he would most likely lose his life.
There was no doubt that this was an extremely risky move because he was making a bet on his Small Universe and the Sealed World Bead. Once he failed, he would lose everything.
However, if he succeeded, the Sealed World Bead would integrate into his Small Universe and the benefits he would receive would be inconceivable.
Putting the newly formed Small Universe aside for now, the landmass in the Small Sealed World was quite expansive. When the Blood Monster Cave Heaven collapsed, Yang Kai had collected many of its fragments and stored them inside the bead. Each fragment contained the heritage left behind by a deceased Eight-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. At that time, countless Open Heaven Realm Masters were trying to snatch these Spirit Province fragments. Yang Kai was weak, so he could only collect a few pieces.
Usually, even an Open Heaven Realm Master wouldn’t dare to absorb these fragments into their Small Universe, unless their aura was extremely similar to that of the Blood Monster Divine Monarch. The consequences of forcefully doing this would be akin to poisoning oneself.
Yang Kai didn’t have to worry about it as he had the Small Sealed World to act as a filter.
Over the years, the Small Sealed World had fully assimilated the aura of those fragments, which significantly strengthened the heritage within the bead.
Furthermore, Yang Kai wasn’t doing this on a whim.
In fact, a long time ago, he had already planned on merging his Sealed World Bead with his Small Universe while he was breaking through to the Open Heaven Realm.
Others didn’t have such an option, but it was different for him.
Both the Small Universe and the Small Sealed World were part of Yang Kai’s heritage, with the latter having been thoroughly painted with his aura, so there was absolutely no conflict when merging the two. However, the problem he was facing now was the impact that had been inflicted on his Small Universe after the Small Sealed World literally exploded. As long as he could get through this trial, he would be able to achieve his goal.
The task was as difficult as ascending to the Open Heaven Realm.
The illusory image behind him continuously expanded as Zhu Jiu Yin and the others watched, their hearts pounding against their chests.
Ti Zheng and the others were puzzled as they didn’t know what Yang Kai had done to make this kind of scene. They had been paying close attention to Yang Kai since the beginning, but after he achieved his breakthrough, all they saw was him toss some kind of bead into his Small Universe, and then this happened.
[What in the world was that bead?]
Although they couldn’t look into what was going on exactly, the ever-expanding illusory phantom suggested that Yang Kai’s Small Universe was experiencing an unimaginable impact.
Yang Kai sported a solemn expression as he repeatedly used different hand seals and focused on controlling his strength to stabilize his Small Universe while merging it with the collapsed Small Sealed World as soon as possible.
Inside his newly formed Small Universe, bolts of lightning flashed across the sky as a great thunderstorm blew through it, as if it was the end of the world. Mu Zhu and Mu Lu hugged each other tightly as they trembled in the medicine garden.
These two petite Wood Spirits had always lived inside the medicine garden in the Small Sealed World. When trying to assimilate the Small Sealed World, Yang Kai didn’t release them as he already had a plan in mind. Although it appeared even more perilous than when he was ascending to the Open Heaven Realm, everything was well within his control.
From time to time, Yang Kai would roar as the illusory image behind him expanded and contorted; however, as time passed, things were showing signs of improvement as the illusory phantom became more stable.
Just like what Yang Kai had expected, everything was going well. The Small Universe was formed by splitting Heaven and Earth apart when he was attempting a breakthrough. On the other hand, the Sealed World Bead had been with him for years, so he was able to control every part of the Small Sealed World as he pleased. That was why everything fell into place as there was no conflict when merging the two.
His Dao Seal had already fallen apart as it turned into Dao Essence which filled the entire Small Universe.
As time passed, the thunderstorm calmed and the illusory phantom behind Yang Kai stabilised, its violent energy fluctuations dissipating.
All the commotion died down.
An Open Heaven Realm’s aura swirled around Yang Kai. That was indeed a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master’s aura.
Every new Open Heaven Realm Master had to go through this phase and it would take them some time to fortify their cultivation and consolidate their aura so they could take it out and retract it at will.
Yang Kai was now an Open Heaven Realm Master. He had come a long way and encountered countless dangerous incidents. Finally, he took this vital important step.
His emotions undulated in his heart, and as he recalled everything that he had gone through, he couldn’t help but let out a long roar to express his excitement. His roar was so loud that the entire void seemed to be shaking.
It wasn’t until this moment that he had time to examine his own Small Universe. Sending his consciousness inwards, the entire Small Universe appeared in his mind.
The first thing he could see was a gigantic ancient tree. The tree crown stretched out like a colossal umbrella and seemed to cover the entire sky. Extremely rich vitality exuded from every part of the tree as it breathed life into the Small Universe.
At that instant, Yang Kai realised that it was the Manifestation of his Towering Evergreen Divine Manifestation in his Small Universe.
He comprehended the Towering Evergreen from his Wood Element Power, which was derived from the Immortal Tree’s essence; therefore, the Manifestation of this Divine Manifestation had something to do with the Immortal Tree.
Upon realising that there was a shadow beneath the tree, Yang Kai became startled for a moment before looking up. There, a dazzling golden Sun hung in the sky. Caws sounded as there seemed to be a three-legged exotic bird flying around inside the Sun.
The shadow under the tree was caused by the great Sun’s glow. It was the Manifestation of his Golden Crow Casts the Sun!
Yang Kai arched his brow as he hadn’t expected his Small Universe to look like this. Besides that, he seemed to understand something at that moment.
As his thoughts flashed, time in the Small Universe seemed to accelerate rapidly. The radiant Sun in the sky traveled across the sky, disappearing beyond the horizon as a bright Moon rose from the opposite side. The Manifestation of Water Reflects the Moon seemed to have cast a silvery glow on the entire Small Universe, giving it an ethereal ambience.
There was a Golden Wolf standing atop a certain mountain as it howled at the Moon. Apart from that, innumerable Stars could be seen twinkling in the sky.
The round Moon was the Manifestation of Yang Kai’s Water Element Power while the Golden Wolf was the Manifestation of his Metal Element Power. As for the Stars, they were the representation of the Heavenly Yin Sand that he had just refined.
As his thoughts flashed, Yang Kai was able to make the Sun and Moon cycle in succession.
A strange feeling filled his heart as at that instant, he realised that his comprehension of the Dao of Time had improved significantly.
He had always been a novice when it came to his studies of the Dao of Time, and that was only thanks to him having learned the Time Flies Seal, without which he couldn’t even have comprehended the basics of Time Principles.
However, after such a long time, he was still considered a beginner in the Dao of Time. That was because most of his time was spent on the comprehension of the Dao of Space.
First of all, he didn’t have a natural aptitude when it came to the studies of Dao of Time, so it would be quite time-consuming if he insisted on learning it. Secondly, his time was limited so he had to focus on one Grand Dao. There were countless Grand Daos in the Universe, but while being versed in many had its advantages, mastering one was still a better choice.
Nevertheless, at this moment, the Dao of Time was like a generous Elder who opened up to him and taught him all kinds of skills and knowledge, tremendously enhancing Yang Kai’s comprehension of it.
The reason behind that was the formation of his Small Universe.
He knew nothing about other people’s Small Universes, but presently, there were Sun, Moon, and Stars in his Small Universe. As these celestial objects that moved in an endless cycle, like a flowing river of time. His entire Small Universe was filled with ample Time Principles, which was how he obtained such tremendous benefits.
There was no doubt that it was a pleasant surprise.
As his thoughts continued flowing through his mind, he saw Mu Zhu and Mu Lu sitting together on the tree branch of a certain Spirit Tree in the transplanted medicine garden. As their heads pressed against one another, they swung their legs and looked dazedly at the starry night sky. While the Stars twinkled, they also batted their eyes.
Mu Lu remarked, “It’s beautiful.”
Mu Zhu uttered, “En. It’s wonderful.”
In the past, although the Small Sealed World was an independent World of its own, they had never seen such a magnificent view before. Now, everything had changed. Since these Wood Spirits started following Yang Kai and settled in the Small Sealed World, they had never seen such a wonderful night sky. The sight before their eyes made them recall the time they grew up in the Star Boundary. Back then, they always loved to sit together and enjoy the mesmerising night view.
Yang Kai retracted his mind and sported a solemn expression.
The situation Mu Zhu and Mu Lu were in suggested that his Small Universe was able to accommodate living creatures, which was contrary to common sense.
In the 3,000 Worlds, only the Small Universes of High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters were fully corporeal, akin to real Universe Worlds.
Presently, Yang Kai was only a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, which was two Orders below the requisite Seventh-Order.
Two Orders was a massive gap that countless cultivators failed to surmount in their lifetime. Although one could slowly cultivate over time, it would take them a painfully long period as well as many fortunate changes to achieve this goal.
However, Yang Kai wasn’t surprised at the outcome. If he attempted to break through like everyone else, his Small Universe would’ve become the same as those of other people. However, the moment his Small Universe was formed upon his ascension, he integrated his Sealed World Bead into his Small Universe, leading to this incredible transformation.
The Sealed World Bead was already able to accommodate living creatures, but due to the limitations of its grade, it was unable to take in Open Heaven Realm Masters without the risk of exploding.
After the Sealed World Bead merged with his Small Universe, the new Small Universe inherited the characteristics of the Sealed World Bead. Accommodating living creatures was just one part of that.
Moreover, there were Sun, Moon, and Stars inside Yang Kai’s Small Universe, giving it a day and night cycle. Yin, Yang, and the Five Elements formed into a virtuous cycle. The Grand Dao and World Principles inside it were incredibly complete. Basically, his Small Universe was no different from a real Universe World.
Even the Small Universe of a High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master might not be as perfect as his.
The Great Sun was a Divine Manifestation he had comprehended after refining the Golden Crow’s True Fire while the Moon was the Manifestation of the Water Element Power he refined from the Moon Essence. If someone wanted to reproduce his success, they would have to refine the Golden Crow’s True Fire and Moon Essence as well.
However, it was extremely difficult to refine the Golden Crow’s True Fire and Moon Essence, both of which were High-Rank materials. One of them was scorching while the other was freezing. Either of them could easily kill a cultivator who absorbed them haphazardly.
In the entire 3,000 Worlds, probably only Yang Kai’s Small Universe contained the Sun and Moon that rose and set.
Upon seeing that Yang Kai was grinning from ear to ear, Zhu Jiu Yin couldn’t help but scoff, “Why are you so ecstatic when you’ve only ascended to the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm? Can you be more ambitious, you smelly brat?”
It was then Yang Kai opened his eyes and cupped his fist with a solemn expression, “Many thanks for your protection, Senior.”
If Zhu Jiu Yin hadn’t tagged along, he would’ve been dead by now. Since four High-Rank cultivators were waiting for him in this place, he would have had no hope of surviving. In front of absolute power, all strategy was meaningless.
“From today forward, I consider your oath fulfilled, Senior.”
Since Zhu Jiu Yin had fulfilled her promise, Yang Kai certainly wouldn’t go back on his word. Some time ago, he said that as long as she could escort him to this place, her oath would be completed regardless of whether he survived or not. From now on, she no longer had to protect him.
Zhu Jiu Yin snorted, “Save your platitudes, this Queen is fully aware of that.”
Then, Yang Kai turned to look at Qu Hua Shang and thanked, “Many thanks, Senior Sister Qu.”
Qu Hua Shang shook her head with a bitter smile, “I wasn’t able to help you in any way.”
Yang Kai shook his head, “Simply coming with me is already more than I could have asked for, Senior Sister Qu.” He knew that when she returned to Yin-Yang Cave Heaven, she would be punished; after all, she had jumped in to interfere when those from Myriad Demons Heaven were dealing with Yang Kai. Since she was a Core Disciple of Yin-Yang Cave Heaven, she was in all essence a representative of her Sect. Her actions this time had tarnished her Sect’s reputation.
Following that, Yang Kai gazed at Yue He and said, “Please take care of Void Land.”
A startled Yue He subconsciously asked, “Where are you going, Young Master?”
Without responding to her, Yang Kai put on a smile before he pressed his palms together and pulled them apart as he shouted, “Open!”
As Space Principles undulated, a huge crack suddenly appeared in front of them. The aura of another world exuded from the crack.
Naturally, it was the aura of the Shadowless Cave Heaven.
Ti Zheng was right to say that there was a restriction around this Universe Cave Heaven that would bar anyone below the Open Heaven Realm from entering. Although Yang Kai had found the entrance using Space Principles earlier, he could feel that there was a force that stopped him from entering it.
Upon ascending to the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm, he realised that the force no longer blocked him.
Without hesitation, Yang Kai slipped into the crack as he sent a Divine Sense message to Yue He, “Go back to Void Land and wait for me. I’ll definitely bring Proprietress out of this place.”
Yue He widened her eyes in disbelief and shot forward to follow him, but the crack disappeared the next instant. When she reached the spot, the entrance was nowhere to be seen.
Bai Qi was dumbfounded as well. As they exchanged glances, they inspected the Void around them but failed to find the entrance.
A pale Ti Zheng said, “Stop wasting your time. The entrance is so well hidden that even this Monarch is unable to sense it, let alone you all. The reason that brat can enter it is that he’s a Master of the Dao of Space. Still, it’s a wise choice that he went in alone.”
Zhu Jiu Yin shot him a cold glance, “What do you mean?”
Ti Zheng replied with a smile, “The Shadowless Cave Heaven is an extremely strange place where one can enter but not come out. Over the years, many Open Heaven Realm Masters have accidentally fallen into it, but no one has ever managed to leave, so no one knows what’s going on inside. Although that boy can enter easily enough, he probably doesn’t have the confidence to come out again. So, he doesn’t want to drag all of you into it. Hahaha. He’s just a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. Does he think he can change anything by going in?”
At this moment, he was completely at ease. Even though he didn’t achieve his goal of killing Yang Kai, he had managed to force him to become a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, which was good enough.
It could be said that the Cave Heavens and Paradises could stop worrying about anyone challenging their status as Yang Kai’s future was now ruined. The best a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master could achieve was the Seventh-Order in the future, which was in the same Order as them now. Moreover, it’d take Yang Kai millennia to reach the Seventh Order by ordinary means, so there was truly nothing for them to worry about.
“Senior Sister Zhu, pardon my previous offence. I’ll take my leave now.” Ti Zheng cupped his fist at Zhu Jiu Yin and left.
They had engaged in a life-and-death battle just now because they were on opposing sides, but there wasn’t any feud between them. Since the issue had been settled, there wasn’t a need to be hostile towards each other. Zhu Jiu Yin was a Divine Spirit after all, so he had to show her due respect.
All four High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters turned into rays of light and disappeared from Zhu Jiu Yin’s sight.
They had suffered immense losses in this battle. Other than their own injuries, the over 20 Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters that they had brought with them were either killed or captured by Black Crow Divine Monarch. Only five or six of them had survived.
These losses were considered painful for the Cave Heavens and Paradises. It wasn’t easy to nurture Fifth-Order and Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters as it took a long time and countless resources.
Yue He and Bai Qi were still looking for the entrance of the Shadowless Cave Heaven as they continuously inspected the area but to no avail. Ti Zheng and the others must have a way to open the portal; otherwise, they couldn’t have made the Proprietress fall into it at an opportune time. There was no way Ti Zheng would tell them how to open it though, so it was pointless for them to ask him about it.
After standing around for a while, Zhu Jiu Yin sighed and said, “Stop wasting your time. The portal is so well hidden that even this Queen is unable to sense anything, so there’s no way you two will find anything even if you keep looking.”
“You cannot sense anything either, Senior?” Bai Qi was stunned.
If Zhu Jiu Yin also couldn’t sense it, there was no way he and Yue He could. After a long sigh, he looked in the direction Yang Kai had disappeared and fell into a dazed state.
In order to save the Proprietress, Bai Qi travelled to Void Land to inform Yang Kai about the incident. In the end, Yang Kai was forced to become a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, which basically destroyed his future. Now, he had gone into the Shadowless Cave Heaven on his own, and no one was sure whether he could come out again. All these results left Bai Qi feeling extremely guilty.
Yue He stopped making a move as her eyes were filled with anxiety and worry.
Qu Hua Shang came over and comforted her by saying, “Junior Brother Yang is a man who can create miracles that others can’t even dream of. Since he decided to go in on his own, he must have his own considerations and plans.”
Certainly, Yue He was aware of that. Just like what Ti Zheng had said, no one had yet been able to come out of the Shadowless Cave Heaven over the years, so no one knew what was going on inside. Yang Kai must have been worried that none of them could come out if they all went in together, so he decided to venture in alone.
As a Master of the Dao of Space, if he was unable to find a way out, it was pointless for the others to go in with him.
“Let’s go,” Zhu Jiu Yin said. She felt sorry that Yang Kai was forced to become a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master on this day, and he had even dived into the Shadowless Cave Heaven, so it wasn’t certain whether they’d have a chance to meet again. Since she had gotten rid of the oath restraining her, she felt completely at ease now. The problem now was how she was going to explain this matter to Shan Qing Luo when she returned. It gave her a headache just thinking about that young woman rashly deciding to come all the way here to look for him.
She truly valued this Junior of hers who had a Source from her lineage.
“You all can go back first. I must wait for Young Master here,” Yue He gently replied. Even though she was unable to go in with Yang Kai, she was determined to wait for his return regardless of whether it would take her a month or a century.
“What’s the point of doing that?” Zhu Jiu Yin snapped, “Before he left, he told you to go back to Void Land and take care of his Sect. What’s the point of you lingering here? Void Land is still in its development phase and there is no powerful Master to assume command of it now. Mo Mei has to manage the Star City, so who can take care of Void Land if you don’t go back? If you really want to help that brat, go back and help him manage Void Land well. Wouldn’t it be better if he returns one day and sees a prosperous Sect rather than a desolate one?”
After a moment of silence, Yue He replied in a small voice, “Senior is right.”
Upon seeing that she was willing to listen to reason, Zhu Jiu Yin nodded in satisfaction, “Let’s go.”
A while later, the four of them followed the previous route and left the Shattered Heaven, then Qu Hua Shang bid them farewell. Although she didn’t represent her Sect when she followed Yang Kai to this place, she had indeed caused some trouble; therefore, she had to return to Yin-Yang Cave Heaven and receive her punishment. She probably wouldn’t be able to leave her Sect for a while.
…..
Meanwhile, a figure was rapidly shooting towards the Territory Gate in the Shattered Heaven. The person’s face was ashen as he coughed from time to time. Besides the fact that blood was still dripping from the corner of his mouth, his aura was a complete mess. He was none other than Ti Zheng.
Four High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters had joined forces to deal with Zhu Jiu Yin, but the result of that intense battle was that both parties had been injured. While Zhu Jiu Yin indeed suffered serious wounds, the four High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters didn’t fare any better.
Ti Zheng was in especially bad condition because Zhu Jiu Yin was incensed at his humiliating remarks towards her, so most of her attacks were targeted at him Ti Zheng during the battle. There were even times when he almost lost his life.
With a bitter smile, Ti Zheng mused on how it was indeed difficult to deal with a mature Divine Spirit. He was a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, but if he were to fight a one-on-one fight with Zhu Jiu Yin, he would probably lose his life within an incense stick.
He had never been so severely wounded before. The flesh wounds didn’t matter as they would heal eventually, the problem was his Small Universe. The fierce battle destabilised his Small Universe and caused his World Force to become chaotic.
Now, he desperately needed to look for a place to stabilize his Small Universe; otherwise, he would be left with huge problems in the future.
His situation was similar to what Bai Qi had recently experienced. The reason Bai Qi got out of danger was that he had consumed a Star Gathering Universe Pill. If there were also Star Gathering Universe Pills around at this moment, it could help alleviate Ti Zheng’s problem.
Bai Qi was a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, so just one pill was enough to fix his situation. On the other hand, Ti Zheng was a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, so he would require more pills.
Unfortunately, it was extremely difficult to refine such pills, so they were always scarce on the market. Back then, Yang Kai had paid a huge price to find an Alchemist to refine the pill; hence, even though Ti Zheng was a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, he didn’t have such a pill on him.
Furthermore, he had never expected that he would need such a pill one day. If he had only known, he would’ve prepared one in advance.
Presently, he had parted ways with the other three Masters. He had been feigning calm and nonchalance so that no one could tell how serious his injuries were; however, now that he was alone, he was unable to conceal his condition anymore. His Small Universe was continuously shaking while the weltering World Force caused his blood to churn.
All of a sudden, he looked to the side and bellowed, “Who goes there!”
Looking up, he saw someone surrounded by Demon Qi rapidly approaching him. Ti Zheng stared intently and saw through the Demon Qi, and upon making out the person’s face, he set his mind at ease.
When the person reached Ti Zheng, he cupped his fist and greeted, “Sir.”
Ti Zheng nodded lightly, and then he suddenly grunted and coughed out some blood.
The person asked in shock, “Are you injured, Sir?”
Ti Zheng waved his hand and replied, “I’m fine. Where are the others?”
The person said in a bitter voice, “They’re all gone. Only I managed to escape. Earlier, Black Crow Divine Monarch had been hunting us down, so we had no choice but to run and hide. When I sensed your aura just now, I immediately came to you.”
Upon hearing that, Ti Zheng felt speechless. This time, Myriad Demons Heaven had sent out seven Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters, but only one of them survived in the end, which was a complete tragedy. He secretly swore that he would capture Black Crow one day and let him know the consequences of offending him.
Then, he stared deeply at the person and said, “You’re pretty lucky.”
The person before his eyes was just a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. The two Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters had died, but this Fifth-Order kid managed to survive.
Embarrassed, the person replied, “I’m too weak, so Black Crow didn’t target me immediately. Perhaps that’s why I had a chance to flee.”
Right then, Ti Zheng grunted again. Besides from his lips, blood was also leaking from his eyes and nostrils, which made him look extremely miserable.
The person exclaimed, “Are you alright, Sir?”
Still, Ti Zheng waved his hand.
The person immediately summoned a ship and said, “Please board and recuperate, Sir. I’ll bring us back to Myriad Demons Heaven now.”
Ti Zheng nodded and entered the ship. After finding a secret room, he opened the isolation barriers, sat down crossed-legged and stuffed some pills into his mouth. As he emptied his mind and circulated his Secret Art, he tried to bring order to the chaos in his Small Universe.
His injuries couldn’t be healed in a short period of time, so even if he returned to Myriad Demons Heaven, it would take him three to five years to fully recover.
Meanwhile, the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master from Myriad Demons Heaven was standing silently on the deck as the ship moved towards somewhere in the Shattered Heaven. As Demon Qi undulated, a small part of the fog floated away and revealed a pair of fervent and tempted eyes. Soon, a sense of determination flashed through his gaze as beneath the Demon Qi, the person curved his lips into a ferocious grin.
One hour later, Ti Zheng, who was recuperating in the secret room, became alarmed as he hurriedly opened his eyes. A Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master like him had incredibly sharp intuition, so he was often able to detect danger before it even befell him.
Before he could figure out what was going on, he heard an explosion and the ship rocked violently.
The ship had been struck and was about to explode!
Upon that realization, Ti Zheng roared and shot up as he used his immense power to repel the shrapnel around him.
Just when he tried to find out what had happened, he felt a violent force coming at him from all directions, which caused him to spray out a mouthful of blood.
Even though the explosion was powerful, it couldn’t possibly harm him. The reason he fell into such a state was that he had been interrupted while he was in a meditative state. These were no ordinary injuries as his Small Universe had been destabilised, so he couldn’t be interrupted while trying to stabilize them.
At that instant, he realised that the condition of his Small Universe had been exacerbated; instead of healing, it had actually worsened.
While Ti Zheng looked around in a dazed state, he saw a figure surrounded by Demon Qi come flying at him backwards.
The person was the only subordinate of Ti Zheng’s that survived. It wasn’t certain what kind of attack he had suffered from, but at this moment, he was spraying out a mouthful of blood and tumbling through the void like a sack.
“Sir! Run! Black Crow set up an ambush!” The person exclaimed.
“Black Crow!?” Ti Zheng was both shocked and infuriated.
If he were in peak condition, he, a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, naturally wouldn’t be afraid of Black Crow; however, at this moment, his Small Universe was in an unstable state, so he wasn’t able to battle against anyone. If he forcefully tried to stimulate his World Force, there would be a risk his Small Universe would collapse, and the consequences would be dreadful. He felt resentful, thinking that Black Crow must be aware that he was in a terrible condition, so the latter seized the chance and attacked him. There was no doubt that Black Crow was a despicable person.
After hesitating between fighting and fleeing for a moment, Ti Zheng gritted his teeth and turned to leave.
Presently, Black Crow had many powerful Open Heaven Realm Masters working for him, and he himself was a Master who had been reborn by seizing another’s body, so he probably had a lot of dangerous methods at his disposal. It would be a foolish decision if Ti Zheng decided to stay as he might lose his life here.
At that moment, he felt completely vexed. If he hadn’t been injured, he wouldn’t have been oppressed by someone much weaker than him. He had never felt so humiliated in his life.
While he was still lost in his thoughts, Ti Zheng suddenly heard a series of gentle thuds, then his entire figure shook as though something had penetrated his defence and reached for his vital points.
Following a sharp pain, he realised that it was difficult for him to use his strength, and even his figure had stiffened.
A hand had silently penetrated his body from behind and grasped his heart.
Ti Zheng widened his eyes in fury as he was bound to the spot. With difficulty, he turned his head and saw a face that was covered with Demon Qi, then his expression darkened.
The Demon Qi weltered and cleared away before a smiling but wicked-looking face was revealed. He was none other than Ti Zheng’s only surviving subordinate.
It was then Ti Zheng realised that he had been set up by his own subordinate, which was totally inconceivable to him. Certainly, he had figured out by now that Black Crow was nowhere near, and that it was this person who detonated the ship on his own.
“What are you doing, Mo Sheng!” Ti Zheng asked in a grim voice.
“Mo Sheng?” The man chuckled, “You’re wrong. This King isn’t Mo Sheng. Mo Sheng is long dead. This King is just using his body.”
“You took over his body?” Ti Zheng’s face fell as he recalled something.
Many years ago, a person named Mo Sheng suddenly came to Myriad Demons Heaven and claimed that he was the Sect’s disciple. However, he accidentally fell into a Sealed World and became trapped for many years. Right after he broke free from that place, he immediately returned to Myriad Demons Heaven.
However, since the incident took place too long ago, the records from that period were spotty at best, especially regarding a lower-level disciple.
Nevertheless, they still found a document from over a hundred thousand years ago that had some information about Mo Sheng, thus confirming that he was indeed their disciple. In the past, he suddenly disappeared for no reason, and there had never been any news about him since. This was similar to the statement he had given; moreover, his pure Demon Qi couldn’t be faked, so Myriad Demons Heaven accepted him in the end.
When Mo Sheng returned to the Sect at that time, he still wasn’t an Open Heaven Realm Master, but his aptitude was excellent, so he managed to ascend to the Fifth-Order Open Heaven in just a few years. He was then assigned to work under Ti Zheng.
Since they had to set up a Locking Divine Spirit Array this time, Ti Zheng decided to bring ‘Mo Sheng’ with him. However, it never crossed his mind that he’d be harmed by this person instead of getting killed by Zhu Jiu Yin.
Ti Zheng’s fury was burning within him as he widened his eyes and said through clenched teeth, “Who are you?”
The person replied smilingly, “Do you want to know? I don’t mind telling you.” Then, he sported a solemn expression and yelled, “This King is Wu Kuang, the one destined to conquer the 3,000 Worlds and one day become its supreme ruler!”
Ti Zheng was so exasperated that he started laughing, “You want to be the ruler of the 3,000 Worlds? Ridiculous!” He looked at Wu Kuang as though the latter was a lunatic. Usually, if he heard a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master say such a thing, he would’ve laughed out loud. Nevertheless, at this moment, he didn’t have the strength to do so.
Wu Kuang chuckled and said, “You won’t be able to find out whether I’m being ridiculous or not because… you’re going to die today! Don’t even try to use your World Force. This King’s All-Sealing Needle is an ancient artifact. Once it’s inserted into a person’s body, it will seal off his Small Universe unless he’s able to force it out. It seems that you’re really severely wounded; otherwise, I wouldn’t have stood a chance to succeed.”
Ti Zheng said grimly, “So what if you kill me? You want to become the ruler of the 3,000 Worlds? That’s a pretty ambitious goal. Why don’t you release me and let this Monarch lend you a hand instead?”
His Small Universe was in chaos, so he was unable to surge his power to begin with. Now, his World Force had even been restricted by Wu Kuang’s All Sealing Needle, so he was totally powerless to counterattack. Therefore, he was racking his brain to come up with a way to get himself out of danger.
Wu Kuang sneered, “Do you think this King is a three-year-old child who would believe such an empty promise? You’ll kill me the moment I release you, am I right?”
Ti Zheng said, “I can make a heart demon oath. As long as you release me, I’ll never settle accounts with you. What’s more, I can give you a lot of resources for cultivation. As a mere Fifth-Order Open Heaven cultivator, without my support, it will take you ages to reach the Seventh-Order. However, things will be different with my backing. I can assure you that I’ll help you ascend to the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm within 1,000 years as long as you have the necessary aptitude.”
Wu Kuang shook his head, “1,000 years is too long.”
Ti Zheng’s face fell as he said, “How can you say that it’s too long a time to go from the Fifth Order to the Seventh Order? Do you know how long it took this Monarch to go from the Sixth Order to the Seventh Order?”
“I’m not interested to find out anything about you,” Wu Kuang scoffed.
A pale Ti Zheng snapped, “Are you determined to kill me? Even if you kill me here, you won’t get any benefits! Most of this Monarch’s assets have fallen into that brat Yang Kai’s hands, so what’s the point of you doing this?” This was what puzzled Ti Zheng the most. Even though Wu Kuang had taken over Mo Sheng’s body, Ti Zheng reckoned that he had been treating him well over the years as he rarely reproached him. What was Wu Kuang trying to do by taking such a huge risk to launch a sneak attack on him at this moment?
“Your very existence is the biggest benefit for me, Sir.” Wu Kuang looked fervently at Ti Zheng as he licked his lips, “I’ve never tasted a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master before. I’ll enjoy it now, Sir! Please do your best to persevere until the end!”
Following that, Ti Zheng suddenly felt a horrifying suction coming from the hand that was grasping his heart.
Under the influence of this suction force, his Blood Essence and the heritage of his Small Universe uncontrollably streamed towards Wu Kuang.
A horrified Ti Zheng widened his eyes and exclaimed, “The Grand Evolution Immortal Blood Light Scripture!?”
Soon, however, he shook his head and realised that it wasn’t the Grand Evolution Immortal Blood Light Scripture. Even though he had never cultivated it before, thus not knowing the abstruseness of it, one of his disciples had comprehended some chapters of the scripture before. Therefore, Ti Zheng had some basic understanding of it.
As far as he knew, the Grand Evolution Immortal Blood Light Scripture was indeed an incredible Secret Art, but it could only be used to absorb Blood Essence. There was no way it could absorb the heritage of a person’s Small Universe like what was happening now.
Wu Kuang’s Secret Art shared some similarities with Grand Evolution Immortal Blood Light Scripture, but it seemed that his was even more powerful.
“What kind of evil technique is this!?” Ti Zheng asked in horror.
“Heaven Devouring Battle Law!” Wu Kuang seemed to be enjoying himself greatly, as though he was feasting on the most delectable delicacy in the world. Not only did he appear ecstatic, but his voice quivered in ecstasy, “It is the Secret Art that this King devised himself. How does it feel, Sir?”
Upon hearing that, Ti Zheng was flabbergasted.
This person was an extraordinary genius to be able to create such a Secret Art. Just now, Ti Zheng scoffed at Wu Kuang for shamelessly boasting that he would conquer the entire 3,000 Worlds and become its ruler. But now, Ti Zheng kind of believed him.
A person who was able to devise such a Secret Art was bound to achieve great things in life.
It was a shame that he had only ascended to the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm, so the limitations of his future had been set in stone.
“Wonderful!” Wu Kuang guffawed, “A Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master tastes much better than those Fourth and Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm cultivators. Sir, your power is sufficient for me to ascend to the Sixth Order! Many thanks for giving it to me!”
Upon hearing that, Ti Zheng recalled that there were times when several of his subordinates and Wu Kuang went out to carry out some tasks, but some of his subordinates would be killed in the end and only a battered Wu Kuang managed to return.
Ti Zheng had only thought that they had come across some kind of danger, but now it seemed that his subordinates were actually killed by Wu Kuang.
As he felt the foundation of his Small Universe leaving him like a flood and he couldn’t help but feel flustered even though he was usually a resolute person.
It wasn’t like he had never expected to die one day. There was no way a Human could live forever, but this kind of death was simply too miserable.
Presently, the All Sealing Needle in his body had sealed off his Small Universe, which disallowed him to use his own power as he pleased. If he rashly surged his World Force, his situation would probably exacerbate. Faced with this lunatic named Wu Kuang, Ti Zheng realised that there was nothing he could do to deal with him.
As his thoughts ran through his mind, he suddenly said through gritted teeth, “Since you want to devour this King’s power, I’ll give it all to you. Let’s see how much you can absorb!”
Upon finishing his words, instead of trying to stop his strength from leaving his body, he did the opposite and cooperated. As he bore the excruciating pain, he attempted to force the All Sealing Needle out of his body while frantically infusing the power of his Small Universe into Wu Kuang’s body.
Even though Wu Kuang’s Heaven Devouring Battle Law was an extremely evil art, he was just a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. Therefore, he was still much weaker than a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, and the capacity of his body and Small Universe was limited. If Ti Zheng could push him over the edge, he might stand a chance to live.
Surprisingly, Wu Kuang started laughing like a madman, “Many thanks, Sir! Please give me all of your power!” As he spoke, a layer of blood mist formed around his body, and even all his seven orifices started bleeding. It was apparent that he had been impacted by Ti Zheng’s efforts.
Upon seeing that, Ti Zheng clenched his teeth and continued what he was doing to fight for a chance to survive.
Half a day later, Ti Zheng fell into a despairing state.
Most of the foundation of his Small Universe was gone. Even if Wu Kuang stopped sucking his strength now, his cultivation would definitely regress, and it would take him countless years to restore it, if that was even possible.
On the other hand, Wu Kuang had swollen significantly after absorbing so much power, now looking like a giant fatty. World Force could be seen spurting out from his pores and bringing with it streams of blood, which formed a thick layer of blood mist around his body.
It seemed that he would explode at any moment due to his inability to contain so much power, but in reality, he didn’t seem to have the intention of stopping as he still madly used his Heaven Devouring Battle Law to absorb Ti Zheng’s power.
Furthermore, as time passed, Wu Kuang’s aura increased rapidly.
It had only been seven or eight years since Wu Kuang ascended to the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm. This amount of time was normally only enough for a cultivator to stabilise his cultivation, but presently, Wu Kuang seemed to be at the peak of the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm as he was showing signs of achieving a breakthrough.
Upon seeing that, Ti Zheng was horrified.
[What kind of evil technique is this Heaven Devouring Battle Law!? Does it even allow him to rapidly increase his cultivation without any drawbacks!?]
Without saying a word, Wu Kuang madly circulated his Heaven Devouring Battle Law and greedily absorbed the last remnants of the Seventh-Order cultivator’s Small Universe.
This kind of chance was extremely hard to come by. Even though he had done similar things before, the ones he targeted had always been Fourth and Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters. Now that there was such a great chance, he certainly wouldn’t want to miss it.
In fact, it was all thanks to Yang Kai that he managed to have this chance.
If Yang Kai hadn’t brought a mature Divine Spirit with him that severely injured Ti Zheng, Wu Kuang’s sneak attack wouldn’t have been successful.
It never crossed his mind that Yang Kai would manage to cause such a massive stir in the 3,000 Worlds just several decades after they separated, even becoming the Lord of Void Land.
It was true that a talented person would never fall into oblivion wherever he went.
Three days later, Wu Kuang stopped circulating his Secret Technique and took a deep breath to suppress his weltering vitality.
After three days of continuous absorption, he had swollen tremendously. From afar, he looked more like a balloon than a person. Blood was still streaming out of his seven orifices as the blood mist swirled around him.
However, his aura was already much stronger than when he started. There was no doubt that he had reached the peak of the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm.
On the other hand, Ti Zheng’s breathing was extremely weak. His gaze was listless and his figure had withered as his Small Universe had been completely drained. Presently, he was already on his last legs. Even if Wu Kuang decided not to kill him, he would soon die.
“Do you have any last words?” Wu Kuang asked in a grim voice.
Without saying a word, Ti Zheng stared fixedly at him.
Wu Kuang nodded, “Farewell then, Sir.”
Then, he landed a palm on Ti Zheng, who exploded into dust and went with the wind. The fact that a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master fell into such a state was truly miserable.
After killing Ti Zheng, Wu Kuang immediately shot towards the depths of the Shattered Heaven. Soon, he found a Spirit Province and snuck into it. Then, he set up a number of Spirit Arrays that could conceal his presence and set the Spirit Province moving towards his destination. Following that, he sat down with his legs crossed and focused on refining the power he had just absorbed.
He was extremely full now, so it would take him a long time before he could digest it all. When he stepped out of seclusion next, he would be a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master.
He was the one who had created the Heaven Devouring Battle Law, and since he arrived at the 3,000 Worlds, he had modified and improved it several times. With this Heaven-defying Secret Art in his hands, he could just drain the powers of some Open Heaven Realm Masters to increase his cultivation, which was why he disregarded Ti Zheng’s promise to him.
Just like what Wu Kuang had said, 1,000 years was too long for him. If he wanted to ascend to the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm, he just had to look for his own chances instead of waiting for others’ help.
…..
Under the grey sky, there was a barren land that was filled with Death Qi. The Principles and World Force in this place seemed broken and incomplete.
[Is this the Shadowless Cave Heaven?]
Presently, Yang Kai was standing on a barren mountain as he looked around with a frown.
Compared to the Blood Monster Cave Heaven, the Shadowless Cave Heaven was too dreary. Although the Blood Monster Cave Heaven was just a Universe Cave Heaven, it had a lot of different biomes and sceneries. However, the Shadowless Cave Heaven was extremely desolate as far as the eye could see, which puzzled Yang Kai greatly.
This was the first place he landed after he passed through the Void and entered the Shadowless Cave Heaven.
Since there was a portal, one should theoretically be able to go in as well as come out; however, after scanning his surroundings for a long time, Yang Kai was unable to detect any Space Principle fluctuations nearby, let alone find the entrance where he had just passed through.
In other words, if he wanted to leave the Shadowless Cave Heaven, he had to look for a different exit.
[Where’s Proprietress?]
Yang Kai looked around but found nothing. Nevertheless, since the Shadowless Cave Heaven was just a Universe Cave Heaven, its landmass shouldn’t be comparable to a true Universe World. As long as Proprietress was here, he would find her one day.
Before he even moved though, Yang Kai suddenly detected something and looked in a particular direction, only to see some figures rapidly approaching him. In the blink of an eye, they already reached him.
There were three people in total. Their auras suggested that they were all Open Heaven Realm Masters with the leading one being a middle-aged man in the Fifth Order, then there was a Fourth-Order woman and a Third-Order young man.
At first glance, they looked like they were a family of some kind; however, when a cultivator reached the Open Heaven Realm, it was impossible to tell his age by looking at his appearance. Therefore, Yang Kai couldn’t be sure that they were indeed related.
He was just trying to look for the Proprietress when he came across these people, which elated him.
Obviously, he had caused some disturbance when he entered this place, which attracted these people.
Before Yang Kai could ask anything, the middle-aged man sized him up and asked, “Are you a newcomer?”
Yang Kai saw no reason to deny it, so he simply nodded, “Yes.”
The middle-aged man said, “Judging from your aura, you seem to have just broken through.”
Yang Kai’s aura was too conspicuous as he was unable to completely control it yet. Anyone who wasn’t blind could easily tell that he was a newly promoted Open Heaven Realm Master.
Yang Kai nodded again, “Indeed.”
“Such a shame,” the middle-aged man shook his head while the woman and the young man behind him appeared sympathetic. It was truly miserable that Yang Kai had fallen into this place not long after he entered the Open Heaven Realm.
After comparing their own experiences to Yang Kai’s, they felt less frustrated now. At the very least, they only accidentally fell into the Shadowless Cave Heaven many years after they entered the Open Heaven Realm.
“What’s your name, Senior Brother?” Yang Kai cupped his fist at the middle-aged man.
The middle-aged man replied, “Ma Tian Yuan.”
“So it is Senior Brother Ma.” Yang Kai flashed a smile at him, “I’m new to this place, so I know nothing. Would it be alright if I ask you some questions?”
A curious Ma Tian Yuan gazed at him and asked, “What do you want to know?”
“I’m looking for three people,” Yang Kai replied, “They arrived in this place half a year ago. One woman and two men. The woman is a Sixth-Order Master while the two men with her are in the Fifth-Order. One of the men wears a big apron with a ‘Slaughter’ character on it while the other has a pair of arrogant-looking eyes that makes you want to punch him on sight.”
As soon as Yang Kai finished speaking, Ma Tian Yuan narrowed his eyes while the Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master woman and the Third-Order Open Heaven Realm Master young man exchanged glances.
It seemed that the Proprietress was indeed in the Shadowless Cave Heaven. At the very least, Ma Tian Yuan and the others seemed to recognize her, Chef, and Accountant. If not, they wouldn’t have reacted in such a way.
“Haha. So, you’re close to that Madame, Junior Brother.” Ma Tina Yuan suddenly laughed.
An elated Yang Kai asked, “Do you know where they are, Senior Brother Ma?”
Ma Tian Yuan replied, “En, I do. They’re guests in our Unrivalled Guild, which is not far away from this place. If you want to see them, this Ma can lead the way for you.”
A grateful Yang Kai said, “Many thanks, Senior Brother Ma.”
“Don’t mention it. That Madame is Unrivalled Guild’s honoured guest. Since you’re close to her, you’re also our guest. This way, please.” Ma Tian Yuan extended his hand towards a particular direction.
After thanking him one more time, Yang Kai followed him and afterwards was followed closely by the woman and the young man.
On the way to their destination, Yang Kai asked curiously, “Senior Brother Ma, it’s my first day here, so I know nothing about this place. What kind of place is this Unrivalled Guild? Is it your great force?”
Ma Tian Yuan replied, “I wouldn’t dare to say that. The three Leaders of Unrivalled Guild are all Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters while this Ma is only a Fifth-Order. I’m just someone who works for the Leaders, so I wouldn’t dare to say that Unrivalled Guild belongs to me.”
A shocked Yang Kai asked, “There are three Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters in Unrivalled Guild?”
There were only two Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters in all of Void Land. Throughout the entire 3,000 Worlds, it was rare for any Second Class great force to have three Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters.
The woman couldn’t help but add, “Big Brother Ma was also a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master in the past.”
An astounded Yang Kai turned to look at Ma Tian Yuan, “Since you managed to reach the Sixth Order, how did you end up in the Fifth Order?”
Ma Tian Yuan appeared dejected as he shook his head with a bitter smile, “It’s a long story. You’ve just come to the Shadowless Cave Heaven, so you have no idea about the environment here. You’ll soon find out how dangerous this place is soon enough. By the way, how did you fall into this place?”
“I came here looking for someone,” Yang Kai replied.
Upon hearing that, the three people sported awkward expressions. Ma Tian Yuan asked, “Are you looking for that Madame?”
“En,” Yang Kai nodded.
Ma Tian Yuan tutted, “You’ve come all the way here to look for her? Do you know that no one has ever left this Shadowless Cave Heaven before? Once you fall into this place, you’ll never be able to escape.”
“I did hear about that,” Yang Kai nodded and put on a smile, “However, I believe that as long as there’s a will, we’ll be able to find a way out.”
There was an admiring look on Ma Tian Yuan’s face, “Those three people must be very important to you.”
Yang Kai smiled gently, “That woman is called Yue He. She’s is my Elder Sister, so she’s certainly important to me.”
“I see.” Ma Tian Yuan nodded upon hearing that.
Yang Kai went on to say, “Elder Sister Yue He has done me a lot of favors. Without her support, I couldn’t have achieved anything in this life.”
Ma Tian Yuan praised him by saying, “You’re a righteous man who knows how to repay favours. This Ma is more than happy to become friends with someone like you. Hmm, why did you stop walking suddenly, Junior Brother?”
He was puzzled at the sight of Yang Kai stopping in his tracks all of a sudden. As their eyes met, Yang Kai looked smilingly at him with a meaningful gaze.
“That Elder Sister that I’m looking for is not named Yue He,” Yang Kai said slowly.
Ma Tian Yuan asked with a frown, “What do you mean, Junior Brother?”
Yang Kai replied with a faint smile, “You said that the three of them are honoured guests in your Unrivalled Guild, so it’s impossible that you don’t even know their names. You’re a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, so you’re supposed to hold an important position in your Sect. The fact that you know nothing about them shows that they’re not in your Sect.”
As he spoke, Yang Kai’s expression darkened, “Since they’re not in your Sect, what are you trying to achieve by luring me to that place?”
Ma Tian Yuan explained, “You misunderstand, Junior Brother. That Madame is indeed a guest in our Sect, but it’s the Three Chiefs who received her, so this Ma doesn’t know her name…”
“Is there still a need to hide anything at this point?” Yang Kai shot him a cold glare, cutting him off.
After a moment of silence, Ma Tian Yuan sighed and said, “Since you’ve already realised it, this Ma will drop the pretence. That’s right. That Madame is not in Unrivalled Guild.”
“Where is she?” Yang Kai demanded.
Ma Tian Yuan shook his head, “I don’t know. Half a year ago, I did meet those three. The Three Chiefs wanted to invite her to join Unrivalled Guild, but she refused and left with her people. I don’t know where she is now. However, I heard that the people from Profound Yang Mountain are trying to hunt them down. Perhaps they’ve been captured by now. There’s also a possibility that they’re dead.”
“Profound Yang Mountain?” Yang Kai arched his brow.
Ma Tian Yuan explained, “There are three great forces in the Shadowless Cave Heaven, Profound Yang Mountain, Unrivalled Guild, and Twin Spirit Island. Each great force has several Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, and we usually don’t interfere in each other’s affairs.”
“Why do those from Profound Yang Mountain want to hunt them down?” Yang Kai asked.
Ma Tian Yuan replied, “There are rarely any newcomers in the Shadowless Cave Heaven. The environment in this place is hostile and it lacks all cultivation resources. Therefore, every newcomer will be asked to join one of the forces, and hand over their cultivation resources.”
Upon hearing his explanation, Yang Kai said, “Is this the reason you want to take me to Unrivalled Guild?”
Ma Tian Yuan nodded frankly, “That’s right. Although you’ve just entered the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm, you must have some resources with you. Once you join Unrivalled Guild, your things will be ours. Your friends are pretty powerful, so they should have some good things on them; hence, it is expected that they are being targeted by those from Profound Yang Mountain. Furthermore, the Second Mountain Lord is a lascivious man, and that Madame is quite alluring. It isn’t surprising that he’d lust after her.”
“Profound Yang Mountain…” Yang Kai sneered. The Proprietress was in the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm, and after many years of accumulation, she had reached its peak. Basically, the only reason she wasn’t breaking through to the Seventh Order was due to her heart demon oath.
On the other hand, Chef and Accountant were newly promoted Fifth-Order Masters. Even though the people from Profound Yang Mountain were powerful, they probably couldn’t harm the Proprietress. Therefore, she should be safe for now. The most important thing for Yang Kai now was to look for them.
Ma Tian Yuan went on to explain, “Junior Brother, I’m inviting you to Unrivalled Guild not entirely for your resources. I’m also doing this for your own good.”
Yang Kai scoffed, “That’s a pretty novel statement.”
Ma Tian Yuan said, “The Shadowless Cave Heaven is a hostile place. If you don’t join one of the three great forces, you won’t be able to survive.”
Yang Kai asked, “Why is that?”
Ma Tian Yuan shook his head, apparently not wanting to explain, “You’ll find out what I mean after you stay here for some time. If you don’t believe me, you can ask them whether this Ma is lying.”
The Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm woman sighed and said, “Senior Brother Ma is right. If you don’t join one of the three great forces, you’ll probably lose your life within a few years. This Mistress suffered a setback when she fell into the Shadowless Cave Heaven. It took me a long time before I recovered.”
Upon hearing that, Yang Kai snorted. Although the woman appeared sincere and didn’t seem to be lying, these three were from the same Sect in the end. There was no guarantee that they hadn’t come up with a fabricated story beforehand, so Yang Kai wouldn’t readily believe her.
Ma Tian Yuan continued trying to persuade him, “In comparison, joining Unrivalled Guild is the best option because you only have to contribute 60% of your resources, meaning you get to keep 40%. If you join Profound Yang Mountain or Twin Spirit Island, you’ll have to give up 70 to 80%.”
Yang Kai shook his head, “I’m not interested in joining your Unrivalled Guild. The only reason I’ve come all the way here is to look for my friends.”
Ma Tian Yuan said grimly, “What’s the point of you being obstinate, Junior Brother? You’ve just broken through, and your aura isn’t even stable yet, so this Ma doesn’t want to make a move on you. Therefore, you’d better comply.”
Yang Kai shot him a glance, “What if I say no?”
After a sigh, Ma Tian Yuan said, “Resources are scarce in this damned place. In order to cultivate, I have no choice but to offend you even if you say no. Don’t worry, Junior Brother. This Ma isn’t a ruthless person. As long as you’re not too stubborn, I won’t kill you.”
Yang Kai chuckled, “I will spare your life as thanks for your consideration.”
Ma Tian Yuan’s expression darkened, “It seems that you won’t cry until you see your coffin.”
He waved his hand and bellowed, “Make your move then!”
As soon as he finished his words, he pushed his hand out at Yang Kai. A thick World Force blasted out from his palm as though the pressure of an entire world descended upon the latter. Meanwhile, the Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm woman and the Third-Order Open Heaven Realm young man used their Secret Techniques at the same time and attacked Yang Kai.
It was apparent that Ma Tian Yuan didn’t have the intention of killing Yang Kai; otherwise, he could’ve directly summoned his artifact. He was originally a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, but due to some unfortunate events in the Shadowless Cave Heaven, his cultivation regressed to the Fifth-Order. Despite that, he was still one of the top cultivators in the same Order.
Faced with a newly promoted Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master like Yang Kai, he didn’t need to go all out.
There was a stark difference between the amount of time they had spent accumulating strength, so their heritages were naturally dissimilar.
Confronted by three powerful Open Heaven Masters, Yang Kai would’ve fled in the past. Although he had killed a number of Low-Rank Open Heaven Masters, he had to exert all his strength and resort to his Divine Manifestation Golden Crow Casts the Sun each time he did so, to say nothing of the fact that he was faced with three Open Heaven Realm Masters at this moment, one of them in the Fifth-Order.
However, things were different now.
Presently, he was also a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Masters, but he was different from others in this realm. After his Small Universe formed in his body, he also merged it with his Small Sealed World.
The Small Sealed World had devoured a lot of the fragments from the Blood Monster Cave Heaven and digested that heritage. In other words, some of the heritage from the Blood Monster Cave Heaven had turned into the capital of Yang Kai’s Small Universe.
Furthermore, Yang Kai wanted to test the limits of his new strength.
Therefore, instead of fearing these three, Yang Kai’s fighting spirit had been ignited as his eyes turned fervent.
Assuming a combat stance, his Small Universe began exuding World Force and with a wave of his arm, two Moon Blades shot out. Both gigantic Moon Blades contained a rich World Force as they clashed with the Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm woman and the Third-Order Open Heaven Realm young man.
At that instant, two people were heard screaming as the woman and the young man were sent flying away while spraying blood. The woman was in a better condition as only her clothes were cut open, revealing a patch of her fair skin. On the other hand, the young man was severely injured as he was almost cut in two. However, this kind of injury wasn’t lethal to an Open Heaven Realm Master, so he just needed some time to recuperate.
Yang Kai easily broke through their blockade with a wave of his hand.
Ma Tian Yuan was stunned as he hadn’t expected Yang Kai to still be capable of dispatching his subordinates under his pressure. At that moment, he felt both ashamed and furious as the World Force on his palm thickened.
After turning around, Yang Kai pushed out his palm.
Following a loud boom, both of them staggered backwards. It wasn’t until they moved back nearly 300 metres that they managed to stabilize themselves. Upon trading moves, they realised that they were equally matched.
Across from Yang Kai, Ma Tian Yuan narrowed his eyes and exclaimed, “How is that possible?”
Was the person before his eyes really a new Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master? When their palms came into contact earlier, Ma Tian Yuan could feel that the other party’s World Force was just as rich and powerful as his, and the outcome of the exchange proved that.
But how could that be? He had fallen from the Sixth Order to the Fifth Order, so throughout the entire 3,000 Worlds, there shouldn’t be anyone in the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm that was a match for him. However, the young man before his eyes was.
“Did you really just break through to the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm?” Ma Tian Yuan asked in horror and disbelief.
“Indeed,” Yang Kai took a deep breath as he was drowned in an indescribable feeling of joy. Was this the power of the Open Heaven Realm? He felt as if he could draw on an infinite power from his Small Universe. It was as though he was able to tear the world apart simply by raising his hand.
Meanwhile, Ma Tian Yuan was still in disbelief. Nevertheless, Yang Kai’s aura fluctuated conspicuously, so it was apparent that he had indeed just achieved an ascension; otherwise, he would be able to control his own aura.
He was already so powerful just after breaking through, so what heights would he achieve in the future if he was given enough time? The notion terrified Ma Tian Yuan.
[How can someone so extraordinary exist in this world?]
“You haven’t fully used your power, right?” Yang Kai grinned at him.
While Ma Tian Yuan sported a solemn expression, Yang Kai went on to say, “What a coincidence. I haven’t fully used all my strength either. You should probably stop holding back; otherwise, you might get hurt.”
Upon finishing his words, Yang Kai shot forward and directly appeared in front of Ma Tian Yuan. The next moment, Ma Tian Yuan felt an immense World Force pressing against him, and when he lifted his gaze, he saw a palm flying at his chest.
An infuriated Ma Tian Yuan roared and no longer dared to hold back, fully mobilizing the strength of his Small Universe, pouring out as much World Force as he could.
*Hong hong hong…*
Explosive sounds were heard as the surrounding space shook. Immense World Force permeated the region as two figures clashed, stirring up a great storm. Sometimes they met in the sky, sometimes on the ground. Mountains collapsed around them as fissures opened in the ground.
“Wonderful! Wonderful!” Yang Kai’s expression was like that of a madman as he cried out in excitement. He thrust out his palms in quick succession in order to vent the joy he felt in his heart.
Ma Tian Yuan was shocked by how crazy Yang Kai appeared, thinking that the young man was some kind of battle maniac who only wished to fight until one of them died. At this moment, he was caught in a dilemma. Faced with the storm of attacks, he had no choice but to fight back with everything he had or he would be seriously wounded.
After trading more than 100 moves, Ma Tian Yuan felt his Small Universe begin to shake. Meanwhile, the World Force coming from the other party increasingly thickened with every move, like there wasn’t an upper limit to his output. Flabbergasted, Ma Tian Yuan didn’t dare to hold back anything.
He began using his Secret Techniques and even summoned his Fifth-Order artifact. Despite that, he realised that he was still no match for the other party.
[Is this guy really Human?]
A horrified Ma Tian Yuan speculated that Yang Kai wasn’t a newly promoted Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master at all. He had never seen any new Fifth-Order Master who possessed such immense power. This young man must have spent hundreds if not a thousand years of accumulation in his current Order. The aura he exposed must have just been a camouflage.
[What a devious man!] Although Ma Tian Yuan was utterly vexed, he had to admit that his opponent was truly incredible.
Despite the fact that he had fallen from the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm, he had the confidence to defeat or at least match anyone in the Fifth-Order. However, not only had he come across such an opponent on this day, but he was even at a disadvantage. This had never happened to him before.
“Stop!” Ma Tian Yuan bellowed after trading one more move with his opponent. Due to the scarcity of resources in the Shadowless Cave Heaven, unnecessary fights were pointless as it would only increase one’s consumption of power. When the people in this place came across one another, they wouldn’t make a move if there wasn’t a need for it; therefore, upon realising that Yang Kai was so powerful, Ma Tian Yuan decided to stop fighting.
However, Yang Kai ignored him. It was the first time he bumped into an opponent in the same Order since he broke through to the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm, which was why he wanted to test out his power. In fact, he hadn’t used any Secret Techniques after his initial two Moon Blades and had merely been drawing out the power of his Small Universe to battle against his opponent. He wanted to make use of this battle to familiarise himself with his newfound strength.
While they were locked in an intense battle, the woman and young man watched in horror from the side. They were respectively in the Fourth and Third-Order, but they were easily defeated by their opponent in the opening moments of the battle. Furthermore, they were totally powerless to intervene in the current fight.
Such a fierce battle seemed to have surpassed the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm. Perhaps it wasn’t far from a battle between Sixth-Order Masters.
All of a sudden, the woman sported a solemn expression and scanned her surroundings, then she yelled at Ma Tuan Yuan, “The wind is coming, Senior Brother Ma!”
Ma Tian Yuan, who was already exhausted from dealing with Yang Kai, appeared horrified upon hearing that. Hurriedly, he made a feint in an attempt to withdraw from the battlefield. Certainly, Yang Kai wouldn’t grant his wish. Such an intense battle was able to help him rapidly stabilise his cultivation, which was greatly beneficial to him.
Upon seeing that Yang Kai was relentless, a shocked and furious Ma Tian Yuan bellowed, “The wind is coming. Stop right now!”
A puzzled Yang Kai asked, “What wind?”
Judging from Ma Tian Yuan’s tone and the woman’s expression, Yang Kai reckoned that this ‘wind’ must be unusual. That was because the three of them sported terrified expressions as though they were truly afraid of what was coming.
However, Yang Kai was a newcomer to the Shadowless Cave Heaven, so he had no idea what this wind was.
Ma Tian Yuan was resentful of him, so he wasn’t willing to explain anything to him and simply said through clenched teeth, “You’ll soon experience what kind of wind it is!”
After he finished his words, the artifact in his hand suddenly shone brightly. As he infused all of his power into the artifact, he attempted to smash it down on Yang Kai’s head.
There was no doubt that Ma Tian Yuan had exerted all of his force with this attack, so Yang Kai wouldn’t dare to meet it head-on and quickly dodged to the side.
Seizing the chance, Ma Tian Yuan leaped away and yelled, “Run!”
Following this, he rushed in a particular direction. The woman took a long glance at Yang Kai before she supported the young man’s weight and fled in the same direction.
Yang Kai frowned and looked at their retreating figures without any intention to pursue them.
Then, he looked down at his hands and slowly balled up his fists. If he had this kind of power back then, he wouldn’t have to hide and only make use of Nine Heavenly Layers Grand Array to fend off his enemies, which was all he could do when the Hundred Sects Alliance attacked Void Land. If he had this kind of power at that time, he wouldn’t have been powerless to counterattack when he was besieged by Shen Liang and Jiang Yun Shan from Heavenly Sword Union just outside of Void Territory.
Presently, he finally had power of his own. In the 3,000 Worlds, a person would never be regarded as important if they weren’t even an Open Heaven Realm Master.
The starting point of the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm was a letdown as he had spent many years trying to directly become a High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master; however, instead of endlessly waiting for a dream that might not even come true, the power in his hands now was far more real. Therefore, Yang Kai didn’t regret the decision he had made.
If the battle earlier went on, Yang Kai had the confidence to kill Ma Tian Yuan even though he would be slightly injured as a cost. Nevertheless, there was no blood feud between them, so it wasn’t necessary for Yang Kai to be so merciless. However, after the battle, he had a more direct understanding of his current strength.
Just then, he felt a breeze whisking across his face like an invisible hand fiddling with his hair.
Wind was indeed blowing. Yang Kai carefully inspected the wind but didn’t find anything strange about it, so he wondered why Ma Tian Yuan and the others appeared terrified just now. At the mention of the wind, all of their expressions changed drastically, and Ma Tian Yuan had chosen to trade injuries with him to create an opening to withdraw.
As Yang Kai shook his head, he identified a direction and stepped forward.
Ma Tian Yuan had met the Proprietress and the others, but he had no idea where they were now. On the other hand, the people from Profound Yang Mountain were hunting them down.
Yang Kai had a feeling that he could find some clues by heading to Profound Yang Mountain and asking them about it.
Nevertheless, he had no idea where Profound Yang Mountain was. At that moment, he regretted that he hadn’t asked Ma Tian Yuan and the others about its location first.
The wind was rapidly intensifying. It was still a breeze just a moment ago, but now, a gale lifted all the sand into the air, which made it impossible for Yang Kai to see clearly.
It was then he realised why the Shadowless Cave Heaven was so desolate. Given such a hostile environment, it would be strange if this place was fertile.
It wouldn’t have mattered if it was just a regular storm, but the problem was that the wind was extremely strange as it was able to sneak into a person’s flesh, which made him feel an excruciating pain all over his body, as though he had been repeatedly cut with countless knives. Besides that, the wind could even penetrate his Small Universe.
It was only as Yang Kai checked on his Small Universe that his expression changed as he realised that the wind had caused the place to descend into chaos. Even the foundation of his Small Universe was being damaged by this gale.
At that instant, he was dumbfounded as he couldn’t believe there was such horrifying wind in this world. Then, he recalled that the Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm woman had mentioned that Ma Tian Yuan was originally a Sixth-Order Master, but due to some unfortunate events, he regressed to the Fifth-Order. It seemed that the incidents must have something to do with this strange wind.
Not only was this wind excruciatingly painful, but it was also able to grind down an Open Heaven Realm Master’s Small Universe, draining their World Force and damaging their foundation.
It wouldn’t matter if this only happened once or twice, but if a person had to endure this repeatedly, the heritage of their Small Universe would be permanently weakened, and their Order would drop. That should be how Ma Tian Yuan fell to the Fifth Order.
Moreover, this was just the beginning. As time passed, the gale intensified to the point where Yang Kai wouldn’t dare to be negligent. Quickly summoning his Azure Dragon Spear, he dug a deep hole in an attempt to seek refuge underground.
However, it was futile. Even though he dove several thousand metres below the surface, the wind seemed almost immaterial and penetrated the earth, infiltrating his Small Universe in the process. It seemed that there was nowhere in the Shadowless Cave Heaven that was safe from this wind.
Of course, there must be places in the Shadowless Cave Heaven where one could evade the wind; otherwise, all the Open Heaven Realm Masters in this place would’ve been killed following the collapse of their Small Universes.
At the very least, the places where the three great forces were based must be safe zones.
The gale didn’t seem to be stopping anytime soon. Even though Yang Kai was trying his best to resist underground, his efforts proved useless. He could only bear this unspeakable pain while praying that the eerie wind would soon pass.
The wind disappeared as abruptly as it came, vanishing an hour later.
When Yang Kai climbed out of the hole he had dug, he was completely battered. Not only was his hair a mess, but his skin was also covered in cuts. These flesh wounds didn’t matter as he could recover quickly given the resilience of his physique; however, the loss of heritage in his Small Universe pained his heart.
The environment in the Small Universe didn’t change as the Sun and the Moon still moved cyclically; nevertheless, Yang Kai could detect that the heritage in his Small Universe had been reduced by about 10%.
In other words, if he came across the same kind of wind ten times, his Small Universe would destabilise and collapse, killing him. The immense loss pained him more than the injuries on his body.
It would take him a very long time before he could restore this 10%; in other words, the gale had wiped away years of hard cultivation.
[What was that wind? Why was it so strange?]
After stuffing a handful of Open Heaven Pills into his mouth, Yang Kai carefully examined his Small Universe.
It was the first time he refined Open Heaven Pills since he ascended to the Open Heaven Realm. As the pills dissolved in his stomach, the medicinal efficacies streamed into all his organs and turned into World Force, which was used to replenish the heritage of his Small Universe.
A handful of pills were fully refined after just a few breaths, which astounded Yang Kai.
It was no wonder that Open Heaven Realm Masters required a lot of cultivation resources. Given this rate, he was able to refine more than 10,000 Open Heaven Pills in a day, several hundred thousand pills in a month, and three to four million pills in a year.
The calculation made was based on the fact that he was in the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm. How many pills would he need when he ascended to the Sixth Order or the Seventh Order? How long would it take before he could achieve an ascension if he merely relied on refining Open Heaven Pills? How many pills would be used in the process? Yang Kai didn’t dare to keep thinking about it as that number must be astronomical.
Yang Kai initially thought that the Open Heaven Pills he had accumulated in Void Land were sufficient, but now it seemed that he was very wrong; after all, when the Great Emperors and the cultivators from the Star Boundary ascended to the Open Heaven Realm, they would need massive amounts of Open Heaven Pills to keep cultivating.
It was no wonder that Open Heaven Realm Masters had a thirst for cultivation resources as it was just too slow to refine Open Heaven Pills. It would be much faster to refine cultivation resources of different Orders, but that would require a lot of money as well.
However, if a person was wealthy, they probably wouldn’t mind this. In comparison, it was much better to strengthen the heritage of one’s Small Universe by refining cultivation resources than Open Heaven Pills.
Yang Kai refined Open Heaven Pills while examining his Small Universe. The eerie gale had caused his Small Universe to descend into chaos.
All of a sudden, he became startled for a moment before he zoomed in on a particular place in his Small Universe. That was the place where the Manifestation of his Towering Evergreen Divine Manifestation was located. It was a gigantic ancient tree.
The area around the gargantuan tree that was covered by the tree crown was totally undamaged. Yang Kai couldn’t see any traces left behind by the gale. It was as though the eerie wind was blocked by something around this area.
Yang Kai frowned and carefully examined other areas in his Small Universe. He could confirm that all other places were damaged by the wind except for this place.
That discovery made his gaze brighten as he thought that his Towering Evergreen might be able to fend off the effects of the wind, which was why this area was completely undamaged. Unfortunately, he didn’t pay attention to this area when the gale was torturing him; otherwise, he could’ve intently observed it.
He could only wait for the wind to strike again before he could test his speculation. If his theory was correct, he would have a way to protect himself in the Shadowless Cave Heaven. At the very least, he didn’t have to worry about his Small Universe being damaged when the wind struck.
After pulling himself together, Yang Kai set off.
He had no idea where Profound Yang Mountain was, but he reckoned that he would find out about it if he came across others. Ma Tian Yuan had said that there were three main great forces in the Shadowless Cave Heaven, and all cultivators belonged to one of them. That was because a cultivator wouldn’t be able to survive if he or she refused to join one of the great forces.
Perhaps everyone had gone into hiding due to the wind just now, because as Yang Kai moved forward, he didn’t bump into anyone.
Half a day later, he finally saw two figures passing by from the corner of his eye. Hurriedly, Yang Kai charged forward and raced after them.
When the two people detected Yang Kai’s presence, they immediately stopped in their tracks and turned around with vigilance, preparing for a fight.
Yang Kai landed on a spot in front of them and sized them up before discovering that both of them were in the Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm. One of them looked rough while the other was tall.
As soon as they sensed Yang Kai’s Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm aura, they put up their guard and the rough-looking man bellowed, “Who are you? Why did you run after us?”
“Don’t panic. I don’t have any ill intentions. I just want to ask for directions,” Yang Kai cupped his fist with a smile.
The two of them traded glances, then the rough-looking man asked with an awkward expression, “Where do you want to go?”
Yang Kai asked, “Where is Profound Yang Mountain?”
The rough-looking man appeared to be in disbelief, “You don’t know where Profound Yang Mountain is?”
The other man seemed cleverer as he figured out something and secretly spoke to his companion. It was only then that the rough-looking man realised something and asked, “Have you just arrived in the Shadowless Cave Heaven, Senior Brother?”
Only newcomers would be clueless about the location of Profound Yang Mountain.
“That’s right.” Yang Kai nodded, “I accidentally fell into this place and heard that there are three great forces. There’s no doubt that Profound Yang Mountain is the strongest, so I’d like to join it, but I don’t know where it’s located. That’s why I want to ask you about it. I’m sorry if I’ve offended you in any way.”
Upon hearing that, the rough-looking man guffawed, “I see, I see. I thought you were going to rob us. You’re right. Of the three great forces in the Shadowless Cave Heaven, Profound Yang Mountain is the best. We have Four Great Mountain Lords, all of whom are Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters. The First Mountain Lord is even just one step away from the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm. Unrivalled Guild only has three Sixth-Orders while Twin Spirit Island has two. They’re not even worth comparing to our Profound Yang Mountain.”
Yang Kai’s gaze brightened when he heard that, “Are you two from Profound Yang Mountain?” He had never expected that the first people he bumped into would be from Profound Yang Mountain. After giving it a thought though, he realised that it wasn’t so surprising. There were only three great forces in the Shadowless Cave Heaven. Since he had met the people from Unrivalled Guild, it was expected that he’d also chance upon people from Profound Yang Mountain.
The rough-looking man sported a modest smile, “That’s right.”
An elated Yang Kai said, “What a coincidence. Would it be alright for you to lead me to Profound Yang Mountain? Of course, if it’s not convenient for you, you can just tell me the directions and I’ll go over there myself.”
The rough-looking man exchanged glances with his companion and secretly communicated with him before nodding, “We don’t have any important tasks to attend to anyway. Since Senior Brother is willing to join Profound Yang Mountain, I believe that the Mountain Lords will welcome you. We’ll lead you to the headquarters now.”
A Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master was considered fairly powerful in the Shadowless Cave Heaven, so any great force would welcome him. Moreover, a newcomer would have to hand over a large portion of his resources. When that happened, they would get some rewards for bringing Yang Kai to the Sect.
That was also the reason Ma Tian Yuan wanted to lure Yang Kai to Unrivalled Guild.
“Many thanks,” Yang Kai cupped his fists with gratitude.
The rough-looking man laughed and said, “Don’t mention it, Senior Brother. If you join Profound Yang Mountain, we’ll be one family. Both of us are weak, so you have to take care of us in the future.”
“Good, good,” Yang Kai replied with a smile.
Then, they identified the direction and headed straight to Profound Yang Mountain.
As a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, Yang Kai seemed pretty easy-going, so the two men wanted to befriend him. Therefore, they had a pleasant chat on the way to their destination. The two of them were biological brothers whose surname was Wei.
As they spoke, they implicitly asked about Yang Kai’s background. Yang Kai was being frank as he mentioned that he was from Void Land. While treasure hunting in the Shattered Heaven, he accidentally fell into the Shadowless Cave Heaven.
Void Land was a very new great force while these people had lived in the Shadowless Cave Heaven for years, so they knew nothing about the place Yang Kai was from. As such, they were unable to figure out whether Yang Kai was speaking the truth.
However, regardless of one’s background, it was useless in the Shadowless Cave Heaven. There was once a disciple from one of the Cave Heavens who fell into this place and thought himself superior to others, but he ended up in a miserable state. Perhaps he was secretly killed by one of the top cultivators here.
Yang Kai’s aura suggested that he was a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master while the Wei Brothers were only in the Fourth Order, which was why they were polite to him.
There came a moment when Yang Kai thought that it was the right time to ask about the wind, “By the way, I came across a strange gale in this damned place half a day ago. What was that? Why was I still unable to avoid it even though I dove several thousand metres below ground?”
At the mention of the eerie wind, the Wei Brothers couldn’t help but shudder. The older Brother Wei gazed at him with an awkward expression and asked, “You snuck into the ground in order to avoid the wind, Senior Brother Yang?”
“Yes.”
The Wei Brothers exchanged glances and seemed to take a stroll down memory lane. Then, the older Brother Wei burst into laughter, “That was what we did in the past, but it was totally useless. The wind is unavoidable. Not only can it reach underground, but it also blows into our Small Universes. We suffered immense losses because of that.”
Yang Kai repeatedly nodded, “That was what happened to me. My Small Universe is in a mess now.”
The younger Brother Wei added, “Since you’re a newcomer, it’s expected that you know nothing about it. We call that strange wind Shadowless Astral Wind, but no one knows what it actually is. The wind is able to penetrate essentially any kind of barrier to reach every point in the Shadowless Cave Heaven, only a few special spots are safe from it. You can’t avoid the wind anywhere else.”
The older Brother Wei said, “These places are the Headquarters of the three great forces in the Shadowless Cave Heaven. The location of Profound Yang Mountain is the biggest one. Whenever the Shadowless Astral Wind comes, all of us have to avoid it; otherwise, we suffer big losses.”
Upon that realization, Yang Kai nodded, “It’s no wonder that the person I came across earlier told me that we’re unable to survive in the Shadowless Cave Heaven if we don’t join one of the three great forces.”
The older Brother Wei nodded repeatedly, “True. Without shelter, a person will lose all the heritage in his or her Small Universe due to the wind, and once their Small Universe collapses, they’ll die.”
A worried Yang Kai asked, “Are only the Headquarters of the three great forces safe from the wind in the Shadowless Cave Heaven?” In that case, the Proprietress and the others were probably in a terrible state right now. It had been one year since they fell into the Shadowless Cave Heaven, so they must have experienced the Astral Wind many times, which would certainly have a negative impact on their Small Universes.
The younger Brother Wei shook his head, “Not exactly. There are some smaller places where one can take refuge from the wind, but they can’t accommodate a lot of people.”
The older Brother Wei followed up, “To be honest with you, even the Headquarters of the three great forces are not completely immune to the Shadowless Astral Wind, it’s just that the impact is less severe when we hide inside those places. Even though there are other shelters, none of them are as good as the Headquarters of the three great forces.”
To the side, the younger Brother Wei nodded in agreement.
Yang Kai arched his brow, “It seems that we’re really unable to survive if we don’t join one of the three great forces.”
“That’s right.”
Yang Kai looked away and asked, “Has no one survived over the years while not being in one of the three great forces?”
“There are none. You had a taste of Shadowless Astral Wind earlier, Senior Brother Yang. Even though you’re a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, how many times do you think you can endure it?”
The younger Brother Wei muttered, “En, I remember that there are three people who are outside of the three great forces now. I wonder how they’re doing.”
“Three people?” Yang Kai appeared shocked, “Who are they? Why are they not part of the three great forces?”
The younger Brother Wei took a glance at his older Brother, not knowing whether he should talk about it.
After a moment of hesitation, the older Brother Wei reasoned, “Senior Brother Yang is going to join Profound Yang Mountain, so there’s no reason we can’t tell him.”
It was then the younger Brother Wei continued, “Senior Brother Yang, you said you want to join Profound Yang Mountain, but do you know our rules?”
“Please tell me about them.”
“If you join Profound Yang Mountain, you can stay in the great force when the wind comes to prevent being harmed. However, cultivation resources in the Shadowless Cave Heaven are very scarce, so every newcomer has to hand over 80% of their cultivation resources upon joining.”
“I did hear something like that,” Yang Kai nodded.
It was then the younger Brother Wei breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that other great forces must have attempted to lure Yang Kai to join them, but he had turned them down. It wasn’t until he had a taste of Shadowless Astral Wind that he decided to join Profound Yang Mountain.
In fact, the same thing happened to the Wei Brothers in the past; after all, no one was willing to hand over a large part of their own resources to someone else.
However, once a newcomer had a taste of the Shadowless Astral Wind, they would be eager to join one of the three great forces without anyone luring them; otherwise, they wouldn’t be able to survive in the Shadowless Cave Heaven.
As the Wei Brothers recalled the past, they put on bitter smiles.
After pulling himself together, the younger Brother Wei continued, “There were two men and one woman. All of them are fairly powerful. The woman was in the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm while the men were in the Fifth-Order. When they arrived in the Shadowless Cave Heaven, they happened to land on a place just outside of Profound Yang Mountain. The Mountain Lords noticed them and attempted to make them join our great force. The Second Mountain Lord even promised the woman that she would become the Fifth Mountain Lord; however, she turned down the offer.”
“The Fifth Mountain Lord? Why did the woman turn down such a good offer?” Yang Kai asked in puzzlement.
The younger Brother Wei explained with a helpless smile, “In fact, our Second Mountain Lord has a problem. It’s that he’s very lascivious. The woman is alluring, and she’s as powerful as the Second Mountain Lord. Therefore, he declared that the woman needed to be his partner before she could become the Fifth Mountain Lord in Profound Yang Mountain. Perhaps the woman was from a powerful background, so she was rather hot-tempered. After an argument, she got into a fight with the Second Mountain Lord.”
“What happened next?” Yang Kai asked.
“Although the woman was powerful, she was unable to fight against so many people on her own. There are four Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters in Profound Yang Mountain, so it was expected that she was no match for them. The Mountain Lords joined forces and injured her, but she managed to flee in the end. The Second Mountain Lord was so furious that he hunted them down for a while but to no avail.”
Even though Yang Kai was furious, he pretended to be nonchalant.
The older Brother Wei continued, “They won’t let that woman off. Although she was powerful, the Mountain Lords could’ve prevented her from fleeing if they went all out. However, the Shadowless Cave Heaven is different from the outside world as resources are scarce here. No one is willing to make a move unless it’s absolutely necessary. That’s because fighting consumes a lot of power. If the Mountain Lords wanted to make the woman stay at that time, they would’ve had to pay a hefty price. That was why they let her go.”
The younger Brother Wei nodded his head, “A long time has passed since that incident. I guess the Second Mountain Lord is about to make a move. Even if those three were able to find a shelter, their strength must have been weakened by now as they had to constantly resist the Shadowless Astral Wind. Certainly, the Second Mountain Lord will be able to easily defeat them now.”
Yang Kai asked, “Do you know where the three of them are now?”
The older Brother Wei gave him a weird look, “Why are you asking this question, Senior Brother Yang?”
Yang Kai put on a faint smile, “Just curious.”
The unsuspecting older Brother Wei shook his head and replied, “We don’t know where they are now, but the Second Mountain Lord should be aware of it.”
Then, he pointed at the front, “Profound Yang Mountain is over there. It’s the Second Mountain Lord who is in charge this month so I’ll bring you to meet him first. After you join Profound Yang Mountain, we can have a proper chat.”
“Many thanks,” Yang Kai nodded.
There were more than ten mountains in Profound Yang Mountain. Looking from afar, one could see many palaces scattered around the mountains, and quite a number of cultivators were seen moving about. The people who could enter the Shadowless Cave Heaven were all Open Heaven Realm Masters. On the way to their destination, some people would greet the Wei Brothers and inquire about Yang Kai’s background.
The Wei Brothers were completely honest with them, and upon hearing their explanation, these people appeared envious.
That was because Yang Kai was brought to Profound Yang Mountain by the Wei Brothers. After he handed over eighty percent of his resources, the Wei Brothers would also get a handsome reward. Certainly, these people were envious of them for getting such benefits.
Soon, they reached a peak where there was a majestic Grand Hall. One could even hear some flirtatious and playful voices coming from inside.
Upon reaching the entrance, one of the Wei Brothers spoke up, “Please wait for me here, Senior Brother Yang. I’ll inform the Second Mountain Lord about your visit.”
Yang Kai nodded and waited patiently.
The older Brother Wei entered the Grand Hall, and just a moment later, he stepped out and said to Yang Kai, “The Second Mountain Lord is ready to meet you. Please come with me, Senior Brother Yang.”
As soon as Yang Kai followed the Wei Brothers into the Grand Hall, he caught a whiff of a pleasant fragrance and felt a rather decadent aura.
Looking up, he saw a lot of women’s clothes scattered around on the ground, which also included some undergarments.
At the other end of the Grand Hall, there was a rather soft-looking man lying on a huge chair, surrounded by seven or eight women in revealing clothes.
These women were wearing different styles of clothing, and they were each beautiful in their own unique way. There was a woman who squatted in front of him and helped him massage his calves. There was also a woman who let the man lie on her thighs and rubbed his temples. Another woman was seen sipping some wine into her mouth and then passing it into the man’s mouth.
The sight was extremely licentious. These women were barely covered as a large part of their skin was exposed.
When the Wei Brothers and Yang Kai stepped into the place, the women turned to look at them with their alluring eyes.
Be it Ma Tian Yuan or the Wei Brothers, they all said that the Second Mountain Lord from Profound Yang Mountain was a lascivious man. It seemed that it was indeed the case.
The women around him were all Open Heaven Realm Masters ranging from the Third Order to the Fifth Order.
After the Wei Brothers entered the Grand Hall, they hung their heads low and stared at their feet while Yang Kai looked fixedly at the man.
As their eyes met, the soft-looking man curved his lips into a wicked smile. While he remained lying on the chair, he wandered his hand around one of the women, which caused her to moan incessantly.
“You want to join Profound Yang Mountain?” The man asked impassively.
“Are you the Second Mountain Lord of Profound Yang Mountain?” Yang Kai questioned him instead.
The man put on a faint smile, “En. This King is Second Mountain Lord of Profound Yang Mountain, Yun Fei Bai.”
“Half a year ago, a woman and two men arrived at this place. Were you the one who injured that woman?” Yang Kai asked.
Yun Fei Bai narrowed his eyes and shot Yang Kai a meaningful glance.
To the side, the Wei Brothers realised that something was off as they turned to gaze at Yang Kai. The older Brother Wei pulled Yang Kai’s sleeve and secretly spoke to him, “Why are you asking this question, Senior Brother Yang?”
An unfazed Yang Kai stared fixedly at Yun Fei Bai, “Is it true?”
Yun Fei Bai retracted his hand and slowly sat up before glaring at the Wei Brothers. Faced with the stern stare, the brothers were immediately drenched in cold sweat as they felt a crawling sensation on their scalps.
Then, Yun Fei Bai turned to look at Yang Kai and replied smilingly, “En, she was hurt by this King. She should feel honoured that I was interested in her, but she couldn’t appreciate my kindness. This King had no choice but to harm her a little. What’s wrong? Do you know her?”
“Yes.” Yang Kai nodded, “She’s my Proprietress.”
Yun Fei Bai said, “In that case, you’re not here to join Profound Yang Mountain. What’s the purpose of your visit?”
Yang Kai flashed a grin at him, “Since you’ve hurt Proprietress, I’m here to return the favour.”
Yun Fei Bai became startled for a moment before he pressed his palms together and guffawed, “You? Retaliate against me?” Then, he sized Yang Kai up, “You’ve just entered the Fifth Order, right? Why are you making a scene here in Profound Yang Mountain instead of strengthening your own cultivation? Are you sick of living?”
He paused for a moment, “Good. This King was preparing to deal with that slut in a few days. Since you’ve come all the way here, I’ll capture you and then look for her. I believe that she’s important to you, which is why you’re so concerned about her. You should make a good bargaining chip.”
“You want to capture me? Let’s see if you’re capable of doing that!”
As soon as Yang Kai finished speaking, he unleashed his Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm aura and like a Flood Dragon leaving the ocean, he charged at Yun Fei Bai.
The Wei Brothers beside him were forced to stagger back from the impact while Yun Fei Bai remained seated while giving Yang Kai a disdainful look.
“You dare?!” One of the women who leaned against the man yelled and raised her hand before pushing her palm towards Yang Kai. The woman was a fairly powerful cultivator in the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm. Clad in very thin clothing, her precious places were exposed while she made a move. Any man who saw this would feel their blood boiling.
“Scram!” Yang Kai bellowed and pushed out his fist.
Following a loud boom, the woman shrieked and sprayed out a mouthful of blood while she was sent flying away. Her tender body crashed into the wall and then fell into the debris.
Yun Fei Bai’s expression changed drastically as he stood straight up and roared, “Impudence!”
He didn’t make a move just now because he didn’t think there was a need to. There was no way a newly promoted Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master could possess much strength, so the women around him should be able to deal with him.
However, it never crossed Yun Fei Bai’s mind that his strongest woman would be sent flying after just one exchange of blows.
The other women were dumbfounded, but they soon came to their senses and shouted as they used their Secret Techniques on Yang Kai.
These women were not just Yun Fei Bai’s playthings; after all, they were all Open Heaven Realm Masters who were strong in their own right, though their Orders varied quite a bit.
Presently, they were making a move at the same time, so the sight was both alluring and imposing.
An unafraid Yang Kai threw out his fists in quick succession, unleashing a barrage of fist shadows as he attacked the women in all directions.
Explosive sounds were continuously heard as his World Force blew out the surrounding walls. These women clad in skimpy outfits were all sent flying in different directions.
Amidst the weltering dust, Yang Kai shot into the sky and looked around before knitting his brows, “So weak. None of them can fight!”
Besides the first woman who traded moves with him, there was also another Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master among these women while the rest were Third and Fourth-Order.
However, these two Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters were totally incomparable to Ma Tian Yuan. After the battle against Ma Tian Yuan, Yang Kai had a better understanding of his own strength. He thought that all Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters would be about as strong as Ma Tian Yuan, but after this battle, he realised that he had overestimated others while underestimating himself.
After giving it a thought, he realised that it wasn’t surprising. Ma Tian Yuan fell from the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm to his current strength, so he was at the very peak of the Fifth-Order. These two women were naturally much weaker than him.
The place was a mess, but although the women were injured by Yang Kai, they were still alive.
Outside the ruins, the Wei Brothers were dumbfounded at the turn of events as they shuddered in fear.
“You court death!” Yun Fei Bai roared. He would be completely humiliated if word got out that his women were hurt in his own room.
Initially, he intended to capture Yang Kai and then deal with the woman named Lan You Ruo; however, his mind was now filled with murderous intent.
As his Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm aura permeated the air, he raised his hand and then brought down his palm.
A gigantic green palm was immediately formed above Yang Kai’s head, made from the purest World Force.
The attack was like an entire Small Universe pressing against Yang Kai. Moreover, it was the Small Universe of a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master.
At that instant, Yang Kai felt tremendously pressured. Although he’d had a good fight with Ma Tian Yuan after he had just ascended to the Open Heaven Realm, he hadn’t been forced into going all out. However, as he was faced with a furious Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master now, any slight negligence would cost him his life.
His fighting spirit had been ignited as he boldly shot into the sky and met the palm head-on.
A sense of ruthlessness flashed through Yun Fei Bai’s eyes as he clenched his fist, whereupon the gigantic palm also closed and turned into a cage as it grasped Yang Kai’s small figure.
The next instant, however, Yun Fei Bai’s expression changed drastically.
As World Force undulated, rays of light shot out in all directions. The gigantic hand exploded as a figure shot out and charged towards Yun Fei Bai as swift as lightning.
Upon seeing that, Yun Fei Bai snorted. Although he didn’t seem to be moving, he abruptly appeared in front of Yang Kai. As his clothes flapped in the wind, powerful but inconspicuous attacks bombarded Yang Kai. Every attack contained an extremely horrifying World Force.
Yang Kai continuously fended off the attacks as his figure shook and stepped backwards upon impact.
He reflected as he fought, realizing that a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master was truly powerful. Although he was pretty strong as a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, there was still a difference of one Order between them. Therefore, there was a clear disparity between their might.
Yang Kai knew he had to settle this fight as soon as possible; after all, they were in Profound Yang Mountain where there were four Sixth-Order Mountain Lords. If the battle dragged on, the other Mountain Lords and the powerful Masters from Profound Yang Mountain would take notice of the commotion. By then, Yang Kai would fall into a perilous situation. He wasn’t arrogant or ignorant enough to believe he could deal with several Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters all at once.
“You’re really something, brat!” Although Yun Fei Bai was incensed, he still couldn’t help but praise Yang Kai upon seeing that the latter was able to ward off his attacks.
Even though there was only a difference of one Order between the Fifth-Order and the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm, the disparity in strength was as great as the distance between the Heavens and the Earth.
If Yun Fei Bai was dealing with any other Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, he was confident that he would be able to take down the other party in ten moves. However, Yang Kai had already fended off 100 blows and aside from looking a bit awkward was perfectly fine.
He couldn’t help but wonder whether Yang Kai really was a new Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, [Is he just playing the pig? If he isn’t a new Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, what’s going on with that unstable aura of his?]
While Yun Fei Bai was still lost in his thoughts, Yang Kai, who was forced to continuously step backwards, suddenly stopped in his tracks.
At that instant, Yun Fei Bai felt his chest tightening as a sense of crisis suddenly befell him.
The next moment, Yang Kai reached out his hand and summoned a long spear into his grip.
The entire world seemed to shake the moment the spear appeared.
A mighty Dragon Roar resounded as a majestic Dragon Pressure permeated the air.
Yang Kai’s demeanour changed completely as he held the spear in his grip. He let out a breath and wielded the spear. Without any wasted movements or hesitation, he unleashed the full power of his Supreme Limitless Spear technique.
Yun Fei Bai’s expression changed drastically when he saw the spear approaching him. In his eyes, he could see a terrifying Great Dragon charging at him. As the Dragon swam through the air, seemingly determined to swallow him down in one fell swoop. Faced with this terrifying monster, he felt as insignificant as an ant.
He immediately bit his tongue to compose himself. Resisting the Dragon Pressure, Yun Fei Bai roared as he summoned a scroll, on which some illegible characters were written. Despite that, every stroke of the characters looked like a uniquely-shaped sword.
The terrifying Sword Qi spread out.
After he infused his World Force into the scroll, the characters came apart and turned into beams of very pure Sword Qi. As they slashed across the void, the sounds of breaking through the air were heard.
This was a complete humiliation!
As a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, Yun Fei Bai was forced to use his artifact when dealing with a mere Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. This was totally inconceivable to him. Prior to this, it never crossed his mind that such a formidable Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master existed in this world.
Comparing himself, back when he was still a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, to this young man, Yun Fei Bai felt he wasn’t even worthy of carrying the latter’s shoes.
To the side, the Wei Brothers were dumbstruck and shuddered violently.
They were not on the battlefield, so they were not able to experience how powerful Yang Kai was directly; however, upon seeing that the Second Mountain Lord had summoned his artifact, they knew that the latter had no other means to deal with the opponent. That was why they appeared horrified.
Yang Kai wielded the Azure Dragon Spear with complete freedom, unrestrained by anything. The spear was like an extension of himself, and he could manipulate it in any way he imagined. The scroll glowed wildly as the beams of Sword Qi criss-crossed one another. However, they were all warded off by Yang Kai.
It had been many years since Giant Spirit God Ah Da had given this spear to Yang Kai, and Yang Kai had used the Azure Dragon Spear and killed many enemies already.
Nevertheless, it wasn’t until this moment that he had a real taste of the spear’s true might. This was an artifact that only an Open Heaven Realm Master could truly wield.
Although he was able to bring out a fraction of the spear’s power in the past, it was only because he possessed a Dragon Source. Since he was weak, he was unable to fully display the spear’s might.
However, this time was different. With the weapon in his hand, Yang Kai could clearly feel fluctuations that resembled joy coming from the spear. Holding it, he felt as though he could challenge all 36 Cave Heavens and 72 Paradises alone.
Like a thunderstorm, Yang Kai repeatedly thrust out his spear in rapid succession.
The attacks didn’t only contain the power of the Azure Dragon Spear, but also Yang Kai’s understanding of the Dao of Space and Dao of Time.
In Yun Fei Bai’s eyes, Yang Kai’s spear and figure were blurry and elusive, making it almost impossible for him to follow his movements or identify his position. On top of that, his own thoughts seemed to be disturbed, like there was a disconnect between his mind, body, and the surrounding world.
The power of the scroll had been fully activated, and all the characters had left its surface, transforming into colourful blades of Sword Qi that repeatedly slashed through the air.
A long time seemed to have passed, but it was also as if only an instant had gone by.
When Yang Kai’s figure completely disappeared from Yun Fei Bai’s sight for an instant and he suddenly felt a tremendous sense of danger engulfing him.
As a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, he had experienced countless life-and-death moments; therefore, he was extremely sensitive to danger, and he was able to react appropriately.
All the Sword Qi returned and formed into a dazzling sword wave in front of him before he pushed it forward.
The next moment, Yang Kai abruptly appeared before him, as though he was throwing himself into the sword wave.
He didn’t seem to have the intention of backing down as his eyes were filled with determination and murderous intent. As Yang Kai stared fixedly at his opponent, he unleashed a grand thrust with his Azure Dragon Spear and bellowed, “Die!”
Blood splattered everywhere.
Yun Fei Bai’s chest had been penetrated by Azure Dragon Spear while Yang Kai’s neck was slashed across by the sword wave. The flesh around the wound rolled up as he was almost decapitated.
Upon impact, both of them were forced to step back as their blood splattered out.
It had to be said that at that moment of crisis, Yun Fei Bai had reacted in the best possible manner. If he hadn’t harmed Yang Kai with that sword wave, forcing his spear thrust off course ever so slightly, the attack could’ve killed him.
After they separated, Yang Kai held the spear in one hand while covering the wound on his neck with his other. He seemed determined to continue attacking; however, before he could make a move, he suddenly looked in a particular direction and snorted, “This isn’t over. When I see you again, I’ll definitely kill you!”
Upon declaring so, Yang Kai shot away from Profound Yang Mountain.
He wanted to kill Yun Fei Bai, but the intense battle just now had alerted the top Masters from Profound Yang Mountain and he could detect that those Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Mountain Lords were approaching. If he stayed there any longer, he would’ve been besieged by them.
“Kill him for me! Kill him!” An extremely pale Yun Fei Bai stomped hard and his roar reverberated across the entire Profound Yang Mountain.
The figures who were coming to Yun Fei Bai immediately turned around and chased after Yang Kai, including the Third and Fourth Mountain Lords of Profound Yang Mountain.
There was only one person who landed in front of the ruined Grand Hall. It was a fair-skinned and gentle-looking person who looked like an innocent young man; however, the shrewdness behind his eyes suggested that he was older than he appeared.
“Head Mountain Lord!” The Wei Brothers hurriedly lowered their heads.
This young-looking man was actually the First Mountain Lord of Profound Yang Mountain, Mao Zhe.
The Four Great Mountain Lords of Profound Yang Mountain were all in the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm, but he was the undisputed leader because he was just one step away from the Seventh-Order. In this regard, the other three Mountain Lords as well as the Three Chiefs of Unrivalled Guild and the two Island Masters of Twin Spirit Island were incomparable to him.
In the Shadowless Cave Heaven, cultivators were still able to break through to the next realm; however, due to the scarcity of resources and the existence of the Shadowless Astral Wind, cultivators who had fallen into this place considered themselves lucky if they could maintain their current Order. No one dared hope to achieve a breakthrough here.
It took a substantial amount of resources for a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master to ascend to the Seventh-Order; therefore, even though Mao Zhe had remained in his current Order for over 10,000 years, he was still unable to take the leap to the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm.
However, everyone believed that if he hadn’t fallen into the Shadowless Cave Heaven, he would’ve reached that realm in the outside world long ago.
“Second Brother, what happened?” Mao Zhe looked around and asked.
With a pair of eyes that seemed able to spit fire, Yun Fei Bai said through clenched teeth, “I was caught off guard by some brat.”
Mao Zhe looked in the direction Yang Kai had left with a slightly furrowed brow, “If I’m not mistaken, that person is only in the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm, right?”
Yun Fei Bai flushed and said, “I was just careless!”
“He’s really something as he’s able to harm you when he’s just a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master.” Mao Zhe nodded, “Where does he come from?”
Yun Fei Bai glared at the Wei Brothers, “They have some explaining to do!”
Mao Zhe turned to look at the Wei Brothers, who turned pale instantly as they were soaked in a cold sweat. Not daring to hide anything, they hurriedly narrated their encounter with Yang Kai.
Upon hearing that, Mao Zhe fell into his thoughts for a moment before saying, “He came all the way here for Lan You Ruo.”
Yun Fei Bai was severely injured as his chest had been penetrated by the Azure Dragon Spear, and his clothes were covered in blood. Given the fact that he was a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, it would take him one to two months before he could fully recover. However, he wasn’t at risk of losing his life at the very least. While Mao Zhe spoke to the Wei Brothers, he was already seated with his legs crossed and adjusting his breathing to prevent his injury from worsening.
The Wei Brothers darted their gazes between Yun Fei Bai and Mao Zhe as they were completely apprehensive. Even though they had no idea that Yang Kai was audacious enough to make a scene in Profound Yang Mountain, they were the ones who brought him to this place after all; hence, they could not stay clear of this matter. Now that Yun Fei Bai was severely injured, they would probably get some harsh punishments.
They couldn’t help but secretly curse at Yang Kai for dragging them into this. They felt that they had been unfairly victimised.
A while later, two figures descended from the sky.
They were the Third Mountain Lord and the Fourth Mountain Lord of Profound Yang Mountain.
Mao Zhe turned to look at them, whereupon the Third Mountain Lord Geng Qing shook his head, “He escaped.”
Mao Zhe arched his brow, “Oh? He managed to flee with you two personally chasing after him? Wasn’t that boy injured by Second Brother?”
The Fourth Mountain Lord was the only woman among the Four Great Mountain Lords of Profound Yang Mountain. Apart from her alluring face and curvy figure, her watery eyes seemed able to suck a man’s soul into them at any moment. Upon hearing Mao Zhe’s words, she replied, “That boy seems to be adept in the Dao of Space. He teleported away while Third Brother and I were chasing him, vanishing into thin air.”
Mao Zhe’s gaze brightened, “He’s adept in the Dao of Space?”
Geng Qing dipped his head, “I believe so.”
Mao Zhe immediately closed his eyes and scanned his surroundings. A moment later, he nodded, “It’s true. There are some residual fluctuations of Space Principles here. No wonder he had the guts to make a scene in Profound Yang Mountain. I heard that Masters of the Dao of Space are unrivalled when it comes to chasing and escaping. Unless we’re able to seal the Heavens and lock the Earth, we won’t be able to restrict his freedom. It seems the rumours are true.”
After pondering on it for a moment, he went on to say, “Since that boy has come all the way here for Lan You Ruo, he’ll definitely look for her. Third Brother, Fourth Sister, please go over and capture that boy. I don’t care about the others, but that boy has to be brought back to me alive.”
Geng Qing and the Fourth Mountain Lord Zhou Ya exchanged glances, then the former asked doubtfully, “It seems that you have a high regard for that boy, Big Brother.”
Mao Zhe gently rubbed his fingers together and asked, “How many years have you been in the Shadowless Cave Heaven, Third Brother?”
After giving it a thought, Geng Qing replied, “I can’t remember the exact length of time, but I suppose it’s been 3,000 years.”
“What about you, Fourth Sister?”
Zhou Ya replied, “I’m sure it’s been more than 1,000 years.”
Then, Mao Zhe took a glance at Yun Fei Bai, who was trying to heal his wound, and said, “Second Brother came earlier than you two. He’s been around for 6,000 years while I’ve been stuck in this place for more than 10,000 years. The Shadowless Cave Heaven is neither big nor small. Over the years, we’ve searched all the places we could, but we’re still unable to find an exit.”
All of them appeared dejected at the mention of this. Besides Profound Yang Mountain, those from Unrivalled Guild, and Twin Spirit Island had constantly been looking for a way out as well; however, they were unable to find any clue regardless of how hard they tried.
“It’s been so many years. Don’t you want to go out and see the outside world again? Do you want to remain stuck in this damned place forever?”
Geng Qing replied, “Of course we want to leave.”
Zhou Ya appeared to be in her thoughts, “Big Brother, you mean…”
Mao Zhe nodded, “That boy is a Master of the Dao of Space, so he’s much more sensitive to Space Principle fluctuations than us. Perhaps… he’ll be able to find the way out.”
The gazes of Geng Qing and Zhou Ya brightened when they heard that. Although they were unable to find the exit after so many years, it didn’t mean that the Shadowless Cave Heaven had no exit. It was just that they hadn’t found it. If they could make use of this boy who was proficient in the Dao of Space, perhaps they would have a pleasant surprise.
An excited Geng Qing said, “En, don’t worry, Big Brother. Fourth Sister and I will call the roll and capture that boy immediately.”
Just when Mao Zhe was about to speak, Yun Fei Bai suddenly opened his eyes and shouted, “Wait a moment!”
Geng Qing gazed at him, “Is there anything you want to say, Second Brother?”
Yun Fei Bai said through gritted teeth, “Please leave this matter to me, Big Brother. It’s utterly humiliating that I was injured by that brat. If I don’t get my revenge, I’ll never have a good night’s rest again.”
Upon hearing that, Mao Zhe frowned.
Zhou Ya said, “Second Brother, your wound… How are you going to make a move? Don’t forget that Lan You Ruo is also a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. Although her power might have weakened during this period of time, it’s still not easy to deal with her if she’s pushed into a corner.”
Yun Fei Bai replied, “This kind of injury will heal in two… No, it’ll heal in one month. We’ve been waiting for years, so why can’t we wait another month?” Then, he gazed at Mao Zhe and sported a solemn expression, “Please give me one month’s time, Big Brother.”
Mao Zhe closed his eyes and fell silent. A moment later, he nodded gently and said, “Since you’re so determined, we’ll wait for your recovery, and then you’ll lead the operation.”
An ecstatic Yun Fei Bai replied, “Many thanks, Big Brother!”
Following that, Mao Zhe moved and abruptly disappeared.
Geng Qing and Zhou Ya exchanged glances, then they told Yun Fei Bai to take a rest and dispersed.
After the other three Mountain Lords were gone, the women who were injured by Yang Kai earlier appeared and came over to help Yun Fei Bai up before they headed to another mountain.
The Wei Brothers traded glances and shuddered before fleeing from that place, feeling as though they had just escaped from death’s door.
Meanwhile, a battered figure landed on a barren mountain. He was none other than Yang Kai, who was running for his life just moments before.
Yun Fei Bai’s attack almost beheaded him. The long wound on his neck was hideous, and all his clothes were soaked in blood. However, he had a strong physique, so even as he ran for his life earlier, his wound was starting to heal. The flesh around his wound was seen squirming and reconnecting already.
Now, the most important thing for him was to get rid of Yun Fei Bai’s World Force; otherwise, his wound would never heal.
Upon making sure that no one was pursuing him, Yang Kai dug a hole in the mountain and snuck into it.
Then, he stuffed a handful of pills into his mouth and pushed his World Force to suppress and expel the power left behind by Yun Fei Bai in his neck wound.
Although Yun Fei Bai was one Order above him, his residual power wasn’t a living thing; therefore, it wasn’t difficult for Yang Kai to disperse it as he just needed some time.
Half a day later, Yang Kai’s expression changed as he opened his eyes and released his Divine Sense. Soon, he realised that there was a woman pacing around outside the barren mountain.
Yang Kai initially decided to ignore her; after all, he had to recuperate as soon as possible, but the woman kept pacing around for a long time as though she had discovered something.
His heart sank as he had no choice but to leave his hideout.
The woman was only in the Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm, so given Yang Kai’s current strength, he could kill her as he pleased. Therefore, even though he was wounded, he wasn’t afraid of her.
The woman was just looking around when she sensed something and looked up, only to see Yang Kai staring coldly at her.
She was shocked as she subconsciously took a few steps back. All of a sudden, something flashed through her eyes as Yang Kai abruptly appeared before her and clenched her neck with his iron-like hand. The force coming from his palm felt as lethal as a python’s bite.
At that instant, the woman was horrified as she coughed and pleaded with the man with her eyes.
Yang Kai stared dispassionately at her for a moment before frowning, “You’re one of Yun Fei Bai’s women?”
The woman looked familiar to Yang Kai. She was one of the women who surrounded Yun Fei Bai earlier. If he wasn’t mistaken, she was the one who massaged Yun Fei Bai’s calves. Presently, she was clad only in a thin layer of clothing, leaving her curvy figure faintly visible to the eyes.
Moments ago, Yang Kai fought with those women and sent them all flying away, this woman included.
The woman wanted to nod, but she was unable to move a muscle, so she could only bat her eyes.
“How did you find me?” Yang Kai asked coldly. He had even shaken off two Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, so how did this weak woman find his whereabouts?
As he spoke, he slightly loosened his grip.
The woman hurriedly explained, “I’m sensitive to smells, and Sir’s blood is different from others.”
Yang Kai frowned, not knowing whether he should believe her. As he expanded his Divine Sense, he realised that there was no one else besides them in this place.
He had the intention of killing her, but faced with a much weaker woman who didn’t have a blood feud with him, Yang Kai didn’t have the heart to cross that line.
After glaring for a while, he snorted and released her, “Since you’re able to find me, why have you come to look for me on your own instead of telling the leaders of Profound Yang Mountain to come here? Aren’t you worried that I’ll kill you?”
The woman pressed her lips together. Without replying to him, she fished out a jade slip from her Space Ring and passed it to him.
“What is this?”
The woman didn’t explain anything, and upon seeing that Yang Kai wasn’t taking it, she gently put the jade slip down on the ground and stepped backwards as she said, “I’ll owe you a favour if you can kill Yun Fei Bai.”
Yang Kai furrowed his brows while the woman turned around and left, leaving behind a rather pleasant fragrance in the air.
After taking a look at the jade slip, Yang Kai balled up his fist and grasped it in his hand. Upon examining it, he arched his brow.
That was because the jade slip contained a detailed map of the Shadowless Cave Heaven and the Proprietress’ location.
As he recalled the woman’s words before she left, Yang Kai fell into contemplation.
It seemed that the woman wasn’t willing to become Yun Fei Bai’s plaything. She was forced into such a state.
Unfortunately, she was too weak to resist. The fact that Yang Kai barged into Profound Yang Mountain and wounded Yun Fei Bai allowed her to see a glimmer of hope, so she came all the way here to look for him and give him some information.
After storing the jade slip, Yang Kai turned around and left.
He hadn’t fully recovered yet, and he wasn’t certain whether the woman was telling him the truth. It’d be terrible if Yang Kai’s opponents found him because she was leading him into a trap. Therefore, he decided to change hiding spots.
A while later, he found a cave on another barren mountain and snuck into it to recuperate.
The wound on his neck was hideous; however, it was nothing more than a flesh wound after Yun Fei Bai’s residual power was expelled, so it wasn’t difficult to heal it. Given his intrepid physique, it would only take him three to five days to recover.
A few days later, Yang Kai fished out the jade slip and identified his current position. After going through the information in the jade slip, he turned into a beam of light and headed in a particular direction.
Half a day later, he landed on a huge caldera. Looking down, he realised that the caldera was basically bottomless. Horrifying red magma weltered inside the basin while dark smoke was seen billowing from it. There were countless such calderas in the surrounding 1,000-kilometres radius and from time to time, the magma would burst out and form red rivers.
The environment here was more hostile than most places, but according to the information in the jade slip given to Yang Kai by that woman, the Proprietress, Chef, and Accountant were currently hiding here.
In the entire Shadowless Cave Heaven, there were only a small number of places that were safe from the Shadowless Astral Wind. Besides the Headquarters of the three great forces, this caldera was one such place. However, it was less effective compared to the Headquarters of the three great forces.
Yang Kai rubbed his nose as he felt a lump in his throat. The Proprietress was a beautiful woman, but she was also a peak Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. In order to look for a cultivation resource for him, she fell into the Shadowless Cave Heaven, and eventually, she had to hide in this kind of terrible place. He couldn’t help but blame himself.
In the past, he was determined to become a High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master and didn’t listen to anyone’s dissuasion. Perhaps he had been too willful back then.
When he took a deep breath, the pungent smell seemed to have turned into needles and jabbed into his lungs. Looking down at the caldera, he yelled, “Anyone home?”
There was a passageway under the magma that had been set up with a barrier to serve as a shelter.
Chef suddenly opened his eyes and listened attentively for a moment before poking Accountant with his elbow. Then, he asked in a small voice, “Do you hear anything?”
Accountant opened his listless eyes and shot him a glance, “What do you mean?”
Chef scratched his head, “I think I heard Yang Kai’s voice.”
Accountant hurriedly took a glance at the Proprietress, which revealed more of the white parts of his eyes, before glaring at Chef, “Stop spouting nonsense. That brat is just an Emperor Realm cultivator, how is he supposed to enter the Shadowless Cave Heaven? You must have heard it wrong.”
Chef nodded, “You’re right… Wait… Listen…”
Accountant sported an awkward expression because while speaking to Chef, he could indeed hear a familiar voice calling out to them. Due to the weltering magma, the voice was only faintly audible. If Chef hadn’t pointed it out, he wouldn’t have noticed it.
In a nearby spot, the Proprietress opened her eyes, which were filled with doubt and puzzlement.
A moment later, she became furious and snarled through clenched teeth, “That damned brat!”
Then, she stood straight up, and as the hem of her dress flapped in the air, she shot out of the passageway.
After exchanging glances, Chef and Accountant hurriedly followed her.
Atop the caldera, Yang Kai had called out to them several times but no one responded to him. He thought that the woman might have lied to him as the Proprietress and the others might not be hiding in this place.
However, there wasn’t a need for that woman to take the risk to do such a thing; after all, what if Yang Kai was determined to end her life?
Just when he was about to dive into the volcano to have a look, his expression changed as he stared fixedly at the magma.
A moment later, the magma formed into a huge swirl as though it had been stirred by an invisible force. Just then, a figure shot out through the centre of the swirl. Her snowy white imperial dress was conspicuous in this hostile red and black environment. Like a lotus on a snowy mountain, she was pure and immaculate.
Before she even arrived, her familiar aura came right at Yang Kai, who smiled like a fool, waved, and called out enthusiastically, “Proprietress!”
As he spoke, he flew forward and spread his arms to tackle Proprietress in a bear hug.
Proprietress’ expression was so cold that it was as though one could scrape a layer of frost off her face. Before she could even say a word though, she was stunned by the sudden hug.
When Chef and Accountant dashed out of the vortex and saw what was going on, they were dumbfounded.
Chef opened his mouth so wide that it was as though a fish could be stuffed into it. He snapped out of his dazed state a moment later and poked Accountant, “Am I seeing a hallucination? Is Proprietress in his embrace right now?”
Accountant was equally astounded, but upon coming to his senses, he furiously summoned his abacus and shook it noisily. With his eyes filled with murderous intent, he was ready to charge forward, “Proprietress is being taken advantage of! Let’s kill him together!”
Chef immediately pulled him back, “Don’t panic. It’s not easy to take advantage of Proprietress, and she doesn’t need us to make a move on her behalf.”
Accountant shot him a glance and fell silent for a moment before nodding, “You have a point.”
Then, he put away the abacus and silently waited for the good show to start.
Nearby, the Proprietress was so stiff that it was as though she had been bound to the spot. As she felt the immense force, which contained a deep sense of longing, coming from the young man’s arms, her fury significantly subsided.
Just then, Yang Kai was heard saying, “I’m truly happy that you’re fine, Proprietress.”
She sighed, and then Yang Kai looked up at Chef and Accountant before grinning at them, “You guys look energetic as well.”
While Chef chuckled, there was a perfunctory smile on Accountant’s face.
The moment he finished speaking, Yang Kai found his head being lifted up forcefully. Releasing the woman in front of him, he asked hesitantly, “What are you doing, Proprietress?”
She was grabbing his hair and pulling him backward. The coldness behind her eyes weltered as she said through gritted teeth, “What am I doing? I should be the one asking you that!”
Upon finishing her words, she landed a kick on his shoulder.
Although she was a woman, she was also a powerful Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. She had exerted a lot of force with her kick, and Yang Kai didn’t dare to resist. After a grunt, he was sent flying away like a sack and crashed into the nearby cliff, forming a Human-shaped hole in it.
As the broken rocks tumbled down, Yang Kai felt the world spinning around him. Before he could pull himself together, Proprietress pounced on him and grasped his ankle before she spun around several times and hurled him into the magma.
Yang Kai plunged into the magma with a splash and disappeared below.
Following that, Proprietress shot downwards as though she was determined to kill.
Chef and Accountant both had their faces twitch as they watched.
A moment later, violent movements were felt coming from the magma. Following that, a pitiful shriek broke through the sky as Yang Kai was blasted out of the magma while flailing his limbs in the air. Proprietress followed him closely and repeatedly assaulted him in a ruthless manner.
Faced with the storm of attacks, Yang Kai groaned in pain and covered his head. His nose had even started bleeding.
“You dare dodge? Try dodging one more time and see what happens!” Proprietress beat him up while verbally threatening him.
Under the pressure, Yang Kai didn’t dare to resist in any way. Helpless, he could only lie on the ground and curl up into a ball, covering his head to protect his vitals while he let the Proprietress vent out all her anger on him.
“Stop hitting me, Proprietress! I can see what’s under your skirt!” Yang Kai suddenly exclaimed.
Proprietress was already incensed to begin with, so upon hearing such loathsome words, she exerted even more strength into her kicks.
Unable to take it anymore, Chef and Accountant immediately went over to pull her back.
Proprietress’ chest heaved heavily as her figure trembled with fury. She said through clenched teeth, “Let go! I must kill this infuriating boy today!”
“Please calm down, Proprietress. You don’t have to do this kind of dirty work yourself. We’ll do it for you!” As Chef spoke, he sent a signal to Accountant with his eyes, whereupon they pushed Proprietress away and pounced on Yang Kai, who had curled up on the ground, before they beat him up in a merciless manner.
Although Proprietress’ attacks were hurtful, Yang Kai wouldn’t have any grudges against her.
She must be aware that he had ascended to the Open Heaven Realm, so it was only natural she felt various kinds of disappointment and grief in her heart.
However, Yang Kai wasn’t about to put up with Chef and Accountant beating him up. Therefore, he shot them a glare to mean that he would settle the score with them for assaulting him today.
“You dare you glare at them!?” Proprietress bellowed while placing her palms on her hips.
“I don’t dare to! Forgive me!” Yang Kai covered his head again.
With Proprietress’ backing, Chef and Accountant became increasingly ruthless.
Meanwhile, Yang Kai silently counted the number of attacks they landed on him.
A moment later, Proprietress suddenly spoke up, “Alright, stop. Do you two really want to kill him?” She didn’t mean it when she said she wanted to kill Yang Kai.
Simultaneously, Chef and Accountant leapt away and retracted their powers since they were done with their job.
Yang Kai, who was still lying on the ground, slightly parted his fingers and examined Proprietress through the gap. Upon seeing that she was still furiously gritting her teeth, he quickly flashed a fawning smile at her.
However, his swollen face made him look both funny and abominable.
Upon seeing that Proprietress took a step forward, Yang Kai shuddered and quickly covered his head again.
She bent over and clenched the man’s collar before hoisting him up to her face. Glaring at him with a pair of slightly reddened eyes, she questioned solemnly, “You broke through to the Open Heaven Realm, didn’t you?”
“Yes…” Yang Kai bashfully nodded his head as he wouldn’t dare to look her in the eyes.
“Fifth-Order?” The Proprietress asked again.
Upon hearing that, Yang Kai forced a fawning smile.
“Why must you infuriate me so?!” The Proprietress stomped her foot so hard the ground shook.
“The Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm still makes me an Open Heaven Realm Master.” Yang Kai rubbed his nose.
The Proprietress glared at him with reddened eyes and gritted her teeth as though she wanted to skin him alive.
The moment she heard Yang Kai’s voice just now, she knew that he must have entered the Open Heaven Realm; otherwise, he couldn’t possibly have entered the Shadowless Cave Heaven. That was because only Open Heaven Realm Masters could enter this damned place.
However, given his situation, it was extremely difficult for him to obtain a High-Rank Yin Element treasure. For a moment, she prayed that he had come into this place as a High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master.
Nevertheless, as soon as she saw him, she knew that he didn’t manage to directly advance to the High-Rank Open Heaven Realm.
In that case, it would give her some solace if he at least was a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. Unfortunately, the Fifth Order was all he could achieve.
She was fully aware that Yang Kai had built an incredibly solid foundation, and that was the reason she was heartbroken. He had the potential to become a High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master directly, but he ended up breaking through to the Fifth Order instead. It could be said that his Martial Dao was ruined and his future was bleak.
To the side, Accountant and Chef fell silent as they looked sympathetically but admiringly at Yang Kai. They finally acknowledged him as one of their own.
Yang Kai must have come all the way here to save the Proprietress. Although they had no idea what had transpired for him to eventually advance to the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm, they could venture a guess. While Yang Kai was unable to find a High-Rank Yin Element treasure, he was too concerned about the Proprietress’ safety, which was why he quickly directly advanced to the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm and entered this place.
The Proprietress sighed. She had accidentally fallen into the Shadowless Cave Heaven when she was looking for a High-Rank Yin Element treasure for Yang Kai, but he decided to ruin his own future and become a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master in the end in order to save her. Everything had gone wrong.
However, the fact that he had done all this for her proved that he was a righteous and loyal person.
“Don’t cry, Proprietress,” Yang Kai suddenly said as he stared dazedly at the tears sliding down her face. He raised his hand in an attempt to brush the tears away, but the woman turned around and disappeared into the magma.
Yang Kai pressed his lips together and scratched his head.
His impression of the Proprietress was that she was a resolute and astute woman. It was as though she was able to support the sky’s weight with her slender arms even as it came crashing down on top of her. It never crossed his mind that he would see such a woman cry one day.
“I’m doomed!” Yang Kai was apprehensive as he gazed pleadingly at Chef and Accountant, “She must be so mad that she started crying. What should I do?”
Chef heaved a sigh and went over to pat his shoulder, “She isn’t crying because she’s mad.”
“What do you mean?” Yang Kai was startled, “What is the reason, then?”
“She’s blaming herself,” Accountant spoke up. “She must be thinking that if she hadn’t fallen into the Shadowless Cave Heaven, you wouldn’t have forcefully broken through to look for her. She believes that you’ve fallen into such a state because of her. You’re supposed to be able to make it to the Seventh Order directly, but you only ended up in the Fifth Order. She’s crying because she’s heartbroken and is deep in self-blame.”
Yang Kai furrowed his brow, “Ascending to the Open Heaven Realm is my own decision. It has nothing to do with her.”
Chef shot him a glance, “Do you even believe what you’ve just said?”
Upon hearing that, Yang Kai became startled and fell silent.
Chef went on to say, “Regardless, what is done is done. Let’s go in first. Since you’ve come all the way here to look for us, you’ll also be my good brother from now on. In the past, only Old Bai and the Accountant were my good brothers, and now, you’re also included.”
As he spoke, he went over to hoist the battered Yang Kai.
With a serious expression, Accountant nodded, “You’re also my good brother.” Then, he dashed forward and helped Yang Kai up alongside Chef.
Yang Kai suddenly muttered, “Chef, you punched me 38 times and kicked me 13 times just now. As for you, you punched me 27 times and kicked me 16 times.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Chef and Accountant released him at the same time, which caused him to fall on his butt. While Yang Kai was in a dazed state, the two of them turned into rays of light and plunged into the magma. A furious Yang Kai said through clenched teeth, “You two really are my ‘good’ friends, huh!?”
Then, he got to his feet and rubbed his backside before chasing after them.
There was a cave below the caldera that was separated from the magma using a Spirit Array. Although the environment wasn’t pleasant, it wasn’t unbearable at the very least. It was a cave about the size of several houses, and since the restriction had opened up, Yang Kai was able to enter easily.
Presently, the Proprietress was seated motionlessly on a rock chair as she faced away from the entrance.
Chef and Accountant, who had come into this place earlier, were just standing behind her. Chef turned his head to take a glance and said in a small voice, “He’s here, Proprietress. Do you want us to chase him away? Or do we let him stay?”
The Proprietress didn’t respond to him, as though she hadn’t heard anything at all.
Accountant followed up, “What’s the point of asking this question? Proprietress is obviously mad. Chase him away and let him perish on his own outside!”
Chef grunted in a deep voice, “Good.”
Following that, they were ready to make a move as they rolled up their sleeves.
Unable to take it anymore, the Proprietress said coldly, “Do you two want to anger me as well?”
Upon hearing that, Chef stiffened as he put on a fawning smile, “We wouldn’t dare. Please don’t be mad at us, Proprietress. We won’t chase him away.”
Then, he sent a signal to Yang Kai with his eyes. Yang Kai got the message and took a seat in the opposite corner of the cave.
After that, the two of them said to the Proprietress in a subservient manner, “Please get some rest.”
As they exchanged glances, they carefully moved away and approached Yang Kai. One of them looked condescendingly at him while the other crouched down and stared at him.
Chef tutted, “Is a swollen face the trend these days, Yang Boy?”
“How do you even have the face to ask such a thing?” Yang Kai glared at him. Right after he was beaten up by the Proprietress, these two guys mercilessly assaulted him. If it weren’t because he had a strong physique, his face would’ve been deformed by now.
Chef grinned meaningfully, “These flesh wounds don’t matter. I have a blood staunching paste with me. Come on, I’ll help you apply it.”
Upon finishing his words, he fished out a slimy paste from his Space Ring and scooped up a bit of it with his fingers before applying it on Yang Kai’s face.
Yang Kai looked away to dodge him, thinking that he wouldn’t need any blood-staunching paste for these flesh wounds; however, he saw the Chef subtly signalling with his eyes in the Proprietress’ direction.
Yang Kai’s expression changed as he figured out what he was trying to do; therefore, he stopped avoiding him and let him do it. Nevertheless, he soon screamed at the top of his lungs, “Ouch! It hurts! Can’t you be a bit gentler?”
Snorting, Chef replied, “I’m a cook, this is how I deal with the meat and the fish every day!”
Yang Kai snapped, “Do you think I’m some kind of meat to be tenderized? You just said I’m your good brother!”
Chef refuted, “This and that are separate issues. How can you confuse them?”
Accountant, who was standing in front of them with his hands behind his back, grew impatient and said, “Alright, stop arguing. Yang Kai, how did you find out we’re here? Did Old Bai tell you about it?”
Yang Kai nodded, “En. Old Bai came to Void Land and told me what had happened. That’s why I rushed over here.”
“How is he now?”
Yang Kai replied, “He’s fine, so don’t worry about him. He should be in Void Land now. He initially wanted to follow me into this place, but I had no idea what was going on here or whether I would be able to leave or not, so I shook him off and snuck into this place on my own.”
Accountant nodded gently, “That’s good.”
Then, he took a glance at the Proprietress, and upon seeing that she had straightened up to listen attentively, he secretly found it funny. After that, he asked, “There’s one thing I don’t understand. You’d built up such a solid foundation, but why did you end up in the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm? You could’ve ascended to the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm at the very least. Weren’t you only lacking a suitable Yin Element treasure?”
Upon hearing that, Yang Kai smiled helplessly, “It’s a long story.”
Before coming to the Shattered Heaven, he wasn’t aware that only Open Heaven Realm Masters could enter the Shadowless Cave Heaven. If he knew, he would’ve gotten a Sixth-Order Yin Element treasure ready just in case of emergencies.
However, it was too late as he only found out about it after arriving at this place. Sixth-Order materials were already highly sought after in Void Land to begin with, to say nothing of the fact that Yin Element materials were even rarer.
As soon as any Sixth-Order materials appeared in the Star City, those from Void Land would buy them up.
In the end, when Yang Kai needed such a resource, he realised that he didn’t even have one with him. Even Ti Zheng and the others didn’t possess one.
Left with no choice, he could only ascend to the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm.
Upon hearing that, Accountant snorted, “I knew that something was off about it. Now, it seems that some people were really behind this.” After falling into the Shadowless Cave Heaven, he had some suspicions but he didn’t have any evidence to prove it. After hearing Yang Kai’s story though, he realised that his speculations were right.
They hadn’t accidentally fallen into the Shadowless Cave Heaven; rather, it was a trap they had been caught up in.
After the Proprietress was trapped, they released Bai Qi to let him inform Yang Kai about it; then, they set up a siege just outside the Shadowless Cave Heaven.
It would be best if they could kill Yang Kai, thus settling this issue for good. Even if they couldn’t kill him, they could force him to ascend to the Open Heaven Realm as that was the only way to enter the Shadowless Cave Heaven.
In the end, their plot was successful as Yang Kai had no choice but to ascend to the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm.
However, they had never expected that Black Crow Divine Monarch would lead a group of people and launch a sneak attack on them at the critical moment, which resulted in them suffering immense losses. Furthermore, in order to make Yang Kai willingly ascend to the Fifth Order, the Space Rings of all four High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters were confiscated. It could be said that their losses were almost unbearable.
In any case, they had finally settled the issue regarding Yang Kai. This kind of outcome was still acceptable, and while no one was happy, they were at least satisfied. As for their grudges with Black Crow, they would have to settle the score with him in the future.
“You had the potential to become a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, but you ended up in the Fifth-Order. Don’t you regret it?” Accountant asked in a grim voice. If he were the one who had to go through this, he couldn’t have remained calm and collected.
“It’s a shame that I’m unable to achieve my goal, but I don’t regret my decision.” Yang Kai shook his head, “Given the situation I was in, I probably won’t be able to get a High-Rank Yin Element treasure even if I waited for 1,000 years. Rather than wasting so much time waiting for something that might not even come to be, I believe I should have a power I can call my own.”
“You’re pretty poised about all this,” Accountant said admiringly.
Yang Kai shrugged while replying, “There’s nothing else I can do about it, so I think I should be optimistic.”
Just then, a rustling sound was heard. Proprietress rose from the chair and approached the three of them, who turned their heads to look at her.
When she reached them, she extended her hand towards Chef, who promptly passed her the blood-staunching paste and took a rock chair from a nearby spot before placing it behind her.
As the Proprietress took a seat, she gazed at Yang Kai with a conflicted look and scooped up some blood-staunching paste before applying it to the bruises on his face.
In response, Yang Kai beamed at her.
A frustrated Proprietress snapped, “Why are you smiling like a fool?” Then, she exerted more force with her hand, which caused him to wail in pain.
After a sigh, she rubbed the paste on his skin and said, “Since you’ve ascended to the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm, there’s no going back. The Small Universe in your body has formed, so it’ll be useless even if you regret it in the future.”
“I won’t regret it.” Yang Kai shook his head, “When I arrived in the Outer Universe, it was you who took care of me like a caring Senior. Now that you’re in trouble, there’s no way I can sit back and do nothing. I’m even willing to barge into the 36 Cave Heavens and 72 Paradises for you, let alone a mere Shadowless Cave Heaven.”
“Stop boasting!” The Proprietress shot him a glare and ground her teeth, “A Senior? Am I that old to you?”
In an instant, Yang Kai was soaked in cold sweat, “Proprietress is still in the spring of her youth, the word ‘old’ can in no way be associated with you. I was wrong!”
After a snort, the Proprietress gently continued, “Since you’ve ascended to the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm, your limit will be the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm. Given your heritage and foundation, it won’t be difficult for you to make it to the Seventh-Order as long as you have enough resources. If you want to go further than that, it’ll depend on whether you’ll come across the right opportunities, so you’d better brace yourself for it.”
“I understand.” Yang Kai nodded. By refining Open Heaven Pills and resources of various Elements, a cultivator could only rise two Orders from the one they initially broke through to. This was a universal truth that had been proven by countless cultivators since time immemorial. No one had managed to overcome this law. That was because there was a limit for growth regardless of whether one refined Open Heaven Pills or other resources.
However, if one could find Innate Open Heaven Pills formed in the Universe Furnace, they could break through this limit.
Unfortunately, such pills were incredibly rare. Whenever the Universe Furnace appeared, it would cause an upheaval in the 3,000 Worlds and lead to a reign of terror and bloodshed.
Even the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, who rarely stepped out of the Cave Heavens and Paradises, would make a move upon getting wind of its appearance. In that kind of situation, even the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters were unable to interfere as they could be easily killed if they were the slightest bit careless.
Whenever the Universe Furnace appeared, it was normal for hundreds, if not thousands of Open Heaven Realm Masters to lose their lives, all of them at the Mid-Rank at minimum. Even many Seventh-Order and Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters would die in this struggle.
“There’s no rush to cultivate as you have to stabilize your foundation first. When a person reaches the Open Heaven Realm, all they have to do is accumulate more power in order to advance.” While the Proprietress was giving Yang Kai a valuable lesson, she suddenly glanced at his neck and pinched his chin before turning his head slightly. With narrowed eyes, she asked, “How did you get this wound?”
Although the wound on his neck caused by Yun Fei Bai had basically healed, there was still a mark left. Upon realising that it was a cut that almost beheaded Yang Kai, the Proprietress was shocked.
“Who hurt you?” She asked in a grim voice.
Yang Kai batted his eyes and scratched his nose, “Before coming to this place, I went over to Profound Yang Mountain.”
“Yun Fei Bai?” The Proprietress’ eyes turned cold.
Yang Kai explained, “I had no idea where you were, but I heard that Yun Fei Bai from Profound Yang Mountain was hunting for you, so I decided to go over and get some information from them. Don’t worry. Although I’ve suffered a setback, he isn’t in any better condition. I left a hole through his chest, which can be considered a little interest for what he owes you.”
Upon hearing that, Chef and Accountant exchanged astounded glances.
It was only now that they understood how Yang Kai was able to find them in the caldera. It turned out he gathered some information from those in Profound Yang Mountain. They secretly admired him for his audacity.
They were aware of how powerful those from Profound Yang Mountain were, and Yun Fei Bai was in the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm. It was inconceivable that Yang Kai was able to wound Yun Fei Bai and even escape from that place.
The fact that he had pulled off this feat was beyond their ability to imagine.
When they took a look at the wound on Yang Kai’s neck, they confirmed that it was a cut that almost decapitated him. He was so close to losing his life.
“Are you sick of living!? How could a mere Fifth-Order like you barge into Profound Yang Mountain?” The Proprietress gazed at him in astonishment as she still couldn’t believe what she had just heard.
Yang Kai just laughed like a fool while feeling warm in his heart.
The Proprietress ground her teeth as though she was ready to reproach him, but upon recalling that he had done all this for her, she didn’t have the heart to be harsh. Therefore, she said in a caring manner, “You mustn’t act on a whim again in the future.”
Yang Kai nodded repeatedly, “I’ll remember it.”
With her eyes filled with a sense of self-blame, the Proprietress heaved a sigh. If she had been careful enough back then, she probably wouldn’t have fallen into the Shadowless Cave Heaven, which led to Yang Kai getting forced to ascend to the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm.
“Just treat your wounds first. You’ve just ascended to the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm, so you have to immediately consolidate your cultivation. You should cultivate in seclusion for a period of time. Although this place isn’t particularly safe, we can’t find a better location,” the Proprietress ordered, “Moreover, you’ve just arrived in the Shadowless Cave Heaven, so you’re not aware of the dangers here yet. I’ll tell you about it at a later time.”
“There’s no rush…”
Before Yang Kai was able to finish his words, the Proprietress shot him a glare, “Go now!”
Yang Kai immediately jumped up and complied, “Yes!”
Then, he walked into a secret room in the cave and sat down with his legs crossed. The Proprietress set up a number of barriers outside the room before stopping.
Left with no choice, Yang Kai could only start cultivating in seclusion.
The wounds inflicted on him in the previous battle had healed, and the assault from the Proprietress, Chef, and Accountant had only resulted in some bruises, which could be ignored. The reason he screamed at the top of his lungs just now was to arouse the Proprietress’ sympathy, which proved to be effective.
Now, he closed his eyes and checked on his Small Universe.
His Small Universe was newly formed as he had just ascended to the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm. Anyone else would have to cultivate in seclusion for three to five years to stabilise their foundation; however, Yang Kai’s Small Universe had inherited the heritage of the Small Sealed World as he had merged the two, so he was able to stabilise it much quicker than normal.
Furthermore, the previous two battles with Ma Tian Yuan and Yun Fei Bai respectively had helped him quickly consolidate his cultivation, even though the battles didn’t last long.
His battle against Yun Fei Bai was especially intense as he was constantly at risk of dying. This kind of immense pressure was more effective than cultivating in seclusion, which was dull and tedious.
Now, instead of fortifying his Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm cultivation, Yang Kai had to hurriedly ascend to the Sixth-Order.
The Shadowless Cave Heaven was obviously not a hospitable place. Those from Profound Yang Mountain, who had four Sixth-Order Mountain Lords with them, had formed grudges with the Proprietress and Yang Kai. Even in the 3,000 Worlds, Profound Yang Mountain could be considered a top Second Class great force.
Without its two Divine Spirits, Void Land would be incomparable to Profound Yang Mountain.
Since Yang Kai had injured Yun Fei Bai, those from Profound Yang Mountain would never let him off, so it was expected that they would make a move sooner or later. Given his Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm cultivation, he couldn’t survive when dealing with such a behemoth even though he had the Proprietress with him. Therefore, Yang Kai would only gain the qualifications to struggle against them by reaching the Sixth Order.
He was already able to injure Yun Fei Bei while he was in the Fifth Order, so it shouldn’t be hard to kill him after he made it to the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm. By then, he could join forces with the Proprietress to oppose the entire Profound Yang Mountain.
Anyone else would have to wait for a painfully long time if they wanted to go from the Fifth Order to the Sixth Order, refining countless Open Heaven Pills and cultivation resources to strengthen the heritage of their Small Universe. If this process could be completed in hundreds to a thousand of years, it would be considered fast. Those who had less aptitude and resources could take thousands to over ten thousand years to do this, if they managed to at all.
However, Yang Kai was different. He was supremely talented, and his foundation was incredibly solid, so he was able to refine Open Heaven Pills and cultivation resources at a much quicker pace than average.
Furthermore, he still had a Mid-Rank World Fruit.
In the Primordial Land of the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, Yang Kai repeatedly entered worlds in the fruits and obtained a number of World Fruits, which included two Mid-Rank ones and thirteen Low-Rank ones. He also managed to obtain a root from the World Fruit Tree. After that, Meng Hong from Great Moon Province gave him a Mid-Rank World Fruit, so he ended up with three Mid-Rank ones in his possession.
World Fruits were Heaven-defying treasures that could allow an Open Heaven Realm Master to directly ascend to the next Order. The limit of Low-Rank World Fruits was reaching the Third-Order, while the limit of Mid-Rank World Fruits was the Sixth-Order. There was no doubt that these fruits were invaluable.
When Yang Kai was on the way to the Star Boundary, he was besieged by Hei He and forced to let Guo Zi Yan and Lu Xue respectively consume a World Fruit to turn the situation around.
Guo Zi Yan was originally a Second-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, so he directly rose to the Third-Order after taking a Low-Rank World Fruit. On the other hand, Lu Xue was a Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, so she became a Fifth-Order one after consuming a Mid-Rank World Fruit.
Furthermore, Yue He had consumed a Mid-Rank World Fruit, allowing her to reach the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm.
Hence, Yang Kai still had one last Mid-Rank World Fruit with him. That was the reason he was willing to ascend to the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm at that time. With such a Heaven-defying fruit, it could be said that it made no difference whether he ascended to the Fifth Order or the Sixth Order. The only issue was that he had to consume the last fruit.
However, he managed to make up for this loss somewhat by taking the Space Rings of the four High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters who had ambushed him.
The most valuable aspect of a World Fruit wasn’t its ability to make a cultivator directly reach the next Order, but rather its ability to increase the limit of a cultivator’s Martial Dao. Such an opportunity could never be purchased with money.
Yang Kai had ascended to the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm, so theoretically, the best he could achieve in the future was the Seventh-Order; however, after taking a World Fruit, he would reach the Sixth-Order directly, and his limit would increase to the Eighth-Order.
When Yang Kai was forced to ascend to the Open Heaven Realm outside of the Shadowless Cave Heaven, he had already considered that. Ti Zheng and the others thought that his future was ruined, but they were not aware of his intentions. The reason Yang Kai even agreed to break through was that he had a Mid-Rank World Fruit with him.
Inside the secret room, Yang Kai fished out a box from his Space Ring and carefully opened it, whereupon a translucent spirit fruit the size of a fist came into his sight. It was the last Mid-Rank World Fruit he had.
Lights were seen swirling around the fruit’s surface, giving it a rather entrancing look.
After taking out the spirit fruit, Yang Kai took a bite without hesitation. As the fruit peel broke apart, the fragrant juice flowed into his mouth. He arched his brow as he hadn’t expected the taste to be so pleasant.
Then, he wolfed down the World Fruit, including the fruit pit, and licked his lips with a joyful expression. The next moment, Yang Kai’s face turned solemn as he quickly focused on his Small Universe.
The World Fruit’s medicinal efficacies dissolved in his stomach and turned into the purest World Force imaginable that streamed into all his organs. The force wasn’t intense, so it was still bearable for Yang Kai, what was special was that there didn’t seem to be an end to this stream of World Force.
Yang Kai’s Small Universe opened wide and accepted this World Force. He didn’t even need to spend any effort to refine it as the World Force quickly assimilated into the Small Universe, adding to his heritage and foundation without any obstruction.
Yang Kai was stunned. It was no wonder that the World Fruits were extremely precious and were called Heaven-defying.
When an Open Heaven Realm Master consumed Open Heaven Pills and cultivation resources, there was a refinement process. However, the World Force streaming out of the World Fruit didn’t require any effort to assimilate, they just had to open their Small Universe and accept it.
This fact alone made World Fruits a unique treasure.
As time passed, Yang Kai could clearly feel that the heritage of his Small Universe was increasing in a rapid and steady manner as it marched towards the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm.
Outside the secret room, the Proprietress had to leave the cave from time to time while Chef and Accountant stayed there to stand guard for Yang Kai so that he wouldn’t be disturbed.
The reason the Proprietress went out was that she had to look for a way to leave this damned place. She had been doing that since before Yang Kai’s arrival. Unfortunately, she hadn’t gotten any clues so far.
The Shadowless Cave Heaven was neither big nor small, so over the years, the three great forces had gained a footing and searched everywhere they could. If there was really an exit, they would’ve discovered it by now.
It had only been one year since the Proprietress and the others arrived here, so their efforts weren’t comparable to the thousands of years the three great forces had invested.
One day, while keeping guard in the cave, Chef and Accountant realised that the barrier had been triggered. Looking up, they saw the Proprietress returning from outside as the magma roiled behind her. She used her power to open up a passageway and plunged into the caldera.
After looking around, she stared at Yang Kai’s secret room and frowned, “Hasn’t he come out yet?”
Chef shook his head, “Not yet. It’s been a month, but it seems that his injuries are pretty serious, which is why it’s taking him such a long time to recuperate. Do we need to check on him, Proprietress?”
She rejected his idea by shaking her head, “There’s no need for that. It’d be terrible if we happen to disturb him during a critical moment.”
Accountant spoke worriedly, “The Astral Wind is due to blow again in a few days. Although this place can fend it off somewhat, we can’t totally avoid its influence. By then, Yang Kai will be disturbed.”
That was indeed a serious problem. The place they resided could ward off some of the Astral Wind’s effects, but it wasn’t as good as the Headquarters of the three great forces. If it weren’t for this place, they couldn’t have made it to this day as all their cultivations would’ve been ground down by the eerie wind.
Despite that, they had suffered quite some losses to their Small Universes after a year. The Proprietress was in a better state as she was able to persevere given her strong and solid cultivation; however, it had only been a short time since Chef and Accountant ascended to the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm, so their heritages were not solid to begin with. The brutality of the wind had repeatedly destabilised their Small Universes.
After the Astral Wind struck each time, they would have to use up a lot of resources to simply stabilize their cultivations, and even more to try to make up for the losses.
Upon pondering on it for a moment, the Proprietress said, “We’ll play it by ear. Don’t disturb him for now; however, we have to be wary of those from Profound Yang Mountain. I took a stroll around that place some time ago and realised that they’re gathering quite a few people together. It seems that they’re preparing to make a move on us.”
Chef was shocked when he heard that, “Does it mean that we have to escape somewhere else?”
Those from Profound Yang Mountain had a lot of people on their side, including many powerful Masters. If the two parties fought, the Proprietress would definitely not be a match for them. The reason they had been safe for such a long time was that the Proprietress, a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, was intimidating enough.
The people from Profound Yang Mountain reckoned that even if they could take down the three of them in the end, they would have to pay a hefty price. That was the reason they backed down and allowed the three of them to hide in this place.
However, after such a long time, the Proprietress’ strength must have decreased under the influence of the Astral Wind. Although Chef and Accountant were in the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm, they were unable to affect the overall situation.
Previously, Yang Kai had made a scene in Profound Yang Mountain, which must have infuriated them, so it was expected that they wanted to retaliate against them.
The Proprietress shook her head, “Where else can we go? The Shadowless Cave Heaven is only so big. The only options left for us are Unrivalled Guild and Twin Spirit Island.” She paused for a moment, “Which do you think we should join?”
In the past, she had never considered joining one of the three great forces. That was because all of these great forces had established themselves in the Shadowless Cave Heaven, so they would be restricted in many ways if they joined one of them, not to mention that they had to hand over a large part of their resources.
Nevertheless, things were different now and it was time they made a choice. If they remained stubborn, they wouldn’t possibly be able to survive in the Shadowless Cave Heaven.
After exchanging glances, Chef and Accountant said in unison, “Twin Spirit Island.”
The Proprietress nodded in agreement, “I share the same sentiment.” Among the three great forces in the Shadowless Cave Heaven, Twin Spirit Island was the weakest because they only had two Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters. Unrivalled Guild had three while Profound Yang Mountain had four. What’s more, the Head Mountain Lord was just one step away from the Seventh Order.
As a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, if the Proprietress joined Twin Spirit Island, it would allow them to be on par with Unrivalled Guild, which was a chance for Twin Spirit Island to strengthen its position.
Furthermore, the Proprietress had headed to Twin Spirit Island some time ago and was greeted hospitably by the two Island Masters. They had a joyous chat during the encounter, and the Island Masters were obviously trying to persuade her to join them. There was no doubt that they were more polite than those from Profound Yang Mountain.
After a moment of silence, the Proprietress spoke up, “Let’s talk about it after the Astral Wind is gone.”
Without any objections, Chef and Accountant nodded. Then, they started setting up some arrays in the cave. The Astral Wind was able to penetrate everything, including the Small Universes of Open Heaven Realm Masters. Although their arrays were not highly effective, it was better than nothing at all.
The Proprietress didn’t leave again, and three days later, the Astral Wind struck just as expected. Initially, it was just a light breeze, but it soon turned into a gale and caused a sandstorm outside of the cave.
Despite the fact that they were hiding inside the lava cave below the volcano, the Astral Wind was still able to sneak into the place and grind away the World Force in their Small Universes.
Obviously, it wasn’t the first time the Proprietress and the others faced such a predicament, and after so many experiences, they had developed some methods to resist. The strange wind in this damned place would strike once a month for one to two hours with a margin of error of three days. In the entire Shadowless Cave Heaven, besides safe places like the Headquarters of the three great forces, only a few places like the area around this caldera were able to weaken the strange wind.
They had been looking for the reason behind it but to no avail. Even the three great forces couldn’t figure it out as they speculated that it had something to do with the deceased Shadowless Divine Monarch; after all, it was a Universe Cave Heaven left behind by him after his death, so any strange events could be traced back to him.
Fortunately, the three of them had prepared a lot of cultivation resources. Since the Proprietress’ return to the cave, she had been refining them non-stop. Presently, she was working harder to replenish the loss of her strength.
Suddenly, an extremely pure Wood Element Power exploded from the depths of the cave. The Proprietress and the others were stunned as they opened their eyes and fell into a dazed state.
An emerald green ancient tree had abruptly appeared before their eyes, one with a gigantic crown that covered the entire cave. A soft green light descended from the tree, containing an astonishing vitality that cast a green glow on their figures and made them feel completely at ease.
“What is this?” Chef was astounded.
“Is it a Divine Manifestation?” Accountant exclaimed.
The Proprietress nodded her head, “It should be so.”
She had sharp vision and vast experience, so she could tell that it was a Divine Manifestation the moment she saw it. Following that, she turned to look at Yang Kai’s secret room and realised that it was where the roots of the tree were located. Apparently, the Wood Element Divine Manifestation was Yang Kai’s doing.
The Proprietress couldn’t help but wonder about the Order of Wood Element Power Yang Kai had condensed, which allowed him to use such an incredible Divine Manifestation.
The moment she found out that Yang Kai had condensed the Golden Crow’s True Fire, she knew that he must have condensed a High-Rank Wood Element Power as well; otherwise, he couldn’t have suppressed the burning power of the Golden Crow’s True Fire.
However, High-Rank Wood Element treasures could still be classified into different Orders. The Proprietress had never probed Yang Kai about his background, but now it seemed that the Wood Element treasure he had refined was truly extraordinary. Otherwise, such a Wood Element Divine Manifestation couldn’t have been derived from it.
Resting under the gigantic tree, they not only felt warm and comfortable, but also clear-headed, like their thoughts had been accelerated. They had also discovered that they were able to restore their strength at a quicker pace.
All of a sudden, Chef exclaimed, “This Divine Manifestation seems able to ward off the wind, Proprietress.”
Certainly, the Proprietress was aware of that as well. The moment the Divine Manifestation exploded out, the Astral Wind in the cave disappeared, kept off entirely by the green aura around them.
The Proprietress’ alluring eyes trembled. It had been one year since they arrived at this place, and they’d had a taste of the power and strangeness of the Astral Wind many times. Other than hiding in this cave, they were unable to fend it off in any way.
However, now, Yang Kai’s Wood Element Divine Manifestation was able to completely ward off the Astral Wind that had been giving them a headache for a long time. It went to show that the Wood Element treasure he had refined was extraordinary.
Gazing at his secret room, the Proprietress became slightly at ease.
Since Yang Kai was able to make such a move, it meant that he was aware of what was going on in the surroundings; therefore, he should be almost completely healed. Initially, she was worried that the Astral Wind would have some negative impact on Yang Kai. Now, it seemed that not only did he have a way to fend it off, but he could also protect the three of them.
Although Yang Kai had only ascended to the Fifth Order, his previous efforts hadn’t gone down the drain. This Wood Element Divine Manifestation alone was a powerful method in his arsenal.
Inside the secret room, Yang Kai appeared jovial.
Not long after he arrived in the Shadowless Cave Heaven, he was struck by the Astral Wind once, which resulted in him being quite battered. When he checked on his Small Universe after that though, he realised that the gigantic tree, which was the manifestation of his Towering Evergreen Divine Manifestation, was completely fine. At that time, he speculated that this Divine Manifestation might be able to protect against the Astral Wind.
Unfortunately, he hadn’t had a chance to test this theory.
Therefore, when the Astral Wind struck again, he immediately activated the Towering Evergreen Divine Manifestation. Just like he had expected, the aura of the great tree was able to keep out the Astral Wind.
The discovery made him set his mind at ease. With this Divine Manifestation, he wouldn’t have to worry about the Astral Wind in the Shadowless Cave Heaven again; moreover, not only could this Divine Manifestation protect himself, it could also protect those around him.
In a place such as the Shadowless Cave Heaven, this kind of Divine Manifestation was like a trump card that could save their lives as they wouldn’t have to worry about the brutality of the Astral Wind ever again.
Even though the Headquarters of the three great forces were safe, the locations were not movable. On the other hand, Yang Kai could use this Divine Manifestation wherever he wanted. Although the protection range was limited, it was more than sufficient.
One hour later, the Astral Wind dissipated.
Yang Kai retracted his Divine Manifestation and the gigantic tree with vigorous green light slowly disappeared. Following that, he continued absorbing the medicinal efficacies of the World Fruit.
Over the past month, he had been continuously absorbing the World Force coming from the World Fruit.
Presently, not only had he made up for the losses that he had suffered in his Small Universe from the Astral Wind, but he had also managed to strengthen it. Even the landmass of his Small Universe had expanded quite a bit.
He had a feeling that he had reached the limits of the Fifth Order and, in just a few days, he would be able to achieve a breakthrough and ascend to the Sixth Order.
There wasn’t a need to worry about whether the medicinal efficacies of the World Fruit were sufficient. Since Yue He was able to go from the Fifth Order to the Sixth Order, Yang Kai could do the same.
In the meantime, on one of the peaks of Profound Yang Mountain, the door of a palace suddenly opened. Second Mountain Lord Yun Fei Bai stepped out and looked around before ordering, “Inform the Third Mountain Lord and the Fourth Mountain Lord. Assemble the troops and follow me to capture that whore Lan You Ruo!”
A number of Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, who had been keeping guard outside the palace, immediately replied, “Yes.”
Looking in the direction of the caldera, Yun Fei Bai sported a cold expression.
Previously, he was injured by Yang Kai, which was an incredible loss of face. The spear that penetrated his chest had left him severely wounded and it took him a whole month to recover. He could still feel his chest aching to this day.
Although Yang Kai wasn’t in a better state either as he had almost been decapitated, he was only a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master while Yun Fei Bai was in the Sixth-Order. They were not supposed to be an equal match to begin with as the difference of even one Order was like the gap between the Heavens and Earth. Being wounded so seriously by a boy a whole Order lower than him was humiliating, so it was expected that Yun Fei Bai would be resentful.
In order to recover quickly, he used a lot of resources that were hard to come by in the Shadowless Cave Heaven, so it could be said that these were immense losses for him.
He was extremely vexed. If it weren’t because the Head Mountain Lord had his eyes on Yang Kai’s mastery over the Dao of Space, which might help them find the exit, Yun Fei Bai would definitely kill him and rip his corpse into countless pieces.
Since the Head Mountain Lord had given the order though, Yun Fei Bai wouldn’t dare to kill Yang Kai. Nevertheless, it would be fine to treat him harshly. He secretly swore that once he captured Yang Kai, he would cut off all his limbs and stuff him into a jar where he would spend the rest of his miserable life.
As for Lan You Ruo, he was determined to obtain her. He had previously invited her to join Profound Yang Mountain and promised to make her the Fifth Mountain Lord; however, since she embarrassed him and didn’t appreciate his kindness, he couldn’t be blamed for being hard on her.
Meanwhile, the Third Mountain Lord Geng Qing and the Fourth Mountain Lord Zhou Ya were already ready. If Yun Fei Bai hadn’t insisted on personally making a move to get his revenge, they would’ve brought their people with them and stormed into the caldera a month ago. Upon getting the news at this moment, they responded quickly. Soon, numerous rays of light left Profound Yang Mountain and headed to the hiding place of the Proprietress and her subordinates.
There were dozens of people in total. The three Sixth-Order Mountain Lords led the way while the weakest among this group were in the Fourth Order. Third-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters weren’t qualified to interfere in this matter. There were also six Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters in this team.
Such a force was more than enough to deal with Lan You Ruo and the others.
In fact, they had always known that Lan You Ruo was hiding in the caldera. The reason they hadn’t stormed that place until now was that the Mountain Lords were wary of her Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm cultivation. If she became desperate, she might be able to severely wound one or two of them, even if defeating them was impossible.
Furthermore, Yun Fei Bai wanted to wait for the Astral Wind to weaken the Proprietress and her companions. It would only take one or two years for her power to noticeably decrease. By then, it’d be much easier to capture her.
Even without Yang Kai making a scene on Profound Yang Mountain, Yun Fei Bai was already prepared to make a move. Now that the Head Mountain Lord valued Yang Kai’s capabilities, coupled with the grudges between them, the battle against Lan You Ruo was inevitable.
This large group of people flew through the sky.
In just two to three days, they arrived at a spot near the caldera. Following the three Mountain Lords’ order, the caldera was quickly surrounded as World Forces undulated.
Inside the cave below the volcano, Chef exclaimed, “Profound Yang Mountain is here, Proprietress!”
The Proprietress sported a solemn expression and nodded, “I know.” Then, she took a glance at Yang Kai’s secret room, “I’ll go out to have a look. If things go wrong, immediately bring Yang Kai away from here.”
Chef asked worriedly, “What about you?”
The Proprietress replied, “You don’t have to worry about me. I have a way to flee!”
Accountant took a step forward, “I’ll stay with you to give you a hand, Proprietress!”
“Many people from Profound Yang Mountain are here; even three Mountain Lords have arrived, but I’m still able to escape if I’m on my own, so you don’t have to come with me.” As soon as she finished speaking, she leapt into the air and dashed out of the cave. As she separated her palms, a passageway appeared in the magma.
Chef and Accountant watched her leave as their eyes were filled with anxiety.
Initially, they thought that after ascending to the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm, they would be able to share some of the Proprietress’ burdens. However, in this kind of situation, Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters like them were useless. If they tagged along, they might be captured by the enemy and used to threaten the Proprietress.
They couldn’t help but blame themselves for being useless as they were unable to lend her a hand at the most critical moment. Chef’s eyelids twitched as he gazed at the secret room, [What’s wrong with Yang Kai? Why hasn’t he come out after one month of recuperation?]
If he had stepped out of the secret room, they could make use of his Space Secret Technique to flee even if they were unable to defeat their enemies. However, he had been meditating for a whole month, and he didn’t seem aware that the enemy was already at their door.
Outside the caldera, the three Mountain Lords stood alongside one another. A lot of people had surrounded the caldera as auras undulated. Upon seeing that the magma was roiling , Yun Fei Bai curled up his lips.
A snow-white figure shot out of the fiery red magma. The imperial dress she was clad in perfectly outlined her curvy figure.
The Proprietress stood silently in the void as she flicked her sleeve and swept a glance over these people. Then, she fixed her eyes on Yun Fei Bai and the others before asking, “What brings you here, Mountain Lords of Profound Yang Mountain?”
Yun Fei Bai sneered, “Stop asking the obvious. You’re fully aware of why we’re here.”
The Proprietress replied, “I’m not you, so how am I supposed to know what you’re thinking?”
Yun Fei Bai scoffed, “Since you’re trying to play dumb, just keep doing that. Don’t beg for my mercy when I beat you up later.”
The Proprietress shot him a dispassionate glance, “Yun Fei Bai, although you’re also a Sixth-Order cultivator, you’re no match for me. Go back to where you came from before your pride isn’t the only thing that’s hurt.”
A furious Yun Fei Bai snapped, “You’re pretty arrogant, bitch! Let’s see whether you’re really as strong as you say you are!”
Upon finishing his words, his figure shook as his World Force swirled around him and he pounced at the Proprietress.
Geng Qing helplessly shook his head, “Second Brother is still so hot-tempered. Can’t he see that she’s trying to goad him into a one-on-one fight with her?”
Zhou Ya sighed, “Second Brother is a conceited man, so just let him be. That Lan You Ruo has spent a year being exposed to the Astral Wind, so she isn’t as strong as she was before. Just get ready for now. Once Second Brother injures her, we can join forces and take her down together.”
Geng Qing nodded lightly before taking a step forward and immediately appeared on the other side to form an encirclement with Zhou Ya.
Looking up, they saw that Yun Fei Bai and Lan You Ruo had begun their clash. Both of them were in the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm, so every move they made was world-shaking. As their World Forces permeated the air, the explosions of light from their Secret Techniques erupted everywhere. There was no doubt that it was an intense battle.
After observing the battle for a while though, Geng Qing arched his brow as he realised that Lan You Ruo was truly powerful. Although her strength seemed to have been weakened, she was still able to match Yun Fei Bai.
He secretly felt astounded. If Lan You Ruo were at her peak, she would’ve been truly intimidating. Although she might not be able to defeat the Head Mountain Lord, there wouldn’t be a big of a gap between their powers.
Since such a top cultivator had some grudges against Profound Yang Mountain, they reckoned that they must end her life. If she escaped this time and sided with either Unrivalled Guild or Twin Spirit Island, it would be troublesome for them.
After the intense battle lasted for a while, it was apparent that the two Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters were equally matched. All of a sudden, someone came over and reported, “Third Mountain Lord, Fourth Mountain Lord, we’ve detected some strange movements in the caldera.”
Upon hearing that, Geng Qing stared intently in that direction for a moment before saying, “They’re Lan You Ruo’s Fifth-Order subordinates. The magma is roiling inside the caldera. There should be some secret passageways. These guys must be trying to flee since the situation isn’t in their favour… Hmm? There’s one more person with them. Who is that?”
Zhou Ya looked in the same direction and gave it a thought before saying, “He must be that brat who injured Second Brother. It seems that his injuries are pretty severe. One month has passed, but he’s still unconscious. Someone has to carry him on his back and flee.”
Geng Qing nodded, “You’re right. I’ll leave those three to you, Fourth Sister. If we can capture them, it will distract Lan You Ruo. By then, Second Brother will have an easier time dealing with her.”
A hesitant Zhou Ya asked, “What about Second Brother?”
With a smile, Geng Qing replied, “Don’t worry, Fourth Sister. I’ll make sure that he won’t get hurt. When the time is right, I’ll join forces with him.”
It was then Zhou Ya nodded, “I’ll go then.”
Following that, she swept a glance over the people around her, whereupon more than ten people left with her to race after Chef and the others.
One hundred kilometres in front of them, Chef carried Yang Kai on his back while running away at the speed of the wind. On the other hand, Accountant followed them with a golden abacus in his hand. When he turned his head and saw many rays of light racing after them, he exclaimed, “Run, Chef! They’re coming right at us!”
Just like what Geng Qing had said, there were some secret passageways under the caldera. It had been one year since the Proprietress and the others arrived in this place, so they were familiar with the terrain. Even if the cave’s entrance was blocked by their enemies one day, they would still be able to flee.
Not long after the Proprietress dashed out of the caldera, she engaged in a battle with the enemy. Upon seeing that things were deteriorating, Chef and Accountant immediately brought Yang Kai with them and fled through another exit.
Although they moved cautiously, they were still detected by their enemies. Now that their enemies were chasing after them, they had no choice but to flee at their top speed.
Both of them were only in the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm, and they had a burden with them that was Yang Kai. On the other hand, Zhou Ya was a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master who had more than ten people with her. Both parties were not equally matched to begin with, so there was no way they could defeat their enemies if they got into a fight.
Therefore, they would only stand a chance to survive by fleeing. At the same time, they prayed that the Proprietress would be fine.
After running away for a while, a pale Accountant cursed, “I don’t think we can get away, Chef. That woman is pretty swift.”
Although there was only a difference of one Order between the Sixth and Fifth Order, the gap in power was vast. Usually, a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master would be able to deal with five Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters with ease. Therefore, it was expected that a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master was also able to fly at a greater speed.
Since Zhou Ya was determined to hunt them down, Chef and Accountant were not able to get rid of her regardless of how hard they tried.
Seeing that the distance between them was shortening, Chef tossed Yang Kai at Accountant and said, “Leave with him now. I’ll delay her for a while.”
After taking Yang Kai, Accountant gritted his teeth and placed him over his shoulder without hesitation. Then, he charged forward at full speed. It wasn’t the right time to argue. If they couldn’t make a decision quickly, they would fall into a terrible state.
Chef took a deep breath as his figure expanded and turned into a several-dozen-metre tall giant. The apron around his waist swayed with the wind.
With a knife in his left hand and a chopping board in his right, Chef appeared solemn and foreboding.
Then, he hurled the chopping board behind him as it expanded with the wind. It was as though the chopping board was about to cover the entire world. The unsuspecting Zhou Ya and the others came into contact with the chopping board and became bound by a mysterious force.
Chef raised his knife and bellowed, “I am the knife and chopping board, and you are the fish!”
Then, he brought down the knife as the blade shone viciously. The world around him seemed to have turned into his kitchen with him as the chef that was on top of everything.
Zhou Ya was flabbergasted as she hadn’t expected that a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master would possess such a horrifying Divine Ability. He was apparently more powerful than the average Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. Although she was a Sixth-Order Master, she still couldn’t help but feel terrified while she was bound to the chopping board. It was as though she was about to be cut into countless pieces.
Not daring to be negligent, she yelled and surged her World Force as she broke free of the restraint and shot towards Chef.
The more than ten Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters were not standing idly by either. As they respectively used their Secret Techniques and artifacts, their World Forces became a chaotic torrent.
In just three breaths’ time, Chef’s gigantic figure flew backwards as he sprayed out a mouthful of blood. Like a deflating balloon, he shrank rapidly. The colossal chopping board turned back into its original form and was stored by Chef.
The blade light dissipated and his World Force subsided. Zhou Ya looked up and saw Chef spitting blood while fleeing into the distance. Despite his burly figure, he was extremely agile. With her face turning crimson, she roared, “Follow him! Don’t let him flee!”
She was a Sixth-Order Master and had personally led a team of powerful subordinates, but she was obstructed by a mere Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm cultivator. Although it had lasted only several breaths of time, it was humiliating enough.
In the meantime, the Proprietress had fallen into a perilous state. Yun Fei Bai was embarrassed as he wasn’t even able to hurt his opponent, and upon seeing things not progressing, Geng Qing immediately joined forces with him.
As the two Mountain Lords of Profound Yang Mountain worked together, they were able to gain the advantage right away.
However, to their horror, they realised that Lan You Ruo was still able to cope.
Geng Qing couldn’t help but feel terrified. Just a while ago, he believed that although Lan You Ruo wasn’t a match for the Head Mountain Lord when she was at her peak, there would only be a small gap between their powers. Nevertheless, it now seemed that she and the Head Mountain Lord would be equally matched when she was at her peak. Both of them were just one step away from the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm.
If not, she couldn’t have remained so powerful after being affected by the Astral Wind for one year.
However, it all had to end on this day.
Regardless of how powerful Lan You Ruo was, she had to be killed in this place. The two of them had made a move while their Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm subordinates disturbed her from outside the battlefield. Even though she was formidable, there was no way she could leave this place alive.
During the intense battle, some people from Profound Yang Mountain had to back down from time to time as they were injured by the Proprietress. In just one incense stick, seven Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters had temporarily lost the capabilities to fight, while one of them was even killed.
Although the Proprietress managed to hurt many of her opponents, she had been wounded as well. In this kind of situation, it was a miracle that she had made it so far. If it weren’t because Geng Qing and Yun Fei Bai were worried that she would attempt to drag one of them down with her if she was pushed too far, her situation would’ve been even more difficult.
There came a moment when Geng Qing’s gaze brightened while he attacked the Proprietress alongside Yun Fei Bai. He initially intended to back down, but he charged forward instead, using a Divine Ability that shot towards the Proprietress when she made a mistake and exposed an opening in her guard.
During a life-and-death battle between powerful cultivators, a single opening could determine the outcome.
As his World Force undulated, his Divine Ability landed on the Proprietress’ delicate figure and exploded, whereupon she detonated and turned into dust.
Yun Fei Bai became rooted to the spot as he asked in disbelief, “She died?”
Geng Qing was stunned as well and with a frown, he had a feeling that something was off.
Although his Divine Ability was mighty, Lan You Ruo wasn’t weak. How was it possible that she was killed just like that?
Then, he looked down and saw a figure dashing into the magma.
“It was just an illusion. She fled!” Geng Qing bellowed.
“Where does she think she’s going!?” Yun Fei Bai yelled and plunged into the caldera.
“Wait, Second Brother! There might be a trap!” Geng Qing shouted, but it was too late. The impetuous Yun Fei Bai had already disappeared into the magma.
Left with no choice, Geng Qing ground his teeth and followed.
However, before he even dove into the magma, there was an explosion of World Force beneath him, as though a Divine Ability was expanding before his eyes. Following that, Yun Fei Bai wailed while spraying out a mouthful of blood as he was sent flying back. There was a dent on his chest and his aura was unstable. It was apparent that he had suffered a serious setback.
Then, he spat blood again and roared with a hideous expression, “How dare that bitch set me up!”
A speechless Geng Qing reckoned that Yun Fei Bai’s terrible temper would forever land him in trouble.
As the magma subsided, they looked down at it and hesitated. After what happened to Yun Fei Bai, Geng Qing wouldn’t dare to rashly plunge into it as he was worried that Lan You Ruo was hiding under the magma.
As such, he turned to look at one of his Fifth-Order subordinates and ordered in a grim voice, “Go down and have a look.”
The Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master appeared terrified, but he wouldn’t dare to disobey the order, so he clenched his teeth and dove into the magma.
A moment later, he dashed out of it and shook his head, “That woman is nowhere to be seen. She must have escaped.”
“Where else can she go?” Yun Fei Bai’s eyes were bloodshot as he was resentful of the Proprietress, “All of you, get down and search for her! I have to get her regardless of what it takes!”
Geng Qing explained, “We don’t have to do that, Second Brother. I believe Lan You Ruo is going to look for her subordinates. Fourth Sister is pursuing them, so we just have to meet up with her and I’m sure we’ll find Lan You Ruo over there.”
Yun Fei Bai turned to look at him, “Really? What if she doesn’t look for her subordinates?”
Geng Qing said, “Please trust me, Second Brother. Lan You Ruo seems to be someone who values the people around her greatly, so I believe that she won’t let her subordinates perish on their own.”
After giving it a thought, Yun Fei Bai nodded, “Good, we’ll look for Fourth Sister.” Then, he spat out a mouthful of blood and took a deep breath.
The wound on his chest was extremely painful.
On the other hand, Chef and Accountant were pale as they ran, blood streaming from their mouths. Although Chef had stopped Zhou Ya and the others for several breaths of time using his Secret Technique, their opponents resumed chasing them soon after. Left with no choice, Accountant had to make a move as well.
In the end, both of them were wounded while their enemies were getting closer and closer.
While carrying Yang Kai on his back, Chef cursed, “Brat, are you going to wake up or not!? We’ll die soon! By then, I’ll throw you to that woman and let her rip you into countless pieces!”
Although Chef was lamenting, he never slowed down his pace. Unfortunately, they were unable to get rid of Zhou Ya as she was more powerful than them.
Seeing as the enemies were getting closer, Accountant bellowed, “Leave! I’ll deal with her!”
Upon finishing his words, he turned around and readied himself to clash with Zhou Ya.
A flabbergasted Chef exclaimed, “No!”
However, he was unable to stop him, so he clenched his teeth and whirled around to follow him.
Accountant turned his head and bellowed, “What are you doing?”
With a solemn expression, Chef replied, “We’ll never get rid of her, so I think we should just perish together. Before that, we’ll at least bite some flesh off her!”
Accountant’s gaze darkened as he nodded with a heavy heart. Then, Chef quickly fished out a long cloth to tie Yang Kai tightly on his back. With a kitchen knife in one hand and a chopping board in the other, he was prepared to face his enemies.
Just then, they saw a ray of light rapidly approaching from behind Zhou Ya. The ray of light directly stormed into the enemies’ formation and caused a lot of Fourth-Order and Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters to collapse to the ground. Many of them were injured and sent flying away as they sprayed out mouthfuls of blood in mid-air.
An astounded Zhou Ya turned her head with a fierce gaze and surged her World Force to trade moves with the ray of light. As a series of explosive sounds were heard as the world seemed to pale. The ray of light whisked past Zhou Ya and landed on a spot beside Chef and Accountant.
“Proprietress!” Chef and Accountant were pleasantly surprised.
The ray of light was none other than the Proprietress, who had shaken off Geng Qing and Yun Fei Bai.
Her face was slightly pale as she brushed away the blood on the corner of her lips. Then, she extended her hands and grabbed both of them before yelling, “Let’s go!”
Chef and Accountant were uncontrollably hoisted into the air.
“You’re injured, Proprietress,” Chef gazed at the trail of blood on the corner of her mouth with a worried expression.
“It doesn’t matter.” The Proprietress took a glance at Yang Kai on his back and asked, “Hasn’t he woken up yet?”
Chef shook his head, “No. Perhaps he’s at some kind of critical juncture.”
Given such a commotion, Yang Kai should have been shaken out of his meditative state even if he was still recuperating. However, his eyes remained tightly closed, as though he had cut off all connection with the outside world, which put them in a tight spot.
“Should we force this brat up?” Chef asked.
“No!” The Proprietress shook her head. Yang Kai wasn’t someone who would put his companions’ lives at risk and he should be aware of what was going on in his surroundings. In other words, he knew what they were going through, but there was a reason that he couldn’t wake up. It would be a terrible thing if they forcefully interrupted him.
“Where are we going now?” Accountant asked as he turned his head to look at the enemies behind them. Zhou Ya and her subordinates were still relentlessly chasing after them.
The Proprietress declared, “Twin Spirit Island!”
Previously, they were unwilling to join any of the three great forces because, first of all, they had just arrived in the Shadowless Cave Heaven, so they were unclear about the current situations in this place. Secondly, once they joined one of the great forces, they would be restricted in many ways and completely bound to that great force.
Only after learning that no one had ever left the Shadowless Cave Heaven over the years, did the Proprietress start considering joining one of them.
Profound Yang Mountain was excluded as there were some grudges between them; therefore, they were left with Unrivalled Guild and Twin Spirit Island. Among the two, Twin Spirit Island was the weakest as there were only two Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters on their side, so it was naturally their best option.
Some time ago, the Proprietress visited Twin Spirit Island and was greeted warmly by the two Island Masters. It was apparent that they were trying to persuade her to join their great force.
Initially, the Proprietress planned on asking for the opinions of Yang Kai and the others before deciding whether they should join Twin Spirit Island. Nevertheless, before Yang Kai even awakened, three Mountain Lords of Profound Yang Mountain had arrived at her door.
Left with no choice now, they could only head to Twin Spirit Island. If they were accepted into the great force, they could probably resolve this crisis.
…..
There was an expansive lake in the Shadowless Cave Heaven, and in the middle of the lake were two islands that looked similar in terms of shape and size. Since both of them were closely connected, they were named Twin Spirit Island.
As the Proprietress and the others headed straight to Twin Spirit Island, it was apparent what their intention was.
On the other hand, Zhou Ya was still relentlessly pursuing them and two days later, Yun Fei Bai and Geng Qing finally joined her.
As Geng Qing looked in the direction the Proprietress and the others were heading, he gave it a thought and pondered, “Is Lan You Ruo going to Twin Spirit Island? When did she even come into contact with those Island Masters?”
Yun Fei Bai snorted, “That bitch is a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master after all, so it’s expected that those two want her to join their Sect. I guess they came into contact some time ago. We need to catch them quickly. We mustn’t let them reach Twin Spirit Island. If she joins forces with Hua Yong and Shu Mu Dan, it’ll be difficult to deal with them.”
Hua Yong and Shu Mu Dan that he just mentioned were the Island Masters of Twin Spirit Island. They were also a married couple. It was said that they had been in the Shadowless Cave Heaven for even longer than the Head Mountain Lord.
Geng Qing narrowed his eyes before chuckling, “It’s been a short time since Lan You Ruo arrived in this place, so she isn’t aware of that couple’s temperaments. She must be acting out of desperation since she has no other choice. Don’t worry, Second Brother. It’ll be a good thing if she reaches Twin Spirit Island.”
Yun Fei Bai shot him a glance, “Why is it a good thing?”
Geng Qing explained, “Aren’t you aware of what that couple is like, Second Brother? Although both of them are in the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm, the same as us, they’re quite cautious and timid. The reason they want to recruit Lan You Ruo is that she’s a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. If she becomes a part of them, they’ll be able to better resist Profound Yang Mountain and Unrivalled Guild; however, since the three of us are hunting Lan You Ruo down, will the couple have the guts to accept her?”
After giving it a thought, Yun Fei Bai nodded, “You’re right. Those two have always been cowards. If they find out that woman has some grudges with us, they’ll likely refuse to accept her group.”
Zhou Ya said, “If she is turned down, she won’t have a way out anymore.”
Yun Fei Bai’s eyes brightened as he looked at the front and put on an eerie smile, “They’re basically flying into the deathtrap.”
Realizing this, an elated Yun Fei Bai slowed down a little as he calmly followed the Proprietress and her group.
As they kept moving forward, they arrived at a beautiful lake two days later. The Proprietress, Chef, and Accountant stepped on the water and reached Twin Spirit Island soon after.
Twin Spirit Island was surrounded by a barrier, and no one was able to see through the fog and find out what was going on inside.
The Proprietress immediately fished out a Jade Token and infused her power into it. The Jade Token instantly turned into a ray of light and disappeared into the Grand Array.
This Jade Token was given to her by the Island Masters when she visited Twin Spirit Island previously and could be used as a communications artifact. They hoped that she would join their Sect one day, so naturally they provided her with a way to contact them.
After the Jade Token was gone, the Proprietress turned her head and saw many rays of light rapidly approaching them. It would probably take them no more than a quarter-hour to arrive, so she was naturally worried.
A moment later, the fog around the Grand Array roiled and a figure stepped out of it. He was a Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master who was clad in tight-fitting clothes, which made him look quite well put-together.
The Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master looked around, and when he saw the Proprietress, his expression turned solemn, “I’m sorry for being late to welcome you, Madam Lan. Please forgive me.”
The Proprietress had paid a visit previously, so he naturally recognised her.
“It’s fine. Please tell the Island Masters that I’ll agree to the conditions they mentioned, and am willing to join Twin Spirit Island,” the Proprietress declared.
The Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master was evidently startled. Although he wasn’t sure what these conditions were, he wasn’t in any place to ask as he was just a messenger. As such, he simply nodded, “Please give me a moment, Madame.”
After he finished speaking, he turned around and disappeared into the Grand Array. Before he left, he looked into the distance with some concern.
In a parterre garden on Twin Spirit Island, a middle-aged man with a jade crown was having a stroll with a pregnant woman clad in an imperial dress. Pleasant fragrances permeated the place as flowers of different colours bloomed around them. The woman was stroking her belly while the man held her arm to support her weight. He looked down at the bulging belly from time to time with a joyful expression.
They were none other than the Island Masters of Twin Spirit Island, Hua Yong and Shu Mu Dan.
While having a walk in the garden with his wife, Hua Yong asked gently, “Do you love this garden, my dear Wife? All of these flowers were brought back from the outside world and some of the species are extremely rare.”
Shu Mu Dan put on a reserved smile, “You didn’t have to do all this, Husband. These flowers cannot be consumed for cultivation. The subordinates might have some complaints against you since you told them to use so many resources for this.”
Hua Yong asked, “Who would dare to have any complaints?” Then, he stood in front of his Wife and crouched down before pressing his head against the bulging belly, “Moreover, Lin’er will only be pleased when you’re happy. That way, he’ll leave your stomach sooner.”
Shu Mu Dan started blushing as she looked around and poked the man’s head with one finger, “How old do you think you are? Get up now. Others will laugh at us if they see this.”
Hua Yong took her hand and caressed his own face with it before he looked up and flashed a smile at her, “Who would dare to laugh at me?”
“Island Masters…” Just then, someone rushed into the place. When he saw the Head Island Master crouching down in front of the Second Island Master and caressing his own face with her hand while the Second Island Master blushed with a loving expression, he became stunned.
Shu Mu Dan’s face turned a shade redder in embarrassment.
Hua Yong slowly got up and straightened his face before coughing into his fist, “What’s wrong?”
The person looked down at his feet and reported, “Madam Lan is here again. She said that she’ll agree to your conditions to join Twin Spirit Island.”
Upon hearing that, Hua Yong and Shu Mu Dan exchanged glances and became ecstatic. The former laughed and said, “Very good! Although some people will fall into the Shadowless Cave Heaven from time to time, Sixth-Order Masters are rare. If Lan You Ruo could join us, our power will be greatly strengthened.” Then, he turned to look at the messenger, “Is she outside?”
The person replied, “Madam Lan is indeed waiting outside.”
“Welcome her inside right now!” Hua Yong ordered, then changed his mind, “No, no, no. My Wife and I will personally welcome her.”
If Lan You Ruo, a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, joined Twin Spirit Island, she would be the Third Island Master. In other words, she would be the third most important person after Hua Yong and Shu Mu Dan, so she definitely deserved to be welcomed by the couple personally.
Before the two of them could leave the garden, however, the messenger continued, “Island Masters, there’s one more thing I need to tell you. Madam Lan seems to be injured, and just now, I could see that some people were pursuing her.”
“Who are the ones chasing her?” Hua Yong frowned. Lan You Ruo was a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, so rarely anyone in the Shadowless Cave Heaven could hurt her or even have the guts to pursue her. Suddenly, he felt there was more to her trying to join them at this moment than it appeared.
The messenger replied, “Island Masters, you’ve not stepped outside for years, so you’re not aware of what’s going on. There are some grudges between Madam Lan and Profound Yang Mountain’s Second Mountain Lord.”
As the person spoke, Shu Mu Dan suddenly waved her hand, then the water around them came together and formed into a mirror. The reflection on the mirror showed the view outside of Twin Spirit Island.
Through the mirror, they could see Lan You Ruo and her three subordinates waiting outside the barrier. One of them was unconscious, so he had to be carried on another person’s back.
As Shu Mu Dan looked into the distance, her expression changed, “Three Mountain Lords from Profound Yang Mountain are over there!”
Hua Yong’s expression turned solemn as well. He could see the intimidating Yun Fei Bai and the others through the mirror. Of the four Sixth-Order Mountain Lords of Profound Yang Mountain, three of them had come all the way here with many subordinates, which went to show that they were determined to end Lan You Ruo today.
“What are the grudges between Madam Lan and Profound Yang Mountain’s Second Mountain Lord?” Hua Yong asked in puzzlement.
Since his Wife was pregnant, he had been staying on Twin Spirit Island to keep her company and ignored the affairs in the outside world. Before Lan You Ruo paid a visit previously, he wasn’t even aware that there was a new Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master in the Shadowless Cave Heaven.
Certainly, he had no idea what was going on when he saw this sight.
The messenger replied, “I don’t know the details, but those from Profound Yang Mountain have always been arrogant, and the Second Mountain Lord Yun Fei Bai is a lascivious man. Madam Lan knew nothing about the affairs here when she arrived in the Shadowless Cave Heaven, so she might have gotten into a conflict with them for some reason.”
Upon hearing his explanation, Hua Yong nodded and said with a dark explanation, “Now I know why Lan You Ruo is eager to join Twin Spirit Island. She’s basically left with no other choice now, so she wants to make use of us to resolve this crisis. Clever of her.” He snorted.
Shu Mu Dan asked with a frown, “What’s your plan, Husband?”
Hua Yong replied, “If she had agreed to join Twin Spirit Island previously, I would’ve welcomed her; however, since she intends to make use of us now, we can’t grant her wish. If we accept her, we’ll be offending Profound Yang Mountain.”
A worried Shu Mu Dan said, “If we don’t let her in, she won’t be able to deal with Yun Fei Bai and the others on her own.”
“That’s her own problem.” Hua Yong shook his head and gazed at his Wife, “What do you think?”
After giving it a thought, Shu Mu Dan said, “If Madam Lan could join Twin Spirit Island, our power will increase significantly, and we’ll have the might to go up against Profound Yang Mountain and Unrivalled Guild. Although the three great forces in the Shadowless Cave Heaven have coexisted peacefully so far, we’re still the weakest in the end. Therefore, we control far less territory than the other two great forces.”
“Do you want to accept her even now?” Hua Yong asked.
With a helpless smile, Shu Mu Dan shook her head, “I have no idea what to do. I’ll leave the decision to you, Husband.”
Hua Yong took a glance at her bulging belly, then his gaze became determined, “Ignore her.”
Although they could strengthen Twin Spirit Island’s power by accepting Lan You Ruo, Yun Fei Bai and the others would never let her off as they appeared determined. There was bound to be a battle if they took a side now, and given the situation his Wife was in, there was no way she could fight. No one could afford to take responsibility if their child was affected. They had waited for a long time before they had their own child, so they naturally valued him above all else.
Shu Mu Dan let out a sigh. As a woman herself, she sympathised with Lan You Ruo for what the latter was going through, but at the same time, she had to protect her child, which was why she was feeling helpless.
Outside of Twin Spirit Island’s barrier, the Proprietress felt her heart sinking.
The two Island Masters hadn’t shown up, nor had they opened the barrier. It was apparent to her that they were not willing to invite trouble to themselves.
She wasn’t in any place to blame them though. Although she had intended to join Twin Spirit Island previously, her arrival at this time was indeed inappropriate.
The reason she made this decision was that she had no other choice; otherwise, she would never want to trouble anyone else.
Seeing as the enemies were about to reach them, the Proprietress immediately decided to flee, “Run!”
Then, she surged her power to wrap up Chef and the others before attempting to head in a different direction.
“Where do you think you’re going!?” Someone was heard yelling as a figure abruptly appeared in that direction. He was none other than the Third Mountain Lord Geng Qing. It wasn’t certain when he had snuck to the other side, but he happened to be right in the Proprietress’ way.
Faced with an incoming Divine Ability, the Proprietress hurriedly parried and was forced back to her original spot.
In the meantime, the sounds of people breaking through the air were heard as many figures landed in all directions and surrounded them.
With a cold gaze, the Proprietress swept a glance over the three Mountain Lords of Profound Yang Mountain.
There was a gloomy expression on Yun Fei Bai’s face as he spat and raised his chin. He appeared smug as he looked at the Proprietress, “Keep running. Let’s see where you can run now!”
Without saying a word, the Proprietress glared at him.
Yun Fei Bai took a glance at the fog-covered Twin Spirit Island and put on a devious smile, “Do you want to seek refuge in Twin Spirit Island? Have you even investigated the temperaments of this useless couple? Do you think these cowards have the guts to accept you?”
Inside Twin Spirit Island, Hua Yong sported a dark expression and snorted. Not only could they see the outside view through the mirror, but they could also hear what was happening as well. That was why he could hear Yun Fei Bai’s words.
A conceited Yun Fei Bai shouted, “Hua Yong, Shu Mu Dan, this woman wants to side with Twin Spirit Island, do you want to open up the barrier and let her in?”
No one responded from the other end of the barrier.
With his palms spread, Yun Fei Bai said, “Look, they don’t even dare to respond to me. Do you think that they can protect you? Naïve!”
Zhou Ya said with a frown, “We should deal with our business here first, Second Brother!”
It was too arrogant to provoke the Island Masters right in front of their door. Although Profound Yang Mountain was stronger than Twin Spirit Island, the latter still had two Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters on their side. If they became infuriated, they might act out in anger, which would be extremely detrimental to them now.
Yun Fei Bai snorted and gazed at the Proprietress, “Whore, I’ll give you one last chance! If you don’t want to die, be good and become my woman; otherwise, this place will be your graveyard.”
Geng Qing was exasperated as he really thought that Yun Fei Bai was so lascivious that he was willing to risk his life for a moment’s pleasure. It wouldn’t have mattered if they hadn’t found out Lan You Ruo’s true strength; however, after the battle on this day, they realised that this woman was just as powerful as the Head Mountain Lord. Although Yun Fei Bai was also a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, he would never be able to control her. Only by killing her could they solve this problem for good. That was the reason Geng Qing was rendered speechless when he saw Yun Fei Bai still lusting after her at this point.
“A dog’s mouth can never smell fresh!” The Proprietress shot a deathly glare at Yun Fei Bai, “Stop spouting nonsense and fight. There may be many people on your side, and it’s true I cannot defeat you, but I can take at least one of you down with me before I die. Let’s see which one of you will be so unlucky.”
“Impudence!” Yun Fei Bai stomped his foot on the ground in rage, “Third Brother, Fourth Sister, come with me and kill this woman!”
His murderous intent surged as he raised his hand and summoned a huge axe almost three meters tall. The flash of light swirling around it suggested that it was an extraordinary artifact.
Upon seeing that Yun Fei Bai had summoned this artifact, Geng Qing knew that he was determined to kill this woman.
Geng Qing and Zhou Ya traded glances and summoned their own artifacts as well, whereupon they shot towards the Proprietress. Before they even reached their opponent, their rumbling World Forces shook the surrounding world.
Inside Twin Spirit Island, Shu Mu Dan appeared sympathetic.
All of them were in the same Order, so the outcome for Lan You Ruo was foreseeable since she was fighting against three enemies on her own. After a sigh, Shu Mu Dan looked away.
She had always been a gentle person, and since her pregnancy, she had become even more sensitive; hence, she didn’t have the heart to see another woman being killed.
Faced with the World Forces of three Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, Chef and Accountant found it difficult to even breathe, as though a mountain was pressing down on them. Even their legs were beginning to buckle under the pressure.
And they were only bearing the fallout from the enemy’s pressure. At the centre of the three Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters’ pressure, however, the Proprietress closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
Chef and Accountant widened their eyes as though they were waiting for something to happen.
The next moment, the Proprietress opened her eyes, which appeared as fierce as lightning. A red glow suddenly swirled around her and engulfed her entire figure as though it had spirituality of its own.
Some explosive sounds were heard, and when the red glow faded, the Proprietress was already covered in a scarlet Artifact Armour, which was so tight-fitting that it perfectly outlined her alluring figure. A flash of light was seen swirling around the armour. There were two Dragons on her shoulders with eyes that seemed completely lifelike. There was also a helmet that covered her entire head except for her soul-piercing eyes.
Her arms were protected by very solid pads, and as she made a grabbing gesture, a scarlet sword appeared out of thin air as though she had pulled it out from the Void.
The gale stirred up waves on the lake behind her as the Proprietress seemed to have turned into an armour-clad female knight, valiantly wielding the greatsword in her hands.
However, unlike her usual self, the Proprietress clad in this armour radiated a rich Monster Qi.
“Blood Monster Battle Dress!” Chef murmured under his breath with a pale face.
Although it was called the Blood Monster Battle Dress, it had nothing to do with Blood Monster Divine Monarch from the Blood Monster Cave Heaven. Chef and the others had no idea where the Proprietress obtained this armour, but they knew that she never used it unless she had no other choice. The fact that she had summoned this Artifact Armour suggested that they were facing a real life-or-death crisis.
Although she could significantly increase her power by using the Blood Monster Battle Dress, the rich Monster Qi within the armour had an erosive effect. The longer the Proprietress wore it, the more her consciousness would be eroded, leaving extremely difficult issues to resolve afterwards.
Therefore, the Proprietress would never use the Blood Monster Battle Dress unless it was absolutely necessary.
Although Chef and Accountant were aware that she had such an artifact, they had never seen her use it before. This was the first time!
The three Mountain Lords of Profound Yang Mountain were stunned upon seeing the Proprietress’ transformation. As their gazes fell upon the armour and sword, they immediately realized that the Blood Monster Battle Dress was truly extraordinary.
Geng Qing suddenly exclaimed, “Watch out, Second Brother!”
Yun Fei Bai’s axe was already right above the Proprietress’ head. As he bellowed and forcefully brought down his weapon. At the same time, he surged his World Force to empower the axe, making it seem like he could split apart the Shadowless Cave Heaven with this strike.
Faced with this world-shaking attack, the Proprietress raised her sword with both hands as a shockwave spread around from her feet. The next moment, she ignored the limits of space and abruptly appeared before Yun Fei Bai as she clashed with the axe with her sword.
Following a deafening clang, a visible halo of light spread out a thousand kilometres in all directions, shaking space wherever it passed.
Yun Fei Bai’s pupils shrank as he was sent flying away like a cloth sack, his gaze filled with complete shock.
He had traded moves with Lan You Ruo in the caldera not long ago, and although she was truly powerful, he was still able to compete with her. However, at this moment, this one clash made him realise that there was a huge gap between their powers.
[Where does the artifact on this woman come from? Why does it contain such horrifying power!?]
While he was still lost in his thoughts, the Proprietress, whose armour seemed to burn with terrifying flames, reached him as she raised her sword and chopped down.
A panicked Yun Fei Bai immediately parried the attack with his axe. A horrifying force descended upon him. Pressured by the oppressive World Force, he found it difficult to breathe.
Following several loud clangs, Yun Fei Bai sprayed out a mouthful of blood. It was apparent that he had been injured.
A relentless Proprietress raised her sword again as she appeared determined to ruthlessly kill him.
Presently, she was fighting three against one, and although her power had increased significantly thanks to the Blood Monster Battle Dress, she would still fall into a perilous state if she couldn’t kill at least one of her opponents quickly.
Feeling the aura of death descending upon him, Yun Fei Bai widened his eyes in horror. Faced with this series of attacks, he was unable to counterattack at all, and if he couldn’t dodge the coming strike, even if he survived, he would be severely wounded.
At the critical moment, Geng Qing and Zhou Ya came to his rescue. Since the three Mountain Lords had come here together, the other two certainly wouldn’t let the Proprietress kill Yun Fei Bai without doing anything.
In fact, the moment the Proprietress and Yun Fei Bai began trading moves, the other two Mountain Lords started rushing towards the battlefield. Nevertheless, due to the Proprietress’ incredible speed and strength, it wasn’t until this moment that they caught up.
Still, it was better late than never.
Zhou Ya wielded her long sword and infused her World Force into it, whereupon a sword screen engulfed the Proprietress. At the same time, Geng Qing appeared from the side as he performed hand seals and bombarded the Proprietress with different Divine Abilities.
The two of them finally managed to force the Proprietress back.
Using this delay, Yun Fei Bai hurriedly dashed backwards and dodged the attack. As a breeze whisked across his sweat-soaked clothes, he felt cold all over. Prior to this battle, he would never have imagined that there was such a wide gap between Lan You Ruo and him since both of them were in the Sixth Order. If Geng Qing and Zhou Ya hadn’t come to his rescue just now, he would’ve been critically injured or even killed.
Although he admittedly underestimated his opponent, it also went to show that the Proprietress was horrifyingly powerful.
This kind of humiliation made him feel completely ashamed and enraged, so he charged forward with his axe and surrounded the Proprietress alongside Geng Qing and Zhou Ya, launching all sorts of Divine Abilities at her in a maddened rage.
Meanwhile, in the parterre garden on Twin Spirit Island, Hua Yong gasped as he gazed at the battlefield through the water mirror and said in shock, “I can’t believe Lan You Ruo is so strong!”
Although there was a barrier around Twin Spirit Island, he could still feel terrifying energy fluctuations coming from outside.
Still reeling from the shock, he thought it was fortunate that they hadn’t accepted Lan You Ruo into Twin Spirit Island. Given the power she had showcased, if she really joined them, the couple wouldn’t be a match for her even if they joined forces.
He believed that they had to be cautious. If Lan You Ruo had some ulterior motive, the couple wouldn’t be able to deal with her; moreover, Shu Mu Dan was pregnant, so her combat capabilities were severely limited right now.
On the other hand, the more observant Shu Mu Dan gave it a thought and said, “She must have paid a heavy price to obtain this kind of power. It seems to me that the armour she’s wearing is quite malevolent.”
Hua Yong pondered on it for a moment and nodded. “You’re right, my Wife.”
The Proprietress was able to match the three Mountain Lords of Profound Yang Mountain on her own, leading to an intense battle. Yun Fei Bai and the others were horrified as they were unable to take her down even though they had joined forces. The blunt-looking sword in her hands contained a power that could make them all flustered.
To their dismay, the three of them could only come to a draw in a fight against Lan You Ruo at the moment.
On the other hand, Chef and Accountant were in a perilous situation. The three Mountain Lords of Profound Yang Mountain had brought with them dozens of Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters. These people wouldn’t dare to interfere in the battle between the Sixth-Order Masters as just the fallout could be deadly to them, so they turned their eyes to Chef and Accountant.
The two of them ran away in embarrassment as the lights of Secret Techniques expanded behind them, causing them groan and grunt in pain.
Fortunately, both of them were Fifth-Order Open Heaven Masters, so although they were unable to deal with the dozens of enemies, they could still flee for a while. However, as time passed, the people from Profound Yang Mountain formed an encirclement around Chef and Accountant and were slowly tightening it.
It was apparent that there would come a point when the encirclement became so small that the two of them would be unable to flee.
The Proprietress repeatedly wanted to lend them a hand, but she was blocked by Yun Fei Bai and the other Mountain Lords.
The situation seemed to be in Yun Fei Bai and the others’ favour because they realised that as time passed, Lan You Ruo’s moves became less sharp even though the power she was able to use remained unchanged. The power of the Divine Abilities she cast also appeared somewhat unsteady.
Looking up, they saw that there was a layer of blood mist surrounding her scarlet armour and her eyes under the helmet had become bloodshot. The Monster Qi made her look like a real Monster.
The three of them were astounded at first, but soon realized that there must be a downside to this Artifact Armour. It couldn’t be used for a long time, or else there would be some hidden concerns.
Understanding this, they switched tactics and stopped clashing with the Proprietress head-on. Instead, they circled around and stalled for time.
Judging from Lan You Ruo’s actions, they knew that she would become increasingly erratic as time passed, and eventually, they would be able to easily deal with her. For a battle at this level, having more power didn’t necessarily mean that one could secure victory.
The Monster Qi around the Proprietress thickened as there seemed to be a layer of blood swirling around her scarlet Blood Monster Battle Dress. The eyes under the helmet were crimson as they reflected a glint of madness and brutality.
Every strike she made with her sword seemed able to break the Heavens and Earth apart, but at the same time, she became increasingly wild and unfocused.
She was unable to react when Zhou Ya came at her with her sword and penetrated a junction in the armour, piercing through her belly.
Before Zhou Ya could celebrate her victory though, the Proprietress turned her head and hacked at her with her greatsword.
Zhou Ya exclaimed and retracted her sword before backing off quickly; however, she was still struck by the violent force as the vitality in her chest convulsed, almost causing her to spit blood.
Seeing as the relentless Proprietress chased after her, Zhou Ya grit her teeth and parried the incoming flurry of attacks. On the other hand, Geng Qing attempted to hold the Proprietress down while Yun Fei Bai forcefully hacked his axe at her figure.
Following a loud boom, the Proprietress’ lithe figure plunged into the lake and caused a huge splash. The spot where she fell into the water was boiling and dyed red. The fish in the lake that were attracted by the metallic tang went over to absorb the red light, but they all exploded a moment later.
Following a loud splash, a red glint flashed through the lake’s surface as the Proprietress shot out of the water. Due to Yun Fei Bai’s strike earlier, she seemed to have regained some clarity in her mind and there was a sense of struggle behind her bloodshot eyes.
However, when she saw that Chef and Accountant were in danger, the sense of struggle disappeared and was replaced by madness again.
Holding the sword in one hand, she wielded it and formed a ray of red light before charging towards Yun Fei Bai.
*Hong hong hong…*
Loud noises were continuously heard as their World Forces clashed.
In the garden, Hua Yong narrowed his eyes and remarked, “Lan You Ruo is doomed.”
To his side, Shu Mu Dan let out a sigh.
As a fellow woman, she had to admit that Lan You Ruo was more powerful than she was. However, Lan You Ruo was on her own, so she was unable to defeat the three Mountain Lords from Profound Yang Mountain.
As a fellow Sixth-Order Master, she was fully aware of how powerful the three Mountain Lords from Profound Yang Mountain were and understood that she might not be a match for any one of them even if it was a one-on-one fight.
However, Lan You Ruo was able to face three of them for such a long time even though she was on her own.
In fact, given the power she had showcased, she could totally flee and those from Profound Yang Mountain would be unable to stop her. The reason she stayed and fought this life-and-death battle was that she had to protect her companions.
Even if she could flee, the people around her were unable to do so.
Therefore, Shu Mu Dan admired the Proprietress for her loyalty and righteousness.
She turned to look at her Husband and parted her lips, but she was unable to say anything in the end.
It had been a long time since they got married, so Hua Yong was able to figure out her intentions by looking into her eyes. It was apparent that she wanted to plead with him to let Lan You Ruo in, but as their eyes met, he slowly shook his head.
By letting Lan You Ruo in, they would offend those from Profound Yang Mountain and invite trouble to themselves. Even if they could somehow appease those from Profound Yang Mountain, the power Lan You Ruo had showcased this time made Hua Yong feel wary.
Given her strength, she was completely capable of becoming the Head Island Master. There was no way the couple would allow her to usurp their position.
Shu Mu Dan let out a long sigh and stroked her bulging belly. There was a loving expression on her face as she hummed a nursery rhyme to distract herself.
“I can’t believe we’ll lose our lives here,” Chef and Accountant were facing away from one another. Their figures were soaked in blood as they glowered at the dozens of Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters who had surrounded them.
There was a huge gap in the numbers of people between both sides, so there was no way those from First Inn had any hope of winning the battle. In fact, they were practically doomed as they were about to get killed.
If it weren’t for their near-feral retaliation just now, these people would’ve pounced on them instead of appearing wary.
“Since we’re going to die anyway, we should probably just get it over with right away,” Accountant raised his abacus with one hand. His blood streamed down his arms and dropped on the lake before dying it red.
Upon hearing that, Chef turned to look in the Proprietress’ direction where he saw four figures flying around. Presently, the three Mountain Lords of Profound Yang Mountain were locked in a fierce battle with the Proprietress as they cast their Divine Abilities at her. After letting out a breath, Chef lifted his knife and said, “You’re right. The sooner we head for the Yellow Springs the better.”
The reason the Proprietress wasn’t willing to leave was that the two of them were still alive, so she didn’t have the heart to abandon them. If both of them lost their lives, perhaps the Proprietress would flee and be able to obtain revenge for them at a later time.
Given her strength, she would be able to flee even though she couldn’t defeat the three Mountain Lords.
They exchanged glances and laughed heartily. Since they could go to Hell together, they reckoned that they wouldn’t feel lonely at the very least.
As their gazes parted ways, they sported resolute expressions. They pushed their Small Universes madly as their World Forces surged and spread out. Even if they had to lose their lives in this battle, they would bring some enemies down with them.
Kill one to break even, kill two to profit.
Just when they were ready to make a move, a pair of hands were suddenly placed on Chef’s shoulders as a voice was heard saying, “Take it easy. I don’t want to die yet.”
A flabbergasted Chef turned his head and almost hacked the person with his knife. When he realised who spoke though he snapped bitterly, “Little bastard, you’re finally awake!”
The person who spoke just now was Yang Kai, who had been lying on Chef’s back this whole time.
Yang Kai patted his shoulders and leapt away from him before gently saying, “I’ve been awake the whole time.”
However, he was at the most critical moment of refining the World Fruit just now, so he couldn’t stop halfway, or else all his effort would be wasted. That was the reason he was unable to respond to them.
“Save the Proprietress right now!” Chef demanded anxiously, “She’s in danger. Bring her away. Accountant and I will hold up the enemy for you.”
“She’s in danger, but you two aren’t in a better state,” Yang Kai looked around as his gaze turned cold. Then, he stepped forward with a grim expression, “I’m in a terrible mood, so I don’t mind killing some people to vent out my anger. Scram if you don’t want to die!”
Chef and Accountant gazed at him in shock, thinking that he hadn’t fully come to his senses after a long stupor.
All the Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters around them sported strange expressions. Seeing Yang Kai stepping closer though, one of them pointed at him with his sword and yelled, “Kill!”
As soon as he spoke that word, he thrust out his sword towards Yang Kai.
His World Force surged as the sword shadows multiplied. However, when he realised that Yang Kai had disappeared from his line of sight, he felt his chest tightening as a sense of uneasiness rose within him.
Before he was able to react, he saw a point of a spear rapidly enlarging before his eyes. The spear seemed to have turned into a Great Dragon as it widened its maw and pounced on him. His vision was shrouded in darkness, leaving him flustered and horrified.
He hurriedly surged his World Force to parry the attack, but an even more violent force penetrated his defence like it was paper.
An explosive sound was heard as the spear penetrated the person’s head and exploded it. His blood and flesh scattered about as his headless corpse convulsed, even as he held out his sword in front of him.
Without stopping, Yang Kai disappeared from everyone’s sight again as a great Dragon Roar shook the world. The Azure Dragon Spear flashed in and out of everyone’s vision for a moment, and when Yang Kai reappeared, he had broken through the encirclement of these Open Heaven Realm Masters. Although he appeared slow, he was actually heading towards the battlefield of the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters at incredible speed.
Even though he was gone, his voice still lingered in the air, “If the two of them lose even one more strand of hair, all of you will have to die!”
Chef and Accountant were dumbfounded as they couldn’t figure out how Yang Kai managed to break through the encirclement but soon just thought that Space Principles were indeed useful as no one was able to capture Yang Kai.
The next instant though, the two of them widened their eyes and stared at the enemies around them in disbelief.
A blood light expanded as a person exploded, and then the same thing happened to another person.
*Hong hong hong…*
In less than a breath, eight Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters exploded into blood mist, leaving no trace behind.
While the two of them were flabbergasted, the enemies around them were horrified.
Just now, they could see that Yang Kai exploded one of their companion’s head with his spear; however, that person was only in the Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm, so it wasn’t surprising that he would lose his life due to his negligence in this life-and-death battle.
Nevertheless, most of the eight Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters who had just died were in the Fifth Order. Only Yang Kai had made a move, so it was apparent who the murderer was.
He had to possess a horrifying strength to be able to kill eight Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters with ease in just a flash.
Presently, no one dared to make a move on Chef and Accountant, who were still surrounded. Even though they could easily kill these two, they were wary of the threat Yang Kai had left behind.
Nine of their companions had lost their lives already, so it was obvious to them that only the four Mountain Lords were able to deal with him.
“What’s going on with that brat?” A dazed Chef watched as Yang Kai rapidly dashed away.
“Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm!” Accountant was dumbstruck. As Yang Kai charged forward, his aura exploded. It was apparent to them that his aura was that of a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master as he didn’t even attempt to conceal it.
“When did that happen?” Chef fell into a dazed state.
If he wasn’t mistaken, Yang Kai was only in the Fifth-Order when he found them one month ago. It had only been one month since he started recuperating, so how did he manage to ascend to the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm?
The speed at which he achieved this breakthrough was simply impossible.
Besides them, Hua Yong and Shu Mu Dan, who had been observing the battle from their garden on Twin Spirit Island, were terrified.
Hua Yong widened his eyes and asked, “Just who is he?”
When he saw Yang Kai lying unconscious on Chef’s back, he thought that the latter was severely wounded, so he didn’t mind him; however, the slaughter just now proved that Yang Kai was in peak condition rather than being injured.
Shu Mu Dan asked in a shaking voice, “Husband… could you do that in such a short period of time?”
She was talking about whether her Husband was able to kill eight Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters in an instant.
After giving it a thought, Hua Yong shook his head, “Impossible. Even I wouldn’t be able to kill so many Fifth-Order cultivators in such a short moment.”
Shu Mu Dan let out a breath, “Now, it seems that he’s the strongest person on Lan You Ruo’s side. Perhaps he’s even stronger than her.”
A puzzled Hua Yong asked, “Since he had such power, why didn’t he participate in the battle earlier? It wasn’t until the most critical moment that he made a move.”
“He must have his own reasons,” Shu Mu Dan fell into her thoughts.
Hua Yong commented, “Profound Yang Mountain will have to retreat without achieving their goal. Lan You Ruo is very powerful to begin with, and now she has this person’s help, so the three Mountain Lords won’t be able to defeat them.”
Shu Mu Dan said, “If that person is really stronger than Lan You Ruo, we’ll need to come up with a plan, Husband.”
Hua Yong’s face twitched as he understood what she meant.
Meanwhile, Yang Kai reached the battlefield of the four Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters as he pushed out his spear towards Yun Fei Bai as he bellowed, “Old dog, die!”
Yun Fei Bai turned his head, and when he saw that it was Yang Kai, his eyes turned bloodshot, “Brat! It’s you!!”
The fact that Yang Kai had pierced his chest with a spear some time ago was a complete humiliation for him. It took Yun Fei Bai a whole month to recover from that wound. Now that he met his enemy again, it was expected that he was incensed. He immediately ignored Lan You Ruo and hacked his axe at Yang Kai.
The reason he was injured at that time was that he had underestimated his opponent, for he had never expected that someone would have the guts to harm him in Profound Yang Mountain. Otherwise, in his opinion, a newly promoted Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master would never be able to hurt him.
Now, he finally had the chance to get his revenge.
As he brought down his axe though, his expression changed as he called out in shock, “You’re a Sixth-Order?”
Yang Kai’s aura was as conspicuous as ever, so anyone who wasn’t a fool would be able to detect it, and it was absolutely clear that he was in the Sixth Order.
[No way! He was still a newly ascended Fifth Order when I met him one month ago. Why is he a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master now?]
Despite the doubt in his mind, Yun Fei Bai remained merciless with his actions as he madly infused his World Force into his axe.
As soon as Yang Kai’s spear came into contact with the axe, Yun Fei Bai’s expression changed drastically as he felt an immense force sweeping over him. The impact cracked his hands so badly that he almost lost grip of his axe. His expression turned horrified as he realized that Yang Kai was indeed a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, or else the latter couldn’t have showcased this kind of strength.
Looking down, he saw that his purlicue had ripped apart and blood was now streaming out of the wound. He was unable to stop his hand from trembling violently.
At that moment, he was dumbstruck. When he saw Yang Kai one month ago, the latter was just a new Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. However, when they met again this time, he realised that the latter also looked like a new Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master.
Even though Yang Kai was really a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, he should be weaker than Yun Fei Bai, who had millennia of accumulation in his current Order. It should be impossible that a newly promoted Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master like Yang Kai had a stronger heritage.
Nevertheless, the truth was that Yun Fei Bai had suffered a setback. Both Yang Kai’s strength and World Force were simply overwhelming.
While Yun Fei Bai was lost in a dazed state, Yang Kai came at him with his spear again and bellowed, “On this day, the Golden Crow Casts the Sun, below the Heavens, above the Earth, only I am supreme!”
A series of caws were heard as a Great Sun suddenly rose from Yang Kai’s back. Like a real Sun, it was scorching hot as it cast its glow on the world below. Furthermore, there seemed to be a three-legged exotic bird flying around this Great Sun.
A horrifying aura spread out, which caused a large part of the fog around Twin Spirit Island to evaporate in an instant.
Under the Great Sun, Yang Kai was seen wielding the spear in a heroic manner as his weapon’s power dazzled the world.
Geng Qing and Zhou Ya, who were attacking the Proprietress, turned to look at him with trembling eyes.
“Divine Manifestation!” In the garden, Hua Yong was dumbfounded as he stared at the Great Sun in disbelief, “How is that possible?”
Shu Mu Dan parted her lips, which were now covered with her hands.
Divine Manifestations were exclusive to High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters. They had never heard of a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master being able to wield one. If they found out that Yang Kai had already comprehended Golden Crow Casts the Sun when he was still an Emperor Realm cultivator, they would probably faint from shock.
The dazzling Great Sun cast a radiant glow on Yun Fei Bai’s flustered expression.
Right after the Divine Manifestation appeared, Yang Kai’s aura grew to horrifying heights. A dazzling red-gold light washed over the Azure Dragon Spear in his hands as the pitch-black Golden Crow’s True Fire seemed able to burn down the entire world.
As Yang Kai thrust out his spear, the world around him trembled.
There was no way Yun Fei Bai would be able to dodge this attack, so at this life-and-death moment, he roared and madly infused his World Force into his axe, which suddenly shone brightly as it clashed with Azure Dragon Spear head-on.
Since he was unable to dodge, he had no choice but to meet the enemy head-on. Only by doing so would he stand a chance to survive.
Following a loud boom, shockwaves erupted as a halo of light exploded outwards.
The glow of the axe dimmed greatly. After the clash, the axe’s spirituality seemed to have been damaged, which went to show how terrifying the spear’s power was.
Azure Dragon Spear pressed forward, knocking away the axe as it continued to pierce out. Yang Kai, who was holding the spear, wore a fierce expression on his face as murderous intent surged from his form.
At this moment, an inch from death, Yun Fei Bai retreated hastily in an attempt to flee, but his expression changed the next moment. That was because he realised that the space around him had become extremely viscous. It was as though he had been bound by a mysterious force, which rendered him unable to move as he pleased.
[Right! This bastard is a Master of the Dao of Space!] That was the first thing that came to Yun Fei Bai’s mind.
Although he managed to break free from the Space Principles’ restriction in the next moment, he had lost his only chance to escape the attack. Watching as the spear rapidly penetrated his chest, he sprayed out a mouthful of blood. The pain in his chest was excruciating and there was a black flame burning through his wound.
It was the second time he had been run through by this spear.
The first time took place one month ago when his chest was pierced by Yang Kai’s spear. It took him one month before he recovered from that wound. This time around, three Sixth-Order Mountain Lords of Profound Yang Mountain had come all the way here with their dozens of subordinates. Initially, Yun Fei Bai thought that he could get his revenge, but he hadn’t expected to be wounded in exactly the same way again.
This time was far more severe. Although his injury was serious previously, there wasn’t a risk of him losing his life; however, there was Golden Crow’s True Fire burning in his wound now.
Yang Kai withdrew his spear, bringing with it a lot of boiling blood. Before the blood even dropped to the lake, it evaporated because of Golden Crow’s True Fire. Then, Yang Kai aimed his spear at Yun Fei Bai’s head as he was determined to end his life.
“Don’t you dare kill Second Brother!” At the critical moment, Zhou Ya came at Yang Kai from behind. Her sword turned into countless sword waves. Every sword wave contained the World Force of a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master.
Yang Kai furrowed his brow and leapt away. Seizing the chance, Zhou Ya hurled out a long piece of red cloth and draped it around the injured Yun Fei Bai before fleeing into the distance. At the same time, she exclaimed, “Third Brother, run!”
She was truly terrified. The guy, who had remained unconscious all this time, suddenly woke up and killed nine of their subordinates in an instant. Not only had he severely injured Yun Fei Bai, but he had also managed to showcase a Divine Manifestation. The power he possessed was inconceivable.
If he were on his own, the three Mountain Lords could have joined forces and dealt with him. However, he also had the now-maddened Lan You Ruo on his side.
There was no way the three of them could defeat these two people. Moreover, Yun Fei Bai had been critically injured, so Zhou Ya knew the only option was to run.
On the other hand, Geng Qing felt immensely pressured as he had to battle against the Proprietress on his own. There was nothing else he could do apart from defending himself. Upon hearing Zhou Ya’s words, he directly used a feint to gain some distance before he fled from the battlefield.
However, a relentless Proprietress turned into a ray of light and chased after him.
Initially, Yang Kai wanted to pursue Yun Fei Bai and Zhou Ya as well, but he suddenly frowned and gazed at the Proprietress. The next instant, he moved to intercept her.
Presently, she was clad in a scarlet Artifact Armour. With both her hands holding the greatsword, she looked quite valiant. However, her eyes were completely red, and she was engulfed in rich Monster Qi.
Facing Yang Kai, she hacked at him with her sword without hesitation.
Yang Kai raised his spear to parry the attack, and following a loud clang, he was sent flying several thousand metres away while the Proprietress’ figure shook a little. After stabilizing her footing, she charged at him again. Her sword seemed to have turned into a storm and blasted towards Yang Kai.
It was the first time Yang Kai saw her in such a state. Earlier, he could feel that there was something wrong with her, which was why he decided to stop her and let her rest first. However, it never crossed his mind that she couldn’t even recognise him now.
As his gaze fell upon the scarlet Artifact Armour, he knitted his brow, knowing that something was wrong with it as it seemed to contain horrifying Monster Qi that was affecting her mind. If she couldn’t come to her senses in time, her mind would be completely corrupted by the Monster Qi. It would be too late to save her by then.
It wasn’t the right time for him to ask Chef and Accountant what had happened, nor was he in the mood to chase after Zhou Ya and the others. Left with no choice, he could only wield his Azure Dragon Spear and ward off her attacks while exclaiming, “Proprietress! Wake up! It’s me!”
The Proprietress ignored him as the Monster Qi around her thickened. Every strike she made carried immense force and Yang Kai found it increasingly hard to deal with her.
It had to be noted that Yang Kai had a 4,000-metre-long Half-Dragon Form, so he possessed incredible physical strength. It was hard to imagine that the Proprietress could use such a monstrous force despite her delicate figure. However, given the way she used her power, it must be pretty taxing for her.
When Zhou Ya and the others turned their heads and saw that Yang Kai and Lan You Ruo had gotten into an intense battle, they breathed a sigh of relief despite not knowing what had happened.
They were truly worried that Yang Kai and Lan You Ruo would pursue them.
Then, Zhou Ya looked down and saw Yun Fei Bai spitting out a mouthful of blood. The blood coming out of his mouth was boiling hot, as though it contained a scorching heat and she exclaimed, “How are you, Second Brother?”
Yun Fei Bai covered the wound on his chest with his hand as a sense of resentfulness flashed through his eyes, “It’s Golden Crow’s True Fire! That brat condensed a High-Rank Power!”
As he spoke, he sprayed out another mouthful of boiling blood.
Zhou Ya comforted him by saying, “Hang in there, Second Brother! I’m sure when we return to Profound Yang Mountain, Big Brother will have a way to help you.”
Yun Fei Bai nodded his head and fell silent as he pushed his power to suppress the Golden Crow’s True Fire in his body in order to stop the wound from worsening.
The people who surrounded Chef and Accountant on the lake had dispersed by now. Since the three Mountain Lords were gone, they certainly wouldn’t dare to remain. They had hurriedly followed Zhou Ya and the others back to Profound Yang Mountain.
Chef and Accountant didn’t chase their opponents as there were only the two of them. If they pushed the enemy too far, they might fall into a perilous situation instead.
Upon seeing that Yang Kai and the Proprietress were locked in a fierce battle, Chef anxiously screamed, “Oh, no! The Proprietress has lost her rationality and is fighting against Yang Boy! What should we do?”
Accountant yelled, “Don’t hurt her, Yang Kai! Wake her up immediately!”
“I’m trying!” Yang Kai replied while dodging the attacks. However, he wasn’t sure how he could make the Proprietress regain her senses. If this matter dragged on, she would fall into critical danger. It would be terrible if she was left with some irreversible damage.
Inside the garden, Hua Yong and Shu Mu Dan gazed silently at the water mirror. Through the reflection, they could see two figures engaging in an intense battle in the sky. The area around the lake was a mess. The barrier around the lake had stood for thousands of years, but it was now almost destroyed due to this one battle.
After observing for a time, Hua Yong wore a helpless smile and muttered, “Is this really a battle between Sixth-Order Open Heaven Masters? It looks more like a clash between those Seventh-Order Masters.”
Shu Mu Dan added, “Lan You Ruo seems to have been affected by the Monster Qi in that scarlet armour and lost her mind. It’s the best chance to lend her a hand now, Husband. It’ll be too late if you wait any longer.”
After giving it a thought, Hua Yong nodded, “You’re right, my Wife. Please come with me.”
“En.” Shu Mu Dan nodded gently and retracted the mirror, and then they leapt into the air together and flew out.
A moment later, the fog separated and revealed the figures of Twin Spirit Island’s Island Masters.
Upon seeing them, Chef and Accountant appeared vigilant.
Shu Mu Dan hurriedly said, “Please don’t be nervous. We mean no harm.”
Hua Yong added, “We were cultivating in seclusion to comprehend a Secret Technique, but it never crossed our minds that such an astonishing battle had taken place outside of Twin Spirit Island. Now that Madam Lan is in danger, we have a Secret Technique that might be able to help her regain clarity. Please allow us to use it on her.”
After exchanging glances, Chef and Accountant immediately figured out the couple’s intentions.
Earlier, the Proprietress brought them to Twin Spirit Island in order to seek shelter with the Island Masters and ward off those from Profound Yang Mountain. Unfortunately, Hua Yong and his Wife were not willing to interfere in this matter, so they refused to meet them. Cultivating in seclusion was just an excuse they had come up with.
Now that those from Profound Yang Mountain were forced to leave, and Yang Kai and the Proprietress had showcased incredible strength, this couple must have been worried that those from First Inn would hold a grudge against them, so they hurriedly came out to offer assistance.
Despite the fact that Chef and Accountant understood all this, they didn’t point it out as the most important thing right now was to wake the Proprietress up.
As such, Chef lowered his head without hesitation, “If you’re able to help my Proprietress, we’ll owe you a favour.”
Accountant added, “Please lend us a hand.”
Hua Yong nodded in return, “We’ll begin right away.”
Then, he exchanged glances with his Wife. After a nod, he fished out a flute while she sat cross-legged. As she waved her hand, a zither appeared on her knees.
The pleasant music of the flute and the zither sounded and permeated the air as it whisked across the area like a pair of invisible hands. The music seemed to have a soothing effect wherever it went.
The Island Masters of Twin Spirit Island were experts in the Dao of Music. The melody coming from the flute and zither were soft, which soothed the mind and soul of those who listened to it.
Both of them were in the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm, and the music they were playing was targeted at the Proprietress, so it was fairly effective.
While they were locked in a pitched battle, Yang Kai could feel that the Proprietress had suddenly become less violent, and there was a sense of struggle behind her bloodshot eyes. It was apparent that she was starting to regain her senses.
All of a sudden, she turned her head and glowered at Hua Yong and Shu Mu Dan with a gaze filled with murderous intent. The next moment, her Monster Qi surged as she charged towards the couple with her sword in an imposing manner.
Hua Yong was stunned while Shu Mu Dan paled.
They had witnessed how formidable the Proprietress was, so they knew that they wouldn’t be a match for her even if they joined forces. Furthermore, it wasn’t appropriate for Shu Mu Dan to fight in her current condition.
Therefore, after only a short moment of hesitation, Hua Yong dashed towards his Wife and draped his arm around her waist before returning to Twin Spirit Island. At the same time, he yelled, “Her mind is completely controlled by Monster Qi. We’re unable to help her!”
After they crashed into the barrier, the fog moved and concealed the entrance.
Upon seeing that, Chef and Accountant stomped their feet on the ground with exasperation.
A relentless Proprietress turned her sword into a beam of red light and slashed across the fog. In an instant, a huge gap was carved out and revealed the view inside Twin Spirit Island.
Seeing that she was about to attack again, Yang Kai charged towards her and widened his arms before confining her to his embrace.
Yang Kai was incredibly strong, and as he embraced the Proprietress, the scarlet Battle Armour on her body started cracking. With her hands restricted, she let out a bestial roar and sank her teeth into his shoulder.
Feeling that a piece of his flesh on the shoulder had been ripped off, Yang Kai groaned. As he endured the excruciating pain, he yelled, “Proprietress, forgive me!”
Then, he bent his head backwards before forcefully smashing it into her forehead, delivering a vicious headbutt!
Following a loud thud, the Proprietress almost fell unconscious.
*Hong hong hong…*
After three more headbutts, Yang Kai started seeing stars as well, but he could feel that the woman in his embrace had calmed down a little. Without hesitation, he took off her helmet and threw it away. Then, he pressed his forehead against hers and pushed his Divine Sense, transferring his Soul Warming Lotus to her.
He wasn’t certain whether the Soul Warming Lotus could help the Proprietress at this point; however, since she couldn’t even recognise him as she beat him up, it was obvious that her mind had been heavily affected by the Monster Qi.
The Soul Warming Lotus had an incredibly soothing effect, so it might help restore her mental clarity.
It was the first time Yang Kai showed the Soul Warming Lotus in public since he obtained it. This kind of Supreme Treasure could not be exposed easily, or else it would attract some unnecessary attention.
However, since the Proprietress was in danger, he had no choice but to do it.
Yang Kai could feel the Proprietress shuddering as the Soul Warming Lotus entered her body. Following that, the redness in her eyes receded like a tide as her gaze became clear again.
An elated Yang Kai to know that the Soul Warming Lotus had started taking effect.
A moment later, the Proprietress darted her gaze around as her vision focused. She seemed a little lost while staring at the man.
Yang Kai placated her by saying, “You’re fine now.”
The Proprietress batted her eyes, but upon realising something, she started struggling, “Let go of me!”
An uncertain Yang Kai asked, “Are you sure you’re awake?”
The woman glowered at him, then he let her go. Following that, she shook her figure a little, whereupon the scarlet Artifact Armour on her body turned into a layer of blood mist and disappeared into thin air. The sword she had been holding in her hands was also gone all of a sudden.
However, at this moment, the Proprietress seemed to be in a terrible state. Her aura was unstable, and her entire figure was crimson as a metallic tang exuded from her body.
Apparently, the side effects of activating the Blood Monster Battle Dress were quite intense. The redness in her skin was caused by the burning of her own Blood Essence.
Chef and Accountant rushed over before looking worriedly at her, “Proprietress!”
“I’m fine,” she shook her head.
Still anxious, they stared fixedly at her.
The Proprietress saw this and burst into laughter, “I’m really fine. I just need some time to recuperate.”
It was only then that Chef and Accountant breathed a sigh of relief.
The fog around Twin Spirit Island separated as Hua Yong stepped out of it again; however, this time, Shu Mu Dan wasn’t by his side this time. He was still reeling from shock. Earlier, he and his Wife were unable to suppress Lan You Ruo’s Monster Qi even though they had joined forces. Instead of calming her down, they had only drawn her aggression towards them. Left with no other choice, they could only retreat to Twin Spirit Island.
He couldn’t figure out what this strange young man had done that could allow Lan You Ruo to return to her senses in such a short time.
However, it wasn’t the right time to inquire about this issue. Since his expression of goodwill didn’t yield any results earlier, he naturally wanted to make up for it this time around. Therefore, upon his appearance, he immediately said in embarrassment, “Congratulations, Madam Lan, for overcoming this crisis. My Wife and I are truly sorry that we were unable to help you in any way as we were too weak.”
The Proprietress shot him a dispassionate glance. She was vexed at the fact that Hua Yong didn’t even bother to meet her despite the fact that she had brought Chef, Accountant, and Yang Kai to side with Twin Spirit Island.
Nevertheless, if she were in his shoes, she might have done the same. So, she knew that he had done nothing wrong; after all, they were neither friends nor relatives to begin with. They only had one discussion during her previous visit; hence, it was understandable that he wasn’t willing to invite trouble to himself.
Although her mind was a mess earlier, she could still faintly remember what was going on. Certainly, she was aware that Hua Yong and Shu Mu Dan attempted to help her with their music.
After a nod, she said faintly, “I appreciate your thoughts, Island Master Hua.”
Yang Kai gazed at Hua Yong and asked, “Island Master Hua, my Proprietress desperately needs a place to recuperate. Will you please open your doors for us?”
Hua Yong replied, “If you’re okay with it, you can recuperate on my Twin Spirit Island.” Faced with this Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm young man who was able to use a Divine Manifestation, he didn’t dare to be negligent. Yun Fei Bai was severely wounded by this young man while Geng Qing and Zhou Ya were forced to retreat. In the entire Shadowless Cave Heaven, perhaps only the Head Mountain Lord of Profound Yang Mountain was a match for him.
Hua Yong already had the intention to express his goodwill, so he naturally wouldn’t turn him down at this point.
“Good,” Yang Kai nodded his head and turned to look at the Proprietress.
With a pale face, she coughed but didn’t reject the idea. She indeed needed a quiet place to recover. In the entire Shadowless Cave Heaven, all other places were unsafe except for the Headquarters of the three great forces. After all, she wouldn’t want to be affected by the Astral Wind while she was trying to heal herself.
The fog moved again and revealed a passageway. Hua Yong warmly led the way while Yang Kai and the others followed the Proprietress, stepping into Twin Spirit Island.
Shu Mu Dan, whose belly was bulging, came over and greeted them in an elegant manner.
The Proprietress’ injuries needed immediate treatment. Even though the Soul Warming Lotus had soothed her mind and dispelled the Monster Qi for her, her condition would exacerbate if she didn’t start healing herself soon; therefore, after only the briefest of small talk, Hua Yong immediately arranged a secret room for her to recuperate in seclusion.
Outside the secret room, Yang Kai said, “Please take good care of Proprietress.”
A stunned Chef asked, “Where are you going?”
Yang Kai grinned, “To pay a visit to Profound Yang Mountain.”
Chef exclaimed, “You want to head to Profound Yang Mountain?” Accountant was shocked as well.
To the side, Hua Yong dissuaded him by saying, “Please don’t be impetuous, Little Brother. Profound Yang Mountain is the most powerful great force in the Shadowless Cave Heaven, and they have many strong Masters on their side. Although you’re formidable, you won’t be able to deal with so many people on your own. Besides the fact that Geng Qing and Zhou Ya are in the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm, the Head Mountain Lord Mao Zhe is just one step away from the Seventh-Order. He is the strongest person in the Shadowless Cave Heaven.”
Yang Kai arched his brow, “He’s the most powerful here? I should meet him, then.”
Chef worriedly tried to change his mind, “Yang Boy, why don’t you wait for the Proprietress to recover? You can’t go there on your own. If anything happens to you, how are we supposed to explain ourselves to her?”
Yang Kai patted his shoulder, “Don’t worry. Although the people from Profound Yang Mountain are strong, they can’t possibly harm me. I’ll be back soon.”
The young man’s arrogance stunned Hua Yong. Even though Yang Kai had indeed showcased incredible might in the battle just now, Profound Yang Mountain was deeply rooted in this place and wasn’t easy to infringe upon. If he wasn’t careful enough, he would lose his life there.
However, since they were not friends or relatives, Hua Yong reckoned that he wasn’t in any place to keep dissuading him.
Yang Kai turned to look at him, “Do you have some wine, Island Master Hua?”
Hua Yong became startled for a moment before fishing out a gourd from his Space Ring, “This wine took me over 300 years to brew.”
“Is it strong enough?” Yang Kai asked.
A proud Hua Yong replied, “It’s definitely strong enough.”
With a smile, Yang Kai carried the wine gourd in one arm and said, “That’s great. See you soon!”
After finishing his words, he shot into the sky.
Chef said anxiously, “Be careful!”
As Hua Yong watched him leave, he slowly shook his head, “Little Brother Yang… is pretty feisty.”
He sighed, then turned to gaze at Chef and Accountant, “If you need anything, just inform my subordinates, and they’ll handle it for you. My Wife and I will stop bothering you.”
“Many thanks,” Chef and Accountant cupped their fists at him.
Up in the air, Yang Kai’s figure flickered as he moved towards Profound Yang Mountain at full speed, Space Principles swirling around him.
In order to deal with those from Profound Yang Mountain, the Proprietress had paid a hefty price. If it weren’t for Yang Kai having the Soul Warming Lotus with him, she would’ve lost her mind to madness.
Certainly, he wouldn’t let those from Profound Yang Mountain off so easily. If it weren’t because the Proprietress needed help, he would’ve chased after them instead of waiting until now.
With that said, it wasn’t too late to pursue them. He was a Master of the Dao of Space, so none were comparable to him when it came to the speed of fleeing or pursuing enemies.
On top of that, Yun Fei Bai was severely wounded, so although Geng Qing and Zhou Ya were not injured, having to drag the former with them would slow them down significantly. Yang Kai was confident he could intercept them before they returned to Profound Yang Mountain.
Three figures were seen rapidly flying through the air. They were the three Mountain Lords who were in a rush to return to Profound Yang Mountain. Geng Qing and Zhou Ya supported Yun Fei Bai’s weight on either side as they moved at the speed of lightning.
Yun Fei Bai still coughed up boiling blood from time to time and there was also a black flame burning around the wound in his chest. Although he was a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, he could only suppress the flame to stop his wound from worsening. He was unable to disperse it.
Golden Crow’s True Fire was a High-Rank Fire Element Power that could burn all of creation. Unless Yun Fei Bai had an Element Power in the same order that could restrict the flames, he would be unable to resolve it in a short period of time.
Therefore, he had to return to Profound Yang Mountain and seek the Head Mountain Lord’s help. Or, he could spend a painfully long time recuperating in seclusion to resolve the crisis.
While he looked very battered, his eyes were filled with resentment.
His chest was injured twice. One month ago, he had underestimated the young man, who successfully launched a sneak attack on him. However, this time, he was wounded in a frontal clash with him.
He could not figure out how the young man could go from the Fifth Order to the Sixth Order in just one month. Did he conceal his cultivation previously? Or did he really achieve an ascension after one month?
He had a feeling it was the former.
The young man must have a method to conceal his cultivation, which made Yun Fei Bai misjudge his true strength, resulting in the series of setbacks he had suffered.
Yun Fei Bai was completely vexed, thinking that he had to be more careful when dealing with that strange young man in the future as he was pretty cunning.
As his emotions fluctuated, his wounds became irritated and he sprayed out a mouthful of boiling blood.
“How are you, Second Brother?” Zhou Ya asked with concern.
Yun Fei Bai shook his head, “It won’t kill me.”
Geng Qing let out a sigh. Many of the top cultivators from Profound Yang Mountain had taken part in this siege. Initially, they thought that they could easily defeat Lan You Ruo and her small group, but not only did they become battered, but they had also lost quite a number of subordinates.
With that said, their siege this time wasn’t totally unfruitful. At the very least, they had found out Lan You Ruo’s true strength as well as that of the mysterious young man.
As a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, that young man was able to use a Divine Manifestation, which was simply inconceivable. They reckoned that they had to report this discovery to the Head Mountain Lord so that he could be prepared.
One of the reasons Profound Yang Mountain had become the most powerful great force in the Shadowless Cave Heaven was that they had the highest number of Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters. Secondly, the Head Mountain Lord was truly mighty as he was just one step away from the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm. If it weren’t because resources in the Shadowless Cave Heaven were scarce, he would’ve broken through already.
However, now, there came a young man who was able to use a Divine Manifestation in the Shadowless Cave Heaven. He was probably just as powerful as the Head Mountain Lord.
Faced with such a foe, they had to put their guard up.
While pondering on these issues, Zhou Ya suddenly took a glance behind her with concern, “Will he come after us?”
Geng Qing replied, “I don’t think so. Lan You Ruo must have used an artifact that comes with extreme drawbacks, so she should be in a terrible state. That guy will have to deal with her instead of coming after us. Moreover, we’re not pushovers.”
The reason they had fled was that Yun Fei Bai was injured, so they had to bring him back to heal. Their wariness of Yang Kai and Lan You Ruo came second.
As soon as he finished speaking, he heard someone bellowing from behind, “Yun Fei Bai, where do you think you’re going!?”
Zhou Ya’s expression changed as she turned her head, only to see a ray of light rapidly approaching them from the horizon. The ray of light kept flickering, and with every flicker, the distance between them shortened significantly. It wouldn’t take long before the ray of light caught up with them, so she exclaimed, “He’s really coming after us!”
Geng Qing bellowed, “That brat is going too far!”
Profound Yang Mountain had been around in the Shadowless Cave Heaven for over 10,000 years, and they were undoubtedly the most powerful great force here. All of the Mountain Lords were famous and formidable. There had never been a time when they were chased down like they were beat dogs.
He turned his head and ordered, “Stop him!”
The dozens of Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters, who had been following the three Mountain Lords, sported bitter expressions upon hearing that. Earlier, Yang Kai easily killed nine of their companions and even injured the Second Mountain Lord, so how were they supposed to oppose him?
However, they wouldn’t dare to disobey Geng Qing’s order, so they forced themselves to stop and took up a formation to await their enemy’s arrival.
On the other hand, Geng Qing and the others kept flying towards Profound Yang Mountain at full speed.
Yang Kai’s figure kept flickering as he watched Geng Qing and the others flee. Popping off the lid of the wine gourd, he lifted it to his mouth and downed a large swig.
After he was done with the wine, he threw the gourd away, shattering it on the ground below.
While feeling tipsy, Yang Kai raised his spear as his murderous intent surged. Slowly moving forward, he shook his head and declared, “I’ll only say this once! Scram if you don’t want to die. I won’t spare anyone who dares to get in my way!”
Yang Kai became increasingly overbearing as he flew forward, his aura erupting as it covered the sky and caused the clouds to welter.
The dozens of Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters were horrified as many of them subconsciously took a few steps back. As they recalled the sight of their nine companions being killed, they started shuddering.
Just then, a thin and tall man yelled, “What’s there to be afraid of? He’s on his own while we have so many people on our side. As long as we make a move together, there’s no way he…”
Before he could finish his words, he gasped as Yang Kai, who was supposed to be kilometres away, abruptly appeared in front of him, their faces almost touching. Yang Kai belched and puffed out a breath filled with alcohol at him.
The person was a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, so he was pretty agile. He immediately leapt backwards in an attempt to widen the gap between Yang Kai and him.
However, the next moment, his expression was transformed by fear as he realised that regardless of how much he moved backwards, Yang Kai remained standing right in front of him. The view around him never changed one bit, as though the space around him had been extended infinitely.
Near Distant Horizon!
Following Yang Kai’s sharp rise in cultivation, the power of the Secret Techniques he could use had improved proportionally. He was already able to injure the Sixth-Order Yun Fei Bai when he was still in the Fifth Order. Since he was now a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, there was no way a Fifth-Order Master like this man could escape from him.
This tall man was apparently a resolute person, so upon realising that he was unable to flee, he roared and surged his World Force before sending out a Divine Ability at Yang Kai.
His companions around him also made a move at the same time. At that instant, the lights of Divine Abilities erupted as they flew at Yang Kai.
“Water Reflects the Moon!” Yang Kai shouted as a full Moon rose behind him. The Moon cast a glow on all of them and sent chills down their spines. Their Divine Abilities seemed to have been frozen as they moved forward like snails.
The tall man and the others were soon covered in a layer of frost, causing them to shiver like quails in the winter.
Additionally, shields with Dragon patterns on them started appearing around Yang Kai. A Dragon Pressure could be felt coming from these thick shields, and every Dragon had its head connected with its tail.
Dragon Shields!
Upon activating these two Secret Techniques, Yang Kai thrust out his spear in rapid succession.
Wherever the spear shadows passed, time seemed to freeze.
When Yang Kai retracted his spear, the tall man and the others were rendered immovable on their spots. It wasn’t until this moment that their Divine Abilities crashed into the Dragon Shields around Yang Kai and caused them to flicker. In the end, they couldn’t harm him one bit.
“The louder you shout, the quicker you die.” Yang Kai swept his spear across the air, and then the people standing in front of him exploded into a blood mist, leaving no trace behind.
Holding the spear with one hand, he swept a cold glance over the survivors in an imposing manner and asked, “Who else would like to make a move?”
All of them fell silent as they stared dazedly at Yang Kai. Gulps were clearly audible, and all of their eyes were filled with terror.
Although Yang Kai had previously killed nine of their companions just outside Twin Spirit Island, they were still astounded upon seeing the same thing now.
They knew that they might be able to stop this young man from going further if they joined forces; after all, he was only one man regardless of how powerful he was. On the other hand, they had many people on their side who could fight.
Nevertheless, given the power Yang Kai had showcased, it wasn’t hard for him to kill ten or twenty of them. No one was willing to be the unlucky one. After what had happened to the tall man, none of them dared to say a word.
“If no one is making a move, I’m leaving.” Yang Kai snorted and walked off. His chest felt like it was burning due to the alcohol as his murderous intent was rampaging. All of them looked despicable to him, and he had the urge to kill them with his spear.
However, since these people were not willing to make a move, Yang Kai didn’t have a reason to flare up. Furthermore, his destination wasn’t this place.
The people separated to the sides as Yang Kai safely passed through the crowd.
It wasn’t until Yang Kai flew off that they breathed a sigh of relief, as though they had just escaped from death’s door.
One of them exclaimed, “High-Rank Powers. All the Powers that guy showed were High-Rank!”
They couldn’t detect anything before Yang Kai made a move, but once he did, they realised that both Yang Kai’s Water Reflects the Moon and Dragon Shield Secret Techniques were derived from High-Rank Powers, to say nothing of the fact that he had previously showcased Golden Crow Casts the Sun, which was a Divine Manifestation exclusive to High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters.
“It’s no wonder that he’s so powerful,” someone remarked.
Since all the Element Powers he refined were High-Rank, it explained why he was so formidable.
“What should we do now?” A woman asked, looking lost.
Geng Qing told them to stop Yang Kai, but other than the tall man and the others from his group, the rest of them had never made a move. They couldn’t explain themselves when they returned, so it was expected that they would be punished.
However, if they never returned, there was nowhere else they could settle in the Shadowless Cave Heaven. Faced with such a dilemma, they weren’t sure what to do.
After a brief discussion, they decided to go back to Profound Yang Mountain first and accept punishment. It was still better than wandering around the Shadowless Cave Heaven.
Geng Qing and Zhou Ya, while supporting Yun Fei Bai’s weight, kept looking back. Upon realising that Yang Kai was nowhere in sight, they set their minds at ease, thinking that he had been intercepted. In the end, it seemed their subordinates were not really useless.
One day later, Profound Yang Mountain came into their sight from a distance.
Zhou Ya breathed a sigh of relief as she patted Yun Fei Bai’s back and gently said, “Hang in there, Second Brother. We’ll reach home soon.”
Yun Fei Bai nodded his head, his face still as pale as a white sheet.
He had been trying to stop his wound from worsening while returning to the Sect; however, Golden Crow’s True Fire was indeed incredible. The dark flame that was burning in his chest made him feel unbearable pain.
All of a sudden, Geng Qing looked forward and sported a doubtful expression, “Who is that?”
There was a figure standing like a dead tree on a mountain peak in front of them as he gazed silently at them. As their eyes met, the figure curled his lips into a scornful smile and pointed his spear towards them before yelling, “You’re too slow. Do you know how long I’ve been waiting here?”
The colour drained from Zhou Ya’s face, “It’s him!”
Geng Qing was stunned, “Why is he here? How dare he get in front of us?”
They had been moving at full speed, and even though Yang Kai was a Master of the Dao of Space, he shouldn’t have been ahead of them. Moreover, they had ordered several dozen subordinates to stop him. Had he broken through the defence of several dozen people on his own?
Furthermore, this place was very near Profound Yang Mountain. Once they got into a fight here, the Head Mountain Lord would be able to lend them a hand within moments. When the Four Great Mountain Lords joined forces, no one in the Shadowless Cave Heaven was a match for them.
Therefore, how could Yang Kai have the guts to intercept them here?
While Geng Qing was still lost in his thoughts, he saw Yang Kai coming at them with his spear as the latter bellowed, “Yun Fei Bai, suffer death!”
They were unable to describe how amazing the attack was, as it ignored the obstacles of space and seemed to shatter the world around it. Although it was an attack that was aimed at Yun Fei Bai, Zhou Ya and Geng Qing felt as though they had been targeted as well.
The three Mountain Lords were dumbstruck. Zhou Ya immediately wielded her sword while Geng Qing used his most powerful Divine Abilities. Ignoring his own injury, Yun Fei Bai roared and summoned a scroll, on which the characters started moving and turned into beams of Sword Qi before they shot out.
*Hong hong hong…*
Explosive sounds were heard as halos of light filled the sky. The three Mountain Lords were forced backwards as their eyes trembled.
“How is that possible?” Zhou Ya exclaimed.
Although the three of them had joined forces, they were almost unable to parry the young man’s strike. All of them were in the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm, so how was it possible that this young man was so much stronger than them? When the young man suddenly awakened and lashed out outside of Twin Spirit Island some time ago, she didn’t directly confront him as she simply launched a long-range attack before dragging Yun Fei Bai away, so she hadn’t been able to properly gauge his strength.
It wasn’t until they traded moves now that she realised how horrifying Yang Kai was. His World Force was clearly far denser and more vigorous than hers.
After the attack, Yang Kai didn’t stop as he unleashed his Supreme Limitless Spear Art to the extreme. Like a waterfall, the spear shadows rained down and engulfed the three Mountain Lords, each shadow containing a terrifying World Force within it.
Certainly, Yun Fei Bai and the others wouldn’t dare to be negligent as they were extremely on edge already. Although they had tried their best, they still found it difficult to parry the bombardment of attacks. Every strike was as violent as lightning, and the rich Dragon Pressure that filled the air around them was disrupting their focus.
Previously, the Azure Dragon Spear was just a sharp weapon in Yang Kai’s hands; however, since his ascension to the Open Heaven Realm, he was able to bring out its true power.
During his breakthrough, Yang Kai merged his Small Sealed World with his Small Universe. His Small Sealed World had a rich heritage to begin with, and he had further enhanced it with remnants of the Blood Monster Cave Heaven. As such, he managed to greatly enhance the background of his Small Universe, allowing him to fight against seasoned Open Heaven Realm Masters from the outset.
However, without the Azure Dragon Spear, he couldn’t possibly battle against three powerful Masters on his own; after all, their thousands of years of accumulation were not just for show.
The reason the Proprietress was able to achieve that was that she had made use of the Blood Monster Battle Dress.
In a battle between Open Heaven Realm Masters, the heritages of their Small Universes mattered the most.
The barrage of attacks dazzled Yang Kai’s opponents. Zhou Ya and Geng Qing were in a better state as they were still relatively uninjured. On the other hand, Yun Fei Bai was in a horrible state. He had been burned by Golden Crow’s True Fire to begin with, which caused his strength to plunge significantly, and presently, half of Yang Kai’s attacks were targeted at him. If Geng Qing and Zhou Ya hadn’t gone all out to protect him, he would’ve been killed by Yang Kai already.
Despite that, he was still in a perilous situation. The young man kept targeting him, as though he was determined to end his life, which caused him to groan in pain.
After barely more than ten breaths of intense battle, the mountains around them had been completely destroyed. The air was filled with dust and debris and the World itself seemed to have turned pale.
The black Golden Crow’s True Fire burning on the tip of Azure Dragon Spear made the three Mountain Lords extremely wary. After what had happened to Yun Fei Bai, Geng Qing and Zhou Ya wouldn’t dare to come into contact with Golden Crow’s True Fire, so their movements were rather restricted.
The space around them seemed to have become viscous as well. It was apparent that the young man had used a Space Secret Technique while attacking them.
“Who dares fight outside Profound Yang Mountain?!” A stern voice was suddenly heard coming from Profound Yang Mountain, then a gigantic figure that seemed able to cover the entire sky rose from the central peak. With a pair of grim-looking eyes, he stared at the people in battle.
Yun Fei Bai, who was warding off Yang Kai’s attacks with difficulty, yelled pitifully, “Big Brother, save me!”
The giant eyes narrowed, and when the person realised what was going on, his expression turned furious as he bellowed, “How impudent, boy!”
After he finished speaking, the figure shrunk before a ray of light shot out of Profound Yang Mountain. It was apparent that the Head Mountain Lord, Mao Zhe, was trying to come to their rescue upon realising what was happening.
Geng Qing and Zhou Ya were elated. The three of them were unable to fend off Yang Kai’s attacks; however, things would be different if Mao Zhe joined them; after all, they were fully aware of how powerful their Big Brother was.
With the spear in his hand, Yang Kai took a glance in the direction of Profound Yang Mountain and snorted, then he swept his weapon across the air to force back Geng Qing and the others. Following that, his figure flickered and he appeared right in front of Yun Fei Bai, who was still spitting blood.
A flustered Yun Fei Bai immediately tried to retreat.
Yang Kai stared coldly at him and silently used Near Distant Horizon. At that instant, the space around them extended infinitely. Even time seemed to have stopped flowing as people’s thoughts became jumbled.
Yun Fei Bai was horrified to learn that he was unable to widen the gap with Yang Kai regardless of how hard he tried. He could only watch as Yang Kai came at him with his spear.
Faced with this spear thrust, he felt the aura of death engulfing him. He roared as the scroll in his grip shone brightly and all the Sword Qi it could unleash condensed together and clashed with the Azure Dragon Spear.
Since Geng Qing and Zhou Ya were assisting their Second Brother from the side, they were also affected by the disturbance of Near Distant Horizon and Time Principles. Although they were able to break through it after just a moment, what came into their sight was the life and death-clash between Yang Kai and Yun Fei Bai.
“Boy! You dare?!” The Head Mountain Lord was heard roaring from a distance.
An unfazed Yang Kai infused more power into his Azure Dragon Spear and a deafening Dragon Roar reverberated across the sky, causing the condensed Sword Qi to shatter.
Following a whoosh, the sound of flesh being pierced rang out.
Geng Qing and Zhou Ya became rooted to the spots as they looked dazedly forward. Head Mountain Lord Mao Zhe landed in front of them with a livid expression.
Just 3,000 metres in front of them, Yang Kai was holding a spear with one hand as he remained in an aggressive posture. In front of him, Yun Fei Bai widened his eyes with fury as he froze in place. He was unable to move because the spear had pierced through his forehead and stuck out from the back of his head.
The robust defence of a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master became as thin as paper when confronted with the Azure Dragon Spear.
The black Golden Crow’s True Fire was still burning on the tip of the spear and like a million snakes, expanded from Yun Fei Bai’s forehead to the rest of his body.
Time seemed to have stopped flowing at that moment.
Yun Fei Bai’s eyes darted around erratically. Although he was lethally injured, he didn’t immediately lose his life, which went to show how potent the vitality of a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master was. However, his face kept twitching due to the excruciating pain.
In front of him, Yang Kai’s clothes were all ragged. There were countless wounds on his body that criss-crossed one another. Every wound was left with very pure Sword Qi, and the largest wound showed that he was almost cut in two through his chest.
His entire figure was dyed gold due to his golden blood.
The final desperate attack of a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master was no joke. If it weren’t because Yang Kai had a sturdy defence as a Half-Dragon, he would’ve been cut into countless pieces.
As Mao Zhe watched the sight silently, he narrowed his eyes and said, “Junior Brother, if you have any demands, just name them. This Monarch won’t turn you down as long as he can fulfill it.”
He called Yang Kai ‘boy before he arrived at this place, but upon seeing that Yun Fei Bai’s life was in his hands, he politely called him ‘Junior Brother’.
Yang Kai turned his head and flashed a smile at him, “Can I really make any demand?”
Mao Zhe replied dispassionately, “As long as it doesn’t cross the line, anything is acceptable.”
“What if I want you to trade his life for yours? Can you do that?”
A hint of fury flashed across Mao Zhe’s eyes, “You’re funny, Junior Brother. Please think it through. The person you’re trying to kill is the Second Mountain Lord of Profound Yang Mountain. If you kill him, you will be our enemy, and all of us will never let you off. However, if you release him, you’ll be our most honoured guest.”
“Are you trying to threaten me?” Yang Kai arched his brow.
Mao Zhe impassively replied, “I’m just speaking the truth.”
“Why do you keep spouting nonsense? My only goal here is to kill!” Yang Kai suddenly roared and gripped his spear, surging his World Force into it. Yun Fei Bai widened his eyes, and before he could react, his head exploded.
The headless corpse convulsed as blood spurted out from his neck before collapsing to the ground.
Geng Qing and Zhou Ya were stunned.
Their Second Brother was killed right in front of them! Although Mao Zhe had come to their aid, Yun Fei Bai’s head still exploded and he died a horrible death. It had been thousands of years since they met, and it never crossed their minds that they would part ways for good on this day. At that instant, they still couldn’t believe what had just happened.
This place was just several hundred kilometres away from Profound Yang Mountain. They were practically home.
All of a sudden, they started to suspect that Yang Kai had deliberately decided to intercept them here; otherwise, he could’ve chosen another, more convenient location.
The only reason he would do this though was to lure the Head Mountain Lord out of Profound Yang Mountain!
As they turned their heads, they saw Mao Zhe sporting a livid expression. His narrowed eyes gleamed with a dangerous glow as he ordered coldly, “Kill!”