“Why are you crying, Junior Sister?” Senior Brother Lu suddenly turned his head and looked smilingly at his Junior Sister.
The woman shook her head as a glow of resentment radiated from her teary eyes, “You’re not Senior Brother Lu!”
“Silly girl.” Senior Brother Lu put on a smile, “Who could I be if I’m not your Senior Brother Lu?” He then touched the woman’s delicate face, his hand felt as cold as a snake, causing the woman’s heart to freeze over in an instant.
A sword suddenly appeared in her hand as a cold glint radiated from her weapon. She directly thrust her sword into Senior Brother Lu’s chest.
Senior Brother Lu looked down at the weapon in his chest, but he didn’t react in a way that was expected of an injured person. Although his heart had been shredded by the woman’s World Force, he still appeared calm and collected, “People in love can also be the cruellest.”
He then clenched the woman’s neck. His blood squirmed out of the wound in his chest as though it was a living creature, which then turned into blood mist. Regardless of how hard the woman tried, she could not escape his grip. The blood mist soon engulfed her as she disappeared from everyone’s sight.
When the blood mist dissipated, she was nowhere to be seen.
The remaining three disciples from the same Sect were stunned.
Senior Brother Lu turned his head and bellowed, “You’ve been chasing after me for a long time, Yang Kai, but do you really think this Monarch is afraid of you? I have a lot of blood sacrifices now. Let’s see how you can fight with me!”
The strangest part was that as Senior Brother Lu spoke, the more than twenty people who first stepped forward also said the same thing in the same tone.
Over twenty people performed hand seals and shouted, “Raging Blood Sea!”
Following that, all of them exploded and turned into blood mist as they spread out across the void. The same thing happened to the three people previously killed by Yang Kai.
The blood sea took shape and covered a large area as it madly expanded. The Open Heaven Realm Masters, who had stepped forward alongside their fellow disciples, were unable to dodge it and were directly swept into the blood sea. Other than shrieks, the noise of artifacts and Secret Techniques being unleashed was also heard. The place soon descended into chaos.
In just a moment though, the noises died down, and only the weltering blood sea remained.
The onlookers in the distance hurriedly flew backwards upon seeing the turn of events. Those who were agile instantly escaped while the sluggish ones were pulled towards the blood sea by Blood Dragons which had manifested from it.
Inside the blood sea, Yang Kai and Xu Wang pressed their backs against one another as blood weltered around them. They were like two reefs in the sea that protected the only pure land left.
“Junior Brother, if I’m killed here, please bring my corpse back to Bright King Cave Heaven!” Xu Wang shouted.
Yang Kai broke into laughter, “Do you think your corpse will remain if you die here?”
It was then Xu Wang thought of the eerie methods of Blood Crow Divine Monarch. With a dejected expression, he continued, “It’s horrible to die without a complete corpse.”
“En, so you’d better not die,” Yang Kai smiled.
As they spoke, the blood sea in front of them contorted and formed into a curvy figure, the same one Yang Kai had killed with his spear earlier.
The woman’s eyes were filled with hatred as she clenched her own neck. Like the most ferocious ghost, she stared fixedly at Yang Kai while her blood streamed down from her eyes, which looked horrifying, as she screeched, “Your spear hurt!”
“Cheap tricks!” Yang Kai snorted and pushed out his spear before exploding the woman’s head, just like how she was killed some time ago.
However, this time, her head soon grew back into shape as though she was immortal and indestructible. She continued staring resentfully at Yang Kai as she snarled, “So what if I let you kill me 100 or 1,000 times? Can you destroy this Monarch?”
“Just stand there and let me jab my spear into you 1,000 times and we’ll find out!” Yang Kai extended his spear again. On the tip of the spear, a black ball the size of a fist exploded and turned into a black hole before absorbing everything around it.
Several figures consecutively appeared. Most of them were the cultivators that were killed by Blood Crow just now. Yang Kai had never even met these people, but it was apparent that they were killed and refined by Blood Crow.
The powers of these people ranged from the Third Order to the Sixth Order as they emerged from the blood sea. Blood Crow alone could create an army. Yang Kai continued wielding his spear while Xu Wang’s fists turned into countless phantoms as they battled against the tide.
Nevertheless, their efforts were futile. Regardless of how many times these people were killed, they could be swiftly resurrected.
As the intense battle dragged on, Yang Kai furrowed his brows. He initially intended to use his Cow Punch Secret Technique to end this; however, Blood Crow had suffered a setback before, and had apparently learned his lesson. Yang Kai was unable to find any traces of the other party’s aura.
“Junior Brother, it’s not like we can do this forever. Blood Crow obviously wants to deplete our strength. Once he succeeds, we’ll be at a big disadvantage.” Xu Wang suddenly spoke to him secretly.
Yang Kai remained calm despite knowing that what Xu Wang had said was true. Anyone who wasn’t blind could figure out Blood Crow’s intentions here. Outside the Astral Wind Divine Ability back then, Blood Crow used the same trick to deal with Xu Wang. If Yang Kai hadn’t suddenly appeared from the Astral Wind and caught Blood Crow off guard, Xu Wang would’ve been killed.
This time, Blood Crow was using the same trick while both Xu Wang and Yang Kai were unable to get out of the trap. Since the blood sea had taken shape, and the space around them had been sealed off, it was also impossible for Yang Kai to use Instantaneous Movement to escape.
“What’s your plan, Senior Brother Xu?” Yang Kai secretly asked.
“I want you to join forces with me to fight our way out of here, Junior Brother.”
Yang Kai frowned upon hearing that. To him, it wasn’t hard to fight their way out of this place. No one was a match for him unless he was faced with a High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master. Although Blood Crow’s moves were indeed strange and mysterious, he was still just a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. Despite the fact that he was an Old Monster who had been reborn, and that he had the foundation of a Seventh-Order Master, his strength was still limited to his current realm.
While Blood Crow wanted to deplete their strength, Yang Kai was actually trying to do the same. That was why he engaged in a protracted fight with him in the blood sea.
To him, it was pointless to simply defeat Blood Crow. Only by destroying Blood Crow completely would it be useful. Otherwise, given the guy’s capabilities to flee and save himself, he would recover sooner or later as long as he survived.
Upon realising that Yang Kai didn’t respond to him, Xu Wang spoke to him via Divine Sense again, “Please trust me, Junior Brother!”
Yang Kai’s expression changed, and then he nodded, “Please do your best, Senior Brother. I’ll have your back.”
Xu Wang guffawed, “I definitely will.”
He then roared and fully activated his Immovable Bright King Body. A gigantic golden figure expanded and turned into a 1,000 metres tall colossus. It even showed some signs of materialising.
Yang Kai gazed at the golden figure in amazement.
Given Xu Wang’s heritage, he had definitely reached the threshold of acquiring a Divine Manifestation. If nothing unexpected happened, after he ascended to the Seventh Order, it would only take him some time before he could comprehend his own Divine Manifestation.
It had to be noted that Zuo Quan Hui, a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, didn’t have his own Divine Manifestation, which went to show how difficult this was to achieve. Ti Zheng from Myriad Demons Cave Heaven had showcased his Divine Manifestation once, but he subsequently died for some unknown reason.
The competition between Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters wasn’t just about the heritages of their Small Universes. The possession of Divine Manifestations was also a big factor.
The Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters who could use Divine Manifestations were definitely stronger than those in the same Order who couldn’t.
Xu Wang raised his hand and revealed a long sword, which was not beautiful or delicately made. However, with the sword in his hand, he had become even more imposing.
The cultivators of Bright King Cave Heaven focused on Body Tempering, making their bodies their strongest artifacts. Despite that, it didn’t mean they wouldn’t use artifacts, but when they did, it meant that they were going all out.
Following Xu Wang’s movements, the 1,000 metres tall golden figure shadowed him and unsheathed a huge sword from its waist.
When Xu Wang brought down his sword, the golden figure did the same as he had fully activated his World Force.
A huge gash was then formed in the blood sea upon impact.
Without stopping, Xu Wang charged forward as countless figures came right at him. Nevertheless, he was unfazed while staring fixedly at the front.
Yang Kai wielded his spear and exploded all the figures before they could come near them.
The speed these figures could resurrect was slower than the speed Yang Kai could kill.
In the blink of an eye, they had moved across a 1,000 kilometres distance and reached the end of the gash. Xu Wang brought down his sword and formed another gash.
After three times doing this, he finally formed an opening in the blood sea that had surrounded them. The Heaven Sealing and Earth Locking trap started showing signs of weakening.
Yang Kai grabbed Xu Wang’s shoulders as he was ready to manipulate Space Principles to take them out.
Upon realising Yang Kai’s intention though, Xu Wang grasped and clenched the other man’s arms.
Yang Kai was puzzled, and while he was in a dazed state, the crack in the blood sea had healed, which meant that they had lost the best chance to flee.
Xu Wang had turned pale after making three moves. It was obvious that such a Divine Ability was quite energy-consuming for him. Even the huge golden figure behind him had dimmed noticeably.
He proactively dispelled his Immovable Bright King Body, as though he was ready to entrust his safety to Yang Kai. He then directly sat down with his legs crossed and grinned, “Our goal has been achieved.”
While Yang Kai looked at him doubtfully, Xu Wang fished out something and tossed it into the blood sea.
Yang Kai could clearly see that it was a lid, but he was unable to figure out anything special about it.
However, after Xu Wang threw out the lid, Yang Kai could detect a flustered aura coming from the blood sea. The Blood Slaves, who originally kept appearing, suddenly quieted down.
A ferocious aura suddenly descended on this place from a few million kilometres away. Even surrounded by the blood sea, Yang Kai could feel as though his skin had been jabbed with countless needles. The trap around him seemed ready to tie him down.
On the other hand, Xu Wang grinned, “After I parted ways with you previously, I contacted my Martial Uncle who was stationed in the Shattered Heaven. Back then, two disciples from Bright King Cave Heaven were killed in the Blood Monster Cave Heaven by Blood Crow Divine Monarch; therefore, my Martial Uncle was sent here to hunt Blood Crow down. Still, Blood Crow is truly cunning. Although Martial Uncle personally made a move, he still couldn’t find Blood Crow’s whereabouts, so he has been unable to accomplish his mission thus far.”
“Blood Crow is a cautious person. If he had detected Martial Uncle’s aura, he wouldn’t have easily shown up; therefore, Martial Uncle could only follow my aura from a distance and make a judgement of the best time to make a move. Since my aura has been blocked while we are surrounded by the blood sea, Martial Uncle must have some speculations already.”
Upon hearing his explanation, Yang Kai said, “So, you wanted to break through the blood sea to send out your aura, which would help your Senior identify your location.”
Xu Wang smiled and nodded, “Exactly. In order to achieve the goal, Martial Uncle even split his natal artifact into two and let me keep part of it. While he plays it by ear from a distance, I’ll be assisting him here. Regardless of how powerful Blood Crow is, he won’t be able to flee now.”
Yang Kai gazed at the dissipating blood sea and commented, “He’s doomed, then.”
Inside the blood sea, the lid that was tossed away by Xu Wang expanded rapidly. As they spoke, the lid had expanded by a radius of several hundred kilometres and directly covered the blood sea. Regardless of how the blood sea raged, it was unable to get out of the lid.
Upon realising that something was off, Blood Crow instantly decided to flee as he led the blood sea in a different direction. However, the lid relentlessly followed him and changed its size according to the movements of the blood sea.
A gigantic dark shadow descended from above next. It wasn’t certain what it was, but it soon became one with the lid and trapped the blood sea inside it.
Yang Kai could faintly see a tall figure hovering above the dark shadow. While he performed different hand seals, his World Force surged and revealed a Seventh-Order pressure.
Blood Crow certainly wouldn’t sit still and wait for death as his immense power undulated. There was no doubt that a cornered beast would fight back.
However, there was a massive gap between their Orders, and the other party managed to get the upper hand by trapping Blood Crow inside his artifact right from the start. Regardless of how hard Blood Crow tried, he could not escape.
An incense stick later, the dark shadow contracted. It wasn’t until this moment that Yang Kai realised it was something that looked like a fish basket.
There were gaps around the fish basket through which one could see the weltering blood inside it. What was amazing was that the blood couldn’t seep out through the gaps, as though it had been restricted by a mysterious power.
A person grabbed the fish basket and casually placed it over his shoulder.
The sight caused Yang Kai to be drenched in cold sweat.
Xu Wang took a step forward and cupped his fist, “Fisherman Martial Uncle!”
“Void Land’s Yang Kai greets Senior,” Yang Kai also cupped his fist.
It wasn’t until this moment that he had time to examine this person, who didn’t have the demeanour of a High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master at all. Yang Kai could be considered a worldly person. When he previously met up with those from the Cave Heavens and Paradises while he was in the Star Boundary, he had chatted with some 80 to 100 High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters, so he was not unfamiliar with such people.
While Yu Chang Dao had a sage-like temperament, even Xu Ling Gong, who loved spouting nonsense, was an imposing presence.
However, Yang Kai had never seen a High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master who appeared as strange as the person before his eyes.
Xu Wang called him Fisherman Martial Uncle, and true to his title, he looked just like a fisherman. While wearing a bamboo hat and a straw coat, he was barefoot with rolled-up leggings. Presently, there was a fish basket over his shoulder. If he also held a bamboo stick, he would look like a common fisherman in the winter.
Nevertheless, the fish he had caught this time was Blood Crow.
The fisherman raised his hand and lifted the bamboo hat that had slightly blocked his sight. After taking a glance at Yang Kai, he said with a smile, “It’s said that every generation will see a fair share of talented people. This Old Master has heard a lot about you over the years.”
Yang Kai replied humbly, “Many thanks for your compliment, Senior.”
The fisherman slowly continued, “There’s no need to be overly humble. You’ve done a great service with the Star Boundary. All Cave Heavens and Paradises owe you a favour.”
He then took a glance at Xu Wang and asked in a solemn voice, “I detected the auras of several High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters in this place some time ago. What happened?”
Xu Wang then told him what had happened when the portal that led to the Universe Cave Heaven opened. The fisherman was surprised as he looked at the depths of the void where the portal was located, but soon said after a sigh, “Unfortunately, this Old Master has to return to Bright King Cave Heaven; otherwise, I could’ve stayed and watched a good show.”
Xu Wang darted his gaze around before saying, “Please go back with peace of mind, Martial Uncle. I’ll stay here.” He was curious about the Universe Cave Heaven.
The fisherman shook his head, “You have to go back with me.”
Xu Wang then sported a dejected expression.
With a smile, the fisherman went on to say, “You’ve made a contribution by assisting me to capture Blood Crow. Did you forget what reward you’ll get? There’ll be an opportunity in one year. If you don’t come back with me, you’ll have to wait at least a dozen years for the next opportunity.”
Upon hearing that, Xu Wang changed his mind in an instant, “I’ll obey your orders, Martial Uncle.”
As they spoke, the fish basket over the fisherman’s shoulder started shaking violently. It was apparent that Blood Crow was trying to struggle out of it. The fisherman then landed a forceful slap on it, after which no more noises were heard.
Xu Wang said, “Junior Brother Yang has made a significant contribution in helping to capture Blood Crow. If he hadn’t helped me escape previously, I would’ve been killed. After that, he came all the way here to hunt Blood Crow down. It was also thanks to Junior Brother Yang that I was able to send out a signal just now. Doesn’t our Sect have any reward for him?”
The fisherman put on a smile and gazed at Yang Kai, “If you were a disciple from Bright King Cave Heaven, you could have a chance to enter our Small Source World just like Xu Wang. Unfortunately, you are not from our Sect, so we can’t give such a reward to an outsider.”
An opportunity to enter a Small Source World was extremely precious. That was because every time a person received training in a Small Source World, it was akin to gaining some of the heritage of that world. Yang Kai had experienced the Divine Armament World of Yin-Yang Cave Heaven before, so he was fully aware of this.
If he were not a son-in-law of Yin-Yang Cave Heaven, and if Xu Ling Gong hadn’t done his best to make it happen, Yang Kai wouldn’t have gotten the chance to enter the Divine Armament World either.
The Cave Heavens and Paradises all had their own Small Source Worlds, but they would only allow the best disciples of their Sects to enter for life experience.
Since Xu Wang had made a significant contribution, he could enter the Small Source World of Bright King Cave Heaven, but Yang Kai couldn’t get this reward.
“If you have any requests, just speak them. I’ll agree to them if I have the right to do so. If it’s not up to me to make a decision, I’ll inform the higher-ups in the Sect about it and see what they say.”
Yang Kai directly took a glance at the fish basket that confined Blood Crow and asked, “Senior, may I know what will happen to Blood Crow?”
The fisherman shook his head, “I have no idea.”
Although he was a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, he wasn’t in any place to make a decision on how to deal with Blood Crow, who was an Old Monster that had been reborn by occupying someone else’s body.
Yang Kai nodded gently, “If there’s a chance, I want a copy of the Grand Evolution Immortal Blood Light Scripture.”
“I can’t agree to that right away. If possible, I’ll tell Xu Wang to send the copy to Void Land. If it’s not achievable, you don’t have to keep waiting.” Although the fisherman didn’t reject him directly, Yang Kai could feel that the chance was slim; after all, the Grand Evolution Immortal Blood Light Scripture was truly abstruse, and by giving a copy to someone they might accidentally create another Blood Crow. Therefore, they probably wouldn’t let that happen.
Nevertheless, Yang Kai still expressed his gratitude by saying, “Many thanks, Senior.”
The fisherman nodded while Xu Wang cupped his fist, “Farewell, Junior Brother. I hope that the next time we meet, both of us will already be in the High-Rank Open Heaven Realm.”
“I hope so too, Senior Brother,” Yang Kai replied with a smile.
The fisherman and Xu Wang then left the place together.
Yang Kai remained on the same spot and watched them leave, after which he turned to look at the portal that led to the Universe Cave Heaven.
Earlier, the appearance of Blood Crow caused this place to plunge into chaos. About seventy to eighty out of the hundreds of Open Heaven Realm Masters were instantly killed, which were a lot of casualties. Furthermore, after several High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters showed up, most surviving cultivators stayed away from this place, and they wouldn’t even dare to observe what was going on. Even the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters were nowhere to be seen now.
After all, several Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters had shown up. No one would dare snatch food from the tiger’s mouth.
The place was originally bustling with noise, but now Yang Kai was the only one left, which he was glad to see.
Although the portal that led to the Universe Cave Heaven had closed, it had opened up several times before and left behind some traces. Others might not have a way to enter it, but Yang Kai could forcefully open the portal since he was a Master of the Dao of Space. It would just take him some time to do so.
He thus activated his Divine Sense. While restoring his strength, Yang Kai tried to capture the remaining traces in the Void, and an incense stick later, he managed to grasp a lead.
Yang Kai pushed his Space Principles, stabbing them into the portal like a sharp knife as he slowly increased his output to force it open.
After some time, a black hole the size of a fist appeared in front of Yang Kai. The aura of a Universe World wafted through the black hole.
As the black hole expanded, the aura of the Universe World became increasingly conspicuous. Soon, it had become the size of a washbasin.
Suddenly, Yang Kai’s expression changed drastically. A horrifying force burst out of the portal he had forcefully opened. The unsuspecting Yang Kai was hit in the chest by this force and sent flying away as though he had been struck by lightning.
While the vitality in his chest weltered, his vision darkened as though he had been struck by a Divine Ability from someone in the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm. Even his Small Universe was in turmoil.
Before he could stabilise himself, he felt an even more dangerous aura coming out of the portal.
A terrified Yang Kai turned to look at the opening, which should have disappeared as soon as he stopped holding it open; however, it instead had started expanding uncontrollably, as though it was going to swallow the entire Void.
[What’s going on?] Yang Kai was astounded.
He just wanted to open the portal to take a peek inside the Universe Cave Heaven, so his movements shouldn’t have caused such an incident to happen.
While he was in a daze, he could faintly see a few figures battling against each other through the portal. There was a burly middle-aged man, an old woman with grey hair, a young boy, and a young woman with a curvy figure.
They were all the High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters who had previously entered the Universe Cave Heaven.
Yang Kai’s expression instantly darkened. [Are these people out of their minds? How could they engage in an all out battle inside a Universe Cave Heaven?]
Although the Universe Cave Heaven was left behind by a cultivator who was at least in the Eighth Order, it was ancient after all. It could accommodate several High-Rank Masters who came in to explore, but it certainly couldn’t bear the impact of a battle between such Masters.
People who could make it to the High-Rank were not fools, but despite knowing the consequences, they still engaged in an intense struggle.
Yang Kai was curious about the reason that caused these High-Rank Masters, who had been living furtively in the Shattered Heaven all these years, to be so determined to destroy one another.
Without any time to ponder on it, he quickly ran away because, while the black hole was rapidly expanding, a dangerous aura was felt coming from the Universe Cave Heaven.
The next instant, the Void trembled as countless shattered Spirit Provinces of different sizes shot out in all directions.
It looked like a Universe World had exploded all of a sudden.
In fact, that was indeed the case. The Universe Cave Heaven that had remained hidden in the Void for years collapsed due to the fierce battle among these High-Rank Masters.
A violent force swept out and even the High-Rank Masters had to stop fighting as they activated their powers to ward off the impact after the Universe Cave Heaven came apart.
Although Yang Kai had fled as early as possible, he still staggered upon impact. He was like a ship that was navigating across an ocean in a thunderstorm.
A moment seemed to have gone by, but it also felt as though a million years had passed as the terrifying fallout slowly subsided.
However, a huge black hole had appeared in the Void where the portal of the Universe Cave Heaven was located, and a horrifying aura of nihility was felt coming from it.
As soon as Yang Kai stabilised himself, he felt a crawling sensation on his scalp because when he looked up, he saw that the High-Rank Masters had turned into rays of light as they charged towards him. All of them were filled with murderous intent as their auras surged. At this moment, they were still exchanging moves, which caused the surrounding space to descend into chaos.
Although these people were regarded as cowards by Xu Wang, they were still High-Rank Masters in the end. They might not be comparable to Zuo Quan Hui from Thousand Cranes Paradise, but they certainly were not much weaker.
Zuo Quan Hui alone was enough to cause so much trouble to Void Land. Now that five High-Rank Masters were coming at him, Yang Kai wouldn’t dare to remain on the same spot. Given his current strength, if he was dragged into the fight, he would be badly injured, if not killed.
Just when he was preparing to use Instantaneous Movement to flee, he frowned and looked at a certain shattered Spirit Province that was coming right at him.
The shattered Spirit Province was apparently a part of the Universe Cave Heaven that had fallen apart. It seemed to be a small part of a mountain range with several mountains that were connected. However, Yang Kai could detect an amazing aura coming from one of the mountains.
He had no idea what was hidden on the mountain, but he soon realised that he wasn’t so unlucky after all. It was just that he happened to be escaping in the same direction the treasure the High-Rank Masters were fighting over was flying.
Since the High-Rank Masters had their eyes on this treasure, there was no way it was not valuable; therefore, despite not knowing what was hidden on the mountain, it didn’t stop Yang Kai from making a bold move.
Instead of backing down, he shot towards the shattered Spirit Province. After he got close, he directly opened his own Small Universe and stored the Spirit Province inside it.
He didn’t have time to examine it, so he could only act so. Although there might be some potential problems doing this, he reckoned that fortune favoured the bold. The potential problems were the last of his concerns now.
In an instant, the High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters, who were originally determined to kill one another in a heated battle, stopped. Both shocked and furious, they stared at Yang Kai and engulfed him with their Divine Senses.
None of them had expected that while they were hacking each other to death, a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm boy that they didn’t have any regard for would come over and snatch their prize.
“Brat! You court death!” The middle-aged man roared.
The others directly sent out ferocious Divine Abilities at Yang Kai.
The Divine Abilities seemed able to destroy the Heavens and shatter the Earth before they even reached their target. Certainly, Yang Kai wouldn’t stand still and wait for death. In fact, the moment he put the shattered Spirit Province inside his Small Universe, he also activated his Space Principles and disappeared from the spot the next instant.
The fierce World Forces arrived and shattered the Void.
Nevertheless, when the High-Rank Masters came over, Yang Kai was already nowhere to be found.
“Space Principles!” The old woman sported a dark expression while the others turned grim.
They initially thought that even though the Sixth-Order brat had snatched their treasure, he couldn’t possibly escape from them. Although the treasure was precious, he would need to stay alive to enjoy it. Since they were making a move together, they thought they could easily subdue a mere Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master.
However, since the other party was a Master of the Dao of Space, things had become thorny.
The young woman in the Seventh Order fell silent for a moment before she turned to look in a particular direction. She then turned into a ray of light and shot forward.
Seeing that, the others followed her without hesitation.
The High-Rank Masters, who were initially determined to destroy one another, seemed to have tacitly come to an agreement as they put down their grudges and pursued Yang Kai together. Nevertheless, only they knew whether there were any secret exchanges of moves while they were on the road.
In the depths of the Shattered Heaven, Yang Kai was running away at full speed.
The situation he was in seemed oddly familiar to him.
He suddenly recalled that after he ran away from Seven Wonders Land, he arrived at a dying Sun Star where he obtained the carcass of a mature Golden Crow. Following that, he was chased after by several people.
At that time, he was just an Emperor Realm cultivator while the ones running after him were a group of Low-Rank and Mid-Rank Masters, which included the Proprietress.
Eventually, he managed to escape and return to First Inn, though he was in a battered state when he arrived.
Back then, he was ignorant and uninformed as he had never heard of the Universe Transference Law before. He initially thought that he had gotten rid of the Proprietress, but when he saw that she suddenly appeared from First Inn to stop him, he was flabbergasted.
If it weren’t because he had a golden feather given to him by the Divine Spirit Mie Meng, he couldn’t have snuck into First Inn.
Since then, he and the Proprietress had become one family, thinking back on that incident was a pretty embarrassing memory for Yang Kai. First Inn was destroyed, which made him owe the Proprietress a lot of Open Heaven Pills. He had no choice but to become a waiter and debt collector for the Inn to pay off his due.
Although he was weak at that time, he was also carefree.
Regardless of what happened, the Proprietress would solve the problem for him.
After he and Bai Qi made a scene in Wind and Cloud Auction House in Thousand Birds Star City, it was the Proprietress who showed up and settled the issue for them.
Now, he was in a similar situation as when he snatched the Golden Crow carcass from the Open Heaven Realm Masters. He was also being pursued by Masters that he found difficult to deal with.
However, this time, there was no First Inn for him to seek shelter in.
With that said, he was no longer an Emperor Realm Junior who was powerless to deal with Open Heaven Realm Masters.
He could feel Divine Senses coming from behind him, and although he kept manipulating Space Principles, he was unable to shake them off. He couldn’t help but lament that it was truly difficult to deal with High-Rank Masters. If it weren’t because he was an expert in the Dao of Space, he would have no choice but to wait for death.
He wondered what was hidden in the shattered Spirit Province that made these High-Rank Masters covet it so greatly. They were relentlessly pursuing him as though he had snatched their Wives or Daughters.
While running away, he didn’t even have time to examine his reward.
Nevertheless, the High-Rank Masters’ action proved that the treasure was truly valuable, or else they wouldn’t have reacted in such a way.
A few days later, he realised that one of the Divine Senses had disappeared, making him wonder whether the person had given up or was forced to give up somehow.
Several days later, another Divine Sense vanished.
While fleeing, Yang Kai couldn’t help but put on a grin. It was possible that the first High-Rank Master who backed down had given up because there was no hope of catching Yang Kai, but that wouldn’t make sense when the same thing happened to the second person.
Hence, it was obvious that those High-Rank Masters were not united after all. While pursuing Yang Kai, they must have exchanged moves to destroy their opponents.
Therefore, only three out of the initial five High-Rank Masters were left.
Although the number of people had almost halved, that made no difference to Yang Kai.
He couldn’t help but ponder on the possibility of slowing down so that the remaining three would believe that he was on his last legs. In that case, they might kill off one another before getting to him.
However, while he was still contemplating this plan, his expression suddenly changed as he staggered and flipped upside down. He then kept tumbling through the void as he hurtled forward.
The turn of events astounded Yang Kai as the first thing that came to his mind was that he had been struck by someone. Nevertheless, he soon realised that the problem came from his own Small Universe.
Presently, his Small Universe was in chaos. The ground was shaking in a way as though there was an earthquake going on. All the World Force in his Small Universe was also madly streaming towards a certain spot.
Yang Kai turned pale as he tried to stop it, but his efforts were in vain. He could only watch as his World Force was consumed by something.
When he activated his Divine Sense and examined the situation, he was dumbfounded by what he saw.
The thing that caused the disaster in his Small Universe was none other than the shattered Spirit Province he had rashly put inside his Small Universe earlier.
It was easy to identify as the shattered Spirit Province was a part of the Universe Cave Heaven left behind by an Eighth-Order or Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, so it still contained its original owner’s aura and World Force.
Right after Yang Kai stored it, he sealed it off inside his Small Universe. If he hadn’t done that, the World Force of someone else would’ve seeped into his Small Universe. Once that happened, it would take him a lot of effort to get rid of the impurities that didn’t belong to him.
He initially intended to settle the issue regarding the shattered Spirit Province after he had escaped to a safe place.
However, there was a change of plan now as the shattered Spirit Province had settled down and merged with his Small Universe for no apparent reason.
The World Force that was originally in the shattered Spirit Province started streaming into Yang Kai’s Small Universe. It was supposed to be the source of power for the owner, but to Yang Kai, it was nothing but impurities that affected his foundation.
It wouldn’t have mattered if that was all though. After Yang Kai killed Zuo Quan Hui in the past, his Small Universe was also filled with impurities from the latter’s Small Universe. It only took him some time to get rid of them.
The crux of the problem was that the World Force in his Small Universe was madly leaving him, which caught him off guard. That was the reason he was all flustered and battered.
As Yang Kai suppressed his weltering vitality, he took a glance at his Small Universe and became stunned.
He could see that there was a spring that had landed in his Small Universe alongside the shattered Spirit Province and settled down. The spring was deep and crystal clear. As his World Force streamed into it, the spring became increasingly fortified.
Following the appearance of this spring, some subtle changes took place in his Small Universe. He could feel a stream of invisible but truly existent aura wafting from the spring and assimilating into his Small Universe.
[What in the world is this?] Yang Kai was both shocked and doubtful.
He initially thought that there was an artifact or a precious treasure hidden in the shattered Spirit Province. It never crossed his mind that it was a spring.
Furthermore, the spring was madly absorbing his World Force in order to integrate into his Small Universe. Although he was taken aback because of that, he had a feeling that it was an invaluable treasure.
Yang Kai could confirm that the spring belonged to the owner of the Universe Cave Heaven, and the reason the High-Rank Masters got into a fight must have been to claim ownership of this thing. It was just that Yang Kai came across it first and snatched it.
Fortunately, even though the turn of events was shocking, the spring didn’t suck all of Yang Kai’s power out. More than ten breaths later, the noise in his Small Universe subsided as he finally managed to stabilize himself.
Three Divine Senses targeted him from behind at that moment as they sent out their Divine Abilities at the same time. Drenched in cold sweat, Yang Kai instantaneously disappeared from the spot.
A moment later, three figures shot past this place. They were the old woman with grey hair, the young woman with a curvy figure, and the middle-aged man with an ordinary face.
Presently, their streams of Divine Sense were entangled with one another. Although they were united in chasing after Yang Kai, that didn’t stop them from secretly exchanging moves. Two people were defeated earlier and were forced to look for a place to recuperate.
If nothing unexpected happened, given Yang Kai’s cultivation and his mastery over the Dao of Space, even thirty Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters wouldn’t be able to capture him, let alone three people.
However, since the day when the spring settled into his Small Universe, it would break out from time to time, and each time it did, Yang Kai’s World Force would madly leave him while his Small Universe fell into turmoil. During these events, he was unable to keep running, He could only stop to adjust his breathing and consume a lot of Open Heaven Pills to replenish his energy.
Fortunately, the breakouts usually wouldn’t last for a long time. Sometimes they’d last more than ten breaths, and sometimes they’d only last for a few breaths. Otherwise, he couldn’t possibly have kept escaping.
However, with this being the case, Yang Kai was never able to fully shake off the three Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters chasing him. Every time he successfully widened the gap between them, the turmoil in his Small Universe would make his effort go down the drain.
Yang Kai was so exasperated that he wanted to curse; however, compared to the displeasure he felt while running away, he was pleasantly surprised by the transformation taking place in his Small Universe. That was because he realised that every time a breakout took place, his Small Universe would become sturdier by a small margin. These changes were intangible, but real.
If the Small Universes of Open Heaven Realm Masters were compared to houses, the Small Universe of a Low-Rank Master was like a dilapidated cottage where water would leak through the ceiling should there be any rainy weather. The Small Universe of a Mid-Rank Master was like a solid wooden house. It was definitely better than the broken cottage, but it wasn’t anything amazing.
On the other hand, the Small Universe of a High-Rank Master was like a finely made stone house. Its foundation wouldn’t be destroyed even if there was a fierce storm. There was no way the house would be shattered unless it was faced with extreme weather.
Yang Kai’s original Small Universe was somewhere between a wooden house and a stone house. It was neither good nor bad; however, as the invisible aura continued streaming out from the spring, Yang Kai’s Small Universe, which was his house, became increasingly fortified.
It was like a barrier was being slowly erected inside his Small Universe, reinforcing its very structure.
Despite not knowing what the spring was, Yang Kai figured out that it was a precious item that was beneficial to a cultivator’s Small Universe just by observing the transformation in his own Small Universe.
The information he had read from the ancient books flashed through his mind as he had a speculation about the thing he had accidentally snatched from the High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters.
A World Spring!
One of the Four Universe Pillars!
There were Four Universe Pillars, which were the Profound Fish, World Spring, Starry Night Sea, and Full Sky Cloud. Although they were not the most precious treasures in the expansive universe, they were still extremely rare and valuable, only really inferior to Supreme Treasures.
These Four Universe Pillars didn’t provide help to one’s cultivation or increase their rate of cultivation; however, each of them could fortify the Small Universe of an Open Heaven Realm Master, making it impossible for others to invade or even shake it.
Such an item was useless to any cultivator below the Open Heaven Realm, but it was a sought-after treasure for any Open Heaven Realm Master.
If Yang Kai was faced with an opponent who possessed one of the Four Universe Pillars, his Cow Punch Secret Technique would be useless. That was because he had to follow the traces of their World Force back to his opponent’s Small Universe through his Secret Technique.
With one of the Four Universe Pillars in possession, the opponent’s Small Universe would be void of any imperfections and much sturdier than average. Regardless of how powerful Yang Kai was, he would never be able to harm the other party’s Small Universe, thus rendering his Cow Punch unusable.
The Small Universe of a cultivator who possessed one of the Four Universe Pillars would be extremely sturdy and would essentially never fall into chaos.
When Yang Kai dealt with powerful opponents, sometimes his Small Universe would shake when he was hit hard enough by his opponents’ attacks, which caused his flow of World Force to also become unstable, causing him to be at a deep disadvantage.
This was an inevitable reality for all cultivators and would happen to Yang Kai when he fought High-Rank Masters.
However, with one of the Four Universe Pillars strengthening their Small Universe, an Open Heaven Realm Master wouldn’t have such worries when engaging in a life-and-death battle. When one’s Small Universe was sturdy while the other had destabilised, there was no doubt that the former would get the upper hand given that their heritages were equally matched.
The benefits of the Four Universe Pillars were immense for any Open Heaven Realm Master.
In fact, these four items were not the only treasures in the world that could strengthen the Small Universe, but they were the most effective and powerful, which was why they were called the Four Universe Pillars. With any one of them in possession, a cultivator’s Small Universe would be unshakable.
Besides the Four Great Universe Pillars, there were also the Twelve Minor Universe Pillars. Any one of them was extremely hard to find, and the average person wouldn’t be able to see one in their lifetime.
Yang Kai initially hadn’t realised what the spring was, but as he observed the transformation going on in his Small Universe recently, he could confirm that he had obtained one of the Four Universe Pillars, the World Spring.
It was no wonder that the High-Rank Masters were determined to destroy one another to get this item. It had to be noted that they had always hidden in the depths of the Shattered Heaven and usually wouldn’t show up once in 100 years, but now there were five of them who appeared at once. It wouldn’t have happened if the treasure wasn’t alluring enough.
They must be aware of the situation in the Universe Cave Heaven, so they had been waiting there in advance so that they could be the first to get in and fight for the treasure. However, they eventually caused the Universe Cave Heaven to collapse, and the shattered Spirit Province where the World Spring was located coincidentally flew towards Yang Kai, who decided to snatch it.
Upon confirming that it was the World Spring, Yang Kai felt both pleasantly surprised and helpless. He was pleasantly surprised because he wouldn’t have to be afraid of dealing with opponents who were stronger than he was with this thing in his possession. On the other hand, he felt helpless because the High-Rank Masters would never let him off since he had snatched such a treasure from them.
The World Spring was still in the process of integrating into his Small Universe. During this period of time, it would absorb a lot of the World Force and cause some occasional breakouts, which was why Yang Kai was so flustered.
He also didn’t have time to get rid of the impurities in his body. While running away, he was even forced to choke down a lot of Open Heaven Pills from time to time to restore his energy.
The originally conspicuous streams of Divine Sense behind him had become intermittent. It was apparent that the gap between them had widened, and it was hard for the High-Rank Masters to accurately locate him.
He believed that he would be able to get rid of them in a few days.
Three days later, all of the Divine Senses had disappeared. It was then Yang Kai let out a long breath. It was the first time he was chased after by so many High-Rank Masters, and it was extremely difficult to shake them off.
Without stopping, he made a detour and kept flying for a few days before landing on a shattered Spirit Province.
There were countless shattered Spirit Provinces of different sizes in the Shattered Heaven. After witnessing the sight of the Universe Cave Heaven getting destroyed, Yang Kai finally realised how these shattered Spirit Provinces came to be.
They were either the broken pieces of Universe Cave Heavens and Universe Paradises, or the things left behind the Universe Worlds of ancient times.
This place was desolate and void of people, so Yang Kai found a hidden place and concealed his aura before sitting down with his legs crossed.
After some calculations, he believed that it was about time for the World Spring to absorb his World Force again. Yang Kai had no idea when this kind of torture would end. He had only read some information about the Four Universe Pillars from some ancient books, but he had never expected that one would go through so much trouble by putting one of them inside their Small Universe.
It was no wonder that while the High-Rank Masters were killing each other, none of them attempted to put the World Spring in their Small Universe. Yang Kai initially thought that they didn’t have the energy to do so, but it now seemed that it was just one of the reasons. The most important reason was that they were aware of what would happen after they stored the World Spring. Therefore, before getting rid of all other opponents, none of them would foolishly take it, or else they would be creating a chance for the opponents to destroy them.
Not long after Yang Kai settled down, his Small Universe descended into chaos again. As expected, the World Spring broke out again as his World Force started streaming into it.
This made him feel bitter as he had no idea when this kind of torture would end. He could only empty his mind while consuming Open Heaven Pills to replenish his loss.
A moment later, his Small Universe finally calmed down. He only got to his feet after getting some rest.
Although this place looked safe, he couldn’t stay here for a long time. The World Spring was deathly attractive to those High-Rank Masters, so they wouldn’t easily give up. They would find this place sooner or later.
Yang Kai had already obtained a huge reward in the Shattered Heaven since the World Spring was now in his possession, so he decided to return home.
After leaving his hiding place, he tried to identify the right direction, but just when he was about to leave, he suddenly froze and turned his head, only to see a curvy figure with a pair of alluring eyes who was staring at him like he was a ghost. As their eyes met, the young woman who looked like she was twenty-eight years flashed an innocent smile.
Yang Kai felt a chill running down his spine.
Although he had slightly put his guard down due to the turmoil in his Small Universe, he had never stopped monitoring the surroundings. However, he had no idea when the young woman arrived at this place.
Since the young woman was here, what about the old woman with grey hair and the middle-aged man?
An alarmed Yang Kai looked around as he secretly activated his World Force.
If all three High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters were there to ambush him, he would not survive even though he was a Master of the Dao of Space.
He was unable to figure out why they could find him so soon since he believed he had gotten rid of them.
Just then, the young woman uttered in a clear voice, “Don’t panic, I’ve parted ways with them. It seems that I’m just lucky enough to be the first to find you.”
It was then that Yang Kai put on a smile, “So, you’re on your own. You should’ve said so sooner. I was terrified there for a moment.”
The young woman gazed at him with a tilted head, “You’re pretty interesting. Am I not enough to capture you alone?”
Yang Kai didn’t remark on that as he attempted to persuade her by saying, “Elder Sister, there are no grudges between us, nor do we know each other. Why don’t you just let me go?”
The woman directly nodded her head, “Good. I don’t intend to kill you anyway. Just give me the thing you’ve snatched, and I’ll leave.”
“You’re indeed a straightforward person, Elder Sister!” Yang Kai gave her a thumbs-up. As soon as he finished speaking, he suddenly charged towards her as their faces almost came into contact. His World Force undulated around his Azure Dragon Spear as he thrust his weapon out.
He would’ve been wary of this young woman if he came across her before his life-and-death battles with Zuo Quan Hui; however, after several fights with Zuo Quan Hui, he had gained some valuable experiences in battling against a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master.
Since he was weaker than the woman, he had no choice but to make a move first.
There was a tinge of shock on the woman’s beautiful face as she had never expected that Yang Kai was such a reckless person. Despite knowing that she was a High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master, he still had the guts to make the first move.
Although she didn’t seem to be moving at all, the Azure Dragon Spear eerily brushed past her and jabbed into the Void. She then raised her palm and extended it towards Yang Kai.
After Yang Kai launched an attack, he sported an expression that was as astounded as that of the young woman. That was because he realised that it was now harder for him to draw on the World Force in his Small Universe. As a result, he could only exert about 60% of his full strength.
This realisation stunned him as it was more shocking than when he saw the young woman just now.
Since it was harder for him to activate his World Force, it meant that he couldn’t fully use his power. He was unable to figure out the reason behind it.
He didn’t have time to ponder on it as the woman soon landed a palm on his chest.
Her attack was fueled by her rage, and although she hadn’t fully used her power, it was still about 80% of it.
The average Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master would see his Small Universe plunging into chaos or even exploding into nothingness upon getting struck by such an attack.
Nevertheless, Yang Kai was not at risk of losing his life. As soon as he realised that something was off, he sprayed out a mouthful of Golden Blood, which turned into a blood mist and covered the woman’s face. At the same time, he rapidly moved backwards as Space Principles undulated.
There seemed to be an invisible wall in front of the young woman’s face that blocked the blood mist. In amazement, she stared at Yang Kai, who was still alive and kicking. She was surprised by how sturdy Yang Kai’s physique was as he wasn’t really harmed after getting struck by her palm. She then performed a hand seal and bellowed, “Rise!”
Rays of golden light suddenly appeared in all directions and covered the entire shattered Spirit Province. Since the space around them had been sealed off, Yang Kai suddenly stopped in his tracks as though he had been held down by an invisible hand.
Blood streamed out from the corner of his mouth while he was holding the Azure Dragon Spear. Yang Kai stared at the young woman who was approaching him while feeling bitter.
He had practically been defeated. His strength had been suppressed for no reason, which barred him from using Instantaneous Movement. Trapped in such a cage while he had to face a High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master, there was no way he could flee.
“Since I’m aware that you’re an expert in the Dao of Space, why wouldn’t I be prepared?” The woman smiled faintly. There were two dimples on her face. One of them looked smiling while the other contained murderous intent.
Yang Kai jabbed the Azure Dragon Spear into the ground and appeared to be completely frank, “It’s said that the winner is the King while the loser is the villain. Just tell me what you want. I won’t turn you down if it’s acceptable. I just hope that you won’t cross the line so that we’ll be able to meet again without any enmity between us.”
Upon seeing that he appeared to be resigned to fate, the young woman suddenly stopped in her tracks and furrowed her brows that looked like willow leaves. For some reason, she caught a whiff of a dangerous aura.
She then sneered, “Why didn’t you think about not crossing the line when you tried to stab your spear into me?”
Yang Kai suddenly looked away while appearing bashful, “I was just shocked by your sudden appearance. I would never have the heart to kill an alluring woman like you.”
All of a sudden, the woman’s voice was filled with fury as she said, “Have you refined that thing?”
Pretending to be clueless, Yang Kai asked, “What do you mean?”
The woman said through clenched teeth, “If you hadn’t refined that thing, you wouldn’t have found it hard to activate your World Force just now. Although the World Spring can help strengthen the Small Universe and prevent any external intrusion, the Small Universe would be suppressed by it before it’s fully refined. That’s why you now find it hard to circulate your World Force smoothly!”
Yang Kai was dumbfounded and almost cursed out loud.
He already had a speculation when he realised that something was off just now. He reckoned that it might have something to do with the World Spring. Upon hearing the young woman’s explanation, he realised that it was indeed the case.
The World Spring would suppress the Small Universe. After it was fully refined, it would be immensely beneficial; however, before that, it would negatively impact the cultivator’s power.
While he was fleeing some time ago, he had been manipulating Space Principles and occasionally utilising his World Force, but it wouldn’t consume a lot of energy doing so; therefore, he was unable to notice this. If he hadn’t launched a sneak attack on the woman just now, he still wouldn’t have realised it.
Now, he had practically no way to defend himself, which was why he felt bitter.
However, he knew little about the World Spring at that time, and he didn’t think twice before putting it inside his Small Universe. It never crossed his mind that the World Spring would try to merge with his Small Universe all on its own.
He was all battered while fleeing some time ago, and now this young woman directly captured him.
Yang Kai secretly tried to circulate his strength and realised that just like the woman had said, his Small Universe had been suppressed by the World Spring, so he was still unable to run his World Force smoothly.
After putting the Azure Dragon Spear away, he put on an embarrassed but polite smile, “Elder Sister, I didn’t want this to happen either. I can give you the thing you want, but please give me some time as the thing has settled down in my Small Universe. It’s not easy for me to take it out.”
The woman stared coldly at him and didn’t conceal her murderous intent. The emotions behind her gaze kept changing as though she was weighing the pros and cons of something. A moment later, she asked, “What was your Order when you broke through to the Open Heaven Realm?”
Yang Kai had no idea why she suddenly asked about it, but he wouldn’t mind stalling for time, so he answered honestly, “Fifth Order.”
The woman let out a breath as though she had just heard some wonderful news, “Fifth-Order… It means that you’ll have a chance to make it to the Seventh Order.”
Yang Kai fawned over her by saying, “That’s right. You’re indeed intelligent, Elder Sister.”
Apparently, the young woman didn’t like this kind of flattery as she stared dispassionately at Yang Kai, “Consider yourself lucky that I’m young enough to have time to wait. If the other two old farts were here, you would’ve lost your life by now.”
Yang Kai hurriedly cupped his fist, “Many thanks for not killing me, Elder Sister. If there’s a chance in the future, I’ll do anything to repay your favour.”
The woman snorted, “Stop the smooth-talking, or else I’ll cut off your tongue.”
Yang Kai raised his hand and zipped his mouth as though he was determined not to speak again.
The woman scoffed, “Don’t move if you want to live; otherwise, I don’t mind gambling.” She then used a different hand seal and yelled, “Bind!”
Just then, the rays of light that had sealed off the entire shattered Spirit Province turned into silver threads and wrapped around Yang Kai.
Yang Kai instinctively wanted to resist, but he wouldn’t dare to take the risk as he could sense the woman’s faint murderous intent still lingering on him. He had no choice but to allow the silver threads to penetrate his body. The next moment, he grunted as he could feel something assimilating into his physique. Although he didn’t feel any discomfort, he knew that he couldn’t activate his Space Principles to flee before the silver threads were resolved. If he really did that, the young woman could easily make him stay by controlling the silver threads.
It felt terrible to have his life under someone else’s control; however, he was certain that if he really resisted just now, the young woman wouldn’t have spared his life. Given the state he was in, Yang Kai had no right to provoke a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master.
Only by yielding to her demands would he stand a chance to survive.
He had never been humiliated in such a way since he started cultivating the Dao of Space. Although there were many times when he had to flee in embarrassment as he was chased after by more powerful cultivators, it had never come to such a point where he was disgraced in such a manner.
It was said that if one often walked by the riverside, there was no way he could always keep his shoes dry. Now, not only were his shoes wet, but he had actually been soaked in the river.
The young woman suddenly asked, “What’s your name?”
Yang Kai honestly told her his name, then added, “I’m a disciple from Bright King Cave Heaven!”
Clearly unperturbed, the young woman sneered.
It was then Yang Kai knew that he had done something pointless. He initially wanted to bring up Bright King Cave Heaven so that this Seventh-Order woman would be wary of it and wouldn’t outright kill him. However, it seemed that she didn’t care whether he was a disciple from Bright King Cave Heaven or not.
Just like Xu Wang had said, a noble background was pointless in the Shattered Heaven as the cultivators here only cared about strength. Some of the Open Heaven Realm Masters from the Cave Heavens and Paradises had lost their lives in the Shattered Heaven, but the murderers were still at large.
Upon that realisation, Yang Kai decided to keep his mouth shut so that he wouldn’t say anything useless again.
The young woman’s expression suddenly changed as she turned to look in a particular direction, then said through clenched teeth, “That old hag found us pretty quickly.”
As soon as she finished speaking, she grabbed Yang Kai’s shoulder and surged her World Force in an attempt to run away with him.
Nevertheless, a ferocious force came right at her the next instant. The young woman gritted her teeth and tossed Yang Kai away. As her curvy figure whirled around, she pushed out her palm to parry the attack.
The shattered Spirit Province could not bear the fallout of the exchange of moves between two High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters, so it exploded the next moment.
When Yang Kai came to his senses, he realised that the young woman was already standing beside him as she stared vigilantly ahead. Following her gaze, he saw an old woman with a hunched back hovering in the void as she looked greedily at him.
Faced with the stare, Yang Kai was having goosebumps all over his body.
The young woman bellowed, “You court death, Old Witch!”
The old woman’s wrinkled face creased together as she put on a withered smile, “Xia Lin Lang, stop being so haughty. Since both of us are in the Seventh Order, can you even kill me?”
The young woman named Xia Lin Lang snorted, “Even if I can’t kill you today, it doesn’t mean I won’t be able to do so in the future. Don’t forget that while you’re old and frail, I’m still young and strong. You’ll definitely pass away before I do.”
The old woman replied, “Yes, your youth is your greatest asset; however, you might not have the guts to risk your life while I care little for mine. I’m willing to die if it means I take you down with me. Do you have the gall to do it?”
Xia Lin Lang frowned, “I found him first, so the World Spring belongs to me. If you’re willing to back down, I’m willing to give you some compensation on behalf of Lin Lang Palace.”
The old woman sneered, “If it belongs to you just because you found him first, we wouldn’t have tried to hack each other to death a while ago. As for the compensation, just like you’ve said, I’m old and frail, so what’s the point for me to have it?”
Xia Lin Lang said through clenched teeth, “In that case, what’s the point of you getting the World Spring?”
“As for how I’ll use it, it’s none of your business.”
“It seems that you’re determined to lose your life here,” Xia Lin Lang’s murderous intent surged. Since they couldn’t come to any agreement, fighting was the only option.
The old woman shook her head, “Stop trying to intimidate me. Each of us will have a 50% chance of winning if we get into a battle. If others find out about it and butt in, both of us will get nothing in the end.”
Upon hearing that, Xia Lin Lang immediately looked around with vigilance. After making sure that no one else was around, she snorted, “Stop pulling cheap tricks with me.”
The old woman added, “Don’t worry, I found this place by chance. That guy went in a completely different direction, and he won’t pay attention to this place for a while.” Even though she was speaking to Xia Lin Lang, her turbid eyes had never moved away from Yang Kai. All of a sudden, she furrowed her brows, “Wait. Given your temperament, why would you still keep this brat alive? Could it be…”
Her expression suddenly changed as she glared at Yang Kai, “Brat, have you put the World Spring inside your Small Universe?”
Without responding to her, Yang Kai took a glance at Xia Lin Lang as though he would only obey her orders.
Just then, the old woman started guffawing, “Consider yourself lucky, brat. It’s no wonder that this snake woman didn’t kill you. Do you think it’s because she’s kind-hearted?”
In fact, Yang Kai hadn’t figured out the reason Xia Lin Lang didn’t just kill him. He had been vigilant while she was trying to plant a restriction in his body earlier and it never crossed his mind that this woman didn’t want to kill him at all.
“You’re wrong. The reason she didn’t kill you is that you’ve put the World Spring inside your Small Universe. You’re just a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master now, so if you pass away, your Small Universe will completely disintegrate, and the World Spring might also be gone for good. There’s no way she’d take such a risk. Did she ask you whether you’d have a chance to make it to the High-Rank?”
Before Yang Kai replied to her, the old woman continued, “En, you should have a chance to ascend to the High-Rank; otherwise, you’d be dead by now. However, on the day you make it to the High-Rank, you’ll still die. The Small Universe of a High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master has materialised, so even if you die, the World Spring will remain.”
Upon hearing that, Yang Kai finally understood the reason he was still alive.
It was no wonder Xia Lin Lang said she didn’t mind gambling. He was a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master now, so supposedly, if he was killed, the World Spring might vanish alongside his Small Universe. Therefore, she had to keep him alive like she was rearing a farm animal. She would only make a move when he ascended to the Seventh Order.
Instead of getting furious though, Yang Kai felt his back drenched in cold sweat.
Although he was a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, his Small Universe had actually materialised. In other words, even if he passed away, it wouldn’t affect the World Spring that had settled down in his Small Universe.
Hence, he decided that he would never reveal the secret about his Small Universe; otherwise, he wouldn’t have a chance to survive.
While the old woman spoke, Xia Lin Lang didn’t intend to interrupt her. It was apparent that she didn’t mind Yang Kai finding out about her plan.
With what passed for an amicable expression, the old woman stared at Yang Kai and said, “Little one, although the woman beside you appears to be beautiful and innocent, her heart is as venomous as a viper. You’ll end up in a horrible state one day.”
Yang Kai put on a grin, “Well, it is said that dying on a bed of flowers is the best way to go.”
Xia Lin Lang shot him a glare while the old woman was lost for words.
After a moment of silence, the old woman said, “It’s inevitable that young men are enchanted by beautiful women. Why don’t you come with me instead? I’m not as devious as she is, and I can assure you that after you ascend to the Seventh Order, you’ll just have to cut off a small part of your Small Universe to remove the World Spring. I swear not to kill you. Although it might harm your foundation by doing so, it’s better than losing your life.”
Yang Kai pulled a long face, “You don’t look like a good person. I don’t trust you.”
The old woman laughed in a hoarse voice, “You don’t trust me, but you trust that devious woman?”
After a sigh, Yang Kai said, “Both of you are senior experts, so I can’t afford to offend either of you. Why don’t you have a life-and-death battle here first? I’ll follow the person who survives.”
The old woman snorted, “Cunning brat!”
Xia Lin Lang had run out of patience as she snapped, “Old Witch, if you’re determined to decide life and death here with me, I don’t mind sending you to the Yellow Springs. However, if you want to spend the rest of your life peacefully, scram!”
The old woman appeared furious, but it was apparent that unlike what she had said before, she wasn’t willing to take the risk of dying just to drag Xia Lin Lang down with her.
With a sneer, Xia Lin Lang grabbed Yang Kai’s shoulder and turned into a ray of light before shooting into the distance. Yang Kai could clearly feel a sense of murderous intent surging from the old woman as she stared fixedly at him from behind; however, even after they moved out of range of the old woman’s Divine Sense, she still didn’t make a move.
It was obvious that she didn’t have the confidence to make Xia Lin Lang stay. They would be evenly matched even if they got into a fight, so in the end, she decided to hold her fury in.
Watching as Xia Lin Lang and Yang Kai left, the old woman muttered resentfully, “Where do you think you can go anyway?”
“Are you disappointed that that Old Witch and I didn’t kill each other?” Xia Lin Lang suddenly shot him a glare.
Yang Kai patted his chest, “If you two got into a fight, I’d definitely help you.”
“Really?” Xia Lin Lang put on an inscrutable smile.
Yang Kai changed the topic by saying, “In fact, if you want the World Spring, you don’t have to wait for me to ascend to the Seventh Order. After the dust settles, I’ll try to force the World Spring out of my Small Universe.”
With a smile, Xia Lin Lang replied, “You can give it a try. If you succeed, it’ll be good for both of us.”
Yang Kai grunted in a sulky voice as he never intended to flee.
As though trying to placate him, Xia Lin Lang said, “Although the Old Witch is ill-intentioned, she’s right about one thing. I initially intended to kill you and get the World Spring after you made it to the Seventh Order. Since it’s been exposed, and you’ve been obliging, I won’t do anything that crosses the line.”
“What’s your plan now, Elder Sister?” Yang Kai asked.
“After you make it to the Seventh Order, you can keep your life if you’re willing to cut off a small part of your Small Universe and bring the World Spring out. However, by doing so, your cultivation will likely fall back to the Sixth Order, and it might cause your foundation to become unstable. By then, you won’t be able to deal with average Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, and you’ll only be slightly stronger than the Fifth Order.”
“It’s decided, then,” Yang Kai hurriedly replied.
A shocked Xia Lin Lang gazed at him, “Don’t you want to sleep on it?”
Yang Kai put on a hollow laugh, “I’d rather live miserably than die horribly. Since you’re completely frank with me, I won’t beat around the bush and pull any tricks with you.”
A part of Xia Lin Lang’s heart seemed to have been touched as she sighed, “You’re right. It’s better to live miserably than die horribly.”
As they moved forward at full speed, she never allowed Yang Kai to use Space Principles, for she was wary of this strange ability of his. After all, if Yang Kai secretly pulled a trick while using Space Principles, she might not be able to notice it even though she was more powerful.
On the other hand, Yang Kai was tactful enough to not inquire about the woman’s background. Since she wasn’t willing to show up in the outside world by hiding in the depths of the Shattered Heaven, she must have some secrets that must not be exposed.
Half a month later, they arrived at a place in the void where no one was around. Xia Lin Lang finally stopped in her tracks.
Yang Kai looked around but didn’t discover anything of interest.
On the other hand, Xia Lin Lang performed different hand seals, then gently stuck two fingers out and pointed forward.
A ripple spread across the void, whereupon Yang Kai could see a picture scroll emerging into existence.
Inside the picture scroll, a beautiful view of mountains could be seen while some exotic beasts were roaming around. There were also some houses and gazebos on the mountains that made the place look like a paradise.
There was no doubt that the existence of a picture scroll in the void was shocking, but it would be completely normal if it was just a portal.
While grabbing Yang Kai, Xia Lin Lang plunged into the picture scroll without hesitation and disappeared the next moment.
The picture scroll that had abruptly appeared also vanished into thin air and left no traces behind.
Ample World Energy was felt coming right at their faces while they were surrounded by the thick aura of this World. When Yang Kai came to his senses, he realised that he was already in a place that was full of greenery, which looked just like a paradise.
He then looked around and became amazed.
Given his eyesight and experience now, he instantly realised that this place was different from the average Universe World. It was a Universe Cave Heaven that was left behind by a High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master after his death, and it was very well preserved. The World Principles were complete, the world itself was stable, and the Dao Essence was ample. The Universe Cave Heaven that shattered following the exchange of moves between several Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters was not comparable to this one.
Moreover, he could clearly feel that the Dao Essence in this Universe Cave Heaven was compatible with him.
It was then he realised that the owner of this Universe Cave Heaven was an expert in the Spear Dao before his death. Therefore, the Spear Dao Essence in his Small Universe was abundant. By cultivating in such an environment, one could better comprehend the Spear Dao with half the effort.
When he entered the Blood Monster Cave Heaven in the past, the traces of Blood Principles were conspicuous; however, Yang Kai didn’t cultivate the Dao of Blood, so he didn’t feel anything while he was there. As for the Shadowless Cave Heaven, everything had been swept away by the Astral Wind, so the place was nothing more than a hollow shell.
In Yang Kai’s Small Universe, the most abundant Dao Essence was definitely the Space Dao Essence. After all, he condensed his Dao Seal through the Dao of Space. The rest was the Dao of Time, Alchemic Dao, and Spear Dao. If anyone managed to enter Yang Kai’s Small Universe, they would have a chance to comprehend his insights in these four Daos.
There were all sorts of Grand Daos in the 3,000 Worlds, but they all led to the same destination.
Even though Yang Kai’s mastery of the Spear Dao was inferior to that of the Dao of Space, it was still at the Third Level, Taking the Initial Steps; therefore, as soon as he entered this Universe Cave Heaven, he was moved by the thick Dao Essence.
This was indeed a wonderful place. If he could cultivate here for a long time, it would help improve his Spear Dao significantly. Although it was of no help to his cultivation, it could increase his combat strength.
While he was lost in his thoughts, Yang Kai suddenly looked down at a particular place.
Beneath him, there was a market located in a city that was bustling with noise as people streamed through the streets.
[There are so many people in this place!] Yang Kai was stunned.
He initially thought that the place Xia Lin Lang resided must be totally serene, but the sight before his eyes was different from what he had imagined.
As though knowing what was on his mind, Xia Lin Lang said, “This Universe Cave Heaven already looked like this when I found it in the past. The previous owner must have been in the Eighth Order at the very least. It wasn’t surprising that he raised some living beings in his body in order to generate Auspicious Spirit Essence and increase his World Force. Many High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters in ancient times would do this, much unlike the current generation of High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters.”
Yang Kai couldn’t help but think about the Blood Monster Cave Heaven where there were many living creatures as well. The ancestors of Mo Mei and the others from Abundance City were living beings raised by Blood Monster Divine Monarch in his Small Universe.
However, Blood Monster Divine Monarch was a cruel and narrow-minded person, so the living creatures in his body were planted with a Blood Principles Restriction. Other than stopping them from comprehending the Heavenly Way and Martial Dao, the restriction would also ensure they couldn’t condense their Dao Seals. Additionally, there was no way they could flee from the Blood Monster Cave Heaven.
Without the nourishment of the aura in the Blood Monster Cave Heaven, those who had been planted with the Blood Principles Restriction would explode and die.
Back then, Yang Kai made a deal with Black Crow and obtained a technique that could disperse the Blood Principles Restriction. That was how he managed to bring Mo Mei and the others back to Void Land; otherwise, they would’ve been destroyed the moment Blood Monster Cave Heaven fell apart.
Xia Lin Lang was right to say that many High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters in ancient times would raise some living creatures in their Small Universes.
Nevertheless, things were different now. Yang Kai had never heard of any High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters from the Cave Heavens and Paradises who had this hobby. At least the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters he had come across didn’t have it, though he wasn’t sure about the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters.
There were many benefits to be gained by raising living beings in one’s Small Universe. The reproduction of these living beings would provide a continuous supply of Auspicious Spirit Essence. In that case, the World Force of the owner’s Small Universe would continue to increase without the need for him or her to actively cultivate.
This kind of increase was negligible in the short term for High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters, who needed thousands to tens of thousands of years to make it to the next Order. Nevertheless, it could not be underestimated in the long term since many grains of sand would eventually build a mountain. It might help the owner shorten the time they had to cultivate significantly in the long term.
However, it wasn’t good news for the living beings who were raised in the Small Universe.
Usually, their daily life wouldn’t be affected, but if the High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master got into a fight, and their Small Universe was shaken, a calamity would befall them. Worse, if the High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master was killed, which resulted in their Small Universe collapsing, those living inside would die along with them. To those living inside, their fate was closely tied to the Small Universe’s owner. If anything happened to the owner, they would share the same terrible fate.
Yang Kai gently grunted as a realisation dawned upon him.
Xia Lin Lang shot him a weird look, “What’s wrong?”
Yang Kai straightened his face and replied dispassionately, “Nothing. It’s just that I’ve figured out something.”
Xia Lin Lang didn’t intend to keep asking. Since Yang Kai had been brought into this place, he was no different from a beast in a cage despite his mastery of the Dao of Space. Therefore, she wouldn’t do anything to him as long as he didn’t cross her bottom line.
On the other hand, Yang Kai finally figured out why the Four Universe Pillars were so popular and why several High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters were willing to kill each other in order to obtain one.
Naturally, the World Spring could help perfect a Small Universe and prevent any external influence from affecting it, which would be immensely beneficial when the owner is in battle. However, its biggest use was to allow one to safely raise living beings in their Small Universe.
With one of the Four Universe Pillars residing in their Small Universe, it wouldn’t fall into chaos as long as it wasn’t struck by deadly force, thus allowing those living inside one’s Small Universe to continue their lives peacefully.
In other words, with one of the Four Universe Pillars in possession, an Open Heaven Realm Master could start raising living beings in their body without any worries as they wouldn’t be affected even if they fought an intense battle.
Considering all this, Yang Kai couldn’t help having a bold idea.
Since the World Spring was now in his possession, he should probably start planning how to take advantage of it. Now, he was in the Sixth Order, which was still far away from his limit, the Eighth Order. It wasn’t certain how many years it would take him to make it to the Eighth Order, but if he could raise some living beings in his Small Universe, he could shorten the time needed to reach his limit.
However, he was nothing more than a captive now, so his first priority was to escape.
The reason he had been obliging until now was that he wasn’t willing to test Xia Lin Lang’s patience. If he hadn’t heard what the old woman had said, he would still have been very nervous about Xia Lin Lang killing him at any moment; however, upon learning the secrets of the World Spring, he now wasn’t worried that she would do anything to him. At the very least, Xi Lin Lang wouldn’t take the risk before he made it to the Seventh Order.
He would only be forced to deal with her when he ascended to the Seventh Order.
In truth, he never believed what she had said even though she appeared sincere.
Just then, a reflective lake came into his sight. There was an island in the middle of the lake where a bamboo forest swayed gently with the wind.
Xia Lin Lang led Yang Kai to land on the island and said impassively, “You’ll start cultivating here from now on. If you want to regain your freedom, you’d better ascend to the Seventh Order soon. When the time comes, I’ll fulfil the agreement we’ve come to.”
Yang Kai nodded, “I’ll try my best, but it’ll definitely take time.”
“Pass me your Space Ring,” Xia Lin Lang extended her hand.
Yang Kai batted his eyes as the sight was familiar to him. He then recalled that he had said the same thing to Luan Bai Feng in a matter-of-factly manner. It seemed that karma had finally come for him.
If Luan Bai Feng were here, she would’ve convulsed with laughter.
With a morose expression, he took off his Space Ring and tossed it at Xia Lin Lang in silence.
After taking it, Xia Lin Lang had a look at it and frowned, “Why are you so poor when you’re a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master?”
In fact, Yang Kai wasn’t poor at all. He had brought an enormous amount of resources with him when he left the Star Boundary; otherwise, the Void Yin-Yang Mirrors couldn’t have been refined. However, most of his things were placed in his Small Universe.
He already had such a habit when he still had the Sealed World Bead. All the valuable items were put in the Sealed World Bead while the miscellaneous items were in his Space Ring.
That was because if he came across any powerful cultivators and got robbed, he would still have his most precious items stashed away somewhere else.
Faced with her pitiful gaze that was tinged with disdain, Yang Kai put on a meek smile, “Although I’m not wealthy, I don’t think I’m considered poor either. These resources are enough for me to cultivate.”
Xia Lin Lang curled up her lips, “Didn’t you say you’re a disciple from Bright King Cave Heaven? You’re a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master from one of the 36 Cave Heavens. Aren’t you worried that your poverty will embarrass your Sect?”
With a cold expression, Yang Kai snapped, “I don’t mind you mocking me, but please stop exposing my weaknesses. What’s the point of putting me in a tight spot while you’re fully aware of my shortcomings?”
Xia Lin Lang pursed her lips, “Stop the pretence, will you?”
She then tossed the Space Ring back at him, “Alright, just cultivate with such rubbish for now. I’ll tell someone to send you some resources later.”
Yang Kai nodded and put on his ring before saying, “By the way, please dispel the restriction in my body; otherwise, it’ll affect my cultivation.”
Xia Lin Lang looked playfully at him. She was fully aware of whether the restriction she had planted would affect his cultivation or not; however, since Yang Kai was like a caged beast now, the restriction was no longer important.
Not willing to waste any time on this issue, she put on a sweet smile and parted her lips, “Just stay here and cultivate. If I catch you running away, I’ll break your legs. If you do it again, I’ll end your life.”
Yang Kai instantly turned pale with horror and hung his head low, “I would never dare to!”
Xia Lin Lang crooked her finger, whereupon silver threads flew out of Yang Kai’s body and turned into a silver light in her hand before disappearing.
Xia Lin Lang was gone, but it wasn’t certain where she headed to. It seemed that she was not worried that Yang Kai would run away at all.
In fact, Yang Kai didn’t have the intention to flee.
Since the World Spring hadn’t been fully refined, his World Force would be sucked into it from time to time, which would cause his Small Universe to descend into chaos. Furthermore, when he took in the shattered Spirit Province where the World Spring was located previously, many impurities had also snuck into his Small Universe. Before he resolved these two major issues, he would never be able to flee from a High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master regardless of how swift he was.
Although the island in the middle of the lake was not large, its view was magnificent. As the bamboo forest swayed with the breeze, the koi fish that came in different colours were seen swimming in the lake. It was truly a stunning sight to behold.
It took Yang Kai two days to build a bamboo hut to shelter himself from the wind and rain. Following that, he set up a simple barrier around the hut to prevent anyone from spying on him before he started cultivating.
He could refine the World Spring at a later time, as the most important task for him now was to purge the impurities from his Small Universe.
While these impurities were inside his Small Universe, he had to spend some effort to suppress them; otherwise, once they assimilated into his Small Universe completely, his foundation would be affected.
Fortunately, it wasn’t the first time such a thing happened to him, so he was already familiar with how to deal with it.
It took him about half a month to restore his Small Universe to its original state.
After settling the problem in his Small Universe, Yang Kai started refining the World Spring. This thing had started settling in on its own since it landed in his Small Universe, so he was just trying to accelerate the process by actively refining it.
Yang Kai hadn’t paid any attention to the World Spring since he was running for his life some time ago. Now that the dust had settled, he realised that as the World Spring absorbed his World Force and became fixed in place, there was an invisible aura that permeated his entire Small Universe which originated from it.
The existence of this aura had fortified and perfected his Small Universe. Even his heritage had been strengthened.
Yang Kai made some calculations and believed that given his current state, it would take him one to two months of hard work before he could fully refine the World Spring. During this process, the amount of World Force that would be consumed would be incalculable.
Although he had chugged down a lot of Open Heaven Pills to replenish his World Force, he still couldn’t make up for the losses.
Following a continuous infusion of World Force for the next two months, the World Spring, which caused Yang Kai’s Small Universe to descend into turmoil from time to time, finally merged with his it.
He instantly felt as ecstatic as a dead tree that had been resurrected. The pressure that had burdened him for months was finally gone for good. He clenched his fists and activated his World Force and confirmed that there were no longer any obstacles that stopped him from circulating his power smoothly.
The World Spring suppressed his Small Universe before being fully refined; otherwise, he could’ve at least counterattacked when dealing with Xia Lin Lang.
After all, he had engaged in life-and-death battles with Zuo Quan Hui before. Regardless of how powerful Xia Lin Lang was, she would not be stronger than Zuo Quan Hui.
Now that he had fully refined the World Spring, it wouldn’t obstruct his World Force and would instead reinforce his Small Universe, making it extremely sturdy and resistant to outside shocks and influence. Unless it was struck with enough force to crack it, his Small Universe wouldn’t fall into chaos again.
While he focused on examining the transformation in his Small Universe, the barrier around the bamboo hut was suddenly triggered. With a frown, Yang Kai looked out intently and realised a tan-skinned young man was standing outside the hut with a gloomy expression on his face. It wasn’t certain why he was so angry, but when he pushed out his fist, Yang Kai’s hastily arranged barrier and bamboo hut fell apart in an instant.
The barrier only served as a cover, and it wasn’t solid enough to ward off any attacks. Although the tan-skinned young man was irritable, he was surprisingly a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, so it was only natural that the thin barrier couldn’t bear his attack.
[There are Open Heaven Realm Masters in this place other than Xia Lin Lang?] Yang Kai furrowed his brow. After giving it a thought though, he relaxed. Although Xia Lin Lang resided in this place, it wasn’t surprising that she had some subordinates as she was a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master.
The moment the bamboo hut came apart, Yang Kai calmly landed on the ground.
As they exchanged glances, the young man examined Yang Kai with a furious expression, “Are you Yang Kai?”
Yang Kai nodded, “Yes.”
The young man snorted as he held a Space Ring in his hand and showed it to the other man, “Palace Master has asked me to pass this thing to you.”
Yang Kai took a look at the demolished bamboo hut and replied with a smile, “Did your Palace Master also ask you to destroy my hut?”
Without directly answering his question, the young man snapped, “I don’t care who you are, but we’ve all risked our lives to obtain the resources in this ring. Every one of them was not easy to come by. I, Qin Fen, wouldn’t disobey the Palace Master since she wants to give you these resources; however, you’ll have to prove your worth before you can get them!”
Finally understanding why the young man named Qin Fen was furious, Yang Kai put on a faint smile.
In order to help him ascend to the Seventh Order sooner, Xia Lin Lang would certainly give him some resources. That was the reason she took a look at his Space Ring some time ago. Nevertheless, it wasn’t easy to collect resources in the Shattered Heaven. As a disciple from Lin Lang Palace, Qin Fen definitely wouldn’t dare to disobey Xia Lin Lang, the Palace Master; however, he was also reluctant to give away resources, which he had exerted himself to find, to a stranger for free.
Since he had nowhere else to vent his anger, Yang Kai’s bamboo hut became the target.
“How do you want to find out whether I’m worthy?” Yang Kai gazed at the young man.
Qin Fen put away the Space Ring and extended his hand before summoning a spear with green and purple lights swirling around it. As his World Force surged, he pushed out the spear towards Yang Kai and bellowed, “Of course we’d have to fight. You’ll get the ring if you’re able to win the battle, but you’ll be killed if you’re defeated.”
Faced with the sudden attack, Yang Kai remained unmoved. However, as his clothes swayed with the wind, his figure started moving backwards like a phantom.
He had retreated several thousand metres in the blink of an eye while the tip of the spear remained seven metres away from his face. The light on the tip of the spear flickered as though it was the tongue of a snake.
Explosions occurred wherever they went, which went to show how powerful Qin Fen’s attack was.
However, regardless of how much force Qin Fen exerted, Yang Kai remained calm and collected, like a senior expert teaching his foolish student a lesson. Yang Kai looked teasingly at him, as though the latter was a child who was throwing a tantrum.
Qin Fen growled, “Stop using cheap tricks and face me directly if you have the guts!” He madly surged his World Force as his spear moved forward two more metres.
Following that, Yang Kai suddenly pushed out his fist.
Qin Fen widened his eyes in disbelief, for he felt an immense force coming right at him. The force whisked across his spear and came at his chest like it was a mountain. The green and purple lights around his spear madly flickered.
A horrified Qin Fen instantly moved backwards, but his chest was still struck by the attack. Upon impact, he tumbled across the surface of the lake as the waves surged. When he finally managed to stabilise himself and looked up, he saw that Yang Kai remained calm and collected while standing in front of the demolished bamboo hut and gazing impassively at him. It was as though he had never moved a muscle.
Upon standing with difficulty, Qin Fen hovered above the lake as a myriad of expressions came over his face. He was overwhelmed by a sense of shock and disbelief.
Both of them were in the Sixth Order, so he didn’t understand why there was such a huge gap between this man named Yang Kai and himself. He was easily defeated by the other party with only one move.
Just now, he felt as though he was facing a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master like the Palace Master instead of a Sixth-Order one.
[Where did this guy come from?] The emotions in Qin Fen’s heart undulated. He only found out some time ago that the Palace Master had brought a stranger back to this place. He initially intended to ignore that man, but the Palace Master had asked him to send some resources to that person. After taking a look at the Space Ring, he realised that there were a lot of resources in it, which was why he was vexed. He wanted to teach the other party a lesson, but in the end, he was the one who suffered a setback instead.
Suppressing the roiling vitality in his chest, Qin Fen stared at the other man with a conflicted gaze. After a snort, he put away his spear and tossed the Space Ring at him, “Since you’ve proved your worth, this thing belongs to you now.”
The ring clanged to the ground. Yang Kai didn’t even bother to take a glance at it.
Qin Fen glared at him, “What do you mean by this?”
With a harmless smile, Yang Kai replied, “Nothing.”
Qin Fen had the urge to ask Yang Kai what the latter meant by nothing, but he knew that he would be humiliated if he really did so. Furthermore, Yang Kai had already made his stance clear. As he darted his gaze between Yang Kai and the Space Ring, he grimly said, “You may kill me, but you may never humiliate me!”
Yang Kai chuckled in response.
At that instant, Qin Fen fell into a dilemma. He was reluctant to pick up the ring and pass it to Yang Kai, but he wouldn’t dare to disobey the Palace Master’s order either, so he had to make sure that his task was completed. Initially, he just wanted to teach Yang Kai a lesson and dropped the ring in front of him like the latter was a beggar. However, he was the one who was embarrassed instead.
Just when Qin Fen didn’t know what to do, Xia Lin Lang suddenly spoke from a distance, “Don’t cross the line, Yang Kai.”
Seeing that Yang Kai remained silent, she went on to say, “Qin Fen, since you’ve destroyed his bamboo hut, you should rebuild it for him.”
Qin Fen respectfully cupped his fist, “Yes, Palace Master!”
Yang Kai pressed his lips into a line, but he still cupped his fist and said “Since you’ve said so, this Yang will obey.”
He would probably suffer horribly if he offended this Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. It still wasn’t the right time to confront her. Since she had made a fair judgement, he decided to make a concession.
Then, he extended his hand and grabbed the Space Ring. Upon infusing his Divine Sense into the ring, he realised there were really a lot of resources inside. Besides Open Heaven Pills, there were more than twenty complete sets of Fifth-Order materials.
There were no Sixth-Order materials. It wasn’t that Xia Lin Lang didn’t want to give him Sixth-Order materials, but be it in the 3,000 Worlds or the Shattered Heaven, all Open Heaven Realm Masters faced the same issue. Yin and Yang Element Materials in the Sixth Order and above were extremely rare while it was easier to find materials of the Five Elements. However, when one cultivated, there couldn’t be a lack of Yin and Yang Element Materials while just refining Five Elements materials, for doing so would disrupt the balance of power in their Small Universe.
As such, when an Open Heaven Realm Master refined cultivation materials, they had to prepare a complete set of Yin, Yang, and the Five Elements.
Other than an opportunity such as entering a Small Source World, the quickest and most effective way for Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters like Yang Kai to cultivate was to refine Sixth-Order materials; however, Sixth-Order Yin and Yang Element materials were hard to come by, so most had to settle for the second-best materials, the Fifth-Order ones.
It was the case for Yang Kai and even for the High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters from the Cave Heavens and Paradises. No one would waste Sixth-Order materials.
More than twenty sets of Fifth-Order materials and thirty million Open Heaven Pills could only last Yang Kai for about half a year.
Since Xia Lin Lang had given the order, Qin Fen wouldn’t dare to disobey her; therefore, for the next few days, he had been building a bamboo hut for Yang Kai. He initially intended to build a sloppy one, but what made him furious was that Yang Kai had been instructing him like a supervisor the whole time.
Qin Fen had a strong urge to kill this guy with his spear.
A few days later, the bamboo hut was finally completed. Qin Fen instantly left the place without sparing Yang Kai a glance, for he was worried he wouldn’t be able to contain his fury.
Nothing major happened in the days that followed.
No one would bother Yang Kai while he stayed on the island in the middle of the lake, so he could focus on cultivating.
Since he ascended to the Open Heaven Realm, he had rarely had any chance to sit and cultivate in peace. In the past, he was forced to ascend to the Fifth Order outside the Shadowless Cave Heaven. After entering it, he consumed a World Fruit and made it to the Sixth Order. Following that, he had to travel to many places and deal with a lot of issues. Sometimes he would have some free time, but he would soon have to get to work again.
Although he was forcefully brought to this place by Xia Lin Lang, it could also be considered an opportunity for him as he could seize this chance to strengthen his cultivation. After ascending to the Open Heaven Realm, a cultivator had to carefully manage their Small Universe, a process that couldn’t be rushed as it took years of accumulation.
What was more important was that he was given free resources. Although he didn’t really care about it since he was pretty wealthy now, no one would turn down free resources.
Half a year later, Yang Kai had used up all the resources Qin Fen had sent him.
He didn’t ask for more resources from Xia Lin Lang though, because normally, so many resources could last a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master two or three years.
Fortunately, he still had a lot of resources in his Small Universe, so he wouldn’t have to stop cultivating.
This way of cultivating was extremely dreary, but it was inescapable for all Open Heaven Realm Masters. As time passed, Yang Kai managed to calm himself and slowly understand his own deficiencies.
The reason he made it to the Sixth Order from the Fifth Order was that he had consumed a Mid-Rank World Fruit. After that, due to various opportunities, his cultivation had increased significantly. Although there were many benefits in the short term since his power had risen quickly, there were some barely noticeable dangers that would snowball into something serious in the long term if not addressed.
These hidden concerns wouldn’t break out so soon, but as his cultivation increased, it would slowly affect his foundation, and once that happened, the situation would become very serious.
Hence, now was the perfect chance for Yang Kai to rectify these problems since he could focus on cultivating in peace right now.
On the other hand, this Universe Cave Heaven was indeed rich in Spear Dao Essence. Qin Fen, who had provoked Yang Kai some time ago, also used a spear, and his mastery of Spear Dao was actually better than Yang Kai’s. However, since there was a huge gap between their strength, he was defeated by Yang Kai with only one move.
If their heritages were the same, and they both used spears to battle, Yang Kai might not be able to defeat Qin Fen despite having the Supreme Limitless Spear Art.
While cultivating, he also never forgot to improve his comprehension of the Spear Dao using the Dao Essence filling this Universe Cave Heaven.
Time passed by quickly and Yang Kai never stepped out of the bamboo hut. All he did was cultivate with his legs crossed.
New resources would be sent to him every three years, but it was no longer Qin Fen who did so. Since he was defeated by Yang Kai before, he wouldn’t have the face to come to this island again. The person who was responsible for sending him resources was a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, but they never even spoke. After arriving at the island in the middle of the lake, he would hurriedly pass a ring to Yang Kai and leave.
For the past ten years, Yang Kai had not seen Xia Lin Lang again, making him wonder what she had been doing.
Ten years was neither a short nor long time, and it certainly was not enough for Yang Kai to significantly increase the heritage of his Small Universe. However, it was enough for him to achieve greater heights in his Spear Dao.
Originally, his mastery over the Spear Dao was only in the Third Level, Taking the Initial Steps. Nevertheless, after ten years of study and comprehension, he had reached the Fifth Level, Attaining Mastery Through Comprehensive Understanding.
There were four Daos that Yang Kai had significant attainments in. His Dao of Space was at the Eighth Level, Summiting the Peak, while his Dao of Time had reached the Sixth Level, Exceeding the Ordinary to Reach the Extraordinary. Additionally, his Spear Dao was now on the level of Attaining Mastery Through Comprehensive Understanding.
On the other hand, he had all but given up on the Alchemic Dao. If nothing unexpected happened, he probably wouldn’t spend any time and energy to improve it again.
One day, while cultivating, Yang Kai opened his eyes and looked up. He could sense Xia Lin Lang’s aura appearing in a particular direction as she turned into a ray of light. Soon, she left this Universe Cave Heaven and disappeared into the distance.
Yang Kai became startled for a moment, before putting on a grin, “Today is the day. The chance has finally come!”
Without hesitation, he stood up and dashed out of the bamboo hut. After taking a look into the distance, he disappeared from the spot the next instant.
There was a palace in the place where Xia Lin Lang’s aura appeared just now. It was also her foundation, Lin Lang Palace.
A moment later, Yang Kai revealed his figure in front of a magnificent palace. While looking up, he muttered, “Just as I suspected!”
Just like the Heavenly Sword Palace, the palace in front of him named Lin Lang Palace was also a flying palace artifact.
In fact, Heavenly Sword Palace wasn’t the first mobile palace artifact Yang Kai had seen, the Flowing Time Temple was. Blood Monster Divine Palace in the Blood Monster Cave Heaven was also such a palace artifact.
However, the Flowing Time Temple was a product of the Star Boundary. Although it belonged to Flowing Time Great Emperor when he was alive, it was inferior to the other mobile palaces Yang Kai had seen. The Flowing Time Temple was invincible in a battle between cultivators below the Open Heaven Realm; nevertheless, in a fight between Open Heaven Realm Masters, it was practically useless.
Strictly speaking, the Blood Monster Divine Palace was the first true mobile palace artifact Yang Kai had come across.
Unfortunately, when the Blood Monster Cave Heaven collapsed, the Blood Monster Divine Palace was also destroyed.
Meanwhile, Lin Lang Palace was also a palace artifact. Just like the status of Blood Monster Divine Palace in Blood Monster Cave Heaven, Lin Lang Palace was the centre of this Universe Cave Heaven. It was very important as it was just like the Array Core of a Grand Array.
The one who obtained Lin Lang Palace would be able to control this Universe Cave Heaven.
Presently, Lin Lang Palace had been left with Xia Lin Lang’s Imprint, so she was its owner.
Yang Kai had been cultivating in seclusion for the past ten years because, first, he indeed needed to calm down and cultivate, and secondly, he couldn’t confront Xia Lin Lang since he was no match for her in this Universe Cave Heaven where she held all the advantages.
However, he would certainly want to counterattack when there was a chance. Yang Kai wouldn’t risk his life for the magnanimity of a woman he was at odds with.
As soon as Yang Kai showed up, a figure shot out of Lin Lang Palace. It was Qin Fen, who was defeated by Yang Kai before. While glaring at him, he demanded, “What are you doing here?”
Before the Palace Master left, she told him to keep an eye on Yang Kai. It never crossed his mind though that right after the Palace Master left, this guy would show up here. It was obvious that this bastard had some ill intentions.
Yang Kai retracted his gaze from the palace and took a glance at Qin Fen before smiling and declaring, “Those who stand in my way will die!”
An unperturbed Qin Fen snapped with a cold expression, “You can give it a try!”
Certainly, Yang Kai was going to try. He turned into a beam of light and shot towards Qin Fen. As though recalling the defeat ten years ago, Qin Fen couldn’t help but take a few steps back; however, before Yang Kai even got close to him, a light barrier appeared around Lin Lang Palace. Yang Kai crashed into the light barrier, causing the entire palace to shake. Although the light became dented, it wasn’t broken in any way.
Yang Kai flew back 300 metres before standing still in a calm manner.
Qin Fen sneered, “Palace Master knew that you’d create trouble after she left, so she had made some preparations. You’d better leave now; otherwise, no one can save you when Palace Master returns.”
Yang Kai extended his hand and summoned out his Azure Dragon Spear before uttering impassively, “If Xia Lin Lang was still inside Lin Lang Palace, I naturally wouldn’t dare to make a scene; however, since you’re the one who is in charge now, what’s the percentage of the palace’s power that you can use?”
Qin Fen snorted, “More than enough to deal with you!”
Yang Kai grinned, “The biggest mistake Xia Lin Lang made is regarding me as an average Sixth-Order Master. Let’s find out how many of my attacks this barrier can bear, shall we?”
After he finished speaking, Yang Kai pushed his World Force and infused it into his spear before thrusting out his weapon.
Qin Fen wanted to mock him, but when the spear came into contact with the light barrier, it actually flickered noticeably. Although Xia Lin Lang had given him some temporary powers, Qin Fen was still stunned by the attack.
A flabbergasted Qin Fen hurriedly fished out a jade and performed a hand seal. By activating the power of the jade, he could control the Grand Array.
Just like Yang Kai had said though, Lin Lang Palace belonged to Xia Lin Lang. Even though she had given Qin Fen temporary authority to control the Grand Array before she left, he couldn’t fully use its power.
Yang Kai’s attacks continuously rained down on the light barrier of the Grand Array.
In the past, Yang Kai couldn’t have achieved this even though his spear technique was already fairly powerful; however, after ten years of cultivation in seclusion, while he hadn’t improved the heritage of his Small Universe much, he had gained quite a bit of insight into the Spear Dao.
As he wielded his spear, the Spear Principles in the Universe Cave Heaven seemed to have been stimulated, which helped empower Yang Kai.
Qin Fen staggered while he kept performing different hand seals, but he couldn’t stop the light barrier from dimming. Impacted by the turmoil in Lin Lang Palace, his Small Universe had also become unsteady.
After about 100 attacks from Yang Kai, the barrier around Lin Lang Palace broke into pieces like a shattered mirror. Qin Fen fell on his backside as blood streamed out of his mouth and nose.
With his spear in hand, Yang Kai sauntered up the stairs as though no one else was around.
Seeing this, Qin Fen gritted his teeth and roared. He then summoned his cyan spear and fearlessly attacked Yang Kai.
Yang Kai lightly swung his Azure Dragon Spear, and as the spears brushed past each other, his spear jabbed into Qin Fen’s shoulder, drawing a spurt of blood from the latter. He then lifted Qin Fen off his feet with his spear.
On the other hand, the tip of Qin Fen’s spear was just a palm’s length from Yang Kai’s chest, flashing with ample World Force. However, even a palm’s length was like the difference between life and death in this situation.
After his defeat on the island in the middle of the lake, Qin Fen knew that there was a gap between Yang Kai and him, but what horrified him was that the gap was so wide.
He could use the excuse of being negligent for his previous defeat, but in the life-and-death battle just now, he was still overpowered by the other party with ease.
The outcome gave Qin Feng a crawling sensation on his scalp.
He had never seen or heard of such a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master before. The Palace Master had left, and the Grand Array around Lin Lang Palace was unable to stop this person’s steps. Who else in this place could be a match for him?
He didn’t blame Yang Kai for being ruthless; he just hated the fact that he was unable to protect the palace while the Palace Master was gone.
As blood spurted, Yang Kai tossed Qin Fen away from his spear and activated his Cow Punch Secret Technique. Instantly, Qin Fen felt dizzy as his Small Universe shook violently. He was unable to come to his senses for a long time.
Just then, a few figures shot out of Lin Lang Palace. The person who always sent the resources to Yang Kai over the years was among them. There were also several Fifth-Order and Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters he had never seen before.
They rushed over to have a look the moment they heard the noises that were coming from Lin Lang Palace, but it was too late. When they saw that Qin Fen’s shoulder was covered in blood while he was seated on the ground, they were astonished.
They then glared at the culprit Yang Kai as their murderous intent surged.
“Stop embarrassing yourselves. Even together, all of you are no match for him!” Qin Fen shouted with difficulty. In Lin Lang Palace, he was the strongest apart from Xia Lin Lang, but he was defeated by Yang Kai in just one move. If it weren’t because Yang Kai didn’t have the intention to kill, he would’ve lost his life already.
Although there were some Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters among those people, they wouldn’t be able to deal with Yang Kai.
Qin Fen’s words were effective in stopping them from making any rash moves. Those people appeared furious and eager to fight, but they still held their anger in and did not make a move. One woman circumvented Yang Kai and walked up to Qin Fen before helping him up with a worried expression.
Qin Fen waved his hand to show that he was fine, though the upheaval in his Small Universe didn’t seem like it would settle any time soon. An invisible force had permeated his Small Universe and thrown it into absolute chaos.
He then wiped the blood from his mouth and stared coldly at Yang Kai, “So, what if we’re no match for you? In Lin Lang Palace, you’re unable to flee without the Palace Master’s permission. I suggest you retreat now; otherwise, you’ll be killed when the Palace Master returns.”
Yang Kai snorted, “Retreat, why should I retreat?”
Although Lin Lang Palace was a Universe Cave Heaven left behind by a High-Rank Master with a closed portal, it was still possible for Yang Kai to flee if he wanted to. As an expert in the Dao of Space, he just had to head to the portal and forcefully open it. Once he ran away from this place, Xia Lin Lang wouldn’t be able to harm him despite being a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master.
With that said, Yang Kai never had any intentions of fleeing. He had waited for ten years before Xia Lin Lang finally left, because he decided to do something big.
Qin Fen suddenly paled as he gazed at Yang Kai’s right hand, “What are you trying to do?”
At this moment, Yang Kai was holding a jade in his right hand as he fiddled with it.
The jade was given to Qin Fen by Xia Lin Lang before she left. It was the jade that was used to control Lin Lang Palace.
Qin Fen had no idea when Yang Kai had snatched the jade from him. It was probably during the time he was in a dazed state due to the turmoil in his Small Universe.
Upon realising Yang Kai’s plan, Qin Fen was instantly drenched in cold sweat. He already felt guilty that he couldn’t stop Yang Kai from barging into Lin Lang Palace, but if Yang Kai managed to refine the palace as well, Qin Fen would never forgive himself.
“This thing is pretty easy to refine.” Yang Kai put on a smile. As he waved his hand, Lin Lang Palace shook a little while an invisible force swept out. Qin Fen and the other Open Heaven Realm Masters were sent flying away by this force. When they landed on the ground, they were already outside of the palace.
The light barrier, which Yang Kai had shattered earlier, reappeared and blocked them out.
Of course, a jade that was used to control a palace artifact couldn’t be refined easily. In fact, Yang Kai had only refined a little of it and there was still a lot to do.
Since Xia Lin Lang decided to pass this jade to Qin Fen so that he could protect Lin Lang Palace, she naturally had to get rid of her own Imprint from it in advance.
Therefore, only Qin Fen’s aura was now left in the jade, which was why Yang Kai could easily dispel it. It wouldn’t have been easy if Xia Lin Lang’s aura were still inside it.
In fact, Xia Lin Lang hadn’t made any mistakes in her arrangements. Qin Fen and Yang Kai were both in the Sixth Order, and although Qin Fen appeared to be weaker than Yang Kai in the battle on the island previously, he should have been able to deal with an opponent in the same Order with the help of Lin Lang Palace. Furthermore, there were other Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters in the palace to assist if something went wrong.
Xia Lin Lang believed that with such arrangements in place, Yang Kai wouldn’t be able to carry out any scheme he had even though she had left.
Unfortunately, she had greatly underestimated Yang Kai’s strength.
Qin Fen had only temporarily taken over Lin Lang Palace, so he was unable draw out its full power. On the other hand, Yang Kai was overwhelming and acted resolute in every move he made. After breaking the Grand Array around the palace, he directly snatched the jade from Qin Fen.
That was the reason Yang Kai said that Xia Lin Lang had made a mistake by regarding him to be an average Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. It wasn’t that Xia Lin Lang was careless, but a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master like Yang Kai was too unique. Common sense was not applicable to a monster like him.
After they were pushed out of the palace, one of the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters became furious and wanted to make a move, but Qin Fen raised his hand to stop him, “Stop wasting your energy. The Grand Array of Lin Lang Palace has been activated. You won’t be able to break it.”
As he spoke, a renewed sense of horror came over him. Yang Kai managed to break the Grand Array around Lin Lang Palace with a burst of about 100 attacks. It indeed had something to do with the fact that the Grand Array’s power had been weakened under Qin Fen’s control, but the major issue was that there was a huge gap between his strength and Yang Kai’s.
He initially thought that he could shorten this gap if he cultivated hard, but now it seemed that even if he reached the peak of the Sixth Order, he still wouldn’t be able to defeat Yang Kai. At that instant, he felt extremely bitter in his heart.
It was expected that he was haughty since he was able to make it to the Sixth Order, but the experience on this day was like a slap in the face for him, making him realise that there were always people beyond people out there.
“Do we just watch and do nothing then?” The Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master was impolite as he blamed Qin Fen for losing the jade of Lin Lang Palace.
Following a sigh, Qin Fen replied, “The portal in this place is sealed, so he can’t flee anyway. He’ll only suffer miserably when Palace Master returns.”
Upon hearing that, all of them were lost for words.
Meanwhile, Yang Kai shuffled towards the centre of Lin Lang Palace.
In just a while, he arrived at a spacious Grand Hall with nothing in it. However, the abstruse patterns of a Grand Array were carved on the ground and walls. Amazing aura was seen weltering within the Grand Array, and it was clearly closely connected to the Universe Cave Heaven.
This was apparently the place where the central Grand Array of Lin Lang Palace was located. This Grand Array was linked to the jade in his hand.
Yang Kai then walked up to the middle of the Grand Array and sat down with his legs crossed. Following that, he crossed his fingers and placed his hands on his lap, the Array Jade nestled between his palms.
As he activated his World Force, Yang Kai infused his power into the jade and refined it.
He wasn’t considered powerful since he was just a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, but he was definitely not weak either. As a result, it was easy for him to refine a basically ownerless Array Jade.
He wasn’t certain why Xia Lin Lang had left or when she would return, so he didn’t dare to be negligent.
Presently, he was still not a match for a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. Lin Lang Palace would be the key if he wanted to go up against Xia Lin Lang; otherwise, he would’ve forcefully opened the portal and fled instead of wasting time here.
Xia Lin Lang thought that there wouldn’t be a problem with Qin Fen in charge of the palace, which went to show that she still underestimated Yang Kai.
It was easy to refine the jade in the initial stage, but it became increasingly difficult as he progressed further.
It took Yang Kai half a month before he fully refined the jade.
As he slowly opened his eyes though, he became dumbfounded. Soon, he snapped out of the dazed state and snarled, “That woman is so sly! I’ve never seen a more cunning person than her!”
He appeared incensed as he was in a terrible mood.
This couldn’t be helped, as he realised that he could only control half of Lin Lang Palace’s power through this jade even after he fully refined it.
In other words, this Array Jade wasn’t complete, with its other part still in Xia Lin Lang’s hands.
This was quite embarrassing. The main reason Yang Kai had taken the risk to stay was to refine Lin Lang Palace. As long as he could occupy this palace, he would no longer be afraid of Xia Lin Lang since he would be able to control the entire Universe Cave Heaven through the palace and make use of the World Force in this place to deal with her. This was a Universe Cave Heaven left behind by a cultivator who was at least in the Eighth Order. If Yang Kai managed to succeed, Xia Lin Lang wouldn’t be able to harm him despite being a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master.
However, after he spent so much effort refining the jade, he realised that Xia Lin Lang had pulled a trick.
In that case, he was the half-owner of Lin Lang Palace, the same as Xia Lin Lang. No one was at an advantage in this regard.
Yang Kai had no idea whether Xia Lin Lang was being careful or that there were originally two parts of the Array Jade, but his plan was now impossible to complete.
Fortunately, there was still a benefit to his actions to be excited about.
Outside Lin Lang Palace, even though Qin Fen was still slightly pale, he was actually fine as the wound on his shoulder was almost healed. Even if a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master had never practised Body Tempering before, their physique would still be pretty sturdy. Although Yang Kai was decisive in his moves, he didn’t have the intention to kill, so it took just half a month for Qin Fen to fully recover.
During this period of time, he and his companions had been staying outside Lin Lang Palace with grim expressions. In the meantime, they prayed that their Palace Master would return sooner to teach that reckless bastard a hard lesson.
Just then, Qin Fen sensed something and looked up at the sky. The next instant, his expression changed drastically as he stood straight up and glared at Lin Lang Palace.
Besides him, the two other Open Heaven Realm Masters, who were respectively in the Sixth Order and the Fifth Order, did the same.
The remaining three people had no idea why Qin Fen and the others had reacted in such a way.
“That crazy bastard!” Qin Fen growled through clenched teeth.
Another Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master appeared to be heartbroken, “He’s basically drying out the lake to catch the fish!”
Although the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master didn’t say anything, he pressed his lips together with a gloomy expression.
At this point, their companions finally realised that something was off. The woman, who helped Qin Fen up earlier, was standing beside him as she asked gently, “Senior Brother Qin, is that person absorbing Spear Dao Essence?”
With reddened eyes, Qin Fen nodded.
The woman let out a sigh.
The original owner of this Universe Cave Heaven was a Master of the Spear Dao before his death, which was a well-known fact, so the Spear Dao Essence in this place was quite abundant. Therefore, be it the Open Heaven Realm Masters or the other sentient beings raised in this place, many of them were good at using spears.
Ironically, the current owner of Lin Lang Palace, Xia Lin Lang, knew little about the Spear Dao.
In the past, Qin Fen would always cultivate together with the other two Open Heaven Realm Masters who were adept at the Spear Dao. They could easily achieve greater heights in the Spear Dao due to the unique environment in this Universe Cave Heaven.
If this Universe Cave Heaven was like a pond, the ample Spear Dao Essence in this place was like the fish, and the people who were adept at the Spear Dao were like the anglers on the shore. As for how many fish they could catch, it depended on their talent and opportunities.
Qin Fen’s innate aptitude was excellent, which was why he had built a solid foundation in the Spear Dao. Xia Lin Lang once said that if Qin Fen could keep achieving greater heights, he would have a chance to receive the inheritance of this Universe Cave Heaven that the previous owner had left behind.
It was the inheritance of an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, so it was expected that everyone had their eyes on it. Qin Fen had always regarded himself to be the only choice to succeed the inheritance.
However, at this moment, someone had brought a giant net with very small holes to this pond that was full of fish.
After he was done with catching the fish, there wouldn’t be many, if any left for everyone else.
That was the reason Qin Fen was heartbroken, and it was the same case for the other two Open Heaven Realm Masters who were experts in the Spear Dao.
Inside Lin Lang Palace, Yang Kai, who was seated with his legs crossed in the middle of the Grand Array, could clearly feel the abstruse aura streaming into his body from all directions, which helped him quickly comprehend the Spear Dao. The sense of enlightenment made him feel ecstatic.
The moment he was brought to this place by Xia Lin Lang, he could feel that the Spear Dao Essence in this place was abundant. It was the reason he had improved his comprehension of the Spear Dao by two levels in just ten years.
Nevertheless, he wasn’t content with just that. His goal had always been to absorb all of the Spear Dao Essence in this place. As for whether his actions were considered drying out the lake to catch the fish, he didn’t give a damn.
Since Xia Lin Lang was trying to harm him, he certainly had to get his revenge.
Although Yang Kai already had this plan a long time ago, he was unable to carry it out. Now that he had refined half of Lin Lang Palace, he had the right to do it now.
Other than being a palace artifact, Lin Lang Palace was also the command centre of the entire Universe Cave Heaven. Streams of aura around the edge of the Grand Array were closely connected to the Universe Cave Heaven, and every move made here would have far-reaching implications.
The status of Lin Lang Palace in this Universe Cave Heaven was the same as that of Blood Monster Divine Palace in the Blood Monster Cave Heaven. The reason Blood Crow wanted to refine Blood Monster Divine Palace back then was to take control of the entire Blood Monster Cave Heaven.
Even though Yang Kai had only refined half of Lin Lang Palace, he could do whatever he wanted, seeing as the controller of the other half wasn’t around.
Streams of existent but faintly discernible Spear Dao Essence were being absorbed by Yang Kai, which greatly improved his mastery over the Spear Dao. Although he couldn’t comprehend the Dao by blindly drawing it in, he would be able to digest it in the future.
The transformation going on in the Universe Cave Heaven was silent. Only the Open Heaven Realm Masters who were adept at the Spear Dao could clearly feel its loss. As time passed, the originally ample Spear Dao Essence soon became sparse and disappeared.
Qin Fen appeared to be devastated. Although Yang Kai had occupied Lin Lang Palace, Xia Lin Lang could still retrieve it upon her return. Nevertheless, the loss of Dao Essence was irreversible.
In the Grand Array of Lin Lang Palace, Yang Kai, who was seated with his legs crossed, belched as though he was full.
While he was seated there, his Spear Intent surged as though he was an invincible spear himself. Certainly, he couldn’t digest all the Spear Dao Essence in a short time, but as long as he could assimilate it into his body, he believed that he could still improve his comprehension of the Spear Dao by another two levels, which would mean that it would be his second most powerful Grand Dao after the Dao of Space.
He had refined half of Lin Lang Palace and snatched all the Spear Dao Essence in this Universe Cave Heaven. Although he was forcefully brought to this place, he had gained immense benefits in the end.
After what he had done, Yang Kai knew that he couldn’t stay here any longer. Certainly, he wouldn’t wait for Xia Lin Lang to return and settle the score with him.
Lin Lang Palace couldn’t be taken away. In truth, he could forcefully bring it with him, but by doing so it would cause the Universe Cave Heaven to collapse. While those living inside this place would end up in a miserable state, Xia Lin Lang would also be determined to kill him.
As Space Principles undulated, Yang Kai disappeared from the spot the next moment.
When he reappeared, he was already in front of the portal where he previously passed through to enter this place.
Xia Lin Lang’s aura also disappeared in this place when she left some time ago.
Initially, Yang Kai thought that given his master of the Dao of Space, it wouldn’t be hard for him to open the portal even though he would need to spend some effort. However, upon arriving at this place, he was shocked to realise that there were no traces of a portal here at all.
After searching around for half a day, he still couldn’t find it.
This caused Yang Kai to frown, but a thought flashed through his mind the next moment. As the half-owner of Lin Lang Palace, he could connect to the entire Universe Cave Heaven and look for the portal. It wouldn’t be easy if Xia Lin Lang was here, but since she wasn’t around, he could basically do whatever he wanted.
Soon, Yang Kai discovered something.
His eyes widened in amazement because not only was the portal hidden, but it also kept moving to new spots as time passed. It was then he realised the reason he couldn’t find the portal was that it was on the move. He had wasted half a day as he thought that the portal was still in its original spot.
Since he had found the portal, he instantly activated his Space Principles in an attempt to forcefully open it.
Half a day later, he wore a livid expression.
The portal had been sealed off by Xia Lin Lang as it was now connected to the entire Universe Cave Heaven. Unless he possessed a power that surpassed the heritage in this place, he could never force it open.
Basically, she wouldn’t allow him to leave.
It was no wonder that despite knowing that Yang Kai was an expert in the Dao of Space, she still left the place without worries. It was apparent that she knew he couldn’t break open the portal.
Although he was a half-owner of this place, his foundation was still weak. On the other hand, Xia Lin Lang had been managing this place for a long time, so it wasn’t surprising that she had left behind some tricks.
After a moment of silence, Yang Kai turned around and returned to Lin Lang Palace.
Since she wouldn’t allow him to leave, he would just stay here then. Previously, he was a captive who was powerless to go against Xia Lin Lang; however, now, he already had the capital to challenge the Seventh-Order woman. In fact, he was not afraid of her return. The reason he wanted to leave was that he didn’t want to get into a pointless fight with her.
He moved around by using Space Principles, so Qin Fen and the others, who had been waiting outside of Lin Lang Palace, were not aware he had even left.
In the days that followed, Yang Kai stayed inside Lin Lang Palace to cultivate while trying to assimilate the Spear Dao Essence into his body.
Half a month later, he suddenly opened his eyes and appeared on the roof of the palace before looking up.
Half a month wasn’t enough for him to fully absorb all the Dao Essence, but he was now only one step away from the Sixth Level in his Spear Dao.
A ray of light was approaching from the distance. Before she even arrived, she already noticed the transformation this place had gone through. Her grim gaze penetrated the void and clashed with that of Yang Kai as her murderous intent surged.
In response, Yang Kai flashed a smile at her.
After the curvy figure landed outside Lin Lang Palace, Qin Fen and the others, who looked like young kids who had been bullied while the adults were not around, wailed, “Palace Master!”
Xia Lin Lang sported a calm expression and looked up at Yang Kai, who was standing on the palace roof. Beneath her calmness was a volcano of fury that was about to burst.
A guilty Qin Fen said, “Palace Master, I’m sorry for disappointing you. Yang Kai barged into Lin Lang Palace and snatched the Array Jade. He then occupied the palace and forcefully absorbed the Spear Dao Essence. I’m so sorry!”
Xia Lin Lang gently waved her hand without saying a word.
Seeing that, Qin Fen felt even more guilty.
Standing on the roof, Yang Kai extended his hand with a smile.
The next moment, Xia Lin Lang landed on a spot that was ten metres beside Yang Kai and stood alongside him. She then snorted, “It seems that I’ve underestimated you.”
“The view here is magnificent,” Yang Kai replied, but it had nothing to do with what she had said.
“Did you hide your true strength previously?” Xia Lin Lang turned to look at him. Although her figure was shorter than Yang Kai’s, her gaze was condescending. As a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, she had the right to be haughty.
Yang Kai said with a smile, “I’ve never had a chance to show my true strength, so I don’t think it could be considered that I’ve hidden anything.”
The World Spring started settling down in his Small Universe when Xia Lin Lang captured him. Since his Small Universe had been suppressed by it, he was unable to fully use his power.
“Why did you not run away after doing so many terrible things? Are you waiting for death here?” Xia Lin Lang looked mockingly at him. She then derided him by saying, “Oh, I’ve forgotten that even though you’re adept at the Dao of Space, you couldn’t leave this place without my permission.”
Like a wise old man, Yang Kai snuck his hands into his sleeves and said sincerely, “That’s why I’ve been waiting here to have a discussion with you.”
“Go on.”
“Open the portal and let me leave. After that, we’ll have nothing to do with each other anymore.”
Xia Lin Lang examined him for a moment before saying, “I’ll just regard it as you spouting nonsense.” She extended her hand, “Pass the Array Jade to me, and I can pretend that nothing has happened. I’ll still wait for you to ascend to the Seventh Order; otherwise, I’ll kill you even though I might lose the World Spring. After your death, the Dao Essence you’ve stolen will return to this place, and even your own Dao Essence will stay. In that case, we haven’t actually suffered any loss.”
Yang Kai sighed, “When one’s strength is weak, their words carry no weight.”
Xia Lin Lang sneered, “Do you think you have the capital to haggle with me now?”
With a frown, Yang Kai gave it a thought for a moment before saying calmly, “Don’t I?”
Xia Lin Lang roared, “Brat, don’t go too far! My patience is limited. You won’t gain anything by offending me!”
Following a sigh, Yang Kai said, “It seems that we have no choice but to fight.” He then extended his hand and summoned his spear before pointing it at her, “Come on, Grandma!”
“Grandma?” Xia Lin Lang, who had the appearance of a beautiful young woman, felt humiliated as her facial features contorted.
Qin Fen and the others, who were waiting outside of Lin Lang Palace, were instantly drenched in cold sweat.
The next instant, an intense battle began.
Xia Lin Lang forcefully pushed out her palm towards Yang Kai who was just ten metres away. The World Force of a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master surged from her petite palm like a tsunami. There was no holding back of her power as she was seemingly infuriated by what Yang Kai called her.
An unperturbed Yang Kai parried the attack with his spear.
As their World Forces clashed, the air blast turned into a ripple and spread out.
Azure Dragon Spear became bent, as though it would break at any moment. Faced with the overwhelming power, Yang Kai made use of the force to fly backwards and open some distance.
However, Xia Lin Lang’s attacks were continuous as she landed strikes on him like a storm.
Yang Kai kept moving backwards, as though he was powerless to counterattack.
Three breaths later, he was already several hundred thousand kilometres away. He couldn’t move backwards any longer since there was a mountain behind him. Upon impact, he flew away like a sack and smashed into the mountain.
The mountain collapsed and engulfed Yang Kai in it. As the dust rose, Xia Lin Lang hovered in mid-air as she looked down in a condescending manner.
A moment later, Yang Kai shot out of the rubble. Although he appeared a little battered as blood leaked from his mouth, his aura remained stable.
He jabbed his spear into the ground and let out a breath before remarking, “The Four Universe Pillars live up to their reputation!”
If he had to directly deal with the ferocious attacks from a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master before fully refining the World Spring, his Small Universe would’ve descended into chaos by now. When he fought against Zuo Quan Hui previously, he was constantly at a disadvantage and restricted in many ways mainly due to the instability in his Small Universe.
However, with the presence of the World Spring, his Small Universe remained stable regardless of how powerful Xia Lin Lang’s strikes were. It didn’t even shake a little.
The presence of the World Spring was like sturdy armour covering his Small Universe. Even when Yang Kai was faced with an opponent with a stronger heritage, he wouldn’t be at a disadvantage.
Certainly, if the opponent was powerful enough to break that armour, the World Spring wouldn’t be able to ensure the stability of his Small Universe any longer. Although Xia Lin Lang was a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master though, she didn’t have the power to shatter the World Spring’s protection.
It could be said that with the World Spring in possession, Yang Kai had reached greater heights in his combat strength as he now had the capital to battle against opponents that were in higher Orders than him.
“Is that the reason you’re so confident?” Xia Lin Lang looked impassively at him, “If you think there’s nothing I can do just because you have the World Spring, you’re wrong.”
Even though he had an impeccable defence, he wouldn’t be able to defeat the other party without the power to fight back.
Yang Kai wiped away the blood from his mouth and put on a grin, “Even though the World Spring is amazing, it’s just an external aid. If my confidence hinged on any mere tools, I wouldn’t have survived till this day.”
A frown appeared on Xia Lin Lang’s face as she finally saw the boy in front of her in a different light.
Yang Kai raised his spear and got ready before speaking shouting, “Pear Flower!”
In an instant, Xia Lin Lang was alarmed because the moment Yang Kai lifted his spear, the entire Universe Cave Heaven seemed to resonate with him. Looking up, she realised that Yang Kai’s figure seemed to have turned into a razor-sharp spear.
As the half-owner of this Universe Cave Heaven, Xia Lin Lang snorted while trying to suppress the world’s resonance with him.
Yang Kai smiled, “Both of us are half-owners of this place; however, it seems that this world favours me!”
There was a grim expression on Xia Lin Lang’s face as she realised that she was unable to suppress the resonance.
It wasn’t that she, as a half-owner, was inferior to Yang Kai in terms of control. In fact, they were equally matched when it came to their ability to manipulate the Universe Cave Heaven.
Therefore, she had never thought about making use of the Universe Cave Heaven’s power to deal with him, nor did Yang Kai have this plan, for it was pointless to do that. By doing so they would only deplete the heritage of this Universe Cave Heaven.
They were indeed equal when it came to their control over this world, but there was no doubt that this World favoured the outsider Yang Kai instead of Xia Lin Lang, who had been living in this place for a long time.
That was because Yang Kai had absorbed all the Spear Dao Essence in this place, so he could be considered a successor to the inheritance of its original owner.
With a solemn expression, Yang Kai declared, “The title of this Universe Cave Heaven’s original owner was Pear Flower Divine Monarch, and that palace’s true name is Pear Flower Palace, not Lin Lang Palace!”
Xia Lin Lang snapped, “I can call it whatever I want. It’s none of your business!”
Yang Kai replied dispassionately, “It was none of my business in the past. However, since I’ve obtained Senior Pear Flower’s inheritance, I have a duty to make things right.”
He then pointed his spear at her and drew a deep breath. With the resonance of this world, his aura surged massively, “My name is Yang Kai, and I’m eternally grateful for your inheritance, Divine Monarch. Today, I borrow your power, so I do not disappoint your expectations!”
As he gently pushed out his Azure Dragon Spear, Yang Kai roared once again, “Pear Flower!”
At that instant, all the pear trees in this world seemed to have blossomed.
The shadows of his spear filled the entire world and engulfed Xia Lin Lang. With the help of the World’s power, his strike was horrifyingly strong while World Force gushed form his own Small Universe like a raging tide.
As he made a move, the Grand Hall of the place named Lin Lang Palace by Xia Lin Lang, which was supposed to be Pear Flower Palace, radiated a dazzling glow as Spear Intent filled the world. Qin Fen and the other Open Heaven Realm Masters, who were experts in the Spear Dao, were dumbstruck as they looked at the sky of Pear Flower Blossoms. Their eyes were filled with amazement as it was the most beautiful sight they had ever seen.
A moment seemed to have passed, but it was also as if 10 million years had gone by. When the spear shadows dissipated, Xia Lin Lang’s figure appeared battered.
Presently, her face was slightly pale. There were some cuts on her clothes, and her hair was a mess. Her twin peaks heaved as she glowered at Yang Kai.
While she clenched her teeth, blood streamed out from the corner of her mouth.
Yang Kai put on a grin, “I can do this three more times.”
Xia Lin Lang’s face twitched. The attack with the help of Pear Flower Cave Heaven’s power was equivalent to the all-out attack of a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. The fact that she could parry it showed that she was truly powerful. Although she wasn’t severely wounded, she wasn’t completely fine either.
She would be badly injured if she had to deal with the same kind of attack three more times. Certainly, Yang Kai would also end up in a horrible state by then, but it wasn’t worth it for her.
At that instant, she was in a dilemma. She was reluctant to let Yang Kai go, but if she made him stay, one of them would have to die today.
“What do you say?” Yang Kai demanded, as he didn’t intend to give her time to ponder the issue, “Do you want to engage in a life-and-death battle with me? Or do you want both of us to live? The choice is yours!”
He wisely stopped mocking her as a ‘Grandma’ lest the situation be exacerbated.
Seeing that she remained silent, Yang Kai went on to say, “I definitely cannot defeat you, and I might even lose my life here; however, before that happens, half of Pear Flower Cave Heaven will be destroyed, which will be an immense loss for you. If you let me go now, we’ll be even. We might even have a chat over a cup of wine when we meet again in the future.”
A myriad of expressions came over Xia Lin Lang while Yang Kai stopped urging her as he fell silent.
A moment later, her expression turned milder. She took a deep breath and said, “You can leave, but you have to return the jade to me.”
Upon hearing that, Yang Kai nodded with ecstasy, “Good. However, you’ll have to see me off.”
Xia Lin Lang shot him a glare and dashed into the sky.
After putting away his Azure Dragon Spear, Yang Kai placed his hands behind his back and calmly followed her. He seemed to have put down his guard, though nothing could be further from the truth.
A moment later, they arrived somewhere in the sky, then Xia Lin Lang turned around to look at him.
Yang Kai said, “Since you’ve decided to let me go, you should stop being doubtful. After I leave, it’s pointless for me to keep the jade, and I’ll only offend you by doing so. Don’t worry. After you open the portal, I’ll leave the jade here and go.”
“Don’t try to pull any trick on me!” Xia Lin Lang warned.
“I’ve always been a man of my word,” Yang Kai appeared solemn.
It was only then that Xia Lin Lang performed a hand seal. A moment later, a portal appeared in the Void. Yang Kai used his Divine Sense, and upon detecting the aura of another world from the other side of the portal, he set his mind at ease.
He fished out the jade and showed it to Xia Lin Lang before flicking it towards her. At the same time, he plunged into the portal without hesitation.
Xia Lin Lang took the jade and didn’t seem to have the intention of stopping him. Nevertheless, just as Yang Kai slipped through the portal, she curved her lips into a sneer.
After Yang Kai was gone, she scoffed, “You think you’re so smart? You’ve fallen for my trick in the end!”
Yang Kai arrived at a place where the mountains were covered with trees. While the exotic beasts galloped forward on the ground, the sky was filled with birds.
A dumbfounded Yang Kai gazed at the sight before his eyes as a myriad of expressions came over him. A while later, he looked up and sighed, “I suppose what goes around comes around!”
He had fallen into that woman’s trap!
Xia Lin Lang had opened up a portal for him earlier. After passing through it, he arrived at this strange place instead of returning to the outside world.
He was certain that he was neither in Pear Flower Cave Heaven nor the Shattered Heaven.
Just then, Xia Lin Lang abruptly appeared like a ghost as she shot Yang Kai a glance. With a mocking smile, she said, “Isn’t this the young man who has almost turned my backyard upside down? What a coincidence. I never expected that we’d meet again so soon.”
Presently, her skin was glowing without any signs of the paleness it had earlier.
It was apparent that Yang Kai’s Pear Flower Divine Ability hadn’t caused any real damage to Xia Lin Lang, but she acted as if she was badly injured, which went to show how scheming she was.
“Hey Grandma, what is this? Don’t you know it’s inappropriate to see a visitor off only to force them to stay as a guest?”
Xia Lin Lang batted her lashes and just replied lightly, “It’s expected that women are erratic creatures. Didn’t your Mother ever teach you that?”
At that moment, Yang Kai was lost for words.
After a moment of silence, he said, “If I’m not mistaken, this should be the world in that picture scroll.”
A calm and collected Xia Lin Lang gazed at him, “How are you still in the mood to ask me about such frivolous things even facing your imminent death?”
It was as though Yang Kai was speaking to himself as he said, “The portal of Pear Flower Cave Heaven was that picture scroll. I already realised that the picture scroll was extraordinary when I first saw it, but now it seems that the picture scroll wasn’t just a powerful artifact, but a self-contained World of its own. You acted reluctant to let me go, but you actually used a trick on me to let me jump into a more suited cage than the last one.”
At this point, Yang Kai muttered in annoyance, “It seems that before your return, even if I was able to force open the portal of Pear Flower Cave Heaven, I would still plunge into this place and become trapped.”
Xia Lin Lang gazed at him in an innocuous manner, “So what if you’ve figured it out? There’s no pill in the world for regret. If there was one, I wouldn’t mind buying a few thousand of them and letting you have a taste.”
Yang Kai pressed his hand against his chest, “It feels terrible!”
With her lips covered, Xia Lin Lang giggled, “Oh really? I’m very pleased actually.”
A vexed Yang Kai stared at her and said, “I’ve treated you with sincerity, but you’ve gone back on your word instead. That’s not righteous at all!”
Xia Lin Lang couldn’t help but roll her eyes, “What a thick-skinned man!”
“Since you have no more worries, are you ready to make a move now?” Yang Kai gazed at her.
Dispassionately, Xia Lin Lang replied, “I’ll never be at ease as long as someone who doesn’t know his place like you is still alive. Although the World Spring is precious, I don’t have the patience to wait for you to make it to the Seventh Order. Let’s just see how lucky I am. If I’m lucky, the World Spring might survive after your death. If I’m not, I’ll just watch as the World Spring goes with you to the Yellow Springs. As a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, you shouldn’t have any regrets since you have such an honour.”
Yang Kai nodded gently, “You’re right.”
“Do you have any last words?” Xia Lin Lang gaped at him.
“There’s no need for that,” Yang Kai shook his head.
Xia Lin Lang stared fixedly at him. The next moment, she appeared in front of him and pushed out her palm before cursing, “You can die now, then!”
Instantaneously, Yang Kai parried the attack with his fist.
Following a loud boom, the ground shook violently. A crack appeared beneath Yang Kai as his feet sank into the ground.
Without giving him a chance to take a breath, Xia Lin Lang pushed out her palm again at the speed of lightning. If Yang Kai hadn’t personally experienced it, he wouldn’t have believed that such a petite woman could unleash such violent attacks. The last time he came across such a situation was when he met Zhu Qing, who was from the Dragon Clan, for the first time.
Her attacks landed on Yang Kai like a torrent, and ten strikes later, half of Yang Kai’s figure was beneath the ground.
“How is a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master like you supposed to fight me without the help of Pear Flower Cave Heaven’s power? Regardless of how amazing the World Spring is, it can’t make up for the gap between us!” Xia Lin Lang snorted while her attacks never stopped. Previously, since Yang Kai had obtained the inheritance of Pear Flower Divine Monarch, he was able to make use of Pear Flower Cave Heaven’s power. If they got into an intense battle in Pear Flower Cave Heaven, the place would suffer an immense loss.
That was the reason Xia Lin Lang tricked him into entering the world in the picture scroll instead.
The picture scroll outside of Pear Flower Cave Heaven not only served as a portal and a layer of defence, but it was also a cage.
Now, Yang Kai was trapped inside this cage, and unless he killed Xia Lin Lang, he would never be able to get out of it.
As Xia Lin Lang spoke, she attempted to sweep her leg across the man’s head. Yang Kai raised his hand to block, but as he was faced with the violent force, he was sent flying away like a carrot that had been plucked out of the ground. While in mid-air, he sprayed out a mouthful of blood.
Although the World Spring was able to stabilise his Small Universe and prevent it from falling into chaos, the attacks from a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master could not be underestimated. After getting struck so many times, Yang Kai was naturally injured.
He managed to stabilise himself in mid-air with difficulty and wiped the blood from his mouth. As he gazed at the grim-looking Xia Lin Lang, he put on a grin and taunted, “An old bat like you is indeed quite powerful.”
An incensed Xia Lin Lang snarled, “I’ll tear your mouth off!”
The moment she finished saying the last word, Yang Kai was sent flying away again as though he had been struck by lightning. Although he was in a defensive pose, there was a huge gap between their strengths, so he was unable to disperse her raging attacks.
The ground shook and the sky paled. The mountains in the picture scroll crumbled and fell; it was as though the entire world had been turned upside down. Xia Lin Lang didn’t hold back at all, leading Yang Kai to be struck like a sandbag, powerless to counterattack.
If he hadn’t refined the World Spring, his Small Universe would’ve come apart already. If it weren’t because his Half-Dragon Form physique was so sturdy, he wouldn’t have persevered.
On the other hand, Xia Lin Lang became increasingly unsettled as time passed, for she had a feeling that Yang Kai had some kind of secret plot; after all, he hadn’t summoned his spear even up until this moment and had simply been facing her with his body.
However, she felt that Yang Kai wouldn’t be able to carry out any secret plot in this world in the picture scroll even if he had any. In this place, she was already invincible as a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master.
Therefore, her doubt soon vanished into thin air as her attacks became even more rapid. With that said, she was amazed at the fact that a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master still hadn’t lost his life following her barrage of blows.
It was no wonder that after she left, he was able to occupy Lin Lang Palace and kick Qin Fen and the others out so easily. He was indeed significantly more powerful than an average Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters.
An incense stick later, Yang Kai appeared to be at an absolute disadvantage as he was completely powerless to fight back. In addition to many bruises on his face, his figure was covered in wounds and blood. He looked truly battered.
Having lost her patience, Xia Lin Lang stared calmly at the staggering man who was standing not far away from her. A sense of hesitation flashed through her eyes, but it soon dissipated. As she performed a hand seal, she yelled, “I’ll end it here!”
As her hand seal was formed, her World Force surged. She then pointed her finger at Yang Kai’s forehead from a distance.
Her attack would determine the life or death of this man!
Her slender finger seemed to ignore the limits of space and gently landed on Yang Kai’s forehead. As if struck by a mountain, he suddenly tipped his head back, but a grin appeared on his blood-covered face at that exact moment as he threw out his fist and bellowed, “Cow Punch!”
A violent force burst out from his figure. Following the trail of the aura he had spent so much effort chasing, Yang Kai crashed all the force he could muster into the woman’s Small Universe.
Xia Lin Lang’s expression changed drastically. In an instant, she felt the world around her spinning, and a thunderous noise rang out in her ears as her Small Universe was sent into turmoil.
Before she could come to her senses, she saw a spear magnifying before her eyes through her blurred vision, a horrifying murderous intent swirling around its tip.
The strength and resilience of a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master could not be underestimated though. At the critical moment, Xia Lin Lang forcefully drew upon her Small Universe’s might and exerted more force with the finger that was on Yang Kai’s forehead, knocking him away.
Azure Dragon Spear jabbed almost a palm’s length into her belly before it was forcefully drawn out, its blade covered in blood.
Having just escaped from death’s door, Xia Lin Lang rapidly withdrew 1,000 kilometres.
Looking down, she realised that blood was streaming out of her belly and dying her clothes crimson. Her figure was close to being run through by the weapon just now. If she had suffered such an injury, while she wouldn’t have lost her life given her Seventh-Order cultivation, it would still be considered a critical wound.
What was more shocking for her was that there was a dark flame burning around her wound.
The black flame was so ferocious that she could only suppress it, but not put it out immediately despite being a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master.
“Golden Crow’s True Fire!” Xia Lin Lang’s pupils contracted as she instantly deduced the flame’s origin.
Golden Crow’s True Fire was a High-Rank Fire Element Power. Since Yang Kai was able to use this power, it meant that he had refined it for himself.
Xia Lin Lang slowly made it to the Seventh Order from a lower realm, so she knew full well how hard it must have been to condense a High-Rank Element Power.
It was then she realised why Yang Kai was far stronger than cultivators in the same Order. In this vast universe, those who could condense High-Rank Elements and make it to the Open Heaven Realm were all famous figures.
[Could this guy really be a disciple from Bright King Cave Heaven? But I’ve never seen him use the Immovable Bright King Body before. However, just like what’s described in the rumours, his physique is extremely robust.]
While the use of Golden Crow’s True Fire stunned Xia Lin Lang, the transformation in her Small Universe was what really concerned her. At this moment, a force was weltering in her Small Universe, which made it impossible for her to circulate her strength smoothly.
Before she could attempt to suppress it though, Yang Kai came at her with his spear.
The mark of a finger on his glabella was conspicuous and golden blood streamed out of the wound and slid down his face. An unperturbed Yang Kai put on a savage grin, which made his face look even more hideous.
“Do you think I can only go against you using Senior’s Spear Dao? I, Yang Kai, have my own Daos. I’ll let you know the consequences of angering me!”
The reason he held his fury in and never summoned his Azure Dragon Spear despite being wounded all over his face and body was that there was a huge gap between their base strengths. Even if he summoned Azure Dragon Spear, the outcome wouldn’t change. However, it was different at this moment. Following his use of Cow Punch Secret Technique, the situation had been turned around. He now had the capital to oppose her.
It had to be said that the aura of a Seventh Order was extremely difficult to trace. Since he comprehended his Cow Punch Secret Technique, Yang Kai had only used it to deal with four people.
Senior Sister Jin was the first, but that was more like a friendly spar rather than a life-and-death battle, and it ended after Yang Kai succeeded.
Tan Luo Xing was the second. As a Sixth-Order Blood Slave, he barely had any sentience left to speak of, so after the trail of his aura was caught by Yang Kai, he was instantly killed.
Blood Crow was the third, and he had indeed suffered a big setback because of Yang Kai.
However, these three were all in the Sixth Order while Xia Lin Lang was in the Seventh Order. Yang Kai hadn’t endured an incense stick’s worth of attacks for no reason. As their World Forces clashed and their auras entangled, he could finally find the chance to counterattack at the most critical moment.
Unaware of Yang Kai’s capabilities, Xia Lin Lang almost had her figure penetrated by his spear.
If she were a stronger Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, Yang Kai might not have had the chance to use this Secret Technique and he would’ve fallen into a state of complete powerlessness.
Yang Kai was playing with fire by enduring the bombardment of attacks for an entire incense stick of time. If he wasn’t careful, he would’ve lost his life. However, if he hadn’t done that, he couldn’t have obtained the right to fight against Xia Lin Lang, a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master.
As he wielded his Azure Dragon Spear, Pear Flowers seemed to blossom.
Yang Kai had comprehended this Divine Ability after obtaining the inheritance of Pear Flower Divine Monarch, so it wasn’t his own technique. If he were still in Pear Flower Cave Heaven, he could make use of the World’s power and to unleash a blow that was equivalent to a Seventh-Order Master’s full powered attack; however, since he had left Pear Flower Cave Heaven, the force of this attack had become less immense, though it was still fairly powerful.
Xia Lin Lang’s figure was engulfed in countless spear shadows, but as her World Force surged, the phantoms dissipated.
With a solemn expression, Yang Kai roared, “Golden Crow Casts the Sun!”
Senior Pear Flower’s Dao didn’t belong to him; however, the Golden Crow Casts the Sun did.
As a Golden Crow was heard cawing, a Great Sun leaped into the sky and illuminated the entire world.
Xia Lin Lang’s pupils contracted again as she exclaimed, “A Divine Manifestation!?”
Yang Kai guffawed, “You have pretty acute vision. It is indeed a Divine Manifestation!” He then stuck his spear to the Great Sun and pushed it towards the woman.
Xia Lin Lang’s gaze appeared conflicted. She was jealous and envious, but at the same time, she was unresigned and furious. Normally, Divine Manifestations were exclusive to High-Rank Masters. Only when a cultivator reached the High-Rank Open Heaven Realm could they stand a chance to comprehend their own Divine Manifestation. However, not every High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master had this opportunity.
Although it had been a long time since Xia Lin Lang ascended to the Seventh Order, she still hadn’t comprehended her own Divine Manifestation. There were many Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters who remained hidden in the Shattered Heaven, but only 10% of them could use Divine Manifestations.
Xia Lin Lang had never expected that one day she would come across a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master who could cast a Divine Manifestation. At that instant, she felt as though she was dreaming.
If this wasn’t a dream, why would there be such a ridiculous thing in this world?
However, the Divine Manifestation indeed showcased a High-Rank Power, so she could not underestimate it.
The spear surged forward like a Dragon while the Great Sun rapidly magnified before her eyes. Since her aura was still in chaos, there was no way she could dodge the attack. Left with no other option, Xia Lin Lang unleashed a great shout as the illusory phantom of her Small Universe flashed behind her back. Ignoring the turmoil in her Small Universe, she forcefully drew out her World Force to meet the Great Sun head on.
As the moves met, the world fell silent.
As the Great Sun exploded, the world in the picture scroll became blindingly bright. Yang Kai and Xia Lin Lang were both sent flying in opposite directions as they sprayed out mouthfuls of blood.
While Yang Kai was soaked in blood, Xia Lin Lang’s hair was a mess, and her clothes had become tattered. The chaos in her Small Universe had also been exacerbated.
Before she could take a breather, she was suddenly engulfed in a great sense of danger, one even more intense than when Yang Kai used his Divine Manifestation just now.
Upon stabilising himself, Yang Kai pushed his power without reserve. A Great Sun leapt into the sky again, and following that, a cold Moon rose into existence.
The Sun and the Moon shone brightly together!
As Time Principles and Space Principles intertwined, the Space-Time Strength permeated the World.
Sun and Moon Divine Wheel!
The Great Sun and Moon circled one another in an endless cycle, rotating faster and faster. While carrying an amazing power, the two celestial bodies flew towards Xia Lin Lang, who was still dizzy from the last attack.
Space was instantly frozen while time seemed to have stopped flowing.
Xia Lin Lang had never come across such an abstruse Divine Ability. At that instant, she didn’t know what to do. Despite that, she innately understood that one great force could suppress even ten Masters. While clenching her teeth, she suppressed the weltering vitality in her heart and madly activated her World Force before meeting the rapidly rotating Sun and Moon head-on.
As the surrounding space collapsed, Xia Lin Lang shot forward and landed a palm on Yang Kai’s forehead.
Yang Kai was sent flying away while gripping his spear. As blood spurted, both of them fell to the ground with a loud thud.
While lying on the ground, Yang Kai panted heavily and widened his eyes, but his vision was all blurred. He could feel his aura weltering around his body, as though there were thousands of horses rampaging inside him and tearing his physique apart.
He had previously endured Xia Lin Lang’s attacks for an entire incense stick, and now he had cast two powerful attacks without taking the consumption of energy into consideration. After he was struck by the woman’s full-force counterattack, he almost lost his life.
At this moment, he didn’t even have the strength to move a finger.
Although he was badly injured, Xia Lin Lang wasn’t in any better shape. She had sequentially been struck by Yang Kai’s Cow Punch, then his Golden Crow Casts the Sun, then his Sun and Moon Divine Wheel. Despite being a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, she couldn’t possibly keep fighting after suffering so many powerful blows.
As he activated his Divine Sense, Yang Kai realised that the woman was indeed lying in a pit that was a few thousand metres away. She remained unmoving, and her aura was weak.
The fierce battle turned out to be a mutual loss.
No one would’ve believed it if they were told. Although there was only a difference of one Order, a Seventh-Order Master should easily be able to defeat ten Sixth-Order Masters, so how did Xia Lin Lang end up in such a state?
However, that was indeed what had happened. Presently, Xia Lin Lang, who was lying in the pit, appeared extremely embarrassed. Her clothes were all tattered, which revealed her underwear. If anyone saw her without knowing what had happened, they would’ve thought that she had been molested and then thrown away by Yang Kai.
On the other hand, she had never expected she could be horribly injured by a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master one day. She felt so humiliated that she was on the brink of bursting into tears.
While clenching her teeth, she managed to spit vehemently, “Just you wait. I’ll definitely rip your corpse into 10,000 pieces!”
Despite her hushed voice, she knew that Yang Kai could hear her.
As expected, Yang Kai was then heard snorting, “How do you have the nerve to utter threats now? Neither of us can move, so whoever can recover first will be the winner. Although my cultivation is lower than yours, I have full confidence in my recovery abilities!”
His confidence came from his Half-Dragon physique and his Wood Element Power condensed from the Immortal Tree. Therefore, even though she was one Order higher than him, Yang Kai believed that there was no way Xia Lin Lang could recover before he did.
While he was lucky enough to have pushed Xia Lin Lang over the edge, it was also thanks to his well-thought-out plan. If his Cow Punch Secret Technique hadn’t been effective, the subsequent sequence of events wouldn’t have happened. The turmoil in her Small Universe gave Yang Kai a chance to hit her with his two trump cards.
Otherwise, regardless of how powerful Golden Crow Casts the Sun and Sun and Moon Divine Wheel were, a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master could have resolved his attacks.
That was what had happened when he fought against Zuo Quan Hui.
Yang Kai had gotten into several intense battles with Zuo Quan Hui, but other than the final conflict, which he was lucky enough to have killed him in, Yang Kai was essentially always at a disadvantage. Since he had come to a draw with Xia Lin Lang, it went to show that his power had increased significantly during this period of time.
“How could you oppress a weak woman like me? Are you even a man!?” Xia Lin Lang snapped.
Yang Kai sneered, “You’re just an Old Witch! I suppose you hadn’t expected this to happen when you oppressed me just because you thought yourself stronger!”
Xia Lin Lang was enraged. Perhaps she had rarely argued with anyone, so her vocabulary was rather limited when it came to such a situation, so she just continued snapping, “Damned brat!”
Yang Kai retaliated, “Old Witch!”
“Smelly man!”
“Hag!”
…
Instead of trying to recuperate, the two of them bickered with each other while lying on the ground. Although they cursed one another, there was no doubt that Yang Kai’s calm and collected demeanour had put him in an advantageous position. In just a while, Xia Lin Lang was so exasperated that she started spraying out a mouthful of blood as her twin peaks heaved. After suffering a small loss, she stopped humiliating herself as she decided to keep her mouth shut and let Yang Kai’s words roll off her back.
Yang Kai guffawed in a smug manner, as though he had won another battle.
One hour later, he suddenly let out a long breath, “We could’ve parted ways and lived our lives in peace, but you insisted on choosing death instead.”
Upon finishing his words, he slowly got to his feet and stumbled forward with his Azure Dragon Spear in hand. Although his aura was still weak and unstable, he had restored some of his energy.
Despite sensing his movements, Xia Lin Lang remained unmoving.
Yang Kai walked down the pit and stood beside her. Looking down, he asked calmly, “Do you have any last words?”
Xia Lin Lang glared at him, as though she was trying to cut him in half with her gaze.
Yang Kai went on to say, “Alright, stop pretending. You’re a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master after all. Although you couldn’t possibly have restored a lot of your strength in such a short time, I doubt you’d just lie there waiting for death. Since both of us can still make the last move, fate will decide which one of us will have the last laugh.”
Xia Lin Lang decided to ignore him and closed her eyes.
On the other hand, Yang Kai sported a solemn expression. He wouldn’t dare to make a rash move upon seeing her reaction. Just like he had said, both of them had restored a bit of their strength and apparently, she was saving hers to react accordingly. There was only a slim chance of success if he acted hastily now.
All of a sudden, Xia Lin Lang opened her eyes and roared, “I’ll dig your eyes out if you keep ogling me!”
Yang Kai was torn between tears and laughter, “It’s not that I want to take advantage of you when you’re in such a state, it’s just that your clothes are a complete mess and you don’t want to get changed. I’m just considering which part of your body to stab my spear into.” He paused for a moment, then asked, “Why don’t you change into new clothes? You’ll look more decent when you die.”
It wasn’t certain what was on Xia Lin Lang’s mind, but she really followed Yang Kai’s advice. After sitting up, she fished out new clothes from her Space Ring and directly put them on.
It was apparently a defensive artifact instead of ordinary clothes.
Yang Kai didn’t stop her.
After putting on her clothes, Xia Lin Lang lay on the ground again and placed her hands on her belly. She was as silent as a corpse.
Yang Kai’s brow twitched, “Just what do you want?”
Xia Lin Lang opened her eyes and shot him a faint glance, “I’m not going to make a move. I enjoy watching you act all anxious!”
Yang Kai snapped, “I’ll make a move then if you’re not going to!”
“You can give it a try! Let’s see which one of us dies in the end!”
“Do you think I don’t dare to?” Yang Kai was completely incensed.
“Do it then! What are you waiting for?”
While Yang Kai’s face twitched, the veins on his forehead also throbbed.
Just when he was considering whether he should push out his spear without worrying about the consequences, events took a turn. The world in the picture scroll shook while the sky paled.
Yang Kai subconsciously thought that the woman was trying to launch a sneak attack on him, so he instantly moved backwards about 100 metres. While lifting his spear defensively, he went on full alert.
On the other hand, Xia Lin Lang rapidly got to her feet and shot the man a glance before sneering, “I thought you were a bold man, but it turns out you’re just a coward!”
She then looked up at the sky with a frown.
Yang Kai also came to his senses as he realised that the turmoil wasn’t the woman’s doing. Instead, it came from the outside world.
As he recalled that they were in the world in the picture scroll, which was also a portal that led to Pear Flower Cave Heaven, Yang Kai arched his brow and asked, “Someone is attacking the portal, right?”
It was because some other group was attacking the portal from outside that the world in the picture scroll was in turmoil, and judging from the violent movements, Yang Kai believed that the attackers were fairly powerful.
With that said, Xia Lin Lang, a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, was in charge of Pear Flower Cave Heaven. The attackers wouldn’t have made a scene if they didn’t have confidence.
Taking pleasure in her misfortune, Yang Kai guffawed, “It seems that retribution has come for you!”
He was still disgruntled about this woman tricking him, so he was more than happy to see her suffer.
Xia Lin Lang coldly retorted, “What are you so pleased about? If they manage to shatter the portal, you’ll be the first to suffer, not me.”
Yang Kai’s laughter abruptly caught in his throat as he came to his senses, “They’re here for me?”
“What do you count for?” Xia Lin Lang sneered, “They’re after the World Spring!”
“It’s them?” Yang Kai finally figured out who the attackers were as there were only a small number of people who were aware of the World Spring’s existence. Certainly, the High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters who attempted to hack each other to death in the now-shattered Universe Cave Heaven knew about it though.
After Xia Lin Lang captured Yang Kai, she was intercepted by an old woman.
Xia Lin Lang followed up, “They must have tailed me while I was outside some time ago. That’s why the location of this place has been exposed; otherwise, they couldn’t have found this place so soon.”
Yang Kai snapped, “Why were you so careless?”
Xia Lin Lang sneered, “Didn’t you say I deserve retribution? Why are you so anxious?”
At that instant, Yang Kai was lost for words. If this matter had nothing to do with him, he could’ve sat on the mountaintop and watched the tigers fight; however, since he was their primary target, it was expected that he was anxious. Although he wasn’t certain whether Xia Lin Lang was lying, he believed that this woman had no reason to mess with him at this point.
A myriad of expressions came over him.
While staring at him, Xia Lin Lang suddenly put on a smile, “Why don’t I open the portal and let you flee? You’re an expert in the Dao of Space anyway. If you want to flee, those people might not be able to capture you even though they’re in the High-Rank Open Heaven Realm.”
Yang Kai snarled, “Do you think I can flee from multiple High-Rank Masters when I’m in such a state?”
“What does that have to do with me?” Xia Lin Lang smiled elegantly.
Yang Kai was so vexed that he had the urge to kill this woman with his spear right here and now.
Just now, he was all ready to watch a good show, but it turned out that he was the one featured in the show instead. Life was truly unpredictable.
All of a sudden, Yang Kai fury all faded and he put on a smile, “Good, let’s do that. After you open the portal, I won’t flee since there’s no chance of success. There’s only one World Spring, and those people are obviously not united. Once they’re inside, they’ll certainly backstab one another. When they start fighting, I’ll seize the chance to escape. Moreover, they won’t really kill me. Just like you, they’ll probably try to make me ascend to the Seventh Order before snatching the World Spring. No matter the outcome, I won’t die.”
While staring at her with a grim expression, he went on to say, “On the other hand, your aura is weak and you’re clearly injured. I bet those people will take the chance to kill you. All of you have been hiding in the Shattered Heaven for many years, so some grudges must have formed between you. I believe that the old woman we came across some time ago wouldn’t miss the chance to deal a fatal blow to you.”
Xia Lin Lang snorted, “Do you think they’re as easy-going as I am? Do you think they’re as patient as I am? There’s only one World Spring. If none of them can get it, they’ll not let it fall into other people’s hands. You won’t have a chance to survive then. Don’t worry, no one will help bury your corpse after you die!”
Yang Kai waved his hand, “Good, neither of us is young and ignorant anymore, so let’s stop trying to frighten each other.”
“Are you calling me old?” Xia Lin Lang rolled her eyes, then tucked her hair behind her ear and straightened her back, “I’m in my prime years!”
Yang Kai pursed his lips, “In any case, we’re now grasshoppers on the same rope, so our fates are tied to one another.”
After a moment of silence, Xia Lin Lang nodded, “You’ve finally said something sensible after such a long time.”
Unwilling to argue with her over this, Yang Kai said, “How many High-Rank Masters are there?”
Although he was now a half-owner of Pear Flower Cave Heaven, the world in the picture scroll had nothing to do with him. Only Xia Lin Lang was aware of what was going on in the outside world.
“There are four of them,” she replied, “You’ve met them all before.”
It was just what Yang Kai had expected. While he was outside of the Universe Cave Heaven back then, other than Xia Lin Lang, he had also come across an old woman with grey hair, a middle-aged man, a woman, and a young boy with a ponytail.
The five of them all charged into that Universe Cave Heaven and got into a fight, which was why the place fell apart.
“How powerful are they compared to you?”
“We’re equally matched. There’s not much difference between us really. In the Seventh Order, none of us are at the top nor at the bottom,” Xia Lin Lang laughed at herself a bit self-deprecatingly.
After giving it a thought, Yang Kai asked, “If you open the portal now, how likely, do you think, are we to successfully flee while they’re off guard?”
Xia Lin Lang gazed at him with a weird look, “I should be asking you this question instead. Aren’t you supposed to be adept at fleeing since you’ve mastered the Dao of Space?”
Yang Kai shook his head, “It would be possible if I was at full strength; however, given the state I’m in, there’s no chance of success. Moreover, since they’re aware of my capabilities, they might have made some preparations already.”
Xia Lin Lang sighed, “This portal can’t persist for long. This place was already damaged after our fight earlier. Now that they’re bombarding it with their full strength, it’ll only take them half a day to break open the portal.”
As they spoke, the turmoil in the world in the picture scroll intensified like a rising tide.
Xia Lin Lang immediately made a decision, “Come with me.”
Without hesitation, Yang Kai nodded his head.
Xia Lin Lang performed a hand seal and pointed forward. A ripple spread across the Void and revealed a portal that led back to Pear Flower Cave Heaven.
Following that, the two of them passed through the portal.
They were initially at each other’s throats and were trying to kill one another, but at this moment, they were forced to become allies, which was quite ironic.
However, Yang Kai needed to rely on her Seventh-Order strength while Xia Lin Lang had to make use of his mastery of the Dao of Space. Moreover, Yang Kai had showcased incredible power during their battle. By joining forces with him, she would stand a greater chance of survival.
Both of them were sensible people. They knew that this kind of temporary union would only bring them benefits, which was why they stopped trying to hack each other to death. Nevertheless, after they escaped this calamity, it didn’t mean they wouldn’t resume their life-and-death struggle.
Upon returning to Pear Flower Cave Heaven, they directly appeared in front of Pear Flower Palace.
When Qin Fen and the others, who had been waiting in this place, saw the two of them, they quickly flew over. Upon seeing Xia Lin Lang was battered and her clothes were soaked in blood, they were shocked and glowered at Yang Kai.
Yang Kai ignored them.
Xia Lin Lang turned to look at him, “The portal on the outside is an artifact, so after they shatter it, they still can’t enter this place. They’ll also have to break the World Barrier here. It will only take them ten days to half a month to do that.”
Yang Kai nodded gently, “We’ll have ample time to restore our strength then. By the time they barge in, we’ll be able to deal with them since we’re the co-owners of this place.”
Xia Lin Lang slowly shook her head, “I won’t fight with them here.”
Yang Kai frowned, “Why?”
By fighting against their enemies in Pear Flower Cave Heaven, both of them would have an advantage; after all, they were the co-owners of this place, so they could make use of the World Force of this Universe Cave Heaven.
Xia Lin Lang explained, “More than 10 million people are living here. If we engage in a battle here, regardless of whether we win or lose, this place will be severely damaged. By then, countless people will lose their lives. Therefore, the moment they shatter the World Barrier, we’ll have to break through the siege. Whether we survive or not will be left up to the Heavens then.”
Yang Kai gazed at her with a shocked expression.
In a dispassionate tone, Xia Lin Lang asked, “What’s wrong? Do you think I’m too soft-hearted? Fine, I’m indeed such a person. If you don’t agree with my decision, you can leave now. I won’t stop you.”
Yang Kai shook his head, “That’s not what I meant. I was just surprised.”
He had never expected that this woman would be concerned about the life or death of the millions of residents of Pear Flower Cave Heaven. She was even willing to give up a strategic advantage in a life-and-death fight against her enemies to preserve this place.
It had to be noted that this decision was unwise. Anyone who had weighed the pros and cons of this matter wouldn’t have made such a decision.
All of a sudden, Yang Kai found this woman to be less despicable.
Xia Lin Lang frowned, “Why are you looking at me like this? Do you think I’m showing too much womanly compassion just because I’m concerned about the people living in this place?”
Yang Kai grinned, “It is said that we may know a person for a long time without understanding their true nature. Moreover, I’m not familiar with you, so I don’t know what kind of a person you really are. However, it’s clearly not a bad thing that the people here are ruled over by someone like you, who is concerned about their safety.”
Xia Lin Lang snorted.
Yang Kai went on to say, “If you trust me, I have a way to solve this problem.”
A doubtful Xia Lin Lang stared at him, “What’s your solution?”
With a smile, Yang Kai shook his head, “You’ll find out soon enough. But before that, I need the Array Jade of the Pear Flower Palace.”
As he spoke, he extended his hand.
Xia Lin Lang furrowed her brows, but she didn’t hesitate for long. She soon passed back the Array Jade she had retrieved from him some time ago.
“Thanks.” Yang Kai put on a smile, “I’ll go somewhere to restore my energy now, and you should do the same. We’ll have a tough battle soon.”
He then disappeared into the distance.
Qin Fen and the others were dumbfounded. They initially thought that their Palace Master had captured Yang Kai, but they soon realised it wasn’t the case upon hearing their conversation. Something serious seemed to have happened while the two of them were not around.
“What’s going on, Palace Master?” Qin Fen gazed doubtfully at her.
Xia Lin Lang replied, “I was tailed while I was outside some time ago, so the location of this place has been exposed. Some powerful cultivators are trying to invade now. I need to recuperate immediately. You all should enter Lin Lang Palace and prepare yourselves.”
“Yes,” Qin Fen and the others replied respectfully.
Yang Kai hadn’t suffered serious injuries in the battle against Xia Lin Lang; he was just exhausted, so it only took him a few days before he managed to restore most of his energy.
During this period of time, some tremors could be felt taking place in Pear Flower Cave Heaven. It was apparent that the High-Rank Masters had shattered the portal of the picture scroll, and they were now trying to break through the World Barrier of this place.
Once they formed a crack, they could pass through it and invade.
Since four High-Rank Masters had joined forces, it was a force to be reckoned with. Even though Yang Kai and Xia Lin Lang had decided to work together, they couldn’t possibly defeat these four.
Xia Lin Lang was concerned about the millions of lives in Pear Flower Cave Heaven, so she wasn’t willing to start a fight in this place. Therefore, Yang Kai had to come up with a solution to free her of this concern so that they could make use of Pear Flower Cave Heaven’s power to confront their enemies.
Apparently, Xia Lin Lang didn’t intend to keep the millions of lives inside her Small Universe even though she was able to do so.
The Small Universe of a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master had materialised, so it could easily accommodate millions of ordinary lives. Furthermore, by raising living beings in one’s Small Universe, one could strengthen their heritage as living beings would nourish the World and generate World Force all on their own. As time passed, it could save a cultivator much time and effort.
However, if Xia Lin Lang really did that, it would be a disaster for those living here. Once she got into a fight with powerful enemies, most of those living here would be killed as a result of the turmoil in her Small Universe.
Yang Kai initially intended to put all those living in Pear Flower Cave Heaven inside his Small Universe. Although he was just a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, his Small Universe had the protection of the World Spring; therefore, the living beings in his Small Universe would not be harmed regardless of what happened.
Nevertheless, if he really did that, the secret that his Small Universe had materialised would be exposed.
Even though Xia Lin Lang appeared to be concerned about the living beings in this place, she might not have the same sympathy for Yang Kai. If she found out about his secret, she might develop some ill intentions.
After giving it a thought, Yang Kai knew that he had to act secretly.
The reason he got the jade back from Xia Lin Lang some time ago was to make some preparations for this.
Once he was done healing, Yang Kai appeared above a certain mountain range. Looking down, he could see that the mountain range spanned several tens of thousands of kilometres, like a long, sleeping Dragon.
Following that, he fished out the jade and pinched it between the tips of his fingers. As he communicated with the jade, he manipulated the local Space Principles. The next moment, the World Force in Pear Flower Cave Heaven trembled as a region several hundred thousand kilometres wide began to shake.
Although he was a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, it was hard for him to achieve what he was doing by relying only on his own power. However, since he was a co-owner of Pear Flower Cave Heaven, it was now much easier for him.
Of course, the other half-owner of this place could detect such violent movements.
A moment later, Xia Lin Lang, who was initially meditating in Pear Flower Palace, appeared before Yang Kai with a dark expression as she bellowed, “Yang Kai, what are you doing?!”
She could sense that Yang Kai was trying to split off a big piece of territory that spanned several hundred thousand kilometres from Pear Flower Cave Heaven.
This kind of separation was immensely damaging to Pear Flower Cave Heaven’s foundation. Once Yang Kai succeeded, the heritage of Pear Flower Cave Heaven would be reduced by 20 to 30%.
That was the reason Xia Lin Lang was incensed.
On the other hand, Yang Kai wasn’t surprised by her arrival. Since they were the co-owners of Pear Flower Cave Heaven, they could easily detect the slightest changes happening in this place.
However, he wasn’t flustered at all. While continuing to split off this chunk of land, he explained, “You’re not willing to fight with the enemies in Pear Flower Cave Heaven because you’re worried that those living here will be affected, but if we can move them to a safe place, you will no longer have such a concern. Back when I was still young and weak, I obtained a special storage artifact. Just like your picture scroll, it was a Sealed World that could accommodate living beings. However, that storage artifact was damaged. Given my current capabilities though, it’s not hard for me to make a similar storage artifact.”
When he was still in the Star Boundary in the past, Yang Kai had refined a number of World Beads, which were similar to the Sealed World Bead. During the great battle between the Humans and Demons, every Army Commander had a World Bead, which was used to easily mobilise their soldiers.
Since Yang Kai already had this experience, it wouldn’t be hard for him to make something similar to the Sealed World Bead.
Once Xia Lin Lang realised his intentions, her expression turned milder, “Do you plan to move all those that live here to that new artifact?”
“That’s right.” Yang Kai nodded, “Only by doing so can we go all out against the enemy in this place.”
A myriad of expressions came over Xia Lin Lang as she knitted her brows.
Yang Kai scoffed, “Why even hesitate? I know you’re concerned about the millions of lives in this place, and you’re planning to break through the siege when the World Barrier is shattered; however, without your protection, these innocents would still be affected since those High-Rank Masters would definitely be furious. By then, you won’t be able to ensure their safety. In that case, why don’t we move them to somewhere safe in advance?”
Xia Lin Lang soon stopped hesitating and nodded, “Do you need any help?”
Yang Kai nodded, “If you want to help, please gather all those living in this place together now so that I’ll have ample time to transfer them to another place.”
After giving it a thought, Xia Lin Lang said, “I can put them inside my Small Universe first. When your artifact is ready, I can move them over.”
“Sounds good.”
Xia Lin Lang then left. There were people living all over Pear Flower Cave Heaven, so it would take her some time to put all of them inside her Small Universe.
Space Principles continued undulating around Yang Kai. With Pear Flower Cave Heaven’s support, he spent half a day splitting the territory of several hundred thousand kilometres that he had selected.
The heritage of Pear Flower Cave Heaven instantly fell by 30%. As a result, the sky paled and the ground shook. It was as though it was the end of the world.
Yang Kai activated his Divine Sense and engulfed the split-off territory with Space Principles without caring about his consumption of energy. As his World Force undulated, he performed different hand seals and cast rays of light through his fingers.
Three days later, the territory of several hundred thousand kilometres disappeared and was replaced by a bead the size of a longan.
By infusing his Divine Sense into it, Yang Kai could see that the territory of several hundred thousand kilometres he had split from Pear Flower Cave Heaven was now inside the bead.
Just like the Sealed World Bead, the bead was an Independent World of its own.
Right then, Xia Lin Lang returned and gazed at the pale Yang Kai as she asked, “Is it done?”
Yang Kai tossed the bead at her. After taking the bead, Xia Lin Lang inspected it while looking conflicted. A long time later, she said in a quiet voice, “Thank you.”
Following that, Yang Kai sat down on the ground with his legs crossed and swallowed down many Open Heaven Pills. While smiling, he asked, “What did you say? I couldn’t hear you clearly.”
Xia Lin Lang glared at him, “Don’t reach out for a yard after taking an inch!”
In response, Yang Kai chuckled. It was apparent that it wasn’t that Xia Lin Lang wanted to thank him, she was only expressing gratitude on behalf of the millions of people living under her rule.
It wasn’t until this moment that Yang Kai had a feeling that this woman really just wanted to obtain the World Spring without killing him. Given her actions so far, it was apparent she would have waited for him to ascend to the Seventh Order and then cut off a bit of territory to move the World Spring out of his Small Universe.
For those in the Open Heaven Realm, those below their realm were no different from ants.
However, there were some Open Heaven Realm Masters in the world who couldn’t really regard people as mere insects.
Xia Lin Lang put the bead inside her Small Universe. When she moved the bead out a moment later, all those within had been moved into the artifact.
Certainly, the migration would cause these millions of people to feel uneasy, but it was better than watching them lose their lives.
All of a sudden, Xia Lin Lang tossed the bead back at Yang Kai, who took it and stared at her in confusion.
Xia Lin Lang said, “I’ve witnessed your ability to flee before. Although you’re weaker than I am overall, if only one of us survives this, it will definitely be you, not me. Keep the bead for me. You can pass it back to me if both of us survive. I’ve promised them that I’ll give them a safe place to live after all.”
Yang Kai snorted, “After the food is eaten, it’ll become something else when it comes out of the body. Will you still want it by then?”
Xia Lin Lang snapped, “Nothing good will ever come out of your foul mouth!”
Yang Kai pursed his lips.
Then, Xia Lin Lang looked up at the sky and said, “We have three days left at most. Get some rest now.”
Upon finishing her words, she turned around and left.
After she was gone, Yang Kai looked down at the bead. As a thought flashed through his mind, he directly put it inside his Small Universe.
In fact, he had always had his eyes on these millions of lives. With the World Spring in his possession, he wouldn’t have to worry that those living here would be harmed while they inhabited his Small Universe. He was only in the Sixth Order, and he wasn’t even certain how long it would take him to make it to the Eighth Order, but with those living beings residing in his Small Universe, he could shorten the time of achieving his goal.
However, he had never expected that he would obtain living beings in such a way.
Xia Lin Lang believed that she was no match for Yang Kai when it came to the ability to flee, which was why she let him keep the bead.
Nevertheless, just like Yang Kai had said, once food was eaten, it could not be given away. Since Xia Lin Lang had passed those people to him, she would never be able to get them back.
No place in the world was safer than his Small Universe right now. Even if he accidentally lost his life, his Small Universe would still remain intact with the World Spring’s presence.
In just a few days, those living in Pear Flower Cave Heaven had experienced three great migrations. First, they were moved into Xia Lin Lang’s Small Universe from Pear Flower Cave Heaven, then they were moved into the bead. Following that, they were transferred to Yang Kai’s Small Universe.
Although they didn’t have to exert any effort, the migrations naturally made them feel anxious.
When Yang Kai released them from the bead and settled them down in his Small Universe, those millions of people, regardless of their gender and age, all appeared pale and terrified.
Yang Kai had never raised other living beings before, but he knew that they needed houses to live in and food to eat.
There were some people who had cultivated before among these living beings, and there were even a dozen or so Emperor Realm Masters. However, none of them were in the Open Heaven Realm.
It wasn’t hard to raise some Emperor Realm Masters in his body, but Yang Kai would definitely chase the Open Heaven Realm Masters out if there were any.
As a thought flashed through his mind, he secretly spoke to those Emperor Realm Masters, who were shocked at first, but they soon became at ease.
Following that, the most powerful Emperor Realm Master among them placated the crowd and the commotion slowly subsided.
As the ground shook, the World Barrier of Pear Flower Cave Heaven was shattered.
A huge crack appeared in the sky as four figures stood in line. They looked like four ferocious Dragons that stuck their heads out of the clouds.
In the square in front of Pear Flower Palace, Yang Kai looked up and swept a glance over them.
He had come into contact with the old woman with grey hair once. Xia Lin Lang said that the woman called herself Grandma Jiu. She was a ruthless and cruel person. No one knew of her background. In the entire Shattered Heaven, she was one of the oldest who chose to go into hiding in this place. At the very least, when Xia Lin Lang came here to live a reclusive life back then, Grandma Jiu was a famous figure.
The middle-aged man was named Zong Zheng. He seemed to have something to do with a particular Sect in Green Frost Territory, but no one could prove it.
The beautiful woman was named Zhu Ling Shan, who was a licentious person with countless lovers. She was infamous throughout the entire Shattered Heaven; however, since she was a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, no one would dare to underestimate her.
It wasn’t certain what kind of Evil Art that Purple Night Boy, who had a ponytail, had cultivated, but the more profound his cultivation was, the younger he looked. Although he looked as innocent and delicate as a young boy, he apparently loved eating Human livers, especially those of women. People who offended him would end up in a horrible state. He had countless ways to make his enemies watch as he ate their livers. In the end, they were in so much pain that they would beg him to kill them.
There was no law or order in the Shattered Heaven. It was all about power. This place was filled with the most ruthless people. It was as though all sorts of thugs in the 3,000 Worlds had gathered together in this place.
Xu Wang, who was from Bright King Cave Heaven, once told Yang Kai that the waters in the Shattered Heaven were muddier than he imagined. At that time, Yang Kai still didn’t understand what he meant, but now he had personally experienced it, and everything he saw was just the tip of the iceberg. What would the whole picture of the Shattered Heaven look like?
Upon barging into Pear Flower Cave Heaven, the four High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters instantly locked their gazes on Yang Kai. Their eyes appeared fervent, so it was obvious that they were aware that Yang Kai had refined the World Spring. The one who could capture him would stand a chance to be the owner of the World Spring.
There were rarely any precious treasures in the world that could make High-Rank Masters feel tempted, and the things that could make them risk their lives were even rarer. One of the Four Universe Pillars, the World Spring, was definitely one of them though.
As long as they could obtain the World Spring, they would be at a huge advantage when fighting against their enemies or raising living beings inside their Small Universe. If it weren’t because of the allure of the World Spring, the four High-Rank Masters, who were not really united, wouldn’t have joined forces and arrived at this place together.
Yang Kai stomped his foot on the ground and grinned, “We have some guests. Let’s send them a gift!”
A buzzing sound was then heard ringing throughout Pear Flower Palace. Following that, the World Force of Pear Flower Cave Heaven madly streamed into the palace. At that instant, Pear Flower Palace, which was a mobile palace artifact, as well as the command centre of the entire Pear Flower Cave Heaven, seemed to have turned into a bottomless pit.
Inside Pear Flower Cave Heaven, all the plants withered instantly and the sky turned grey.
All the World Force in Pear Flower Cave Heaven had streamed into Pear Flower Palace in just three breaths, which caused the originally vibrant Universe Cave Heaven to turn into a dead place.
As Spear Intent surged, Pear Flower Palace rose into the air and shot towards the four unwelcome guests.
The four of them had just broken the World Barrier of Pear Flower Cave Heaven and seen Yang Kai, who was their target, but just when they were excited, this turn of events suddenly took place.
Although they were in the High-Rank Open Heaven Realm, it was still hard for them to react instantly.
The colour drained from Zhu Ling Shan’s face as she exclaimed, “Are you out of your mind, Xia Lin Lang!?”
At the same time, the expressions of Grandma Jiu, Zong Zheng, and Purple Night Boy changed drastically as their pleasant surprise turned into shock and fear.
This couldn’t be helped. Although they had envisioned what the battle would look like, the scenario before their eyes had never crossed their minds. Xia Lin Lang had truly gone all out with this attack, which had condensed all the World Force in Pear Flower Cave Heaven into a single attack.
Pear Flower Cave Heaven was a Universe Cave Heaven left behind by a cultivator who was at least in the Eighth Order. Given Xia Lin Lang’s capabilities, even though she could mobilise the World Force of Pear Flower Cave Heaven, which made it easier for her to deal with her enemies here, she couldn’t fully make use of this advantage.
That was because she knew nothing about the Spear Dao.
The previous owner of Pear Flower Cave Heaven was a Master of the Spear Dao, so he had left behind a lot of Spear Dao Essence after his death. Since she couldn’t comprehend it, Xia Lin Lang naturally couldn’t obtain his inheritance.
If Pear Flower Cave Heaven was compared to a sword, Xia Lin Lang could certainly hold it and wield it like a club to deal with her enemies, but she would be unable to unsheathe sword, which would naturally make it less effective.
However, things were different with Yang Kai’s assistance. Previously, he had fully absorbed the Dao Essence of Pear Flower Cave Heaven, and although he hadn’t fully digested it yet, he was able to unsheathe the blade, which was Pear Flower Palace.
The two of them had worked together to cast an attack that had condensed all the power from Pear Flower Cave Heaven into one spot. Although the attack was less powerful than what the previous owner could cast, it was definitely more powerful than what a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master could launch.
It was the one and only attack that had been infused with all the power of Pear Flower Cave Heaven. They wouldn’t be able to launch such an attack again.
Yang Kai and Xia Lin Lang were originally split over this issue. She believed that since they were already at an advantage in this place, they didn’t have to bet everything on a single roll of the dice; after all, if the attack proved to be ineffective, their advantage would be gone for good. Therefore, she believed that they should deal with their enemies in Pear Flower Cave Heaven so that they would stand a chance to gain the upper hand and ward off their enemies.
Naturally, Yang Kai didn’t agree with her. The argument between them was so fierce that they almost broke out into another fight. Qin Fen and the others were horrified as they watched from the side. While they were shocked by Yang Kai’s audacity, they were also puzzled by their Palace Master’s concession.
Yang Kai’s reasoning was that, while Xia Lin Lang could deal with one enemy and Yang Kai could make use of the advantage of being the co-owner to fight against another Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master with the help of Pear Flower Palace, as well as Qin Fen and the others, since they were faced with four enemies, who would deal with the remaining two?
As the battle dragged on, the heritage of Pear Flower Cave Heaven would be depleted if they couldn’t defeat their enemies, and once the depletion reached a certain critical point, their advantage would turn into a disadvantage, and they would have no choice but to flee.
Hence, he believed that they should bet everything on a single attack. Since Xia Lin Lang wasn’t willing to do this, their enemies would naturally not consider this possibility either, and they would be caught off guard. If the two of them were lucky, they could directly kill one or two of their enemies.
Once they succeeded, the rest of the enemies would hesitate to make a move again.
Back then, in Pear Flower Palace, Yang Kai said in a sincere manner, “I know you’re unwilling to let go of this place, but those millions of lives have settled down in a safe place, so there’s no more concern for you. Moreover, the location of this place has been exposed. Even if you’re able to beat back your enemies this time, more will come knocking on your door in the future. You can’t possibly keep this place safe.”
Certainly, Xia Lin Lang knew that he was right. There were two things that were most important when it came to hiding in the Shattered Heaven. First, a powerful cultivation, and second, a secure hideout.
After she arrived in the Shattered Heaven in the past, it took her 1,000 years before she was lucky enough to find Pear Flower Cave Heaven and become its owner.
Grandma Jiu, Zong Zheng, Zhu Ling Shan, and Purple Night Boy all had their own hideouts, which remained secrets that outsiders could never find out about.
The cultivators outside the Shattered Heaven could never imagine the lengths these people had to go to to keep their hideouts hidden. Once their hideouts were exposed, other than their enemies in the Shattered Heaven, those from the Cave Heavens and Paradises would also hunt them down.
It wasn’t unprecedented. In the past, some High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters had suffered such a setback. Their hideouts were found out by those from the Cave Heavens and Paradises and in the end, teams of High-Rank Masters from the Cave Heavens and Paradises came over and directly shattered the World Barriers before capturing these people who had been hiding.
Xia Lin Lang believed that she was already careful enough the last time she went out, but she was still tailed by someone, which was why this place was now under siege.
Fortunately, she wasn’t an inflexible person. Since Yang Kai managed to change her mind, she directly agreed to his plan.
Pear Flower Palace radiated a dazzling glow as Spear Intent filled the entire World. The palace artifact seemed to have turned into an all-conquering spear as it pierced towards the four unsuspecting enemies.
They were targeted by the attack that had condensed all the power and aura of Pear Flower Cave Heaven.
The expressions of the four of them were transformed by horror as they intended to flee, but were unable to do so. They secretly cursed at Xia Lin Lang while Zong Zheng bellowed, “Act together if you want to live!”
He had never expected that Xia Lin Lang would act so decisively. If he had known this would happen, he wouldn’t have listened to Grandma Jiu and come over to have a hand in this mess. This was a disaster he didn’t ask for.
As he spoke, he fully activated all his World Force and made his move.
Grandma Jiu, Zhu Ling Shan, and Purple Night Boy also knew that it wasn’t the time to hold back; therefore, after Zong Zheng spoke, they also activated their powers without hesitation.
At that instant, seven robust defensive artifacts had been summoned as they hovered in front of the group of four. Behind the artifacts, some defensive Secret Techniques were also activated. A glow flickered in front of them as though there was a thick layer of wall defending them.
There was a long tail of light behind Pear Flower Palace, which made it look like a ferocious Dragon.
It was a palace artifact that had many powerful functions, and at this moment, it had condensed all the World Force of Pear Flower Cave Heaven. Certainly, such an attack could be described as terrifying.
Looking down, they could see that Pear Flower Palace had been engulfed in an aura. Presently, Yang Kai was standing on the square in front of the palace. The Spear Dao Essence he hadn’t managed to fully digest now resonated with the palace.
Be it Pear Flower Palace or the Spear Dao Essence, they originally belonged to the original owner of Pear Flower Cave Heaven, so it wasn’t surprising that they resonated with each other.
With a solemn expression, Yang Kai made a grabbing gesture as though he was holding a spear. Even if there were millions of enemies in front of him, he could destroy them with his thrust.
An exuberant Yang Kai filled his lungs before roaring, “Kill!”
As the attack struck, the seven artifacts were shredded like paper. The Secret Techniques behind the artifacts were also instantly shattered.
The four enemies were sent flying away as they all sprayed out mouthfuls of blood, their auras significantly weakened.
Pear Flower Palace directly formed a huge crack in the World Barrier and disappeared into the distance.
The heritage of Pear Flower Cave Heaven had been sucked dry, so the entire place had become dead. Even the command centre, Pear Flower Palace, had left; therefore, following the violent upheaval, the Universe Cave Heaven crumbled and exploded.
In the void, shattered Spirit Provinces of different sizes appeared from out of nowhere and shot forward in all directions.
At the same time, four battered and injured figures emerged. They appeared to still be reeling from the shock. Zong Zheng was the most severely injured among them as he was covered in terrible wounds. One could even see his squirming organs through the gashes in his flesh.
It wasn’t that Zong Zheng was weaker than the rest of them, he was just unlucky to have borne the brunt of the horrifying attack.
It was an attack that had exhausted all of Pear Flower Cave Heaven’s power, so although it wasn’t as powerful as an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master’s strike, the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters couldn’t easily parry it.
The excruciating pain caused Zong Zheng’s face to contort as he covered his wounds with his power to stop the bleeding. He also fished out lots of precious pills from his Small Universe and gulped them down.
All of a sudden, he felt a sharp pain in his chest as a stream of dangerous World Force had locked onto him from behind.
He instantly froze on the spot, and when he looked down, he saw a child’s hand sticking out of his gut.
With widened eyes, he bellowed, “Purple Night Old Ghost!”
Behind him, Purple Night Boy stuck close to him like a shadow as he grinned, “Since you’re so badly injured, you won’t stand a chance to survive. I’ll send you on your way now, no need to thank me!”
“You dare?!” Zong Zheng roared. However, he was attacked by Purple Night while he had lowered his guard, and he was now horribly injured, so there was no way he could resist.
The next moment, Purple Night Boy surged his World Force, which rushed into the other man’s body and destroyed his vitality.
Purple Night then pulled a bloody liver from Zong Zheng’s body and started gnawing at it. His expression was as casual as someone who was having a cold drink in the hot summer.
In a nearby place, Grandma Jiu and Zhu Ling Shan watched the incident unfold with impassive expressions.
In a place like the Shattered Heaven, people could turn hostile to each other at any moment. If one of them had been badly injured instead of Zong Zheng, such a calamity would’ve befallen them as well.
Since Zong Zheng was severely wounded, there was no way he could keep fighting. That was the reason Purple Night Boy seized the chance to kill him. Even if Purple Night hadn’t done that, the other two would’ve developed some ill intentions.
A Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master was killed just like that.
However, unlike a Mid-Rank Master, Zong Zheng’s Small Universe didn’t instantly collapse after his death. Instead, it contracted and sucked the corpse into it before disappearing into the Void.
Since time immemorial, this was how Universe Paradises and Universe Cave Heavens had come about after the death of High-Rank Masters. As long as the Small Universe didn’t suffer from any violent impact or irreversible damage, there was a decent chance of it remaining after the owner’s death.
There was no doubt that Zong Zheng had left behind a Universe Paradise after he passed away.
The liver of a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master was immensely beneficial to Purple Night Boy, so he rapidly swallowed it down. As he wiped the blood off his mouth, his initially listless aura stabilised.
He then turned to look in the direction Pear Flower Palace had disappeared and said, “Even with the help of Lin Lang Palace, Xia Lin Lang must be in a terrible state after forcefully mobilizing the power of the entire Universe Cave Heaven. There won’t be such a chance again if we let it slip through our fingers. I’m going after her. What do the two of you think?”
Grandma Jiu and Zhu Ling Shan exchanged glances before nodding lightly. A moment later, the three of them shot forward.
Certainly, the Universe Paradise left behind by Zong Zheng was precious as well. By breaking the World Barrier, one could obtain all the possessions Zong Zheng had left behind in his Small Universe. Nevertheless, regardless how many precious items he had, they paled when compared to the World Spring.
After weighing the pros and cons, they certainly wanted to obtain the World Spring instead of searching the new Universe Paradise.
With that said, they had memorised the location of this Universe Paradise, so they would come over to loot it when there was a chance in the future.
Inside Pear Flower Palace, blood streamed out of Yang Kai’s nose and mouth while Xia Lin Lang was pale-faced.
Just like Purple Night Boy had said, it was extremely taxing to forcefully activate the power of the entire Pear Flower Cave Heaven. If Xia Lin Lang had done it on her own, she would’ve lost all power to fight by now.
Fortunately, Yang Kai was there to share the burden with her, so she was less exhausted than her pursuers anticipated. Nevertheless, since she had to recuperate, Pear Flower Palace was temporarily controlled by Yang Kai.
At this moment, Yang Kai felt fortunate that he had decided to absorb all of the Spear Dao Essence in Pear Flower Cave Heaven; otherwise, it would’ve been wasted by now. After all, Pear Flower Cave Heaven had collapsed and broken apart.
Although they had fled from Pear Flower Cave Heaven, they couldn’t let their guard down. The World Spring was extremely attractive, so the four High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters wouldn’t easily give up on it. On the other hand, they couldn’t stay in the Shattered Heaven forever.
While controlling Pear Flower Palace, Yang Kai sat down with his legs crossed to recuperate. He also infused his Divine Sense into his Small Universe to check on those living inside it.
Although it had only been a few days since the over 10 million people entered the Small Universe, they had become at ease following the Emperor Realm Masters placating them. They had also been divided into dozens of groups with some of them remaining in the same place, harvesting wood and stone in order to build houses. Some of them had moved across a long distance to look for suitable places to live.
These groups of people ranged from several tens of thousands to several hundreds of thousands, and each one was respectively led by an Emperor Realm Master.
This was what Yang Kai had told the Emperor Realm Masters to do; after all, development would be obstructed if more than ten million people gathered in a single place. Therefore, after putting them inside his Small Universe, Yang Kai ordered the Emperor Realm Masters to lead the people to live in different places.
Now, it seemed that the Emperor Realm Masters had done a great job.
The migration was definitely taxing. Many of them were old people and young children. There were also a lot of families. That was the reason they were moving slowly. As a thought flashed through Yang Kai’s mind, he swept his World Force across them and instantly sent them to suitable places to stay.
It was his own Small Universe, so it wasn’t hard for him to do this.
After the initial shock, the Emperor Realm Masters soon came to their senses. They looked up at the sky and cupped their fists to express their gratitude, then started settling the people down.
Following a moment of observation, Yang Kai was elated.
In the future, several dozen cities of different sizes that were filled with people would form in his Small Universe. When these people settled down, they would certainly bring some transformation to his Small Universe.
Furthermore, his Small Universe was far more habitable compared to others because he had refined the Immortal Tree, which was a High-Rank Wood Element. Hence, the environment in his Small Universe was vibrant and full of vitality. All forms of vegetation could grow very strong inside it. On top of that, even the frail old people radiated a healthy glow upon entering his Small Universe.
A Great Sun was hanging in the sky in his Small Universe, and at dusk, the Sun fell beyond the horizon while the Moon leaped into the sky.
This kind of phenomenon was non-existent in other Small Universes. Perhaps there was only one such Small Universe in the entire 3,000 Worlds.
As the Moonlight spilled over the world, Yang Kai suddenly recalled something and fell into his thoughts.
He seemed to have fallen into a state of abstrusity and enlightenment as all sorts of ideas clashed and formed sparkles in his mind.
It felt as though he had finally noticed a key aspect he had accidentally ignored in the past, but he was unable to fully grasp it. It was as if a thin piece of paper had been placed in front of him. He should be able to break it with a poke of his finger, but he seemed incapable of doing so.
At that moment, he felt as if there was an itch he couldn’t scratch.
“What are you doing?” Just then, someone called out to him, which made him snap back from that ethereal state.
Apart from him, Xia Lin Lang, Qin Fen, and the other Open Heaven Realm Masters were also inside Pear Flower Palace.
Upon seeing how their Palace Master and Yang Kai worked together, the others wouldn’t dare to provoke Yang Kai again. Since this guy was not even afraid of Xia Lin Lang, he certainly wouldn’t have any regard for them.
Therefore, the person who dared to interrupt him could be none other than Xia Lin Lang.
Yang Kai was full of grievances after his state of enlightenment was interrupted by Xia Lin Lang. Although he hadn’t figured out the idea that almost became clear in his mind, he was certain that it was extremely important.
While suppressing his fury, he jerked his head to the side, only to see the woman glowering at him, “Where are you bringing me to?”
She had let Yang Kai control Pear Flower Palace since she had to recuperate; however, she had never expected that this guy would drive the palace out of the Shattered Heaven, which was why she was incensed.
Yang Kai frowned, but he soon realised why the woman was infuriated, so he explained, “The existence of the World Spring has been exposed, so we can’t stay in the Shattered Heaven any longer. Moreover, Pear Flower Cave Heaven is destroyed, and you have nowhere to go. There’s no point for you to stay here. I have a place in Void Territory that is very safe. I can assure you that no one will have their eyes on you when you reach there, and you won’t have to remain hidden.”
“Pfft,” Xia Lin Lang sneered, “How are you going to assure me?”
“Action speaks louder than words. You’ll find out by then. If you trust me, come with me.”
Xia Lin Lang snapped, “It’s not about whether I trust you or not, it’s that you have no idea about the situation we’re in! If I leave the Shattered Heaven, those from the Cave Heavens and Paradises will come to capture me. Can you ward them off by then?”
Yang Kai knit his brows, “How did all of you offend the people from the Cave Heavens and Paradises?”
Xia Lin Lang roared, “How should I know!? I’ve never fallen into any conflicts with the Cave Heavens and Paradises since I started cultivating; however, after I ascended to the Seventh Order, they came knocking on my door without ever telling me what they wanted. I was powerless to resist them since they were so formidable. Left with no choice, I went into hiding in the Shattered Heaven. Now, thanks to you, I’ve lost my home, and here you are trying to send me to the lion’s den! Go to Void Territory if you want, but don’t count me in!”
Upon finishing her words, Xia Lin Lang took control of Pear Flower Palace and drove it in a different direction.
It would be extremely risky if they turned around, for Grandma Jiu and the others must be racing after them. By doing so, they would fall into a fierce battle against their enemies.
After a moment of hesitation, Yang Kai got up and said, “In that case, we should part ways here.”
Since they had gotten out of the woods, he could make use of Space Principles to get rid of the four High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters.
Xia Lin Lang snorted. “My hideout has been destroyed because of you, and I have nowhere to go in Shattered Heaven. Now you want to leave just like this? There’s no way I’ll allow that to happen.”
Yang Kai questioned dispassionately, “What do you want, then?”
While staring resentfully at him, Xia Lin Lang said through clenched teeth, “Aren’t you an expert in the Dao of Space? There are countless Universe Cave Heavens and Universe Paradises that remain hidden in Shattered Heaven. You can only leave when you manage to help me find a new hideout!”
Yang Kai shook his head. “Although I’m adept in the Dao of Space, it’s still hard for me to find any hidden Universe Cave Heaven or Universe Paradise. Those that are easy to find have all been discovered. Moreover, I’m the target of Grandma Jiu and the others. You’ll also benefit if we part ways. As long as I can leave Shattered Heaven, they wouldn’t dare to run after me. Why would you object to this win-win solution?”
With that said, he knew that Xia Lin Lang still coveted his World Spring. As long as she hadn’t snatched the World Spring from him, she would never willingly let him go. She had suffered immense losses this time. Not only was Pear Flower Cave Heaven destroyed, but she was also being pursued by her enemies. If she could obtain the World Spring, it could make up for the losses.
“I don’t care.” Xia Lin Lang was determined to make him stay. “If you insist on leaving, don’t blame me for falling out with you.”
“What an unreasonable person!” Yang Kai roared.
Xia Lin Lang put on a smile and looked provokingly at him. “So what if I’m unreasonable?”
Yang Kai had the urge to punch her in the face. After they glared at each other for a moment, he had no choice but to back down as he said, “Fine then, I’ll help you find a new hideout before leaving. If you still stop me from leaving by then, I’ll make you suffer even if both of us will be severely injured.”
Before Xia Lin Lang could reply to him, her expression changed as she turned to look in a particular direction. “They’ve come so soon!”
She could detect three rays of light that were rapidly approaching them in the Void. Although they were still far away, it was apparent to her that they were Grandma Jiu and the others. Before they even arrived, they started casting their Divine Abilities from a distance.
Yang Kai and Xia Lin Lang exchanged glances before activating their own powers. Although they hadn’t had any discussion before, one of them tacitly took control of Pear Flower Palace and fled while the other took charge of the Grand Array to fend off the Divine Abilities.
As the light barrier flickered, Pear Flower Palace shook violently. The palace then turned into a beam of light and shot into the depths of Shattered Heaven. Meanwhile, Grandma Jiu and the others continued pursuing them.
Yang Kai snapped, “If you hadn’t changed directions, they wouldn’t have reached us so soon!”
Xia Lin Lang snorted. “It was you who decided to leave Shattered Heaven without having a discussion with me, but here you are blaming it all on me. As a man, shouldn’t you take responsibility?”
Yang Kai clenched his teeth and fell silent. Although Pear Flower Palace could move pretty fast, it was hard to get rid of Grandma Jiu and the others.
The pursuit went on for the following month as they moved across several million kilometres in Shattered Heaven.
During this period of time, a piece of news spread across the entire Shattered Heaven and caused a commotion.
One of the Four Universe Pillars, the World Spring, had emerged, and it was obtained by a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. Presently, this person was in Xia Lin Lang’s hands as they were trying to escape the pursuit somewhere in Shattered Heaven.
The news sent a shockwave across the entire Shattered Heaven.
The Four Universe Pillars were extremely precious items in the world. Although they were not the most precious treasures, they were very important in the hearts of the Open Heaven Realm Masters.
The last time one of the Four Universe Pillars appeared was three thousand years ago. At that time, it was the Profound Fish that had appeared. In order to snatch the Profound Fish, the entire Shattered Heaven had fallen into an uproar. Countless hidden High-Rank Masters came into the spotlight to snatch the item. The entire process spanned across a hundred years, and the Profound Fish had changed ownerships several times. In the end, it was an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master who obtained it, and the dust slowly settled. During the one hundred years of upheaval, about ten High-Rank Masters in Shattered Heaven had lost their lives.
Therefore, when word got out that the World Spring had appeared, the old people who had experienced the calamity three thousand years ago were worried. Would history repeat itself?
With someone deliberately spreading the news, everyone in Shattered Heaven soon became aware of it. The portals of those Universe Cave Heavens and Universe Paradises opened up as the powerful High-Rank Masters stepped out of their hideouts. Like the pythons on the mountains and the Dragons in the lakes, they plunged into Shattered Heaven and caused a disturbance.
In Pear Flower Palace, Yang Kai and Xia Lin Lang sported dark expressions.
They initially thought that they would be safe after getting rid of Grandma Jiu and the others. Shattered Heaven was pretty vast, so they could just find a place and go into hiding. By then, Grandma Jiu and the others wouldn’t be able to find them regardless of how powerful they were.
After dozens of years to a hundred years, Grandma Jiu and the others would run out of patience, and everything would be fine. By then, the two of them could show up again.
In fact, they had indeed gotten rid of Grandma Jiu and the others after spending half a month dealing with them. Presently, Pear Flower Palace was hidden on a shattered Spirit Province as it went with the flow and moved towards the depths of Shattered Heaven.
Nevertheless, barely ten days later, a High-Rank Master appeared out of nowhere and directly launched an attack on Pear Flower Palace.
Since the person was on his own, he naturally couldn’t get the upper hand. However, Yang Kai and Xia Lin Lang were forced to keep fleeing.
After that, they seemed to have become the targets of detestation in Shattered Heaven as they would be attacked wherever they went. The most important thing was that many of the attackers were in the Seventh Order.
At this moment, three people were racing after Pear Flower Palace at full speed.
Xia Lin Lang was furious. Pear Flower Palace was initially charging forward, but it soon turned around and crashed into the three of them. They were tailing the palace from a distance when they saw that. As their expressions changed drastically, they turned into rays of light and fled in different directions.
The three of them were only in the Fifth Order, so they naturally wouldn’t dare to stay when faced with the ferocious-looking Pear Flower Palace. In order to increase their chance of survival, they even decided to part ways.
However, a strange force engulfed them the next instant. They froze on the same spots as though the space around them had solidified.
As Pear Flower Palace crashed into them, they instantly turned into blood mists.
Xia Lin Lang said through clenched teeth, “How did three Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters have the nerve to come over and embarrass themselves? How ridiculous!”
“After they’re killed, the powerful cultivator behind them will be coming. Let’s keep running!” Yang Kai yelled.
Pear Flower Palace then turned around and left at the speed of lightning.
A moment later, a figure arrived from a distance and stopped in the spot where the three people were killed. With a livid expression, he continued dashing forward.
The three of them were his disciples. Even though Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters were not powerful, it was hard to nurture them. Since they were all killed, he was expected to be furious.
However, if he could obtain the World Spring, it would be worth it even if all his disciples were killed, let alone three people.
“Grandma Jiu and the others must have spread the news since they’ve failed in their attempt to capture us. We’ve come across seven to eight High-Rank Masters along the way, and they’re all eager to destroy us. If this drags on, we’ll be doomed, “Yang Kai grimly said.
Xia Lin Lang’s chest heaved as she let out a breath. “I never expected that they’d do such a thing.”
In fact, Yang Kai had been worried that Grandma Jiu and the others might spread the news about the World Spring. However, Xia Lin Lang believe that in order to obtain the World Spring, they would hide the secret instead of exposing it to others.
What surprised her was that they had really done such a thing, which was why the two of them were in a perilous situation. They were now pursued by practically all the top cultivators in Shattered Heaven.
It had come to such a point that Yang Kai couldn’t leave Shattered Heaven, as some Heaven Covering Webs might just be waiting for him. By staying close to Xia Lin Lang, he could make use of the power of Pear Flower Palace and fend off the enemies. However, if he fell into a trap set up by any High-Rank Master, he might not be able to flee despite being an expert in the Dao of Space.
Several million kilometres away, Grandma Jiu and the others, who were still running after their targets, all wore livid expressions. They had personally experienced the turbulence going on in Shattered Heaven recently. The old farts who rarely showed up had suddenly stepped out of their homes and started moving in the same direction. Additionally, those old farts had also sent their disciples out like fishermen throwing nets into the sea.
It had been thousands of years since the last upheaval took place in Shattered Heaven.
Someone seemed to have dropped a rock into the muddy waters that made it even muddier.
While running after their targets, they exchanged glances. All of them appeared to be doubtful.
Grandma Jiu snorted. “Stop looking at me like this. I’ve always been on my own. Even if I wanted to spread the news, I didn’t have a way to do so. Therefore, it’s not me who spread the news about the World Spring. On the other hand, you two…”
Purple Night Boy scoffed, “It’s not me either. I can’t even contain the urge to kill you both, so why would I spread the news to others?” Upon finishing his words, he shot Zhu Ling Shan a grim look. “Big Sister Zhu, I heard that you’re pretty close to Ku Yan, the Dull Flame Divine Monarch.”
Ku Yan, the Dull Flame Divine Monarch that he had mentioned was one of the small number of Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters in Shattered Heaven. Although everyone could claim to be a Divine Monarch, Ku Yan deserved his title. He was also one of the acknowledged Great Experts in Shattered Heaven. Therefore, at the mention of the Dull Flame Divine Monarch, there was a sense of horror on Grandma Jiu’s wrinkled face.
Zhu Ling Shan was a licentious woman who had countless lovers. She was indeed beautiful, and her figure was curvy. Everyone in Shattered Heaven said that this woman was in an ambiguous relationship with the Dull Flame Divine Monarch. No one could prove it so far while Zhu Ling Shan and Ku Yan had never admitted to it.
To people like Zhu Ling Shan and Ku Yan, by remaining silent about it, they had actually acknowledged it to be true; therefore, in the Shattered Heaven, by leveraging on the Ku Yan Divine Monarch’s status, Zhu Ling Shan was an important figure despite not being in the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm.
“Zong Zheng!” Zhu Ling Shan suddenly snorted.
Grandma Jiu and Purple Night Boy became startled for a moment.
“I heard that Zong Zheng obtained a precious item in the past that could take a mortal blow for him in his stead. Now, it seems that the rumours were true.”
They were the only people who were aware that the World Spring had appeared. Xia Lin Lang and the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm brat wouldn’t invite trouble to themselves by exposing such a secret while the three of them had never revealed it to anyone. The only possibility was that Zong Zheng hadn’t lost his life, and he was the one who had caused such a turbulence in the Shattered Heaven.
Although he had a precious item that could act as a substitute for him in case he received a critical injury, allowing him to escape from death’s door following Purple Night Boy’s sneak attack, he must still be horribly injured, and he had no more strength left to snatch the World Spring. Therefore, he decided to spread the news. Since he was unable to obtain the World Spring, he certainly wouldn’t let Purple Night Boy and the others have it either.
At that instant, Purple Night Boy’s expression turned awkward while Grandma Jiu looked gleefully at him.
It wasn’t fun to have offended a powerful cultivator in the same Order, especially when it was a blood feud. If Zong Zheng really hadn’t lost his life, Purple Night Boy would have to keep his guard up all the time from now on, for the former might retaliate against him at any moment.
Grandma Jiu was indeed on her own, so she wouldn’t get any benefits by exposing the secret. On the other hand, Zhu Ling Shan and Ku Yan were in a relationship, so if she wanted to tell him this secret, she could’ve looked for a chance and informed him about it in secret instead of spreading it to everyone in the Shattered Heaven.
Therefore, Zhu Ling Shan’s speculation could very well be true. Zong Zheng was still alive, and he was the one who had spread the news about the World Spring.
Purple Night Boy, who appeared like a young boy, felt his head aching. At that time, he was eager to chase after Xia Lin Lang and her Sixth-Order ally, so he hadn’t had time to check on the Universe Paradise that Zong Zheng had left behind. If he had done that, he could’ve found out whether Zong Zheng was really dead or not.
Nevertheless, it was no use crying over spilled milk. Since he had offended Zong Zheng, it wasn’t like he could just apologise to him when they met again. In any case, both of them were in the Seventh Order, so he was not afraid of Zong Zheng. They would just fight a pointless life-or-death battle when the time came.
While they were charging forward, Zhu Ling Shan stopped in her tracks all of a sudden.
Seeing that, Grandma Jiu and Purple Night Boy turned to look at her.
Zhu Ling Shan tucked her hair behind her ear and said, “Since the secret about the World Spring has been exposed, and everyone in the Shattered Heaven is aware of it, it’s pointless for us to work together any longer. Why don’t we part ways now? By doing so we’ll stand a greater chance to get the World Spring. Farewell!”
Upon finishing her words, she turned around and dashed off.
Grandma Jiu and Purple Night Boy stared at her in silence without the intention to stop her.
A moment later, Purple Night Boy scoffed, “She must be going to look for her lover.”
Grandma Jiu replied impassively, “It’s understandable. She initially wanted to get the World Spring for herself, which was why she never told Ku Yan about it; however, since the news has been spread, Ku Yan must be aware of it by now. She knows that even if she manages to obtain the World Spring, it’ll fall into Ku Yan’s hands in the end. That’s why she parted ways with us.”
“What now, Grandma?” Purple Night Boy turned to look at her.
Grandma Jiu replied with a smile, “I’m old enough to have enjoyed all the pleasures in life, and I have no more regrets. Of course, I have to fight for a treasure like the World Spring. Even though I won’t have a chance to make it to the Eighth Order, I’ll be able to live for a while longer and enjoy the view of the Shattered Heaven if I can get it.”
Following a nod, Purple Night Boy said with a smile, “You’re pretty sanguine, Grandma. In that case, I’ll accompany you. Let’s join forces. If we can obtain the World Spring, we’ll decide who will get it after that.”
“Good!”
After they came to an agreement, they continued forward.
In the depths of the Shattered Heaven, there was an intense battle going on. The glow of those Divine Abilities and Secret Techniques expanded. As World Forces swept across the void, Pear Flower Palace staggered while the glow around it flickered.
While trying to flee, Yang Kai and Xia Lin Lang had encountered quite a number of powerful opponents; however, with the help of Pear Flower Palace, they could even ward off a High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master and continue fleeing.
Nevertheless, they were unlucky this time, for three High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters had been looking for them in a nearby place. While they were held up by one of them, the other two soon arrived at the scene.
That was how this great battle was ignited.
The Grand Array around Pear Flower Palace was damaged, and its defence power had plunged significantly. When they finally broke through the siege and fled, Pear Flower Palace was all tattered and on the brink of collapsing.
Xia Lin Lang felt so heartbroken that her face turned red, then white. It might also have something to do with the fact that she had consumed a lot of energy.
On the other hand, Qin Fen and the others were equally horrified and saddened. They grew up and cultivated in Pear Flower Cave Heaven, and they had rarely stepped out of that place. That was why they had never come across such a perilous situation prior to this. None of them had expected that they’d be pursued by all the top cultivators in the Shattered Heaven one day.
“Pear Flower Palace can’t persevere any longer.” Yang Kai on the other hand appeared calm and collected; after all, it wasn’t the first time he experienced such dangers. Since he started cultivating, he had encountered countless battles and there were times when he almost lost his life. Just some time ago, he was put in a tight spot following the pursuit of Xia Lin Lang and the others. Therefore, he was more experienced than anyone else when it came to dealing with situations like these.
Yang Kai continued, “Pear Flower Palace will be destroyed if it’s struck hard one more time. Since it’s a mobile palace artifact as well as an inheritance of Pear Flower Divine Monarch, you’d better store it for now.”
Presently, Xia Lin Lang was seated with her legs crossed while trying to restore her strength. Upon hearing his words, she nodded.
The reason she had been driving Pear Flower Palace to flee was that Qin Fen and the others were around. With the Pear Flower Palace, they would have a layer of defence to protect them; however, without the palace, Qin Fen and the others would be powerless to counterattack when faced with powerful enemies.
She then summoned Qin Fen and the others before whispering something to them. While appearing to be vexed, Qin Fen still clenched his teeth and nodded.
Following that, she put them as well as Pear Flower Palace inside her Small Universe.
“The people behind us will soon catch up. Don’t resist it. I’ll bring you to leave this place,” Yang Kai said and activated his power to engulf the woman.
Xia Lin Lang stiffened as she was apparently worried.
Yang Kai sneered, “Given the situation we’re in, we’ll stand a greater chance of fleeing by joining forces. Do you think I’ll make a move on you now?”
Upon hearing that, Xia Lin Lang fell silent. Although she still kept her guard up, she did her best to relax.
As Space Principles undulated, the two of them disappeared the next moment.
Yang Kai went on to use Instantaneous Movement several times, and when he finally stopped, they were already millions of kilometres away. Upon stabilising himself, he secretly cursed, for he saw an artifact that looked like a ship wandering around in the void not far away.
Needless to say, the people in the ship must have heard about the World Spring, which was why they were moving around the Shattered Heaven in an attempt to look for Yang Kai and Xia Lin Lang.
It just so happened that Yang Kai used Instantaneous Movement and arrived at this exact place. It wasn’t that he was careless, but rather that they had opponents everywhere in the Shattered Heaven now. He was just unlucky this time.
Just when he was preparing to escape with Xia Lin Lang by using Instantaneous Movement again, a figure on the deck suddenly looked in their direction. While appearing to be pleasantly surprised, the person called out, “Lin Lang!”
At the same time, the person left the ship and shot forward. His expression was that of a person who had chanced upon an old friend.
Xia Lin Lang looked in that direction and frowned.
Turning his head, Yang Kai asked, “Do you know him?”
After a moment of hesitation, Xia Lin Lang nodded her head.
The person from the ship didn’t come too close, for he was aware of Xia Lin Lang’s situation. To prevent any misunderstandings from arising, he stopped at a spot that was still pretty far away from them. While appearing guilty, he said in a gentle voice, “Lin Lang, I’m sorry for being late.”
Upon hearing that, Yang Kai arched his brow and darted his gaze between Xia Lin Lang and that person as he fell into his thoughts.
In a dispassionate tone, Xia Lin Lang asked, “What do you want?”
The person replied, “I rushed over as soon as I heard that you were in trouble. Unfortunately, I had no idea where you were, so I had to keep looking around. It seems that I was lucky enough today to have come across you here.”
An impatient Xia Lin Lang said, “Just cut to the chase. I’m in a rush.”
The person contained his excitement and slowly said, “Lin Lang, everyone in the Shattered Heaven is now aware of the World Spring’s appearance, and many of the Seventh-Order and even Eighth-Order Masters have started making a move. There’s no way you can keep it.”
Xia Lin Lang sneered, “Are you here to snatch the World Spring as well?”
With an aggrieved expression, the person replied, “Lin Lang, I’m saddened by the way you look at me. Others might not know what I, Zhao Yi, want, but don’t you know it very well?”
Without directly answering his question, Xia Lin Lang asked, “Why did you call out to me if the World Spring is not what you’re after? Don’t tell me you want me to seek refuge in your place.”
There was a helpless smile on Zhao Yi’s face as he said, “I do want that to happen, but I know you won’t come with me.”
Those Seventh-Order and Eighth-Order Masters had occupied Universe Cave Heavens and Universe Paradises left behind by fallen ancient Masters. In their respective territories, they could use a power that far exceeded their own.
It was the case for both Xia Lin Lang and Zhao Yi.
Therefore, if she really followed him to his territory, she would be susceptible to his control. Although Zhao Yi appeared to be deeply in love with Xia Lin Lang, she had no idea what was really on his mind; hence, she had to be cautious.
That was the reason Zhao Yi knew that she wouldn’t follow him back to his hideout, and he wouldn’t even dare to have that wish.
“What do you want, then?” Xia Lin Lang frowned.
With a solemn expression, Zhao Yi replied, “I’ve come to an agreement with Cheng Yang. As long as you pass the World Spring to him, he’ll ensure your safety. Additionally, he’ll give you a Universe Paradise as compensation.”
“Bright Flame Divine Monarch!?” Xia Lin Lang’s expression changed upon hearing that.
Judging from her expression, Yang Kai realized that this Cheng Yang must be an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master.
It had only been a short time since he arrived in the Shattered Heaven, so he knew little about this place; however, he had heard from Xu Wang that there were Eighth-Order Masters residing in this place, though there were only a small number of them.
A person who could make Xia Lin Lang look so apprehensive must be an Eighth-Order Master.
Zhao Yi looked gently at Xia Lin Lang and said, “Although Bright Flame Divine Monarch is an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, he’s a righteous man who has never oppressed anyone weaker than him before. I’m sure you’re aware of this as well. When I arrived at the Shattered Heaven back then, I was hunted down by the top cultivators from Luo Sheng Cave Heaven, and I had nowhere to go. It was Cheng Yang who offered me shelter; otherwise, I would’ve ceased to exist.”
“Is that why you looked for him?” Xia Lin Lang stared coldly at him.
Following a sigh, Zhao Yi said, “Other than the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, anyone in the Shattered Heaven will only invite trouble to themselves by trying to obtain the World Spring. I’m doing this for your own good.”
“I’ll have to thank you, then,” Xia Lin Lang said through clenched teeth.
Zhao Yi shook his head, “Lin Lang, I know you’ll blame me, but this matter has to be settled in such a way. You arrived at the Shattered Heaven later than I did, so you didn’t experience the carnage that happened 3,000 years ago. I saw it with my eyes. After the Profound Fish appeared at that time, more than ten Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters lost their lives. Just like you’re trying to do, they had all attempted to snatch the Profound Fish. Even if one of them could get the Profound Fish, they couldn’t ensure their own safety. I don’t want you to make the same mistake. Even if you hate me and blame me, I’ll still have to do it!”
Xia Lin Lang pressed her lips together, then said impassively, “Are you done talking?”
Zhao Yi became startled for a moment, then nodded, “Yes.”
After letting out a breath, Xia Lin Lang stared at him, “I understand what you think, and I know you might really be doing it for my own good.”
Thinking that the woman had changed her mind, Zhao Yi appeared elated; however, his joy vanished the next moment.
“Regardless, I’ll not give the World Spring to anyone,” Xia Lin Lang said with determination, “Give way if you still treasure our friendship; otherwise, there is no need for it to exist anymore.”
There was a heartbroken expression on Zhao Yi’s face. He parted his lips, but he couldn’t bring himself to say anything.
Just then, two figures dashed out of Zhao Yi’s ship and pounced on Yang Kai.
They were a man and a woman, who both had Sixth-Order strength. One of them was a handsome young man who was clad in all-white clothes while the other was an innocent-looking woman with a peach blossom branch in her hand.
Before they even arrived, their Divine Abilities landed on Yang Kai.
Yang Kai started becoming restless even before they attacked, and in an instant, his frustration from a long time of fleeing turned into endless murderous intent.
The transformation even startled himself.
Looking up, he became surprised as he had met this man and woman, who were trying to attack him, twice before.
He first came across them in the Shattered Heaven Star City. After he watched Wu Kuang leave, Yang Kai had sat on the second floor of the teahouse on his own while drinking. That was when he saw these two moving along the street.
After that, he chanced upon the man and the woman outside of the Universe Cave Heaven where the World Spring was located. Nevertheless, after the appearance of Xia Lin Lang and the other High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters, the onlookers soon left the place. Following the incident of Yang Kai working with a High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master from Bright King Cave Heaven to capture Blood Crow, the man and the woman were nowhere to be seen.
Yang Kai could never forget about them, especially the white-robed youth.
That was because during their encounters, he was instinctively repulsed by this man, as though there was an innate blood feud between them.
This time was worse as the white-robed youth directly made a move against him. Yang Kai’s murderous intent was instantly ignited as he appeared ferocious and ready to fight back.
He could even feel that his Dragon Vein was pulsating.
There were no signs of them attempting to make a move beforehand, so it was obviously a sneak attack.
A furious Xia Lin Lang roared, “Impudence!”
She then raised her hand and pushed out her palm towards them. Although both of them appeared to be in the Sixth Order, and their combined attack was indeed powerful, they were still significantly weaker than a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. Faced with the attack, both of them instantly froze.
Zhao Yi’s expression changed as he exclaimed, “No!”
He then stood in Xia Lin Lang’s way and parried the attack.
Space shook as World Forces clashed. Zhao Yi was forced to move backwards a long distance while Xia Lin Lang staggered slightly.
It wasn’t that Zhao Yi was weaker than her. If they were in a life-and-death battle, they would be equally matched. Perhaps Zhao Yi would even get the upper hand.
However, since he made a move in a hurry, and he wouldn’t dare to exert too much force as he was concerned about Xia Lin Lang, he suffered a setback as a result.
“Are you going to stop me, Zhao Yi?” Xia Lin Lang snapped.
There was a bitter expression on Zhao Yi’s face as he suppressed the tremors in his Small Universe and said, “Lin Lang, you can’t kill them because they’re with Bright Flame Divine Monarch!”
Xia Lin Lang became startled for a moment. It was then she realised why these two Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters dared to be so impudent in front of her when Zhao Yi hadn’t made a move, for they were Bright Flame Divine Monarch’s people. With an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master as their backer, it was expected that they had no regard for anyone in the Shattered Heaven.
“Moreover, the young man seems to have something to do with a certain great force in the Shattered Ruins.” Zhao Yi secretly spoke.
Upon hearing that, Xia Lin Lang was surprised.
The Shattered Ruins was the deepest part of the Shattered Heaven as well as a Forbidden Zone. Even Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters like Bright Flame Divine Monarch wouldn’t dare to rashly step into it. Even though it had been over 2,000 years since Xia Lin Lang arrived at the Shattered Heaven, she had never once approached the Shattered Ruins. In fact, the idea had never even crossed her mind. That was because not only was the environment in the Shattered Ruins extremely hostile, it was said that some formidable existences also resided there.
It wouldn’t have mattered if the white-robed youth was just a subordinate of Cheng Yang, but if he really had something to do with a great force from the Shattered Ruins, they all had to be wary of him.
As they spoke, Yang Kai had gotten into an intense battle with the man and the woman. Despite the fact that they were in the same Order, and that he was battling against two people on his own, he wasn’t at a disadvantage. The Spear Intent of his Azure Dragon Spear surged as his mastery over the Spear Dao was on the level of Transcending the Mundane. His Word Force burst forth and ensured that his opponents couldn’t approach him.
Zhao Yi was dumbfounded upon seeing that.
He wasn’t familiar with the man and the woman as he was only in a temporary cooperation with them; however, he knew that even though the man was only in the Sixth-Order, he was the strongest Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master he had ever seen.
Supposedly, it would only take this man an incense stick to kill an opponent in the same Order if he wanted to.
Although the woman was inferior to the man, she was already much stronger than average Sixth-Order Masters.
Initially, Zhao Yi believed that they could easily capture Yang Kai since they had joined forces, but it turned out that both parties were equally matched.
[I can’t believe there’s such a freak in this world!] Zhao Yi fell into a dazed state.
From the corner of his eye, he could see Xia Lin Lang charging towards the battlefield. With his expression changed drastically, he attempted to stop her and persuaded her by saying, “Stop being obstinate, Lin Lang. I’ve reasoned with you, so you’d better listen to me; otherwise, I’ll have to stop you even if you’ll start hating me!”
“Scram!” Xia Lin Lang forcefully pushed out her palm.
With a bitter expression, Zhao Yi had no choice but to parry the attack.
In an instant, two battles erupted.
On one hand, Zhao Yi and Xia Lin Lang were equally matched. Although they were in an intense battle, anyone could see that Zhao Yi had been accommodating the woman’s bombardment of attacks. However, it was impossible for Xia Lin Lang to get rid of him, for both of them were in the Seventh Order. If Zhao Yi insisted on stopping her, there was no way she could move past him.
Moreover, she had put Qin Fen and the others inside her Small Universe earlier, so it was troublesome for her to fight with her opponents as her use of power had been slightly affected by the burdens she was carrying.
On the other hand, the battle between Yang Kai and the duo was far fiercer. Both parties didn’t hold back their powers as they seemed determined to hack each other to death.
While the man and the woman were shocked by this result, Yang Kai was equally astounded.
He had rarely come across any cultivators in the same Order who could exchange moves with him for a long time, except for the Old Monster Blood Crow, who had been reborn after occupying someone else’s body. If he insisted on killing a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, Yang Kai was confident he could achieve it in fewer than twenty breaths.
Nevertheless, this man and woman gave him a huge surprise.
While the woman was slightly weaker, the man was indeed incredible. He would still be able to match Yang Kai even if he was on his own.
The Azure Dragon Spear felt scorching hot during the intense battle. Every time Yang Kai pushed out his spear, a deafening Dragon Roar could be heard.
This had never happened to him before.
Other than the anomaly with his Azure Dragon Spear, Yang Kai also realised that the Dragon Vein in his body was pulsating with such intensity that he was unable to suppress his murderous intent. His eyes had even turned bloodshot.
It was the same case for the man opposite him.
Just then, Yang Kai detected a very strange aura from the other man’s body. It was then he realised that, just like himself, the white-robed youth had a Divine Spirit’s bloodline.
However, unlike himself, this person had never refined a Divine Spirit Source, which meant he had to have been born with a Divine Spirit’s bloodline.
The reason they held such grudges against one another was that their bloodlines clashed.
The blossoming Pear Flowers were intertwined with peach blossoms.
As a Golden Crow was heard cawing, a Great Sun leaped into existence. The sea of flowers shattered while Yang Kai pushed out his spear.
The woman, who was charging towards Yang Kai with a peach blossom branch in her hand, instantly felt cold all over her body. She could see the Great Sun expanding rapidly and almost engulfing her.
Since she had been targeted specifically at such close range, there was no way she could dodge the attack. Following a shout, she extended her peach blossom branch.
The Great Sun instantly melted the peach blossom branch away. Seeing that the woman was about to be killed by the Azure Dragon Spear, the white-robed youth dashed forward and extended two fingers towards Yang Kai’s heart.
He reckoned that he could only save the woman by launching an attack on their opponent.
Without hesitation, Yang Kai swept his spear across the youth instead.
The spear directly struck the white-robed youth at his waist. As a violent force burst forth, the white-robed youth sprayed out a mouthful of blood mist, which covered Yang Kai.
The blood mist was extremely eerie, and even though Yang Kai had immediately pushed his World Force to protect himself, he was still contaminated by it. The blood instantly melted into his body.
A large Dragon Head abruptly appeared behind Yang Kai as it roared and shook the Nine Heavens.
The woman, who had just escaped from death’s door, appeared beside the white-robed youth and supported his weight. Appearing to be concerned, she called out, “Young Master!”
The white-robed youth shook his head and choked down the blood in his mouth. While staring fixedly at Yang Kai, he curved his lips into a smile.
Yang Kai furrowed his brows as he felt immensely hot. While he staggered, he had the urge to transform into a Half-Dragon.
Upon realising that something was off, Xia Lin Lang bolted towards him and clenched his arm before shouting, “Let’s go!”
Suppressing the murderous intent in his heart, Yang Kai looked intently at the white-robed youth. Although he wanted to kill him ruthlessly, he knew that they couldn’t stay in this place any longer, for they had made quite some noise. If there were other people nearby, they would’ve detected it by now. He then manipulated Space Principles and engulfed Xia Lin Lang with them before disappearing into the distance.
By the time the white-robed youth pushed out his fist, he realised that Yang Kai and Xia Lin Lang were nowhere to be found.
As Space Principles undulated, two figures shot towards the depths of the Shattered Heaven. They were none other than Yang Kai and Xia Lin Lang. Although he was far away from the previous battlefield, he still couldn’t suppress his murderous intent and pulsating Dragon Vein.
After he was infiltrated by the white-robed youth’s blood mist, Yang Kai felt an immense force charging around in his body. As a result, he was unable to control the power of his Dragon Vein and he constantly had the urge to transform into a Half-Dragon.
While suppressing this urge, Yang Kai pushed his World Force in an attempt to get rid of the strange power which had infiltrated his body. However, the power seemed to have spirituality of its own as it streamed towards his shoulder. The next instant, he felt an excruciating pain on his left shoulder as though it had been seared with a piece of heated iron.
This caused Yang Kai to grunt.
Fortunately, his weltering murderous intent and pulsating Dragon Vein finally subsided following the incident.
“What happened?” Xia Lin Lang turned her head and asked. She already realised that something was wrong with Yang Kai the moment the white-robed youth appeared. Given the state he was in, he would’ve tried to hack the other party to death if she hadn’t dragged him away.
Certainly, given the power Yang Kai had showcased, the white-robed youth couldn’t defeat him despite having a helper. Nevertheless, with Zhao Yi around, he wouldn’t let Yang Kai just kill the white-robed youth.
“That guy was interesting,” Yang Kai snorted. He then pulled down his clothes and took a glance at his left shoulder, only to see a bird-shaped mark on his skin.
At first glance, the mark seemed to be alive as the bird expanded its wings. There was a tinge of derision behind its eyes.
“What’s this?” Xia Lin Lang exclaimed.
Without responding to her, Yang Kai directly sliced the bit of his skin off his shoulder. The bird-shaped mark was instantly removed, and as he activated his power, the mark turned into dust.
The flesh around his wound squirmed as it was the manifestation of the restorative power of his Dragon Vein and Wood Element Power. In just more than ten breaths of time, the flesh in his wound was restored.
However, the bird-shaped mark, which was supposed to have been destroyed, appeared on his shoulder again, as though it was determined to follow him forever.
Yang Kai snorted. Although he had already expected this outcome, he still felt displeased when he saw it.
There was a dark expression on Xia Lin Lang’s face as she asked, “Are you being tracked?”
Yang Kai nodded and turned to look at her, “I’m in a perilous situation, so I suggest that you part ways with me now. Their target is the World Spring, so you don’t have to stick close to me. By fleeing on your own, you’ll stand a greater chance of survival.”
Xia Lin Lang shook her head, “It’s useless even if we part ways now. Everyone in the Shattered Heaven is now aware that we’re together. Just like you, I’m also their target.” She then put on a bitter smile, “Just like you’ve said, we’re riding the same boat now.”
Although her hideout was previously invaded by Grandma Jiu and the others, the situation wasn’t so terrible; however, she had never expected that in just half a year, they had become the target of the entire the Shattered Heaven. Regardless of how expansive this place was, there was nowhere they could settle down safely.
“Now, one of the options for us is to turn around and try to break through the siege. As long as we can leave the Shattered Heaven, we’ll be safe. However, the chances are slim. If we turn around now, we’ll go through countless battles. It wouldn’t have mattered if our opponents were just in the Seventh Order, but presently, even the Eighth-Order Masters are looking for us. If we come across them, we won’t be able to fight back.”
Upon hearing that, Xia Lin Lang sighed and nodded, “One of the Four Universe Pillars is tempting enough for them to act.”
Yang Kai turned to look at her, “So, we have to go to a place that is difficult even for those in the Eighth Order to reach. I’m not familiar with the Shattered Heaven. Do you have any suggestions?”
The bird-shaped mark on his shoulder was used for tracking, so even though he had no idea about the limit of the distance it could be followed, Yang Kai had to plan for the worst.
The white-robed youth had the support of Bright Flame Divine Monarch, Cheng Yang, so it was unrealistic for them to hide somewhere as their opponents would find them sooner or later.
“If we can find a Universe Paradise or Universe Cave Heaven that hasn’t been discovered…”
Before she even finished speaking, Yang Kai raised his hand to interrupt her, “The chances are very slim. To be honest, I’ve been paying attention to the surroundings along the way this whole time, but I’ve never discovered anything.”
Xia Lin Lang pressed her lips together while appearing to be hesitant.
With a frown, Yang Kai said, “Nothing can be worse than the situation we’re in now. Perhaps we’ll be able to escape this calamity by taking a huge risk. If you have somewhere to go, tell me right away.”
“The Shattered Ruins!” Xia Lin Lang lifted her head and replied. Aware that Yang Kai knew nothing about this place, she took the initiative to offer an explanation, “The Shattered Ruins is in the deepest part of the Shattered Heaven. It’s rumoured that it was the final battlefield of the great war in ancient times. Countless High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters lost their lives there; therefore, many Divine Abilities and Secret Techniques left behind by the ancient Great Experts still linger in the void. As a result, the environment is beyond horrible. Even the Seventh-Order and Eighth-Order Masters in the Shattered Heaven don’t dare to step into it, and it’s not just because of the Divine Abilities and Secret Techniques, there are also a lot of Spirit Arrays and artifacts lurking in the dark. No one can be certain to escape unscathed if they accidentally trigger one of them. Also…”
“Go on,” Yang Kai urged.
“There are said to be many Divine Spirits who reside in the Shattered Ruins, so it has become a Forbidden Zone for Human cultivators like us.”
“Divine Spirits!” Yang Kai arched his brow, “Are there any members of the Dragon Clan?”
Xia Lin Lang shook her head, “I have no idea. Although I’ve been living in the Shattered Heaven for many years, I’ve never come across any Dragon Clan members before. Why are you looking for them?”
Certainly, Yang Kai wouldn’t tell her that he had a Dragon Clan bloodline, so he replied in a perfunctory manner, “I’m just curious. It’s said that Dragons and Phoenixes are the leaders of all Divine Spirits. I’ve always admired them, but I haven’t had the chance to meet one before.”
Xia Lin Lang burst into laughter, “The Dragon Clan is extremely arrogant. If we really run into them, we’ll have to worry about being get killed for no reason.”
“We’ll head to the Shattered Ruins, then,” Yang Kai directly made a decision.
Although Xia Lin Lang was hesitant, she knew that they had nowhere else to go in the Shattered Heaven other than the Shattered Ruins. She thus nodded and led the way for him.
On their way, she told him what she knew about the Shattered Ruins. Although she had been living in the Shattered Heaven for thousands of years, she knew little about this Forbidden Zone. She only knew that it was a dangerous place with a myriad of Divine Spirits. If they really broke into it, they would probably lose their lives.
If it weren’t because they had no other choice, she wouldn’t even have thought about entering the Shattered Ruins.
More than ten days later, the pair finally came close to the Shattered Ruins. Xia Lin Lang was evidently nervous as her entire figure stiffened. It was as though she believed she would be killed at any moment.
Just when Yang Kai wanted to placate her, his expression suddenly changed as he stopped in his tracks.
This couldn’t be helped though, as a stream of ferocious Divine Sense had travelled across millions of kilometres and locked onto him like invisible chains.
Upon noticing it, Xia Lin Lang turned her head, and the colour instantly drained from her face, “It’s Cheng Yang!”
They could see a ray of light rapidly approaching them from the distance. The speed at which it moved was outrageously fast and the light that was initially dim, in the blink of an eye, became extremely bright.
“Run!” Yang Kai yelled as he grabbed the woman’s arm and attempted to manipulated Space Principles; however, before he could make a move, the Divine Sense that had locked onto him surged.
Yang Kai, whose figure had started to fade, instantly reappeared as his use of Instantaneous Movement was interrupted at the most critical moment. As a result, he sprayed out a mouthful of blood.
Seeing that, Xia Lin Lang quickly activated her power and engulfed him in it before dashing forward.
Right then, a loud voice was heard shouting, “Both of you had better stop running if you want to keep your lives; otherwise, this Monarch will make life a living Hell for you if I have to capture you!”
Xia Lin Lang directly ignored him. Even though Zhao Yi had said that Cheng Yang was a righteous man who had never oppressed those weaker than him, from their brief contact just now, that was obviously a lie. Cheng Yang’s first act was to target them, and his second was the threaten them, so how were they supposed to trust him?
A moment later, a towering figure flashed past where the pair previously stood. He was none other than one of the small number of Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters in the Shattered Heaven, Bright Flame Divine Monarch, Cheng Yang.
He was able to reach this place by relying on the tracking mark left on Yang Kai’s body by the white-robed youth. At this moment, there was a mark, which was identical to the one on Yang Kai’s shoulder, on the back of Cheng Yan’s hand. It was apparently the white-robed youth’s doing.
Since the two marks were made by the same person, and they were connected by a bloodline link, they could find each other regardless of the distance. That was the reason Cheng Yang could accurately tail Yang Kai.
It wasn’t that Yang Kai didn’t want to get rid of the mark. In fact, he had tried many methods before, but all of his attempts had failed. Moreover, since they were on the run, he didn’t have any time to sit and focus on removing this mark.
The three figures charged forward at the speed of lightning.
However, the distance between both parties was clearly shortening. Since an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master had made a move while Yang Kai was unable to use Instantaneous Movement, it was expected that they couldn’t get rid of him.
Half a day later, Yang Kai lifted his head and saw a large area where lights of different colours glowed. They looked like clouds of Stars hovering in the void as they spanned across billions of kilometres.
Despite the extreme distance, Yang Kai still felt horrified, as a very dangerous aura wafted from the multi-coloured lights.
“That’s the Shattered Ruins.” Xia Lin Lang fell into a dazed state as well, “Those lights are supposedly Divine Abilities left behind by the ancient Great Experts.”
As she spoke, she felt her lips drying as she gazed at Yang Kai and asked, “Are we really going in?”
She felt a great sense of danger before even approaching the Shattered Ruins, so who knew what would befall them if they really got into it?
“Do we have a choice now?” Yang Kai snorted. While looking forward, his gaze was firm and determined.
Xia Lin Lang put on a bitter smile. Cheng Yang was getting close, and unless they were willing to let Cheng Yang have the final say on their life or death, they would have to keep moving forward.
Upon realising their intention, Cheng Yang wore a dark expression as he used his power to amplify his voice, “The environment in the Shattered Ruins is extremely hostile. Even this Monarch can’t be certain he will be able to enter and exit it alive, let alone you two. If you go into the Shattered Ruins, death will be certain!”
Upon seeing that Yang Kai and Xia Lin Lang didn’t stop, Cheng Yang appeared furious as he snapped, “Pointless obstinance!”
He then raised his hand and made a grabbing gesture. As his Word Force surged, a huge green illusory hand appeared in the void and covered Yang Kai and Xia Lin Lang like a Heaven Shrouding Palm.
The huge hand spanned a vast area, so they were unable to flee. In an instant, they were captured by the hand. As the hand tightened its grip, they felt a restrictive power coming at them from all directions.
Yang Kai and Xia Lin Lang instantly felt their bones dislocating. At that moment, they were unable to see or hear anything, as though they were trapped inside a dark cage.
Just then, a Golden Crow was heard cawing while a Great Sun leapt into existence. With the Azure Dragon Spear in his hands, Yang Kai pushed it out and tore the darkness apart. In the meantime, a Divine Ability from Xia Lin Lang burst forth.
Although Cheng Yang was an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, he had made a hurried move from a long distance; therefore, Yang Kai and Xia Lin Lang were able to break through it by joining forces.
The huge illusory hand fell apart while two battered figures shot out of it.
Cheng Yang knew that he couldn’t stop them with that attack; however, his move had successfully delayed them and allowed him to shorten the distance between them significantly.
While he continued charging forward, he balled up his fist and pushed it out.
The power of this attack broke through the barriers of space and a violent force swept out like a tsunami.
Yang Kai felt a crawling sensation on his scalp as all his muscles uncontrollably tightened. He then turned around in a hurry as his Azure Dragon Spear turned into countless spear shadows.
Although Xia Lin Lang was more powerful than him by one Order, she didn’t have as much experience in life-and-death battles against vastly stronger foes as he did; therefore, her reactions were slightly sluggish. Fortunately, following an attack from her partner, she hurriedly summoned a round defensive artifact to protect them.
The attack powered by the World Force of an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master shot forward and shattered all the spear shadows. Xia Lin Lang’s defensive artifact also turned dim as much of its spirituality was instantly lost.
As though a mountain had crashed into them, the two of them were sent flying away while spraying out a mouthful of blood.
“Hang on!” Yang Kai choked down the searing blood in his throat and grabbed the woman’s arm. By making use of the opponent’s force, he plunged into the Shattered Ruins.
A moment later, Bright Flame Divine Monarch appeared in front of the boundary to the Shattered Ruins. With a solemn expression, he looked up at the multi-coloured lights. Despite his hesitation, he still stepped forward to pursue them.
Although the Shattered Ruins was dangerous, the World Spring was so alluring to him that it was worth taking a risk. However, as soon as he stepped into the Shattered Ruins, he saw a violent Divine Ability coming at him. With widened eyes, he pushed out his fist. The Divine Ability that was equivalent to the full-force attack of a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master was shattered. Without stopping, Cheng Yang continued forward.
What surprised him was that as he moved forward, countless Divine Abilities and Secret Techniques came at him from all directions. Even though every attack was equivalent to a strike from a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, which wouldn’t kill him, they were dense and continuous, making them annoying to deal with.
Meanwhile, Yang Kai and Xia Lin Lang, who were ahead of him, were horrified as well.
Before they even entered the Shattered Ruins, they already felt a very dangerous aura wafting from it, but it wasn’t until they actually entered that they got a real taste of it.
They couldn’t help wondering just how many Divine Abilities and Secret Techniques had been left behind in this damned place.
Just like the Astral Wind Divine Ability that Yang Kai had come across in the past, these eerie Divine Abilities and Secret Techniques had existed for countless years. Although they were not as terrifying as the Astral Wind Divine Ability, there seemed to be an infinite number of them.
Before their entry, these Divine Abilities and Secret Techniques had remained dormant. Nevertheless, as they moved forward, they seemed to have been triggered by their life auras and attacked.
These Divine Abilities and Secret Techniques had come to life following a long time of stillness, and every one was equivalent to an all-out attack from an average Sixth-Order Master.
They were still so powerful even though countless years had passed, so it was imaginable that they were even more destructive when they were at the peak of their powers in the past. These attacks probably had the force of an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master when they were first created.
The two of them seemed to have fallen into a place full of traps, and wherever they went, they would trigger these traps.
They wouldn’t dare to stop, nor could they do so. Once they did, they would be doomed.
Fortunately, there was a short delay before these Divine Abilities sprung to life; hence, there was some time for them to keep fleeing.
Bright Sun Divine Monarch, who was chasing after them, suffered in their stead. The Divine Abilities and Secret Techniques triggered by Yang Kai and Xia Lin Lang actually all came right at him instead. He was basically cleaning up the mess for the two of them, and upon realizing this, Cheng Yang became increasingly incensed.
If he hadn’t barged into this place, these Divine Abilities would have targeted Yang Kai and Xia Lin Lang; however, since he wasn’t willing to give up on the World Spring, he had followed them and was now being peppered with the attacks meant for the ones he was pursuing.
Although it wasn’t hard for him to deal with Divine Abilities and Secret Techniques that were equivalent to attacks from Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, he was certainly annoyed by them. As he charged forward, he wielded his fists madly and shattered all those Divine Abilities and Secret Techniques.
Tremors could be felt coming from behind and Yang Kai certainly knew that those were the noises that Cheng Yang was making. At this moment, he wasn’t in the mood to take pleasure in the other party’s misfortune though. Instead, he was growing more and more apprehensive.
He had heard from Xia Lin Lang that the Shattered Ruins was extremely dangerous, but it wasn’t until he barged into this place that he understood just what she meant.
It never crossed his mind that the inside of the Shattered Ruins would look like this.
While Cheng Yang was in a dilemma, it was the same case for Xia Lin Lang and Yang Kai. They didn’t dare to stop for an instant, for if they did, all the nearby Divine Abilities and Secret Techniques would fly at them.
Bright Flame Divine Monarch was powerful, so he could easily deal with this barrage of Divine Abilities and Secret Techniques, but Yang Kai and Xia Lin Lang definitely couldn’t do that; after all, they were injured after they were attacked by Cheng Yang earlier.
“Do Divine Spirits really live here?” Yang Kai was doubtful. Although the Divine Spirits were formidable, with every mature Divine Spirit being as powerful as a High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master, they shouldn’t be able to survive in such a hostile environment.
“It’s just a rumour. I’ve never come here before,” Xia Lin Lang shook her head.
Then, Yang Kai stopped thinking about it. Regardless of whether there were any Divine Spirits in this place, the lives of Xia Lin Lang and him were truly hanging by a thread.
“Yang Kai, if I pass away, Qin Fen and the others…”
Before she could finish speaking, Yang Kai cut her off by saying, “If you die, do you think I’ll be able to survive?”
Xia Lin Lang was lost for words. After giving it a thought, she realised that if she, a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, was killed, there was no way Yang Kai could keep his life. Space Principles were not useful in a place like this, for if he used Instantaneous Movement, he might directly fall into some kind of mortal danger.
“Stop thinking about it. I’ve experienced countless life-and-death moments like this since I began cultivating, and I’ve nearly lost my life many times. Although the situation now is terrible, it’s not without hope. We can survive this as long as we don’t give up.”
“I hope so,” Xia Lin Lang replied in a dejected manner.
They continued moving forward, but although they had already fled before most of the Divine Abilities and Secret Techniques could attack them, there were still a small number they were unable to dodge.
In times like these, they could only parry the attacks, and as time passed, they consumed more and more energy.
A few days later, Yang Kai and Xia Lin Lang both sported solemn expressions.
That was because as they went deeper into the Shattered Ruins, the dormant Divine Abilities and Secret Techniques became increasingly powerful.
Half a day ago, they triggered a Divine Ability that was equivalent to the full-powered attack of a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, and as time passed, they encountered more and more Divine Abilities of such strength.
As they went further, the Divine Abilities became more formidable.
When the Divine Abilities struck at them from time to time, they had no choice but to resolve them. As a result, they felt immensely pressured.
After another half a day, all the Divine Abilities they came across were now basically on par with Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm attacks. Xia Lin Lang had to exert her full strength now to deal with them. Fortunately, Yang Kai wasn’t an ordinary Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, so by working together, they could temporarily ensure their own safety.
At this moment, Yang Kai felt fortunate that after the Divine Abilities were triggered, they still had some time to flee; otherwise, they would’ve lost their lives from exhaustion within an hour at most.
Instead of subsiding, however, the noise behind them became louder and nearer. It was apparent that Cheng Yang was still relentlessly chasing them.
Yang Kai couldn’t help but admire the man’s determination and the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master’s power. While he and Xia Lin Lang only had to deal with a few Divine Abilities from time to time, Cheng Yang basically ploughed through a full barrage to get to them. The Divine Abilities and Secret Techniques that had been triggered by them were all resolved by him.
However, Cheng Yang was surely in a terrible state despite being an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master.
A few ants meant nothing to an elephant, but a million of them could bite an elephant to death. Similarly, Bright Sun Divine Monarch must have exerted significantly more force than the two of them in order to resolve all the Divine Abilities they triggered and left behind.
That was indeed the case. Presently, Cheng Yang was slightly pale, which was a clear sign of overconsumption. Nevertheless, he didn’t even have time to take a breath. If he had hesitated for a moment now, he would be submerged in Divine Abilities.
In fact, he had thought about backing down several times; however, he had endured so much hardship already that there was no way he could resign himself to giving up.
While being frustrated, he swore that if he could capture the brat that had obtained the World Spring, he would rip his corpse into countless pieces. This was the biggest setback and embarrassment he had suffered in his life since he started cultivating.
A few days later, Yang Kai and Xia Lin Lang were battered and covered in blood.
Although they only had to deal with the Divine Abilities and Secret Techniques sometimes and could work together to share the burden, there were still times when they were accidentally hurt under such prolonged pressure. Earlier, a Sword Qi Divine Ability almost cut Yang Kai in half while there was a long cut on Xia Lin Lang’s abdomen. The flesh around her wound had rolled up.
They were almost killed during that incident.
At this point, Yang Kai could feel that some of the Divine Abilities and Secret Techniques they had triggered were equivalent to the attacks of Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters. Although there were only a small number of them, this was truly terrible news for them.
Given their strength and current states, they would be doomed if they were struck by any Divine Ability that was as powerful as an attack from an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master.
The only good news was that even though the Divine Abilities and Secret Techniques left behind in this place were becoming increasingly powerful, there were fewer of them in total now; otherwise, they wouldn’t stand a chance to flee.
As they moved forward, Yang Kai began seeing countless strangely-shaped ancient artifacts. Many of the Divine Abilities and Secret Techniques that had been triggered came from those artifacts. Although innumerable years had passed, they hadn’t lost their spirituality completely.
The Shattered Ruins weren’t just filled with danger; they were also full of treasures. Unfortunately, even the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters might not be able to obtain those treasures while they were here.
“Watch out!” Xia Lin Lang suddenly exclaimed.
Yang Kai’s expression instantly turned solemn. When he looked up, he saw a purple light that danced around like a snake. The light contained an aura that frightened them out of their wits.
There was no doubt that it was a Divine Ability that was equivalent to an attack from an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master.
The purple light that was supposed to be dormant in the depths of the Shattered Ruins was triggered by their life auras and became active, its ferocious aura soon locking onto them.
The expressions of Yang Kai and Xia Lin Lang changed drastically.
What they were most afraid of had finally happened. It was just like what usually happened on a battlefield; if a person was most afraid of death, he would definitely be killed. Since the aura of this Divine Ability had targeted them, they had no way to get rid of it other than through force.
If they were still at the peak of their strength, they might stand a chance to deal with such a Divine Ability; however, given their state, there was no way they could resolve it.
“Run!” Yang Kai roared and shot forward, dragging Xia Lin Lang along with him,
The purple light seemed to have come alive as it shot forward and relentlessly pursued them like a cat that caught a whiff of a fishy smell.
Although they were trying to flee from Cheng Yang earlier, they did their best to not trigger the dormant Divine Abilities around them. Now though, since they were being pursued by the purple light, the two of them were flustered and didn’t have time to spare attention to observe their surroundings. If they hesitated for even a moment, they would die.
As they charged forward, more Divine Abilities were triggered as they targeted their life auras.
Within an incense stick of time, the purple light was not the only Divine Ability that was chasing after them. Behind them were lights of different colours, and every Divine Ability was equivalent to the full force of a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master at the very least.
Yang Kai felt a cold chill creeping up his spine while Xia Lin Lang’s face was as pale as a sheet.
The situation was exacerbated as they moved forward. There seemed to be a tail of multi-coloured light behind them, and even though the sight was magnificent, their situation was beyond perilous.
“Yang Kai, I’m afraid this is it.” While running for her life, Xia Lin Lang put on a bitter smile. At this moment, she was regretful of the decision she had made. If she had known she would be faced with such a calamity in the Shattered Ruins, she would’ve chosen to leave the Shattered Heaven with Yang Kai.
She would rather be captured by the Cave Heavens and Paradises than feel helpless while death crept closer to her.
“Shut up!” Yang Kai roared.
“Can’t I even grumble a little since we’re dying?” There was an aggrieved look on Xia Lin Lang’s face.
Yang Kai didn’t bother to respond to her. Just then, he detected something and turned to look in a particular direction.
He could feel violent fluctuations of Space Principles coming from that direction. Since he was an expert in the Dao of Space, he was sensitive to this kind of power. The fluctuations of Space Principles were as conspicuous to him as a candlelight in the darkness.
“This way!” Yang Kai said and changed his direction.
Although he had no idea what was ahead of them, he understood that these Space Principles fluctuations were unusually strong. Things couldn’t get worse anyway as they were basically trying to claw their way out from death’s door. They might stand a chance to survive if they went over, which was better than waiting for certain death here.
Another incense stick later, even more Divine Abilities and Secret Techniques had been triggered by the fleeing pair, and the tail of multi-coloured light behind them had only grown more intense.
Suddenly, there came a moment when Yang Kai narrowed his eyes and looked dazedly forward. In the meantime, Xia Lin Lang covered her lips with her hands.
There were no colourful lights in the void in front of them; however, the area did look just like a broken mirror as fragments of space floated about in a disorderly manner. Among the fragments was a particularly conspicuous Void Crack that exuded the strong aura of nothingness.
The traces of this Space Technique made Yang Kai’s eyes brighten.
When he detected the dormant Divine Abilities and Secret Techniques in the Shattered Ruins earlier, Yang Kai considered the possibility of there being Space Secret Techniques hidden among them; however, he hadn’t come across any along the way, which made him feel disappointed.
It never crossed his mind that there was really a Space Secret Technique that was hidden in the deepest part of the Shattered Ruins.
Nonetheless, judging from the sight before his eyes, Yang Kai knew that this shattered space was indeed caused by an ancient Space Secret Technique, and one that had already fully exploded. The shattered Void was the best proof of this.
The emotions in Yang Kai’s heart undulated. There was someone in ancient times who had also been an expert in the Dao of Space, and that Master’s mastery of it was far greater than his own.
That was because the damage caused by the Space Secret Technique still hadn’t been repaired by the local World Principles. The Void still looked like a broken mirror.
Therefore, the danger that was ahead of them in the Void wasn’t the Space Secret Technique that was left behind, but the shattered Void caused by the Divine Ability.
If they were not careful, they would fall into a Void Crack upon entering it and never be able to find their way out.
Usually, Yang Kai wouldn’t take such a huge risk. At the very least, he would observe it from the outside and try to comprehend the secrets of the Space Secret Technique that had been left behind.
However, at this moment, they were pursued by a barrage of Divine Abilities powerful enough to vaporize them, so there wasn’t enough time for him to comprehend anything. He didn’t even have time to hesitate as he took Xia Lin Lang’s hand and plunged into the nearest space fragment.
Xia Lin Lang instinctively tried to resist as she was apparently aware of the danger ahead; however, she soon calmed down and let Yang Kai drag her away.
The next instant, they entered the nearest space fragment together.
A slight tremor could be felt coming at them and it suddenly felt as though they had moved through a Space Array. When Yang Kai came to his senses, he realised that he was in the deepest part of a space fragment. What shocked him was that Xia Lin Lang was no longer beside him.
The turn of events astounded him.
All this time, as they were fleeing, the two of them had tied their auras together to ensure they weren’t separated, and they were even holding hands just a moment ago, but in the blink of an eye, Xia Lin Lang had vanished from his side.
Yang Kai then hurriedly looked around and soon found her in a space fragment that was several hundred kilometres away.
It was obvious that she could see him as well, though she appeared quite helpless.
Before Yang Kai could say anything to her, they turned their heads at the same time and looked in the same direction.
In that direction, the Divine Abilities and Secret Techniques of different colours had formed into a torrent that gushed towards them. Yang Kai could instantly recognise that the torrent consisted of the Divine Abilities that had locked onto their life auras and followed him to this place.
The torrent soon streamed into a familiar-looking space fragment and disappeared.
Yang Kai batted his eyes as he could recognise that the space fragment was the one that he and Xia Lin Lang had initially passed through. For some reason though, upon entering that space fragment, all the Divine Abilities and Secret Techniques were sent to different space fragments. It seemed that was also the reason he and Xia Lin Lang were separated.
Before he could figure out what exactly had transpired, Yang Kai saw the various Divine Abilities exploding in the space fragments around him. The multi-coloured lights appeared and disappeared in the space fragments repeatedly.
The sight of it caused Yang Kai to be drenched in a cold sweat.
He couldn’t really feel the explosive powers of those Divine Abilities since they were exploding in separate spaces; however, by judging from what he could see, Yang Kai was certain that there would have been nothing left of him and Xia Lin Lang if had they been struck by them.
Fortunately, just a moment later, the lights of these Divine Abilities slowly subsided and disappeared.
The crisis was resolved just like that; however, they fell into an even more complicated crisis the next instant.
Xia Lin Lang apparently wanted to return to Yang Kai’s side; after all, she felt insecure since she was all alone in this shattered space. Nevertheless, as soon as she moved, she disappeared from the space fragment she was in, and when she reappeared, she was already in a totally different space fragment that was even further away.
This caused her to fall into a dazed state.
“Stop moving!” Yang Kai shouted in all directions with his Divine Sense, and fortunately, it seemed to reach her.
Xia Lin Lang nodded gently and remained unmoving in the same spot.
Yang Kai then looked around. He still hadn’t realised it while he was outside earlier, but upon entering this place, he could finally see that the space in this area was severely shattered, and a huge amount of space fragments had been formed. He could see that there were more than 10,000 space fragments in his immediate surroundings, and he was certain there were even more in the distance he could not perceive.
As he recalled the sight of the Divine Abilities exploding and what happened to Xia Lin Lang earlier, Yang Kai formed a speculation in his mind.
He then took a step forward and realised that nothing was wrong, and it was the same case for his second step. It wasn’t until he took the third step forward that he felt slightly dizzy again. It was the same feeling as when he passed through a Space Array.
The world spun around him, and the next moment, he appeared in a different space fragment.
He looked around and realised that Xia Lin Lang was nowhere to be seen. Although he had no idea where he was, he reckoned that he was still within the area affected by the ancient Space Secret Technique. That was because he could still see countless space fragments around him, just like he had encountered a moment ago.
After his first experiment, Yang Kai became bolder.
A moment later, he disappeared from the space fragment he was in and was sent to a different place. Seeing that Xia Lin Lang was still nowhere in sight, he made a move again.
After seven or eight tries, he finally saw Xia Lin Lang in a fragment that was just a dozen kilometres away.
At this moment, the woman was clearly both confused and helpless. Yang Kai’s disappearance just now made her feel uneasy; however, from her previous experience and in accordance with Yang Kai’s advice, she didn’t dare to move around randomly.
It wasn’t until she saw Yang Kai again that she let out a breath of relief and pulled herself together.
“Have you discovered anything?” Xia Lin Lang called out via Divine Sense.
“I have a speculation, but you should see it for yourself,” Upon finishing his word, Yang Kai flicked an Open Heaven Pill forward.
Xia Lin Lang looked fixedly at the Open Heaven Pill, which moved for one metre before it disappeared.
In the meantime, the Open Heaven Pill abruptly appeared in a space fragment that was several dozen kilometres away from Yang Kai.
Upon realising something, Xia Lin Lang said, “Teleportation!”
Yang Kai nodded, “Keep watching.”
This time, he flicked more than 100 Open Heaven Pills forward. Just like what had happened earlier, the pills slowly drifted ahead and soon disappeared.
However, there were no regular patterns to speak of when they reappeared. About a dozen Open Heaven Pills appeared in the space fragments around them, but the rest had gone missing.
Xia Lin Lang fell into her thoughts for a moment, then said, “Is the teleportation random?”
“I think so.” Yang Kai nodded. If it wasn’t random, the more than 100 Open Heaven Pills that he had flicked out would’ve appeared in the same place. However, the reality was that they only saw some pills in the fragments around them, and the rest of them were sent to places that were out of their sight.
A realisation finally dawned upon Xia Lin Lang. That explained why after the torrent of Divine Abilities entered this place, they flickered and exploded in the fragments around them.
Since the teleportation effect was random, the Divine Abilities were sent to different fragments while their powers were slowly exhausted until they disappeared.
Upon that realisation, Xia Lin Lang felt a chill running down her spine. It seemed that she and Yang Kai were pretty lucky. If those Divine Abilities were sent to the fragments they were in, they would’ve been killed.
“The space in this place is in chaos, and we can’t judge it using common sense. Although we might appear to be close to each other, we may actually be hundreds of thousands of kilometres apart, or even further.”
Xia Lin Lang’s expression changed slightly, then she asked with hesitation, “Can you come here? Or should I go over?”
Yang Kai shook his head, “There are probably millions of space fragments in this place. Since the space is in chaos, I can’t control the direction of the teleportation. Even if you remain perfectly still, I might not even reach you after a few hundred or even 1,000 years.”
Upon hearing that, Xia Lin Lang put on a bitter smile, “Does it mean we’re trapped here now?”
Yang Kai grinned, “It’s better than our previous situation. At the very least, we’re not in danger now.”
“You have a point.” Xia Lin Lang appeared slightly relieved.
Suddenly recalling something, Yang Kai turned to look in a particular direction, “I almost forgot that someone was still chasing after us.”
As soon as he finished speaking, a tall figure abruptly came into sight. The person was none other than Bright Flame Divine Monarch, Cheng Yang, who had been relentlessly pursuing them all this time.
At this moment, Cheng Yang, who was one of the few Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters in the Shattered Heaven, appeared quite battered as his clothes had become tattered. His hair was in a mess as it hung loose over his shoulders.
He was engulfed in rage, which made him look like a volcano that was about to erupt.
His encounters along the way were truly frustrating, which was why he was so infuriated. Supposedly, given his Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm cultivation, he could easily capture a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master; however, since he entered the Shattered Ruins, he had actually been forced to clean up the mess Yang Kai left behind.
Countless Divine Abilities and Secret Techniques had been resolved by him along the way.
Just like what happened to Yang Kai and Xia Lin Lang earlier, Cheng Yang was pursued by a torrent of Divine Abilities and Secret Techniques.
Moreover, the torrent behind him was far greater than the one that had followed the two of them.
Yang Kai was amazed and couldn’t help thinking that the heritage of an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master was indeed incredible. If he and Xia Lin Lang were faced with the same situation, they wouldn’t have escaped.
Even though Cheng Yang appeared battered, he still seemed able to deal with the situation.
Upon reaching this place, Cheng Yang soon saw Yang Kai as he roared, “I’ll shred your corpse into 10,000 pieces, you brat!”
After he finished speaking, he directly pounced towards Yang Kai, who appeared completely unfazed.
The next moment, Cheng Yang abruptly disappeared from the spot and the torrent that was close behind him directly crashed into the nearest space fragment.
Yang Kai shouted, “Defend yourself!”
At the same time, he activated his World Force and summoned the Azure Dragon Spear while keeping his guard up.
Although the teleportation among these space fragments was random, no one could guarantee that he wouldn’t be struck by one of those Divine Abilities and Secret Techniques.
The moment the Divine Abilities came into contact with the first space fragment, they abruptly disappeared.
The next instant, fireworks seemed to have been ignited as lights of different colours exploded in a brilliant displacement among the various space fragments.
Just then, a ray of light appeared out of thin air right in front of Yang Kai, who had fortunately been on guard. Without hesitation, he pushed out his spear with the Great Sun he had summoned on its tip.
Violent fluctuations were felt coming at him as he was sent flying away. When he reappeared, he was already in a different fragment. At the same time, his spear-holding arm became limp while his purlicue was covered in blood.
At that moment, he was still reeling from the impact. If it weren’t because the space in this place was in chaos, he would’ve suffered a more serious injury. The disorderly space made sure that the power of the Divine Ability couldn’t fully expand, which allowed Yang Kai to flee.
Not daring to be negligent, he grabbed the Azure Dragon Spear with his other hand and stayed vigilant.
He could see that the Divine Abilities of different colours were still rampaging about.
Fortunately, no Divine Ability was sent to him again. A cup of tea’s time later, the powers of those Divine Abilities became exhausted and disappeared.
After letting out a breath, Yang Kai put his Azure Dragon Spear away and fixed his dislocated arm. Looking around, he couldn’t see Xia Lin Lang or Cheng Yang.
He then went on to travel across the space fragments for half a day before he finally found Xia Lin Lang.
She remained in the same space fragment. It seemed that she was lucky enough to not be struck by any Divine Abilities. She also remembered Yang Kai’s advice, which was why she remained in the same spot and waited for him to find her.
Upon meeting her, Yang Kai nodded, “We’re safe for now. Let’s restore our energy first and think about how to leave this place later.”
Certainly, Xia Lin Lang wouldn’t object to it. Even an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master like Bright Flame Divine Monarch wouldn’t be able to easily leave this damned place, not to mention that she was just a Seventh-Order Master.
Only Yang Kai, who was an expert in the Dao of Space, had a chance to find a way out of here. If she wanted to escape, she had to rely on him.
They then sat down with their legs crossed and gulped down some Spirit Pills.
Just a moment later, the towering figure of Cheng Yang appeared in a fragment that wasn’t far away. When he saw Yang Kai, he put on a grin; however, since he had suffered a setback earlier, and he had realised the strangeness of this place, he didn’t immediately rush over like he had done moments ago. Instead, he stared fixedly at Yang Kai with a pair of cold-looking eyes.
Noticing the other man’s presence, Yang Kai opened his eyes and sneered, “It seems that you’re eager to eat me alive, Divine Monarch.”
Cheng Yang snorted, “If you had the guts to speak to me like this outside, you would’ve been dead by now.”
Yang Kai picked his ear and replied with a smile, “I’m glad you know we’re not outside, Divine Monarch. If I had come across you outside of this place, I would’ve run as far away as possible. That was what happened before. If it weren’t because of you, I wouldn’t have been trapped in this place. Unfortunately, you’ve also fallen into this place. It won’t be easy to leave here, and I’m worried that we’ll have to stay here forever.” He shook his head as though he felt sorry for the other man.
Cheng Yang said, “Although this place is strange and constantly changing, it might not necessarily be able to trap me. After I comprehend the abstrusity of this place, I’ll make life a living Hell for you.”
Yang Kai cupped his fist, “Please work hard then, Divine Monarch. I’ll wait for you here.”
Cheng Yang snorted and stopped bickering with him. He then sat down with his legs crossed. While restoring his energy, he gazed at Xia Lin Lang and said, “Xia Girl, even though you’re a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, you’re incapable of keeping the World Spring. Zhao Yi had offered you a way out, but you turned down his kindness. All his efforts have been wasted.”
Xia Lin Lang pressed her lips together for a moment, then replied, “This Mistress is eternally grateful to Zhao Yi for lending me a hand in the past; however, I have my own considerations when it comes to the World Spring.”
Cheng Yang said, “It’s not easy to keep a low profile and remain hidden in the Shattered Heaven. Even if you manage to survive this calamity, you’ll never have any peaceful days again. I heard that your Universe Cave Heaven has been destroyed.”
Xia Lin Lang fell silent.
“If you can help this Monarch obtain the World Spring, I am willing to forget everything that has happened. Additionally, I’ll ensure your safety in the Shattered Heaven.”
Xia Lin Lang shook her head, “The World Spring is not with me. I’m afraid I’m unable to help you.”
Cheng Yang didn’t force her, but while staring fixedly at her, he still said, “That’s all I have to say. Consider my offer.” He then closed his eyes and focused on recuperating.
On the other hand, even though Yang Kai was aware that they were having a conversation, he couldn’t find out what they were talking about in this strange place.
Upon seeing that, Xia Lin Lang put on a helpless smile. She wasn’t an inexperienced young girl, so she knew that by deliberately persuading her, Cheng Yang was trying to plant a seed of doubt in Yang Kai’s mind. Since Yang Kai had no idea what they were talking about, he might grow suspicious of her.
However, it was pointless to explain anything at this point as it might lead to the opposite of the desired outcome, so she chose to remain silent.
At that moment, while staying in their respective space fragments, the trio did their best to restore their strength.
Nevertheless, just like Yang Kai had said, even though they seemed to be near each other, they might actually be separated by a distance of hundreds of thousands of kilometres as the space around here was in chaos.
They had to rely on Yang Kai’s mastery over the Dao of Space in order to leave this place. If Yang Kai could figure out the secrets of the Divine Ability that had caused this environment to form, he may be able to find some kind of order in this chaos which could allow them to escape.