“I’ve taught you how to cultivate and passed on my Secret Arts to you, but I’ve never taught you how to use a spear,” Yang Kai explained, “There are 3,000 Grand Daos in the world. While Xiao Bai is talented in the Dao of Space, your comprehension of the Spear Dao is unrivalled. Both the Dao of Space and Spear Dao are my Daos!”
Zhao Ya finally understood everything.
“In comparison, your aptitude is much better than Xiao Bai’s. If I hadn’t suppressed your cultivation over the years, you would’ve moved beyond the Immortal Ascension Boundary a long time ago.”
A puzzled Zhao Ya asked, “Master, I’ve never understood why you’ve been suppressing my cultivation. Can you tell me now?”
After giving it a thought, Yang Kai said, “I don’t mind explaining it to you, but it will take a very long time. You’ll find out about it when the time is right.”
Zhao Ya nodded and said in a gentle voice, “What about Green Mountain Town? Did you deliberately tell Aunty Lu and Grandma that you came from that place so that I’d look for you there? After all, you brought me out of that place before.”
Yang Kai fell silent.
There had always been a hint of ruthlessness in her since Zhao Ya was a young child. This was evident in her reaction when she was forced to become Yang Kai’s Disciple, and it became even more conspicuous as she grew up. Yang Kai initially wanted to make use of this life experience trip to let her find her biological parents in the hope that the knots in her heart would be solved.
However, his goal was not achieved in the end.
“Master, you were the one who named me. I’ll always be Zhao Ya, and I have nothing to do with the Xu Family. I’ll not be resentful of them for what they’ve done to me; after all, Aunty Mei took good care of me during that period of time. We’re even now.”
Yang Kai nodded.
“However, there’s one thing I don’t understand. Please enlighten me, Master.” Zhao Ya looked seriously at him.
“Go ahead.”
“You could’ve kept hiding your identity, and it’s clearly not the right time to expose it, so why did you show your true appearance after Big Brother Ye Bai and I came back from the adventure?”
“That’s because I won’t have time to pay attention to you two in the near future,” Yang Kai explained.
Zhao Ya frowned in puzzlement.
“Above the Emperor Realm is the Open Heaven Realm. To reach that Realm, a cultivator must gather the powers of Yin, Yang, and the Five Elements before splitting Heaven and Earth apart in their body to form a Small Universe. I’m an Open Heaven Realm Master, and the world you live in is my Small Universe!”
Zhao Ya was instantly astonished. The vast world they were living in was actually just her Master’s Small Universe. She still couldn’t believe it as the notion was beyond her ability to comprehend.
“My true body is now trapped in a kind of shattered space, and I’ve been trying to comprehend its secrets over the years in an attempt to escape. I’ve finally gotten some clues, so I must focus on that now. Therefore, I won’t have time to deal with the matters in my Small Universe.”
Zhao Ya nodded blankly.
“When I’m not around, you and Xiao Bai have to work hard and not be complacent. I hope that you’ll show significant improvements when I see you again in the future.”
“Yes!” Zhao Ya and Zhao Ye Bai nodded their heads at the same time.
Yang Kai waved his hand again, whereupon two petite figures with wings behind their backs appeared as they danced in the air.
Zhao Ya and Zhao Ye Bai were instantly amazed as they gazed at the figures that were the size of a palm.
Mu Zhu and Mu Lu flashed amicable smiles at the pair. This couldn’t be helped. While Zhao Ye Bai and Zhao Ya didn’t know these petite beings, Mu Zhu and Mu Lu were very familiar with them. In the past, when Yu Lu was having difficulty giving birth, they were the ones who used a Secret Technique to stabilise her vitality and so they had been there to witness Zhao Ye Bai’s birth. Over the years, they had been observing the two children’s development. It was just that Zhao Ye Bai and Zhao Ya had never seen them before.
“These two are members of the Wood Spirit Clan and are also the earliest residents of my Small Universe. Even before then they accompanied me for years. After I’m gone, you can ask them about cultivation or anything else.”
Zhao Ye Bai and Zhao Ya nodded at the same time.
Yang Kai gazed at Mu Zhu and Mu Lu, “Please take care of them.”
The Wood Spirits replied with a smile, “Don’t worry, Master.”
With a nod, Yang Kai disappeared.
In the hall, both parties glanced at one another for a moment before Zhao Ya pulled Zhao Ye Bai’s clothes and said respectfully, “Junior Zhao Ya greets two Seniors.”
Mu Zhu smiled helplessly when she heard that. It had been a long time since she was born, but it was the first time she had ever been called a Senior. On the other hand, Mu Lu felt that she had taken up a heavy responsibility as she stuck out her chest and pretended to be a senior expert.
However, when she took a glance at Mu Zhu’s towering mountains and remembered her own vast plains, she instantly became dejected.
“Are there any questions you want to ask?” Mu Zhu said with a smile.
Zhao Ye Bai immediately spurted out, “Does Master really have several Wives?”
Zhao Ya looked smilingly at him, “What’s wrong, Big Brother Ye Bai? Do you want to learn from Master?”
Zhao Ye Bai quickly scratched his head, “I’m just curious.”
…..
Zhao Ye Bai and Zhao Ya were now in their early twenties, and the flow of time in Yang Kai’s Small Universe was twice as fast as in the outside world. In other words, Yang Kai had been trapped in the shattered space for another ten years.
To an Open Heaven Realm Master, ten or so years wasn’t long at all; hence, Yang Kai , Xia Lin Lang, and Cheng Yang, who had chased after them to this place, were all doing just fine.
The three of them were in different parts of the shattered space while searching for a way out; however, both Xia Lin Lang and Cheng Yang knew nothing about the Dao of Space, so even though they were stronger than Yang Kai, they were powerless to do anything in this situation.
On the other hand, after years of study, Yang Kai had finally gotten some clues about this space. That was the reason he decided to expose his identity to Zhao Ye Bai and Zhao Ya at this point.
For the next six months, Space Principles never stopped undulating around Yang Kai. His expression kept changing as it alternated between frowning and elation.
Suddenly, one day, he opened his eyes as a glint flashed across their depths.
His movement shocked Xia Lin Lang and Cheng Yang as they turned and paid close attention to him.
Under their watch, Yang Kai took a step forward and disappeared. They quickly looked around, but the man was nowhere in sight. No one knew where he was headed.
A large part of the Void was shattered by an ancient Great Expert using a Space Secret Technique. Like a broken mirror, the space fragments here were like those shattered pieces. There was no order to speak of here as everything was in complete chaos.
Both Xia Lin Lang and Cheng Yang could already feel the strangeness of this space when they previously barged into it; therefore, they were not surprised that Yang Kai had gone missing as they were certain that he was randomly transferred to some distant space fragment.
However, Cheng Yang ‘s pupils contracted the next moment.
That was because a figure suddenly appeared beside Xia Lin Lang. It was none other than the previously missing Yang Kai.
A pleasantly surprised Xia Lin Lang asked, “Have you figured it out?”
If that wasn’t the case, Yang Kai couldn’t have coincidentally appeared beside her. The two of them and Cheng Yang had given it many tries before, and were always randomly transferred around the space fragments. They had no idea where they would appear next after leaving a particular space fragment.
However, the fact that Yang Kai could accurately appear beside Xia Lin Lang proved that only mastery in the Dao of Space could solve the mysteries of this shattered space.
“I haven’t figured it out entirely, but I have discovered some patterns.” Yang Kai shook his head; after all, the space fragments were originally a single whole. Although it was now shattered, there must be a faint connection between the space fragments. Only experts in the Dao of Space could clearly see such connections though.
“Do you have the confidence to get us out of here?” Xia Lin Lang asked.
Yang Kai replied, “It’s not hard to find a way out, but what comes after that will be difficult to handle.”
Xia Lin Lang suddenly recalled that there were countless Divine Abilities that just waiting for them outside of this space. Before they arrived at this place, they had experienced a lot of hardship and almost lost their lives. At that time, Bright Sun Divine Monarch was behind them to clean up the mess. If he hadn’t blocked most of the Divine Abilities, they wouldn’t have stood a chance to survive.
It could be said that Cheng Yang had actually done them a favour.
With that said, they were forced to sneak into this place as Cheng Yang was chasing them.
Yang Kai suddenly turned to look at Cheng Yang and spoke to him using a Secret Technique, “Divine Monarch, given the situation we’re in, cooperation will benefit both sides while disagreement would do no one any good. Why don’t we put down our grudges and work together?”
Cheng Yang snorted and stared at him with a pair of piercing eyes, “Aren’t you worried that I’ll harm you?”
Yang Kai replied, “The reason you’ve been hunting me down is that you’re after one of the Four Universe Pillars, the World Spring. However, I’ve refined the World Spring and it is now a part of my Small Universe. Even if you kill me, you might not be able to get it. The World Spring will most likely fall apart alongside my Small Universe. So even if I work with you, I don’t have to worry about my safety for the time being. Without you, Senior Sister Xia and I might not be able to get out of here, and it’s the same case for you. Without me leading the way, you’ll never be able to leave this place despite being an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master.”
Cheng Yang stared coldly at him for a long time before putting on a grin, “Since you’ve made things so clear, what else can I say? If you aren’t worried that I’ll stab you in the back after we get out of here, why would I be bothered?”
A moment later, he asked with a smile, “Do you want me to make an oath or something?”
“If oaths were useful, what would be the point of cultivating? Even if you really made an oath, I wouldn’t believe it.”
Cheng Yang arched his brow, “You’re pretty reasonable, Brat. Because of what you’ve said, I can assure you that I won’t kill you before you ascend to the Seventh-Order.”
“Many thanks for your kindness then, Divine Monarch.” Yang Kai put on a faint smile.
To the side, Xia Lin Lang appeared worried. She knew that if they brought Cheng Yang out of this place, the other party would definitely stab them in the back; however, if they didn’t make use of his power, she and Yang Kai wouldn’t be able to leave this place alive.
It was understandable that Yang Kai had made such a decision in the face of this predicament. Regardless, they had to get out of here first.
“I’ll go over there now, Divine Monarch,” Yang Kai said, then turned to Xia Lin Lang, “Don’t circulate your strength, no matter what.”
Xia Lin Lang nodded, “Got it.”
As Space Principles undulated, Yang Kai led her to take a step forward and disappeared from the space fragment.
Yang Kai and Xia Lin Lang had gone missing for quite a long time as they still hadn’t appeared after half a day.
Bright Sun Divine Monarch even suspected that Yang Kai had gone back on his word and decided to leave him here.
While he was lost in thought though, he saw Yang Kai and Xia Lin Lang suddenly appearing beside him.
“Divine Monarch!” Yang Kai gently nodded at him.
Cheng Yang replied impassively, “What do you need me to do?”
Yang Kai said with a smile, “It’s easy. I’ll use my power to lead the way for you, but I must not be disturbed in any way, so please don’t resist.”
Cheng Yang stared fixedly at him. By not resisting, he would basically be allowing Yang Kai take control of his life or death. If Yang Kai was ill-intentioned and made a move all of a sudden, Cheng Yang, despite being an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, might not survive.
With that said, he didn’t hesitate for long time and simply nodded, “Do whatever you have to do. I’ll cooperate with you.”
Without saying a word, Yang Kai engulfed him with his power. The next moment, as Space Principles undulated, the three of them disappeared from the space fragment.
Half a year had passed in the blink of an eye as the trio moved across different space fragments. Yang Kai would stop in his tracks from time to time as he looked around with a frown. As Space Principles undulated, he seemed to silently be trying to comprehend something.
On the other hand, Xia Lin Lang and Cheng Yang didn’t have to do anything; they didn’t even need to use their strength at all. In such a strange place, they could only rely on Yang Kai to bring them out.
Although they hadn’t managed to leave this odd space after half a year, Cheng Yang wasn’t in a rush and worked with Yang Kai whenever his help was needed.
There came a moment when they abruptly appeared in a certain space fragment. Yang Kai intently looked around for a moment before taking a deep breath, “This is the last step.”
Both Cheng Yang and Xia Lin Lang appeared excited.
The two of them scanned the surroundings for a bit, then Cheng Yang asked with a frown, “Yang Boy, are you sure we’ll be able to leave this damned place after taking a step forward? Why do I feel like we’ve gotten deeper into this shattered space instead of moving out of it?”
Yang Kai replied with a smile, “The order of the space here is in complete chaos. Nothing you see can be believed. That’s the reason you have this feeling.”
Cheng Yang didn’t remark on that, and after giving it a thought, he nodded, “Since you’ve said so, I’ll believe you. After taking this step, I’ll clear a path for the two of you and bring you out of here.”
Yang Kai shook his head, “I need you to stay behind us just like how we entered this place previously. Senior Sister Xia and I will lead the way.”
It took some time before the powers of those Divine Abilities and the artifacts were triggered. With Cheng Yang staying behind them, he would be able to resolve them. However, if Yang Kai and Xia Lin Lang were to stay behind, they might not be able to resist the attacks.
Cheng Yang frowned, but he didn’t object to it. After a nod, he said, “We’ll do as you say, then.”
“Many thanks, Divine Monarch.” After finishing his words, Yang Kai engulfed Xia Lin Lang and Cheng Yang with his power, then took a step forward.
The world around them spun around as space contorted. Before they even came to their senses, streams of dormant power roared to life all around them and locked onto their life auras.
Horrifying power surged as these Divine Abilities, which had been dormant for countless years, radiated a dazzling glow.
Yang Kai felt his entire figure stiffening. As his flesh squirmed, he directly summoned his Azure Dragon Spear and pushed it out. In a steadfast manner, he yelled, “Let’s go!”
Two people then turned into rays of light and charged forward.
They already had such an experience when they were fleeing previously, so they were not flustered now when dealing with this situation.
Cheng Yang followed closely behind them as countless Divine Abilities gathered together and crashed down upon them like an avalanche.
Even Bright Sun Divine Monarch sported a solemn expression when facing such a mighty torrent. Once he was swept into this stream of Divine Abilities, he would probably lose his life despite being an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master.
While the three of them were fleeing, they cast their Secret Techniques at their back to resolve the stream of Divine Abilities behind them, but their attempts were futile.
Cheng Yang roared repeatedly as his Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm power exploded. Every time he made a move, the entire universe seemed to tremble.
Yang Kai and Xia Lin Lang, who were in front of him, were terrified. If such attacks had landed on them, they wouldn’t have been able to resist them.
Fortunately, they had brought Cheng Yang with them. Without him bringing up the rear for them, they wouldn’t be able to leave this damned place.
Initially, the Divine Abilities that had been triggered were extremely powerful, with some of them being equivalent to the attacks from Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters. However, as they moved forward, the powers of the Divine Abilities gradually weakened.
Yang Kai and Xia Lin Lang had already realised this when they barged into the shattered space previously; therefore, as long as they could persevere, things would only get safer.
Half a day later, the two people at the front were covered in blood and had consumed a lot of energy. Although most of the Divine Abilities were far behind them and Cheng Yang would deal with them, some of the attacks managed to reach them and they had no choice but to make a move.
As a result, both of them were injured. There was an extremely deep cut on Xia Lin Lang’s shoulder as she almost lost her arm.
Fortunately, she wasn’t at risk of losing her life.
Yang Kai didn’t have time to check on Cheng Yang, but he was sure that the other party wasn’t in a better state; after all, Cheng Yang had to bear most of the pressure.
Bright Sun Divine Monarch lived up to his status as an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, though. Despite the pressure he faced, he still followed closely behind them. He even had time to split a bit of his Divine Sense to lock onto Yang Kai.
Half a day later, the Divine Abilities that had been triggered were only equivalent to attacks from Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters.
It seemed they were already at the periphery.
At a certain moment, Yang Kai secretly whispered, “It’s time, Senior Sister Xia.”
Upon hearing that, Xia Lin Lang stuck close to Yang Kai without hesitation.
Yang Kai wrapped his arm around her waist and surged his Space Principles. Their figures soon flickered and disappeared from the spot.
It was a plan they had come up with previously. As they were approaching freedom, they had to get rid of Cheng Yang. If they were still with him by then, while it wasn’t certain how Xia Lin Lang would end up, Yang Kai would definitely be captured and become a prisoner.
Certainly, he wouldn’t let anyone else have control over his life.
However, Yang Kai had to bear a huge risk by using Instantaneous Movement in this place. That was because the Divine Abilities around them were so numerous and randomly placed. Yang Kai wasn’t certain where he would land after using Instantaneous Movement. He might be able to get rid of Cheng Yang, but he might also fall into a dangerous spot and be killed.
Nevertheless, he believed that life was full of uncertainties and sometimes, one just had to make a bet.
Cheng Yang was obviously acting cautiously, which was why he had locked a bit of his Divine Sense onto Yang Kai; however, he never expected that Yang Kai would be reckless enough to take such a risk in this kind of place.
By the time he came to his senses, it was already too late for him to stop them. Yang Kai and Xia Lin Lang had already disappeared from his sight, and his Divine Sense thread which had been targeting Yang Kai had also been cut off.
Cheng Yang wore a dark expression and snorted; however, he had no time to search for them as he was still being pursued by the stream of Divine Abilities. He could only keep running and resolving the attacks for now.
Under a grey sky, ripples spread across an open prairie as two battered figures appeared. They were none other than Yang Kai and Xia Lin Lang.
Before Yang Kai could even breath a sigh of relief, he suddenly turned his head and pushed out his Azure Dragon Spear at the spot where he appeared.
The next moment, several powerful Divine Abilities relentlessly passed through the Void and arrived at this place.
Although he had managed to flee with Xia Lin Lang using Instantaneous Movement, he had also brought several Divine Abilities along with him.
While Xia Lin Lang was unaware of them, Yang Kai was not.
Following a loud boom, Yang Kai was sent flying away like a sack as he sprayed out a mouthful of blood. His spear-holding arm went limp while his five viscera and six organs shook.
Xia Lin Lang finally came to her senses as she exclaimed and pushed out her palms, which turned into innumerable shadows that finally blocked the Divine Abilities.
The dust only settled several moments later.
A battered Xia Lin Lang walked up to Yang Kai and looked down at him, “How are you?”
Presently, Yang Kai was lying on the ground with his limbs spread. He lethargically opened his eyes and acted tough by saying, “I’m… I’m fine!”
Xia Lin Lang couldn’t help but roll her eyes. While standing beside him, she looked around and frowned, “Where are we?”
Yang Kai panted and replied, “I have no idea. The last time I used Instantaneous Movement, I was unable to control the direction. Who knows where we’ve landed? However, we’ve just made a lot of noise, so we can’t stay here for long.”
After a nod, Xia Lin Lang asked, “Can you walk?”
Yang Kai snorted, “Do I look like I can walk?”
A speechless Xia Lin Lang covered him with her power and brought him to a different place.
An hour later, she found a cave in the middle of a mountain and snuck into it so that they could recuperate.
Although Cheng Yang was behind them bearing most of the pressure while they were escaping, they were still injured and exhausted.
Yang Kai wasn’t certain if Cheng Yang would pursue them, nor was he aware of any danger waiting for them in this place. He just knew that they had better restore their strength quickly.
After consuming some Spirit Pills, the pair sat down with their legs crossed.
A moment later, Yang Kai arched his brow as there was a hint of surprise on his face.
For some reason, he could feel his Dragon Vein throbbing in an excited manner. He also felt a faint sense of affability toward this place.
In fact, he was already aware that there was something unusual going on with his Dragon Vein the moment he landed on the prairie, but he didn’t have time to ponder on it. Now that he was recuperating, he could finally try to find out what was going on.
After examining it for a while, he could confirm that his Dragon Vein indeed reacted differently. He even had a feeling that if he stayed in this place for a long time, his Dragon Vein would steadily become more powerful.
Although the feeling came out of nowhere, he firmly believed it to be true.
[Does this place have something to do with the Dragon Clan?] Yang Kai wondered in excitement.
There were 36 Cave Heavens and 72 Paradises in the 3,000 Worlds, making up a total of 108 top great forces. Thanks to the Star Boundary’s World Tree, Yang Kai had contact with many High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters from the various Cave Heavens and Paradises, but not all of them.
That was because both the Dragon Altar of the Dragon Clan and the Phoenix Nest of the Phoenix Clan were part of the 36 Cave Heavens. It was just that these two Cave Heavens were extremely hidden, so much so that most ordinary people had no idea where these Cave Heavens were even located.
Yang Kai had been trying to find the place where the Dragon Altar was located for many years. Unfortunately, his efforts had never worked out. Despite asking Bi Xi, the old man could not tell him anything. The old man only mentioned that he would be able to sense the whereabouts of the Dragon Altar once his Dragon Vein reached a certain level; therefore, Yang Kai never expected to stumble upon this surprising discovery today.
[Could this strange place be the Dragon Altar? If this place is the Dragon Altar, then isn’t it a little too shabby? But, if it isn’t the Dragon Altar, why is the Power of my Dragon Vein experiencing an abnormality?]
Xia Lin Lang once mentioned that there were rumours about countless Divine Spirits gathering in the depths of the Shattered Ruins. It was just that she had never ventured into the Shattered Ruins before, so she was unable to verify the truth behind those rumours.
Having only just arrived at this place, the information Yang Kai had to work with was simply too little. He had no idea what kind of place this was, so he could only discard his distracting thoughts and focus on recovery.
Nevertheless, Yang Kai soon confirmed another one of his conjectures. There was an exceptionally peculiar power in this world that could be drawn into his body to stimulate the enhancement of his Dragon Vein.
Too little time had elapsed, so the enhancement Yang Kai experienced was not significant. Even so, he could clearly sense the changes in his body, so he immediately activated some of the bloodline-enhancing Secret Techniques taught to him by Old Man Bi Xi.
Ever since he finished consuming the Dragon Blood Flowers that he obtained from the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, Yang Kai’s Dragon Vein had remained relatively stagnant. Old Man Bi Xi had taught him some bloodline-enhancing Secret Techniques, but he rarely had the time to cultivate in peace. Coming to this place at this time was truly a wonderful opportunity.
As soon as the Secret Technique was activated, Yang Kai felt a little different. The peculiar power in the world poured into his body all at once as though summoned by something, instantly causing his flesh to wriggle and the Power of the Dragon Vein in his body to roar endlessly. The sudden urge to transform into a Dragon surged up from the depths of his heart.
It was at this point that Yang Kai finally became certain about one thing, this place was definitely related to the Dragon Clan.
At the same time, a tall figure suddenly descended from the sky at the spot where Yang Kai and Xia Lin Lang had emerged previously. This figure was wrapped in an exceedingly terrifying aura, comparable or even greater to Bright Sun Divine Monarch’s.
Sniffing the air lightly, he coldly snorted, “What a disgusting aura!”
Then, he reached out a hand and grabbed a handful of blood-stained dirt in the palm of his hand. Rubbing his fingers together, the tall man frowned, “The smell of the Dragon Clan!”
He looked to the side and asked, “Is it him?”
Not far away from him, a handsome white robed youth and a young woman holding a peach blossom branch stood respectfully. If Yang Kai were here, he would have immediately recognised this man and woman. They were the two people who picked a quarrel with him previously; moreover, the white robed youth had placed a peculiar Bloodline Mark on Yang Kai during their battle. Cheng Yang had subsequently used that mark to pursue Yang Kai relentlessly.
There was no indication as to how the white robed youth and the young woman holding the peach blossom branch had arrived at this place.
The white robed youth replied respectfully, “I’m quite sure it’s him. I definitely sensed him venturing deep into the Divine Ability Sea earlier. It would seem that he escaped that place and arrived here.”
The tall man smiled grimly when he heard those words, “That’s good news indeed. It has been many years since someone from the Dragon Clan appeared in this place. I never expected to encounter one today. Can you still sense his location?”
The white robed youth shook his head, “No. He might have gotten rid of my Bloodline Mark; however, I don’t know whether he died at the hands of Cheng Yang.”
Cheng Yang had chased Yang Kai all the way into the Divine Ability Sea. Now that more than ten years had passed, there was no saying what happened during this period. Needless to say, Yang Kai had gotten rid of the Bloodline Mark during this time. He could not have escaped Cheng Yang’s pursuit otherwise.
“Search for him! Even if you have to turn over every single rock in the area, find that Dragon Clan member!” The tall man shouted.
The white robed youth and the young woman beside him accepted the command and sped away.
After discarding the soil in his hand, the tall man abruptly turned to look in a certain direction. A graceful figure in purple had appeared from that direction at some point in time and was staring at him quietly.
The man grinned, “I heard that the Dragon and Phoenix Clans have always maintained a close relationship with each other since ancient times thanks to the resonance between your bloodlines. Have you discovered something, Yue Zhuo?”
The purple robed woman called Yue Zhuo stared at him and parted her ruby lips lightly, “Kun Ao, you must not lay a hand on this Dragon Clan member!”
Kun Ao sneered, “Ridiculous! There is nothing in this world that I cannot touch, much less a Dragon Clan member with such an inferior bloodline! Even if a Divine Dragon himself appeared before this King, I will show you that I can fight him.”
Yue Zhuo said indifferently, “Say that to a Divine Dragon’s face and I’ll believe you.”
Kun Ao coldly snorted, “We haven’t heard from the Dragon Clan since the day they left the Ancestral Land. Who knows whether they’ve gone extinct or not?” Looking up at her, he continued, “But, you can rest assured. I won’t kill him even if I find him. We need him to collaborate with you to break the seal that the Dragon Clan left behind back then. The Ancestral Strength is getting weaker and weaker by the day. I’m sure your Four Phoenix Pavilion would not want to see the bloodline of your descendants becoming thinner and thinner either. Isn’t that right?”
Yue Zhuo replied with a frown, “That seal is something the Dragon and Phoenix Clans created together in ancient times. Nobody knows what lies beyond the seal. Aren’t you afraid of bringing irreversible consequences down on the Ancestral Land by rashly undoing it?”
Kun Ao shook his head, “Both you and I have seen the changes in the Ancestral Land over the years. If we don’t do something, the Ancestral Land will no longer be worthy of its name one day. Rather than that, isn’t it better to take a gamble? Don’t tell me the Four Phoenix Pavilion has never thought of releasing the seal over the years!”
Yue Zhuo said nothing.
Kun Ao went on, “Leaving aside the Kun Clan, there are so many other Divine Spirits in the Ancestral Land. Which one of them does not wish to undo the seal? It is just that the Four Phoenix Pavilion has constantly obstructed our attempts for some reason. Be that as it may, you cannot be blamed either. The seal was created by the Dragon and Phoenix Clans together. Trying to break the seal with the Phoenix Clan’s bloodline alone is not feasible. The Dragon Clan not only disappeared so many years ago, but also remained hidden, impossible to be found. But now, a Dragon Clan member has finally arrived in the Ancestral Land. Don’t you think that this is the Heavens’ Will? The countless Divine Spirits in the Ancestral Land will not remain silent if the Four Phoenix Pavilion dares to stand in the way again. If you are not careful, the people will turn against you!”
How could Yue Zhuo be unaware of such a fact? In the past, it was possible to dodge the problem by claiming that the seal could not be undone with the power of the Phoenix Clan alone; however, a Dragon Clan member had appeared out of nowhere for some inexplicable reason. If the Phoenix Clan continued to oppose this matter, even the Four Phoenix Pavilion would not be able to resist the pressure from all the Divine Spirits in the Ancestral Land, and a terrifying war was bound to break out if they tried.
“I will need to carefully discuss this matter with the rest of my Sisters,” Yue Zhuo said softly.
Kun Ao just waved his hand dismissively, “Go ahead and discuss it among yourselves. When I find him, I will bring him to the Four Phoenix Pavilion.”
Yue Zhuo nodded and turned around. Her graceful figure suddenly transformed into a giant, extremely beautiful purple bird. Then, she spread her wings and flew away.
Kun Ao watched her leave before he turned around and walked away leisurely.
…..
Inside the cave, Yang Kai and Xia Lin Lang were focused on their recovery when all of a sudden, Yang Kai opened his eyes. His gaze was deep, piercing through the void to look off into the distance. After a moment of careful observation, he couldn’t help crying out in surprise.
In the next moment, his figure flickered and appeared outside the mountainside.
There was a tender and jade-like boy who was fighting a bloody battle with a ferocious exotic beast in Yang Kai’s field of vision. The child looked to be around seven or eight years old. His soft and tender limbs were adorable, and he had a high ponytail on his head.
The exotic beast he was fighting clearly carried a trace of a Divine Spirit bloodline. It was just that the bloodline was not very pure. Nevertheless, each attack it unleashed contained power equivalent to that of a Third-Order Open Heaven Realm Master.
Be that as it may, the child remained undaunted. The small figure rode upon the body of the exotic beast, one hand clutching its fur tightly and the other hand forming a fist to punch its head. He might be small, but the strength of every blow was not to be underestimated.
Even though the exotic beast fought back bravely and even activated the power of its bloodline, it could not escape the child’s attacks.
A quarter hour later, the child jumped down. He was drenched in blood, but the exotic beast collapsed to the ground with a resounding thud. Its vitality had been extinguished.
Seeming to sense something, the child turned to look in Yang Kai’s direction and shouted in a childish voice, “Who’s there!?”
When their four eyes suddenly met, Yang Kai grinned. The child was taken aback for a moment. Immediately after that, his eyes widened and he pointed a finger at Yang Kai, “Y-You… You…”
“Great General!” Yang Kai greeted the child with a smile, “It’s been so long since we last met. Your noble bearing remains the same!”
“Yang Kai!” The child leaped a whole metre into the air, a joyous smile appearing on his face. Striding forward, he rushed over to Yang Kai in a few steps and looked up at him cheerfully, “Why are you here in the Ancestral Land?”
“I just passed by here by accident. Can you believe it?” Yang Kai patted the child’s head.
Great General turned his head away and yelled angrily, “Don’t pat my head! Mother said that I won’t grow tall if people touch my head!”
Yang Kai smacked his lips, “Almost 100 years have passed. Why are you still so tiny?”
Great General clasped his hands behind his back and spoke in a condescending manner, “What do you know? Mother said that my bloodline is extremely pure. That’s why my growth period is relatively long. When I grow up, I’ll definitely be taller than you!”
“Will you get a sense of accomplishment just by being taller than me?” Yang Kai gave a big grin.
Hearing the commotion outside, Xia Lin Lang came out of the cave in a flash and was slightly stunned to see Yang Kai fooling around happily with a child. Coming over to Yang Kai’s side, Xia Lin Lang asked curiously, “Who is this child? Is he somebody you know?”
Yang Kai nodded, “He’s an old friend.”
When Yang Kai first entered the 3,000 Worlds, he had been tricked into becoming a Worker in Seven Wonders Land. The Fire Spirit Land’s Protector Venerable, Duan Hai, used to have a pet whom the Workers called ‘Ruler of the Dawn Great General’. It was from Great General’s hands that Yang Kai earned a considerable amount of Open Heaven Pills.
When Yang Kai later escaped the Seven Wonders Land, he brought Great General with him. Afterward, Great General led Yang Kai to the Divine Spirit Mie Meng. It was not until then that Yang Kai learned that the golden rooster-like Great General was actually the child of a Divine Spirit.
Mie Meng had given Yang Kai three golden tail feathers, and it was by relying on one of these tail feathers that he managed to kill the dying Golden Crow and obtained the Golden Crow’s True Fire. It could be said that Mie Meng’s three golden tail feathers had been of great help to him.
Yang Kai never imagined that he would meet the Great General again in this place.
Great General might have taken on a humanoid form, but his aura remained unchanged. That was why Yang Kai recognised him at a glance. Great General then looked behind Yang Kai and asked curiously, “Where are Old Fang, Dié You, and the others?”
Yang Kai laughed, “They joined Great Moon Province a long time ago, so they are cultivating there right now.”
Great General made a noncommittal sound in response, seeming rather disappointed. He did not know many people, and Yang Kai was one of the few friends he had. Fang Bi Qi, Dié You, and Ah Sun were also counted amongst his friends.
“You mentioned the Ancestral Land earlier. What is this ‘Ancestral Land’?” Yang Kai asked. He had been looking for an opportunity to figure out his current location, so now that he had encountered Great General, it was only natural for him to inquire about his circumstances.
Great General blinked his large eyes a bit before replying, “The Ancestral Land… is the Ancestral Land!”
It would seem that he didn’t know much either; therefore, Yang Kai did not ask any further questions. Looking around, he asked, “This place is dangerous. Why are you here alone? Where is your Mother?”
Great General pointed behind him with his thumb and smilingly said, “Mother is at home. My house is not far from here. Mother will be very happy to know that you’re here. Would you like to come with me to visit her?”
Yang Kai nodded, “I was hoping to do just that.”
“Let’s go then!” While speaking, Great General turned a somersault and dexterously landed on Yang Kai’s shoulders. Riding around Yang Kai’s neck like he was riding a horse, he pointed one of his chubby fingers in a certain direction, “That way!”
Yang Kai couldn’t help rolling his eyes, involuntarily recalling the scene where this little boy was constantly resting on top of his nest, which caused his hair to resemble a chicken coop.
So many years had passed, but Great General seemed to have never forgotten that feeling. Now that he could no longer use Yang Kai’s head as a nest, he rode on his shoulders instead.
Yang Kai did not chase the little boy off his shoulders; instead, he allowed him to grab his hair with both hands as he sped forward in the direction Great General pointed.
Xia Lin Lang followed behind with an odd expression.
Along the way, the trio passed through various mountains and valleys. It took more than an hour before they caught sight of a Spirit Peak rising up from the ground in the distance. Even from a distance, the Spirit Peak towered into the sky, standing at least 10,000 metres high. The top of the mountain was covered in a layer of mist, creating a beautiful scenery that resembled a Heavenly paradise.
A palace came into view when they arrived at the top of the mountain, and there was a noble looking woman standing there waiting quietly. It was obvious that she had noticed the auras of Great General, Yang Kai, and Xia Lin Lang in advance.
Upon seeing the woman, Great General jumped off Yang Kai and cheerfully shouted, “Mother, look who’s here!”
He rushed toward the woman while speaking; however, the woman stretched out her hand as soon as he approached and pinched his ears with great precision, causing him to yelp in pain.
“I take my eyes off you for one moment and you go gallivanting off on your own. Didn’t I tell you that the Ancestral Land is dangerous and not to go out on your own?”
Great General’s small face flushed with pain, and his eyes flitted towards Yang Kai from time to time. He quickly begged for mercy, “Mother, I was wrong. I only went out for a walk because I was bored, and I didn’t go far.”
“Are you going to do this again in the future?” The woman twisted his ears painfully.
“I won’t! I won’t!” He nodded repeatedly like a chicken pecking rice.
Only then did the woman release her grip, “Go inside. You are not allowed to leave again without my permission.”
Rubbing his ear, Great General walked towards the palace with a pout on his face. Nevertheless, he turned back and made a face at Yang Kai before he vanished inside.
Yang Kai burst into laughter at the sight. Taking several steps forward, he bowed politely, “Yang Kai greets Senior.”
This woman was none other than the Divine Spirit Mie Meng whom he rescued from a certain Grand Array many years ago. Mie Meng in human form no longer had that fierce and terrifying aura around her body. On the contrary, she seemed like a well-mannered woman.
Mie Meng looked at him with a slightly complicated look and frowned, “Why did you come to the Ancestral Land?”
Yang Kai briefly explained, “I was chased by a powerful enemy, so I had no choice but to plunge into a place where countless Divine Abilities and Secret Techniques lay dormant. Afterward, I just somehow found myself here.
“It’s been years since we last met. Not only are you in the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm, but the little girl beside you is in the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm. Who could have pushed you to the point where you were cornered so badly? Could it have been an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master?” She raised her eyebrow slightly.
Xia Lin Lang couldn’t help being startled. Although she had some guesses when she first saw this woman, she couldn’t be sure at the time. Be that as it may, the other party had pointed out the depth of her cultivation at a glance, so one could only imagine the strength she possessed.
[This woman is definitely a Mature Divine Spirit! It’s rumoured that countless Divine Spirits gather in the depths of the Shattered Ruins. Could it actually be true!?]
“I wonder if you’ve heard a man named ‘Bright Sun Divine Monarch’?” Yang Kai asked.
Mie Meng frowned, “One of the three Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters in the Shattered Heaven. I have indeed heard of him before. I believe he is related to the Kun Clan of the Ancestral Land somehow.”
“The Kun Clan…” Yang Kai murmured under his breath.
“Come in first. It looks like you have a lot of questions.” While speaking, she turned around and walked into the palace.
Yang Kai thanked her for her hospitality before walking into the Grand Hall together with Xia Lin Lang.
The Grand Hall might be large, but it was actually quite desolate. It would seem that there was nobody else living in this place aside from Mie Meng and her son. When they took their seats, Yang Kai didn’t even hope to get a cup of tea from Mie Meng and Mie Meng herself never even thought to give one.
“Go ahead and ask whatever questions you want to ask. I will tell you whatever I can,” Mie Meng gently said.
“Let me thank you in advance, Senior.” Yang Kai cupped his fist, “What this Junior would like to know most is, where is this place? Great General mentioned that this place is the Ancestral Land, but what is the Ancestral Land?”
Mie Meng pondered in silence for a moment before she replied with a question of her out, “You came here by passing through the Shattered Heaven, right?”
Yang Kai and Xia Lin Lang nodded together.
Mie Meng explained, “Strictly speaking, this place is still within the Shattered Heaven, it’s just that this place is the deepest part of Shattered Heaven. Outsiders call this place the Shattered Ruins!”
Yang Kai and Xia Lin Lang exchanged glances with each other.
“You probably entered through the Divine Ability Sea, right?” Mie Meng stretched out her hand and gave a little wave. Starlight twinkled in front of her, and a large number of fluorescent lights gathered to form a ball, “The Divine Ability Sea is the periphery of the Shattered Ruins. It is a place where countless Divine Abilities and Secret Techniques have lain dormant since ancient times. Anyone who intrudes into that place will trigger the power of those Divine Abilities and Secret Techniques. Generally speaking, non-Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters can never enter this place, and even an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master might be trapped and die in that place if they are unlucky.”
Yang Kai nodded lightly. It was only now that he learned that the region he and Xia Lin Lang passed through was called the Divine Ability Sea.
“And, the Ancestral Land…” she reached out her hand to point at a spot in front of her, “is known to outsiders as the Shattered Ruins! It is surrounded by the Divine Ability Sea!”
Following her movements, the bits of fluorescent light gathered in the middle of the large ball to take on the shape of a continent. She reached out her hand to point at the continent, “We are located in the Ancestral Land.”
“Who does the Ancestral Land belong to?” he asked.
“It is the Ancestral Land of all Divine Spirits, as well as the place of origin of all Divine Spirits. All Divine Spirits in the world were originally born in this place.” Mie Meng made a shocking statement.
Yang Kai was stunned, and it took a while before he remembered something, “But, from what I heard, the birth of the Divine Spirits is related to the Sun’s Burning Light and the Moon’s Serene Glimmer.”
These two were the Ancestors of all Divine Spirits. Supposedly, it was the fusion of their powers that gave rise to all sorts of Divine Spirits.
Mie Meng smiled, “It is indeed related to them. The Sun’s Burning Light and the Moon’s Serene Glimmer were originally born in the Ancestral Land. It’s just that they left a long time ago.”
Yang Kai furrowed his brow tightly. There were thousands of questions swirling around in his heart, but he did not know how to voice these questions, so for a time, he fell into deep thought.
Mie Meng thus continued, “You have the Dragon Clan’s bloodline, so you must have noticed the uniqueness of the Ancestral Land.”
Yang Kai nodded quietly. He had felt that abnormality earlier. Cultivating in this place would greatly help to improve his Bloodline Power.
“That is the Ancestral Strength. No matter what type of Divine Spirit cultivates in this place, their Bloodline will be enhanced at a faster rate. That is also the reason why so many Divine Spirits have gathered in the Ancestral Land, but not many of them are willing to leave. The Divine Ability Sea might be powerful, but it is not difficult for the powerful Divine Spirits to leave if they so wished.”
Even Cheng Yang could navigate his way through the Divine Ability Sea, so what more need be said about the Divine Spirits?
Yang Kai understood, “Is that why you brought Great General back to the Ancestral Land after you escaped your prison back then?”
Mie Meng nodded, “The Ancestral Land will be beneficial for his growth. It’s only natural for me to return to this place.” While speaking, she turned to look at Xia Lin Lang, “But, while the Ancestral Strength is highly beneficial to Divine Spirits, it can be said to be a kind of slow-acting poison to those without a Divine Spirit bloodline. Your companion must not remain in the Ancestral Land for too long; otherwise, the Ancestral Strength will begin to erode her Small Universe, and the consequences will be dire.”
Xia Lin Lang was startled, “But… I don’t feel anything unusual.”
Mie Meng replied lightly, “That’s because only a short time has passed. It will be too late by the time you notice any abnormalities.”
“What are the consequences?” Yang Kai asked.
Mie Meng explained, “Strictly speaking, a Divine Spirit is also a kind of Monster. It’s just that they are the strongest species of Monsters. That is why, if enough time passed, she might begin showing some Divine Spirit characteristics once her Small Universe is corroded by the Ancestral Strength. This is a kind of Monster Transformation, but it might not be a good thing for her. Without a Divine Spirit bloodline, the Monster Qi will clash with the cultivation in her body.
Just imagining that she might suddenly grow fangs and claws like a Monster Beast caused Xia Lin Lang to involuntarily shudder.
Yang Kai looked at Mie Meng and said, “Senior, is the Dragon Clan in the Ancestral Land?”
Mie Meng slowly shook her head, “A very long time ago, the Dragon Clan indeed lived in the Ancestral Land. However, the Dragon Clan left the Ancestral Land for some reason. Most of the Phoenix Clan left with them. Therefore, there is no one from Dragon Clan in the Ancestral Land today.”
Yang Kai couldn’t help looking disappointed when he heard those words. He originally thought that this place would be related to the Dragon Clan, and it would seem that there was indeed some connection. In fact, it was not just the Dragon Clan but all Divine Spirits that were related to this place. It was just different from what he previously imagined.
“Nobody knows about your arrival here, right?” Mie Meng asked all of a sudden.
Puzzled, Yang Kai shook his head, “Probably not.”
“That would be for the best. To be honest, you should not have come to the Ancestral Land. It is very dangerous for you to be here.”
Yang Kai frowned slightly and asked, “Why do you say that?”
Mie Meng just shook her head and did not explain. Instead, she stood up and said, “I’ll escort you out of this place. The Divine Ability Sea is dangerous, and with your strength, it will be impossible for you to leave safely.”
“Many thanks, Senior!” Yang Kai bowed with gratitude.
Although the environment of the Ancestral Land was highly beneficial towards the enhancement of his Dragon Clan bloodline, Mie Meng would definitely have her own reasons for saying that this place was dangerous for him. On top of that, how could Yang Kai refuse when Mie Meng volunteered to escort them out of this place? Therefore, he immediately stood up and followed Mie Meng outside with Xia Lin Lang in tow.
However, the three of them had only just walked out of the Grand Hall when an extremely hostile aura swept over them from a great distance. The aura was so strong that both Yang Kai and Xia Lin Lang involuntarily tensed up in apprehension. It felt as though there was an entire Universe World pressing down on them.
Mie Meng looked up and saw a stream of light on the horizon speeding towards them without the slightest intention to conceal its presence. After getting a clear look at the person heading toward them, she narrowed her eyes slightly and sighed, “This is the reason why I said that the Ancestral Land is very dangerous for you.”
Yang Kai frowned deeply, “Senior, who is he? His aura… I don’t like it.”
That person’s aura reminded him of the white-robed youth he encountered previously, but comparing the two, there was no doubt that the white-robed youth was considerably weaker than this person. Nevertheless, both of them gave him an instinctive sense of repulsion and disgust.
“Kun Ao of the Kun Clan!”
“Kun Clan!” Yang Kai murmured under his breath. This was not the first time he heard that name coming from her lips.
“Those who enter the sea are known as Kun, while those who leave the sea are known as Peng. Since ancient times, the Kun Clan and the Dragon Clan have been mortal enemies that hunted and killed each other. Both sides suffered great losses in their long war, and the grudge and hatred run so deep that it has been branded into each other’s bloodline. No matter how many eons go by or how many generations pass, the grudge and hatred will never be resolved. The Kun Clan is a major clan in the Ancestral Land. I was in such a hurry to send you away because I was afraid that you might be discovered by the Kun Clan. Unfortunately, it seems to be too late already.”
“Is he strong?” Yang Kai asked.
“Stronger than me at least!” Mie Meng replied bluntly.
Yang Kai gasped at those words. Mie Meng was a Mature Divine Spirit, and although he had never seen her take action before, she was probably no weaker than an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. At the very least, she would be on the same level as one. Be that as it may, she claimed that Kun Ao was stronger than her. One could only imagine how terrifying Kun Ao must be.
“He probably came because of you. I will distract him later. You should find a chance to escape. If you fall into his hands, you will never have the opportunity to leave again.” Mie Meng warned.
“Will that cause trouble for you, Senior?” Yang Kai queried hesitantly.
Brushing a strand of hair behind her ear, she chuckled softly, “He might be stronger than me, but I have the confidence to drag him down with me if it came to a life-or-death battle. He will not be that irrational.”
Yang Kai breathed deeply, “This Junior will never forget this kindness, Senior.”
Mie Meng waved her hand dismissively, “If not for your help back then, I would never have escaped from that prison. Just think of it as repayment for back then.”
During their conversation, Kun Ao arrived in front of the palace. Yang Kai looked up and saw that this person was extremely burly, his figure like a small mountain. Just by standing there, he gave off an incredible sense of oppression. Moreover, his sharp gaze cut through the void like a knife.
In addition, a white-robed youth and a young woman holding a peach blossom branch stood beside him. These two were the ones who fought with Yang Kai back at the Shattered Heaven; hence, their presence made Yang Kai frown.
After listening to Mie Meng’s explanation, how could he not understand that the white-robed youth was also part of the Kun Clan? It was precisely because of the deep-rooted hatred branded within the bloodlines of the Kun Clan and the Dragon Clan that gave him that unexplainable sense of rejection and disgust when he saw that youth for the first time the other day. That was the power from his bloodline; it was not something he could control.
It was just that Yang Kai and Xia Lin Lang had borrowed the strength of Cheng Yang to navigate the Divine Ability Sea and arrive at the Ancestral Land. On the other hand, this young man and young woman were only on par with Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm cultivators, so how did they managed to enter this place?
“Kun Ao, why did you come here uninvited?” Mie Meng stood in front of the Grand Hall and looked up indifferently.
Kun Ao grinned, “Mie Meng, stop playing dumb. You are a Divine Spirit yourself. Not to mention that you have some connection with the Phoenix Clan. Don’t you tell me that you can’t sense this boy’s bloodline!”
Mie Meng frowned and continued, “The hatred and grudges between the Dragon Clan and the Kun Clan are matters of your ancestors’ ancestors. How many years has it been since the Dragon Clan last appeared in the Ancestral Land? Why must you abuse your strength and harass the weak? He is nothing more than a small child to you. Why can you not show mercy just this once?”
Kun Ao shook his head, “If it was just about the hatred and grudges between our ancestors, there would be no reason for this King to come in person. It has not been long since you returned to the Ancestral Land, Mie Meng, so it’s understandable that there are some secrets you don’t know about.”
“Secrets?” Mie Meng furrowed her brow slightly.
Kun Ao explained, “For countless years, the Ancestral Strength has been weakening steadily. The bloodline of all the descendants born among the major Clans has been becoming less and less pure. It has also been getting harder and harder for them to enhance their Bloodlines.
“What does that have to do with him?” Mie Meng didn’t understand. It was true that not much time had passed since she returned to the Ancestral Land. It could even be said that she was not born in the Ancestral Land. Nevertheless, she was a Divine Spirit, so she carried with her the Inheritance of her ancestors in her bloodline. She knew about the Ancestral Land, and that was why she came here after she escaped from her predicament; however, she was truly ignorant about the secrets that Kun Ao mentioned.
“In ancient times, when both the Dragon and the Phoenix Clans departed from the Ancestral Land, they left behind a seal which was tied to their bloodlines. That seal cordoned off a large portion of the Ancestral Strength. If we can undo the seal, the Ancestral Land might be restored to its former glory. This will be of great benefit to all the Divine Spirits in the Ancestral Land. But, you’ve said it yourself, the Dragon Clan has not appeared in the Ancestral Land for many years. Even in the outer world, the Dragon Clan has not appeared in a long time. Although there are remnants of the Phoenix Clan’s bloodline remaining in the Ancestral Land, they are unable to release the seal with their power alone. If not for that, why do you think the Kun Clan maintains a connection with the outer world all the time? It’s so that we can find a Dragon Clan member to break that seal! And now, the time has come!”
Mie Meng’s expression changed immediately after hearing his explanation. For a time, she was not sure whether she could believe him. She instinctively sensed that he would not deceive her, but subconsciously refused to believe him. Thus, she scowled deeply, “The reason you came here to find him… Is it to ask for his help in undoing the seal?”
Kun Ao nodded, “If you don’t believe me, you can go to the Four Phoenix Pavilion for verification. I won’t lie to you. I’ve already met Yue Zhuo before coming here. She has no objections to this matter.”
Mie Meng muttered, “I will confirm the Four Phoenix Pavilion’s attitude towards this matter myself. It’s late. You should leave, Kun Ao.”
However, he just snickered and reached out his hand, “Hand over the Dragon Clan member to me, and I’ll leave immediately.”
Mie Meng slowly shook her head, “I will bring him to the Four Phoenix Pavilion. If you want him, you can contact the Four Phoenix Pavilion!”
Kun Ao’s expression immediately turned cold, “Mie Meng, you do not want to face the wrath of the Kun Clan. There is a Dragon Clan member standing in front of me right now. I am showing you more than enough mercy by restraining my murderous intent and not acting against him directly. If you refuse to show proper respect here, the Mie Meng Clan might be annihilated today!”
She asked coldly, “Are you threatening me?”
Kun Ao scoffed, “You’ve never even heard of the secrets of the Ancestral Land Seal. Why invite trouble upon yourself for an unrelated Dragon? Besides, if the Ancestral Land Seal is released, it will be beneficial to your descendants too.”
Mie Meng turned to look at Yang Kai, “Find a chance to escape on your own.”
Yang Kai nodded heavily.
Kun Ao immediately became livid, “Mie Meng, do you really want to make an enemy of the Kun Clan!?”
Instead of answering, Mie Meng just charged at him.
“Impudence!” Kun Ao roared furiously and slammed out his palm. A destructive force that threatened to obliterate the world shot out from the palm of his hand and shrouded Mie Meng.
In response, Mie Meng raised a hand and unleashed a dazzling golden light. The two Divine Spirits instantly engaged in a fierce battle, and the terrifying fallout caused the local space to shudder.
When those two confronted each other, Yang Kai quickly manipulated the local Space Principles to wrap around Xia Lin Lang so that they could flee.
At that moment, both the white robed youth and the young girl who had been standing beside Kun Ao all this time attacked in unison, unleashing their strongest Divine Abilities.
Yang Kai raised a palm to counter their attacks while Xia Lin Lang next to him also reached out her hand to point to the front.
Following several explosions, both the white robed youth and the young girl were pushed back. They were strong; after all, they were both on par with Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm cultivators, but the combined power of Yang Kai and Xia Lin Lang was not to be underestimated either.
After repelling those two, Yang Kai swiftly used Space Principles to escape together with Xia Lin Lang. When he appeared again, they were already several tens of thousands of kilometres away.
“Where do we go now?” Xia Lin Lang’s complexion was slightly pale.
“I don’t know. We can only take one step at a time!” Yang Kai answered through gritted teeth.
Without Mie Meng’s protection, it was impossible for them to leave the Ancestral Land. The Divine Ability Sea surrounding the Ancestral Land was an obstacle they could never overcome by themselves.
Unfortunately, the Ancestral Land was not safe with the Kun Clan eyeing him greedily. What’s more, there were many Divine Spirits gathered here. For the two newcomers to this land, they were completely ignorant as to where each Divine Spirit was located and which Divine Spirits were hostile. Hence, Yang Kai was also at a loss for what to do next or where to go.
After several Instantaneous Movements, the pair had escaped a considerable distance from the battlefield where Mie Meng and Kun Ao were fighting. Before Yang Kai could catch his breath though, a furious roar echoed across the sky, “A Dragon Clan member has appeared in the Ancestral Land! Why are you all just standing there doing nothing!?”
The voice was thunderous, and there was no telling where it came from, but it resounded throughout the world.
Yang Kai’s expression immediately darkened in response.
If what Kun Ao mentioned earlier was true, and the Ancestral Land Seal required the combined powers of both the Dragon and the Phoenix Clans to unlock, then his identity as a Dragon Clan member would be extremely attractive in the Ancestral Land. The Divine Spirits with the intention of releasing the seal would be very interested in him, and Kun Ao’s furious roar had undoubtedly revealed his presence to the world.
If Kun Ao had the ability to capture Yang Kai himself, he would never have made such a public announcement. He could obtain the greatest benefits for the Kun Clan after releasing the seal if he had Yang Kai in his grasp; however, with Mie Meng actively blocking his way, he could not get away from her easily. His biggest fear was that Yang Kai would escape from the Ancestral Land, so he had no choice but to do this as a last resort. Although doing so would reveal Yang Kai’s presence to everyone in the Ancestral Land, it was still better than allowing him to escape.
As soon as Kun Ao’s words rang out, the entire Ancestral Land flew into an uproar. One after another, mighty auras emerged as though waking from a deep slumber and countless terrifying Divine Senses began sweeping out across the world.
A short while later, huge exotic beasts ran across the ground while giant birds took to the skies. Some Divine Spirits even took on Human Form to fly through the skies. The overpowering Divine Senses swept across every corner of the Ancestral Land, searching for the Dragon Clan member who had appeared out of nowhere.
Yang Kai and Xia Lin Lang were forced into a corner almost immediately. Their situation instantly turned into one where they resembled mice running across the road with people screaming and chasing them. Yang Kai turned several dangerous situations around with the help of his Space Principles, changing their location before the Divine Spirits could discover them. Nonetheless, after every escape, it would not take long before another Divine Sense discovered them again.
Yang Kai fled desperately without rest, bringing Xia Lin Lang with him. Unfortunately, his efforts were to no avail. The Divine Senses of the Divine Spirits interweaved as they constantly communicated their discoveries with each other and tightened the encirclement. If this were to continue, it would not take long before there was no place left to escape, not even with the help of Space Principles.
Another day passed and a ripple appeared in the Void before Yang Kai and Xia Lin Lang suddenly emerged out of nowhere. As soon as they appeared, they both spat out a mouthful of blood at the same time.
“Who was that Divine Spirit just now?” Xia Lin Lang’s complexion was ashen and her expression was fearful.
Yang Kai wiped away the blood at the corner of his mouth and answered through gritted teeth, “If I’m not mistaken, Tao Wu!”
If not for his quick reflexes earlier, they would have been suppressed on the spot by Tao Wu.
Yang Kai would probably have survived the encounter; after all, the Divine Spirits of the Ancestral Land needed his Bloodline to undo some sort of seal. They would not actually do anything to him, so capturing him would have been the limit.
On the contrary, a Human woman, especially a beautiful one like Xia Lin Lang, would have suffered a fate worse than death. Tao Wu was one of the Ancient Ominous Beasts; what’s more, the way he looked at her just now was filled with extreme malice.
The corners of Xia Lin Lang’s brow twitched as she smiled wryly, “The people around you don’t usually live a long life, do they?”
She had originally hidden herself in the Shattered Heaven over 2,000 years ago. Although she had been living in secret and even changed her name, her life had been relatively stable. Conversely, the few years she had spent with Yang Kai had been a veritable torrent of thrilling adventures, death-defying escapes, and constant danger.
Being hunted by an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master was nothing at this point as they were now being hunted and tracked by all the Divine Spirits in the Ancestral Land. It was Xia Lin Lang’s first time experiencing life on the run like this, and every single time they escaped danger frightened her greatly.
In contrast, Yang Kai seemed rather accustomed to this situation. It was obvious that he had gone through numerous similar experiences before.
“Right now, the person with me is you. You should be careful not to jinx yourself,” he said lightly.
Her smile became increasingly bitter.
Yang Kai’s expression changed drastically all of a sudden. Raising his head to look in a certain direction, he gritted his teeth, “They arrived so quickly!” While speaking, he grabbed her by the arm and shouted, “Let’s go!”
Space rippled, and the two of them vanished before they even had the time to catch their breath. When they reappeared again, Yang Kai immediately stabilised his body and looked up to see a figure with an extraordinary aura speeding towards them from the front.
That person had clearly noticed Yang Kai, and when their four eyes suddenly met, he couldn’t help being stunned and stared at Yang Kai blankly.
“Damn it! Cheng Yang!” Yang Kai swore angrily. This was truly a case of when it rained, it poured. What he feared the most during his repeated escapes was to encounter this kind of situation where he appeared right in front of an enemy due to Instantaneous Movement.
His luck had been pretty good so far as every time he performed Instantaneous Movement, he would have a chance to catch his breath for a moment. Unfortunately, his luck had run out and he actually appeared in front of Bright Sun Divine Monarch.
Cheng Yang must have escaped the Divine Ability Sea and arrived at the Ancestral Land at some point in time.
Be that as it may, Yang Kai quickly discovered that something was not right.
Cheng Yang did not look pleasantly surprised to see Yang Kai. On the contrary, he looked hesitant and unsure. Furthermore, it was obvious that he was injured. His injuries contained the aura of a Divine Spirit, indicating that his wounds did not come from navigating the Divine Ability Sea but from an encounter with a powerful Divine Spirit in the Ancestral Land.
At this moment, he was filled with grievances that could not be voiced. He was one of the three great Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters in the Shattered Heaven. Although he had been hiding in the depths of the Shattered Heaven and living in seclusion for many years, there was no denying that he was a famous figure. In the Shattered Heaven, he was capable of calling the wind, summoning the rain, and holding up the entire sky.
However, in his relentless pursuit of the World Spring, he had accidentally stumbled into the Ancestral Land of the Divine Spirits. He knew about this place; after all, the white-robed youth from the Kun Clan had always kept contact with him. Compared to the other Open Heaven Realm Masters in the Shattered Heaven, Cheng Yang had some knowledge of the Ancestral Land.
More importantly, he knew that all the inhabitants of the Ancestral Land were either Divine Spirits or those with Divine Spirit bloodlines. For a Human cultivator without the slightest Divine Spirit bloodline like himself, he was bound to face countless difficulties in this place!
When he ran into the Divine Spirit Bi An by chance earlier, the other party had attacked him as soon as they got into a disagreement. If not for his impressive strength, Cheng Yang would have died right then and there. Even so, his battle with the Divine Spirit had left him wounded.
For now, the only method for him to resolve his current predicament was to seek refuge with the Kun Clan. The Kun Clan had been cooperating with him all these years after all, so it could be said that there was some friendship between them. It was just that he had never stepped foot into the Ancestral Land before, so how was he supposed to know where the Kun Clan was located?
Just as he was at a loss for what to do, Cheng Yang spotted Yang Kai and Xia Lin Lang tearing space and appearing in front of him. Hence, he was extremely conflicted.
Yang Kai was undoubtedly the culprit behind his current misery. If possible, Cheng Yang wanted to rip this little brat’s corpse into 10,000 pieces. Be that as it may, he did not dare to attack Yang Kai recklessly under these circumstances lest he attracted the other Divine Spirits here, which would not benefit him in any way.
During that momentary hesitation, there was a bit of a back-and-forth as he struggled to come to a decision. Suddenly, a voice sounded from afar, “Cheng Yang, capture him! The Kun Clan will guarantee your safety!”
Cheng Yang immediately recognised that the voice belonged to the white-robed youth called Kun Yu, who had been searching for something in the Shattered Heaven all this while
Back then, the white-robed youth had brought a young woman with him to seek Cheng Yang’s assistance. He claimed to have come from the Kun Clan and revealed the bloodline of the Divine Spirit Kun Clan in him. Cheng Yang had not paid much attention to this matter as in his opinion, there was no harm in providing some conveniences and protection to the other party as long as they did not interfere with his interests.
Over the years, Kun Yu had constantly wandered the Shattered Heaven in search of something. Cheng Yang never bothered to ask about the matter. Moreover, the information regarding the World Spring was given to him by Kun Yu; otherwise, he would never have emerged from the Universe Cave Heaven that he had been secluding himself in.
Nevertheless, he never expected Kun Yu to return to the Ancestral Land so soon. Of course, considering that Kun Yu originated from here in the first place, it was not that strange for him to return safely.
After hearing what Kun Yu said, Cheng Yang stopped hesitating. He intended to seek refuge with the Kun Clan in the first place, so seeing as Kun Yu wanted him to capture Yang Kai, he would do as he was asked. It would also better allow him to make contact with the Kun Clan’s Masters.
Reaching out his hand, Cheng Yang grabbed towards Yang Kai and Xia Lin Lang.
The Divine Spirits in the Ancestral Land did not know Yang Kai’s strengths and weaknesses, which was why Yang Kai had the chance to escape using his Space Principles.
Unlike the Divine Spirits, however, Cheng Yang had seen many of Yang Kai’s methods. He knew that this brat would vanish out of sight if he showed the slightest negligence; hence, while extending his hand, Cheng Yang also used his Divine Sense to create a Heaven Sealing, Earth Locking field to prevent Yang Kai from escaping.
Yang Kai gave a furious roar. Summoning the Azure Dragon Spear, a Great Sun leaped upward as the spear stabbed forward.
At the same time, Xia Lin Lang attacked without reserve.
Even so, the combined powers of these two were not enough to block the Divine Monarch’s attack. The enormous hand descending from the sky merely paused for a moment before coming down on them again.
The strength of an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master was enough to make Yang Kai and Xia Lin Lang taste despair. Under the pressure of the large hand, they grunted in pain and their figures steadily sagged downward. They were practically being crushed to the ground.
At that moment, a sudden turn of events occurred. A graceful figure in an azure dress appeared beside Yang Kai and Xia Lin Lang without any warning. After a quick glance at Yang Kai, the woman raised her head to look at the large palm coming down on their heads. With a light wave of her bare hand, an aura without the slightest hint of aggression spread out, and the large hand covering the sky instantly dissipated.
Cheng Yang staggered and stumbled backward, staring at the azure-robed woman in fear. He might not have used his full strength in the attack just now, but it should not have been so easily resolved. Even an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master like him could not have accomplished this in such a calm and relaxed manner like this woman had done. In other words, this azure-robed woman’s strength was definitely much higher than his!
[Who is this Divine Spirit!?] Cheng Yang’s figure tensed in apprehension as his eyes stared fixedly at the azure-robed woman without blinking.
“Phoenix Clan?” Yang Kai straightened up slowly while staring at the woman who had appeared beside him and resolved his current crisis. Right now, his Dragon Vein was giving off a somewhat different and unusual feeling. It was a feeling that he experienced before when he was together with Su Yan, travelling with Liu Yan, and interacting with Jiu Feng. That was what convinced him that the azure-robed woman who appeared out of the blue had a Phoenix Clan bloodline.
“Don’t be afraid,” the azure-robed woman’s words were without feeling, but they gave him an indescribable sense of security.
Two streams of light sped over from a distance. It was Kun Yu of the Kun Clan and the young woman carrying the peach blossom branch. Upon seeing the azure-robed woman, Kun Yu was taken aback for a moment before his expression became solemn and he bowed in greeting, “Kun Clan, Kun Yu greets Senior Qing Luan.”
The azure-robed woman nodded lightly, her beautiful eyes staring into the depths of the void. In all directions, countless powerful auras were rapidly approaching this place after detecting the commotion earlier. Every single aura represented a mighty Divine Spirit.
Qing Luan then spoke, “I shall be taking him with me. In three days, you may all come to Four Phoenix Pavilion to discuss the matter of the seal!”
After saying that, she flicked her sleeve, wrapped up Yang Kai and Xia Lin Lang in her power, then soared into the sky.
The powerful auras that had been approaching this direction swiftly paused in silence. A short while later, they gradually fell dormant once more.
Cheng Yang stood there with a frown on his face, his expressions changing in quick succession. All of a sudden, he whipped his head around to look at Kun Yu, “Were you using me?”
If not for the scene just now, he would not have thought too deeply about this matter; however, the Divine Spirit Qing Luan had appeared in person to rescue Yang Kai from him. Combined with the words she left behind before she left, he couldn’t help delving more deeply into this matter after that incident.
Not to mention, he also heard a furious roar resounding across the skies when he first entered the Ancestral Land earlier. That furious roar had claimed that a Dragon Clan member had appeared in the Ancestral Land. Although Cheng Yang had failed to understand the situation previously, he was starting to get some insight now.
Those Divine Spirits rushing here from all directions were clearly coming for Yang Kai; in other words, Yang Kai was the Dragon Clan member who appeared in the Ancestral Land! It was most certain that he had some sort of vital role to play in the Ancestral Land, which was why so many Divine Spirits had come to capture him.
It had to be said that Cheng Yang was the one to pursue and eventually forced Yang Kai into the Ancestral Land; however, the information he received regarding the World Spring had come from Kun Yu. Furthermore, when he first started pursuing Yang Kai, Kun Yu had not hesitated to consume his own Blood Essence to leave a Bloodline Mark so as to facilitate his pursuit of Yang Kai.
After combining all these incidents together, Cheng Yang was seriously suspecting that he had been used by Kun Yu.
“I was just borrowing your strength,” Kun Yu replied calmly, “Why are you so angry, Divine Monarch?”
“You could have explained everything to me in advance!” Cheng Yang’s expression was hideous.
“Divine Monarch, this is the Ancestral Land.”
Kun Yu’s words immediately extinguished Cheng Yang’s rage. There was no choice. If he wished to leave this place alive, he would need the help of the Kun Clan, so it was not a good idea to offend them. After falling silent for a moment, Chang Yang declared, “I wish to meet your Elders.”
“Good.” Kun Yu nodded.
Qing Luan’s speed was extremely fast, so it didn’t take long before they arrived at a place with beautiful scenery. The Spirit Peaks were covered in mist, and World Energy was abundant in the air. Furthermore, there were many gorgeous pavilions in the mountains.
Qing Luan landed lightly in front of the Main Hall, then she gently placed Yang Kai and Xia Lin Lang down before saying, “This place is very safe. Rest here for the day. I will come and speak to you tomorrow.”
After saying that, she turned and departed with a flash.
Watching her departing figure, Yang Kai frowned slightly. He had so many questions in his heart; for example, why did the Dragon Clan leave the Ancestral Land? Where did they go? What did the seal have to do with their departure? The other Divine Spirits might not know anything, but Qing Luan who was closely related to the Phoenix Clan bloodline would surely know some of the secrets. According to the information that Yang Kai had gotten so far, the Dragon Clan left the Ancestral Land with most of the Phoenix Clan many, many years ago.
However, Qing Luan had already mentioned that she would come and speak to him tomorrow, so there was no need to hurry. He had been escaping with Xia Lin Lang over the past few days, and the consumption had been too great, so it was true that he needed to recuperate.
There was nobody in the Main Hall when Yang Kai and Xia Lin Lang walked inside, so they each just found a private room and went inside to rest.
On another Spirit Peak, Qing Luan flew over and landed. There were three other women waiting for her there. One was dressed in purple, one was dressed in yellow, and the last was dressed in white.
The yellow-robed woman walked up and asked, “Elder Sister, how is the situation?”
Qing Luan replied, “I found him and brought him back, but Kun Ao kicked up such a huge fuss that all the Divine Spirits know about the appearance of a Dragon Clan member in the Ancestral Land. I’m afraid that the matters related to the seal cannot be delayed any longer.”
The purple-robed woman frowned, “That seal is something both the Dragon and the Phoenix Clans left behind in ancient times. Since it is such a powerful seal, it must surely be related to a matter of great importance. Unfortunately, so many years have passed, so nobody knows what is being contained inside. Rashly opening the seal may bring about unpredictable consequences.”
Qing Luan nodded, “It’s true that nobody knows what it contains, but most Divine Spirits know about the Ancestral Land Seal. Moreover, the seal has naturally loosened after so many years. There is no denying that extremely pure Ancestral Strength is leaking out from the gaps of the seal; otherwise, nobody in the Ancestral Land would have joined the movement spearheaded by the Kun Clan with the intention of releasing it.”
The other three women nodded lightly.
During their conversation, a young man hurried over and cupped his fist, “Old Ancestors, please head to the Infant Phoenix Tower immediately. There’s an emergency!”
The women’s expressions changed when they heard those words, and they sped there without any hesitation. A short while later, they stood inside the Infant Phoenix Tower and examined the Phoenix Egg in front of them with solemn expressions.
The Infant Phoenix Tower was where the babies of Four Phoenix Pavilion were housed. Any clansmen who had laid a Phoenix Egg would place their offspring here to be nurtured. It was to ensure the survival and birth of their descendants.
Unfortunately, the vitality of the Phoenix Egg in front of them was weakening at this very moment. It was like a candle in the wind, at risk of vanishing at any given moment.
Upon seeing this, Qing Luan immediately placed her finger into her mouth without hesitation. She bit through the skin of her fingertip and forced out a drop of her own Blood Essence. Her bare hand then danced nimbly, drawing countless patterns on the Phoenix egg.
An extremely intricate and mysterious array formed in an instant. When the light shone brightly, the array was completely absorbed by the Phoenix Egg. The vitality that was on the verge of being extinguished slowly showed signs of stabilizing.
Silently watching the Phoenix Egg in front of her, she gave a small sigh and asked, “How many does this make over the past 1,000 years?”
The white-robed woman replied sadly, “This is the third. The previous two… did not make it. And, this one…”
This one might not survive either. Whether or not it could successfully hatch would depend entirely on the Heavens now.
The yellow-robed woman added, “The bloodlines of the two newly hatched are quite impure. Their future achievements will be limited.”
The Ancestral Strength was getting weaker and weaker. This place was the origin of all Divine Spirits, so the weakening Ancestral Strength naturally had a huge impact on the birth and survival of the descendants of all the Divine Spirits. The Divine Spirits of the older generation could feel these changes clearly. It was many times harder for them to improve their Bloodline Power now compared to when they were younger. Naturally, part of the reason was that the purer their bloodline, the more difficult it was for them to enhance their strength, but unfortunately, the biggest reason was that the Ancestral Strength was weakening.
It had always been difficult for the Phoenix Clan to have descendants, and if things continued at this rate, there would not be any new descendants with their bloodline born to them.
Forget the Phoenix Clan; the population of Divine Spirits with small numbers in the first place had withered and were practically on the verge of extinction.
“Elder Sister, the seal…” The yellow-robed woman looked at Qing Luan.
Qing Luan let out a heavy sigh in response.
The next day, Yang Kai was meditating when he suddenly opened his eyes and flashed out of his room. When he arrived outside the Main Hall, he looked up at the sky only to see four rays of different coloured lights flying towards him.
Having also noticed the commotion, Xia Lin Lang appeared beside him.
A short while later, four women landed in front of the two of them.
Yang Kai bowed in greeting, “Junior Yang Kai greets four Seniors.”
Likewise, Xia Lin Lang quickly gave an elegant bow. As a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, her powerful perception distinctly told her that all four women standing in front of her were much stronger than her. Even Bright Sun Divine Monarch was nothing compared to any one of them.
As the leader, Qing Luan nodded lightly before looking at Yang Kai and saying, “I am Qing Luan. You might already know me. These three are Yuan Chu, Yue Zhuo, and Hong Hu. The four of us can be considered the oldest generation in the Four Phoenix Pavilion.”
Yang Kai’s heart trembled slightly. He once read the Divine Spirit Record, and according to its text, there were Phoenixes of five different colours, namely Red Phoenix, Azure Luan, Yellow Yuan Chu, Purple Yue Zhuo, and White Hong Hu.
It could be said that the four women in front of him carried the purest bloodlines of the Phoenix Clan other than the Phoenix’s themselves. Moreover, the Dragon and the Phoenix Clans had always had a close relationship with each other, which was why he did not feel the slightest sense of oppression from them even though the gap in their strength was so large. On the contrary, Yang Kai’s Dragon Vein seemed to be rejoicing.
“You probably have some questions for us. Similarly, we have some questions for you.” Qing Luan looked at Yang Kai warmly, as if she were his Elder, “Let’s go inside and talk.”
Yang Kai nodded; thus, they all went into the Main Hall and took their seats.
The gazes of the four women were focused on Yang Kai. They constantly seemed to be examining him as though trying to figure out something from his body.
“Your bloodline is strange.” Qing Luan was the first to speak, “It’s extremely pure, but you don’t seem to be part of the Dragon Clan. Can you explain the situation to us?”
Yang Kai nodded and said, “I am not part of the Dragon Clan, but I’m not fully Human either.”
The purple-robed Yue Zhuo frowned, “Even if a Human obtained a Dragon Source by chance, their bloodline should not have been so pure. What Dragon Source did you receive?”
In response, Yang Kai silently stimulated the power of his Dragon Source. A deafening Dragon Roar resounded throughout the Main Hall in the next moment, and at the same time, a large Golden Dragon Head seemed to awaken from dormancy and floated just behind him. The Dragon Eyes were majestic, seeming to overlook the universe.
Qing Luan narrowed her eyes and exclaimed, “Golden Divine Dragon Source!”
Likewise, Yue Zhuo revealed a look of understanding, “No wonder. You’ve probably tried many ways to enhance your Source Strength over the years. That’s why you managed to experience such growth, right?”
Yang Kai nodded, “I consumed many Spirit Pills refined from the Dragon Blood Flowers.” After a hesitant pause, he asked, “Seniors, can you tell me about what happened to the Dragon Clan?”
The women exchanged glances with each other. Then, Qing Luan explained, “We have lived in the Ancestral Land ever since we were born, but even we have never met the Dragon Clan before. It’s only thanks to our bloodline inheritance that we know some things about the Dragon Clan. As for whether they are the truth, you will have to be the judge of that yourself. We are not deliberately trying to deceive you.”
“This Junior would not dare to think that.” Yang Kai nodded slightly.
She then continued, “As you know, any Divine Spirit will be strong enough to rival a High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master in strength once they reach adulthood. As the Head of all Divine Spirits, the Dragon Clan is no exception. Dragon Clan members who were not as strong as a High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master would always be considered Juvenile Dragons no matter how many years they cultivated. Only those with strength comparable to High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters were worthy of the title ‘Grand Dragon’!”
Yang Kai nodded. This sentiment was something that he heard from Bi Xi in the past. According to Bi Xi, one’s Dragon Form had to be at least 10,000 metres long for them to be worthy of the title ‘Grand Dragon’.
“And, above the Grand Dragons are the Divine Dragons!” Qing Luan continued, “The strength of a Grand Dragon is equivalent to the strength of a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master or an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. On the other hand, Divine Dragons are on par with Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters! I’m sure you’re aware of the gap in strength between them.”
The gap in strength between each Order of the Open Heaven Realm was like the difference between night and day. A Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master killing a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master was like stealing candy from a baby. The same applied if a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master tried to kill a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. The difference in strength between an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master and a Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master would only be even more staggering.
Meanwhile, a Divine Dragon was an existence comparable to a Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master.
“The Source you inherited once belonged to a Divine Dragon.” Qing Luan looked him straight in the eye, “In any case, you were able to refine this Source and produce a Dragon Vein. Regardless of your origins as part of the Human Race, strictly speaking, you’re already part of the Dragon Clan. It’s just that you are no more than a Juvenile Dragon based on your current strength.”
Hearing those words left him dumbfounded. Yang Kai had worked hard and cultivated for many years in order to achieve all the success he enjoyed today. Nevertheless, he could only be classified as a Juvenile in the Dragon Clan with his current achievements.
The strength of the Dragon Clan was evident.
When he realised that even Zhu Yan and Fu Zhun could only be classified as Juvenile Dragons though, he felt a little better.
Yang Kai had obtained his Dragon Source when he was still very young. In that case, what happened to the former owner of the Source for him to die in that place? It had to be said that he was a Divine Dragon comparable to a Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master! What about the Phoenix Clan Source that Su Yan inherited? Both of them had been together at the time. How could a Phoenix Clan member be weak if she died beside a Divine Dragon? Unfortunately, what happened back then would forever remain a mystery.
“This is the Heavens’ Will!” Qing Luan sighed.
In the beginning, she had hoped that Yang Kai’s Bloodline might not be strong enough to unlock the seal even if he was part of the Dragon Clan. If that was the case, then she would only need to explain the circumstances to the Divine Spirits in the Ancestral Land and this matter might have been suppressed as a result.
However, she knew that this method would not work as soon as she saw the Source Strength Yang Kai possessed.
Although with his current Dragon Vein’s power, he could only be classified as a Juvenile Dragon, his Source was extremely pure. There was a possibility that he could unlock the seal, so what excuse could Four Phoenix Pavilion use to stop the Divine Spirits in the Ancestral Land?
A brief moment of silence passed before Qing Luan asked, “Do you know why all the Divine Spirits in the Ancestral Land want to capture you?”
Yang Kai replied, “I heard that they want to use my bloodline to unlock some sort of seal!”
Qing Luan nodded, “So you know… In that case, this will be easy to explain. In ancient times, the Dragon and the Phoenix Clans joined forces to leave behind a powerful seal in the Ancestral Land. Nobody knows what is contained within the seal. Perhaps, only the original generation of Divine Spirits know the truth. Unfortunately, too much time has passed and too many things have been lost over the generations, even with the inheritance of Divine Spirits like ourselves.”
“At present, nobody in the Ancestral Land knows why the Dragon and Phoenix Clans left this seal behind in ancient times. The only thing we can be certain of is that the seal contains an abundance of extremely pure Ancestral Strength. Over the years, the seal has started to loosen and the Ancestral Strength has begun leaking out from within. We’ve personally gone to investigate the seal and verified this fact,” Qing Luan continued, “According to my estimation, the seal was formed from Ancestral Strength, which is why this phenomenon is occurring.”
Yang Kai frowned, “Since it is a seal, whatever that is contained inside cannot be a good thing. Who knows what kind of consequences we might face if we recklessly break the seal?”
Qing Luan smiled bitterly, “How can the Divine Spirits in the Ancestral Land be unaware of this fact? But, as you know, Divine Spirits are generally arrogant due to their immense strength. Even if whatever that was sealed inside back then turned out to be something bad, chances are that it no longer exists after so many eons. Even if it still exists, there is nothing to fear with the immense strength of the Divine Spirits in the Ancestral Land. To the Divine Spirits in the Ancestral Land, releasing the seal might be risky, but the risks are insignificant compared to the benefits.”
There was pure Ancestral Strength leaking out of the seal. If they could release the seal, they could improve the current conditions of the Ancestral Land. It would be highly beneficial to the reproduction and survival of all Divine Spirits. If not for that, the Kun Clan would not have been adamant about breaking the seal.
Yang Kai fell silent after hearing those words. There was no way a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master like him could resist under these circumstances, so he raised his head and asked, “What is Four Phoenix Pavilion’s stance towards this matter?”
Qing Luan replied, “We have always disapproved of the decision to break the seal; however, based on the general trend, it doesn’t matter whether we agree or disagree anymore. I will be honest with you. No less than ten Divine Spirits have been lingering outside the Four Phoenix Pavilion since yesterday. Even if we wanted to send you away, we don’t have the ability to do so.”
Yue Zhuo added, “Besides, the seal began loosening several thousand years ago. Even if we don’t take the initiative to undo the seal ourselves, it will break on its own after several thousand more years.”
“I understand,” Yang Kai took a deep breath, “What do I need to do?”
Qing Luan said, “There’s nothing that you need to do in particular. The seal was left behind by the Dragon and Phoenix Clans using their Bloodline Power, so you only need to consume some Blood Essence to break the seal. In two days, the Divine Spirits in the Ancestral Land will come to the Four Phoenix Pavilion to discuss these matters. I will let you know once the results of the discussion are out. After that, I will bring you to the Demon Sealing Land. You should get a good rest over the next two days.
“Demon Sealing Land?” Yang Kai raised an eyebrow at those words, “Is that where the seal is located?”
Qing Luan nodded, “The situation in the Demon Sealing Land was passed down by word of mouth since ancient times. Although the seal has been loosening, we have not detected any Demon Qi coming from within. We have no idea why it is called the Demon Sealing Land either. Perhaps, the ominous things that were sealed inside have long turned into nothing but dust over the years.”
Even if there existed some sort of Demon Qi, the Divine Spirits of the Ancestral Land were not afraid. The strength of the Divine Spirits could not be defeated by something as trivial as Demon Qi.
Over the next two days, Yang Kai and Xia Lin Lang focused on their recovery.
Two days later, Four Phoenix Pavilion opened its gates. Numerous overwhelmingly powerful auras entered one after another, each one representing a mighty Divine Spirit.
Inside the Main Hall, several dozen people slowly filled the seats. Even though the Divine Spirits arrived at different times, they each found a suitable seat for themselves in tacit agreement. Meanwhile, Qing Luan and the three other Phoenix women sat in a row of seats situated at the topmost position.
Yang Kai sat upright to the left and below them, looking down with his head lowered.
Every single Divine Spirit that entered the room would study him with great interest. Some of them would even reveal curious expressions. Most of the Divine Spirits had been born and raised in the Ancestral Land all their lives, so the Dragon Clan was a rare sight to them. They had only ever heard of the Dragon Clan but never seen one with their own eyes.
Sitting directly opposite Yang Kai was Kun Ao of the Kun Clan. His gaze would sweep over Yang Kai from time to time, and he did not bother to conceal his murderous intent.
Likewise, the Dragon Vein in Yang Kai’s body seemed eager to fight. The hatred that came from the depths of his bloodline was an inheritance passed down from ancient times. Even if hundreds of thousands of years had passed, this hatred would never disappear as long as their respective bloodlines continued to exist.
More than half of the Divine Spirits in attendance were comparable to Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters. Even if the rest were not as powerful, they were at least the equivalent of a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. It was obvious that all of them were Mature Divine Spirits.
Mie Meng had come too. She was also part of the Ancestral Land after all. The seal in the Demon Sealing Land would affect the growth of her descendants, so she had to make an appearance. Nonetheless, she did not say a word to Yang Kai. The first reason was that the situation was inappropriate. The other reason was that he had the protection of Four Phoenix Pavilion. Many Divine Spirits might be in attendance today, but they posed no threat to him.
In just an incense stick, all the seats in the Main Hall had been filled. All the Divine Spirit Clans had sent a representative to attend the meeting today.
Qing Luan’s beautiful eyes took in the scene in front of her for a moment before she spoke, “Since everyone is here, let us begin our discussion.”
Kun Ao grinned, “What else needs to be discussed about the seal? We’ve waited for so many years, and now, a Dragon Clan member has finally appeared in the Ancestral Land. Who knows how much longer we will have to wait if we let this opportunity slip through our fingers? Why don’t we all express our attitude towards this matter and be done with it? The minority will obey the majority. What do you think, Qing Luan?”
Narrowing her eyes, she said nothing more and simply nodded lightly. Now that things had come to this, she had already mentally prepared herself for how the situation would develop. Nothing would change no matter how much she objected to the decision.
Kun Ao laughed, “Good. I’m sure you’re all aware of the situation in the Demon Sealing Land, so there’s no need to say anything more. Do we maintain the seal as it is? Or, do we take a risk to release the seal and allow the Ancestral Strength to flood this land again so that our descendants never worry about reproduction issues again. Make your choice. Nobody is forcing you. The Kun Clan supports the decision to release the seal. We have also been working hard towards this goal for many years. You’ve witnessed our efforts for yourselves. Those who are willing to progress with us, please show your support!”
“I agree to releasing the seal!” Tao Wu, who was sitting beside Kun Ao, grinned widely.
“As do I!” Bi An responded immediately.
“I!”
“I!”
…..
There were a series of voices ringing out in the Grand Hall. Although some of the Divine Spirits did not express their opinions, those who agreed to break the seal had already occupied the majority.
Kun Ao nodded in satisfaction, then he turned to look at Qing Luan, “This is what the people in the Ancestral Land want. Qing Luan, there’s no need for the Four Phoenix Pavilion to stop us again, right?”
Qing Luan quietly replied, “Since you all believe that releasing the sea is the better choice, Four Phoenix Pavilion will not say anything more. Let us proceed.”
“Good!” Kun Ao laughed out loud.
“But, before that, Four Phoenix Pavilion has a condition!” Qing Luan suddenly swept glared at him.
“Speak freely.”
She then pointed at Yang Kai, “After the matter with the seal has been completed, I will escort him from this place. No one is allowed to harm him or stop him!”
She stared at Kun Ao fixedly while speaking those words. It was obvious that her words were directed at him. There were numerous Divine Spirits in the Ancestral Land, but the only ones with an irresolvable grudge against the Dragon Clan was the Kun Clan.
As long as Kun Ao gave his word, Yang Kai would not be in any danger; after all who else among the rest of the Divine Spirits would go out of their way to kill a Dragon Clan member for no reason? While it was true that the Dragon Clan had left the Ancestral Land a very long time ago, who could guarantee that they would not return one day? They would definitely settle all their debts upon their return.
Kun Ao nodded readily, “Rest assured. The only reason I dealt with him previously was for the seal. This Kun Ao is a man of honour and will not make trouble for a mere brat.”
“Don’t forget what you said.” Qing Luan nodded faintly.
Kun Ao then stood up, “It has been so long, and it’s rare for all the Divine Spirits in the Ancestral Land to be so united. There’s no day like today. Why don’t we head to the Demon Sealing Land now?”
Qing Luan glanced at Yang Kai questioningly, and Yang Kai nodded, “It’s fine with me.”
Only then did she say, “Let’s set off then.”
Many Divine Spirits stood up, and a short while later, countless streams of light sliced through air as they sped off into the distance.
Yang Kai was surrounded by Qing Luan and the three others. Along the way, Qing Luan reminded him, “The foundation of the seal is built on Bloodline Power. If you want to break the seal, you will need to consume your own Blood Essence. Do your best, but don’t be too greedy for achievements or you will damage your foundation!”
“This Junior understands!” Yang Kai nodded.
The Demon Sealing Land was located at the very edge of the Ancestral Land, and the nearer they got to it, the more Yang Kai could feel the peculiar force lingering in the world getting stronger.
This power was extremely beneficial to the Divine Spirits; however, it was unique to the Ancestral Land and practically impossible to find in the outside world. Forget Yang Kai, who was a newcomer to this place; even the Divine Spirits living in this place did not know much about the Ancestral Strength. Nevertheless, this power was undeniably related to the growth and reproduction of all the Divine Spirits.
Even so, the margin of increase was not very large. The reason for this phenomenon was most likely that the seal had loosened and the Ancestral Strength was leaking out from inside the seal.
Approximately half a day later, Yang Kai saw an enormous Grand Array rising up from the ground in the distance, with several Array Nodes towering up into the clouds. Moreover, there was another Grand Array visible to the naked eye spread out on the ground.
At this moment, countless figures were gathered around the Grand Array. These figures came in all shapes and sizes, and every one of them was different from the next. Some looked like beasts while others had humanoid forms.
Yang Kai looked around in astonishment.
The white-robed Hong Hu, who was closest to him, explained, “The Ancestral Strength in the Demon Sealing Land is more abundant, so many Juniors like to cultivate here. My Sisters and I used to fight many other Divine Spirits here over territorial issues.”
Yang Kai glanced at her in surprise.
To which she smiled, “Who was not young once?”
Yang Kai couldn’t help chuckling. In the Demon Sealing Land below them, two young Divine Spirits were fighting in their true forms. It was probably as she explained earlier, they were competing over a cultivation spot. There were many other young Divine Spirits in the surroundings who cheered and watched the fight, making for a lively scene.
Unfortunately, this fight was bound to be cut short at this moment. The older generation of the Divine Spirits arrived with great fanfare, causing the younger generation of Divine Spirits to look up in astonishment.
“All Juniors are to leave!” Kun Ao took the lead, waving his hand to chase off the younger generation of Divine Spirits without the slightest trace of politeness. All of a sudden, a large wing spread out and covered the entire sky. The violent gust of wind swept across the ground, and the younger generation of Divine Spirits gathered below screamed in panic. There was no saying where the wind had taken them.
Many furious gazes shot toward Kun Ao, but he simply declared resolutely, “What are you looking at? There were Kun Clan Juniors here too. This King treated them all equally. Is there a problem?”
Inside the Ancestral Land, both the Kun Clan and the Phoenix Clan were considered major Clans. Not only were they powerful, but they also had many clansmen. Ordinary Divine Spirits could not afford to provoke either of them.
Everybody had witnessed Kun Ao’s actions earlier. Although his Secret Technique had swept many of the younger generation away, his strength had been controlled perfectly and there was no intention to wound. Hence, these people only glared at him viciously for a moment before they withdrew their gazes.
Afterward, many gazes turned to focus on Qing Luan and Yang Kai instead with great expectations.
“What do I do?” Yang Kai asked.
Qing Luan replied, “You only need to stand in the middle of the Grand Sealing Array and match our actions later.”
He nodded and came to stand in the centre of the enormous Grand Array under everybody’s watchful eyes.
As soon as he took his position, Qing Luan shouted, “Begin!”
Yuan Chu, Yue Zhuo, and Hong Hu nodded in unison. The four figures flickered and flashed, each standing at the four corners of the Grand Array. In the next moment, their majestic Divine Spirit aura permeated the air and a sharp piercing cry resounded throughout the world.
Rays of azure, purple, yellow, and white lights shone out brightly, and the four women transformed back into their true bodies. Four enormous Phoenix Clan members, each more than 10,000 metres tall, spread out their wings and threw back their heads with a loud cry. A violent gust of wind raged around them, causing sand and rock to fly in the air.
Yang Kai was dazzled by the sight. Although he had seen the Phoenix Clan’s true appearance before, he had never seen any that were so huge and terrifying.
At the same time, a horrifying pressure spread out. Even though they were not deliberately targeting him, it was enough to make his body feel extremely heavy.
They cried out again, and four streams of Blood Essence spewed out from the mouths of Qing Luan and the three others to splatter upon the Grand Array. In that instant, the Grand Array hummed and the Void trembled.
Yang Kai roared involuntarily. Following the sound of the Dragon Roar, a Golden Dragon Head appeared behind him and plunged into his body. In the next moment, his body swelled; his hands transformed into Dragon Claws; Dragon Scales covered his body; two Dragon Horns thrust out of his forehead; a Dragon Tail flicked behind him; and Dragon Beard fluttered below his jaw when he shook his head fiercely. The small humanoid figure abruptly erupted into a several thousand metre tall behemoth.
The Divine Spirits watching by the sides frowned in response, however. They had assumed that Yang Kai was a pure-blooded Dragon Clan member, but the person in front of them was Half-Human and Half-Dragon. That undoubtedly indicated that his bloodline was not as pure as they had imagined.
[Can the seal be broken with such a weak bloodline?] In any case, the arrow had been released and there was no turning back now. They could only suppress the doubts in their hearts and quietly watch how things unfolded.
Inside the Grand Array, Yang Kai could feel the Power of the Dragon Vein in his body surging violently and the vitality in his chest churning fiercely. A mouthful of Blood Essence was then forced from his throat and splattered onto the Grand Array.
After the Grand Array had been stimulated by Blood Essence of Qing Luan and the others, the lights had been flashing and flickering endlessly. With the addition of Yang Kai’s Dragon Blood, the light shone even more brightly than before.
Numerous patterns inside the Grand Array lit up and linked together to become one. Furthermore, the Dragon and Phoenix Blood that was sprayed across the Grand Array wriggled about within its patterns, like some sort of living thing.
With the passage of time, the illusory phantom of a heavy set of gates appeared in the sky above the Grand Array. The magnificent gates stood in the sky between the Heavens and the Earth. There had been no trace of these gates before, and it was not until this moment that they were revealed in all their glory.
Many of the Divine Spirits looked up with excited expressions on their faces.
The Demon Sealing Land was not a Restricted Area and many among the younger generation of Divine Spirits liked to cultivate here. Most of the older generation of Divine Spirits had also investigated this place in the past, but regardless of their identities, nobody had ever discovered any traces of this gate before.
Be that as it may, this gate had appeared when the Dragon and Phoenix Blood mixed with each other. In other words, there was a high possibility that the seal could be broken. The predicament that had plagued the Divine Spirits in the Ancestral Land for countless years was finally showing signs of being resolved. How could they not be eager and excited?
As time passed, the gate that stood in the sky became more and more solid. It was almost as though it actually existed. However, everyone could see that the gate was not a solid entity, but the manifestation of great energy. It was the seal itself. What was contained behind the gate were the secrets that had been hidden from the Ancestral Land for countless generations.
An hour later, the light shining from the Grand Array gradually showed signs of growing dim; however, the gates showed no signs of opening in the slightest.
Kun Ao shouted, “Qing Luan, it’s not enough!”
Upon hearing those words, Qing Luan and the three others spat out another mouthful of Blood Essence while in the centre of the Grand Array, Yang Kai did the same.
The light of the Grand Array that had faded slightly was instantly revived to its full glory. The two forces intertwined and entangled inside the Grand Array, spreading towards the heavy gates like vines.
The Divine Spirits could clearly sense that the two forces were none other than the Bloodline Powers of the Dragon Clan and the Phoenix Clan.
There seemed to be a pair of large invisible hands that pushed and shoved at the heavy gates. Accompanied by a creaking sound that reverberated throughout the world, the heavy gates slowly opened by a crack.
The eyes of Kun Ao and the other Divine Spirits immediately brightened in excitement as they stared fixedly at the gate.
Extremely pure force emerged from the gap that had opened; it was Ancestral Strength. It was just that none of the Divine Spirits had ever felt the existence of such a powerful Ancestral Strength in many, many years. Thus, they couldn’t help feeling warm and protected when the force enveloped them.
Standing in the middle of the Grand Array, Yang Kai felt these changes even more clearly. Under the stimulation of that force, he could feel the Power of his Dragon Vein boiling furiously. His bloodline was becoming purer and purer at a speed that he could detect. The most notable change was that his huge body that had originally reached its limits had grown again and the bloodline in his body burst out like the roar of the rushing river.
The heavy gate opened at a very slow speed. It took more than an hour just to open up a crack that was no more than three fingers wide.
It was obvious that even more of the Bloodline Power from the Dragon and the Phoenix Clans were needed to break the seal. Qing Luan, Yang Kai, and the others forced out their Blood Essence once more to stimulate the power of the Grand Array.
After three days, the gates were finally mostly opened, and it would not be long before the seal was broken!
Unfortunately, Yang Kai was starting to reach his limits. Releasing this seal had required the consumption of his Blood Essence, and such consumption was so great that it was damaging his vitality.
Compared to Qing Luan and the others, his bloodline was no stronger than that of a Juvenile Dragon in the first place. His bloodline might be pure enough, but he simply could not withstand the consumption. Besides, Qing Luan and the others had four people working together while he was alone. The consumption he experienced was four times that of Qing Luan and the others.
At this moment, his complexion was very pale and even his large figure seemed a little shaky and unsteady, like he could collapse at any moment.
There was no doubt that Kun Ao had also discovered this fact. He would glance at the gate from time to time before he glanced back at Yang Kai. An inexplicable light flickered in the depths of his eyes.
Qing Luan naturally noticed this and shouted, “Don’t even think about it, Kun Ao! If anything happens to him, Four Phoenix Pavilion will never break the seal!”
Kun Ao’s face twitched at those words, but he soon just chuckled, “You’re overthinking things, Qing Luan. I’m just worried about whether this brat can persevere until the end. Since you’ve said as much though, I’m sure there will be no problems on his part.”
The truth was that he had indeed thought about it. If Yang Kai could no longer withstand the pressure of releasing the seal, he could simply slaughter him on the Grand Array itself. After all, based on the current situation, it would seem that the seal could be broken as long as there was an adequate amount of Dragon Clan Blood. The life or death of the Dragon Clan member providing the Blood had nothing to do with him.
However, seeing as Qing Luan had already warned him, Kun Ao could only give up on his idea. All his efforts would be in vain if Four Phoenix Pavilion refused to cooperate again because he killed this Dragon Clan member.
Qing Luan looked at Yang Kai in concern, “Take some time to recover. There’s no hurry!”
Yang Kai nodded quietly and sat down in the middle of the Grand Array without further ado. He silently activated his Secret Technique and frantically devoured the Ancestral Strength that was pouring out of the seal. His physique wriggled while at the same time, his Bloodline steadily became purer and purer. Even his Half-Dragon Form experienced huge growth.
Over the past few days, his Half-Dragon Form had grown by at least 30 metres, and that was with him not even concentrating on cultivating. What’s more, this was the result when the seal was not broken completely. If he could release the seal completely, how much more would the Ancestral Strength benefit him?
Yang Kai could somewhat understand why the Divine Spirits in the Ancestral Land was so eager to break the seal now. The Ancestral Strength was simply far too beneficial to the cultivation and growth of Divine Spirits. Not many Divine Spirits could resist in the face of such a temptation. Even Qing Luan and the others were not that repulsed by the idea of releasing the seal, or they would never have been so cooperative in the first place.
Half a day later, Yang Kai stood up and spewed out another mouthful of Blood Essence on the Grand Array. The heavy gates had opened by more than half at this point, and with the help of this mouthful of Dragon Blood, the gap widened a little more again.
Another day passed by in the same manner. Seven whole days after they began releasing the seal, the Grand Array shone brightly when Yang Kai spewed out one last mouthful of Dragon Blood. Then, the heavy gates finally opened completely.
Yang Kai immediately collapsed to the ground, his enormous Half-Dragon Form shrinking rapidly to transform back into his Human Form. Qing Luan and the others quickly released their true body transformations and rushed to his side to help him up.
“How are you feeling?” Yuan Chu asked.
Yang Kai was as pale as a sheet, but he slowly shook his head, “I just consumed too much energy. It’s not a big problem.”
Qing Luan nodded, “As long as you have not damaged your foundation.”
After saying that, she looked up at the gates.
The gates were opened, and an abundance of Ancestral Strength was pouring out of them. Be that as it may, when the time came, all the Divine Spirits simply stood there motionlessly. Nobody scrambled to be the first to enter the gates; after all, nobody knew what was waiting for them.
Kun Ao turned to look behind him. In that direction, a figure stepped forward with a hideous expression on his face. It was none other than Cheng Yang, who had stumbled into the Ancestral Land while pursuing Yang Kai and Xia Lin Lang.
He had not been present when the Divine Spirits rushed here earlier and there was no telling when he had arrived at this place. When all the Divine Spirits in the surroundings turned to look at him, he felt his skin tightening in apprehension, even though he was in the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm.
“Don’t forget what you promised me, Kun Ao!” Cheng Yang shouted grimly.
Kun Ao smiled, “Of course. I will ask Kun Yu to escort you out of the Ancestral Land after this. You will not be able to leave the Ancestral Land without the escort of a Divine Spirit.”
Cheng Yang coldly snorted. He would never have agreed to Kun Ao’s demands if not for his wish to leave the Ancestral Land. It was just that he was currently living under their eaves, so he had no choice but to bow down to their wishes.
Looking up at the heavy gates, Cheng Yang drew the power of his Small Universe to wrap around his body. Then, he soared into the sky and plunged through those gates to vanish out of sight.
After seeing this exchange, how could the Divine Spirits not realise that Kun Ao had sent Cheng Yang to scout the way ahead? Bright Sun Divine Monarch was in the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm, so even if the situation inside was very dangerous, it was impossible for him not to survive and return with some useful information.
Therefore, the Divine Spirits waited silently.
Less than an incense stick later though, Cheng Yang returned from within the gates. It was just that his complexion was extremely pale and his aura was especially chaotic, almost as though he had suffered a huge blow.
Under the watch of the many Divine Spirits, Cheng Yang rushed out of the Demon Sealing Land. His complexion was incredibly pale and his aura was in disarray. There were faint traces of scales appearing on his exposed skin, and the nails on both his hands grew rapidly.
“Monster Transformation!” Qing Luan shouted from where she stood beside Yang Kai.
The Ancestral Land was the origin of all Divine Spirits, and there was an extremely peculiar force in this land that was highly beneficial to the reproduction and growth of those Divine Spirits. However, this force was a poison that could become lethal to living creatures that were not Divine Spirits.
This was something that Qing Luan mentioned to Yang Kai previously. That was why the living creatures existing in the Ancestral Land were generally Divine Spirits or those with the Divine Spirit bloodline.
It was impossible for a Pure-Human cultivator to stay in the Ancestral Land for a long time as once the Ancestral Strength invaded their bodies, there was a high possibility that they would suffer from horrible consequences. Those consequences were Monster Transformation!
Cheng Yang was an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master and his strength was incredibly powerful. Even so, he was already being eroded by the Ancestral Strength and showing signs of Monster Transformation after spending less than an incense stick inside the Demon Sealing Land.
It was conceivable just how abundant and intense the Ancestral Strength in the Demon Sealing Land was that even a Master like Cheng Yang could not resist. That was why many of the Divine Spirits rejoiced at the sight of his miserable state. The stronger the Ancestral Strength in the Demon Sealing Land, the better it was for them.
“What’s inside?” Kun Ao asked while looking at Cheng Yang.
Cheng Yang shook his head while resisting the Ancestral Strength that was invading his body, “It’s too vast. I couldn’t investigate much, but it shouldn’t be dangerous for Divine Spirits like you. Kun Ao, I need to leave this place. The sooner, the better!”
Before entering the Demon Sealing Land, his strength was enough that he could easily resist the erosion of the Ancestral Strength of the Ancestral Land even though it had been gnawing at him without pause. Now that he had fallen into this state, though, the symptoms of Monster Transformation would become irreversible if he did not leave as soon as possible; otherwise, he would become an existence that was neither Monster nor Human.
Kun Ao stared at Cheng Yang deeply as though trying to judge whether the latter was speaking the truth, but a short while later, he shouted, “Kun Yu!”
The white-robed youth who fought Yang Kai on several occasions previously came forward.
“Send him away!” Kun Ao waved his hand dismissively. Although he was a domineering man, he was not a dishonest person.
“Yes!” Kun Yu accepted the order and gestured to Cheng Yang politely.
Cheng Yang coldly snorted and turned around to leave. He did not wish to spend another moment in this place. Nevertheless, he cast a glance at Yang Kai with an inexplicable look in his eyes before he departed.
He had pursued Yang Kai deep into the Ancestral Land because of the World Spring. As a result, not only did he fail to obtain the World Spring, but he also brought great trouble down upon himself. It was truly very unlucky.
Now that Yang Kai was in the Ancestral Land, obtaining the World Spring had become nothing more than a dream. Just Yang Kai’s identity as a Dragon Clan member was enough to frighten Cheng Yang greatly. If he had known that Yang Kai was a Dragon Clan member beforehand, he would never have interfered in this chaos.
After Kun Yu sent Cheng Yang away, Kun Ao finally turned a hungry gaze at the heavy gates that stood wide open in front of him and grinned, “What do you all think?”
Cheng Yang had returned safely, which indicated that there were no dangers inside; therefore, the many Divine Spirits were eager to make a move. Some could barely hold themselves back at this point. It was just that the Phoenix Clan and the Kun Clan had not made any moves yet, so they could not act so indiscreet.
Qing Luan voiced her opinion, “Since the seal has already been broken, we should go inside and take a look.”
Kun Ao laughed, “In that case, this King will go on ahead and scout the way for you!”
He beckoned with his hand while speaking, leading the Masters of the Kun Clan to plunge through the gates and vanish out of sight.
How could the rest of the Divine Spirits hold back after seeing that? They all rushed forward and entered the gates one after another, and in the blink of an eye, only the Phoenix Clan remained.
Qing Luan lowered her head to look at Yang Kai and ask, “How are you?”
Yang Kai shook his head, “It’s nothing serious.”
“What do you plan to do next? If you wish to leave, I will arrange for someone to escort you out of the Ancestral Land.”
However, Yang Kai looked up at the Seal Gates and declared, “I want to go inside and have a look.”
Qing Luan nodded, “You contributed greatly to the breaking of the seal, so there’s no issue if you wish to go inside and have a look. However, you should come with us and not act on your own.”
“This Junior understands. Many thanks, Senior.” Yang Kai nodded.
Only then did Qing Luan lead the Masters of the Phoenix Clan into the Seal Gates with great fanfare. A vast land spread out in front of their eyes as soon as they stepped into the Demon Sealing Land. Strictly speaking, this world was not much different from the Ancestral Land, it was just that the Ancestral Strength here was extremely rich.
All the Phoenix Clan members couldn’t help taking a deep breath. Stimulated by this power, their clear and piercing cries rose and fell one after another as colourful Phoenix Clan members of various different shapes and sizes revealed their true bodies and fluttered their wings.
Even Yang Kai couldn’t help relaxing mentally and physically. He felt like a wanderer who finally returned home after travelling the world for many years. His weakened body also recovered its vitality more rapidly, filling him with a sense of satisfaction.
“This place… is still part of the Ancestral Land.” Qing Luan murmured under her breath while looking around her surroundings.
Having lived in the Ancestral Land for countless years, it was only natural that she was familiar with the situation in her home. The land behind the Seal Gates was part of the Ancestral Land and there was essentially no difference between this place and the outside.
Yuan Chu seemed pensive, “Did the Dragon and Phoenix Clans split the Ancestral Land into two parts in ancient times? Did they then turn this place into the Demon Sealing Land?”
Yue Zhuo nodded, “That’s probably it. There’s no other way to explain this phenomenon.”
The Ancestral Land had been divided into two parts in ancient times. One part became the place where the various Divine Spirit Clans lived for many years and the other part became the sealed land known as the Demon Sealing Land. Hence, it was no wonder such pure Ancestral Strength spilled out from the Demon Sealing Land. It was because this place was part of the Ancestral Land in the first place.
Due to various unpredictable reasons, the Ancestral Strength in the outside half of the Ancestral Land was growing weaker and weaker. Even the reproduction and survival of the various Divine Spirit Clans were facing issues as a result. On the contrary, the Ancestral Strength in the Demon Sealing Land remained well-preserved. The mysterious force was rich and abundant.
Cheng Yang had entered this place for a brief period earlier, and when he returned, he claimed that the inside was extremely vast. At the time, nobody understood what he meant as this place was a sealed land after all, so how big could it be? It would now seem that it was certainly very large.
The various Divine Spirits that entered this place earlier were nowhere to be seen, making it obvious that they had ventured deeper to investigate the situation.
“If there are no dangers in this land, then there will be no need to worry about the futures of the Divine Spirits in the Ancestral Land again,” Hong Hu said softly.
The intensity of the Ancestral Strength was so great that it was enough to satisfy the needs of the growth and reproduction of the various Divine Spirit Clans. If the Infant Phoenix Tower was relocated here, the little ones would surely be born healthy.
“This place must be known as the Demon Sealing Land for a reason; there might be dangers that we don’t know about lurking around. We must investigate carefully.” Qing Luan maintained a vigilant attitude.
Under her command, Yuan Chu, Yue Zhuo, and Hong Hu each led a team of clansmen and set off in different directions. On the other hand, she travelled only with Yang Kai.
There were no abnormalities during their travels, but when Qing Luan turned around to see Yang Kai, she saw him hesitating to speak. Thus, she smiled and said, “If you have something to ask, go ahead and speak freely. You are part of the Dragon Clan, which has a deep connection with my Phoenix Clan. There’s no need to be so reserved.”
Yang Kai laughed awkwardly for a moment before he said, “Senior, I have many friends with Divine Spirit bloodlines. It’s just that we came from a remote land and without a proper cultivation method, they have been unable to solve the issue of promoting their bloodlines. Therefore, I wish to bring them to the Ancestral Land after things have settled here. This place will be of immense help to their growth. Will the Divine Spirits in the Ancestral Land reject them?”
Qing Luan shook her head and said, “All Divine Spirits have the qualifications to enter the Ancestral Land. That is because this place is the origin of all Divine Spirits. If you can come, then so can the others. Mie Meng only entered the Ancestral Land 100 years ago, and nobody criticized her for anything.”
Yang Kai quickly pointed out, “Senior Mie Meng is powerful.”
Qing Luan chuckled in response, “That’s true. Are your friends not strong?”
“According to the classification of the Divine Spirits, they are all considered as Juveniles. Most importantly, many of them are Dragon Clan members!”
Qing Luan immediately understood the issue. The Dragon Clan and the Kun Clan were bitter enemies, so if a bunch of Juvenile Dragons were to enter the Ancestral Land, the Kun Clan would not sit back and do nothing. At that time, how could those Juvenile Divine Spirit defend themselves?
Qing Luan pondered in silence for a moment before offering, “You may send them to Four Phoenix Pavilion. With the Phoenix Clan watching over them, the Kun Clan will not be able to act rashly.”
“Many thanks, Senior!” Yang Kai bowed and thanked her.
She waved her hand lightly, “It’s nothing. But, only by becoming strong themselves will they prevent others from causing trouble for them.”
Yang Kai nodded, “I will tell them to cultivate hard.”
While they were conversing with each other, a large tree suddenly appeared on the horizon. The tree had branches that were thick with leaves, and among the lush foliage, there were also some colourful fruits that were just vaguely out of sight.
A strange fragrance filled the air.
Both of them revealed surprised expressions, and upon approaching the tree, they stopped and studied it.
Yang Kai could not recognise these fruits, but he instinctively sensed that they would be highly beneficial to him.
Qing Luan furrowed her brow tightly at first, but a short while later, she seemed to recall something. Raising a hand, she picked one of the Spirit Fruits and examined it carefully, exclaiming in astonishment after a moment, “Ancestral Spirit Fruit! I can’t believe that there are Ancestral Spirit Fruits here!”
Yang Kai asked curiously, “Is it something good?”
Qing Luan took a breath to steady herself before explaining, “This is an excellent treasure for all Divine Spirits! As you know, the Ancestral Land is filled with a mysterious force we call Ancestral Strength. This force is highly beneficial to the growth, reproduction, and cultivation of the Divine Spirits. The reason the others were so adamant about unsealing the Demon Sealing Land is that the Ancestral Strength has been weakening steadily. They wanted to find a solution to the problem.”
Yang Kai nodded in understanding.
“These Ancestral Spirit Fruits contain large amounts of pure Ancestral Strength, so they can practically be said to be a condensed Ancestral Strength.”
Yang Kai’s expression changed.
Qing Luan continued, “Even the Ancestral Land that we lived in used to have Ancestral Spirit Fruits in ancient times. It’s just that the Ancestral Spirit Fruits went extinct as the Ancestral Strength gradually weakened. I can’t believe they still exist in this place. It’s my first time seeing one.” Looking up at the tree, she added, “There are eight more fruits. Let’s pick them first.”
Yang Kai quickly nodded and left in a flash. A short while later, he returned with four fruits in each hand.
Qing Luan handed the fruit in her hand over to him and declared, “Take this too.”
Yang Kai was flabbergasted. Naturally, he wanted something as amazing as the Ancestral Spirit Fruit; however, he never imagined that Qing Luan would give all of them to him, so he asked in astonishment, “Senior, why don’t we split these equally between us?”
It was bad manners to take everything for oneself. Besides, the Ancestral Spirit Fruits were extremely precious and would surely be useful to Qing Luan too.
Qing Luan, however, just smiled and said, “Take them. With how far my bloodline has advanced, it is no longer something that eating an Ancestral Spirit Fruit or two can help. It is similar to one’s growth in the Open Heaven Realm. The higher one’s Order, the longer it will take to slowly accumulate one’s strength. Now that the Demon Sealing Land has been opened, the Ancestral Land will not lack for Ancestral Strength in the future. My cultivation will not be a problem thanks to that. On the other hand, your bloodline purity has a lot of room for growth. These Ancestral Spirit Fruits will be very useful to you.”
“In that case, I won’t stand on ceremony. Many thanks, Senior!” Yang Kai happily put the Ancestral Spirit Fruits away.
They then continued onward. Yang Kai looked around carefully, hoping to find more Ancestral Spirit Fruits. Unfortunately, even for this region of the Ancestral Land that had been sealed away for countless years, Ancestral Spirit Fruits were not something that could be found everywhere. Aside from the fruit tree earlier, the pair did not find another one no matter how far they went.
As they ventured deeper into the land, both Yang Kai and Qing Luan detected an unusual phenomenon. The Ancestral Strength in this land seemed to be guided by some unknown force to converge in a certain direction.
The signs were not particularly obvious when they first entered the Demon Sealing Land, so no one had noticed immediately. Nevertheless, the signs became increasingly obvious as they ventured deeper into this land. Feeling slightly apprehensive, they began traveling in that direction.
About an hour later, both of them involuntarily narrowed their eyes slightly. As far as they could see, an enormous chain stretched out into the distance, penetrated deep into the void, and disappeared out of sight.
The chain was hundreds of thousands of kilometres long and so thick that it more closely resembled a mountain. What was even more shocking was that this chain was not an actual solid object, but rather the manifestation of pure energy. Moreover, the aura radiating from those chains was extremely familiar to both Qing Luan and Yang Kai.
After coming up to the end of the chain and quietly scanning it for a moment, Yang Kai’s expression changed, “Senior, is this chain comprised entirely of Ancestral Strength?”
Qing Luan nodded heavily with a serious expression, “Indeed!”
Yang Kai drew a sharp breath. The Ancestral Strength in the Demon Sealing Land was extremely strong. Compared with the Ancestral Land outside, it was as different as night and day, and now there was a huge chain manifested from Ancestral Strength in front of them. If they had not witnessed this sight with their own eyes, they would not have dared to believe it possible.
In ancient times, the Dragon and the Phoenix Clans had split the Ancestral Land and sealed the Demon Sealing Land. Not to mention, the Ancestral Strength had been transformed into these chains. Just what secrets were hidden in this place, and what was being restrained by this chain?
Qing Luan looked in the direction where the chain extended and her deep gaze seemed to break through space; however, even with her powerful eyesight, she could not see what was on the other end of the chain. As far as she could see, the other end of the chain was shrouded in a dense mist that blocked her vision.
“Let’s go take a look!” With no other option, she surged her power to wrap around Yang Kai before speeding off in that direction.
It took two whole hours for them to arrive in front of a behemoth. Standing in the air, the two of them stared blankly at the gargantuan figure before them in stunned surprise.
The behemoth had a humanoid figure and a distinctly bald head. Sitting upon the earth, he resembled a great deity. What’s more, there were numerous chains penetrating his chest. The chain that Qing Luan and Yang Kai saw earlier was only one of the chains, and there were actually fifteen others!
At this moment, many Divine Spirits had already arrived at this place. Like Qing Luan and Yang Kai, they had clearly ventured deep into the Demon Sealing Land, noticed one of the sixteen chains, and followed it to investigate the situation.
Many of the Divine Spirits had transformed into their true forms, their large figures ranging from 1,000 metres to over 10,000 metres tall, yet all of them still seemed as insignificant as ants in front of this behemoth! They flew around the giant like a gathering of flies and mosquitoes.
“A Giant Spirit God?” Yang Kai murmured.
The behemoth in front of him was a Giant Spirit God, but this Giant Spirit God looked very different from the Giant Spirit God, Ah Da, whom he met outside the Star Boundary in the past. Mainly, this Giant Spirit God in front of him was as black as ink.
Yang Kai did not know much about the Giant Spirit God Clan. Ah Da was not this colour, but he did not dare to say that there were no such clansmen in the Giant Spirit God Clan. It was just that… A Giant Spirit God was sealed in the middle of the Demon Sealing Land. It was truly a shock in discovery.
Yang Kai had met a Giant Spirit God in the past, so he knew just how tyrannical this Race could be. The Giant Spirit Gods were among the strongest beings in the world. Even the Divine Spirits were not their opponents. Fortunately, the Heavens were fair in all things, so there were very few Giant Spirit Gods in the 3,000 Worlds. Each Giant Spirit God was an invincible existence, but all of them were very mild-mannered and innocent, almost like little children. The Giant Spirit God Clan fed on dead Universe Worlds and never caused trouble for others. Even if other people were to provoke or attack them, such actions were akin to a mosquito biting a human to them.
In any case, the questions regarding the chains had been answered. The chains turned out to be restraining a Giant Spirit God.
Yang Kai could not imagine just what had happened in the Ancestral Land back then for the Divine Spirits to actually restrain a Giant Spirit God here!
This Giant Spirit God was also clearly dead. So many years had passed after all, so even for an existence as strong as a Giant Spirit God, it would be impossible to survive under the constant erosion of the omnipresent Ancestral Strength here. Besides, Yang Kai did not sense the slightest trace of vitality from the Giant Spirit God.
A figure flew over. It was Yuan Chu of the Phoenix Clan. Standing beside Qing Luan’s side, she called out, “Big Sister!”
Qing Luan nodded and asked with a solemn expression, “What is the situation?”
Yuan Chu reported, “I only arrived an incense before you. According to my investigation, the Giant Spirit God’s vitality has been completely extinguished, but it would be better to err on the side of caution. We should carry out a more thorough investigation; after all, it would be a disaster for the Ancestral Land if he turns out to be still alive.”
“Good.” Qing Luan nodded. While speaking, she suddenly turned her head to the side. Kun Ao was walking over from that direction and came to stand beside her before speaking in a low voice, “The situation in the Demon Sealing Land is rather unexpected indeed.”
Qing Luan remained silent.
Kun Ao thus continued, “Although I don’t know what happened in the past, the Divine Spirits in the Ancestral Land must have fought a grand battle against this Giant Spirit God. In the end, they split the Ancestral Land into two parts. This place was sealed as the Demon Sealing Land, and the Ancestral Strength was used to restrain this Giant Spirit God.”
“Cut the nonsense,” Qing Luan snapped coldly.
Kun Ao grinned, “You have always been worried that releasing the seal would bring about undesirable consequences to the Ancestral Land, and it seems that your worries were not unfounded. Something amazing was indeed sealed within the Demon Sealing Land. But, it would seem that it’s not such a big deal after all. The Giant Spirit God’s vitality has been extinguished and he has been dead for countless years.”
“It’s still better to be careful.” Qing Luan’s brow furrowed slightly, “The Giant Spirit Gods have tenacious vitality. No matter how many years have passed, as long as they retain the slightest trace of life, they can revive themselves. We do not know why this Giant Spirit God was sealed here, but we had best act with due caution.”
“Of course. It’s better to act carefully. I am planning to enter his body to investigate the situation. Will you come with me, Qing Luan?” He suggested.
“Good.” She readily nodded in agreement.
The two did not hesitate to gather a few other Divine Spirits, including Mie Meng, Tao Tie, and Bi An. Then, eight figures rose into the sky in an impressive manner and entered the Giant Spirit God’s body via his giant nostril.
The rest of the Divine Spirits waited quietly.
Meanwhile, Yang Kai stood beside Yue Zhuo and observed the Giant Spirit God. All of a sudden, he narrowed his eyes and looked towards the ends of the chains.
The sixteen chains penetrated the Giant Spirit God’s body, but there seemed to be something acting as a kind of source or anchor at the end of each chain. These objects attracted the Ancestral Strength from all over the Ancestral Land and transformed it into these chains. Among these objects, there was a palace that resembled an illusory and transparent crystal, a big tree burning with a fiery light, and a pearl glimmering with a soft light…
Yang Kai’s gaze soon fixed on the palace that was as transparent as a crystal. He could sense a resonance with that palace from deep within his bloodline.
“That is probably the Dragon Clan’s Crystal Palace.” Yue Zhuo commented.
“Crystal Palace?” Yang Kai raised a brow curiously.
Yue Zhuo saw his confusion and explained, “There are many Divine Spirit Clans living in the Ancestral Land, and according to the records in the ancient books, each Divine Spirit Clan has their own respective Sacred Treasure. These Sacred Treasures contain the inheritance of each Clan, so they are of great help to the cultivation of the clansmen. It is just that nobody has ever seen the Sacred Treasures of their respective Clans for generations. We always assumed that the Dragon and the Phoenix Clans took the Sacred Treasures away with them when they left. I can’t believe that these Sacred Treasures have remained here. It would seem that many of the Divine Spirits in the Ancestral Land took part in sealing this Giant Spirit God. The Sacred Treasures were left here to guide the Ancestral Strength to suppress and seal the Giant Spirit God.”
She then pointed at the large tree burning with a fiery light, “That is probably the Phoenix Clan’s Immortal Parasol Tree. And, that is probably the Golden Crow Clan’s Fu Sang Divine Tree…”
Even though she had only heard of these Sacred Treasures and never seen them before, she named each of them carefully with seemingly great familiarity.
Yang Kai silently memorised them all. Unlocking the Demon Sealing Land could be said to be a series of unexpected occurrences. In any case, just seeing so many Sacred Treasures that only existed in legends made this trip worthwhile to the Divine Spirits in the Ancestral Land.
The Sacred Treasures represented the inheritance of each Clan. The existence of these Sacred Treasures meant that their respective inheritances remained unbroken. Not to mention, the abundance of the Ancestral Strength in the Demon Sealing Land. In the future, the Divine Spirits in the Ancestral Land would never need to worry about the continuity of their Clans again.
Three days later, Qing Luan, Kun Ao, and the others finally reappeared again.
“Big Sister, how is the situation?” Yue Zhuo stepped forward with Yang Kai in tow.
Qing Luan replied, “He is probably dead. We didn’t detect any vitality inside his body.”
“That’s good!” Yue Zhuo breathed a sigh of relief. Nobody knew what kind of grudges or hatred existed between this Giant Spirit God and the Divine Spirits, but even so, there must have been some kind of dispute between them for the Giant Spirit God to be suppressed and sealed in this place. If this Giant Spirit God were still alive, then unlocking the Demon Sealing Land would have been the wrong decision. Fortunately, over countless years of suppression and erosion by the Ancestral Strength, the Giant Spirit God’s vitality had been completely extinguished.
“Qing Luan, I’m taking the Kun Clan’s Sacred Treasure with me. I don’t care what the Phoenix Clan does.” Kun Ao suddenly turned around to look at Qing Luan.
Qing Luan frowned, “This Giant Spirit God might be dead, but the Sacred Treasures are clearly acting as the sources for its suppression. It would be inappropriate to rashly take them away.”
Kun Ao simply sneered, “That’s what you said when we wanted to unlock the Demon Sealing Land. The Sacred Treasures of each Clan is here. If you wish to stop me, you will have to see if they are willing to agree with you! If they agree with you, then the Kun Clan will have nothing to say.”
Qing Luan looked around. When she met the gazes of all the Divine Spirits from various Clans, how could she not know that their thoughts were similar to Kun Ao’s? She could not fault them for thinking that way. Not only were the Sacred Treasures extremely important to their respective Clans, but they had also been missing for a long time. Now that the Sacred Treasures had been found, there was no reason to just leave them lying around in this place.
If the Giant Spirit God still had some remaining vitality in him, the Divine Spirits in the Ancestral Land would never have dared to entertain such thoughts; however, it had been confirmed that the suppressed Black Giant Spirit God was as dead as he could possibly be. It would be a waste to leave the Sacred Treasures here.
After a moment of silence, she sighed, “It’s up to you, but be careful.”
It was difficult even for the powerful Phoenix Clan to go against public opinion. Seeing as they could not stop the people, they could only allow nature to take its course.
The Divine Spirits were overjoyed to hear those words. Rushing to the location where their respective Sacred Treasures were located, they quickly began researching the method to retrieve them. They had only heard of these Sacred Treasures in legends but had never seen the genuine articles before, so it was only natural that they did not know the method to retrieve their respective Sacred Treasures. Be that as it may, they were powerful Divine Spirits, so figuring out a method should not be too difficult.
The Phoenix Clan did not move. The Immortal Parasol Tree burned brightly, like the Flames of Nirvana that were only spoken of in legends. Nonetheless, as long as Qing Luan did not say anything, nobody dared to act rashly.
“Aren’t you going to take a look?” Qing Luan suddenly turned to look at Yang Kai.
Yang Kai had been staring at the Crystal Palace all this while, so when he heard her question, he couldn’t help asking her, “Can I?”
Qing Luan smiled lightly, “You are the only Dragon Clan member in the Ancestral Land. If you don’t go, who will?”
“Then, I’ll go have a look.” Yang Kai scratched his nose before his figure flashed and he eagerly rushed towards the Crystal Palace.
It didn’t take long before he arrived in front of the Sacred Treasure. Looking at the Crystal Palace from afar had given him the impression that it was really carved out of crystal. It was one integrated structure that was extremely beautiful, and it was even more stunning when seen from up close.
Although Yang Kai was seeing the Crystal Palace for the first time, he could be certain that the Crystal Palace was related to the Dragon Clan. That was because there was an indescribable connection between his bloodline and the Crystal Palace.
He circled around the Crystal Palace a few times, but forget entering, he couldn’t even locate an entrance. The conundrum left him scratching his head in confusion for a while. Looking around him, he saw the other Divine Spirits spewing out their Blood Essence to refine their respective Sacred Treasures; thus, he quickly imitated them.
After a whole day, he finally managed to refine a trace of the Crystal Palace. A door immediately appeared from the perfectly seamless Crystal Palace with a slight nudge of his thoughts, and he quickly slipped inside.
When he stepped into the Crystal Palace, Yang Kai felt as though his entire body was wrapped in warmth. It was an indescribable feeling of comfort. Moreover, the Ancestral Strength’s intensity inside the Crystal Palace was many times greater than the outside.
The Sacred Treasures of each Clan had the effect of attracting the Ancestral Strength in the Ancestral Land. If not for that, the Divine Spirits in ancient times would not have placed these Sacred Treasures here to gather and transform the Ancestral Strength into chains to suppress and seal the Black Giant Spirit God.
It was precisely because the Sacred Treasures gathered and attracted the Ancestral Strength that the sixteen huge chains stretching for millions of kilometres could exist. The ends of the chains protruded into the Void, connecting the entire Demon Sealing Land as a single whole.
It could be said that one’s cultivation efficiency would improve greatly if they were to cultivate with the help of a Sacred Treasure. That was also the biggest reason as to why the Divine Spirits were so adamant about retrieving them.
Yang Kai did not immediately begin cultivating even though he was inside the Crystal Palace, but even so, the rich and abundant Ancestral Strength continuously poured into his body and integrated with his bloodline to enhance the Power of his Dragon Vein.
The Crystal Palace did not look particularly large from the outside, so it was not until Yang Kai entered that he learned how the Crystal Palace had the mysterious effect of containing something enormous despite its small size. The space inside was much larger than it seemed from the outside.
Yuan Chu had mentioned that the Sacred Treasures of each Clan contained the inheritance of each Divine Spirit Clan. Yang Kai navigated through the countless halls in the Crystal Palace as he searched for this inheritance.
Although he didn’t discover any inheritance, Yang Kai did discover some strange crystals. These crystals were condensed on the walls of the halls. Some were large and some were small. The largest were the size of basins, and the smallest were the size of eggs. There were many of them.
In the beginning, Yang Kai paid no attention to them, initially thinking that they were mere decorations. It was not until he walked through several of the halls that he realised something was wrong. If they were mere decorations, they would not be so unaesthetically pleasing or randomly placed. Therefore, he tentatively broke off one of the crystals. After a careful examination, he made a shocking discovery. These crystals were pure, condensed Ancestral Strength!
[An Ancestral Spirit Crystal!] Yang Kai did not know whether Ancestral Spirit Crystals actually existed, but the crystals in front of him were indeed worthy of the name ‘Ancestral Spirit Crystals’. After all, their existence was essentially identical to the chains that suppressed and sealed the Giant Spirit God outside!
For countless years, the Crystal Palace continuously attracted and transformed the Ancestral Strength in the Ancestral Land into chains to suppress and seal the Giant Spirit God. It was just that there were no Dragon Clan members cultivating inside the Crystal Palace, so the Ancestral Strength gathered inside the Crystal Palace had nowhere to go. Hence, when the Ancestral Strength in this place became saturated to a certain degree, the energy would transform into Ancestral Spirit Crystals that were left behind.
This was the same concept as the birth of Spirit or Saint Crystals. Saint Crystals were generally born at places where World Energy was extremely abundant!
These were great treasures. The Ancestral Strength was an energy that was unique to the Ancestral Land, so it was almost impossible to find outside the Ancestral Land. Be that as it may, it was impossible for him to remain in the Ancestral Land forever without leaving. Yang Kai had been a little worried about how he would further enhance the Power of this Dragon Veins after he left the Ancestral Land.
Fortunately, there was nothing to be worried about with these Ancestral Spirit Crystals. Regardless of where he was, he could enhance his bloodline by relying on these Ancestral Spirit Crystals.
Yang Kai was absolutely overjoyed, so much so that he couldn’t be bothered to look for the Dragon Clan inheritance anymore. Harvesting the Ancestral Spirit Crystals as soon as possible was far more important.
Countless Ancestral Spirit Crystals had condensed along the walls and even the floors of every hall inside the palace. For that reason, Yang Kai was busy for some time. He collected at least 1,000 Ancestral Spirit Crystal of all sizes, the largest among them reaching the size of a big water tank!
Thinking about the Sacred Treasures belonging to the other Divine Spirits, Yang Kai grinned and laughed. It seemed that only the Dragon Clan’s Sacred Treasure was a palace. In comparison, the Sacred Treasures of the other Divine Spirits did not meet the conditions for Ancestral Spirit Crystals to form, no matter the type of Sacred Treasure. Take the Phoenix Clan’s Immortal Parasol Tree for example. There was no way the tree could condense Ancestral Spirit Crystals.
There were countless halls in the Crystal Palace, and as he swept through each and every room, it could be said that he made a fortune in silence!
At the same time, at the place where the Kun Clan was located.
Known as the Northern Deep, the Kun Clan’s Sacred Treasure was a vast ocean that had been shrunk countless times over. It was rumoured to be the place where the Kun Clan originated.
As the Clan Head of the Kun Clan, the retrieval of the Sacred Treasure would naturally fall on Kun Ao’s shoulders. It took ten days of hard work and a large quantity of Blood Essence before the sea of the Northern Deep suddenly shone brightly and became closely connected with his aura!
“Clan Head has done it!” The Masters of the Kun Clan cheered at the sight.
Similarly, Kun Ao laughed happily. He could clearly sense that he had completely refined the Northern Deep. This Sacred Treasure was connected to him in heart and mind now.
With a wave of his hand, he tried to retrieve the Northern Deep; however, he was extremely surprised to discover that it remained motionless. Kun Ao’s brow furrowed deeply as he did not know what had gone wrong. Despite trying a few more times, the results remained the same.
The smiles of the Kun Clan’s Masters involuntarily stiffened on their faces.
Over the next few days, the various Divine Spirit Clans encountered the same situation. Their respective Sacred Treasures had been completely refined, and they could sense that the Sacred Treasures were connected to them, but even so, they could not retrieve them.
Therefore, the Clan Heads of each Divine Spirit Clan gathered together to discuss the issue and finally found the source of the problem after some time.
The Phoenix Clan was gathered not far from the Immortal Parasol Tree, and under the watch of Yuan Chu and the others, Qing Luan continuously forced out her Blood Essence to refine the Immortal Parasol Tree.
Although she originally opposed the idea of retrieving each Clan’s Sacred Treasures, the other Clans had already begun taking action, so it would be meaningless for the Phoenix Clan to insist.
The Immortal Parasol Tree was very important to the Phoenix Clan, so while she had concerns in her heart, she could only refine the Sacred Treasure for now. At this point, she had almost finished.
Just as she was preparing to retrieve the Immortal Parasol Tree, she encountered something unexpected. She faced the same situation as the other Divine Spirits. The Immortal Parasol Tree could not be taken away!
“The sixteen Sacred Treasures have long become one, so they can only be removed as a set. We need to refine them all before we can take them away.” Kun Ao explained as he strolled over from a distance. That was the conclusion he reached after various discussions with the rest of the Clan Heads.
Qing Luan immediately revealed a look of understanding. When she tried to collect the Immortal Parasol Tree earlier, she had a strange feeling. It felt as though there were other forces of resistance coming from all around her and preventing her from collecting the Immortal Parasol Tree. It would now seem that this resistance did not originate from the Immortal Parasol Tree itself but rather from the rest of the Sacred Treasures.
“Where is that Dragon Clan member?” Kun Ao asked.
“Inside the Crystal Palace.” While speaking, Qing Luan glanced towards the Crystal Palace.
“The rest of the Sacred Treasures have been refined, so the only one left is Crystal Palace. He needs to hurry up.”
Qing Luan shrugged, “It’s useless for you to tell me that.”
“In that case, I’ll tell him myself.” After saying that, Kun Ao turned and headed in the direction of the Crystal Palace. He stood outside a short while later and shouted, “Young Dragon, come out now!”
Qing Luan couldn’t help feeling worried, so she followed along. When she heard those words, she scowled. Unfortunately, it was not wise to cause a dispute with Kun Ao over something so trivial.
Inside the Crystal Palace, Yang Kai stored all the Ancestral Spirit Crystals in his Small Universe. It was a pity that he did not find the Dragon Clan’s inheritance after he explored the entirety of the Crystal Palace; thus, he couldn’t help wondering whether the rumours were wrong.
Nevertheless, the Crystal Palace itself was an incredibly amazing artifact. It was the Dragon Clan’s Sacred Treasure after all. This item was several ranks higher than the Heavenly Sword Palace in terms of quality!
Yang Kai had tried to refine the Sacred Treasure, and his bloodline had received the approval of the Crystal Palace, which allowed him to open its doors. It was just that his strength wasn’t sufficient to truly refine the Sacred Treasure. When he tried to, his progress was extremely slow. Based on his estimation, it would take him several dozen to 100 years to refine the Crystal Palace completely, if he could do so at all.
This was related to his bloodline. Although it was pure, it was simply not strong enough. He was just a Juvenile Dragon, so it was only natural that he would require a long time to refine the Sacred Treasure.
Seeing as he could not refine the Sacred Treasure for the time being, Yang Kai didn’t bother agonising over the idea. It was not as if the Crystal Palace could go anywhere. It would not be too late for him to come back to refine the Sacred Treasure once he enhanced his bloodline further.
Just as he was about to leave, he heard Kun Ao’s shout. He looked up only to see Kun Ao and Qing Luan standing outside the Crystal Palace, side by side.
The Crystal Palace was extremely mysterious. Standing inside the palace, his vision of the outside was not blocked in any way. He could clearly see everything outside the palace from where he stood. On the other hand, judging by the reactions of Kun Ao and Qing Luan, they could not see him.
The Crystal Palace had the ability to prevent others from spying on what happened within. On the other hand, the people inside the Palace could see everything that was happening outside.
Since Qing Luan was here, Kun Ao would not be able to do anything; therefore, Yang Kai strolled out boldly without fear and asked with a frown, “What is it?”
Kun Ao asked, “Brat, let me ask you this, how far have you gotten with refining the Crystal Palace?”
Yang Kai thought to himself. [This guy sure cares about many things. The Crystal Palace is the Dragon Clan’s Sacred Treasure. Why is he asking about this? Is he planning to take the Crystal Palace for himself?]
He glanced at Qing Luan questioningly, so she explained, “The sixteen Sacred Treasures have been integrated into one whole after spending countless years together. As long as one of them is not taken away, the rest of the Sacred Treasures cannot be taken away either. At present, all the Clans have refined their respective Sacred Treasures. Only the Dragon Clan’s Crystal Palace remains.”
After listening to her explanation, Yang Kai immediately understood. He replied honestly, “I can refine the Crystal Palace, but it will take a long time.”
“How long?” Kun Ao asked with raised eyebrows.
“Several decades; maybe 100 years,” Yang Kai responded.
“That long?” Kun Ao scowled, “Whatever, it doesn’t matter. You may refine it peacefully. We will wait for you!”
A span of several decades or even 100 years might not be a short time, but it was nothing to the long-lived Divine Spirits. Forget 100 years, even if it took several 1,000 years, Kun Ao could afford to wait. Waiting for some time was nothing at all if he could retrieve the Sacred Treasure.
“I don’t plan to spend so much time refining the Sacred Treasure.” Yang Kai shook his head.
Kun Ao narrowed his eyes, “What do you mean?”
Yang Kai explained, “Coming to the Ancestral Land was an accident. I still have matters to take care of in the outside world. I can’t afford to spend too much time here.”
This trip had gone on for long enough. There was no need to worry about Void Land as the two Divine Spirits, Old Man Bi Xi and Zhu Jiu Yin, were watching over it. As long as none of the Cave Heavens and Paradises attacked, there was nobody in the 3,000 Worlds who could harm Void Land.
On the contrary, the World Tree and the New Great Territory in the Star Boundary required more of his attention. What’s more, his two Disciples were still in his Small Universe. Yang Kai needed to bring them back to the Star Boundary as soon as possible to aid their growth. Not to mention that he had been suppressing Zhao Ya’s cultivation for the past many years to prevent her from growing too quickly.
The Star Boundary was the best cradle to produce Open Heaven Realm Masters. Compared to growing up in his Small Universe, growing up there would give her greater future potential and would allow her to ascend higher in the Martial Dao.
However, the flow of time in his Small Universe was twice as fast as in the outside world. If he got held up in the Ancestral Land for several decades or even 100 years, Zhao Ya might already have advanced to the Emperor Realm. In that case, she would not receive much benefit from the World Tree even if she entered to the Star Boundary. That was why he originally planned to rush back to the Star Boundary once he finished everything in the Ancestral Land.
“That’s not up to you.” Kun Ao sneered, “Don’t think that you can do whatever you want in the Ancestral Land just because you have the protection of the Phoenix Clan. This matter involves the Sacred Treasures of all the Clans. Even the Phoenix Clan cannot shield you.”
Qing Luan frowned slightly, but unfortunately, what Kun Ao said was the truth. This matter was indeed related to the interests of all the Clans, so if the Phoenix Clan insisted on doing things their way, they would only cause public outrage.
“Can you speed things up?” She asked.
Yang Kai nodded, “Refining the Crystal Palace is related to my bloodline, which is too weak right now. That’s why the Seniors have finished refining their respective Sacred Treasures while I am helpless to do so. To speed things up, I would need to improve my bloodline first. If I can enhance my bloodline to the level of a Grand Dragon, I have the confidence to finish refining the Crystal Palace within half a year; however, this is not something that can be done in a short time.”
Kun Ao said, “The Ancestral Strength in this land is so rich, you can cultivate inside the Crystal Palace with peace of mind and improve your bloodline! You should know that this is something all the Juniors in the Ancestral Land yearn for but cannot get.”
Yang Kai rolled his eyes and ignored Kun Ao.
Qing Luan spoke up pensively, “There might be a way to improve your bloodline rapidly.”
Yang Kai looked at her, “Senior, do you mean…”
Qing Luan abruptly turned to face Kun Ao and asked, “The Kun Clan probably obtained many Ancestral Spirit Fruits, right?”
Kun Ao was taken aback for a moment. Then, he immediately came back to his senses and shook his head vigorously, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Qing Luan simply laughed, “The Ancestral Spirit Fruits contain large amounts of pure Ancestral Strength. If he consumes them, he will be able to improve his bloodline quickly. In the past, we used to hear about how the Ancestral Land had Ancestral Spirit Fruits but none of us have actually seen one before. When the Demon Sealing Land opened, each Clan probably obtained a certain number of Ancestral Spirit Fruits. If each Clan makes a small contribution, it will be enough to fulfil his requirements to become a Grand Dragon.”
Kun Ao was furious, “Qing Luan, even if the Dragon and the Phoenix Clans have always been connected since ancient times, your heart is too crooked! This Young Dragon may be a Divine Spirit, but are the other Divine Spirits in the Ancestral Land not also Divine Spirits!? It was not easy for us to obtain the Ancestral Spirit Fruits, and which Clan does not have Juniors that need them? Why should we give them to him!?”
Yang Kai rubbed his chin, “If there are enough Ancestral Spirit Fruits, I can give it a try!”
Kun Ao glared at Yang Kai with narrowed eyes, “Junior, stop trying to take advantage of the situation. This King strongly wishes to kill you!”
Yang Kai spread his hands wide, “Without the Ancestral Spirit Fruits, I won’t be able to become a Grand Dragon quickly. I’m afraid there’s nothing I can do!”
“Do you really think I won’t dare to kill you!?” Kun Ao snarled coldly.
Yang Kai raised his head to the sky and looked down his nose at Kun Ao. He arrogantly said, “Kill me, and you will never retrieve your Sacred Treasures. Why don’t you ask if the various Divine Spirit Clans will agree with you?”
Kun Ao was absolutely livid! He never imagined that the day would come where he was bullied by a mere Young Dragon! It felt like the biggest humiliation in all the long years that he spent cultivating!
Qing Luan said, “Why don’t we ask the rest for their opinions? Arguing back and forth is not going to make a difference.”
While speaking, she cast a Secret Technique to send out various transmissions. It didn’t take long for the representatives of each Clan to gather around and for her to explain the current situation to them. The expressions of all the Divine Spirits became extremely strange when they looked at Yang Kai.
“It’s not like he can’t cultivate without the Ancestral Spirit Fruits. We might not know what the intensity of the Ancestral Strength is like in the Dragon Clan’s Crystal Palace, but I’m sure it’s extraordinary. It will only take a slightly longer time to cultivate in the Crystal Palace, why should we waste such precious Ancestral Spirit Fruits on him!?” One of the Divine Spirits yelled out.
“That’s right! It was not easy to obtain these Ancestral Spirit Fruits. They should be used in the right place!”
“In my opinion, this brat is trying to scam us! It has always been said that the Dragon Clan is greedy. I’ve never met one before, but this incident today has proven those sayings right!”
“Who would agree to such ridiculous demands!?”
“Just press a blade against his neck if he dares to refuse to cultivate. Let’s see if he is willing to cultivate then!”
The many Divine Spirits clamoured to express their opinions, so Qing Luan suffered a terrible headache just listening to them.
Meanwhile, Yang Kai stood in front of the Crystal Palace. His posture seemed to say that he would hide inside the moment the situation turned sour. Clasping his hands behind his back calmly, he waited until everybody finished speaking before he spoke up, “You are the ones who want me to refine the Crystal Palace. I don’t want to do it. Since you are forcing me to do something I’m not willing to do, then you should offer me some compensation; otherwise, you can all just sit there and wait.”
Kun Ao sneered, “Are you planning to hide in the Crystal Palace for thousands of years?”
“That’s hard to say. That will depend on who has more patience between us.”
Qing Luan said, “Enough. I didn’t call you here to argue. All of you are adults, what’s so fun about squabbling with a Junior? Yang Kai is right. If you want him to improve his bloodline, then it’s only natural that you should offer him some compensation. I was the one who suggested the Ancestral Spirit Fruits. In that case, the Phoenix Clan will make the first move!”
While speaking, she beckoned with her hand. Hong Hu stepped forward, took out thirteen Ancestral Spirit Fruits, and handed them to her.
“I’m not asking you to hand over all of your Ancestral Spirit Fruits. Half should be acceptable, right? The Phoenix Clan’s half is right here!”
Kun Ao rolled his eyes, “Qing Luan, can you get any more biased!?”
She replied with a smile, “In the matter of releasing the seal, the Phoenix Clan went along with your wishes; likewise, in the matter of retrieving the Sacred Treasures, the Phoenix Clan bent to public opinion again. The Phoenix Clan has taken the lead in this matter, so if you refuse to show respect, then don’t ever look to the Phoenix Clan for help again if another disaster strikes the Ancestral Land!”
The Divine Spirits looked at each other awkwardly after hearing those words. Qing Luan had already said so much, so it would be bad if they did not express their sincerity in return. Although they were reluctant to part with the Ancestral Spirit Fruits, they had no choice but to do so.
One by one, they took out different amounts of the Ancestral Spirit Fruits. Although there was no guarantee that they really took out half of what they had collected, there were almost 200 Ancestral Spirit Fruits in total when all the offerings were gathered together.
Qing Luan flicked her wrist and tossed a Space Ring containing the Ancestral Spirit Fruits to Yang Kai.
Yang Kai happily took the Space Ring and cupped his fist, “Please rest assured, Seniors. This Junior will immediately begin cultivating in seclusion. I will definitely live up to your expectations and become a Grand Dragon as soon as possible, so that you may all bring your Sacred Treasures home!”
Many of the Divine Spirits secretly ground their teeth when they looked at Yang Kai, but they could only maintain a smile on the surface and pretended to display the friendly demeanour of a senior expert.
Yang Kai nodded at Qing Luan and turned to head inside the Crystal Palace, but before he entered, he abruptly recalled something and turned back again, “Senior, I have something to ask of you.”
“Speak.” Qing Luan nodded.
“The process of advancing to become a Grand Dragon is not something that can be completed in a short time. I do not know how long it will take. My friend is a Human cultivator, and now that the Demon Sealing Land is open, the Ancestral Strength in the Ancestral Land will become richer. It’s not suitable for her to remain here for long. Please arrange for somebody to escort her from this place.”
The Ancestral Strength in the Ancestral Land had been weak previously, so there were no issues for Xia Lin Lang to remain in the Ancestral Land for a short while; however, the situation was different now. Even Cheng Yang, who was in the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm, began showing signs of Monster Transformation after spending less than an incense stick inside the Demon Sealing Land. How much longer could she resist?
Needless to say, Qing Luan knew who he was referring to and nodded at his words, “Don’t worry, I will arrange for somebody to send her out.”
“Many thanks, Senior. Also, please tell her to head to Void Land in the Void Territory if she is willing.”
Pear Flower Cave Heaven was gone, and Xia Lin Lang no longer had a place in the Shattered Heaven, not unless she found another Universe Paradise or Universe Cave Heaven without a Master.
Although Yang Kai asked Qing Luan to pass the message, Xia Lin Lang would probably be reluctant to head to Void Land. As a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, she would be forced to act according to the circumstances as soon as she appeared outside the Shattered Heaven. If not for that, she would not have escaped into the depths of the Shattered Heaven with him. She could have left the Shattered Heaven with him instead.
In any case, Yang Kai could only do what he was able. Xia Lin Lang was a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, not a child. As for where to go or what to do, she would have her own thoughts on the matter.
The Crystal Palace closed once more. Yang Kai entered one of the spacious halls and sat down cross-legged. Although he wanted to hurry back to the Star Boundary to let his two Disciples settle down properly, things had already come to this point, so he could only improve his bloodline for now. Otherwise, he would not have a reasonable explanation for the Divine Spirits waiting outside.
Yang Kai had obtained nine Ancestral Spirit Fruits when exploring the Demon Sealing Land with Qing Luan. Combined with the over 200 fruits that the various Divine Spirit Clans ‘gifted’ to him, he had almost 230 Ancestral Spirit Fruits in total. Even so, he did not know whether these Ancestral Spirit Fruits were enough for him to become a Grand Dragon.
He estimated that they might not be enough as, although the current Power of his Dragon Vein, was not bad, he was only a bit over 3,000 metres tall after transforming into his Half-Dragon Form. To become a Grand Dragon, he would need to grow to 10,000 metres at the very least!
Nevertheless, he was not too worried. The Ancestral Strength in the Dragon Clan’s Crystal Palace was extremely rich. Not to mention, he had harvested many Ancestral Spirit Crystals earlier! If the Ancestral Spirit Fruits were not enough, he could use the Ancestral Spirit Crystals to make up the difference.
Yang Kai took out an Ancestral Spirit Fruit and an Ancestral Spirit Crystal that was about the same size. Then, he placed them in front of him. He wanted to figure out the differences between them and see which one was more effective.
He picked the Ancestral Spirit Fruit first. The fruit was brightly-coloured and gave off a peculiar aroma that aroused his appetite. When he bit down on the fruit, it felt as though he had barely used any strength, but the skin of the fruit split open. The sweet and tart juice immediately flooded his mouth. Before he could react, the entire Ancestral Spirit Fruit had burst, leaving only the skin behind.
He swallowed the juice and smacked his lips, enjoying the unforgettable taste. He didn’t waste the skin of the fruit either, stuffing it all into his mouth before chewing and swallowing.
After waiting in silence for a moment, his expression became strange. There was no obvious change aside from a slight burning feeling in his abdomen; however, his expression changed drastically in the next moment.
The slightly burning feeling suddenly became scorching hot. It felt as though there was a smouldering iron in his belly. Immediately after that, a huge amount of energy erupted in his abdomen and spread throughout his body at lightning speed.
His physique squirmed, and a Golden Dragon Head that manifested behind his back released a deafening Dragon Roar. It was followed by a series of cracking sounds that came from all parts of his body as his physique swelled up without warning. A suppressed growl escaped his throat.
The power of the Ancestral Spirit Fruit had caused him to transform into his Half-Dragon Form without his consent. Bursts of suppressed roars came from his throat as his physique wriggled madly and Dragon Blood rushed through his meridians with a faint Dragon Roar. At the same time, overwhelming Dragon Pressure permeated the air!
By the time everything calmed down again, almost two days had passed.
The medicinal efficacies of the Ancestral Spirit Fruit Yang Kai consumed had been completely absorbed. He briefly examined his body and raised his eyebrows at the sight. A single Ancestral Spirit Fruit had made him grow nearly 100 metres in just two days! The result was a pleasant surprise indeed.
Seeing as he about 3,000 metres tall at present, there was a difference of roughly 7,000 metres before he could be considered a Mature Grand Dragon! This was not a small gap and it had to be said that he only managed to cultivate to a height of 3,000 metres from the time he obtained his Dragon Source until now.
Be that as it may, a single Ancestral Spirit Fruit turned out to have such profound effects, so Yang Kai quietly made some calculations. With just 70 to 100 fruits, wouldn’t he become a Grand Dragon?
However, Yang Kai knew that these calculations had taken too many things for granted. If any kind of resource or treasure was consumed repeatedly over a long period, its effects would gradually weaken. Fortunately, he had over 200 Ancestral Spirit Fruits in his possession. It might just be enough to satisfy the requirements for him to become a Grand Dragon.
Now that he had confirmed the effects of the Ancestral Spirit Fruit, Yang Kai picked up the Ancestral Spirit Crystal that was about the same size as the Ancestral Spirit Fruit.
When he was in his Human Form, the Ancestral Spirit Crystal had fit perfectly in the palm of his hand. Now that he was in his Half-Dragon Form though, holding the Ancestral Spirit Crystal felt like he was holding a tiny green pea between his claws. He could barely feel the presence of the Ancestral Spirit Crystal in his hand unless he concentrated carefully.
Yang Kai focused his mind and silently activated the Power of his Dragon Vein in his body to wrap around the Ancestral Spirit Crystal in his hand. Then, he refined and absorbed the Ancestral Strength within.
Time flowed slowly, and five days later, he finally opened his eyes again. When Yang Kai spread open his palm, the Ancestral Spirit Crystal had already been refined cleanly and vanished. He then examined the condition of his body again and saw that he had grown another 50 metres or so.
After some comparisons, the differences between the Ancestral Spirit Fruit and the Ancestral Spirit Crystal became clear to see. The two objects were around the same size. However, he had spent less than two days refining an Ancestral Spirit Fruit that made him grow about 100 metres in total, whereas it had taken him five days to refine the Ancestral Spirit Crystal even though its effects only made his height increase by 50 metres!
Be it in terms of both the time required for refining or overall effect, the Ancestral Spirit Fruit was far better than the Ancestral Spirit Crystal. Still, the Ancestral Spirit Crystal was more durable in a sense.
Now that he knew the differences between the two objects, Yang Kai did not continue experimenting, picking up another Ancestral Spirit Fruit to consume and refine.
Inside the Demon Sealing Land, the various Divine Spirit Clans sat around their respective Sacred Treasures and cultivated quietly. To them, a land with such abundant Ancestral Strength like the Demon Sealing Land was a cultivation paradise that they used to dream about in the past. After unlocking the Demon Sealing Land, the Divine Spirits couldn’t help feeling as though they had gotten rich overnight. It was almost as though a person who was accustomed to living in poverty suddenly found a mountain of gold in their backyard.
Inside the Crystal Palace, Yang Kai continuously consumed the Ancestral Spirit Fruit to stimulate the Dragon Vein in his body.
Twenty days later, his Dragon Form reached a height of 4,000 metres!
After three months, he reached 5,000 metres!
After seven months, he was 6,000 metres!
After one year, he reached a height of 7,000 metres!
Inside the Crystal Palace, Yang Kai’s enormous body could no longer stand up straight, so he could only rest on his side while his Dragon Tail swung side to side without him noticing. With such a large body, he was already more than twice the size he was when he started. His Dragon Claws were sharper, his Dragon Scales were tougher, and his golden brilliance shone even brighter and more dazzlingly than before. His Dragon Pressure was so thick it almost materialized!
When he reached out to grab another Ancestral Spirit Fruit, Yang Kai discovered that all the fruits had been consumed and couldn’t help being taken aback for a moment.
At the beginning, it had taken him approximately two days to refine a single Ancestral Spirit Fruit. Following the growth of his bloodline though, the time needed for refinement reduced, but the growth he experienced thanks to an Ancestral Spirit Fruit also weakened accordingly.
It had only taken him one year to finish consuming all the Ancestral Spirit Fruits. Unfortunately, he did not achieve the expected results of becoming a Grand Dragon. On the contrary, he was only 7,000 metres tall now. It was still very far from becoming a Grand Dragon, so he couldn’t help feeling a little disappointed, though this result was still within his expectations.
He was stuck in a daze for quite a long time before he recalled what he was doing. As the purity of his bloodline increased and the Power of the Dragon Vein grew stronger, continuous bursts of Dragon Roars resounded in his mind. He initially thought that he was hallucinating, but after listening carefully for a few days, he confirmed that it was not just his imagination.
The bursts of Dragon Roars resounding in his head was the mysterious Dragon Language and seemed to be the Dragon Clan’s inheritance. It came from the Golden Divine Dragon’s Source Strength and the depths of his bloodline, and it was only when his bloodline had reached a certain level of purity that it emerged from the hidden depths.
Yang Kai began studying this newfound inheritance, and his entire mind was practically immersed within it, but he always had the feeling that there was a layer of mist blocking him from getting a clear picture. Even his reactions became slower as a result.
The might of his bloodline was not enough. He was faintly aware of this fact. Only by further enhancing his bloodline could he finally tear apart the mist that was blocking his vision.
The Ancestral Spirit Fruits had been consumed completely, so Yang Kai immediately placed many Ancestral Spirit Crystals by his side. His enormous Dragon Form curled up around the Ancestral Spirit Crystals. After that… he fell into a deep sleep.
Even in his sleep, the Ancestral Strength in the Ancestral Spirit Crystals continued to be guided into his Dragon Vein and continuously flooded his body. From time to time, the sound of crunching bones would reverberate throughout the Crystal Palace. It was his Half-Dragon Form expanding in size.
In his dreams, the Dragon Language resounded softly in his ears without pause. Consequently, Yang Kai’s brow would furrow tightly on occasion and relax again at other times. His expressions changed constantly.
All of a sudden, a spot of light broke through the mist and a wide world appeared in his field of vision. Yang Kai looked up to see a behemoth towering into the skies. The behemoth was bald and his entire body was completely black in colour. He looked like an endless black hole that devoured everything around him.
[A Giant Spirit God!] Yang Kai stared at the Giant Spirit God blankly, and only after a long time did he wonder to himself, [Where have I seen this guy before?]
Yang Kai felt as though his current state was a little strange. His reactions were particularly slow, almost like he was stuck in a dream that was not a dream. He did not know why he was here, much less recall where he had seen this Black Giant Spirit God before. Nevertheless, he instinctively knew that he was inside a dream. It was just that the feelings he received from his surroundings felt incredibly real.
The ink-black Giant Spirit God was running across the ground. With every step that he took, the ground shuddered violently. Meanwhile, there were numerous Divine Spirits in their true forms surrounding him and attacking him in a frenzy. Each Divine Spirit was a mature Divine Spirit who was at least equivalent to a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master.
Yang Kai saw many Dragons and Phoenix Clan members with their wings spread outward. Three Legged Golden Crows that blazed like Great Suns in the sky, and Kun Pengs whose bodies covered the sky…
The Divine Abilities of the Divine Spirits blasted out, each one containing Heaven-destroying and Earth-shattering power. All the attacks landed on the Giant Spirit God, but be that as it may, the ink-black pigment on his skin wriggled like living creatures to form sturdy shields that defended against all the attacks.
Suddenly, the Black Giant Spirit God reached out his hand and captured a Divine Spirit that looked like a Bai Ze. Ignoring the Bai Ze’s struggles, he clenched his large hand and crushed the powerful Divine Spirit in his grip. The blood of the Divine Spirit splattered across the ground.
The ground was covered in countless dead Divine Spirits, their enormous bodies crushed and mangled beyond recognition. Their deaths were incredibly brutal. The mighty Divine Spirits were as vulnerable as three-year-old children in front of this seemingly invincible Giant Spirit God.
Capturing a Grand Dragon in both hands, the Giant Spirit God gave a sharp tug and ripped it in two. A beautiful Fire Phoenix was killed on the spot with a slap of his palm and turned into a Phoenix Egg only to be crushed under his foot.
Despite such a huge disparity in numbers, the Divine Spirits were suffering a catastrophic defeat in this battle.
This scene was extremely shocking; even so, Yang Kai simply watched quietly. It wasn’t that he was willingly being so detached, but rather that his current state did not allow the slightest fluctuation in his emotions. It was an extremely bizarre sensation. He did not know what caused this battle or how long it had lasted. All he knew was that the Divine Spirits suffered countless casualties.
At last, a mighty Dragon Roar shook the skies and a gigantic Golden Dragon Head protruded from the clouds to look down on the world. The Dragon Eyes gleamed with a golden radiance that was exceedingly sharp.
Beside this enormous Dragon stood a pure white Ice Phoenix that radiated with a bone-chilling cold. She spread her wings wide and threw her head back with a shrill cry.
The invincible Giant Spirit God seemed to sense some sort of danger and finally stopped running to look up at the sky.
Under the leadership of the Golden Divine Dragon and the White Ice Phoenix, the Divine Spirits of various Clans that suffered heavy casualties previously began fighting even more vigorously against the Black Giant Spirit God!
The Giant Spirit God showed neither joy nor sorrow. He simply went on a silent killing spree. Divine Spirits died one after another, their vitality completely erased. The blood of Divine Spirits rained down and watered the ground.
Finally, the powerful Giant Spirit God stumbled. The Golden Grand Dragon that was over 100,000 metres long swooped down from high above, shaking his head and flicking his tail. His enormous body wrapped around the Giant Spirit God firmly to restrict his movements.
Likewise, the White Ice Phoenix swiftly swooped down from above, her sharp talons clasping onto the Giant Spirit God’s physique tightly.
One after another, the Sacred Treasures that exuded monstrous power were summoned by the various Divine Spirit Clans. Their auras were closely connected to each other. The Sacred Treasures included the Dragon Clan’s Crystal Palace, the Phoenix Clan’s Immortal Parasol Tree, the Kun Clan’s Northern Deep, the Golden Crow Clan’s Fu Sang Divine Tree…
The sixteen Sacred Treasures formed a Grand Array, causing the world to split apart in an instant. At the same time, the Ancestral Strength condensed together and gigantic chains took shape. These chains pierced the Giant Spirit God’s body and immobilised him. Afterward, all the Divine Spirits quickly retreated while the Dragon roared and the Phoenix wailed.
When the Divine Spirits looked back, all they saw was the scene of the world shattering apart. All the Blood Essence in the Golden Grand Dragon and the White Ice Phoenix burst into flames and transformed into a powerful force of imprisonment that suppressed the Giant Spirit God on the spot.
The Black Giant Spirit God was too overpowering, so much so that even the Divine Spirits were unable to kill him.
The Golden Divine Dragon and the White Ice Phoenix were nowhere to be seen. Only a small golden radiance and a small white light flickered amidst the Void Turbulence before vanishing out of sight!
Yang Kai woke up the next moment. Three years had gone by in the blink of an eye! When he opened his eyes again, he felt as though he had experienced a very long dream and for a time, he could not break out of his reverie.
He spent a long time in a daze before he finally recalled the last part of his dream. He seemed to have witnessed the scene of the Black Giant Spirit God being suppressed and sealed. It was something the Dragon Clan’s Dragon Emperor and the Phoenix Clan’s Phoenix Empress had done at the expense of burning their Blood Essence and sacrificing themselves.
Only the strongest Divine Dragons of the Dragon Clan could receive the title of Dragon Emperor! Only the strongest Masters of the Phoenix Clan had the right to be titled Phoenix Empress!
Following the deaths of the Dragon Emperor and the Phoenix Empress, their Sources were swept up by the Void Turbulence caused by the splitting of the Ancestral Land and vanished without a trace. In this way, the Sources that Yang Kai and Su Yan obtained back at Tong Xuan Realm were the inheritances of this Dragon Emperor and Phoenix Empress.
The reason Yang Kai saw these memories in that dream-like state was clearly related to the Dragon Emperor’s Source. The Source Strength was the inheritance left behind from the battlefield back then after all.
Qing Luan was right. Each Clan’s Sacred Treasure represented their inheritance, it was just that the inheritance was not hidden within the Sacred Treasures themselves. On the contrary, each Divine Spirit’s bloodline contained their respective inheritances, and they would naturally be revealed when their bloodline reached a certain level of purity. Cultivating with the help of their respective Clan’s Sacred Treasure simply made it easier to stimulate the inheritance in their bloodline.
If Yang Kai had not cultivated in the Crystal Palace, he would never have seen these memories.
At this point in time, the truth of what actually happened in the far past had been lost to history. Although Yang Kai had seen snippets of what happened when the Giant Spirit God was suppressed and sealed through his Source Inheritance, the reason behind such a ferocious battle between the Giant Spirit God and the Divine Spirits remained a mystery.
On the other hand, he now understood the origins of his Golden Divine Dragon Source and Su Yan’s Ice Phoenix Source.
Shaking his head to get rid of the distracting thoughts, Yang Kai examined his body. All the Ancestral Spirit Crystals he took out earlier were nowhere to be seen, so it was obvious that they had been refined and absorbed. As a result, his body had grown again.
He was now 9,999 metres long! He was just one step away from becoming a Grand Dragon! Unfortunately, it would seem that this final step was not so easy to overcome.
If this were three years ago, he might have been helpless in the face of this problem; however, the long dream had made him aware of quite a fair amount of the Dragon Clan’s inheritance. Among them included the Dragon Clan’s Cultivation Techniques. As for how to take the final step, he already had a plan.
Reclining on his back in the Crystal Palace, Yang Kai took out another handful of Ancestral Spirit Crystals. This time around, he did not place the Ancestral Spirit Crystal’s around him and instead stuffed them directly into his mouth. Following the crunching sounds, the rock-hard Ancestral Spirit Crystals were swallowed into his belly and an enormous energy erupted in the next moment.
Yang Kai continued to devour the Ancestral Spirit Crystal’s endlessly, and it was not until he used up nearly 80% of them that he stopped. The amount of Ancestral Strength accumulated in his body was indescribably large by now, and this energy stimulated his Dragon Vein greatly.
The mysterious Dragon Language sounded from Yang Kai’s mouth, and at the same time, he activated the power of his Dragon Source, supplemented by the Dragon Clan’s Cultivation Technique, to refine the Ancestral Strength and enhance his bloodline.
Yang Kai gradually felt a searing heat below his jaw. It felt like a scorching iron brand was pressing against him. The discomfort caused him to shake his head vigorously. The huge Half-Dragon Head knocking against the walls of the Crystal Palace, causing loud rumbles to reverberate through the air.
With the passage of time, the scorching heat below his jaw became more and more noticeable. All the Power of the Dragon Vein in his body seemed to be gathering in that spot and Yang Kai vaguely sensed that something amazing was forming beneath his jaw.
All of a sudden, the energy fluctuations reached a peak and a thunderous roar exploded in Yang Kai’s mind as his entire being suddenly became clear-headed. Beneath his jaw, a round bead of condensed Source Strength came into being.
*Kacha…*
His huge body that had been stagnant at 9,999 metres suddenly swelled slightly at this moment, and he abruptly crashed through the 10,000 metres threshold. He had given birth to a Dragon Bead and became a Grand Dragon!
Opening his mouth, Yang Kai let out a roar. At this moment, he felt as though he had shed his former body and been reborn. Both his body and mind were cleansed by a strange baptism and his entire physique wriggled. The sound of his bones dislocating and reforming once more echoed throughout the Crystal Palace. His Dragon Pressure filled the entire Crystal Palace like a solid substance. A powerful force flowed through every corner of his body, so strong that it almost felt as though this force could break the world.
By the time everything calmed down again, more than half a month had passed.
Yang Kai activated his Divine Sense and examined his body once more. It had to be said that the changes he experienced after he became a Grand Dragon were extremely drastic.
Whenever he used his Dragon Transformation Secret Technique in the past, although he had a Dragon Form, he still retained some Human characteristics. It could be said that he was Half-Dragon and Half-Human; however, he no longer had the slightest trace of Human characteristics at this moment. He was now a genuine Grand Dragon with a 10,000 metres long smooth body that was covered in Golden Dragon Scales. His Dragon Claws were so sharp that they left a scar in the Void with a light swipe and a swing of his Dragon Tail could conjure a violent force.
These changes were unexpected.
Qing Luan had mentioned that it didn’t matter what his background was since he obtained the Golden Divine Dragon Source; he could be said to be part of the Pureblood Dragon Clan. Looking at himself now, Yang Kai didn’t know whether he was Human or Dragon anymore.
With a shift of his thoughts, his enormous body rapidly shrank and returned to his Human Form. It was just that his current appearance was slightly different from the usual. At this moment, he was wearing a dazzling golden Artifact Armour. This Artifact Armour was formed from his Dragon Scales, so it had an incredibly strong defensive ability.
He did not have such an ability before. Be that as it may, after learning various secrets from the Dragon Clan Inheritance, the ability to transform his Dragon Scales into Dragon Armour was nothing more than a petty trick.
[But… this golden Artifact Armour is a little too flamboyant and conspicuous. I practically resemble the sun radiating such a dazzling brilliance wherever I go.] Yang Kai focused his thoughts and the brilliance of the Artifact Armour subsided considerably. Although the appearance was still incredibly luxurious, at the very least, it was not embarrassingly radiant anymore.
After examining himself again, Yang Kai finally nodded in satisfaction.
He was in no hurry to refine the Crystal Palace. Opening his mouth, he spat out a bead that emitted a faint golden light. The bead floated down to land on his palm. It was a Dragon Bead!
The most important step for a Juvenile Dragon to become a Grand Dragon was to condense a Dragon Bead in their body. Juvenile Dragons had no Dragon Beads. Only Mature Grand Dragons had them.
A Dragon Bead was similar to a Monster Beast’s Monster Core. It was the crystallisation of a Grand Dragon’s power and the manifestation of their Source.
Looking at the golden bead in his hand, Yang Kai could clearly sense the horrifying strength contained within. Even though that power belonged to him, he couldn’t help feeling a little frightened.
His current strength was a little strange. In his Human Form, he was no more than a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master; however, if he transformed into a Grand Dragon, he was equivalent to a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master in strength! Moreover, both powers did not clash or interfere with each other. It was most likely that he was the only person in the world ij this situation. A similar situation would not occur in the other Dragon Clan members.
Absorbing the Dragon Bead back into his body, Yang Kai exhaled a long breath.
His trip to the Ancestral Land could be said to be an unexpected surprise. While fleeing for his life previously, Yang Kai never imagined that a place like the Ancestral Land existed in the depths of the Shattered Ruins. Furthermore, he only spent several short years to advance from a Juvenile Dragon to a Grand Dragon. It could be said to be a huge harvest.
Nevertheless, he had consumed many Ancestral Spirit Fruits and Ancestral Spirit Crystals in the process. He used up all the Ancestral Spirit Fruits and 80% of all the Ancestral Spirit Crystals he found inside the Crystal Palace.
There was no other Divine Spirit who could achieve such a feat; after all, both the Ancestral Spirit Fruit and the Ancestral Spirit Crystal were extremely rare. If not because the Demon Sealing Land was unsealed for the first time in countless eons, where would he find so many Ancestral Spirit Fruits and Ancestral Spirit Crystals?
Yang Kai raised his eyes and looked outside. Everything was peaceful as the various Divine Spirit Clans were guarding their Sacred Treasures and waiting for him to come out of retreat. A few trivial years was not enough to exhaust their patience.
Now that he had become a Grand Dragon, it was time for Yang Kai to refine the Crystal Palace. The Dragon Clan’s Sacred Treasure was of great help in terms of both cultivation and awakening the inheritance within one’s Source. If the Dragon Clan members in Void Land were sent here to cultivate in the future, the Crystal Palace would become their greatest support.
Yang Kai sat down cross-legged and activated the Power of his Dragon Vein to connect with the Crystal Palace. He had attempted this feat in the past, but unfortunately, his bloodline had been too weak at the time. His refinement speed was far too slow, so he gave up on the attempt. Now that he was a Grand Dragon, his speed was much greater.
Half a year later, Kun Ao who was cultivating in the Demon Sealing Land suddenly felt an abnormality. He opened his eyes only to see light flashing constantly from within the Dragon Clan’s Crystal Palace. The flashing lights were accompanied by cracking sounds.
The anomaly alarmed all the Divine Spirits nearby. Likewise, Qing Luan immediately looked in the direction of the Crystal Palace with a strange light in her eyes.
“That brat’s speed is quite something. Is he about to finish refining it so soon?” One of the Divine Spirits smiled. He initially thought that he would need to wait for a few more years; however, the sight before him clearly indicated that Yang Kai was about to finish refining the Crystal Palace.
“With so many Ancestral Spirit Fruits, even a waste can become a Grand Dragon!” Another Divine Spirit scathingly spat out with a twitch of his brow. The Ancestral Spirit Fruits were such precious treasures that he was still heartbroken over being forced to offer up half of his supply.
It took half a day for the anomalies of the Crystal Palace to settle down. After that, a figure flashed out from within. It was none other than Yang Kai. Feeling many pairs of eyes staring at him expectantly, he nodded at the crowd of Divine Spirits, “Fortunately, I have not failed your expectations!”
Kun Ao burst into laughter, “That’s good. Let us retrieve our Sacred Treasures now that the Dragon Clan’s Crystal Palace has also been refined.” Then, he worriedly reminded Yang Kai, “Brat, don’t forget to cooperate with us later!”
“En,” Yang Kai responded.
The Divine Spirits had been waiting for this day for a long time now. At this moment, they eagerly hurried over to their respective Sacred Treasures and activated their power. When the powers of these Divine Spirits fluctuated, the sixteen Sacred Treasures that had long since been integrated into one were stimulated by the various Divine Spirits.
There was a rumble that shook the entire world, and a series of cracking sounds rang out repeatedly. A short while later, the sixteen Sacred Treasures turned into sixteen rays of light that were recovered by the various Divine Spirit Clans.
Yang Kai toyed with a miniature palace in his hand that was countless times smaller than the Crystal Palace. The entire body of the palace seemed to be carved from a single exquisite piece of crystal. It was none other than the Dragon Clan’s Crystal Palace itself. His expression revealed his slight astonishment. He had not expected the Crystal Palace to be able to change its size freely.
After the Sacred Treasures were retrieved, the Ancestral Strength in the world lost its source of attraction. The huge chains penetrating the Giant Spirit God slowly disintegrated and changed back into the rich Ancestral Strength that permeated the world. The sight of the chains disintegrating was extremely overwhelming.
During this period, all the Divine Spirits watched the Giant Spirit God warily. Qing Luan, Kun Ao, and the others had previously investigated the situation inside the Giant Spirit God’s body and determined that he was as dead as could be, but even so, it was a matter related to a Giant Spirit God after all. Who knew whether he had some sort of mysterious ability that would allow him to be brought back to life?
Fortunately, the Giant Spirit God showed no movement even after the chains fell apart and the Sacred Treasures were retrieved. It looked like even the Giant Spirit God could not withstand the erosion of the Ancestral Strength over the countless years of suppression.
There seemed to be an unusual change taking place in the world. Nobody could put a finger to the strange feeling, but all the Divine Spirits living in the Ancestral Land could clearly feel one thing, the Ancestral Land that was split into two in ancient times was slowly merging back into one entity at this moment.
“Kun Ao, I believe that it would be better for this place to be listed as a Restricted Area. What do you think?” Qing Luan stared at the Giant Spirit God for a moment before she turned to look at Kun Ao.
Kun Ao pondered in silence for a moment and nodded in agreement, “Good.”
Naturally, the other Divine Spirits would not object to what the Phoenix Clan and the Kun Clan had agreed on. Under Qing Luan’s leadership, many Divine Spirits joined forces and worked together to set up a powerful barrier around the Giant Spirit God with their Blood Essence. The first reason was to turn this place into a Restricted Area to prevent any Divine Spirit from approaching carelessly. The other reason was to guard against any unexpected changes that might occur to the Giant Spirit God.
By the time they finished working, ten days had passed.
The various Divine Spirit Clans had benefited greatly from this trip to the Demon Sealing Land. There was no need to mention the benefits gained by those who retrieved their Sacred Treasures. Even those without Sacred Treasures could enjoy the abundant Ancestral Strength brought about by merging the two halves of the Ancestral Land. They would no longer need to worry about the continuation of their respective Clans or the impurity of their descendant’s bloodlines.
Yang Kai followed Qing Luan and the others back to Four Phoenix Pavilion, and after consulting Qing Luan, he decided to place the Dragon Clan’s Crystal Palace in one of the mountain valleys with beautiful scenery.
The Crystal Palace might be an extraordinary palace artifact, but it played a more important role as the Dragon Clan’s Sacred Treasure. The Dragon Clan members from the Star Boundary would be coming to the Ancestral Land to cultivate, and leaving the Crystal Palace here would significantly help their growth. If not for these considerations, he would have taken the Crystal Palace away with him.
Yang Kai sat opposite Qing Luan and the others inside the Main Hall, telling them about the dream that he saw while cultivating in the Crystal Palace back then. After much deliberation, he decided that he should inform the Phoenix Clan about this matter. Who could say? The Phoenix Clan might know something about the secrets from the ancient times.
Unfortunately, Qing Luan and the others could not think of any useful information even after listening to his story. On the contrary, they were quite shocked by certain events that he revealed to them.
“From what you’ve said, the Giant Spirit God did indeed fight a ferocious battle with the Divine Spirits in Ancestral Land back then. In the end, it was the Dragon Emperor and the Phoenix Empress of that generation who sacrificed themselves by burning their Blood Essence to mobilise the Ancestral Strength through the various Sacred Treasures to suppress and seal the Giant Spirit God.”
“That’s what I saw,” Yang Kai nodded, “The Ancestral Land was torn apart and divided in two. At the same time, the Sources of the Dragon Emperor and the Phoenix Empress were caught up in a Void Turbulence and vanished out of sight. That was until many years ago when this Junior had the opportunity to obtain the Dragon Emperor’s Source in a small and weak world.”
Qing Luan sighed in amazement, “The Dragon Emperors are the strongest Masters of the Dragon Clan, and there are often generations where no Dragon Emperor rises to power. No wonder your Source is a Divine Dragon Source. Only a Divine Dragon is qualified to be a Dragon Emperor.”
Yuan Chu asked, “If the Dragon Emperor’s Source of that generation is with you, then what about the Phoenix Empress’ Source? Have you seen it? If the two of them were caught up in a Void Turbulence, they might have appeared in the same place.
Yang Kai replied, “If I’m not mistaken, the Phoenix Empress’ Source is with my Senior Sister, Su Yan.”
“They were really together!?” Qing Luan and the others became excited.
Yue Zhuo asked, “Where is that Senior Sister of yours right now?”
“She lives in Void Land located in the Void Territory.” Yang Kai answered, “Following my return this time, I plan to send her and some of my Divine Spirit friends to the Ancestral Land. I hope you can help to take care of them when they arrive, Seniors.”
Qing Luan smiled, “You’ve already mentioned this matter before, so of course it won’t be a problem at all. Feel free to send them here.” While speaking, she turned to look at Hong Hu, “Please go with Yang Kai, Fourth Sister.”
“En.” Hong Hu nodded.
Yang Kai quickly said, “There’s no need to trouble you, Senior. I know the position of the Ancestral Land now, so I only need you to tell me how to safely pass through the Divine Ability Sea.”
Qing Luan said, “The return of the Phoenix Empress is an important event for the Phoenix Clan. We cannot be sloppy. Please let Hong Hu go with you.”
Seeing as she had already said so much, Yang Kai did not refuse her again. Besides, he would like nothing more than having a Master like Hong Hu accompanying him on his travels. The information about how he had obtained the World Spring would probably have spread across the Shattered Heaven by now, so there was no saying what kinds of troubles he might face when he returned to the Shattered Heaven again.
“When do you plan to leave?” She asked.
“I wish to say goodbye to Senior Mie Meng first.”
“As you should.” Qing Luan nodded.
The next day, Yang Kai strolled over to the place where Mie Meng lived. It was obvious that Mie Meng had detected his presence because the doors were wide open.
He did not see the Great General anywhere and Mie Meng claimed that it was because the boy was working hard to cultivate. However, according to Yang Kai’s understanding of Great General’s character, he had the feeling that the little chicken had been forced into seclusion by his Mother. In any case, he did not say anything regarding the matter.
Before he departed, Yang Kai left behind several Ancestral Spirit Crystals so that Mie Meng could pass them on to Great General. Great General was still very young, so these Ancestral Spirit Crystal would help him to reduce many years of intense cultivation and allow his bloodline to develop rapidly.
Yang Kai no longer had many Ancestral Spirit Crystals left on hand as during his advancement to become a Grand Dragon, he had used up 80% of them in one go. Therefore, he only had slightly more than 200 of them left.
He gave half of them to the Phoenix Clan; after all, he would need the Phoenix Clan’s help to take care of the Divine Spirits who came from Void Land later. Then, he left the remaining half in the Crystal Palace. If Su Yan and the others needed the Ancestral Spirit Crystals, they could help themselves to them.
When all the preparations were done, Yang Kai prepared to leave the Ancestral Land with Hong Hu.
A figure flew over from a distance and landed in front of Hong Hu. It was the white-robed youth from the Kun Clan who bowed and cupped his fist, “Kun Yu greets Senior Hong Hu.”
Hong Hu nodded, “I will have to trouble you.”
Kun Yu nodded faintly. Without even glancing at Yang Kai, he soared straight into the sky. Hong Hu shot a glance at Yang Kai, and the two of them quickly followed.
Having lived in the Ancestral Land ever since she had been born, Hong Hu had never left the Ancestral Land before. She only knew that the Ancestral Land was surrounded by the Divine Ability Sea. Unfortunately, the Divine Ability Sea was so dangerous that even a Mature Divine Spirit might succumb to its dangers and fail to pass through safely.
Out of all the Divine Spirits in the Ancestral Land, only the Kun Clan knew of a safe passage through the Divine Ability Sea. That was something the Kun Clan discovered after relying on many Masters to explore the Divine Ability Sea. It was by relying on this knowledge that Kun Yu managed to travel through the Divine Ability Sea safely even though he only had the strength of a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master.
When the Phoenix Clan came forward to make a request, the Kun Clan naturally had nothing more to say about this matter. In the end, they assigned Kun Yu to escort Hong Hu and Yang Kai through the Divine Ability Sea. Even if the Kun Clan had decided to ignore the matter, with Hong Hu’s strength, there was a great chance that she would simply force her way through the Divine Ability Sea. That was how Cheng Yang entered the Ancestral Land. Although he encountered all sorts of dangers and wound up quite battered, he was still able to pass through the Divine Ability Sea.
Following behind Kun Yu, Hong Hu and Yang Kai quickly left the Ancestral Land and plunged into the Divine Ability Sea. The various Divine Abilities and Secret Techniques were unleashed one after another, but their power was not too strong. Whether it was Kun Yu leading the way or Hong Hu and Yang Kai following behind, none of them had any trouble dealing with the Divine Abilities and Secret Techniques
“It must have been difficult for the Kun Clan to discover this route.” Hong Hu sighed in amazement.
Kun Yu’s personality was generally on the colder side, so he had remained taciturn for the most part of the journey. Nevertheless, Hong Hu was his Senior, so seeing as she had started the conversation, he could not ignore her and responded, “In order to find this passage, the Kun Clan paid a heavy price several thousands of years ago. Two Seniors lost their lives in the Divine Ability Sea. In terms of strength, they were comparable to the Human’s Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters.”
She nodded, “I’ve heard of that.”
Yang Kai suddenly spoke up, “Senior, don’t you think that the Divine Ability Sea is acting as a gigantic cage?”
Hong Hu was stunned for a moment. If he had not mentioned this matter, she would never have thought about it. Now that she heard those words though, she couldn’t help thinking that the possibility was rather high.
Yang Kai had this feeling the last time he saw the Divine Ability Sea, and after seeing the Giant Spirit God being suppressed and sealed in the Demon Sealing Land, his conjecture only became more certain.
“These Divine Abilities and Secret Techniques were left behind countless years ago, and despite going through the erosion and baptism of time, they still contain such fearsome power. It’s difficult to imagine just how strong they were at their peak. It might be that even Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters would not come out unscathed if they ventured deep into this place.”
Hong Hu pondered in silence for a moment before she asked, “Are you saying that the Divine Ability Sea was created as a protective barrier to prevent the Giant Spirit God from escaping?”
Yang Kai nodded, “That’s the only possibility.”
Her eyes flashed at those words, “If it’s as you said, then the battle in ancient times should have shown traces of Human participation; after all, many of the Divine Abilities in the Divine Ability Sea do not come from Divine Spirits. Did you see any Humans in the memories?”
Yang Kai shook his head, “I did not see any, but that is not strange either. The Ancestral Strength is extremely dangerous to non-Divine Spirits. If the Giant Spirit God was causing havoc in the Ancestral Land, only the Divine Spirits could fight back against him. Fortunately, the Divine Spirits won that battle even though they paid a heavy price for their victory. Regardless, the Great Experts of the Human Race must have set up the Divine Ability Sea outside the Ancestral Land just to be on the safe side.”
Too much time had passed. It was so long ago that even a long-lived Race like the Divine Spirits did not know what had happened back then. Nevertheless, Yang Kai’s conjecture was reasonable. It might be the truth of what had happened back in ancient times.
The only thing that confused Yang Kai right now was why a Giant Spirit God, being from a race which was generally innocent, mild-tempered, and would never take the initiative to provoke others, had started such a ferocious battle in the Ancestral Land.
Yang Kai had personally witnessed countless Divine Spirits dying at the hands of that Giant Spirit God during that battle. Even the Dragon and the Phoenix Clans had suffered heavy casualties. The Dragon Emperor and the Phoenix Empress of that generation even went so far as to burn all their Blood Essence to activate a massive Grand Array using the Sacred Treasures of sixteen Clans to condensed the Ancestral Strength in the Ancestral Land to suppress and seal the Black Giant Spirit God.
It had been a mighty battle indeed.
Following behind Kun Yu, they navigated through the Divine Ability Sea and made steady progress. All the Divine Abilities and Secret Techniques unleashed along the way were easily resolved by the three of them.
A few days later, the view in front of them abruptly widened. The three of them had made their way out of the Divine Ability Sea. Kun Yu halted in his tracks, turned to Hong Hu, and cupped his fist, “Senior, we’re out of the Divine Ability Sea now. This Junior will only escort you up to this point. Simply follow the way we came earlier when you return.”
“En. Go back and thank your Clan Head on my behalf. Tell him the Phoenix Clan owes him a favour.” Hong Hu nodded. She had memorised the route along the way here and even used her power as a Divine Spirit to leave a mark along the trail, so there was no need to worry about how she was going to return.
Kun Yu lowered his head and said, “This Junior will definitely relay the message. I shall take my leave now!”
While speaking, his figure shifted and he rushed back into the Divine Ability Sea.
After Kun Yu departed, Yang Kai and Hong Hu continued their journey.
It was Hong Hu’s first time leaving the Ancestral Land, so although her cultivation was impressive, she couldn’t help being curious about the outside world. Looking around though, she saw nothing but the vast and desolate void; hence, it was inevitable for her to feel disappointed as she asked, “Is everything in the outside world like this?”
Yang Kai laughed, “The situation at the Shattered Heaven is special. You will see a different scenery once we arrive back at a prosperous Great Territory, Senior.”
She nodded, “In that case, I look forward to it.”
“Let’s go.” He took the lead while speaking.
He and Xia Lin Lang had fled deep into the Shattered Heaven back then, so it would take quite some time for him to leave. Travelling through the void was extremely boring. Fortunately, they could chat with each other along the way. Yang Kai told her about various things in the outside world. Regardless of the importance of the matter, Hong Hu listened with great relish.
Ever since leaving the Divine Ability Sea, Yang Kai vaguely noticed that he had developed a peculiar feeling. This feeling came from the depths of his bloodline. It felt as though there was something located somewhere far away that was closely connected to him.
At the beginning, he did not understand what this feeling was. Nevertheless, it didn’t take long before he abruptly realised that this feeling was the connection he felt with the Dragon Clan’s Dragon Altar!
It was once said that he would be able to sense the location of the Dragon Altar when his bloodline reached a certain level. That was the inheritance found deep within every Dragon Clan member’s bloodline.
In the past, his Dragon Form had only been 3,000 metres long. Moreover, he had been Half-Human, Half-Dragon. It made sense that he could not sense the Dragon Altar in such a state. However, this perception came into being now that he had advanced from a Juvenile Dragon to a Grand Dragon and his Dragon Form was 10,000 metres long. Even if he was separated by a great distance, that feeling would never be severed.
Yang Kai was certain that he would eventually find the Dragon Clan’s Dragon Altar one day if he followed in the direction of this feeling; thus, he suddenly felt a little excited.
Ever since coming to the 3,000 Worlds, he had been trying to locate the Dragon Altar. Unfortunately, the Dragon Altar was very hidden. Despite being one of the 36 Cave Heavens, nobody knew the location of the Dragon Altar.
At this moment, the connection coming from the depths of his bloodline was undoubtedly pointing the way for him. It was a pity that he had urgent matters to take care of right now. Seeing as it was inconvenient for him to search for the Dragon Altar immediately, Yang Kai could only delay this matter for the time being.
The Shattered Heaven was vast. Furthermore, there were no Universe Temples that they could use to transfer from place to place. Despite flying for a whole month, the two of them remained inside the Shattered Heaven.
One day, Hong Hu suddenly noticed something. She turned to look in a certain direction and frowned after a moment, “There are people fighting over there.”
Yang Kai followed her gaze and sure enough, he saw several streams of light darting around in a relentless pursuit. Hong Hu’s cultivation was higher than his, so it was only natural for her to detect the anomaly before him.
“The Shattered Heaven is unlike the other Great Territories in the 3,000 Worlds. It is very chaotic and fights are very common here.” Yang Kai explained, but showed no intention to intervene.
Although Yang Kai had no intention to intervene in the fight, one of the parties in the fight seemed to have taken notice of their presence and was rushing directly in their direction.
Yang Kai furrowed his brow slightly as this was also a common occurrence. When one party was losing a battle, they often liked to divert their opponent’s attention to another person. Or, they could be trying to ask for help. Regardless of the situation, the person who was unwittingly dragged into the mess would be the one troubled.
It was not his first time encountering an incident like this, so it was only natural that Yang Kai understood the other party’s intentions. Nevertheless, he had no intention to flee. Hong Hu was right next to him, so who in the Shattered Heaven would dare to act presumptuous in front of her?
“Huh?” All of a sudden, Yang Kai exclaimed in surprise. When the leading figure approached, he detected a familiar aura. A short while later, he finally confirmed his suspicions when he had a good look at that person’s appearance. It truly was a person that he was acquainted with.
It was Qin Fen! He was one of the few Open Heaven Realm Masters among Xia Lin Lang’s subordinates.
[Why is he here? Where is Xia Lin Lang?] Seeing as it was an acquaintance, Yang Kai could not ignore the situation anymore. He raised his hand and summoned the Azure Dragon Spear. After that, he charged towards Qin Fen. Hong Hu quickly followed closely behind.
On the other hand, there was no doubt that Qin Fen had also recognised Yang Kai. A complicated gaze immediately entered his eyes as he gritted his teeth and rushed over.
A short while later, they brushed past each other. Yang Kai raised his spear and stabbed forward. With the power of a spear, the world collapsed and the expressions of the two figures chasing from behind changed greatly as they quickly defended themselves.
The collision of the World Force swept across the void and Yang Kai’s figure stumbled slightly before he steadied himself once more. On the other hand, the two chasing figures were involuntarily sent flying backward at the same time.
Even though they were also in the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm, they failed to defend against the attack of somebody in the same Order as them despite combining both their strengths. If they had not personally experienced something like this, they would not have dared to believe that such a thing was possible.
They stabilised their figures with great difficulty, but before they could declare their names, a horrifying pressure descended upon them. The pressure was so strong that their figures slumped slightly and their expressions changed drastically.
“A Divine Spirit?” One of the middle-aged men stared at Hong Hu, who was standing quietly in the void, with an expression of fear and horror.
The power of this Divine Spirit was too immense. As Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, how could they fail to sense such a thing? This pressure was so strong that it was comparable to an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master.
[Why did we run into a Divine Spirit here!?] The two of them looked at each other with a bitter taste in their mouths.
Meanwhile, Qin Fen returned. His complexion was pale and there were traces of blood on his clothes. His aura was weak, so it was obvious that he was injured.
“Why are you here?” Yang Kai turned around and asked, “Where is Xia Lin Lang?”
Qin Fen clenched his fists tightly and responded with his head lowered, “Madame was captured.”
Yang Kai scowled, “By who?”
Xia Lin Lang was a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. As long as an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master did not make a move, who in the Shattered Heaven could capture her?
“Bright Sun Divine Monarch!” Qin Fen gritted his teeth, “When we were sent out of that place, Cheng Yang appeared out of nowhere before we could go very far. He was probably lying in ambush all this while. Madame was no match for him, so she could only escape. She lured Cheng Yang away so that we could have a chance to flee. Unfortunately, we’ve gotten separated after several years of running around.”
“That old thing! Scourges never die!” Yang Kai scowled deeply.
Qin Fen looked at Yang Kai, “Cheng Yang said that you should go and meet him if you want the Madame to be returned safely.”
Yang Kai sneered, “Is he so certain that I will go looking for him?”
Qin Fen became furious, “Are you going to ignore Madame’s life or death situation!? If not for you, Lin Lang Cave Heaven would never have been destroyed! With the protection of Lin Lang Cave Heaven, even Cheng Yang would not have been able to harm the Madame!”
Yang Kai glanced at Qin Fen, “Xia Lin Lang brought me back because she wanted the World Spring. Everything that happened afterwards was simply a means to protect myself. To be honest, the destruction of Lin Lang Cave Heaven was the result of Xia Lin Lang’s actions.”
Qin Fen clenched his teeth and glared furiously when he heard those words. His expression looked like he wanted to bite Yang Kai to death.
Yang Kai rubbed his chin and snorted, “But, there is no denying that we have gone through difficult times together. Cheng Yang only captured her because of the World Spring… Haaa, how troublesome.” Turning to look at the two Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters who didn’t even dare to move a muscle, he asked, “Are they Cheng Yang’s men?”
Qin Fen replied, “That’s right.”
The middle-aged man quickly explained, “We have no malicious intentions. It’s just that Xia Lin Lang is worried about their safety, so the Divine Monarch asked us to invite him back as a guest. The others are already with the Divine Monarch.”
Qin Fen coldly snorted, “No malicious intentions, my foot! If not because this Qin has some ability, I would have died at your hands a long time ago.”
The middle-aged man said, “When have we ever directed our murderous intent at you throughout our pursuit? I’m afraid you don’t know your own situation right now. All the Masters in the Shattered Heaven have set out, but the World Spring remains nowhere to be seen. The rumours claim that Xia Lin Lang has gotten the World Spring, so if you had encountered anybody else, you would have died a miserable death a long time ago!”
Yang Kai raised a hand to interrupt their argument. He then looked at the middle-aged man and said, “The World Spring is with me. It’s useless even if Bright Sun Divine Monarch captures Xia Lin Lang. But, since he is so desperate to meet me, I’ll go and pay him a visit.”
The middle-aged man exchanged a glance with his comrade. They did not dare to believe that things would be so simple so he asked incredulously, “Really?”
Yang Kai gestured, “Lead the way.”
The middle-aged man responded as though his dreams had come true, “This way!”
After saying that, he and his companion turned around to lead the way.
Yang Kai glanced at Qin Fen, “What are you going to do?”
Qin Fen quickly said, “I’m coming with you.”
Yang Kai nodded and quickly chased after those two.
Hong Hu came over in a flash, her eyebrows furrowed slightly, “Cheng Yang knows that you are a Dragon Clan member. Why is he trying to target you? What reckless bravery.”
Yang Kai smiled and said, “The Divine Spirits have not left the Ancestral Land in a long time. It is only natural that my identity as a Dragon Clan member does not frighten him. He is an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master after all, so he can be considered quite capable.”
Hong Hu sneered at those words, “It is not that the Divine Spirits are unable to leave the Ancestral Land, but that they don’t want to. I’m curious to see what gives him the confidence to act so brazenly in front of a Divine Spirit!”
“Looks like he is going to suffer greatly.” Yang Kai took intense pleasure in the other party’s approaching misfortune.
Several figures stopped in the void. Yang Kai looked left and right for a bit before he asked, “Is this the place?”
The middle-aged man in the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm nodded, “Yes!”
“Announce our arrival.” Yang Kai gestured.
A trace of struggle crossed the middle-aged man’s face, but he called out loudly nonetheless, “Divine Monarch, Yang Kai is here! Please open the portal, Divine Monarch!”
The void remained silent, and there was no reaction.
He shouted once more, but there was no movement.
Yang Kai turned to look at the middle-aged man and narrowed his eyes slightly, turning the middle-aged man as pale as a death sentence prisoner. His voice trembled as he shouted again, “Please open the portal, Divine Monarch!”
“Are you sure this is the place?” Yang Kai asked impatiently.
The middle-aged man nodded nervously, “It’s right here.”
Yang Kai frowned slightly. He did not understand the reason for the middle-aged man’s reaction.
In any case, if Bright Sun Divine Monarch was really hiding here but refused to reveal himself, then it could only mean that he was afraid of Hong Hu. He probably never imagined that the Phoenix Clan would show up. Even if he was in the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm, he was bound to suffer a loss against a Master like Hong Hu.
Space Principles began fluctuating with a single thought from Yang Kai. Like a pebble thrown into a calm lake, a circle of ripples spread out into the surroundings with him as the centre. Consequently, the Void became distorted everywhere the ripples passed.
Beside him, Hong Hu watched with bright eyes. She raised her hand slightly to feel the mysteries of Space Principles. It was her first time seeing such a strange power, so she couldn’t help being curious.
At the beginning, nothing much changed, but as time passed, the Space Principles that spread out like ripples on the surface of the water began to show a weak fluctuation. It was as though the swift river current had encountered a large boulder.
Yang Kai’s gaze shifted in a certain direction. At the same time, he urged the Space Principles more and more fiercely. The weak fluctuations gradually became more and more obvious as a result.
About an incense stick later, even Hong Hu and the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters who did not understand anything about the Dao of Space could detect the anomaly.
Under the agitation of Space Principles, it soon became clear that there was a large space at that spot in the Void which was different from its surroundings. That location was none other than the entrance connecting the Universe Cave Heaven where Bright Sun Divine Monarch lived to the outside world!
Yang Kai was just about to increase his efforts to forcibly break open the entrance when space distorted and opened to reveal a portal. Immediately after that, Cheng Yang’s figure stepped out from within and he loudly said, “I was not aware of your arrival, Lady Hong Hu. Please forgive this Cheng for my lack of hospitality!” After saying that, he turned to look at his two subordinates. His voice became cold and ruthless, “Incompetent good-for-nothings! What’s the use of having you!?”
The expressions of those two changed greatly when they heard those words, and they immediately begged for mercy. Nonetheless, Cheng Yang ignored their pleading and raised his hand. When he slammed his palm down, the power of an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master flooded out and a mighty World Force filled the void.
With the power of a single palm strike, the heads of the two Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters were crushed on the spot. Their headless corpses swayed slightly, then their Small Universes collapsed and their World Force dissipated!
Yang Kai narrowed his eyes slightly.
Hong Hu coldly snorted, “How impressive, Divine Monarch!”
Cheng Yang had decisively killed two of his subordinates in front of her without any hesitation. It was clearly a demonstration of his strength! Although she lived in the Ancestral Land for a long time and this was her first trip to the outside world, even she knew that a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master was not just some useless cabbage to discard at will.
A Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master had more than enough strength to stand on their own in the 3,000 Worlds. As long as the High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters of the various Cave Heavens and Paradises did not step forward, Sixth-Order Masters could be said to be the strongest!
“Lady Hong Hu, please calm your anger. Cheng Yang’s actions are not what you think. You’ve lived in the Divine Spirit’s Ancestral Land for a long time, so you’re not familiar with the situation in the Shattered Heaven.”
Yang Kai’s eyes flashed slightly as he vaguely realised something and came over to Hong Hu’s side to explain in a low voice, “To the Masters hiding in the Shattered Heaven, their hideouts are their strongest and final layer of defense. Therefore, the location of their hideouts must never be exposed to outsiders, as it will only bring endless troubles to them otherwise.”
It would have been bad enough if those two Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters had brought Yang Kai to this place; however, they even brought Hong Hu along with them. Unable to silence the witnesses, Cheng Yang could only vent his anger on his subordinates in a fit of rage.
If they could bring Yang Kai and Hong Hu here, then wouldn’t they bring his enemies home if they were captured by them in the Shattered Heaven, or worse, the Masters of the Cave Heavens and Paradises in the future? Where would Bright Sun Divine Monarch hide then?
Having said that, Yang Kai was the only person in the world who could easily force open the portal of a Universe Cave Heaven thanks to his proficiency in the Dao of Space. Even if an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master from the Cave Heavens or Paradises were to show up here, they would not have such an easy time despite knowing the location.
Cheng Yang had remained hidden and refused to come out earlier due to his fear of Hong Hu. It was not until he saw that his hideout was about to be forcibly opened that he had no choice but to reveal himself.
“Those who come from afar are guests! Lady Hong Hu, this way please!” Cheng Yang gestured forward.
Hong Hu nodded faintly and stepped inside. Yang Kai shot a look at Qin Fen and quickly followed after Hong Hu.
Upon entering the portal, Cheng Yang immediately took the lead while Yang Kai looked around and raised his brow at the sight, “Divine Monarch, is this place a Universe Cave Heaven?”
“Indeed!” Cheng Yang nodded, “This Universe Cave Heaven was left behind by an unknown Senior. When this Monarch first arrived at the Shattered Heaven, I once fought a battle here and accidentally discovered traces of this Universe Cave Heaven during that fight. However, it took me 300 years just to find the portal and another 100 to get inside.”
After saying that, he gave Yang Kai a meaningful look, “I’ve long heard about the extraordinariness of the Dao of Space, but I’ve never had the honour to witness its greatness before. Having seen it today, this Monarch is truly amazed!”
He had spent hundreds of years just to open the Universe Cave Heaven’s portal and occupy this place. Meanwhile, Yang Kai had only spent an incense to nearly forcibly open the portal.
The contrast nearly made Cheng Yang spit blood in distress. Nevertheless, he knew that there was nothing to envy. The Dao of Space was not something just anybody could cultivate.
Yang Kai smiled, “Many thanks for your high praise, Divine Monarch. I simply specialise in my own field.”
Cheng Yang raised his brow and commented, “You are too humble, Little Brother. Perhaps we can work together on a certain project.”
Yang Kai was astonished, “Cooperate on what?”
Cheng Yang continued, “The Shattered Heaven is vast and boundless, and there are many opportunities coexisting with various risks. Universe Cave Heavens and Universe Paradises are abundant here. Unfortunately, not many of them have been discovered and explored because we do not have the knowledge or ability to do so. Most of them remain hidden in the Void; however, this Monarch knows of no less than five locations where there’s a high possibility that Universe Cave Heavens or Universe Paradises exists. It’s a pity, but I am unable to confirm my suspicions. If you cooperate with this Monarch and join forces to explore these five areas, then there is no need to worry about not finding anything good. As far as I know, the World Spring in your possession was found in one of these Universe Cave Heavens, right?”
Yang Kai was indeed tempted by those words. If what Cheng Yang said was true, it might be a good idea to work together in this matter. Be that as it may, it was not good to reveal how keen he was about the idea lest he was bullied by Cheng Yang as a result.
Even though he was tempted, Yang Kai responded calmly, “That may be so. Unfortunately, I don’t have much time. I will be truthful with you, Divine Monarch. I’ve been away from home for quite a while, and my heart yearns to return. If I had not met your subordinates along the way and learned that Xia Lin Lang was staying at your place as a guest, I would have left the Shattered Heaven by now.”
Cheng Yang chuckled, “It turns out that you are quite a family man, Little Brother Yang.”
Their conversation afterward was not worth mentioning. While the two of them were talking, Hong Hu followed along silently. She showed no intention of expressing her opinion on anything.
Not long afterward, the four of them arrived and landed on a certain Spirit Peak. Several figures immediately rushed out of the palace. It was Xia Lin Lang and her subordinates. They were startled and looked worried upon seeing Qin Fen and Yang Kai arriving together.
However, Xia Lin Lang immediately felt relieved when she recognised Hong Hu. She had been a guest at Four Phoenix Pavilion during her time in the Ancestral Land, so she knew Hong Hu’s identity. Hurriedly stepping forward, she gave an elegant bow, “Greetings, Lady Hong Hu.”
Hong Hu nodded lightly, “No need to be so polite.”
They did not know each other well, and could even be said that they were mere passing acquaintances, so there was nothing much to say between them.
Xia Lin Lang seemed a little confused by the situation at hand, so she glanced at Yang Kai inquiringly. Yang Kai smiled and said, “I met Brother Qin by chance when I came out of the Ancestral Land. After hearing that you are staying with the Divine Monarch as a guest, I decided to come and pay you a visit.”
She immediately understood the situation and nodded, “Knowing that my residence has been destroyed, the Divine Monarch kindly invited me to stay for a while. The Divine Monarch is so hospitable that I couldn’t refuse. I’m afraid I’ve caused trouble for the Divine Monarch.”
Cheng Yang smiled and waved his hand dismissively, “If you’re willing, you can stay here as long as you want.”
He seemed extremely friendly and hospitable, and if someone who did not know the truth were to witness this scene, they would probably believe that Xia Lin Lang had really been invited to stay here as a guest.
“It’s inappropriate to bother you for too long, Divine Monarch.” While speaking, she glanced at Yang Kai.
Yang Kai nodded, “I also have important matters at hand, so I can’t stay for long.”
Cheng Yang quickly said, “You’ve come from so far away, please allow this Monarch to show you some hospitality. To be honest with you, this Monarch rarely has people coming to visit as guests. I’ve already instructed my people to prepare a banquet. It won’t be too late to leave after.”
Yang Kai turned his head to look at Hong Hu, who nodded lightly in response.
Cheng Yang was an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, and although he was forced to buckle to the pressure and could not do anything to them, it was still better to show him some respect.
Only then did Yang Kai nod in agreement, “Since you’ve already said so much, Divine Monarch, it would be impolite for us to refuse!”
Cheng Yang laughed heartily, “As it should be! Please come this way!”
He led the crowd to a Grand Hall located on another Spirit Peak where sure enough, a banquet had been prepared. When they all took their seats, an endless number of delicacies were served to the table. There were also beautiful young women singing and dancing below them to enhance the atmosphere.
Yang Kai and Cheng Yang were like old friends who had not seen each other in a long time, drinking and toasting with each other frequently.
Hong Hu was not interested in alcohol, singing, or dancing. On the contrary, she fell in love with the beautiful and delicious fruits placed in front of her which she ate in small bites.
Meanwhile, Xia Lin Lang and the others had complicated expressions on their faces. Just yesterday, they were prisoners. They never imagined that they would become guests of honour in the blink of an eye. Their statuses had changed so quickly that they felt extremely uncomfortable. It gave them the feeling of being in a dream.
After several rounds of drinks, Cheng Yang was flushed red due to alcohol and raised his glass and said, “Little Brother Yang, if I have to say it myself, we have a friendship born from fighting each other! This Monarch rarely admires anybody, but I truly admire you! You are the first Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master to escape from this Monarch!”
Cheng Yang was absolutely ecstatic when he first heard the news that the World Spring had fallen into the hands of a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. With his strength, what was a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master in comparison? He initially assumed that it would be easy pickings if he took action himself. Who could have known that Yang Kai would give him such a huge and unpleasant surprise instead?
The strength of a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master was certainly nothing in front of Cheng Yang, but the other party was not only proficient in the Dao of Space, but also an expert at escaping. He failed to capture Yang Kai as a result. When Cheng Yang’s chase brought him into the Divine Ability Sea, he became stuck in an impossible situation. It was a miserable experience.
If not because Yang Kai wanted to borrow his strength to leave the Divine Ability Sea, Cheng Yang was certain he would have been abandoned in that shattered space. If that had happened, even an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master like himself would have been trapped inside.
It would have been impossible for him to turn his fate around again; after all, he had personally experienced the strangeness of the shattered space himself. That was why it was not a complete lie when Cheng Yang claimed that he admired Yang Kai. There was some truth and sincerity to his words.
After staying in the Ancestral Land for some time, he learned that Yang Kai was not only closely related to the Dragon Clan but he was now being personally escorted by a Master from the Phoenix Clan. At this point, there was no longer any need to yearn for the World Spring again. Cheng Yang did not have the guts to make an enemy of the Phoenix Clan in the Ancestral Land, as they were an existence even stronger than the Kun Clan.
Having gone through so much, though, it might be possible to make up for some of his losses if he could work together with Yang Kai. It was for that reason that he opened the portal of his cave mansion so enthusiastically.
After several rounds of drinks, Cheng Yang brought up the topic again, “Little Brother, I have connections and resources while you have the ability. If you and I work together, I’m sure we will profit enormously. Won’t you consider it?”
Yang Kai raised his glass and looked at Cheng Yang with a smile, “Are you talking about the matter regarding the Universe Paradises and Universe Cave Heavens, Divine Monarch?”
“Naturally!” Cheng Yang nodded. In the Shattered Heaven, only such valuable prizes would interest an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master like him. There was no saying what good things he might discover inside.
Yang Kai was about to refuse when he suddenly recalled that Xia Lin Lang seemed to be homeless after the destruction of Pear Flower Cave Heaven. The destruction of Pear Flower Cave Heaven was more or less related to him. Not to mention, she was reluctant to leave the Shattered Heaven. What would happen to her once he left?
Yang Kai pondered in silence for a moment before he said, “You mentioned that you know five or six locations suspected to have Universe Cave Heavens or Universe Paradises, right, Divine Monarch?”
Seeing that Yang Kai was interested in this matter, Cheng Yang immediately raised his brow, “That’s not all. The possibility of these five or six locations is just higher. If I include the areas with a lower probability, then there are more than ten locations. This Monarch might be in Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm, but my cultivation is useless in this regard. I have no access to them, much less the ability to determine whether a portal exists in these places. However, things would be different if you are involved, Little Brother.”
The portal of his cave mansion had been found easily by Yang Kai, and if Cheng Yang had not revealed himself in time, there were signs that the portal would have forcibly opened. The fact that the portal could even persist for that long was thanks to Cheng Yang’s years of work to reinforce and conceal it. On the other hand, the Universe Cave Heavens and Universe Paradises scattered around the Shattered Heaven were completely unoccupied. These places would be even easier to open.
Yang Kai took a small sip of his wine with an expression of indecision.
Cheng Yang struck while the iron was hot, “Rest assured, Little Brother. I won’t let your efforts be in vain. Lady Hong Hu is here too. We can ask her to be our witness.”
Yang Kai looked up at Cheng Yang, “Divine Monarch, do you mean…”
“Every undiscovered Universe Cave Heaven or Universe Paradise contains the assets and property of its former owner. If you help me determine the location and open the portals, Little Brother, this Monarch is willing to share all the proceeds with you in a 30/70 ratio!”
Yang Kai looked at Cheng Yang with a smile, “70 for me and 30 for you, Divine Monarch?”
Cheng Yang responded seriously, “You must be joking, Little Brother. Exploring the Universe Cave Heavens and Universe Paradises will require massive amounts of time and energy. They might even contain unpredictable risks. It is only natural that this Monarch will take the largest slice of the pie. Your role is only to open the door after all. You don’t need to worry about everything that comes afterward. You only need to sit back and wait for the rewards.”
Yang Kai shook his head, “30% is too little. If that’s the case, I might as well go home, bring a group of people over, and search on my own. That way, no matter how many discoveries we unearth, they will all belong to me.”
Cheng Yang chuckled, “I will not deny that you are capable, Little Brother; otherwise, I would not have asked you to cooperate with me. But, even if you are proficient in the Dao of Space, how many Universe Cave Heavens and Universe Paradises can you find over the years without any clues? The Shattered Heaven is vast, so even if you spend hundreds or thousands of years searching, you might not find a single one. On the other hand, it will be different if you cooperate with this Monarch. I can point you to several likely locations, which will save you precious time and effort.”
Yang Kai nodded, “Your words make sense, Divine Monarch. Be that as it may, you will need to show me some sincerity if you want to cooperate with me, Divine Monarch. 30/70 is unacceptable.”
Cheng Yang showed a pained expression. After hesitating for a long while, he gulped down a glass of wine and slammed his glass on the table forcefully. He quickly said, “40/60! This Monarch will take 60 and you will take 40! Let’s just say this Monarch is your friend now, Little Brother!”
Yang Kai shook his head again and raised his palm, “50/50! We’ll split the profits evenly!”
Cheng Yang bitterly said, “Little Brother, you are trying to take the lion’s share!”
Yang Kai rapped his knuckles against the table lightly, “That’s my bottom line. If it’s not okay with you, Divine Monarch, we can remain friends, but don’t bother speaking of this matter again. I will be honest with you, Divine Monarch, I do have something urgent to attend to so I need to return home as soon as possible. Lady Hong Hu is here for that reason.”
Cheng Yang glanced at Hong Hu as though trying to determine whether Yang Kai was speaking the truth. It was just that Hong Hu was eating the spirit fruit in her hands with her head lowered, so there was no way to read her expression.
After a brief struggle, he finally spoke again, “50/50 is not impossible, but this Monarch has two conditions that both Little Brother and Lady Hong Hu will need to accept.”
Hong Hu raised her head to look at him and smiled, “The affairs between the two of you have nothing to do with me. Why did I get pulled into this?”
Cheng Yang, however, replied seriously, “This matter requires you to come forward yourself, Lady Hong Hu.”
Curious now, she asked, “Go on.”
Cheng Yang abruptly ripped open his shirt and exposed his chest.
Everybody immediately looked in that direction and Xia Lin Lang gasped in shock while Yang Kai revealed a look of understanding.
Cheng Yang’s chest area was covered in what looked like fish scales. They grew densely on his skin, spreading from his chest all the way down to his waist.
He quickly explained, “After venturing deep into the Divine Spirit’s Ancestral Land, this Monarch’s body began showing signs of Monster Transformation caused by the erosion of the Ancestral Strength. Although I managed to withdraw in time, I did not come out unscathed. Following years of recuperation, I managed to resolve most of the Ancestral Strength in my body; however, a small portion remains. Like maggots on rotting bones, I am unable to get rid of them. I would like to ask Lady Hong Hu to help me resolve this calamity for me.”
The Ancestral Land’s Ancestral Strength was an extremely bizarre force. It was a force that could even suppress and seal a being as mighty as a Giant Spirit God. Cheng Yang might be in the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm, but he suffered greatly for the past few years after being contaminated by the Ancestral Strength.
It would have been nothing if he was a Divine Spirit as the Ancestral Strength would have been highly beneficial and contain no drawbacks for him. Unfortunately, he was pure Human, so the Ancestral Strength was nothing more than poison to him.
Cheng Yang was lucky that he had not been exposed to too much of the Ancestral Strength; otherwise, he would have undergone complete Monster Transformation, losing his conscious mind as a result.
Hong Hu examined him with a frown. A long while passed before she said, “I will need to check your condition thoroughly before I can be certain whether I can help you.”
To which Cheng Yang nodded, “No problem!”
After saying that, his figure flashed as he came to stand in front of her. She raised her hand and lightly touched the scales on his chest. Bits of fluorescent light flashed at the tips of her fingers and wandered across each of those scales. A short while later, she withdrew her hand.
He looked at her nervously.
Hong Hu lightly said, “Thanks to your powerful cultivation, you not only dispelled most of the Ancestral Strength, but also prevented the remaining Ancestral Strength from eroding too deeply into your body over the past few years; otherwise, it would have been useless even if I tried to help you.”
Cheng Yang was elated to hear those words, “Do you mean that you can help me dispel the rest of the Ancestral Strength, Lady Hong Hu?”
She nodded, “Give me three days.”
“Many thanks!” He breathed out deeply, feeling as though a large weight had lifted from his heart. Ever since leaving the Ancestral Land, the past few years had not been pleasant for him.
The Ancestral Strength was extremely peculiar and difficult to dispel. It did not affect his daily life for the most part, but it caused great inconvenience when it came to his cultivation. Every time he tried to exert his power, the Ancestral Strength would show signs of movement. This phenomenon made him extremely nervous. Now that he received Hong Hu’s guarantee, the depressed mood that shrouded over him for so many years lightened considerably.
“The way the Kun Clan handled this affair is wildly inappropriate. I will reprimand them for you when I get back,” she said.
Cheng Yang jumped in fright at her words and hurriedly waved his hands, “No, no. It’s simply caused by my lack of ability.”
Although he was exposed to so much Ancestral Strength because the Kun Clan had forced him to venture into the Demon Sealing Land, he did not dare to voice his dissatisfaction despite the grievances in his heart. He would not have enough lives to survive the ordeal if the Kun Clan came out of the Ancestral Land to cause trouble for him.
Yang Kai spoke up, “The first condition has been fulfilled. What is your second condition, Divine Monarch?”
Cheng Yang chuckled, “The second condition is indefinite and may never be fulfilled.”
“Please speak freely, Divine Monarch.” Yang Kai gestured politely.
“I became acquainted with you thanks to one of the Four Universe Pillars, the World Spring, so I will be truthful with you, Little Brother. I believe that there might be other Four Universe Pillars contained within the Universe Cave Heavens and Universe Paradises hidden in the Shattered Heaven. After all, the Profound Fish appeared in the world 3,000 years ago, only for the World Spring to appear now. These incidents indicate that the Four Universe Pillars might be rare, but they were not extinct in ancient times. My second condition is that… If we find any of the Four Great Universe Pillars or Twelve Minor Universe Pillars during the period of our cooperation, this Monarch will be the one to receive them. For me, most ordinary items are no longer useful. On the other hand, the Four Great Universe Pillars and the Twelve Minor Universe Pillars are extremely useful to me. Of course, if we come across such an opportunity, this Monarch will not take these items for free. You can consider it as part of my share!”
This request was not excessive. Cheng Yang was probably still obsessed over the World Spring, but Yang Kai was closely connected to the Divine Spirits in the Ancestral Land, so he could not make any moves on him. In that case, he could only settle for the second-best option.
Yang Kai nodded readily, “Good!” After a pause, he added, “But, since you have two conditions, Divine Monarch, I also have a condition of my own. I wonder if you will be able to grant my request, Divine Monarch.”
Cheng Yang smiled and said, “Since you agreed so readily, Little Brother, this Monarch will not take advantage of your good intentions. Please speak freely if you need something, Little Brother.”
Yang Kai said, “I need one of the Universe Cave Heavens after we finish exploring them. Moreover, I want you to promise me that you will never expose the location of that Universe Cave Heaven to anyone, Divine Monarch.”
Cheng Yang was about to ask what Yang Kai wanted to do with a fully-explored Universe Cave Heaven. It was no secret that these places were valuable when they remained hidden in the Void, but they quickly became of little value once somebody discovered them.
However, he suddenly noticed Xia Lin Lang sitting by the side and immediately understood the situation. He smiled and nodded, “Of course, that’s not a problem. Even if you want two or three of them, you can go ahead and take as many of them as you want, Little Brother. This Monarch will never give this information to anybody else.”
Likewise, Xia Lin Lang caught on to the situation and nodded at Yang Kai gratefully. Yang Kai was obviously asking for the Universe Cave Heaven for her sake.
At the same time, she couldn’t help feeling a little complicated. She was the one who kidnapped and brought him to Pear Flower Cave Heaven back then. It had not been many years since that incident, but now he was talking and laughing on friendly terms with Masters like Cheng Yang. Not to mention, he also had a close relationship with the Phoenix Clan of the Ancestral Land.
The negotiations were settled, and everybody was satisfied. When the banquet ended, Cheng Yang arranged accommodation for everybody and agreed to depart with Yang Kai after three days.
The reason for the delay was that Hong Hu needed three days to help him dispel the Ancestral Strength in his body. Moreover, Yang Kai had repeatedly stated that he had urgent matters to deal with and could not be delayed for too long. That was why they decided to proceed as soon as possible.
It was late at night when a knock on the door sounded. Yang Kai got up and opened the door. Xia Lin Lang was standing outside the door, so he smiled lightly when he saw her and said, “I was just about to look for you myself.”
While speaking, he stepped sideways and let her into the room.
Xia Lin Lang asked curiously, “Did you need me for something?”
“Take a seat.” Yang Kai gestured before he poured a cup of tea for her. Sitting down opposite her, he said, “Why don’t you speak first? Did you need me for something?”
“I came to thank you.” She gave a soft laugh, “I wanted to thank you for worrying about my living situation and even asking Bright Sun Divine Monarch for a Universe Cave Heaven.”
“It’s only proper; after all, I am partly responsible for the destruction of Pear Flower Cave Heaven.”
“But, the root cause lies with me. If I had not captured you back then, what happened afterward would not have taken place at all. It’s my own fault for falling into this situation. It would have been perfectly reasonable for you to ignore my circumstances; therefore, no matter what, I owe you my gratitude!”
Yang Kai waved his hand, “It’s no big deal.”
Xia Lin Lang fell silent for a moment before she looked up at him and asked, “Did you need me for something?”
“Yes. The thing is…” Yang Kai sat up straight and looked at her seriously, “I need you to do me a favour.”
“What do you need?” She was puzzled.
He explained, “You heard my negotiations with Cheng Yang during the day. If I cooperate with him, every Universe Cave Heaven or Universe Paradise we discover will mean large amounts of treasures falling into our hands. There might even be all sorts of rare or extinct items. Greed brings out the worst in people, and although Cheng Yang is an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, I cannot trust him on his word alone. I need somebody I trust to help me supervise the process, lest he engage in mischief without my knowledge. It is not convenient for me to stay in the Shattered Heaven for long, so after considering everything, I came to the conclusion that I can only ask you for help.”
Xia Lin Lang exclaimed in astonishment, “You don’t trust Cheng Yang, but you trust me?”
Yang Kai smiled, “You and I have faced life and death together multiple times. I have faith in you.”
Xia Lin Lang stared at him calmly for a moment before she burst into laughter, “You’ve already said so much, so I can only do my best to help you.”
Yang Kai nodded, “Of course, I will not ask you for help without giving you anything in return. My agreement with Cheng Yang is a 50/50 share. You can take 10% out of my share. How is that?”
Xia Lin Lang simply shook her head, “If you didn’t come here in person, I would have suffered a tragic fate. It was also you who brought me out of the shattered space back then. This Xia Lin Lang might not be a righteous woman, but I will never forget how you saved my life twice now. I will help you manage your earnings and hand them over to you untouched when you return to the Shattered Heaven in the future. As for my compensation… You’ve already paid me, haven’t you?”
Needless to say, she was referring to the fully explored Universe Cave Heaven that he previously requested from Cheng Yang. To the cultivators living in the Shattered Heaven, having a safe place to stay was their greatest refuge.
“But… in what capacity do I perform this task?” Xia Lin Lang asked.
Yang Kai briefly pondered before saying, “I am Void Land’s Lord. If you don’t mind, I can appoint you as Void Land’s High-Rank Guest Elder right here and now. What do you think?”
She pursed her lips into a smile, “I don’t mind. I’m just afraid of causing trouble for you.”
“That won’t be a problem.” Yang Kai shook his head. Raising his teacup, he gestured at her, “So, have we come to an agreement?”
“Yes, we have.” Xia Lin Lang raised her glass in a toast, and they drank to their agreement
After seeing Xia Lin Lang off, Yang Kai sat down cross-legged, immersed his mind in his Small Universe, and manifested his Soul Clone. He quickly figured out the situation in his Small Universe with a single thought.
Several years had passed since he left the shattered space, and during this period, he had been too busy to pay attention to what was happening inside his Small Universe, though he did try to keep an eye on his two Disciples, Zhao Ya and Zhao Ye Bai.
Over the years, Zhao Ya had advanced to the Transcendent Realm from the Immortal Ascension Realm and was on the verge of advancing into the Saint Realm even though her cultivation was constantly being suppressed. Her aptitude was simply Heaven-defying. Furthermore, the World Energy in his Small Universe World was so rich that her cultivation continued to improve slowly even if she did not cultivate.
What’s more, the flow of time in his Small Universe was twice that of the outside world, so the several years delay that he experienced in the outside world meant that nearly eight years had passed in his Small Universe.
On the other hand, Zhao Ye Bai, whom Yang Kai initially had high hopes for and expected to inherit his legacy one day, seemed like a worthless potato in comparison.
After returning from their training experience, Zhao Ya had advanced to the Immortal Ascension Boundary and after less than a decade was on the verge of breaking through to the Saint Realm. In contrast, Zhao Ye Bai had only just advanced from the Qi Transformation Realm, to the Separation and Reunion Boundary, and was about to reach the True Element Boundary!
Although they had both advanced by nearly two Great Realms, Zhao Ya was doing so in much higher Realms. Moreover, she had accomplished that feat whilst under suppression. Meanwhile, Zhao Ye Bai had spared no effort in his cultivation. The gap between them could be seen at a glance.
Despite Zhao Ye Bai’s slow advancement in cultivation, there was one aspect that satisfied Yang Kai immensely. The young boy had an unparalleled affinity for the Dao of Space. Every time Zhao Ye Bai cultivated, Yang Kai could more or less detect signs of the Space Dao Essence in his Small Universe being stimulated.
Yang Kai had never told them about the situation outside of his Small Universe, but now that they were on the way back to the Star Boundary, it was time to give them more information about the outside world lest they fail to adapt once he brought them back.
When he summoned the both of them, the two little ones were naturally surprised to see their Honoured Master and quickly bowed in greeting.
He briefly told them about the 3,000 Worlds, followed by information on Void Land. Lastly, he told them about the situation in the Star Boundary. He also told them that the Star Boundary was the best place for them to cultivate before they reached the Open Heaven Realm.
Zhao Ya and Zhao Ye Bai listened with great fascination, looking absolutely entranced by his tales. They never imagined that the world outside could be so vast and interesting.
After spending half a day explaining the situation in the outside world to them, he also answered some of their questions about their daily cultivation. Only then did he prepare to leave.
“Honoured Master!” Zhao Ye Bai suddenly called out to Yang Kai.
Yang Kai looked back.
“Will my Mother and my Grandma also go to the Star Boundary?” Zhao Ye Bai asked.
Yang Kai shook his head, “Both your Mother and your Grandma are ordinary mortals who have never cultivated. If they are in my Small Universe, I can ensure that they remain alive and well so long as I do not perish; however, they will not live long once they leave my Small Universe.”
Zhao Ye Bai’s expression turned a little sad. He had guessed that the reason his Mother and his Grandma remained so young and beautiful was related to his Honoured Master. His Grandma was already well over 100 years old, but her body remained healthy and her hair even turned from white to black. Be that as it may, he could not help feeling a little depressed when he heard those words being spoken out loud.
“If you have time on your hands, you should go down the mountain to spend more time with your Mother and your Grandma. If you teach them some Breathing Techniques, they can use them to enhance their health even if they have passed the best age to cultivate. In addition, your Small Universe will change from ethereal to corporeal once your cultivation reaches the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm. When you reach that stage one day, you can transfer your Mother and your Grandma into your own Small Universe. Then, you can meet them whenever you want.”
Zhao Ye Bai immediately shouted excitedly, “This Disciple will work hard to cultivate! I will not let you down, Honoured Master!”
Zhao Ya swiftly kicked him, “Honoured Master has already left!”
He scratched his head and chuckled in embarrassment, “I’m sure Honoured Master can hear me. We are inside his Small Universe after all. He knows everything.”
She glanced sideways at him, “Including how there was a Junior Sister who waited for you at the foot of the mountain and handed you a letter recently?”
Zhao Ye Bai turned pale with fright, “You saw that, Xiao Ya!?”
“Hmph!” She clasped her hands behind her back and turned her back towards him.
Three days later, a portal opened wide and a large number of people rushed out from within. Cheng Yang and Yang Kai stood side by side while Hong Hu stood close behind them. Further behind came Xia Lin Lang, Qin Fen, and the others. Bringing up the rear were dozens of Cheng Yang’s subordinates.
Yang Kai glanced behind him, “You sure have a mighty army with the finest of arms under you, Divine Monarch!”
Cheng Yang was in the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm, and there were two Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters under his command. Furthermore, he had more than ten Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters while there were several dozen Fifth and Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters below them. No one was below the Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm.
Such a line-up was something that not even the current Void Land could compare to. Of course, these people were nothing if Zhu Jiu Yin and Old Man Bi Xi were included in Void Land’s forces.
Cheng Yang alone had such an impressive army under his command, so it was reasonable to assume the other two Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters in the Shattered Heaven had equivalent forces.
Just how many Open Heaven Realm Masters were hidden in the Shattered Heaven?
Needless to say, Yang Kai was the one to request for so many people to be mobilised at once. He could not afford to linger in the Shattered Heaven for too long, so he could only ask Cheng Yang to dispatch more people.
After hearing what Yang Kai said, Cheng Yang chuckled, “Everyone knows that the Cave Heavens and Paradises have as many Masters as there are clouds in the sky, but nobody knows that there are many capable people in the Shattered Heaven, too. It’s just that the existence of the people in the Shattered Heaven are secrets that can never be brought to light.”
Yang Kai’s heart trembled, “Do you know the reason why the Cave Heavens and Paradises make things so difficult for High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters like yourself?”
Cheng Yang burst into laughter, “Will you believe me if I say that I don’t know much either, Little Brother?”
Yang Kai nodded, “Of course, I believe you.”
Cheng Yang nodded, “There are rumours saying that the Cave Heavens and Paradises do this to strengthen their dominance over the 3,000 Worlds. That’s why all the cultivators who advance into the High-Rank Open Heaven Realm but do not originate from the Cave Heavens and Paradises will be invited to join them. They either become part of the Cave Heavens and Paradises or they disappear without a trace. But, this Monarch does not believe that the Cave Heavens and Paradises, which have endured for countless eons and remained so powerful and prosperous, could be so spineless and underhanded.”
Yang Kai nodded lightly. Likewise, this was something he had always thought to be strange. The Cave Heavens and Paradises boasted an inheritance that was passed down for countless generations. Not to mention, there were many High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters in those Sects to begin with. Why would they need to use such despicable means to strengthen their dominance over others?
It might have been a plausible reason if it involved only one or two of the Cave Heavens and Paradises; however, all 108 Cave Heavens and Paradises carried the same attitude. It was only natural for people to wonder about the actual reason.
“This Monarch has always believed that the major Cave Heavens and Paradises are hiding some huge secret. Moreover, this secret is something only the High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters have the qualification to know. That is why all the High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters who do not originate from the Cave Heavens and Paradises tend to suffer a tragic fate. There are no exceptions. Why else would we hide in the Shattered Heaven for so many years? The 3,000 Worlds is vast and magnificent, so why wouldn’t we wish to travel the world and witness the wonderful sights?”
“A secret…” Yang Kai murmured under his breath. Although he could not determine whether Cheng Yang ‘s speculation was true or false, his limited knowledge of the situation indicated that there was some truth to those words.
Cheng Yang turned to the side and smiled, “Little Brother, you are different from this Monarch. Your potential is great. If you can figure out the truth one day, please let me know. It will answer all the questions that have been swirling around in this Monarch’s heart for so many years.”
“Good!” Yang Kai nodded. Now that he was in the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm, advancing into the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm was something in the near future. Despite bearing the title of Yin-Yang Cave Heaven’s Son-in-law, he was not actually from any of the Cave Heavens and Paradises. There was no saying whether he might actually learn the secret mentioned by Cheng Yang when he advanced into the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm.
A sudden thought struck him. The Proprietress had been in retreat for so many years now. It was certain that she would advance into the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm when she came out of retreat, so what kind of difficulties would she face at that time? If the Cave Heavens and Paradises really did come forward, what would happen if he refused their demands?
Several days later, a group of people came to a stop in the void.
Cheng Yang carefully observed his surroundings before he nodded at Yang Kai in confirmation, “If this Monarch is not mistaken, there’s a high probability that a portal is hidden here. When this Monarch passed through this place in the past, the portal showed faint signs of opening only to vanish in the next instant. This Monarch has been searching for a long time, but my efforts have proven to be in vain. That’s why I could only mark down the location for the time being. Over the years, I would come here from time to time to investigate only to come up empty-handed. It’s up to you now, Little Brother.”
Yang Kai nodded and immediately manipulated his Space Principles.
Just like the previous occasion, a layer of ripples that were visible to the naked eye gradually spread out into the surroundings with him at the centre. Everywhere the ripples passed, space would become distorted.
The several dozen subordinates under Cheng Yang’s command watched with interest. The same was true even for Cheng Yang. Although he had vaguely seen some of the scenes when he was hiding in his home previously, that experience was far less profound than this time.
The layer of ripples created by the Space Principles was undoubtedly the best way-finding stones in the Void. If there was a portal hidden in this place, the ripples that swept over the portal were bound to produce a different reaction compared to the other areas.
This scene amazed Cheng Yang greatly. [Space Principles sure are useful in this situation. If only I was proficient in the Dao of Space, I’m certain I could discover all the Universe Cave Heavens and Universe Paradises hidden in the Shattered Heaven with enough time.]
It had to be said that these Universe Cave Heavens and Universe Paradises were relics left behind in ancient times, so there was a high possibility that valuable treasures were hidden in them. After all, both the Profound Fish that appeared 3,000 years ago and the World Spring that appeared recently had emerged from Universe Cave Heavens left behind in ancient times. Two of the Four Universe Pillars had already appeared, so who could say whether more would be found?
An incense stick later, Yang Kai abruptly turned to look in a certain direction. There was a slightly different fluctuation in the Void coming from that direction.
Cheng Yang followed Yang Kai’s gaze, but could not detect any anomalies.
Nevertheless, another incense later, with Yang Kai diligently focusing his Space Principles in that direction, the anomaly in the Void was finally revealed. It became obvious that there was a large area that was different from the surrounding space.
“There is one here after all!” Cheng Yang exclaimed in excitement.
Yang Kai replied lightly, “I wonder whether it is a Universe Cave Heaven or a Universe Paradise.”
If it was a Universe Cave Heaven, then it was the legacy left behind by an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master or even a Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. If it was a Universe Paradise, then it was the legacy of a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, so the value would not be as great as the former. Even so, every single Universe Cave Heaven or Universe Paradise would at least contain the Dao Essence cultivated by the original Master.
Yang Kai had devoured the Spear Dao Essence in Pear Flower Cave Heaven and improved his mastery over the Spear Dao by leaps and bounds. These Dao Essences were undoubtedly a huge treasure for cultivators who cultivated that particular Dao.
Another hour passed by, and a huge gaping hole suddenly appeared in the Void, becoming a black hole with a clear aura of a Small Universe radiating from within.
The portal was open!
Yang Kai and Cheng Yang exchanged a glance with each other before the two of them moved at the same time and plunged into the portal. Hong Hu and Xia Lin Lang followed closely behind. Meanwhile, the rest stood outside waiting.
An hour later, four figures emerged. It was Yang Kai and the others.
“Sir, what is the situation inside?” One of the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters under Cheng Yang quickly asked about the situation.
Cheng Yang replied, “This is a Universe Paradise. The former Master was probably proficient in the Sword Dao. The Sword Dao Essence is quite abundant.” After saying that, he picked out a few people and instructed, “You will stay behind to explore this Universe Paradise. Any harvests must be organised and recorded. Pocketing anything privately will not be forgiven.”
“Yes!” Those people accepted the orders.
Afterward, he turned to Yang Kai and added, “I will leave the rest to you, Little Brother Yang.”
“En!” Yang Kai nodded and reached out his hand to cover the portal. Under the urging of Space Principles, the obviously abnormal Void gradually repaired itself and became indistinguishable from the surrounding environment after a while. Taking out a token, he injected his Aura and engraved some Space Principles into it, “I’ve used a Secret Technique to conceal the portal so that outsiders will not be aware of it even if they pass by this place. You can explore this place with peace of mind. In order to enter and exit through the portal, you will need this token. Recklessly trespassing into this place will most likely get you exiled to the Void.”
The expressions of the Open Heaven Realm Masters picked out by Cheng Yang immediately became unpleasant. Yang Kai’s actions clearly indicated that he did not trust them; otherwise, why would he create the token?
Even the eyes of Cheng Yang flashed slightly at those words. He never expected Yang Kai to pull out such a card.
Yang Kai ignored them, however, and simply handed the token to Xia Lin Lang before saying, “Gather up some people to stay behind to help with the exploration.”
Xia Lin Lang nodded and glanced at Qin Fen, “Qin Fen, you stay here.”
Qin Fen took the token and quickly said, “Yes!”
Yang Kai turned to the side and looked at Cheng Yang, “The next spot?”
Cheng Yang gave a slight smile, “Please follow me, Little Brother.”
They set off again with great energy while Qin Fen and Cheng Yang’s subordinates stayed behind, watching the group’s departure. It was not until the departing group was out of sight that they finally entered the Universe Paradise under Qin Fen’s lead.
Cheng Yang had been living in the Shattered Heaven for over 10,000 years. He spent most of his time in seclusion, sometimes spending up to several hundred or even 1,000 years in retreat. Even so, when it came to familiarity with the Shattered Heaven, there was nobody better than him except maybe the two other Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters.
After so many years, it was only natural for him to know various bits of information that other people might not know. For example, the locations where the portals of various Universe Paradises and Universe Cave Heaven might be hidden.
Under Cheng Yang’s guidance, Yang Kai searched no less than ten locations in the short span of three months. All of these locations were suspected to have hidden Universe Cave Heavens or Universe Paradises.
In the end, they discovered a total of five portals. The other five locations came up empty. Nevertheless, a success rate of 50% was very high. It could be said that Cheng Yang ‘s information was extremely accurate.
No matter how proficient Yang Kai was in the Dao of Space, he would never have found any of these portals within the Shattered Heaven without Cheng Yang’s guidance. During his escape with Xia Lin Lang previously, he had tried looking for a hidden Universe Cave Heaven or Universe Paradise to seek refuge, but his efforts had been fruitless.
Among these five portals, three of them were Universe Paradises while the other two were Universe Cave Heavens. The harvest was bound to be plentiful if all of them could be fully explored and developed.
Yang Kai had nothing to worry about after leaving Xia Lin Lang to supervise the proceedings here. Regardless of the valuable treasures that might be discovered in these five locations, he and Cheng Yang would split the gains equally among them. As for where Xia Lin Lang would eventually decide to choose as her residence, that would be up to her own consideration.
“Little Brother, are you sure you don’t want to stay in the Shattered Heaven for a few more days?” After seeing what Yang Kai could do, Cheng Yang was reluctant to let him leave so easily, “I will be honest with you, Little Brother. I’m certain that Ku Yan and Tian Luo also know where some likely portals are located. If you can stay for a little while, this Monarch can ask them about these locations.”
The names ‘Ku Yan’ and ‘Tian Luo’ that he mentioned were the names of the other two Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters in the Shattered Heaven. There was a total of three Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters in the Shattered Heaven, and while they could not claim to be close friends, there was bound to be some communication between them.
Yang Kai smiled, “There’s no need to be so anxious, Divine Monarch. I will probably visit the Shattered Heaven again in the future. If you wish, you might as well make some inquiries first. It won’t be too late for us to cooperate again when I return next time!”
Cheng Yang raised his eyebrows, “That’s a promise then!”
Yang Kai nodded and turned to look at Xia Lin Lang, “If anything comes up, send Qin Fen to Void Land to find me!”
Xia Lin Lang nodded, “I will. Take care!”
Only then did Yang Kai turn to Cheng Yang and cupped his fist, “Until we meet again!”
“Come back soon, Little Brother. This Monarch will be waiting to hear from you!”
Yang Kai shot a glance at Hong Hu, and the two of them rushed into the depths of the void together.
After watching the two figures disappearing into the distance, Cheng Yang finally smiled and said, “Young Lady Xia, have you decided which Universe Cave Heaven you want yet?”
Xia Lin Lang replied, “Not yet. I wish to have a better look at them first.”
“As it should be. You have to shop around before buying something, even more so when it comes to choosing a place to stay. Take your time to compare between them. You only need to inform this Monarch once you have decided. Since Little Brother Yang and I have an agreement, I will not go back on my word. You should also rest assured. I will definitely keep my men tight-lipped about the location you choose as your residence. I will never reveal a word to the outside world.”
Xia Lin Lang gave an elegant bow, “Many thanks for your kindness, Divine Monarch!”
…..
Two figures transformed into streams of light that sped through the void as swiftly as the wind.
A month later, Yang Kai and Hong Hu finally came out of the Shattered Heaven. It was not until this moment that Hong Hu, who only recently left the Ancestral Land after living there for her entire life, could be regarded as having seen the splendour of the 3,000 Worlds.
Unlike the desolation found everywhere in the Shattered Heaven, each Great Territory that they passed through was filled with countless twinkling Stars and flickering lights. Moreover, the vitality nurtured by the many Universe Worlds and Spirit Provinces could clearly be felt.
Returning to Void Land from the Shattered Heaven was a long journey that took an extensive amount of time. That was because it was Hong Hu’s first time leaving the Ancestral Land, so she had never left her Imprint in any of the Universe Temples located throughout the Great Territories before.
They had no choice but to travel through each Great Territory with their strength alone. As a result, the time spent on their journey was undoubtedly longer than Yang Kai’s initial trip.
Yang Kai did not return directly to Void Land either. Instead, he first took a trip to Great Evolution Territory. He had not forgotten about the palace artifact he previously commissioned Grandmaster Ma Fan to refine.
So many years had passed since then, so the palace artifact should have been refined by now. Ever since witnessing the wonders of Heavenly Sword Union’s Heavenly Sword Palace, he had been green with envy towards those with palace artifacts.
Although the Dragon Clan’s Crystal Palace could be said to be a palace artifact, and a supremely high-end one at that, it was related to the Dragon Clan’s cultivation and inheritance, so it was not something he could wield carelessly. That was why he left the Crystal Palace in Four Phoenix Pavilion before he departed from the Ancestral Land.
Inside Great Evolution Territory, Yang Kai found the portal of Great Evolution Paradise with ease. Cupping his fist, he shouted in a loud voice, “Grandmaster, this Junior is here per our agreement. Please open the way.”
Following that, the portal opened. Yang Kai and Hong Hu slipped inside and a figure came to greet them. It was a young and beautiful girl.
“Junior Sister Cen!” Yang Kai nodded. He recognised that person as one of the remnants of Great Evolution Paradise known as Cen Cen, who was in the Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm.
During his last visit here, he had gotten to know several Open Heaven Realm Masters of Great Evolution Paradise, and Cen Cen was one of them. There was also another person called Nalan Lu Shui, who was in the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm. At the moment, Nalan Lu Shui was nowhere to be seen. There was no saying where she had gone.
“Senior Brother Yang!” Cen Cen returned the greeting and shot a curious glance at Hong Hu, who was standing behind Yang Kai.
“Is the Grandmaster here?” Yang Kai asked.
She nodded, “He’s here. Old Ancestor has been waiting for you. What you asked for has been completed, but…”
“But what?” A feeling of panic gripped Yang Kai’s heart as he secretly wondered whether something had gone wrong with his palace artifact.
She whispered, “Old Ancestor has been in a terrible mood recently.”
Yang Kai failed to stifle his laughter as he asked, “Why?”
“A bunch of hateful people arrived.” Cen Cen pouted, “You’ll see for yourself once you’ve met Old Ancestor.”
While speaking, she took the lead and showed them the way.
Yang Kai couldn’t help feeling surprised. Not many people knew about the remnants of Great Evolution Paradise. He only knew about them from the Proprietress, so who would come here? Not to mention, with Grandmaster Ma Fan’s cultivation and status, who could put him in a terrible mood?
The pair followed behind Cen Cen and soon arrived at Grandmaster Ma Fan’s personal meditation area. Before they even got close though, Hong Hu whispered in Yang Kai’s ear, “Be careful, there are quite a few powerful little ones inside the room.”
Yang Kai raised his brow at those words. Hong Hu was on par with a top Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master in strength; therefore, people that she would consider powerful would not be just any stray cat or dog by the side of the road. They were definitely in the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm or above. What’s more, High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters could only be from the Cave Heavens and Paradises.
Cen Cen stopped in front of them and turned around to speak, “Old Ancestor is inside. Please enter on your own, Senior Brother.”
“Many thanks, Junior Sister Cen.”
She then darted her eyes back around a bit before saying, “If you really want to thank me, then please speak to Old Ancestor on my behalf. Bring me along when you return to the Star Boundary. It has been so long since I last met Senior Sister Lan. I miss her greatly.”
“I’ll do my best.” Yang Kai smiled.
Cen Cen pumped her fists and cheered for him, “I’m counting on you!”
After Cen Cen departed, Yang Kai finally took a step forward with Hong Hu. Many eyes instantly turned to look at him as soon as he entered the hall. Yang Kai looked up and couldn’t help revealing a look of surprise. Staring at one of the old men, he laughed, “Elder Yu?”
The old man was Yu Chang Dao of Free and Unfettered Paradise. He was also High Heaven Palace’s Supreme High-Rank Guest Elder on paper. Having taken a fancy to a baby with the Innate Dao Body back in the Star Boundary, Yu Chang Dao had wanted to take the child on as his Legacy Disciple.
However, the baby’s Mother had insisted that her deceased husband’s dying wish was for the child to join High Heaven Palace. No matter how he tried to persuade her, she had refused to change her mind.
In the end, Yang Kai came up with a brilliant solution to the problem. He invited Yu Chang Dao into High Heaven Palace to become the Supreme High-Rank Guest Elder. In this way, the child would remain as a High Heaven Palace disciple even though his Master was Yu Chang Dao. Not only would Yu Chang Dao get his wish, but High Heaven Palace would also receive an additional Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master as a Supreme High-Rank Guest Elder!
It could be said to be a win-win solution where everybody was happy!
After Yang Kai left the Star Boundary, the first thing he did was to study and repair several broken Universe Temples scattered across the 3,000 Worlds. Next, he went to the Black Prison to transport Ore Stars from its depths to its periphery. Then, he cultivated inside the Astral Wind Divine Ability in the Shattered Heaven. When he obtained the World Spring, he was pursued relentlessly and entered the Ancestral Land as a result. Inside the Ancestral Land, he unlocked the Demon Sealing Land and improved his Dragon Vein to become a Grand Dragon.
In the blink of an eye, several decades had passed!
Yang Kai never imagined that he would run into Yu Chang Dao here, and it was not just him either. The other people in the room were also very familiar to him. They were the foreign affairs envoys from the major Cave Heavens and Paradises who should be watching over the Star Boundary.
Leaving aside Yu Chang Dao of Free and Unfettered Paradise, there was also Hong Xiang Ling of Azure Void Cave Heaven, Duan Rui Shan of Clear Mind Cave Heaven, and Lu Zhen Yang of Azure Nether Paradise. Hong Xiang Ling had persistently tried to matchmake Yang Kai in the past, so Yang Kai had a deep impression of the old man as a result.
There were a total of four Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, and each of them was more or less the representatives of their respective Cave Heavens and Paradises. These four people were no strangers to Yang Kai either as they had all gone to the Star Boundary and met him before.
On the other hand, Grandmaster Ma Fan was nowhere to be seen.
“Sect Master!” Yu Chang Dao stood up. Although his cultivation was higher than Yang Kai’s, he still held the title of High Heaven Palace’s Supreme High-Rank Guest Elder. He could also be regarded as part of High Heaven Palace, so it was only natural for him to be a bit polite towards Yang Kai.
Hong Xiang Ling laughed heartily, “Yang Boy!”
“Senior Hong!” Yang Kai cupped his fist and asked curiously, “Why are you here?”
Hong Xiang Ling chuckled, “Why can’t we be here? What about you, kid? Why did you come here?”
Yang Kai replied, “I previously commissioned the Grandmaster to refine an artifact for me, so I am here to collect it as promised!”
Hong Xiang Ling nodded and exclaimed, “The World Tree sure is amazing! I can’t believe it actually made the Iron Rooster move! I was wondering why he brought a group of his disciples to the Star Boundary several dozen years ago. It turns out that you had already made a deal!”
“Who are you calling an Iron Rooster?” A dissatisfied voice rang out as Grandmaster Ma Fan walked out of the room in the back and glared at Hong Xiang Ling.
Hong Xiang Ling slapped his mouth lightly and shamelessly responded, “I was talking about myself!”
“Hmph!” Grandmaster Ma Fan coldly snorted. Only then did he turn to look in Yang Kai’s direction. It was just that he did not look at Yang Kai, but rather at Hong Hu who was standing behind him, asking in a solemn tone, “This is…”
Yu Chang Dao, Hong Xiang Ling, and the others had also been curious about Hong Hu’s identity. Despite being in the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm, they couldn’t help feeling a slight pressure from the woman in front of them even though the other party was not even exerting the slightest bit of strength.
Under these circumstances, it was only natural that they were concerned about her identity. It was just that Yang Kai did not take the initiative to introduce her, so they could not ask. Although they could not ask, Grandmaster Ma Fan was forced to. He was the Master of this place after all. Besides, he would not have revealed himself if he had not detected this woman’s unique aura.
Yang Kai quickly introduced Hong Hu, “This is Senior Hong Hu.”
Afterward, he introduced everybody else to Hong Hu, one by one.
Hong Hu smiled and nodded.
Yu Chang Dao raised a greying brow at those words, “I’ve heard that there are five Phoenixes. Red Phoenix, Azure Qing Luan, Yellow Yuan Chu, Purple Yue Zhuo, and White Hong Hu. Your aura seems… a little different.”
He only had this association after seeing that she was dressed in white.
She smiled and said, “I am the White Hong Hu you’re thinking of.”
Everybody turned pale without exception.
Yu Chang Dao said solemnly, “Forgive us for our disrespect!”
Meanwhile, Hong Xiang Ling asked seriously, “Why did the Phoenix Clan return?”
Hong Hu looked at him in confusion, “What?”
He frowned, “Didn’t you return from that place?”
“What place?” She queried, “I came from the Divine Spirit’s Ancestral Land in the Shattered Heaven.”
The High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters in the hall exchanged glances before Hong Xiang Ling quickly said, “I must have made a mistake. Please forgive me.”
Hong Hu gave Hong Xiang Ling a strange look and seemed pensive; likewise, Yang Kai looked confused.
When Hong Hu revealed her identity earlier, they had such a look of despair on their faces that one would have thought that the sky was falling. When Hong Hu explained that she was from the Ancestral Land in the Shattered Heaven though, they became extremely relieved instead.
[Where is this place that Hong Xiang Ling mentioned? What does it have to do with the Phoenix Clan?] Just as Yang Kai was pondering these questions, Grandmaster Ma Fan stretched out his hand and tossed out something. An object came flying towards Yang Kai.
Yang Kai instinctively caught the object, and when he looked down, he saw that it was a miniature palace countless times smaller than normal. His eyes immediately lit up at the sight and he exclaimed in delight, “Grandmaster, is this…”
“Purple Heaven Palace!” Grandmaster Ma Fan replied casually, “It can be said that it lives up to its name. Refining this item cost an arm and a leg; however, these materials were provided by High Heaven Palace and Void Land. As for the details of how many resources were used, you only need to ask your Head Manager for the details. I also integrated the Purple Heaven Divine Thunder that you left with me back then. You can slowly explore the specific effects after you finish refining it.”
Yang Kai played with the palace lovingly and said, “Many thanks, Grandmaster.”
The Crystal Palace could not be used carelessly, so it could be said that the Purple Heaven Palace was his first palace artifact. As for how much this palace artifact had cost, Yang Kai currently owned a First Class Star City and a large stake in a Super Star City. He also occupied the New Great Territory and the Black Territory, so how could he be troubled by something like cost? What’s more, Cheng Yang and Xia Lin Lang were currently exploring the five Universe Cave Heavens and Universe Paradises. Once these places had been fully explored, Yang Kai would gain yet another source of income.
The Void Land of today was no longer the same Void Land that used to worry about resources. There was an abundance in the storage and distribution of cultivation materials.
“Your skills are amazing indeed, Grandmaster,” Duan Rui Shan of Clear Mind Cave Heaven praised.
As one of the 36 Cave Heavens, it was a given that Clear Mind Cave Heaven had its own skilled artisans. It was not difficult for them to refine a palace artifact, but doing so as skillfully as Grandmaster Ma Fan was not easy. The palace artifact he refined was so small and exquisite that it could be held in one hand. That was the gap in their skills. Moreover, it was a gap that was absolutely impossible to overcome.
Yang Kai was happily playing with the palace artifact that Grandmaster Ma Fan had named the Purple Heaven Palace when he heard Grandmaster Ma Fan’s voice ringing throughout the room, “Allow me to be honest with you all. I am now High Heaven Palace’s Supreme High-Rank Guest Elder. I cannot make the final decision regarding your request. You should discuss it with the Sect Master instead.”
Yang Kai’s delighted expression turned to surprise as he instinctively felt as though he had been tricked. It was an ominous feeling indeed.
As an Artifact Refining Grandmaster, Ma Fan naturally had superb skills. There were only a handful of people throughout the vast 3,000 Worlds whose Artifact Refining skills could compare with his.
When others refined a palace artifact, it was almost a certainty that several dozens or even hundreds of Artifact Refiners would need to work together to complete the project. Even if their skills were superior, it would still be a collaboration between a dozen people at the least.
In contrast, Grandmaster Ma Fan had refined the Purple Heaven Palace all by himself from start to finish!
The number of people across the 3,000 Worlds who could achieve such a feat could be counted on one hand; therefore, an Artifact Refiner with such superb skills like him was a rare and precious talent for any of the Cave Heavens or Paradises. Forget Yang Kai’s yearning to recruit him, even the 36 Cave Heavens and 72 Paradises coveted him!
It was not that nobody had tried to recruit him; in fact, almost every Cave Heaven and Paradise had sent representatives to recruit him over the past many years. Even though they offered generous and bountiful rewards, Ma Fan rejected every single offer without exception. In his opinion, Great Evolution Paradise was his root. He was born as part of Great Evolution Paradise, and he would die as part of Great Evolution Paradise!
Yang Kai had the same idea at the beginning, so he tried to recruit Grandmaster Ma Fan as a Supreme High-Rank Guest Elder of High Heaven Palace. After gaining insight into the current situation of Great Evolution Paradise, he even used the existence of the World Tree as bait to lure Grandmaster Ma Fan into working for him.
It was just that Grandmaster Ma Fan never accepted the offer to serve as a Supreme High-Rank Guest Elder, though he did agree to refine the palace artifact for Yang Kai. In this matter, Yang Kai had never pressured him into making a decision either.
Who could have known that Grandmaster Ma Fan would make such a shocking statement when Yang Kai was completely clueless about the current situation?
For that reason, Yang Kai’s first reaction was not joy, as he felt that something extremely troublesome had fallen into his hands. He was still reeling from the shock when Yu Chang Dao looked at him with bright eyes, “You’re part of the family, Grandmaster? That’s great! Sect Master, we need to take good care of our family!”
Meanwhile, Hong Xiang Ling went one step further. He stood up and walked over to Yang Kai, “Yang Boy, I have a Disciple in the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm. Not only is she as beautiful as a flower, but she also has a gentle temperament. It’s just that she has yet to meet a suitable life companion. More importantly, she has never been exposed to love and romance. She has always been obsessed with cultivation, so much so that she is showing signs of cultivation dissonance. I believe she needs a young and handsome man like you to save her…”
Before Hong Xiang Ling could finish speaking, Duan Rui Shan slapped his palm on Hong Xiang Ling’s face and pushed the latter aside, “Sect Master Yang, feel free to mention any conditions you want. I will not refuse as long as your demands are within Clear Mind Cave Heaven’s abilities to fulfil!”
Lu Zhen Yang of Azure Nether Paradise also chimed in, “Does High Heaven Palace need another Supreme High-Rank Guest Elder? This Lu has always felt a sense of kinship with High Heaven Palace. It’s a pity that you’ve been away for such a long time, Sect Master Yang. I could not join even though I wanted to join High Heaven Palace so badly.”
All four High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters stared at Yang Kai with burning gazes, like starving ghosts faced with a table full of delicacies. They practically scrambled over each other to speak in their excitement.
Yang Kai couldn’t help feeling dumbfounded as he hesitantly asked, “W-What are you talking about?”
Seeing Yang Kai’s confused expression, which did not seem fake, the four High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters couldn’t help looking at each other.
Hong Xiang Ling was the one who eventually asked, “Kid, you still don’t know?”
“What should I know?” Yang Kai countered, “I just returned from the Shattered Heaven and only came here to retrieve my artifact from Grandmaster Ma Fan.”
Lu Zhen Yang frowned and turned to look at Grandmaster Ma Fan, “Grandmaster, can Sect Master Yang really call the shots on this matter? He doesn’t seem to know anything.”
Grandmaster Ma Fan just sat there and watched them with a smile. Reaching out his hand, he took out a wine bottle and took a sip before he nodded, “Of course, he can! Well, even if he couldn’t before, now that I’ve said so, he has the authority to make the decision!”
The four Masters’ gazes became scorching hot once more.
Yang Kai’s expression turned bitter, “Grandmaster, just what is this situation? The least you could have done was to inform me about it beforehand.”
Grandmaster Ma Fan pondered in silence for a moment before he stood up, “Follow me!”
After saying that, he strode outside.
Yang Kai put the Purple Heaven Palace away and hurriedly followed. Hong Hu wanted to come along, but he waved her away and asked her to stay behind. Following Grandmaster Ma Fan out of the Grand Hall, he walked deeper into the void.
Grandmaster Ma Fan’s voice came from the front, “Great Evolution Paradise has two Core Treasures. One of them is a replica of the Universe Furnace. The genuine Universe Furnace is practically impossible to find; moreover, it contains the Universe Essence and produces Innate Open Heaven Pills. Consuming Innate Open Heaven Pills will allow any Open Heaven Realm Master to break through their shackles and reach the next Order, without any limitations or drawbacks. The Open Heaven Pills that are commonly used in the world today were created by the ancient Great Experts who extensively studied the Universe Furnace’s Open Heaven Pills and consequently developed a pill recipe based on their research. The genuine Universe Furnace shakes the very foundation of the 3,000 Worlds every time it appears in the world, but nobody is capable of possessing it. The Ancestors of Great Evolution Paradise were fortunate enough to see the Universe Furnace in person and threw themselves into long years of research. As a result, they spent countless years and resources to create a replica of the Universe Furnace. Although it is not nearly as profound as the real Universe Furnace, it is quite extraordinary in and of itself. This Old Master performs Artifact Refining with its help. You’ve seen that for yourself.”
Yang Kai nodded. When he first came here with the Proprietress to commission Grandmaster Ma Fan for an artifact, he had seen the latter activating the power of the Sun’s True Fire to refine an artifact using the replica of the Universe Furnace.
“The second treasure is known as the Good Fortune Divine Furnace!” Grandmaster Ma Fan’s voice became solemn.
“Good Fortune Divine Furnace?” Yang Kai raised his brow at those words.
“This one is not a replica or imitation, but a naturally formed treasurer!” There was a sense of pride in Grandmaster Ma Fan’s voice, “According to the records written by my Ancestors, the Good Fortune Divine Furnace suddenly appeared in Great Evolution Paradise one day. It can be considered a gift from the Heavens. The World’s blessings are infinitely mysterious after all.”
Yang Kai asked curiously, “What makes the Good Fortune Divine Furnace so special?”
Grandmaster Ma Fan replied, “You’ll know when you see it for yourself.”
Yang Kai did not ask any more questions.
A short while later, they arrived in the depths of the void. There was a barrier shrouding over this area and Yang Kai could sense an extremely hostile aura before he even approached, naturally terrifying him.
It had to be said that even though he was only in the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm, he could rival a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master in strength when he transformed into his Grand Dragon Form; therefore, for him to have such a reaction only went to show the ferocity of the barrier.
“This place was originally Great Evolution Paradise’s highest level Restricted Area. Non-members of Great Evolution Paradise would never be allowed to enter. However, with the passage of time, Great Evolution Paradise has become desolate, so there is no reason to hold on to such rules anymore.” Grandmaster Ma Fan explained while taking out a crude and simple token. Forming a seal with his hands, a mysterious light penetrated the token before shooting out and transforming into a tunnel of light.
Grandmaster Ma Fan took the lead to enter the passage, and Yang Kai followed closely behind. The two of them walked along the tunnel that seemed tens of thousands of kilometres long, and at the end of the passage, a three-legged furnace that was as tall as a person and carved with intricate patterns that covered the entire surface entered Yang Kai’s vision.
“Is this the Good Fortune Divine Furnace?” Yang Kai observed the furnace curiously.
At first glance, there was nothing particularly strange or special about the Good Fortune Divine Furnace. The only thing that caught Yang Kai’s attention was the grey fog that permeated the interior of the furnace. It was extremely strange and when his Divine Sense penetrated the grey fog, it was like a rock sinking deep into the sea. The grey fog filled the entire Good Fortune Divine Furnace; moreover, it crept about slowly like a living thing.
Yang Kai frowned slightly and asked, “Is it alive?”
For a moment, he could swear that he detected a peculiar vitality from the Good Fortune Divine Furnace.
Grandmaster Ma Fan shook his head, “It is neither alive nor dead. Even the Ancestors of Great Evolution Paradise could not determine whether the Good Fortune Divine Furnace was considered a living thing or not. They couldn’t even figure out why it appeared here in the first place. There were no signs before its sudden appearance, and nobody could move the furnace after it appeared here.”
“What a strange thing!” Yang Kai observed for a while before he asked, “What is so special about the Good Fortune Divine Furnace?”
Grandmaster Ma Fan said, “I’ll show you.”
While speaking, he made a sweeping motion with his hand and a large number of materials that exuded rich Wood Element Power were thrown into the Good Fortune Divine Furnace.
Yang Kai could clearly tell that the Wood Element materials were of rather good quality.
All of them were Fifth-Order materials; furthermore, there were also quite a lot of them, as many as ten. After the many Fifth-Order Wood Element materials were thrown into the Good Fortune Divine Furnace, the grey fog wriggled and swallowed them whole. In the next moment, they vanished out of sight.
Grandmaster Ma Fan waited quietly for a while before he took out another Fifth-Order Wood Element material and threw it into the grey fog.
There was still no movement, so he tossed in another!
After repeating his actions four more times, the grey fog suddenly began writhing violently. Even the colour of the fog changed. The grey and dirty-looking fog suddenly became crimson red. In the next moment, the red fog shrunk abruptly before expanding violently again, and an object came flying out of the fog.
Grandmaster Ma Fan was clearly prepared for this situation, he reached out his hand and caught the object lightly before glancing it over and nodding, “Seems like my luck isn’t too bad today.”
Then, he casually tossed the object to Yang Kai.
Yang Kai caught the object and carefully examined it, his eyes contracting slightly at the sight, “A Sixth-Order material?”
Grandmaster Ma Fan affirmed, “This is what makes the Good Fortune Divine Furnace special.”
Yang Kai stared at Grandmaster Ma Fan in dumbfounded mazement, “How is that possible?”
Grandmaster Ma Fan replied, “If you’re asking me how this works, then I don’t know either. Even the Ancestors of Great Evolution Paradise could not figure it out. The World is full of mysteries and there are many things that cannot be understood just because your cultivation is powerful. Hence, the reason why the Good Fortune Divine Furnace is called the Good Fortune Divine Furnace.”
Yang Kai felt his breath becoming short and ragged. What he was holding in his hand was a genuine Sixth-Order Wood Element material. He turned to look to the side only to see that the crimson red fog had gone back to a dull grey colour after spitting out this Sixth-Order material and his throat suddenly went dry!
“Grandmaster, does the Good Fortune Divine Furnace produce materials with higher Orders after consuming enough from the Order below?”
Grandmaster Ma Fan nodded.
“Did Elder Yu and the others come here because of the Good Fortune Divine Furnace?”
Grandmaster Ma Fan laughed, “Of course. What else is there in Great Evolution Paradise that is worth a trip here in person? After all, they don’t expect to recruit this old man.”
Yang Kai swallowed nervously, “With this divine object in hand, wouldn’t I be able to monopolise all the resources in the world?”
“Don’t get ahead of yourself.” Grandmaster Ma Fan doused Yang Kai’s excitement with those words, “The Good Fortune Divine Furnace might be able to produce a higher Order material in exchange for ones from a lower Order, but if you calculate in strict terms, the results are basically always a huge loss. Think about it; how many materials did I use just now?”
“Fourteen!” Yang Kai had watched carefully.
Grandmaster Ma Fan had thrown ten World Element materials into the furnace at the beginning. Afterward, he added four more before he finally obtained a Sixth-Order material. In terms of value, one Sixth-Order material was equivalent to ten Fifth-Orders materials; therefore, it was equivalent to losing four Fifth-Orders materials.
“It’s not that simple though. The losses you sustained this time were Wood Element materials, but what about Yin and Yang Element materials? Sixth-Order Yin and Yang Element materials are worth more than ten times the value of Fifth-Order Yin and Yang Element materials. Not to mention, Fifth-Order Yin and Yang Element materials are easier to obtain while those of the Sixth-Order are extremely rare!”
Yin and Yang Element materials in the Sixth-Order and above were extremely valuable and often could not be bought regardless of the price offered.
Grandmaster Ma Fan just smiled meaningfully and asked, “Can you guarantee that every fourteen units of the same type of material will be exchanged for one of a higher Order? As I said just now; my luck today is relatively good. If your luck is bad, you might not get one in return even if you used dozens or even hundreds of materials. Luck is the most difficult element to predict out of everything.”
Yang Kai clenched the Sixth-Order Wood Element material in his hand and quickly said, “But, if I had to choose, I would rather consume several dozen Fifth-Order Yin or Yang Element materials in exchange for a single Sixth-Order counterpart.”
Fifth-Order Yin and Yang Element materials might be difficult to find, but they were much easier compared to those of the Sixth-Order. It had to be said that Sixth-Order Yin and Yang Element materials were categorised as strategic reserves that could not be used easily, even among the Cave Heavens and Paradises.
Back when Void Land was being besieged by Heavenly Sword Union and Zuo Quan Hui, the Great Emperors had required countless materials to advance into the Open Heaven Realm. If Yang Kai had not gone to the Black Prison, robbed Luan Bai Feng, and mined an Ore Star from the Black Territory’s depths, he would not have been able to get his hands on the necessary materials. The Great Emperors might still be stuck at the Emperor Realm even now if that had been the case.
Grandmaster Ma Fan nodded, “That’s why they are here! The World Tree is infinitely mysterious. Even though the World Tree of the Star Boundary is just a clone, the feedback from it is so powerful that one can barely believe it. The Cave Heavens and Paradises have taken in quite a number of disciples from the Star Boundary and even dispatched many of their own disciples to be raised there. Over the past few years, many excellent and talented individuals with extraordinary aptitude have appeared in the Star Boundary. It can even be said that there have been more geniuses emerging from the Star Boundary in the past few decades than in the entire 3,000 Worlds over the past few thousand years. Not much time has passed, so these little ones have not fully grown and developed; even so, it is enough to see that there are many among them who are eligible to advance directly into the Fifth and Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm. Some of them might even be able to advance directly into the Seventh Order!”
The Star Boundary was Yang Kai’s homeland, so he couldn’t help feeling proud after listening to Grandmaster Ma Fan’s words. It was foreseeable that the Star Boundary would surely present a grand and prosperous scene in just a few hundred years!
Grandmaster Ma Fan thus sighed, “We’re talking about advancing directly into the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm! Since the establishment of the 36 Cave Heavens and 72 Paradises, how many people have been able to advance directly into the Seventh Order? Not only does it require extraordinary aptitude but also incredible luck and fortune! In any case, one will require Seventh-Order materials in order to advance directly into the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm. The materials for the Five Elements will not pose too much of a problem for now as it is given that the Cave Heavens and Paradises will have some reserves, so they will not lack them. The High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters need these same materials for cultivation, as well, but even if they have some Seventh-Order Yin and Yang Element materials in their reserves, there certainly won’t be enough. It is only natural that they will have to plan ahead.”
Yang Kai immediately understood the situation, “Is that why they want to borrow the Good Fortune Divine Furnace? They want to create enough Seventh-Order Yin and Yang Element materials to prevent their reserves from being stretched too thin when the time comes.”
Grandmaster Ma Fan nodded.
Yang Kai exhaled a long breath. Putting himself in their shoes, he would have made the same choice if he was someone from the Cave Heavens and Paradises.
“In that case, you could have negotiated with them yourself, Grandmaster. Why are you pushing such a highly beneficial deal on me?” Yang Kai was puzzled.
If they wanted to borrow the Good Fortune Divine Furnace, then they would surely need to pay a price. This was a good thing for Great Evolution Paradise. They could make a lot of money just by imposing any random condition. It was a highly beneficial deal that all but fell from the sky into their lap. There was no reason to pass up something like that to somebody else.
Be that as it may, Grandmaster Ma Fan had done just that. He even went so far as to proclaim himself as High Heaven Palace’s High-Rank Guest Elder. In doing so, he placed the full authority over the Good Fortune Divine Furnace in Yang Kai’s hands.
Grandmaster Ma Fan explained, “You may only see four people here today, but those four aren’t just representing their four Cave Heavens and Paradises. They are also representing all the other Cave Heavens and Paradises. They are here to test the waters. Great Evolution Paradise has long gone into decline. At present, this old man is the only one supporting this Sect. Do you think Great Evolution Paradise has the qualifications to negotiate with the Cave Heavens and Paradises? At the most, we can ask for some resources as compensation, but Great Evolution Paradise does not lack resources. This old man only needs to offer up a few Artifact Refining chances to earn more than enough resources for all of us.”
Yang Kai frowned slightly, “Grandmaster, are you saying that they will choose to use force instead if you refuse their request?”
Grandmaster Ma Fan affirmed lightly, “That’s the most likely outcome!”
Yang Kai was secretly surprised. According to Grandmaster Ma Fan, the Cave Heavens and Paradises were scrambling to prepare Seventh-Order Yin and Yang Element materials in advance. The more they could procure, the better it would be for them. That was why they needed to use the Good Fortune Divine Furnace.
Even though they had always known about the existence of the Good Fortune Divine Furnace, they had never bothered to set their sights on it, mainly because the uncertainty when using this strange innate treasure was too high. They might invest tens or even hundreds of materials only to come up empty-handed. Which Sect could possibly afford such losses?
In any case, each Sect was bound to have some reserves of Seventh-Order Yin and Yang Element materials. The numbers might be small, but they were enough. It was just that the situation was different now. The current supply could no longer meet the demand, so they had to come up with different solutions.
Although they might suffer heavy losses from using the Good Fortune Divine Furnace, all their losses would be worth it if they succeeded in producing a disciple who advanced directly to the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm. After all, if one were to advance directly into the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm, then their future limit would be the Ninth-Order!
Leaving aside the Seventh-Order materials for now, even the supply of Sixth-Order Yin and Yang Element materials was insufficient for the near future. The Cave Heavens and Paradises would surely have a much greater demand for such materials in short order.
“At present, Void Land is the only Sect in the entire 3,000 Worlds that has the qualifications to negotiate with all the Cave Heavens and Paradises,” Grandmaster Ma Fan turned to look at Yang Kai.
The World Tree was the best example.
The Star Boundary was Yang Kai’s homeland, and the World Tree was growing in the Star Boundary. Regardless of his cultivation, he had more than enough right to speak on the matter. His status as a Great Emperor of the Star Boundary was enough for him to speak on equal terms with the Cave Heavens and Paradises at least in this situation.
Yang Kai’s eyes flashed, “What are your conditions, Grandmaster?”
Grandmaster Ma Fan laughed, “It’s easy to talk to smart people.”
Great Evolution Paradise was in a steady decline, so how could they negotiate with the Cave Heavens and Paradises on equal footing? Under such circumstances, there was nothing they could do to stop the Cave Heavens and Paradises from simply taking control of the Good Fortune Divine Furnace.
As a last resort, Grandmaster Ma Fan could only dump the risks on Yang Kai instead. Nevertheless, his actions would result in Yang Kai taking quite a large share of the profits from Great Evolution Paradise. It was only natural that he would refuse to take part in such a loss-making business.
“Regardless of the conditions you eventually agree upon with the Cave Heavens and Paradises, Great Evolution Paradise will receive half of the proceeds!” Grandmaster Ma Fan declared bluntly.
Even if it was only half the amount, it would still be far more than the amount Great Evolution Paradise would receive if they tried to negotiate on their own.
Yang Kai nodded without hesitation, “Fine!”
This deal was the equivalent of pie falling into his outstretched hand for nothing. There was no reason for him to be dissatisfied with receiving half of the benefits when he didn’t need to do anything to obtain them in the first place.
“Also, Great Evolution Paradise’s Dao Temple in the Star Boundary will need to be doubled in size. This old man wishes to send more disciples to cultivate at the Star Boundary!”
“That’s not a problem either.”
“That’s enough,” Grandmaster Ma Fan nodded.
“Is that all?” Yang Kai was extremely astonished.
“What else should I ask for?” Grandmaster Ma Fan looked at Yang Kai flatly.
Yang Kai burst into laughter, “You’re truly an unselfish man, Grandmaster.”
Grandmaster Ma Fan snorted, “It won’t seem sincere if I tried to take the lion’s share. Well, in any case, this old man is planning to come out of retirement.”
“Come out of retirement?” Yang Kai was curious.
“The little ones will surely experience rapid growth after being sent to the Star Boundary. They will need many resources for their cultivation once they advance into the Open Heaven Realm in the future. Great Evolution Paradise is not wealthy, so this old man will need to find a way to make more money. Seeing as this old man has no other skills, I can only perform Artifact Refining for others.”
Yang Kai’s eyes lit up when he heard those words, “Are you planning to help others perform Artifact Refining to earn resources, Grandmaster?”
“Do you have an idea?”
“Yes, I do! I have a great idea!” Yang Kai nodded repeatedly, “If you don’t mind, Grandmaster, I can hire you as Void Land’s Chief Artifact Refiner. For every artifact that you refine, I will pay you a certain amount according to the value of the artifact. What do you think?”
Grandmaster Ma Fan fell silent. It was obvious that he did not wish to be restrained in such a manner.
Yang Kai continued, “In addition, I can also send some disciples over to help you, Grandmaster. Whenever you are in a good mood, you can teach them something. If you are in a terrible mood, you can feel free to beat and scold them. Of course, the disciples will remain respectful and filial to you.”
Grandmaster Ma Fan glanced sideways at Yang Kai with an expression that seemed to say, “Brat, you are untrustworthy after all.”
Yang Kai struck while the iron was hot, “Grandmaster, you’ve already proclaimed to be High Heaven Palace’s Supreme High-Rank Guest Elder in front of Elder Yu and the others. Would it make a difference if you receive an additional title as Void Land’s Chief Artifact Refiner?”
After hesitating for a long while, Grandmaster Ma Fan finally let out a long sigh, “I never imagined that this old man would have such a day!”
He had no choice but to rip his heart out for the sake of his disciples.
“In that case, do we have a deal, Grandmaster?” Yang Kai was ecstatic.
Grandmaster Ma Fan nodded sullenly.
Yang Kai burst into hearty laughter, “Don’t worry, Grandmaster. The disciples I send to work under you will not add to your worries.”
Grandmaster Ma Fan snorted, “They won’t be able to learn anything from me without the necessary talent and skill.”
Yang Kai turned to look back at the Good Fortune Divine Furnace again, his gaze burning hot.
Grandmaster Ma Fan added, “What I showed you just now was the situation after putting in various materials of the same Element. As long as the amount is sufficient, the Good Fortune Divine Furnace will return a material of a higher Order; however, there’s another method as well.”
Yang Kai asked, “What method?”
Grandmaster Ma Fan said, “Take out a set of materials of the same Order and throw them in. You will know after you give it a try.”
Upon hearing those words, Yang Kai took out a complete set of Fifth-Order materials harvested from the Gourd Vine from his Space Ring. If there was any resource that Void Land did not lack, it was undoubtedly Fifth-Order materials. Ever since obtaining the Gourd Vine, Void Land could harvest a complete set of Fifth-Order Yin, Yang and Five Elements materials every month from it.
Yang Kai brought a lot of materials along with him when he first departed the Star Boundary. Now that several dozen years had passed, he was certain that Void Land had accumulated even more such materials by now.
After throwing the complete set of seven into the Good Fortune Divine Furnace, the grey fog wriggled like a living creature and greedily swallowed them up in the blink of an eye. A short while later, the grey fog suddenly turned crimson red and an object was spat out from the depths of the furnace.
Yang Kai caught the object, took a look, and exclaimed with raised eyebrows, “A Sixth-Order Water Element!”
Grandmaster Ma Fan explained, “Compared to only investing materials of the same Element, the chances of the Good Fortune Divine Furnace giving back a material of a higher Order increases up to 70 or 80% if you invest a complete set of materials in one go. It can almost be said that the chances of failure are minimal. However, this method has a drawback in that it is impossible to determine the Element of the material you will receive back from the Good Fortune Divine Furnace. You received a Water Element material this time, but it might be a Fire Element or Yin Element instead next time!”
Yang Kai sighed, “It really is amazing!”
There were two methods, both with their respective pros and cons. The first method might result in great losses, but one would receive a material of the same Element as the Element originally invested. On the other hand, although one would experience much less losses with the second method, there were a multitude of uncertainties that came with the results.
Yang Kai had the sudden urge to take all the materials that Void Land had been accumulating from the Gourd Vine over the years and throw them into the Good Fortune Divine Furnace right now. No matter how uncertain the results, he would eventually obtain some Sixth-Order Yin and Yang Element materials if he threw in hundreds or thousands of sets, right?
When they returned to the Grand Hall, Hong Xiang Ling and the others immediately turned to look in their direction.
Lu Zhen Yang of Azure Nether Paradise said, “Sect Master Yang, we have been delayed here for quite a few days now. The Grandmaster refused to come out of retreat earlier, so there was nobody we could discuss with. Seeing as you have the right to call the shots regarding this matter, you need to give us a proper answer.”
Duan Rui Shan of Clear Mind Cave Heaven nodded in agreement, “That’s right, Sect Master Yang. Please feel free to name any condition you might have. We are here on behalf of the Cave Heavens and Paradises. Naturally, we will not let Great Evolution Paradise suffer any losses from this transaction.”
Yang Kai turned to look at Grandmaster Ma Fan, who had an aloof expression on his face, as though this matter had nothing to do with him. It was clear that he was unwilling to intervene at all.
Just as Grandmaster Ma Fan had mentioned earlier, Great Evolution Paradise simply could not refuse the Cave Heavens and Paradises borrowing the Good Fortune Divine Furnace under the current circumstances.
In this vast universe, Void Land was the only force that could negotiate with the Cave Heavens and Paradises on equal footing. The declining Great Evolution Paradise did not have this qualification.
Grandmaster Ma Fan’s previous act of hiding and refusing to meet anybody was nothing more than a tactic to buy time. It just so happened that Yang Kai was returning from the Shattered Heaven, so he quickly passed this troublesome matter over for Yang Kai to handle. Still, even if it was only for personal benefit, Yang Kai would not sell the rights to the Good Fortune Divine Furnace cheaply.
Facing everybody’s gazes, Yang Kai smiled lightly, “It has only been a few decades since you sent your disciples to the Star Boundary. No matter how extraordinary their aptitude, I’m sure their cultivation is not that high, right? There is still a long time before they advance to the Open Heaven Realm, so why are you in such a rush?”
Duan Rui Shan shook his head, “How can we not be anxious? Just as you said, the cultivation of the disciples we sent to the Star Boundary over the past few decades might not be too high, but their growth speed is too greater. I’m afraid it won’t take more than one or two hundred years before some of them begin to advance into the Open Heaven Realm.”
Yang Kai was stunned, “That fast?”
For some to advance into the Open Heaven Realm within another 100 or 200 years, the speed was simply too shocking to believe.
Hong Xiang Ling stated, “The disciples we sent to the Star Boundary were carefully selected in the first place, so their aptitudes and talents were already among the best. Moreover, they are cultivating in a place as wondrous as the Star Boundary, so how can they not improve quickly? To be honest, despite how long old men like us have lived, we have never seen such a prosperous sight before. The cultivation of those little ones advances practically every single day.”
Yang Kai couldn’t help feeling slightly worried, “If their cultivation improves too quickly, will they not suffer from an unstable foundation?”
Yu Chang Dao shook his head, “We were also worried about this at the beginning; however, we discovered that there are no such issues after performing a thorough examination of the condition of our Disciples. The feedback they received from the World Tree and the highly abundant Heavenly Way and Martial Dao aura in the Star Boundary are enough to satisfy their advancement requirements. That is why they do not show any signs of an unstable foundation whatsoever even though their cultivation is progressing rapidly. Take my Disciple, Shi Da Zhuang, for example. Sect Master, do you know what his current cultivation is?”
Shi Da Zhuang was the child whom Yu Chang Dao tried so hard to recruit as his Legacy Disciple because of the baby’s Innate Dao Body which was extremely compatible with his inheritance. It was also because of Shi Da Zhuang that Yu Chang Dao became High Heaven Palace’s Supreme High-Rank Guest Elder. That was why Yang Kai had a deep impression of this Disciple.
At the time of Yang Kai’s departure, Shi Da Zhuang was a newborn baby, and about 30 years had passed since then. With his aptitude, it was obvious that his cultivation would not be too low.
Yu Chang Dao had no real intention to let Yang Kai guess, so he answered his own question, “That child is already in the Origin Returning Realm. In the near future, he will advance into the Origin King Realm, then the Dao Source Realm, and then Emperor Realm. After that, he only needs to condense his Dao Seal before he is ready to advance into the Open Heaven Realm!”
Advancing from a baby with no foundation to the Origin Returning Realm in the short span of a couple of decades was no longer something that could be achieved with talent alone. One would also need the guidance of a great Teacher and an extremely conducive cultivation environment. Fortunately, Shi Da Zhuang had both!
Yang Kai gasped softly. He himself had two disciples. Leaving aside Zhao Ye Bai who had mediocre aptitude, Zhao Ya was definitely the cultivator with the most Heaven-defying aptitude he had ever met. Nevertheless, even with her aptitude, and even if he did not suppress her cultivation for so many years, she might not be able to advance to the Origin Returning Realm within such a short time.
The reason for the difference in their cultivation was that one was cultivating in a Holy Land like the Star Boundary while the other was in his Small Universe.
Yu Chang Dao continued, “In another one or two hundred years, the disciples of each Sect will surely reveal a splendid scene of a hundred flowers blooming. At that time, there will be as many people advancing into the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm and the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm as carp swimming upriver. There will most likely be people advancing into the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm too. Can you imagine how great the demand for materials would be among the Cave Heavens and Paradises? Forget the Fifth-Order materials; each Sect has an adequate stock of them, so there will be enough to go around. However, there won’t be enough Sixth-Order or Seventh-Order materials at all.”
In the past, those who could advance directly into the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm generally held the status of a Core Disciple in the Cave Heavens and Paradises. Most of the time, only one person would be born to each Sect every few hundred to 1,000 years. Qu Hua Shang of Yin-Yang Cave Heaven and Ning Dao Ran of Free and Unfettered Paradise were such disciples.
It was precisely because Core Disciples were so rare and precious that Zuo Quan Hui tried to take revenge on Yang Kai for killing Zhao Xing during Yin-Yang Cave Heaven’s Dao Theory Assembly.
Now though, thanks to the Star Boundary’s existence, there were bound to be more and more Core Disciples in the future.
Hong Xiang Ling followed up, “It is precisely because of this reason that we need to plan ahead; otherwise, it will be too late if we wait until the time comes when we need these materials.”
Yang Kai nodded lightly, “It has been a long time since I left the Star Boundary, so I don’t know much about the situation there.” His fingers tapped lightly against the table as he pondered in silence for a while. Then, he raised a finger, “The right to use the Good Fortune Divine Furnace for one month in exchange for the opportunity to enter the Small Source Worlds of each Sect once for life experience.”
Grandmaster Ma Fan had been standing nearby, silently drinking wine from his bottle all this while, seemingly aloof and unaware of what was being discussed; however, as soon as Yang Kai spoke those words, he choked and spat out a mist of wine.
[This brat… sure is bold!] Ma Fan suddenly felt that leaving the matter involving the Good Fortune Divine Furnace to Yang Kai had been a wise choice indeed. That was because he would never have such thoughts if he were the one to do the negotiations. At most, he would have asked for resources from each Sect as compensation.
Thinking about it carefully though, this was like any business transaction where one should always try to take the lion’s share so that the other party had some space and leeway to bargain and negotiate.
Duan Rui Shan’s brow twitched visibly at those words, “Sect Master Yang, can you change your conditions? For example, each Sect pays a certain amount of resources in exchange for the right of use it for a certain amount of time.”
Lu Zhen Yang nodded in agreement, “That’s right, Sect Master Yang. The Small Source Worlds are extremely important to the Cave Heavens and Paradises. Our own disciples have to wait in line to enter the Small Source Worlds for training. Most of the time, many of them don’t even get a chance to enter despite waiting for hundreds or even thousands of years. We simply cannot afford to portion out an opportunity for you.”
Although Yu Chang Dao and Hong Xiang Ling remained silent, it was clear that they were of the same mind.
Yang Kai just smiled and negotiated, “You don’t need to feel so distressed. Thanks to Yin-Yang Cave Heaven, I had the opportunity to enter a Small Source World for training once. It was a bountiful trip, and I’ve not forgotten the feeling. I’ve been thinking that it would be great if I had another opportunity to enter another Small Source World. As for this request… Well, it’s bound to be a little tight, but I’m sure it’s not too difficult for you all.”
Lu Zhen Yang looked like he was about to speak, but Yang Kai raised a hand and interjected, “Of course, I am simply making this suggestion. As for how things will actually be implemented, I’m sure you will need to discuss with the others first; after all, this matter involves all the Cave Heavens and Paradises. This decision is not something the four of you can make on your own.”
The words Lu Zhen Yang wanted to speak got stuck in his throat, which was a terrible feeling.
Yang Kai thus swiftly got to his feet, “I’ve been away from home for too long. I need to return to Void Land, so I won’t stay here any longer.” While speaking, he turned to look at Grandmaster Ma Fan, “Grandmaster, I’ll be taking my leave first. I will send some people over. At that time, I will be counting on you, Grandmaster.”
Grandmaster Ma Fan nodded lightly. It was something they had agreed to earlier, so he would not regret his decision.
Yang Kai glanced at Hong Hu and the two of them walked out.
“Shall we head back to the Star Boundary?” Hong Xiang Ling looked at the others. Now that Yang Kai, the only person they could negotiate with, was gone, it was meaningless for them to remain here any longer. Yang Kai had already named his conditions. Whether or not they could accept the conditions or how they were going to fulfil the conditions would require further discussion among the representatives of the other Cave Heavens and Paradises.
“Let’s go!” Likewise, Duan Rui Shan nodded and stood up. The rest quickly bid their goodbyes to Grandmaster Ma Fan and followed closely behind Yang Kai and Hong Hu’s departure.
Yu Chang Dao caught up to Yang Kai. Standing next to him, he spoke in a low voice, “Sect Master, in my opinion, Da Zhuang has a solid foundation. Moreover, his roots and his aptitude are absolute. There is a high possibility that he can advance directly into the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm when he condenses his Dao Seal in the future!”
Yang Kai raised his brow at those words, “That’s good news.”
Yu Chang Dao smiled flatteringly, “About the materials that he will need when he advances into the Open Heaven Realm…”
Yang Kai turned to look at Yu Chang Dao and asked with a chuckle, “Elder Yu, are you asking me this question in your capacity as High Heaven Palace’s Supreme High-Rank Guest Elder or Free and Unfettered Paradise’s foreign affairs envoy?”
Yu Chang Dao answered with a straight face, “When it comes down to it, Da Zhuang is a High Heaven Palace disciple. Of course, this Old Master is discussing this matter with you in my capacity as High Heaven Palace’s Supreme High-Rank Guest Elder.”
Yang Kai nodded lightly, “Da Zhuang is a High Heaven Palace disciple. Naturally, High Heaven Palace will take full responsibility to provide all the materials he will need to advance into the Open Heaven Realm.”
Yu Chang Dao immediately broke into a bright smile, “Da Zhuang is really fortunate to have joined High Heaven Palace.”
Yang Kai said gratefully, “It’s all thanks to your dedicated teaching over the years, Elder Yu.”
Hong Xiang Ling and the others watched as the one old fox and one young fox chattered away happily. They couldn’t help feeling a little frustrated by the sight. When Yu Chang Dao did not hesitate to become High Heaven Palace’s Supreme High-Rank Guest Elder in order to take Shi Da Zhuang as his Disciple back then, many of his friends laughed at and ridiculed him.
However, based on the current situation, his decision had been a wise one indeed. Thanks to his identity as High Heaven Palace’s Supreme High-Rank Guest Elder, he succeeded at forming a good relationship with Yang Kai, and as a result, it was much easier to get some benefits from, and reach agreements with Yang Kai.
Even if Shi Da Zhuang were to grow and develop under High Heaven Palace’s banner, he would still be Yu Chang Dao’s Legacy Disciple. That was something that would never change, regardless of the circumstances.
During the journey, Hong Xiang Ling and the others constantly tried to find opportunities to discuss the rights to use the Good Fortune Divine Furnace with Yang Kai, but the latter stubbornly refused to budge on his stance. Thus, the others could only sigh helplessly.
From Yang Kai’s viewpoint, he had already named his conditions. As for the rest, the Cave Heavens and Paradises would need to come to a consensus. Only then could the negotiation proceed any further. There was no need to waste their energy discussing this matter until then. Besides, he actually proposed similar conditions in the past.
When news about the World Tree first leaked out to the public, the news attracted many Cave Heavens and Paradises to investigate the situation. He had wanted to request opportunities to enter the Small Source Worlds of these top great forces in exchange for the right to accept disciples from the Star Boundary and establish a Dao Temple in the Star Boundary.
However, the proposal was rejected by Xu Ling Gong. The reason was that the qualifications to enter the Small Source Worlds were tough competition even among the disciples of each Cave Heaven and Paradise. They didn’t even have enough to go around for themselves, so how could they let somebody take advantage of them in that manner?