MARTIAL PEAK Continued 140-uptodate(ONGOING)

1160-1171

Martial Peak - Chapter 1160 - BoxNovel
Chapter 1160, Dragon Striker Whip
This young man and young woman’s status in Shadow Moon Hall was obviously not low. Otherwise, it would be impossible for them to sit beside Qian Tong.

The other young disciples standing nearby all shot vaguely envious looks towards these two.

“Elder Qian, you have a good relationship with Manager Yan. Do you know what this finale is?” One of the female disciples standing nearby asked curiously.

Qian Tong kept a serious look upon his face, seemingly not even hearing the words of this female disciple. Seeing his appearance, everyone couldn’t help holding their breath, more and more feeling that this final item was extraordinary. Their Elder must have some inside information, otherwise, he would not be showing such a solemn look.

“Luo Qing!” Qian Tong suddenly shouted.

“Disciple is here,” Luo Qing, who had always been standing to the side, hurried forward.

“How many Saint Crystals were you able to collect?”

Luo Qing quickly and respectfully replied, “Disciple did not fail Elder’s orders and managed to collect fifty million Saint Crystals, but the larger part of this was transferred directly from the Sect.”

“Fifty million…” Qian Tong narrowed his eyes, “I have nearly thirty million here as well, so altogether we have almost eighty million Saint Crystals…”

Stop Being Poor! Easy Way to Start Making Money
Inside the private room, everyone was shocked. Even if they came from Shadow Moon Hall and knew their Sect wasn’t poor, a figure like eighty million Saint Crystals was still terrifying to them.

However, what stunned them even more was Qian Tong muttering to himself, “I don’t know if it’s enough!”

The beautiful young woman sitting next to Qian Tong couldn’t help but ask, “Master, what is this finale? Can we not even win it with eighty million Saint Crystals?”

Not only was she curious, even the brave and heroic-looking young man who also turned an inquisitive gaze towards Qian Tong, hoping he could explain.

Since the auction began until now, the most expensive item to be sold was the exquisite twin daggers from just a moment ago, but that had only gone for 2.1 million Saint Crystals. Could this final item be an Origin King Grade artefact?

If it truly was an Origin King Grade artefact, eighty million really might not be enough, but how would Treasure Trove Pavilion have collected such a treasure?

“You don’t understand!” Qian Tong smiled bitterly, “Eighty million may look like a lot, but others may have more. I can say with confidence that Shadow Moon Hall is a great force on Shadowed Star, but there is still some disparity between us and the top three: Thunder Typhoon Sect, Star Emperor Sect, and Heaven Battling Union. Even Coloured Glass Sect, Grand Fire Temple, Twin Heart Valley, and Floating Mist Palace have a somewhat stronger influence than us. I’m afraid they have all raised more Saint Crystals than us.”

“Master, what exactly is being auctioned?” The delicate female asked again.

“See for yourself,” Qian Tong said, not showing any intention to answer because even if he did, these juniors may not be able to realize the value of that thing. When the time came and a blood struggle ensued, they would naturally understand.

All the private rooms fell silent as their occupants stared towards the auction stage.

Old Black Face Yan Pei stood on the stage, his pair of piercing eyes sweeping the crowd as he said loudly, “This Yan Pei thanks all of you for participating in my Treasure Trove Pavilion’s auction today. The progress of the auction until this point has been satisfactory for this old master, but if there is one thing that I must say is not to my liking, it is that all of you are still holding your wallets too tightly. This old master has come forward in hopes of seeing all your great forces put forward some true spirit! You don’t have to give others face, or even give my Treasure Trove Pavilion face, all you must do is bid for the items you fancy. So, what if it costs you your house and home? So long as you win what you’re after, what else matters?”

The frank words of Yan Pei pulled a sharp breath from the various masters’ seat in their private rooms.

This Old Black Face’s ill intentions were obvious to all of them, he was quite literally asking them to lose the very shirts of their backs in the upcoming bidding. He was simply too vicious and many even felt like getting up and leaving immediately would be the best course of action. If they remained here, they might really everything they had.

But of course, Yan Pei didn’t give them a chance to escape and quickly continued, “Enough said. Let me introduce to you the finale of this auction!”

With a big wave of his hand, a woman in an exquisite dress immediately walked out onto the stage holding the jade plate. This jade plate was covered with a red cloth, obstructing everyone’s view, and only further enticing them to see what lay beneath it.

The woman walked up and stood in front of Yan Pei, the latter soon exclaiming, “Open your eyes wide and see…”

Saying so, the red cloth was lifted, and a red whip appeared atop the jade plate. The whip was sectioned yet smooth in shape, just like a scorpion tail, each piece seamlessly connected to the next, and at its tip, was a sharp spike that was flashing green light. At a glance, everyone could tell this spike contained a potent poison.

“The Dragon Striker Whip!” Yan Pei shouted.

In room C-13, Yang Kai, who had just taken a sip of tea, heard Yan Pei call out this name, and nearly spat out what was in his mouth.

The last twin daggers had been sold off as is by Treasure Trove Pavilion without any extra fancy descriptions, treating it just like any other item that had been auctioned.

But this long red whip had now actually been given the name ‘Dragon Striker Whip’ by Yan Pei. It was domineering enough, but what was more impressive was how thick Old Black Face’s skin was, even daring to make up such a name on the spot.

From all directions, burning hot looks could be felt as countless Divine Senses swept this red whip, the sound of discussion in the private rooms and the main hall instantly erupting.

Yan Pei continued, “This is a genuine Origin Grade Mid-Rank artifact. According to my Treasure Trove Pavilion’s Grandmaster appraisers, the primary material of this whip is the tail of the Ninth-Order Monster Beast Scarlet Tailed Purple Armoured Scorpion, which has been supplemented with many Origin Grade ores. What an Origin Grade Mid-Rank artifact represent need not be said by this old master as everyone understands this well. This is already a work beyond my Shadowed Star’s Artifact Refining level, no Grandmaster on Shadowed Star can refine such an artifact. This whip is five meters in length, but as long as one fills it with Saint Qi, its length can be transformed at will. What is most rare though is that the Grandmaster who refined this Dragon Striker Whip was able to perfectly incorporate the Scarlet Tailed Purple Armoured Scorpion’s poisonous stinger into its tip! Although this is somewhat sinister and ruthless, it no doubt greatly increases the power of the Dragon Striker Whip.”

As Yan Pei spoke, he picked up the Dragon Striker Whip from the jade plate before striking the air above the high platform with it, allowing everyone to feel the power of this Origin Grade Mid-Rank artifact!

Sure enough, countless people’s breaths became heavy when they saw the might of the Dragon Striker Whip.

After a short demonstration, Yan Pei placed the Dragon Striker Whip back onto the jade plate.

At this time, a person’s voice suddenly called out from a private room in the A Block, “Manager Yan, is this the item you said would make us homeless? Although an Origin Grade Mid-Rank artifact is rare, it’s not nearly enough for us to lose everything over. Hmph, I thought Treasure Trove Pavilion had collected an Origin King Grade artifact this time.”

“That’s right, raising our expectations so much for just a mere Origin Grade Mid-Rank artefact.”

Yan Pei just stood in place though, as if he hadn’t heard this commentary, a sneer upon his face.

Everyone in the private rooms had gotten some advanced warning that an unbelievable item would appear, causing all of them to send out representatives to raise Saint Crystals, but what Treasure Trove Pavilion was going to auction was not disclosed to them. Yan Pei wasn’t going to spread word about this after all and he believed with Qian Tong’s astuteness it was equally impossible for the latter to let slip what this finale was.

Each of the great forces present had collected a large amount of Saint Crystals, but now what was presented to them was just an Origin Grade Mid-Rank artefact, so naturally, they felt disappointed, thinking a big deal had been made out of nothing.

Of course, they all still intended to snatch up this artefact. For an Origin Grade Mid-Rank artefact, even if they couldn’t win it themselves, pushing the price up to make others suffer was still a necessity.

For a moment, everyone began secret plotting to harm their competition while protecting themselves.

Yan Pei however soon put out words that made many men in the auction hall cough up blood, “This artefact is most suitable for women, so even if you don’t have any use for it yourselves, buying it for your favourite woman is a splendid idea. This old master can guarantee that any man who delivers such a gift to their woman will surely bring her home tonight!”

“This old dog!” Yin Su Die ground her teeth in the private room of Coloured Glass Sect.

The reason she hadn’t tried to buy the twin daggers from before was because she had anticipated something better to appear after it. Sure enough, this Dragon Striker Whip had appeared, and she had secretly decided to snatch it up at any cost. She also believed that with her fame and popularity, once she made a bid for it, many people here would simply give way and not try to rob it from her, but with Yan Pei making such a comment, wasn’t that no different from drawing out many more competitors for her?

A middle-aged woman next to Yin Su Die patted her hand gently and comforted, “Rest assured, we’ll win it.”

“Thank you, Second Aunt!” Yin Su Die smiled sweetly.

“For the Dragon Striker Whip, the starting price is one million Saint Crystals. Each new offer may not add less than one hundred thousand. Everyone, please bid!” Yan Pei had said everything he that should be said and as everyone’s enthusiasm reached an apex, he declared the start of the auction prepared to watch the fight.

This was the scene he liked to see the most. Every time he saw people competing for these rare treasures, Yan Pei felt as if he had become many years younger.

As soon as his words fell, bids began flying from the private rooms.

“1.1 million!”

“1.3 million!”

“1.5 million!”

“2 million!”

…..

The masters who had just now been disdaining the appearance of the Dragon Striker Whip all seemed to have forgotten their previous words and rushed to enter their bids. Not only did the Seniors from the great forces call out, even some of the younger generation’s rising stars joined the fray.

“I’ll bid 2.1 million!” Qu Chang Feng of Heaven Battling Union said in a confident tone, as if a powerful Young Master from a top tier Sect should not bid any less than this.

“Hmph! 2.3 million!” The one forever in opposition to Qu Chang Feng, Fang Tian Zhong of Thunder Typhoon Sect, called out next. The strength of their two sects were essentially equal, and their individual reputations and strength were also similar, so neither would fear the other nor be willing to back down.

“Brother Fang, why are you trying to buy this Dragon Striker Whip? It’s completely unsuited to you, so wouldn’t it just be a waste of money for you?” Qu Chang Feng grinned meaningfully, calmly continuing to increase the price, “2.5 million!”

“I can’t use it? Can you? 2.8 million!” Fang Tian Zhong didn’t withdraw.

“Naturally, I’m buying it as a gift. I heard that Junior Sister Yin of the Coloured Glass Sect currently lacks a good artefact, so this Qu wants to offer her some beautiful flowers. 3 million!”

This was a blatant declaration of love, and it was made in front of all the great forces of Shadowed Star, drawing a number of sharp breaths from the audience.

In the private room of Coloured Glass Sect, the lead middle-aged woman’s face went cold while Yin Su Die’s expression also became gloomy. She didn’t want to be caught up in any uncouth rumors because of today’s event, so she softly declared, “Senior Brother Qu’s kindness, this Su Die must politely decline. If I want this Dragon Striker Whip, naturally I will bid for it myself! 3.2 million!”

Chapter 1161, Bloody Fight

Translator: Silavin & PewPewLaserGun

Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain

Yin Su Die didn’t want to bid so early, because she really wanted this Dragon Striker Whip. She had never owned an Origin Grade Mid-Rank artefact, and with the opening of the Flowing Flame Sand Field approaching, and knowing what dangers she would encounter inside, such an artefact would increase her own security significantly.

But this damn Qu Chang Feng had actually pulled her directly into this maelstrom, annoying Yin Su Die to no end. Even if she didn’t want to bid, she had to now.

Although Coloured Glass Sect wasn’t as powerful as Heaven Battling Union, it still had the financial ability to buy an Origin Grade Mid-Rank artefact. There was no need for Qu Chang Feng to put on such a pretentious act and ruin her and her Sect’s reputation.

When Yin Su Die made a bid, everyone understood what she was thinking. She clearly wasn’t willing to accept Qu Chang Feng’s affection. For a time, many people directed meaningful looks towards the private room of Heaven Battling Union, all of them taking pleasure in his misfortune.

Qu Chang Feng, however, wasn’t bothered by this and simply declared, “Since Junior Sister Yin wants to bid herself, this Qu will withdraw. More than anything else I hope Junior Sister Yin can win this treasure, so I ask everyone else to show some consideration. Junior Sister Yin rarely bids on anything, I don’t want her to be disappointed.”

Although he spoke in a light, almost half-hearted tone, his mix of eloquent and threatening words made many people unhappy. But no matter how unhappy they were, no one dared say anything; after all, the only forces comparable to Heaven Battling Union on Shadowed Star were Thunder Typhoon Sect and Star Emperor Sect.

Sure enough, after Qu Chang Feng finished speaking, the auction hall fell silent and the price failed to rise any further. Even Fang Tian Zhong, who would always oppose him didn’t say a word.

In the private room of Shadow Moon Hall, the beautiful young woman looked at Dragon Striker Whip with some clear yearning. Qian Tong glanced over at her and asked, “Xuan’er, do you want this artefact?”

The beautiful young woman called Xuan’er blinked before shaking her head and replying, “Xuan’er does not want it.”

“You really don’t want it?” Qian Tong asked once more, “If you want it, we’ll bid for it now!”

The young woman just smiled lightly, “It’s true, Master. If it was just an ordinary Origin Grade Mid-Rank whip, I would still want it, but the poison spike at its tip is too sinister. Xuan’er does not want it.”

The brave and heroic youth who had never spoken grinned and said proudly, “Junior Sister Xuan’er is kind-hearted. When she encounters small injured animals, she will insist on bringing them back to treat them. The poisonous spike on this whip does not conform to Junior Sister’s way. I most like this about Junior Sister Xuan’er!”

Listening to the young man so boldly speak such words in front of so many people, the pretty young woman couldn’t help blushing brightly.

Qian Tong sighed softly as he glanced over at the young woman with some slight guilt.

How could he not know his Disciple was just making an excuse? The poison spike at the tip of the whip was indeed somewhat malicious, but wouldn’t it be fine to simply not use it? His Disciple speaking so was simply because she didn’t want Shadow Moon Hall to offend Coloured Glass Sect and Heaven Battling Union.

After all, once Yin Su Die started bidding, it was clear Qu Chang Feng was trying to help her.

These two juniors playing this game wasn’t even placed in Qian Tong’s eyes. He believed that even if he bid for this long whip himself, it wouldn’t be considered an offence by Coloured Glass Sect and Heaven Battling Union, but… what if by spending Saint Crystals now, he wound up not having enough for the true final item?

It was precisely because Qian Tong knew of the preciousness of the last item that during this time’s Treasure Trove Pavilion auction, Shadow Moon Hall had never bid on anything, he was saving all his resources for the final fight.

His Disciple consideration made Qian Tong feel both warm and bitter. He was an Elder of Shadow Moon Hall, since when did he need to hesitate so much over buying an artefact for his Disciple?

Just as Qian Tong was struggling with himself, the brave and heroic young man suddenly shouted, “3.5 million!”

When this price was called, the silent auction hall filled with noise again.

“I told you it was impossible for an Origin Grade Mid-Rank artefact to sell for just 3.2 million. Someone finally increased the price.”

“Who has so much courage? Isn’t he afraid of being targeted by Qu Chang Feng?”

“That bid also came from one of the A Block private rooms. He must be from a great force that doesn’t need to worry about such things.”

“It came from the private room of Shadow Moon Hall. I remember Elder Qian Tong Elder’s voice coming inside a while ago. The one who made the bid was Shadow Moon Hall’s most talented disciple, Wei Gu Chang. His personal strength isn’t lower than Fang Tian Zhong or Qu Chang Feng’s.”

“It’s him! Then he must be bidding on it for Dong Xuan’er. I heard that those two grew up together and had long been secretly in love with one another. I wonder if that’s true!”

Inside Shadow Moon Hall’s private room, Dong Xuan’er looked over at Wei Gu Chang in surprise, as if she hadn’t expected him to suddenly make a bid.

Wei Gu Chang let out a confident laugh, “If you want it, we’ll compete for it, there’s no need to care about what others think!”

With that said, he turned to Qian Tong and asked, “Elder Qian, can I take responsibility for these Saint Crystals?”

Qian Tong smiled slightly and nodded, “Go ahead.”

His heart truly felt more comfortable hearing this. Dong Xuan’er was his disciple, and although Wei Gu Chang had no Master-Disciple status with him, for so many years ,Qian Tong had been teaching him to cultivate, so their relationship was no different from a true Master and Disciple. Both of these two youths had excellent aptitude and Qian Tong deeply felt that if they had not been born on Shadowed Star, but somewhere in the outside world, they would definitely have even greater achievements in the future.

What Qian Tong was most satisfied with Wei Gu Chang about though was that he always looked after Dong Xuan’er, like an older brother who wanted to protect and spoil her in every possible way. He was also able to push Dong Xuan’er forward as she was normally quite a shy and quiet girl, lacking all the usual shortcomings star disciples of other great forces possessed.

These two were without a doubt the best disciples in Shadow Moon Hall’s younger generation and were regarded by Qian Tong as the Sect’s greatest hope for the future.

Now that Wei Gu Chang was participating in the auction on Dong Xuan’er’s behalf, Qian Tong would naturally support him.

“4 million!” From the private room of Coloured Glass Sect, Yin Su Die’s voice called out again.

Although her tone was flat, Yin Su Die was secretly gritted her teeth. If Wei Gu Chang hadn’t made a bid, she might have been able to buy the Dragon Striker Whip for just 3.2 million, but with him suddenly jumping out and bidding, the price had instantly risen greatly.

This was tantamount to spending money unnecessarily.

Atop the high platform, Yan Pei stood calmly, like an unmoving mountain, the corner of his mouth curling into a faint sneer for just a moment before such an expression disappeared.

[An Origin Grade Mid-Rank artefact for just 3 or 4 million Saint Crystals? Pure nonsense! If this old master doesn’t pull at least 10 million today, he won’t be worthy of his name as chief auctioneer of Treasure Trove Pavilion!] Even if Wei Gu Chang hadn’t pushed the price higher, someone else would have, so Old Black Face Yan Pei wasn’t the slightest bit worried this Dragon Striker Whip would sell at a low price.

“4.2 million!” In the private room of Shadow Moon Hall, Wei Gu Chang raised the price again without hesitation.

“4.5 million!” Yin Su Die also bid, and although her voice was still soft and pleasant to the ear, she spoke with noticeably more force and speed.

Wei Gu Chang was just about to raise prices again when Qian Tong suddenly shook his head and said, “Don’t.”

Wei Gu Chang looked at Qian Tong and asked in confusion, “May I ask why? This Dragon Striker Whip isn’t something that can be bought for so few million Saint Crystals.”

“Indeed, but if we win it, we will lose the qualification to bid on the last item, and… Do you think that the Yan Pei is a vegetarian? He can bleed Coloured Glass Sect dry without our help.”

“There are more items to be auctioned?” Wei Gu Chang was startled, and Dong Xuan’er asked, “Didn’t Senior Yan just say that this was the auction’s finale?”

“Can’t there be two items in the finale?” Qian Tong grinned meaningfully before turning to Wei Gu Chang, “Xuan’er already understands your intentions, that is enough. There’s no need to bid again.”

“I understand,” Wei Gu Chang wasn’t like Qu Chang Feng, who carelessly chased after beauties. With Qian Tong saying so, he immediately understood and no longer tried to raise the price.

When Wei Gu Chang stopped bidding, everyone felt somewhat disappointed that he had withdrawn from the competition.

Old Black Face Yan Pei rolled his eyes as he glanced over at Shadow Moon Hall’s private room, grinning as he muttered under his breath, “Old fart, still as cunning as ever!”

He seemed to know that Qian Tong was like him, not someone easy to handle. One of them had leaked out news of special treasures appearing to maximize their benefits in the auction while the other had massively increased the fee to use Heavenly Fate City’s Space Array in order to collect more Saint Crystals in preparation for the upcoming fight. Both of them forced the various great forces into many grievances while simultaneously giving them nowhere to complain about them.

Glancing around the auction hall, there were only some scattered discussions with no one in the private rooms showing any intention to bid. Yan Pei was secretly annoyed and was preparing to signal one of the black hands he had arranged in the hall to raise the price of the Dragon Striker Whip when someone finally called out, “Pardon my offense, 4.6 million!”

This voice came from one of the B Block private rooms. No one knew who he was apologizing to, Yin Su Die or Qu Chang Feng, but by doing so his momentum was already quite depressed.

The person in this private room was probably very interested in bidding for the Dragon Striker Whip but was somewhat uneasy as well. Therefore, he first showed deference in the hopes that others wouldn’t look to settle accounts with him afterwards.

Sure enough, as soon as this bid was made, Qu Chang Feng’s cold snort from the private room of Heaven Battling Union echoed, the threatening tone extremely obvious for all to hear.

Although he was discontented with Wei Gu Chang suddenly participating in the auction just now, Qu Chang Feng didn’t raise any objections; after all, Shadow Moon Hall wasn’t weak and Wei Gu Chang was also bidding for Dong Xuan’er, so it was a reasonable competition, but now, someone from the B Block wanted to join in, an act akin to questioning his prestige, naturally annoying Qu Chang Feng to no end.

He had clearly said that Junior Sister Yin wanted this Dragon Striker Whip and politely asked others to show due respect for her feelings, yet now there were so many people without eyes who were stirring up trouble.

Just Qu Chang Feng wanted to say a few words to demonstrate his authority, Yin Su Die’s somewhat angry voice called out from Coloured Glass Sect’s room, “5 million!”

From this display, Yin Su Die was making it know she was determined to win this Dragon Striker Whip. She hadn’t bid for the other Origin Grade Low-Rank artifacts that appeared before, so it was impossible for her to back down now.

As soon as the price of five million was called, no more sound came from that B Block private room. It wasn’t known if this person had run out of Saint Crystals or had been frightened into submission by Qu Chang Feng’s threat.

However, it was more likely the latter.

The auction hall once again fell silent after the price of five million was called, no one trying to increase the price.

Inside private room C-13 though, Yang Kai frowned deeply, thinking it over for a moment as his expression flickered back and forth before he suddenly shouted out a shocking price, “6 million!”

Chapter 1162, Terrifying Bidding

Translator: Silavin & PewPewLaserGun

Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain

The Dragon Striker Whip’s auction has been relatively calm so far, and although the price was indeed rising, everyone’s bid had been incremental and sensible.

But Yang Kai had actually sent out a bid of 6 million, a million more than Yin Su Die’s previous offer!

The audience went into an uproar again.

Atop the auction stage, the beautiful woman who had previously been hosting the auction shot a questioning glance towards Old Yan Pei. She thought that this was all arranged by this Old Black Face, but a reckless bid wasn’t very professional and would easily draw suspicion.

However, Yan Pei actually shook his head slightly, indicating that the bidder he had arranged was not in that private room, causing the beautiful woman a certain degree of surprise.

In room C-13, when Yang Kai shouted the sky high price of 6 million Saint Crystals, Wu Yi and Yang Yan both covered their mouths and stared at him in shock, wondering what he was trying to do.

That was six million Saint Crystals; if this bid were to win the Dragon Striker Whip, wouldn’t there be no place for them to cry?

Yang Kai simply showed a look of absolute confidence.

He firmly believed that the price of the Dragon Striker Whip would be higher than 6 million!

After participating in this auction, Yang Kai had gained a general understanding of the values of artefacts of different grades, and this estimation of his was very different from his initial expectations. Originally he had thought that an Origin Grade Low-Rank artefact could sell for between 2 and 3 hundred thousand, while a Mid-Rank artefact would sell for around one million. But the twin daggers refined by Yang Yan had actually sold for the shocking price of 2.1 million Saint Crystals.

The Dragon Striker Whip was a genuine Origin Grade Mid-Rank artefact, so how could it sell for just a few million Saint Crystals? 10 million was far more likely.

If it weren’t for Qu Chang Feng’s previous remarks, this Dragon Striker Whip would surely have countless people bidding for it and the price would have already soared the Heavens. But because of Qu Chang Feng’s veiled threats, very few people were willing to bid for fear of offending him and Yin Su Die of Coloured Glass Sect.

Yang Kai didn’t have the slightest good impression of Qu Chang Feng, and he has no friendship with Yin Su Die, so naturally he wouldn’t allow his items to be sold at such a low price. Since no one was willing to bid, he just had to raise the price himself. At worst he would rather buy back the Dragon Striker Whip than let others take advantage of it.

“Hmph, this friend seems to like showing off, but can you even take out 6 million Saint Crystals?” The cold voice of Qu Chang Feng called out from his private room, obviously thinking Yang Kai didn’t have that many Saint Crystals.

“What business of yours is it if he can take out that many Saint Crystals or not? If he can’t, Treasure Trove Pavilion will handle him. If you want to bid, just bid, quit spouting nonsense,” Fang Tian Zhong said.

“Brother Fang, what business of yours is this? Do you just want to run your mouth?” Qu Chang Feng’s voice became even colder. Normally he and Fang Tian Zhong would trade taunts back and forth, but at this time he was feeling like his face was being spit at, driving Qu Chang Feng to the limits of his patience.

“I just can’t get used to some people putting on airs.”

“Two Juniors, mind what you say. If you dare to show improper decorum again, you will be expelled from Treasure Trove Pavilion and never allowed to participate in our auctions again!” Yan Pei coldly snorted.

With Old Yan Pe’s word, they dared not go overboard again. Qu Chang Feng and Fang Tian Zhong both admitted their wrong and apologizing immediately.

Yan Pei nodded lightly before saying in a strong voice, “The guest from room C-13 bids 6 million Saint Crystals, is there any higher offer?”

“6.5 million!” Qu Chang Feng immediately increased the price.

Before Yang Kai could open his mouth, Fang Tian Zhong’s voice came out, “7 million!”

Not waiting for Qu Chang Feng to bid again, Yang Kai ruthlessly called, “8 million!”

“Hahaha! I can’t let you younglings take all the fame! This old master will bid 8.5 million!” Qian Tong laughed and shouted.

Yang Kai gawked, but after thinking about it for a moment, he smiled slightly, lifted his cup of tea, and sipped it gently before turning to Wu Yi and Yang Yan and saying, “It’s just about over, get ready to collect our money.”

Qian Tong had already bid 8.5 million, but that wasn’t because he was intending to win this item but rather because he wanted to direct the audience’s attention and ire towards himself, which was why he had immediately increased the price after Yang Kai.

Qian Tong’s thoughts were quite sharp, earning him Yang Kai’s appreciation.

In the private room of Shadow Moon Hall, Wei Gu Chang and Dong Xuan’er looked at Qian Tong in puzzlement, both of them wondering why their Elder had suddenly decided to participate in this auction again; however, neither of them asked anything, figuring Qian Tong had his reasons.

The Dragon Striker Whip’s auction had turned out quite dramatic. Almost from the start, this Origin Grade Mid-Rank artefact had very few willing to bid on it, the entire hall falling silent a number of times, but no one could have imagined that in the last possible moment the price had soared upwards. After Qian Tong’s bid of 8.5 million, Yin Su Die immediately followed up with a 9 million Saint Crystal bid which ended up being the final selling price.

Although the Dragon Striker Whip didn’t end up reaching 10 million, such a price was still enough to thrill and amaze most people.

9 million Saint Crystals, just how many great forces on all of Shadowed Star could take out such an amount?

In private room C-13, Wu Yi and Yang Yan both stared wide eyed with faces flushed red with excitement, their hands clasped tightly together as they directed looks of pure admiration towards Yang Kai.

If it weren’t for Yang Kai’s intervention a moment ago, the Dragon Striker Whip could likely have sold for just 5 million, yet now it sold for nearly twice as much.

Counting the profits from the Origin Condensing Pill and twin daggers earlier, this time, the three of them had reaped a huge harvest.

Obtaining more than ten million High-Rank Saint Crystals so easily was something they had never before imagined, and Wu Yi and Yang Yan even began to wonder if they were dreaming right now.

“You think that 10 million is a lot?” Yang Kai chuckled.

“Isn’t ten million a lot?” Wu Yi was stunned, “How much do you want?”

“Just watch, something more terrifying is about to appear,” Yang Kai took another sip of his tea as he stared at the platform slightly excitedly. He could already vaguely tell that the true last item would sell for more than the Dragon Striker Whip. Although he didn’t know what price it would fetch in the end, since Treasure Trove Pavilion decided to put it up for auction after the Dragon Striker Whip, Yang Kai didn’t doubt its value was higher.

Atop the platform, Yan Pei lightly coughed before announcing, “The last item of the auction will be present now…”

As he spoke, the beautiful female auctioneer personally held a jade plate and walked over to Yan Pei. Everyone could clearly see the tender body of this woman trembling as she held this item.

This scene made the masters in the private rooms curious. This beautiful woman was an auctioneer of Treasure Trove Pavilion so she wasn’t someone ignorant of the world. On the contrary, she should be used to handling rare and precious items, so just what kind of treasure could make her so excited that even the smile on her pretty face had become a bit tight.

“Please see for yourselves!” Yan Pei lifted the red cloth covering the jade plate and the last auction item immediately appeared in front of everyone’s eyes.

It was a transparent bottle, made from neither gold nor jade. It wasn’t clear what material this bottle was made from, but it was obviously quite valuable in and of itself; however, it was not the bottle which attracted everyone’s attention, but the pill which was quietly laying inside it!

This pill was perfectly round with a smooth surface filled with clearly visible lines which crisscrossed over each other, just like the human meridians.

“Pill Veins!”

“An Origin Condensing Pill that formed Pill Veins!”

Countless shouts rang out from all directions, and from many of the private rooms the sound of shattering chairs, overturned tables, and broken tea cups resounded…

At this moment, the representatives of Shadowed Star’s great forces could no longer retain their calm. Each of these figures was normally so calm and stalwart that even if a mountain collapsed in front of them, they wouldn’t bat an eye, but now they were all behaving like country bumpkins who had never seen the world, all of them displaying disgraceful and frantic performances.

The cultivators in the auction hall were all thrown into an uproar.

The Origin Condensing Pill that had been sold at the mid-point of the auction had been won by Jiang Huai An, one of the Temple Masters of Sea Temple, for a price of one million ten thousand Saint Crystals, so now that another Origin Condensing Pill had appeared, everyone could naturally recognize it.

However, this Origin Condensing Pill was obviously different from the previous one; it was an Origin Condensing Pill that formed Pill Veins!

The Origin Condensing Pill was a Saint King Grade High-Rank pill, but refining it was extremely difficult and generally required an Origin Grade Low-Rank Alchemist to act. But an Origin Condensing Pill with Pill Veins wasn’t necessarily even able to be refined by an Origin King Grade Alchemist.

Yet at this moment, such a pill had actually appeared on the auction stage!

*Shua Shua Shua…*

Suddenly, a group of people flew out, their auras surging as their eyes swept over the crowd fiercely. These people were all Origin Returning Realm masters of Treasure Trove Pavilion, and after they appeared, they formed a water-tight circle around the Origin Condensing Pill, the solemn expressions on their faces saying they would kill anyone who dared to approach. The thick murderous intent emanating from these masters caused all the clamouring in the auction hall to immediately cease.

Seeing this scene, the representatives of the great forces in their private rooms gradually calmed down and slowly took their seats; however, their faces were still filled with shock and determination flashed across their eyes.

They finally understood why Yan Pei had leaked out a message for them to raise more Saint Crystals.

It turned out that the real finale was not the Dragon Striker Whip, but this Origin Condensing Pill with Pill Veins. This pill was absolutely worth them losing everything in order to win.

Yan Pei observed his surroundings silently, and after everyone had finally calmed down and the noisy auction hall fell silent, he proudly declared, “Have you all seen clearly now? Good, since that is the case, let’s not waste time. The starting price for this Origin Condensing Pill is 5 million, each new bid must increase the price by at least 5 hundred thousand!”

Yan Pei’s words had barely ended before numerous calls were made from all over, the intensity of the bidding far outstripping any previous auction.

Moreover, everyone who made a bid did so with great vigor.

The representatives of all the great forces were personally participating in this auction.

There were far too many bids all at once, as almost every private room was calling out, but Yan Pei didn’t pay this any mind, simply directing his attention towards the one who made the highest offer.

6 million, 8 million, 10 million, 15 million, 20 million…

After less than ten breaths of time, this Origin Condensing Pill’s price had risen to 30 million, and the bidding was not slowing down in the slightest; in fact, the competition was becoming even fiercer, with every successive bid adding millions more to the last.

Yan Pei didn’t even need to say anything, or deliberately try to heat up the atmosphere, he simply needed sweep his eyes around and others would automatically increase the price.

35 million, 40 million… the price soared upwards with unstoppably momentum, reaching 50 million, then 60 million…

Chapter 1163, Has Everyone Gone Insane?
Treasure Trove Pavilion held an auction every two or three years, but few auctions were ever as competitive as today.

Many of the cultivators who sat on the main floor had their jaws dropped and were unable to close them for a long time. The numbers called out from the private rooms made all of them unable to believe their ears.

Had they not happened to participate in this auction, they would never have known just how deep the heritage of these great forces really was.

After 60 million was called though, many sighs could be heard from the private rooms as the masters inside had to bow out of the competition.

This number was like a watershed. After which, 80 percent of the forces on Shadowed Star lost the qualification to participate.

In the private room of Coloured Glass Sect, Yin Su Die’s pretty face was filled with absolute shock. Coloured Glass Sect had already been forced to withdraw when the price exceeded 50 million, causing the middle-aged woman sitting next to Yin Su Die to sigh heavily and smile bitterly, “Let’s just watch the liveliness.”

“Second Aunt… has everyone gone insane? Even if an Origin Condensing Pill that formed Pill Veins is valuable, isn’t it impossible to be worth so much? Why is everyone competing so crazily for it?” Yin Su Die turned her head towards the middle-aged woman and asked.

Not just Yin Su Die was wondering about this though; most of the talents from the young generation who were sitting in the private rooms were asking the same question, none of them understanding why their Elders were willing to spend so much money to win this Origin Condensing Pill.

An Origin Condensing Pill could only increase the chance of a Third Order Saint King Realm cultivator breaking through to the Origin Returning Realm, it wasn’t an Origin Nirvana Pill. If it was an Origin Nirvana Pill, that could increase the chances a Third Order Origin Returning Realm master could break through to the Origin King Realm, was what was being auctioned, all of them could understand such a price being shouted, but this was clearly just an Origin Condensing Pill!

Fang Tian Zhong, Qu Chang Feng, Wei Gu Chang, and Dong Xuan’er, all stared curiously towards their respective Elders, hoping that they could dispel their doubts.

In Shadow Moon Hall’s private room, after Qian Tong bid 65 million, he solemnly said, “Do you think everyone is bidding for this Origin Condensing Pill? You’re wrong; this Origin Condensing Pill that has formed Pill Veins can guarantee a Third Order Saint King cultivator breaks through to Origin Returning Realm, but if that was its only value, it wouldn’t be worth such a price. Perhaps 2 or 3 million Saint Crystals would be enough. This pill’s true value is that it is rumoured to assist a cultivator to fully condense their own Shi. If you think about it carefully, if a cultivator who takes this Origin Condensing Pill is able to smoothly condense their Shi, perhaps when they reach the Third Order Origin Returning Realm, they will be able to break through Shadowed Star’s shackles and reach the Origin King Realm!”

Wei Gu Chang and Dong Xuan’er both trembling in shock, the former anxiously asking, “What Elder means is, they aren’t bidding for a pill that can allow the birth of an Origin Returning Realm, but they are bidding for an opportunity to break through to the Origin King Realm?”

“Exactly!” Qian Tong nodded, “You younger generations have yet to understand the real value of this pill, but that’s not your fault. On the other hand, we old masters, and the Seniors who came before us, have spent hundreds, if not thousands of years studying methods to reach the Origin King Realm. Taking an Origin Condensing Pill that has formed Pill Veins is one of the methods that was discovered. Whether this method can yield success is still unknown, but even if it is just a glimmer of hope, we must grab hold of it!”

There was no Origin King on Shadowed Star, but once one appeared, they would be able to dominate all of Shadowed Star! For such a possibility, what did a few tens of millions of Saint Crystals matter? As long as one could become the supreme leader of Shadowed Star, these Saint Crystals could be made back at any time.

“Disciple understands,” Wei Gu Chang nodded.

Qian Tong glanced over at him and smiled, “An Origin Condensing Pill can only be used by a Third Order Saint King, we old masters are now bidding for the young disciples of our Sects. In Shadow Moon Hall, you and Xuan’er are the most qualified to take it, but your aptitude is slightly better than Xuan’er, so if we can win it, this Origin Condensing Pill will be yours.”

Wei Gu Chang however just grinned, “Disciple was not concerned about this. If it can be won, it doesn’t matter whether Xuan’er or I take it.”

He spoke in a calm and carefree manner, without the slightest pretence, only exchanging a glance with Dong Xuan’er, both of them smiling lightly.

Qian Tong nodded with satisfaction. He was very satisfied with these two disciples. He believed that even if he won this Origin Condensing Pill, these two would only try to push the other to take it. It was impossible for this Senior Brother and Junior Sister pair to have a falling out over a pill.

[That being said… is it possible for us to even win it?] Qian Tong wasn’t confident.

There were only five Sects left in the bidding, Star Emperor Sect, Heaven Battling Union, Thunder Typhoon Sect, Sea Temple, and Shadow Moon Hall, all others had dropped out.

If Qian Tong had not collected so many road tolls just now, Shadow Moon Hall would have exited long ago, but even with these extra Saint Crystals, he wasn’t sure how long they could persist. The price of this Origin Condensing Pill had already reached 68 million, and Qian Tong only had 80 million available to him, so it wouldn’t be long before he too reached his limit.

Qian Tong frowned deeply, and as he glanced over at Luo Qing who was standing nearby, he felt a deep urge to beat this bastard again.

Feeling his Elder’s malevolent gaze, Luo Qing couldn’t help shrinking his neck. He didn’t know where he had offended Elder Qian, but it was like the latter found him particularly unpleasant to the eye today.

“70 million!” A loud voice from the private room of Heaven Battling Union called out. It belonged to one of the Sect Elders as, at this level of bidding, juniors like Qu Chang Feng weren’t eligible to participate.

“75 million!” Heaven Battling Union’s bid was immediately followed by one private room A-1, without the slightest of hesitation or unease.

In private room C-13, Yang Kai was completely stunned, even if he had mentally prepared himself for this somewhat, he was still shocked by the price.

Like Wei Gu Chang, Dong Xuan’er, and the other young talents in the hall, he didn’t understand why these people were bidding so frantically, almost to the point where he questioned their sanity. Since Treasure Trove Pavilion used this Origin Condensing Pill as the final auction item, Yang Kai was certain it would sell for a higher price than the Dragon Striker Whip, but this was far too high.

Yang Kai realized once again he had miscalculated the value of the items he had entered into this auction.

However, facing such an exaggerated situation, Yang Kai didn’t believe the problem lay with him, but rather that there was some hidden story behind this that he didn’t understand.

How could he have known that the cultivators on Shadowed Star had theorized that an Origin Condensing Pill that formed Pill Veins would help them pursue the Origin King Realm by fully condensing their Shi?

At this moment, Yang Kai was secretly rejoicing that he had not refined two Origin Condensing Pills with Pill Veins. At that time, for the purposes of this auction, he had deliberately refined an ordinary Origin Condensing Pill and one with Pill Veins.

His original intentions were to acquire a few Saint Crystals to allow Yang Yan to purchase enough materials to slightly enhance the Spirit Array around Dragon Cave Mountain, but now it had actually acquired a massive sum of money.

“Yang Kai, don’t tell me this Origin Condensing Pill was brought to auction by you…” Wu Yi bit her red lips and whispered to Yang Kai.

“Haha…” Yang Kai let out a hollow laugh and didn’t respond directly.

Wu Yi and Yang Yan covered their little mouths as their beautiful eyes filled with shock. Compared to the price of this Origin Condensing Pill, the ten million or so Saint Crystals they had previously obtained were truly not worth mentioning.

The price was still rising, causing Yan Pei’s face to show a rare ruddy complexion, standing atop the auction state with a big smile.

There were only five Sects still bidding, each of them unwilling to yield, but after reaching a price of 80 million, Sea Temple and Shadow Moon Hall had no choice but to withdraw, deep sighs coming from their respective private rooms.

Such a price had exceeded their bottom lines.

After these two great forces bowed out, only Shadowed Star’s top tree Sects, Star Emperor Sect, Heaven Battling Union, and Thunder Typhoon Sect remained, drawing the attention of everyone in the hall.

The amount these three Sects increased the price now was considerably smaller than before, with the representatives from Heaven Battling Union and Thunder Typhoon Sect often hesitating for a long period of time before making a new bid.

However, the A-1 private room which belonged to Star Emperor Sect always increased the price decisively, fully demonstrating their boldness and wealth.

Yang Kai has long ago taken note of this private room, as from beginning to end, its occupants had only bought some Origin Grade artefacts and pills.

After asking Wu Yi, he naturally learned that this private room belonged to Star Emperor Sect.

According to Wu Yi, although Star Emperor Sect was the greatest force on Shadowed Star, their people rarely showed up outside. It also seemed that there were very few people who belonged to Star Emperor Sect, and almost all of them remained on Star Emperor Mountain in secluded cultivation.

The founder of Star Emperor Sect apparently obtained some inheritance from the Starry Sky Great Emperor himself and claimed to be a disciple of the Star Emperor.

Under normal circumstances, Star Emperor Sect was aloof to any conflicts on Shadowed Star, maintaining a relatively peaceful appearance.

But no one dared to underestimate them, because it was rumored that there were many top level Third-Order Origin Returning Realm masters in this Sect.

After a stick of incense worth of time, the price of Origin Condensing Pill climbed to 90 million Saint Crystal, the price quoted by Thunder Typhoon Sect.

“100 million!” The voice from private room A-1 then directly raised the price by ten million, showing its great determination to win this pill.

Inside the private room of Thunder Typhoon Sect, the master who had quote the 90 million price grinned bitterly, knowing that even if he increased his bid again, Star Emperor Sect would still snatch this Origin Condensing Pill from them, so he simply declared, “Thunder Typhoon Sect withdraws from this competition!”

As soon as this master had made this announcement, Heaven Battling Union also declared it was giving up.

Spending a hundred million Saint Crystals on the uncertain possibility of being able to reach the Origin King Realm wasn’t something these two Sects could afford. On top of that, even if it were successful, it would be a hundred, or possibly several hundred years before any results could be seen. Who knows what could happen over the course of a few hundred years? Perhaps a more effective method would appear by then.

Considering all this, Thunder Typhoon Sect and Heaven Battling Union no longer tried to bid.

Yan Pei also knew that no one was wealthier than Star Emperor Sect, so he immediately started the three count and the auction soon ended with Star Emperor Sect winning the final victory.

From the other private rooms, congratulations were spoken aloud to Star Emperor Sect for winning the finale and soon after, the people from Treasure Trove Pavilion delivered the price to room A-1.

Yan Pei stood atop the stage and announced the end of the auction, once again thanking the great forces for their support, drawing loud cheers and applause from the audience.

The people sitting on the main floor of the auction hall rose and left one after another, with the masters from the private rooms also getting up and leaving.

Yang Kai however didn’t move. Qian Tong had asked to speak with him after the auction was over, so he wasn’t in a rush to leave. Yang Kai also happened to have something he wanted to discuss with Qian Tong, so naturally he remained.

Chapter 1164, Naturally I’ll Go
In the private room of Shadow Moon Hall, Qian Tong remained motionless for a long time, a slight annoyance apparent between his brow. If he had known that even after collecting 30 million worth of road tolls, he still wouldn’t have been able to win that Origin Condensing Pill, he would have gone all out to buy that Dragon Striker Whip for his Disciple.

Now he had obtained nothing, so naturally, he was regretting it.

After waiting a stick of incense worth of time, Qian Tong turned to the Shadow Moon Hall disciples standing next to him and said, “You go back first. The Flowing Flame Sand Field will soon open, so cultivate diligently when you return to the Sect.”

The disciples all nodded before filing out of the room, leaving only Wei Gu Chang and Dong Xuan’er from the younger generation. Qian Tong then stood up and said, “You two come with me, I want to introduce you to someone.”

“Yes,” Wei Gu Chang and Dong Xuan’er followed him obediently.

Inside private room C-13, Wu Yi took some Saint Crystals out and gave them to the two Shadow Moon Hall female disciples who had been attending to them. After accepting their cheerful thanks, Wu Yi sent them away.

Yang Kai’s group of three then waited for Qian Tong to arrive.

Just as he was becoming somewhat bored, Yang Kai heard a knock at the door. Wu Yi immediately got up to open the door, and a moment later Qian Tong walked in accompanied by a young man and woman.

“Nephew Yang, I’ve kept you waiting,” Qian Tong cupped his fists and politely greeted.

“Senior is too polite, this Junior was not in any rush,” Yang Kai stood up to welcome him inside.

Hearing the change in how Yang Kai addressed him, Qian Tong’s eyes brightened, and his smile widened. Yang Kai had always called him Elder Qian, but now he had suddenly become ‘Senior’, which was obviously a bit more respectful. How could Qian Tong not understand that Yang Kai was expressing gratitude for his help during the auction?

Without drawing attention to this point, Qian Tong simply sat down at Yang Kai’s invitation.

Wei Gu Chang and Dong Xuan’er, who had been following Qian Tong, both had somewhat strange expressions on their faces. Originally, when Qian Tong said he was going to introduce them to someone, they had thought it would be a Senior from somewhere, but the one in front of them now was just a Junior like them. On top of that, this Junior’s cultivation wasn’t high, just First-Order Saint King.

What was so special about this young man that he warranted such polite treatment from their Elder? The two of them had been together with Qian Tong for a long time and could tell from his words and expressions that there wasn’t just politeness in his demeanour, but even a hint of caution.

However, this young man definitely didn’t belong to any of the top three Sects, so who exactly was he?

“These two are…” Yang Kai turned his eyes inquisitively towards Wei Gu Chang and Dong Xuan’er. Although he had already guessed the identities of this man and the woman, he still pretended not to know them.

Why would Qian Tong bring them with him? However, after a little thought, Yang Kai understood Qian Tong’s intentions.

Seemingly just remembering their presence, Qian Tong laughed and said, “Haha, I forgot to introduce them, Nephew.”

Waving his hand towards the brave and heroic man, Qian Tong said, “This the most talented disciple my Shadow Moon Hall has produced in the past several hundred years, Wei Gu Chang.” Next, he pointed to the woman, “And this is Dong Xuan’er, this old master’s best Disciple. You two, this is Yang Kai, hurry up and greet him.”

Wei Gu Chang and Dong Xuan’er heard Qian Tong’s introduction and were secretly startled. As members of the younger generation, they were accustomed to greeting Seniors on first meeting, but among their peers, they would only offer the first greeting when the other’s status or cultivation exceeded their own. This young man named Yang Kai, however, was a stranger, and his cultivation was much lower than their own, so why was their Elder pushing them to greet him politely?

With such thoughts in their hearts, both of them hesitated, not immediately following up on Qian Tong’s words.

Seeing this, how could Qian Tong not know what they were confused about? Although these two disciples had good hearts and personalities, without the common negative traits top-level disciples of great forces generally had, they had their own sense of pride. It could be said that even if Fang Tian Zhong or Qu Chang Feng were the ones standing here, they wouldn’t have the qualifications to make them offer polite greetings.

Qian Tong secretly became a bit anxious, worried the attitude of these two would make Yang Kai dissatisfied. If Yang Kai became displeased, all of Qian Tong’s previous efforts would be wasted. Qian Tong grumbled to himself that if he had just made things clear to these two before they came, things would not have become so embarrassing.

Yang Kai, however, didn’t mind such things and just laughed it off while cupping his fists, “So it is Brother Wei; Brother’s name truly resounds like thunder! I’ve heard so much about you.”

Yang Kai had first heard Wei Gu Chang’s name today, so this praise was wholly insincere, but selling Qian Tong some face wasn’t an issue.

Wei Gu Chang gently nodded, also cupping his fists but did not speak.

Yang Kai then turned to Dong Xuan’er and said, “Greetings, Sister Dong.”

Dong Xuan’er elegantly returned the greeting, but just like Wei Gu Chang, she did not say anything.

Qian Tong quickly laughed and said, “This Qian is old, but you are all around the same age, so you should become closer in the future.”

Yang Kai neither agreed nor disagree with this sentiment while Wei Gu Chang and Dong Xuan’er were equally aloof as neither of them felt any need to become closer with Yang Kai. Although their Elder seemed to fancy this person, only true masters and elite could win their respect. If this young man only had some kind of great status, no matter how high it was, it would not be enough for them to act humbly before him.

Qian Tong also realized he had somewhat mishandled this matter. He had originally brought Wei Gu Chang and Dong Xuan’er to meet Yang Kai because he felt they were all part of the same generation and would be able to get along with one another. As long as they managed to become friends with Yang Kai, there would be no need to worry about benefiting in the future, but Qian Tong had apparently underestimated the arrogance of his two disciples.

After determining no further good would come from having them remain, Qian Tong asked the two youths to wait outside.

Wei Gu Chang and Dong Xuan’er bowed politely before excusing themselves, for the most part, ignoring Yang Kai’s existence.

After they left, Qian Tong smiled bitterly, “I’ve shown Nephew Yang something embarrassing, this old master has apparently been lax in his education.”

Yang Kai just shook his head, “Today I was able to see many of the young talents from Shadowed Star, and honestly, the two of them left a far better impression than any of the others.”

Qu Chang Feng was the type of arrogant and prideful character Yang Kai hated the most. When Fang Tian Zhong confronted Qu Chang Feng in front of Treasure Trove Pavilion, he had not cared about anyone else in the vicinity, and if not for Yang Kai possessing far greater strength than an average First Order Saint King, he would have been forced into an ugly situation. This, of course, didn’t leave a good impression on Yang Kai. As for Yin Su Die, she came off as a somewhat manipulative woman; young, but already deceitful and conniving.

Wei Gu Chang and Dong Xuan’er at least did not possess such shortcoming, it was just that their characters were quite straightforward, otherwise they wouldn’t have caused Qian Tong so much embarrassment.

Of course, Yang Kai was only speaking such words to smooth over the situation. Despite Qian Tong’s words, he had no intentions to make friends with these two. They had their pride, but Yang Kai also had his.

No one was perfect.

Sure enough, though, Yang Kai’s words reassured Qian Tong and he instead began chatting with a smile.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Yang Kai asked, “Senior, before the auction started, you indicated that there was something you wished to discuss with me, may I ask what that was?”

Hearing this, Qian Tong’s expression became serious as he asked back, “Has Nephew heard of the Flowing Flame Sand Field?”

Yang Kai stared at him in surprise, wondering if the two of them were actually wanted to discuss the same matter. Gently nodding, Yang Kai replied, “I’ve heard of it and know a little about its strange characteristics.”

“En, since you’ve heard of it, that will make things easier,” Qian Tong sipped his tea before continuing to ask, “Would Nephew Yang like to explore the Flowing Flame Sand Field?”

“What does Senior mean?” Although Yang Kai indeed wished for such an opportunity, he didn’t immediately reveal his own thoughts, wanting to know exactly what Qian Tong was here to discuss with him first.

“Please don’t misunderstand, Nephew Yang,” Qian Tong smiled, “Originally, this old master didn’t intend to recommend you visit the Flowing Flame Sand Field; after all, it is an extremely dangerous place. Every time it opens, heavy losses occur among those who enter; if 60 percent are able to return alive, it is already quite good. However, I heard that Nephew Yang once killed a cultivator at the Third Order Saint King Realm in single combat, is that true? “

“Yeah.”

Although Qian Tong had heard such a story from Luo Qing before, hearing Yang Kai openly acknowledge it still surprised him. From this alone, Qian Tong immediately understood that Yang Kai’s personal combat strength was exceptional, otherwise it would not have been possible for him to kill an enemy two minor realms above his own.

“In that case, Nephew Yang is qualified to go! I just don’t know if Nephew is interested or not. If you want to, this old master can arrange for it.”

Yang Kai knit his brow and asked, “Are there any restrictions on entering that place?”

He had originally thought that once the Flowing Flame Sand Field opened, he could enter it at will, so he wanted to check with Qian Tong about its location and opening time.

“Naturally there are restrictions,” Qian Tong looked at him in surprise, “Did Nephew Yang think that anyone is allowed to enter it?”

“All I know is that it can only be entered at special times.”

Qian Tong grinned, “It seems Nephew Yang doesn’t know much about Flowing Flame Sand Field.”

“Please enlighten me, Senior,” Yang Kai immediately asked.

“The Flowing Flame Sand Field is truly only accessible at a certain time, but even then, not everyone can enter it. Firstly, those in the Origin Returning Realm cannot enter, if they do, they will die without doubt!” Qian Tong declared seriously.

“Why?” Yang Kai asked in surprise.

“Because of their Shi! Shi is a power unique to Origin Returning Realm cultivators, but the Flowing Flame Sand Field does not allow Shi to exist within its borders. Once an Origin Returning Realm enters, whether they push their Shi or not, they will immediately be burned to death!”

Yang Kai’s face paled slightly and couldn’t help secretly rejoicing that he had failed to comprehend anything about Shi during his retreat some time ago. If he had, he would have missed this opportunity. It seems there were gains and losses to every situation.

Wu Yi and Yang Yan were also stunned, apparently never having heard this information before either.

“This discovery was made at the cost of many of Shadowed Star’s Seniors,” Qian Tong sighed slightly. “Also, those whose strength is too low cannot enter the Flowing Flame Sand Field. When it opens, the great blazing heat indeed weakens significantly, but it is still not something a Saint Realm cultivator can withstand. As such, those who enter the Flowing Flame Sand Field are all Saint Kings. Nephew Yang is only a First Order Saint King, and if this old master didn’t know you had the strength to fight well above your own realm, I would not dare mention this to you. However, since Nephew Yang has such ability, I will leave it to you to decide for yourself whether to go or not.”

“Naturally I’ll go. Not taking advantage of such a rare opportunity would simply be a waste, would it not?” Yang Kai grinned. The Flowing Flame Sand field was the perfect place for him to refine the Profound Yin Sunflower Water.

Qian Tong looked at him approvingly, “I knew it. Nephew Yang would not be content to live the life of a mediocre person. Since you have decided to go, this old master will reserve one of Shadow Moon Hall’s spots for you. In any case, my Shadow Moon Hall does not lack such spots.”

Chapter 1165, Those Who Give Me One Point Of Respect, I Give Ten
“Quota?” Yang Kai frowned, looking at Qian Tong and asked, “Is there a limit to the number of people who can enter the Flowing Flame Sand Field?”

“En, that is something this old man intended to tell you,” Qian Tong nodded. “In fact, when the Flowing Flame Sand Field first opened, there was no limit on the number of people who could enter, but Nephew must also know that cultivation resources on Shadowed Star are extremely scarce, especially the higher-grade ones. As one of the Three Great Forbidden Zones, the Flowing Flame Sand Field naturally has many good things inside it, enough to make all the great forces covet it, which was the root of the problem. A long time ago, when the Flowing Flame Sand Field opened, all Saint Kings were eligible to enter, and indeed a great many would, but with such a large number of people searching for treasures, everyone was only able to harvest a small amount while still plucking the Flowing Flame Sand Field clean, leaving next to nothing for those who entered the following time.”

“Excessive harvesting leads to damaging the environment!” Yang Kai nodded.

“It is exactly as Nephew says. As such, the great forces on Shadowed Star came together and set some restrictions on the Flowing Flame Sand Field. Each Sect from that point on was only allowed a certain number to answer. The Three biggest sects, Star Emperor Sect, Heaven Battling Union, and Thunder Typhoon Sect, were each given sixty quotas, while first-class Sects like my Shadow Moon Hall were granted fifty. As the size and power of one’s force decreased, the number of quotas they were given also decreased. Small families and Sects are only granted two or three quotas each. By establishing a system like this, it not only reduced the loss of Shadowed Star’s Saint King Realm cultivators, but also allowed the Flowing Flame Sand Field to maintain a certain concentration of precious treasures. After thousands of years of following this tradition, all the forces on Shadowed Star had adapted to this quota system and each time the Flowing Flame Sand Field opens, they all select the appropriate number of disciples to send.”

Yang Kai nodded slightly, indicating he understood.

Qian Tong added, “Even so, after each opening of the Flowing Flame Sand Field, there are no less than ten thousand people who enter it! However, the Flowing Flame Sand Field is very, very large, so even if ten thousand people enter, it does not matter.”

Having listened to Qian Tong’s explanation up till here, Yang Kai immediately understood the meaning of his previous words.

If he wanted to go in, he really had to acquire a quota from Shadow Moon Hall, but since Shadow Moon Hall could send fifty people, a single quota wouldn’t be a big deal to them.

“Additionally, it is not possible to enter the Flowing Flame Sand Field from any random place on its perimeter, it can only be entered through some special locations. The Flowing Flame Sand Field is truly quite strange, and many great Seniors suspected that it is actually a massive Spirit Array that had been arranged by some great ancient expert. However, we have no way to break this Spirit Array. Only when the blazing heat weakens will some access points appear around its edge. Those who want to enter must pass through these access points.”

Hearing this information, Yang Kai realized his thoughts on this matter had been too simple.

One needed a quota to enter the Flowing Flame Sand Field, and one could only enter it through specific points and specific times. It wasn’t like he had thought that once the Flowing Flame Sand Field opened, anyone could enter at will.

Realizing all this, Yang Kai quickly said, “Senior, this Junior really wishes to enter the Flowing Flame Sand Field, so I’m afraid I will have to trouble Senior with this matter.”

Qian Tong laughed, “Nephew is too polite, if this old master thought of you as a mere outsider, he would not have spoken so much today. Since Nephew wishes to enter, you can leave everything up to this Old man. I will make sure you’re satisfied.”

Qian Tong was actually worried Yang Kai wouldn’t ask him for help with this matter. Although he felt that Qian Tong felt he had displayed enough sincerity in wanting to befriend Yang Kai, he was still concerned that as a young man Yang Kai would act aloof and supercilious, disdaining to interact with an old man like him.

Now that Yang Kai had upfront asked for his assistance, Qian Tong was naturally happy.

Steering the conversation in a different direction, Qian Tong said, “Nephew Yang must prepare appropriately for this excursion though.”

“What do I need to prepare?” Yang Kai humbly asked.

“A few artefacts that can withstand the extreme heat are a must. If Nephew does not have appropriate artefacts, I can provide you with some Ice Attribute materials from Monster Beasts. Artefacts refined from such materials are the most suitable for resisting the Flowing Flame Sand Field’s intense temperatures. I have prepared many such materials for use here.”

Yang Kai was about to refuse, when suddenly something dawned on him and he thoughtfully asked, “Brother Wei and Sister Dong are also going to enter the Flowing Flame Sand Field, aren’t they?”

Qian Tong nodded and acknowledged, “Naturally they will be going. Although that place is dangerous, those two are the best disciples in Shadow Moon Hall’s younger generation, how can they mature if they don’t experience a few great storms?”

“The artefacts for those two…”

Qian Tong smiled awkwardly, “Some have been purchased, but most are just Saint King Grade High-Rank, so how much effect they can display is questionable. En, my Shadow Moon Hall’s Origin Grade Artefact Refiner is growing old and is no longer capable of strenuous Artefact Refining.”

Yang Kai raised his brow and offered, “If Senior is willing to, you can leave the Ice Attribute Monster Beast materials with me and I will have two Origin Grade artefacts refined for Brother Wei and Sister Dong to protect themselves!”

Qian Tong had already determined that there was an Origin Grade Artefact Refiner behind him, so Yang Kai didn’t need to hide this anymore. On top of that, Qian Tong had just said he had many materials on him. Obviously, he was hoping to ask the imaginary Artefact Refiner behind him for this matter. Qian Tong had helped Yang Kai out a great deal recently and was even providing him with a quota to enter the Flowing Flame Sand Field as well as a great deal of information. Yang Kai didn’t mind returning the favour.

Those who respect me one point, I respect ten.

Sure enough, after seeing Yang Kai offer this all on his own, Qian Tong was overjoyed and nodded repeatedly, “Willing, naturally I am willing. En, this Old man couldn’t feel more relieved with anyone else, hahaha. Then I shall have to trouble Nephew Yang with this.”

Qian Tong had still been thinking about what to do if Yang Kai couldn’t understand the subtle message he was trying to convey. If that were the case, for the future of Shadow Moon Hall, he could only resign himself to losing face and ask frankly, but he hadn’t expected that after only some slight roundabout hints, Yang Kai had actually understood his meaning.

Having reached an understanding, Qian Tong directly took out a Space Ring and handed it to Yang Kai.

He had prepared these materials long ago and was just waiting for an opportunity to present itself. Qian Tong had also brought Wei Gu Chang and Dong Xuan’er here before on the one hand to let them meet Yang Kai while on the other to try to find a way to ask Yang Kai to help refine artifacts for them.

Unfortunately, his two Juniors had eyes but failed to see, wasting Qian Tong’s hard work.

Yang Kai accepted the ring and casually checked its contents, quickly discovering a large amount of Monster Beast materials exuding ice-cold auras. From the strength of these auras, it was obvious these materials came from Ninth-Order Monster Beasts. There were even a number of highly valuable Monster Cores inside.

There was no shortage of raw materials for Alchemy and Artefact Refining on Shadowed Star, what was lacking was high-grade Alchemist and Artefact Refiners to process them.

With so many materials, refining four or five artefacts wouldn’t be an issue.

“Nephew Yang, for this favour, this old man is very grateful.”

“Senior has helped me a lot recently, there’s no need to be so polite. If Senior has any other needs in the future, feel free to let me know.”

Qian Tong nodded repeatedly. Although he knew Yang Kai was simply speaking politely here, it was still pleasant to his hear.

“Right, when will the Flowing Flame Sand Field open exactly?” Yang Kai returned to the main topic.

Qian Tong paused for a moment before saying, “That can’t be determined precisely. It may be as soon as a month from now, or as long as four months from now, it all depends on when the blazing heat weakens. But Nephew can rest assured, all the great forces are monitoring the Flowing Flame Sand Field day and night, so once it opens, we will immediately receive the news. It won’t be too late to start off then. Nephew Yang can take advantage of this period of time to make preparations. Once this old man hears anything, I will inform you.”

Saying so, Qian Tong handed Yang Kai a communication artefact.

Yang Kai took it and stored it into his Space Ring.

At this time, there was a knock at the door again and Wu Yi walked over to open it. Luo Qing walked inside a moment later with a solemn look upon his face.

Qian Tong laughed, “It must be that old dog Yan Pei who sent Luo Qing to deliver Nephew’s Saint Crystals.”

Yang Kai’s spirit shook as Wu Yi and Yang Yan’s beautiful eyes lit up.

During the auction, the four items they had brought had all sold for extraordinary prices, and it was only now that the Saint Crystals they had earned were sent over. Yang Kai waiting here was for two reasons: One, to speak with Qian Tong, and two, to accept these Saint Crystals.

Thinking about the over one hundred million Saint Crystals he was about to receive, even Yang Kai couldn’t hold back his excitement.

Luo Qing stepped forward and respectfully placed a Space Ring on the table before quickly saying, “Manager Yan said the total amount of Young Master Yang’s earnings are one hundred and six million, five hundred thousand and forty-five Saint Crystals, but because of the huge auction amount, it has been rounded up to one hundred and seven million Saint Crystal. Please inspect it at your leisure, Young Master Yang.”

“One hundred and seven million…” Yang Kai frowned; this number was slightly off from his expectations.

Qian Tong saw his reaction and explained with a smile, “Treasure Trove Pavilion charges a fee for every item which is auctioned. Generally speaking, they take ten percent of the auction proceeds, so for a hundred million Saint Crystals, they would normally take ten million.”

“So greedy!” Wu Yi and Yang Yan shouted indignantly. Losing ten million Saint Crystals hurt their hearts greatly.

Qian Tong added, “But Yan Pei seems to have only collected five percent this time. Seems he still has a bit of a conscience left. He also probably wants to keep cooperating with you in the future, which was why he was willing to lower his usual fee.”

Yang Kai smiled and shook his head, “There won’t be such good things in the future, those Origin Condensing Pills were something my Master acquired accidentally a long time ago, there are no more. On that note, Senior, why was there such intense competition for that Origin Condensing Pill which formed Pill Veins?”

Seeing Yang Kai’s confused look, Qian Tong couldn’t help chuckling, “Gu Chang and Xuan’er also asked this old master about this point before.”

After hearing the explanation from Qian Tong, Yang Kai realized that it was not that these people had gone insane, but rather that there were too obsessed with pursuing the Origin King Realm, to the point where they didn’t care how many Saint Crystals they had to pay in order to obtain even a chance of reaching it.

After knowing this, Yang Kai relaxed.

An Origin Condensing Pill which forms Pill Veins could be refined at any time by him with his current achievements in Alchemy, but he was lacking the primary materials for refining Origin Condensing Pills.

Inside his Black Book space, there were countless precious treasures, thousands of Origin Grade herbs, and even two or three hundred Origin King Grade herbs, but there had only been two stalks of Emerald Silk Grass which was the main ingredient in Origin Condensing Pills. Now that these two stalks had been used up, Yang Kai could not refine any more Origin Condensing Pills, so naturally, there was no way he could cooperate with Treasure Trove Pavilion again.

What’s more, he currently had over a hundred million Saint Crystals, so there was no need for him to do anything like that in the near future. One hundred million Saint Crystals was more than even Shadow Moon Hall could take out immediately.

Chapter 1166, Do You Actually Have A Master?

Having obtained Saint Crystals, it was naturally time to start shopping. Yang Yan quickly made a long list of materials she wanted to order from Shadow Moon Hall.

Qian Tong took this list and glanced over it, his expression changing dramatically in the next instant.

Each of these materials was extremely precious, and the quantity asked for was massive. If all these materials were purchased, it would cost at least forty or fifty million Saint Crystals. Qian Tong wasn’t worried about being paid; after all, Yang Kai had just collected more than a hundred million Saint Crystals, Qian Tong was simply wondering why Yang Kai wanted to buy so many raw materials.

Although he didn’t understand, he didn’t ask either, simply nodding and saying, “My Shadow Moon Hall does not have all of these materials on hand, but Nephew Yang can rest assured, within one month we will be able to collect everything you have requested.”

“Then I shall trouble Senior with this,” Yang Kai cupped his fists.

With everything that should be said having been said, Qian Tong asked Yang Kai to return to Dragon Cave Mountain and await word of the Flowing Flame Sand Field opening.

Qian Tong personally saw Yang Kai off from Treasure Trove Pavilion before handing the list of materials to Luo Qing, “Quickly collect all of these materials. If there isn’t enough in our inventory, contact the forces in the surrounding region and acquire them. Make sure the price you pay is as favourable as possible within the time limit.”

“Yes!” Luo Qing left immediately.

Only after all this was finished did Wei Gu Chang and Dong Xuan’er come over to see a somewhat excited looking Qian Tong. Seeing her Master in such a good mood, Dong Xuan’er couldn’t help asking curiously, “Master, is that person really so amazing? Why are you so interested in him?”

“He truly is amazing!” Qian Tong nodded heavily before glancing over at the two youths and letting out a sigh, “Don’t underestimate him, he may be a First Order Saint King, but he can kill cultivators in the Third-Order Saint King Realm.”

Wei Gu Chang’s eyes flashed and a look of surprise appeared on his face, but he soon calmed down.

Because he too was capable of killing an ordinary Third-Order Saint King when he was in the First Order Saint King realm, so he didn’t think this was anything too amazing.

“If that’s the case, he really does have some ability,” Dong Xuan’er said thoughtfully, but she soon smiled and said, “Even so, that’s not enough for Master to want to be on friendly terms with him. Is Master intending to recruit him into Shadow Moon Hall? “

“Recruit him into Shadow Moon Hall?” Qian Tong laughed wryly and mused, “I’m afraid he wouldn’t even consider joining Shadow Moon Hall.”

“What? My Shadow Moon Hall may not compare to Star Emperor Sect and the other top forces on Shadowed Star, but we’re certainly not weak,” Dong Xuan’er exclaimed.

“Do you know who is behind him? What his origins are?” Qian Tong slowly shook his head, “If you knew, you wouldn’t look down on him.”

“Can Elder explain clearly? Hearing you speak this way has suddenly made me interested in him,” Wei Gu Chang grinned. Anyone who could be regarded so highly by Elder Qian must not be a simple character.

“I’ll explain on our way back,” Qian Tong waved to the two; this was still Treasure Trove Pavilion, after all. Blocking their entrance wasn’t appropriate.

As the three walked towards the largest palace in Heavenly Fate City, Qian Tong said, “Can you guess who brought that Dragon Striker Whip and those Origin Condensing Pills for today’s auction?”

Dong Xuan’er was slightly startled and asked, “Does master mean…”

“En, he was the one who brought them to auction,” Qian Tong nodded slightly. “The Origin Condensing Pill need not be thought about too much, it is an incredibly rare and precious treasure, perhaps one of a kind, and should have been obtained through some kind of fortuitous encounter, but the Dragon Striker Whip was actually refined by his master.”

“What?” Wei Gu Chang was also shocked, “Elder means the master of that young man is an Origin Grade Mid-Rank Artefact Refiner? When did such a powerful master appear on Shadowed Star?”

“This is the greatest reason I wish to be on good terms with him. Shadowed Star truly does not have such a profound Artefact Refining Grandmaster, but he actually came from the outside.”

“The outside…” Wei Gu Chang and Dong Xuan’er both exchanged a startled glance, the look of longing obvious in their eyes.

“En, he comes from the outside. Our Shadowed Star is almost completely isolated from the outside world, even the nearest Cultivation Star is far, far from here. The level of Artefact Refiners on Shadowed Star is not high enough for us to refine powerful enough Starships that can connect us with the greater Star Field, so we can only imagine what kind of wonders exist out there. We only know that there are Origin King Realm masters, Origin King Grade Alchemists and Origin King Grade Artefact Refiners, but such heights are forever out of our reach.”

“We can’t reach the outside world, so how did he reach here?” Dong Xuan’er asked suspiciously.

“Chance coincidence,” Qian Tong smiled, “When I first met him, this old master didn’t dare inquire about his background for fear of offending him, but some time ago, I made Luo Qing investigate this matter and learned that he was found out in the Starry Sky by a Starship belonging to the Hai Ke Family. When he was brought aboard by them at the time, he admitted he came from a place called Rainfall Star. This old master has read some information about this Rainfall Star in the ancient records so there is no doubt it really exists.”

“Since only he was brought here, why is Master so certain he has an Origin Grade Mid-Rank Artefact Refiner behind him?”

“I don’t know what the intentions of the master behind him are, but I speculate he is simply protecting him in secret. When the Hai Ke Family’s Starship was about to return to Shadowed Star, they were attacked by a large pack of Black Rock Beasts. At that time, the Hai Ke Family Starship was in dire straits and about to be destroyed when suddenly, a golden spear appeared and swept away the entire Black Rock Beast pack, rescuing their lives. Afterwards, the Hai Ke Family disciples couldn’t find the master who rescued them as that person refused to show themselves,” Qian Tong explained, “This information was obtained directly by Luo Qing, and many of the Hai Ke Family’s disciples saw it with their own eyes, so this old master is certain someone was there protecting Yang Kai from the shadows, quite likely his master.”

Qian Tong’s inference was quite reasonable. Whoever obtained such information, combined with the fact that Yang Kai had sold various high-grade artefacts, would reach a similar conclusion.

However, he had underestimated Yang Kai’s true strength as well as the level of Yang Yan’s extraordinary abilities, causing him to imagine the existence of some kind of profoundly hidden master behind them.

“No wonder, if he really comes from the outside, he might really have an Origin Grade Mid-Rank Artefact Refiner behind him!” Wei Gu Chang gently nodded.

“You two know the weight of such matters. What I’m telling you today is not to chastise you, but to let you recognize that others have their own strengths, so you must not immediately judge or underestimate anyone. You should also know that what I have told you is not to be repeated to anyone else.”

“Disciple understands,” Both the two youths nodded firmly.

“This old master even suspects that the master behind Yang Kai is more than just an Origin Grade Mid-Rank Artefact Refiner, but regardless of the truth, what is important is that we not find ourselves on bad terms with them. He has also agreed to help refine two Origin Grade defensive type artefacts for you two. He will be entering the Flowing Flame Sand Field together with you two this time, so you will have a chance to become familiar with one another. Don’t be negligent!”

“Disciple will remember,” Both Wei Gu Chang and Dong Xuan’er nodded in unison, feeling a bit regretful on the inside. When Elder Qian had brought them to that private room, they really shouldn’t have put on such an arrogant display. The two of them thus decided secretly that after the Flowing Flame Sand Field opened, they would make an effort to befriend Yang Kai.

In front of the entrance to Dragon Cave Mountain, Yang Kai leapt off his Star Shuttle and landed.

Wu Yi and Yang Yan were both observing him with a strange look. On their way back, these two had been shooting him bewildered looks quite frequently.

“What do you want to ask?” Yang Kai frowned.

“Do you actually have a master?” Wu Yi couldn’t help but ask.

“Why do you say that?”

“You asked me what kind of pill was the most valuable before. I said Origin Condensing Pills and Origin Nirvana Pills. Then you took out two Origin Condensing Pills. Did your Master give them to you?”

Yang Kai chuckled, “What do you think?”

“I don’t know,” Wu Yi shook her head honestly.

“If I had a Master, don’t you think you’d have seen him by now?”

“What about that Origin Condensing Pill …”

“If I said I refined it myself, would you believe me?”

The two women unhesitantly shook their heads.

Seeing them not believe him at all, Yang Kai finally understood what Yang Yan must have felt like when she was proclaiming that she was an Origin Grade Artefact Refiner everywhere, but no one believed her.

Instead of dwelling on the issue though, Yang Kai tossed the Space Ring given to him by Qian Tong over to Yang Yan, “Refine two defensive artefacts for them but don’t make them too strong, Origin Grade Low-Rank will do.”

“Got it,” Yang Yan nodded. Two Origin Grade Low-Rank defensive artefacts wouldn’t be difficult for her to refine. Now that she had the Stone Puppet’s help, she could refine artefacts many times faster than before.

The most time-consuming process of Artefact Refining was quenching the raw materials. Ordinarily, the quenching process needed to be carried out several times to remove impurities. This not only used up a lot of time, but also consumed a great deal of strength, but the Stone Puppet could complete this process in a very short time and to an exceptionally high standard. No wonder Yang Yan had said that Stone Puppets were the best assistants for Artefact Refiners, they truly were.

Yang Yan used to take one or two months to refine an Origin Grade artefact, but now she could do so in just three or four days. The reduction in time spent was nothing less than extraordinary.

“I’m going to enter secluded cultivation to prepare to enter the Flowing Flame Sand Field. I’m leaving you in charge of the cave’s matters,” Yang Kai said before entering his own stone room, closing the stone door and entering retreat.

The opening time of the Flowing Flame Sand Field was uncertain, but he should have at least a month or two before then.

Yang Kai needed to improve his combat power during this time.

In terms of artefacts, he needed to finish establishing a connection with the purple shield and Hundred Mountains Picture as soon as possible. He had finished refining both artefacts and now all that was needed was to warm and nourish them with his Saint Qi so he could flexibly use them in battle.

In terms of pills, Yang Kai planned to refine a couple of bottles of Snow and Ice Pills.

The Snow and Ice Pills that appeared at the auction were Origin Grade Low-Rank, so he would have no trouble refining some with his current Alchemy proficiency. There was also no shortage of materials in his Black Book Space.

As for things like healing pills, Yang Kai already had many on him, so there was no need to refine more. On top of that, he had great confidence in the restorative abilities of his body. If worst came to worst, Yang Kai could directly burst a drop of Golden Blood. As long as his foundation wasn’t hurt, with the massive amount of vitality contained within a drop of Golden Blood, restoring himself should be a simple task.

The only other matter of importance to Yang Kai was to increase the power of his Space Blade as soon as possible.

Chapter 1167, Gathering

Translator: Silavin & PewPewLaserGun

Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain

Space Blade was a visual manifestation of Space Force. It was an attack method that could only be used by Yang Kai and was virtually impossible to defend against. Once he perfected this method, it would add a life-saving card to his arsenal.

Yang Kai obviously hadn’t been to the Flowing Flame Sand Field and as a result, didn’t know much about it, but from the brief introduction Qian Tong gave him, he knew it was an extremely dangerous place. Yang Kai didn’t dare to act carelessly and was intent on making comprehensive preparations.

Sitting down cross-legged, Yang Kai first took out the Profound Insect Stone he obtained at the auction.

Yang Yan had said that this stone contained very strange energy that wasn’t usable for cultivation or Artefact Refining but could be used to raise Exotic Insects. Soul Devouring Insects were one such Exotic Insect.

At the auction, it was only because of the abnormal response of the Soul Devouring Insects that Yang Kai had bought this Profound Insect Stone, otherwise, he would surely have ignored it.

As soon as he took out the Profound Insect Stone, Yang Kai felt the swarm of Soul Devouring Insects resting on the six coloured island in his Knowledge Sea begin to stir, as if they were anxious to fly out and migrate to this Profound Insect Stone.

However, without Yang Kai’s consent, they were unable to separate themselves from the six coloured island, so they simply became more and more anxious.

Yang Kai didn’t restrain them for long, lowering his Knowledge Sea’s defences and allowing the countless Soul Devouring Insects to fly out towards the Profound Insect Stone.

As soon as the Soul Devouring Insects entered the Profound Insect Stone, they immediately became irritable, their blood seemingly boiling as they gave off a dangerous aura.

Yang Kai listened carefully and soon heard rustling, crunching sounds.

Under his Divine Sense’s probing, Yang Kai found that the Soul Devouring Insects had actually started to devour one another as a great struggle for supremacy seemed to have broken out on the Profound Insect Stone.

The weak Soul Devouring Insects were unable to survive long as they were swiftly devoured by their more powerful peers. After cleaning up their weak companions, the more powerful Soul Devouring Insects began brutally fighting amongst themselves, rapidly reducing their total population.

Yang Kai was overjoyed!

It had been a long time since his Soul Devouring Insects devoured one another, but after that incident, their power had noticeably increased. Seeing this process repeat itself, Yang Kai was confident that once they settled down, their power would soar once again!

He was greatly looking forward to this!

If his Soul Devouring Insects could evolve to the point where they could threaten Origin Returning Realm masters, Yang Kai could be invincible on Shadowed Star. At that time, there would be no need for Yang Yan to continue arranging a powerful Spirit Array as no one would dare to offend them anymore out of fear of his Soul Devouring Insects.

After observing for a while, Yang Kai noticed that the Soul Devouring Insects would take quite a long time to finish their little civil war, so he no longer paid any attention to them. Placing the Profound Insect Stone in a corner of his room, Yang Kai simply allowed them to evolve independently.

Taking out some spirit grasses and spirit medicines, as well as his pill furnace, Yang Kai began refining Snow And Ice Pills.

Yang Kai didn’t have much difficulty refining Origin Grade Low-Rank pills, so in just over a day, he had two bottles with ten Snow And Ice Pills each, eight of which had formed Pill Veins.

After completing this, Yang Kai began nourishing his artefacts while cultivating his own Space Force.

In a flash, three months passed.

Inside the stone room, Yang Kai closed his eyes while holding a Space Spirit Crystal in his left hand, constantly using his own Space Force to absorb the energy inside it. Simultaneously, he was waving his right hand in an almost unconscious manner. Each time he waved his hand, a thin tear in space would form and fly out.

The entire stone room was a mess, with his Space Blades cutting through and destroying almost everything inside.

After three months of retreat, Yang Kai’s Space Blade had undoubtedly become much more powerful than when he first conceptualized it. Whether it was in terms of speed or stability, it was simply incomparable to his early attempts.

Speed and stability were the key factors in the lethality of Yang Kai’s Space Blade, especially the latter. This was not like other attack methods where the more Saint Qi used to condense it, the greater its power. In fact, the amount of Saint Qi Yang Kai used was nearly irrelevant as what mattered the most was the blades ability to swallow objects it came into contact with!

As such, as long as the blade was stable enough, it would be capable of devouring everything it passed through, sending it into The Void. Even other people’s attacks could be swallowed up. If others’ attacks or artefacts could be swallowed up by his Space Blade, Yang Kai would no longer need to come up with defensive measures as offense would be his best defence.

However, the stability of Yang Kai’s Space Blade could be affected by the attacks of other cultivators, and once this interference reached a certain critical point, the Space Blade would collapse and become useless.

So during this retreat, Yang Kai had primarily been focusing on maintaining his Space Blade’s stability, resulting in its speed not having improved much.

By consuming a lot of Space Spirit Crystals, a truly money-burning cultivation method, Yang Kai gradually gained some competency in the use of his Space Blade.

When in cultivation, one could not feel the passage of time, so it was not until Yang Kai felt a Divine Sense fluctuation coming from the communication artefact he had set aside nearby that he finally awoke.

Qian Tong had sent him a message.

After quickly picking up the communication artefact and pouring his Divine Sense into it, Yang Kai stood up and walked out of his stone room.

This three-month retreat was still too short to allow him to thoroughly complete his Space Blade, and at this stage, it could not be used in combat, but the Flowing Flame Sand Field had already begun to open, so Yang Kai had to set it aside for the time being.

Fortunately, after three months of being nourished by his Saint Qi, both the purple shield and the Hundred Mountains Picture had become usable.

The two bottles of Snow and Ice Pills Yang Kai had refined should be sufficient for his use.

As soon as he left the cave, Yang Kai froze for a moment as he discovered that Dragon Cave Mountain had undergone many changes. Not only was the World Energy Aura here now extremely rich, with a lingering mist shrouding each and every peak, there were now also many exquisite houses and other unidentifiable objects that had been built in the surroundings.

The several dozen cultivators who had followed Wu Yi were bustling about while Wu Yi and Yang Yan were both intently studying something, both of them looking very excited.

Seeing Yang Kai go out, the two women gawked for a moment but soon understood, putting down what they were working on and greeting him.

“Leaving?” Wu Yi asked.

“En,” Yang Kai nodded before warning them, “After I leave, don’t let anyone enter my stone room, and especially do not go near the Profound Insect Stone inside. There are some very dangerous creatures inhabiting it right now.”

“Understood,” Wu Yi responded quickly.

“Have the two Origin Grade artefacts Elder Qian asked for already been delivered?” Yang Kai turned to Yang Yan next.

“They were delivered long ago, about ten days after you entered retreat. Elder Qian personally delivered a lot of the materials we purchased when I handed him the two artefacts.”

“That’s good.”

“You can go, but Xiao Xiao has to stay. Without him, it’s far too much exhausting to refine things,” Yang Yan added.

Xiao Xiao was the Stone Puppet; Yang Yan had given him this name without asking for permission, but Yang Kai didn’t mind. In any case, for the expedition into the Flowing Flame Sand Field, he probably wouldn’t have any need for the Stone Puppet, so Yang Kai readily agreed to Yang Yan’s request. After leaving behind a few instructions, Yang Kai hurried off to Heavenly Fate City.

Only halfway there, Yang Kai spotted a blue light flying in his direction from the horizon. As it came closer, Yang Kai discovered that it was actually Luo Qing.

“Young Master Yang!” Luo Qing halted his Star Shuttle, stood up, and cupped his fists to Yang Kai, “Elder Qian instructed me to bring you to the city’s Space Array as quickly as possible. Everyone else is waiting there, only you are left.”

“Then I’ll trouble you to do so,” Yang Kai returned the greeting before following Luo Qing towards Heavenly Fate City.

On the way, Yang Kai asked Luo Qing about the Flowing Flame Sand Field. Unfortunately, Luo Qing didn’t know much, only that this Forbidden Zone was about to open and that all the great forces on Shadowed Star were rushing to the different entrances so that the moment it opened fully they could immediately enter.

Passing over Heavenly Fate City, the pair flew directly to the large palace which they subsequently entered. Upon arrival, Yang Kai realized that there were almost two hundred people gathered, and among them over ninety percent were Saint Kings with the majority of them in the Second or Third Order. There were some First Order Saint Kings, but not many. The Flowing Flame Sand Field was extremely dangerous so First Order Saint Kings wouldn’t be of much use inside.

Yang Kai frowned. Hadn’t Qian Tong said that Shadow Moon Hall only had fifty entry spots? Why were there so many people here then?

Moreover, from the looks of the people here, it was obvious they were all going to the Flowing Flame Sand Field through the Space Array.

As soon as Yang Kai walked inside, countless eyes landed on him, with Qian Tong even letting out a great laugh and extremely enthusiastically welcoming him, “Nephew Yang has arrived just in time. We’ve just finished gathering everyone and the Space Array is just about ready to open. All of you follow this Old Master.”

Last time they met, Yang Kai had promised to help Qian Tong refine two Origin Grade artefacts, and only ten days later he had delivered. Although the two artefacts were just Origin Grade Low-Rank, both were infinitely close to reaching Origin Grade Mid-Rank standard. Today, those two defensive artefacts were in Wei Gu Chang and Dong Xuan’er’s hands.

If these two items had been put up for auction, they would be worth at least four million Saint Crystals, and with both of them being Ice Attribute, perfect for resisting the heat of the Flowing Flame Sand Field, their prices might have been even higher.

All of Qian Tong’s investments in showing Yang Kai goodwill early on had already been repaid many times over with just this.

As such, Qian Tong was natural very polite to Yang Kai. Even this time, he had ordered everyone else to gather first before sending a message to Yang Kai so the latter would not have to stand around waiting.

Seeing Qian Tong personally greet this newcomer, many cultivators in the hall turned their eyes to examine Yang Kai and were secretly surprised, wondering what was so special about this First-Order Saint King to warrant such polite treatment from their Elder.

“Senior Brother Wei, who is that guy? We’ve been waiting here for so long, could it be it was actually for him?” A pretty-looking young woman took the opportunity to come up to Wei Gu Chang and ask softly.

“En, he doesn’t look like someone with a great background, and his strength is so low, just a First-Order Saint King,” Someone immediately agreed.

Wei Gu Chang shot them a flat look before distancing himself from the woman and saying bluntly, “You don’t need to worry about who he is, just make sure you don’t annoy him.”

After receiving a cold shoulder from Wei Gu Chang, the young woman smiled awkwardly and also stepped back, her heart full of bitterness.

Wei Gu Chang was the most talented disciple of Shadow Moon Hall. On top of that, he was handsome and straightforward, so naturally, there were many female disciples in Shadow Moon Hall who secretly admired him. Unfortunately for them, he seemed to only have eyes for Dong Xuan’er.

Chapter 1168, Information

Translator: Silavin & PewPewLaserGun

Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain

Inside the palace, there were nearly fifty people wearing the disciple uniforms of Shadow Moon Hall, each of them looking neat and dignified. The other hundred were wearing other assorted dress.

Seemingly understanding Yang Kai’s doubts, Qian Tong took the initiative to explain, “My Shadow Moon Hall has a total of fifty quotas to use as we see fit, but the other families and Sects attached to Shadow Moon Hall also have their own quotas as well, although not nearly as many per force. On top of that, there are some forces and families here who have no relationship with Shadow Moon Hall but because they are located near Heavenly Fate City, they will be travelling together with us.”

Yang Kai suddenly realized that this was the reason why so many people had gathered inside this hall.

The great forces on Shadowed Star had apparently managed this situation quite fairly, not even trying to swallow all the benefits by themselves. They had allocated some entry quotas to the smaller Sects and families, but whether they could obtain anything would be up to their own effort and means.

It was no wonder last time Qian Tong had said that each time the Flowing Flame Sand Field opened, the number of people who entered was no less than ten thousand.

Shadowed Star was simply too big, and even if each force wasn’t granted many quotas, after adding them all together, reaching ten thousand wouldn’t be a problem.

As Qian Tong walked inside, Yang Kai suddenly turned his head and looked in a certain direction as he felt a sharp, hate-filled glare being directed towards him.

Yang Kai was very sensitive to this kind of gaze and could easily notice it.

When the two people’s eyes met, the opposite party’s face twitched slightly before quickly turning away.

Xie Hong Wen!

[He’s going too?] Last time, when Xie Hong Wen went to Dragon Cave Mountain to find trouble with Yang Kai, if it wasn’t for Qian Tong’s prompt arrival, Xie Hong Wen would have died. This delinquent Young Master was nothing but a mud wall unable to hold water. Although he had a First Order Saint King cultivation, he clearly had very poor combat strength, so how could he dare go on this dangerous expedition?

What surprised Yang Kai even more though was that Xie Hong Wen wasn’t wearing a Shadow Moon Hall uniform. Behind him were two Third-Order Saint Kings who were similarly dressed and seemed to be responsible for protecting him.

“Senior, can people be killed inside the Flowing Flame Sand Field?” Yang Kai suddenly asked lightly.

Seeing Yang Kai staring towards Xie Hong Wen, Qian Tong was naturally clear about his intentions and nodded with a sneer, “Yes, so Nephew Yang should be careful not to contract any enmity with others. However, if someone dares to bully you, there’s no need to act leniently. Whatever the consequences, this old master will handle it for you.”

“Then I will thank Senior in advance,” Yang Kai also sneered, if Xie Hong Wen restrained himself in the Flowing Flame Sand Field, ignoring him wouldn’t be a problem, but if he dared seek vengeance, Yang Kai would not show mercy a second time, not killing him last time was simply out of consideration for Qian Tong’s face.

Qian Tong also seemed a little annoyed. After all, he had spent quite a lot of effort last time to save Xie Hong Wen’s life, yet this idiot not only did not appreciate it but instead had bore a grudge.

If he insisted on bringing destruction down upon himself, Qian Tong was disinclined to care about him.

“That fool isn’t eligible to enter Flowing Flame Sand Field, my Shadow Moon Hall wouldn’t give a quota to such a waste.” For some unknown reason, Qian Tong continued whispering to Yang Kai, “But his father spent a high price to purchase three quotas from a small family affiliated with Shadow Moon Hall, to allow him to enter. Those two Third Order Saint Kings are just disciples of their Xie Family, they have no relationship with my Shadow Moon Hall.”

Naturally, Qian Tong meant there was no issue with killing them.

What surprised Yang Kai, however, was that the quotas to enter the Flowing Flame Sand Field could be bought and sold, something he immediately asked about.

Qian Tong simply laughed, “Naturally they are transferable, the allocation of quotas is determined in advance by all the great forces, and they are then distributed to the qualified forces, but how they handle them is their business.”

“Doesn’t that mean that as long as there is a force with enough courage and means, they can send in a far larger number of people than their assigned quota?” Yang Kai immediately thought of something.

“Indeed, but that being said, the Flowing Flame Sand Field is too dangerous, so how could those smaller forces dare to send in too many of their elites? Once their losses reach a certain point, their very foundation will become damaged which will be extremely detrimental to their development. But Nephew Yang thinking is correct, in addition to the fifty quotas my Shadow Moon Hall is assigned, we also purchased twenty more from smaller families. In other words, there are a total of seventy disciples from my Shadow Moon Hall participating this time.”

“I see,” Yang Kai nodded lightly.

“There are many things to pay attention to in the Flowing Flame Sand Field. Last time Nephew Yang was in a hurry so this old man did not have time to explain all of them to you, so I suggest you travel together with Gu Chang and Xuan’er so they can pass this information along to you. If there is anything Nephew Yang is uncertain about, don’t hesitate to ask them,” Qian Tong exhorted.

“Okay,” Yang Kai smiled slightly, knowing that this was done intentionally by Qian Tong to create an opportunity for Wei Gu Chang and Dong Xuan’er to establish a good relationship with him, so naturally he wouldn’t refuse.

As the two were talking, they arrived in front of the Space Array where Qian Tong beckoned to Wei Gu Chang and Dong Xuan’er.

“You two head out first with Yang Kai. You don’t have to wait for the rest of us in Calm River City, just proceed to the Flowing Flame Sand Field. Your Martial Uncle Wang and Martial Uncle Yan are already waiting there for you. When you arrive, they will give you further instructions. This old master will lead the rest of our group to meet up with you later.”

“Yes,” Wei Gu Chang nodded respectfully before smiling towards Yang Kai, “Greeting, Brother Yang.”

His attitude this time was many times better than previously; obviously he had been carefully advised by Qian Tong. Dong Xuan’er also gave an elegant greeting.

Yang Kai returned the greeting in kind before the three of them stepped onto the Space Array.

The Space Array had already been prepared and was simply waiting for its passengers to board before activating.

The Shadow Moon Hall disciple who was managing the Space Array saw the three youths stand ready and quickly activated the Spirit Array. A white light flashed and the three disappeared. Qian Tong then began arranging for the others to use the Space Array.

This Space Array could only transmit up to five people at once, so transmitting nearly two hundred people would take an hour or two.

On the other side, Yang Kai only felt a slight bit of vertigo before he recovered, finding himself in another hall.

There was also a Space Array in this hall. Yang Kai couldn’t identify which force the disciple guarding this Space Array was from, but after seeing the three of them appearing, this disciple quickly asked, “Are you from Shadow Moon Hall?”

Wei Gu Chang nodded and took out a token from his sleeve, handing it over to the man. The man briefly examined this token before nodding and returning it.

Outside the hall, Wei Gu Chang said, “Brother Yang, please follow us. This is Calm River City is about a million kilometres away from Heavenly Fate City, but we’ll still need to fly for a day or two to reach the Flowing. Edge of Flame Sand Field.”

“Please lead the way, Brother Wei,” Yang Kai nodded, he wasn’t familiar with the geography of Shadowed Star, so he naturally allowed Wei Gu Chang to take the lead.

Wei Gu Chang nodded before quickly summoning his Star Shuttle, hopping aboard, then stretching out his hand towards Dong Xuan’er.

Dong Xuan’er’s face flushed slightly, shooting him a slightly angry look, as if blaming him for acting so boldly in front of others.

Wei Gu Chang simply laughed though, “Brother Yang is not an outsider, what is there to be shy about?”

Dong Xuan’er knew she couldn’t dissuade him, so stretched out her hand and allowed Wei Gu Chang to pull her up onto the Star Shuttle.

Yang Kai couldn’t help feeling a bit impressed. This kind of scene made him feel a little warm and his perception of Wei Gu Chang and Dong Xuan’er changed quite a bit. Immediately after, he too summoned his Star Shuttle.

Two blue lights flashed and the trio flew off, quickly leaving Calm River City.

Like Yang Kai, Wei Gu Chang’s Star Shuttle was Saint King Grade High-Rank, so even if it was carrying an additional person, its speed didn’t drop much.

Wei Gu Chang had only just left Calm River City when he began to speak, “Elder Qian said that Brother Yang doesn’t know much about Flowing Flame Sand Field. If Brother Yang has anything he wishes to ask, this Wei will be happy to answer.”

Yang Kai truly had some things to ask, and since Wei Gu Chang had offered, he would certainly not hold back, “I only know that we need to pass through some special places to enter the Flowing Flame Sand Field, as for what the situation inside is like, and what needs to be paid attention to, I’m afraid I know nothing, so I must ask Brother Wei for advice.”

Seeing how polite Yang Kai was acting, Wei Gu Chang also smiled, “I don’t dare offer advice, but this Wei has indeed been given some information from his Elders so I know slightly more than Brother Yang. It’s not much, but if Brother Yang asks, I can provide at least some answers.”

He had learned from Qian Tong that Yang Kai came from the outside world, so thinking that Yang Kai probably knew nothing about the Flowing Flame Sand Field, he patiently began explaining what he knew.

Dong Xuan’er chimed in every now and then to supplement any information Wei Gu Chang missed.

Together, the Senior Brother and Junior Sister duo quickly gave Yang Kai a comprehensive briefing on the Flowing Flame Sand Field.

The Flowing Flame Sand Field was shrouded in blistering heat all year round, Origin Returning Realm masters couldn’t enter it at all and it was only at specific times that Saint Kings were able to enter.

However, the Flowing Flame Sand Field wasn’t completely covered in heat. It was actually a set of large circular rings divided into several layers.

The outermost ring was a Flame Area that was constantly shrouded in blistering heat, and the deeper one went, the hotter and more dangerous it became.

In this Flame Area, there were some precious treasures, but what was more common was precious ores. These ores had been baked by heat for many years and were extremely pure, some of them even directly useable for Artifact Refining. The quality of these ores was also extremely high, several times better than those mined outside.

The greatest danger inside the Flame Area wasn’t the unbearable heat though, but the Fire Spirit Beasts and Flowing Flame Flying Fires; these were the real threats.

Fire Spirit Beasts were a type of Fire Attribute Energy amalgamation. Once the ambient aura reached a certain concentration, it would take on a physical form that normally mirrored the appearance of Monster Beasts. Their bodies seemed both real and illusory all at once. The more solid the body was, the more powerful it would be, but regardless of the height of their strength, all of them lacked sentience. Physical and Divine Sense attacks were basically ineffective against these creatures and only Saint Qi-based attacks could destroy them.

It was best to use Ice Attribute attacks or artefacts against them. Almost everyone who entered the Flowing Flame Sand Field would prepare such artefacts.

Within the body of a Fire Spirit Beast was a valuable treasure called a Fire Crystal Stone. Fire Crystal Stones were used to refine some special pills and artefacts and when used could greatly improve the quality of the refined pill or artefact.

The Alchemy and Artifact Refining levels on Shadowed Star were stuck at Origin Grade Low-Rank, so if one wanted to refine an Origin Grade Mid-Rank pill and artefact, Fire Crystal Stones were essential.

Chapter 1169, Did I Miss Anything

Translator: Silavin & PewPewLaserGun

Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain

Because of the preciousness of Fire Crystal Stones, many of the disciples sent into the Flowing Flame Sand Field by the various great forces would specifically hut Fire Spirit Beasts. Some other cultivators from small families and small forces also entered with similar thoughts, planning to reap great profits from selling Fire Crystal Stones. This kind of treasure was only available inside the Flowing Flame Sand Field and was greatly sought after by Alchemists and Artifact Refiners alike.

“If Brother Yang comes across a fully manifested Fire Spirit Beast, don’t fight against it. A completely solid Fire Spirit Beast is almost equivalent to a Ninth-Order Monster Beast, not something easy to handle,” Wei Gu Chang warned seriously.

Ninth-Order Monster Beasts were equivalent to human race Origin Returning Realm masters, Saint King naturally wouldn’t be their opponent and one accident may result in being killed.

After saying so though, Wei Gu Chang grinned and said, “But that kind of Fire Spirit Beast is incredibly rare, basically impossible to encounter.”

(Silavin: Seriously? A flag here?)

Yang Kai gently nodded and asked, “I understand about Fire Spirit Beasts now, but what was that Flowing Flame Flying Fire you mentioned?”

Wei Gu Chang’s expression immediately became serious again as he solemnly said, “Flowing Flame Flying Fires are far more dangerous than Fire Spirit Beasts. Fortunately, there are very few of them compared to the number of Fire Spirit Beast. Flowing Flame Flying Fires are extremely rare, and most people who enter the Flowing Flame Sand Field will never even encounter one and those who do, normally just catch a glimpse of one from a distance. But Brother Yang should not underestimate Flowing Flame Flying Fires. This strange thing is extremely fast, even faster than the speed one can spread their Divine Sense, making it extremely difficult to detect. It’s even possible for one to fly past you and you do not even notice it.”

Yang Kai couldn’t help wearing a stern expression upon hear this. Something that could move faster than one could spread their Divine Sense was worthy of attention.

“The danger isn’t just related to its incredible speed though, but rather the damage it can do! If one isn’t prepared or their strength is insufficient, once they are hit by a Flowing Flame Flying Fire their Soul will be immediately incinerated. Elder Qian told me that every time the Flowing Flame Sand Field opens, some unlucky fellows are killed by Flowing Flame Flying Fires.”

“Isn’t that simply an unavoidable disaster?” Yang Kai asked in surprise.

Wei Gu Chang laughed, “Brother Yang is right, it’s truly a misfortune impossible to guard against, but those who dare to enter the Flowing Flame Sand Field all must be psychologically prepared to bear a certain amount of risk, so if one is hit by a Flowing Flame Flying Fire and dies, they can only blame themselves.”

Suddenly, Dong Xuan’er pursed her lips and laughed, “Senior Brother, you’ve only been talking about the dangers of the Flowing Flame Flying Fire, but you’ve yet to tell Senior Brother Yang about its benefits.”

Yang Kai glanced at her in surprise, wondering what kind of benefits this Flowing Flame Flying Fire could possibly have.

Wei Gu Chang laughed and nodded, “I was just about to explain that part. Flowing Flame Flying Fires are truly frightening existences, but they are also extremely precious treasures. Brother Yang should know that some people possess Spiritual Energy with different attributes, yes?”

“Brother Wei means, cultivators with Mutated Knowledge Seas?” Yang Kai expression changed.

“Precisely. Some cultivators possess special Knowledge Seas that are filled with peculiar properties, such as the Conflagrated Knowledge Sea, the Toxic Knowledge Sea, and Frost Knowledge Sea. These Mutated Knowledge Seas differ greatly from the Knowledge Seas of ordinary cultivators and every one of them grants its possessor extraordinary powers. Needless to say, the Conflagrated Knowledge Sea is the most sought after Mutated Knowledge Sea for Alchemist and Artifact Refiners while Frost and Toxic Knowledge Seas are able to unleash incredibly potent Divine Sense attacks. Of course, Mutated Knowledge Seas are extremely rare. Some people innately posses them while others are able to acquire them by cultivating specific Secret Arts. Such Secret Arts are incredibly rare though, even my Shadow Moon Hall does not possess such a Secret Art. There are also some who are able to obtain a Mutated Knowledge Sea through some kind of fortuitous encounter.”

Yang Kai understood this point well as his own Conflagrated Knowledge Sea was obtained by accident. At that time, he had simply wanted to refine the Jade True Spirit which had been born inside a large piece of Yang Crystal Jade to enhance his strength, but through a series of coincidences he wound up with a Mutated Knowledge Sea.

Yang Kai was more aware of the wonders of a Conflagrated Knowledge Sea than anyone.

“The Flowing Flame Flying Fire is considered a precious treasure because by refining it there is a chance one can obtain a Mutated Knowledge Sea, specifically a Conflagrated Knowledge Sea,” Wei Gu Chang eyes lit up, “Brother Yang, you should know that all Alchemists and Artifact Refiners dream about obtaining a Conflagrated Knowledge Sea, so if you can capture a Flowing Flame Flying Fire, those Artifact Refiners and Alchemists would be willing to pay any price to obtain it,” Saying so, Wei Gu Chang observed Yang Kai stealthily.

Because of Qian Tong, Wei Gu Chang believed there was an Origin Grade Artifact Refiner behind Yang Kai. Since his master was a Grandmaster Artifact Refiner, there was no reason for him to not desire a Flowing Flame Flying Fire and as a disciple, Yang Kai should naturally be thinking about obtaining one to present to his master.

To his disappointment though, Yang Kai’s expression remained unchanged, as if he didn’t care about this in the slightest.

Wei Gu Chang quickly added, “Of course, trying to obtain a Mutated Knowledge Sea is not without risks. It is very likely that before one’s Knowledge Sea can mutate it will instead be burnt to ash by the Flowing Flame Flying Fire. In any case, Brother Yang should simply keep this information in the back of his head, it’s essentially impossible to encounter a Flowing Flame Flying Fire in the first place, but if you do, avoiding it should be your first priority.”

Yang Kai nodded, his face showing nothing but calm, but actually thinking to himself that if he encountered one of these things, he should try to snatch it.

A Flowing Flame Flying Fire could allow an ordinary cultivator’s Knowledge Sea to mutate into a Conflagrated Knowledge Sea but might also incinerate their Soul; however, since he already had a Conflagrated Knowledge Sea, Yang Kai probably didn’t need to worry about such negative possibilities.

“That about covers the essential information about the Flame Area. In addition to resisting the heat, one only needs to pay attention to the Fire Spirit Beasts and Flowing Flame Flying Fires. Also, the heat at the very perimeter of the Flame Area is not the same as the deeper regions. As one walks further, the heat grows more intense and more difficult to resist. However, if one can pass through the outermost Flame Area and enter the second layer, they’ll arrive at a true paradise.”

“Why do you say that?” Yang Kai suddenly became interested.

“Because the second layer is a Treasure Area, devoid of the blistering heat of the Flame Area and instead filled with precious treasures and Monster Beasts. After entering second layer, as long as one can protecting themselves from other cultivators and the few powerful Monster Beasts, they will be able to obtain a rich harvest!”

Yang Kai’s eyes lit up, “There’s also such an area?”

“Of course, otherwise the Flowing Flame Sand Field would not have such great appeal. Although there are some types of treasures which can only be found in high-temperature regions, there aren’t many of them. Without the Treasure Area, the appeal of the Flowing Flame Sand Field would be reduced by at least half,” Wei Gu Chang looked at Yang Kai with a smile, very satisfied with Yang Kai’s excited expression.

“We Senior Brother and Junior Sister pair are aiming for the Treasure Area this time, there are others from the Sect who are tasked with hunting Fire Spirit Beasts this time so there’s no need for us to spend time on that.”

Wei Gu Chang and Dong Xuan’er had extremely high status in Shadow Moon Hall, so they naturally would not be assigned these mundane hunting and killing tasks. While their Junior Brothers and Junior Sisters took care of that, the two of them were responsible for obtaining as much as possible from the Treasure Area.

This was the case not only in Shadow Moon Hall, but also among the other great forces. Disciples from these Sects would split up with more than half assigned to hunt Fire Spirit Beasts in the Flame Area for Flame Crystal Stones while the elites would head for the Treasure Area to look for precious treasures and search for their own opportunities.

“So the Flowing Flame Sand Field is divided into two layers?” Yang Kai was surprised by this news.

“More than two actually,” Wei Gu Chang shook his head, “If one continued deeper into the Treasure Area, they will come across a second Flame Area. The second Flame Area is far more dangerous than the outermost Flame Area though and Elder Qian has strictly prohibited us from entering it.”

“Since there is a second Flame Area, is there a second Treasure Area?” Yang Kai expression changed.

“That’s not clear as no one from my Shadow Moon Hall has ever made it through the second Flame Area, many elite disciple have tried but all of them died; even other great forces like Heaven Battling Union, Thunder Typhoon Sect, and Star Emperor Sect probably don’t know what the situation inside is like.”

“So that means everyone is concentrated in the two outermost layers?”

“You could say that, but Brother Yang does not need to worry, that damned place is enormous and without using some special communication methods, it’s even possible to not encounter anyone the half a year period.”

“Why half a year?”

“Right, I forgot to tell Brother Yang that each time the Flowing Flame Sand Field will only open for half a year. Once the half-year deadline is reached, everyone will be sent out, no one can stay inside any longer. In addition, it’s impossible to use Star Shuttles or even fly inside. If we want to move around, we have to depend on our respective movement skills to increase our speed, this is actually the most frustrating point,” Wei Gu Chang shook his head and said, looking slightly dissatisfied.

If it weren’t for the inexplicable power which made it impossible to fly, those who entered the Flowing Flame Sand Field would be able to reap many more times the benefits.

Hearing this though, Yang Kai was secretly pleased.

He didn’t know about what methods others had to boost their speed, but he actually had his Wind and Thunder Wings. Although the Wind and Thunder Wings were mainly used for flying, they would dramatically increase his speed even if he was simply running.

The only question now was whether he would be able to use his Wind and Thunder Wings inside. It wasn’t a flight type artefact so its use shouldn’t be restricted, but Yang Kai would have to wait until he entered to test them out.

“Also, Brother Yang should know that although we will enter the Flowing Flame Sand Field from the same entrance, the place we will be sent to is somewhat random, which is why each of us must bring a special communication artefact if we wish to find one another inside.”

When Wei Gu Chang said these words, Dong Xuan’er immediately took out a communication artefact from her Space Ring and handed it to Yang Kai.

Communication artefacts were refined in sets and generally speaking, there would only be seven or eight such artefacts in a set. Of course, there was no upper limit, but why would any Artifact Refiner go through the trouble of making so many copies?

Each communication artefact could only pass messages to another communication artefact of the same set, so there was no need to worry about an outsider secretly eavesdropping on one’s communications.

Qian Tong had given Yang Kai a communication artefact last time, but that was only useful for sending messages between the two of them. The one Dong Xuan’er had just handed him was different. Yang Kai also had a communication artefact he could use to contact Wu Yi and Yang Yan. There were several such artefacts in Yang Kai’s Space Ring.

Although Yang Kai had no intention to act together with Wei Gu Chang and the others, he still accepted the communication artefact and stuffed it into his Space Ring.

“Junior Sister, did I miss anything?” Wei Gu Chang asked Dong Xuan’er, worried he might have overlooked something that would cause Yang Kai to run into danger inside.

“I don’t believe so,” Dong Xuan’er shook her head lightly.

“Then that’s that for now. If Brother Yang thinks up anything else to ask, don’t hesitate to,” Wei Gu Chang smiled.

“Of course.”

Chapter 1170, Buy and Sell By Compulsion

Translator: Silavin & PewPewLaserGun

Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain

Wei Gu Chang was actually quite a talkative person and after gradually getting acquainted with Yang Kai, the topics he brought up also increased. From the distribution of the great forces on Shadowed Star to the well-known talents of the younger generation, Wei Gu Chang clearly and eloquently described them all, allowing Yang Kai to benefit a lot.

He also intentionally or unintentionally tried to bring up the topic of the outside world, but whenever he did, Yang Kai would subtly steer the conversation away from it.

After failing two or three times in this approach, Wei Gu Chang no longer mentioned it.

He thought Yang Kai didn’t want to discuss the greater wonders of the outside world, but the truth was that Yang Kai simply didn’t know much about it in the first place. Since entering the Star Field, he had only ever been to Water Moon Star and Rainfall Star, both of which belonged to Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce, so he had no knowledge of the Star Field’s other locations or great forces.

Dong Xuan’er, on the other hand, had a quiet demeanour. Most of the time she was quietly meditating, occasionally revealing the look of a happy young woman, as if being embraced by Wei Gu Chang like this was all that mattered to her.

One day later, Yang Kai clearly felt that the temperature in the air rise and the landscape down below also became more barren, the forests giving way to a reddish-brown dessert that became hotter and more desolate the further they flew.

The Flowing Flame Sand Field had existed on Shadowed Star for innumerable years and the scorching temperatures it gave off had already affected the surrounding environment.

At a certain moment, Yang Kai lifted his eyes and stared off into the distance to see a glowing red region on the horizon that was giving off such intense heat that the air around it had become distorted.

“That’s the edge of the Flowing Flame Sand Field,” Wei Gu Chang pointed to the dark red energy curtain up ahead and said in a dignified tone, “From the looks of it, it should be a few more days until the Flowing Flame Sand Field officially opens.”

“Is there any way to tell?” Yang Kai asked.

“The changing colour of the energy curtain is the most obvious way. When it turns into a light shade of red, we can enter through the entrances. But now, anyone who tries to enter will die!” Wei Gu Chang breathed in lightly as a look of dread flashed across his face.

After flying for a while longer, the trio finally arrived roughly fifty kilometer outside the Flowing Flame Sand Field. At this time, there were already around five hundred people gathered. These people were divided up into groups of different sizes and were occupying good spots to sit in meditation and save up their strength. It seemed that they had all arrived here early to wait for the Flowing Flame Sand Field to open. When these people noticed Yang Kai and his group arriving, many of them couldn’t help turning to check them out.

The people here were mostly Saint Kings, with a few Origin Returning Realm masters scattered amongst them, likely Elders here leading their respective forces’ teams.

However, at the forward-most position there was a distinct group of Origin Realm masters standing at the edge of the Flowing Flame Sand Field, seemingly observing the changes in the energy curtain diligently.

This group of masters were representatives from Shadowed Star’s most powerful Sects and many of them were in the Third Order Origin Realm. Many of them had been here for months or even half a year so they could pass information about the Flowing Flame Sand Field back to their respective Sects as quickly as possible, allowing their forces to prepare early.

Shadow Moon Hall was located quite far from here, so naturally, it had come later than others. After the trio landed, they simply found an empty place to occupy.

Wei Gu Chang glanced around for a moment before saying, “Brother Yang, you wait here, Junior Sister and I need to go greet the Martial Uncles from our Sect, lest they complain about us being ill-mannered.”

“Brother Wei doesn’t need to concern himself with me,” Yang Kai nodded lightly.

Wei Gu Chang and Dong Xuan’er summoned their Star Shuttles again before flying off in a certain direction, disappearing a moment later.

Yang Kai didn’t pay them any mind and instead began looking around at his surroundings. The cultivators who had come here were all in groups, the smallest of which only had twenty members while others were similar to Shadow Moon Hall and had around fifty gathered in one place.

Many of the people here were also looking at Yang Kai with curiosity, but the majority of these people’s faces were filled with disdain.

Yang Kai’s cultivation was too low, and he had arrived here with only Wei Gu Chang and Dong Xuan’er, so it was easy for others to mistakenly think they were from a small family force only capable of sending out three people, similar to the small forces attached to Shadow Moon Hall.

Yang Kai had only just sat down when a pair of people leisurely walked over and stood in front of him, looking down at him condescendingly.

Yang Kai saw that these two had come from a group that had around thirty people in it. Being able to have thirty entry quotas for the Flowing Flame Sand Field meant that, while incomparable to Shadow Moon Hall, the force these two came from was not small.

And it wasn’t just these two, many people from other groups had also stood up and were clearly planning to approach him, but these two young men just happened to be the fastest, so the others could only temporarily stand where they were and observe.

[Why are they looking for me?] Yang Kai was puzzled.

The two men in front of him were both young, probably in their thirties or forties, with one of them having reached the Third Order Saint King Realm while the other was just a First Order Saint King. Neither of them seemed to be particularly wicked, but the Third Order Saint King had a number of scars on his face, giving him a somewhat fierce impression.

“Friend,” The man with scars on his face bluntly called out, “Are you also planning to enter the Flowing Flame Sand Field?”

Although there was nothing wrong with what this young man asked, Yang Kai could clearly hear the snide disdain in his tone.

The other man behind the one who spoke was staring at Yang Kai fixedly, as if Yang Kai had something he very much wanted.

Yang Kai didn’t want to talk to these two, but this time he had come here together with Shadow Moon Hall, so if any kind of conflict started, it might make things difficult for Qian Tong, so after thinking about it for a moment, he patiently nodded and replied, “Yes.”

The man grinned, “You’re not very strong, entering will be quite dangerous.”

“That’s for me to worry about,” Yang Kai vaguely guessed what these two wanted; after all, Qian Tong had said that quotas to enter the Flowing Flame Sand Field could be transferred.

The others who had stood up just now probably had similar intentions, but this scarred man had managed to act faster than any of them could.

Sure enough, the man with the scars shook his head and said, “I’m telling you this for your own good. I saw there was only three of you, and that man and the woman seem to be a couple, so after going inside they probably won’t care about you and there’s a good chance you’ll die a miserable death.”

He was speaking in hyperbole and wore an exaggerated look of concern on his face, as if he was truly worried about Yang Kai’s safety; however, when he saw Yang Kai’s expression remain completely indifferent and unafraid, the scarred man couldn’t help annoyed and got straight to the point, “I have a business proposition for you, are you interested?”

“No,” Yang Kai refused decisively. Now that he knew what they wanted to do, Yang Kai was too lazy to talk to them anymore.

“Don’t be in a hurry to refuse,” The scarred man grinned as he squatted down and whispering, “Friend, you see, just entering the Flowing Flame Sand Field will put your life at risk. In the end, you want to go in to obtains some benefits right? I have a proposition that will let you obtain some benefits without worry about your life.”

Saying so, he retrieved an artefact from his Space Ring and handed it to Yang Kai, “This is a Saint King Grade Low-Rank artefact, its quality is quite good. I’ll give it to you, I believe that after friend refines it, your strength will definitely rise a lot. En, of course, I’m not giving it away for free, I want your entry pass in exchange.”

“What’s an entry pass?” Yang Kai asked in confusion.

“It’s the pass that lets you enter the Flowing Flame Sand Field, don’t try to act dumb!” The First Order Saint King who had been staring at Yang Kai with scorching eyes suddenly shouted.

“There’s such a thing?” Yang Kai frowned. He really hadn’t heard anything about this from Wei Gu Chang and Qian Tong hadn’t mentioned it either.

Seeing Yang Kai’s dazed look, the scarred man thought he was feigning ignorance and couldn’t help sneering, “Friend should not reject this face-saving offer. My Junior Brother just wants to join our Flowing Flame Sand Field expedition, unfortunately, my Blue Sparrow Sect doesn’t have enough quotas. Your quota, however, can solve this problem for us. Besides, it’s not like I’m trying to take your entry pass for nothing, haven’t I already given you a precious artefact?”

“You want to buy my entry pass for a mere Saint King Grade Low-Rank artefact?” Yang Kai sneered, “Forget about whether I have this entry pass thing you’re talking about or not, even if I did, I wouldn’t sell it to you.”

“Does friend intend to refuse a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit? Can you show me your Space Ring?” The scar-faced man also gloomily.

“You want to see my Space Ring? Do you have the ability?” Yang Kai expression went cold.

Each cultivator’s Space Ring was their most private of possessions. In general, it would be impossible for others to make such a rude request. The words of this scarred man-made Yang Kai enraged, it was no different from having directly slapped his face.

“Senior Brother, don’t talk nonsense with him, just snatch it, he wouldn’t dare try to fight back,” The First Order Saint King cultivator seemed incredibly keen on entering the Flowing Flame Sand Field and couldn’t help urging the scarred man on.

Seeing the scarred man still looking a little hesitant, this First Order Saint King actually stepped forward and grabbed towards Yang Kai’s Space Ring.

Yang Kai’s patience had already reached its limit. These two men had been saying whatever they wanted in front of him while trying to rob him under the guise of doing business, it was truly repugnant. So, seeing the First Order Saint King try to grab him, Yang Kai didn’t evade and instead seized the other party’s outstretched hand.

How could a trivial First Order Saint King avoid Yang Kai’s attack? Caught completely off guard, this man soon found his hand inexplicably grasped by the opponent he had been looking down on a moment ago.

Before this man could even figure out what was happening, a startling cracking sound rang out. Looking down, this man saw that his arm had been twisted into an impossible angle by the other party. Severe pain suddenly hit him and he let out a terrible scream as great beads of sweat began dripping from his forehead.

“You dare!” The scarred man didn’t react until he heard this scream, but seeing his Junior Brother suffer such a big loss, he immediately pushed his Saint Qi and punched towards Yang Kai’s face.

This fist was filled with vigorous strength and from the spot he was targeting, it was obvious he wanted to kill Yang Kai.

Before this punch could reach him though, Yang Kai directly dragged the scarred man’s Junior Brother into its path.

The scarred man saw this, panicked, and tried to withdraw his strength but was only able to take back about half of it.

With a muffled thud, that Junior Brother was knocked to the ground twitching, his body curled up and his face paled.

Chapter 1171, Seem to have Gut

Before the scarred man could recover his stance, Yang Kai sent a punch straight into his face.

With another muffled thud, the scarred man was sent flying through the air, tumbling a few times before cratering heavily, throwing up a cloud of dust.

This man was a Third Order Saint King, so if not for his Junior Brother being injured just now, disrupting his focus greatly, he would not have so easily been beaten by Yang Kai, at the very least he would have been able to exchange a few moves.

However, his negligence allowed Yang Kai’s plan to succeed.

This incident happened far too rapidly, with less than a breath of time passing between when the First Order Saint King cultivator was caught by Yang Kai to the time the scarred man hit the ground.

This made the other cultivators who had been secretly paying attention to the movement here gasp as they stared with dumbstruck looks.

Had this First Order Saint King defeated a Third Order Saint King in a single move? Even if the latter had been somewhat careless, wasn’t something like this still impossible?

“Which family does that boy come from? How is he so fierce?”

“Fortunately, I wasn’t the one to jump out just now, otherwise I’m afraid I’d be the one lying there instead of Yin Jian.”

“It’s over for this kid though. Although his strength clearly isn’t normal, he must be brain dead to hit Yin Jian in front of so many Blue Sparrow Sect disciples. Even his family won’t survive this!”

Whispers spread amongst the surrounding crowd instantly.

The nearly thirty disciples from Blue Sparrow Sect all wore cold expressions as they stood up together and glared towards Yang Kai, rapidly moving to surround him.

From the Blue Sparrow Sect group, only an old man at the Second-Order Origin Returning Realm remained in place as he glanced over grimly towards this scene. Although he would not lower his own status to deal with this matter personally, he also didn’t stop his disciples from seeking vengeance.

Obviously, he intended to let his disciples teach Yang Kai a lesson.

In the blink of an eye, Yang Kai had been surrounded by thirty people. These people all stared at him menacingly, many of them laughing lowly, their voices sounding quite gloomy.

The scarred man named Yin Jian climbed up from the ground with difficulty, his expression still filled with a look of shock. He hadn’t imagined he would suffer such a big loss at Yang Kai’s hand, so after getting to his feet, his face couldn’t help going from blue to white.

The other First Order Saint King whose arm had been broken by Yang Kai was in a far worse condition though, still howling in pain as he kneeled nearby.

“Stop!” Yin Jian shouted angrily, stopping his fellow disciples from attacking Yang Kai, his eyes blurring with aggressive light as murderous intent pulsed from his body.

Naturally he had to wash this shame away himself in order to recover his face.

“Boy, you really have guts! Father here only wanted to do some honest business with you, but rather than discussing things like a honest man you actually dared to launch a sneak attack,” Yin Jian cracked his neck and shouted, treating his loss just now as a result of his own carelessness and Yang Kai’s deviousness rather than him being weaker than his opponent.

Sure enough, after he said these words, many people who were watching showed looks of comprehension, thinking that Yin Jian had suffered a loss just now only because he had been sneak attacked.

“Business?” Yang Kai sneered, his expression growing cold as he shouted loudly, “Buying and selling by compulsion is your idea of ‘honest business’?”

An unnatural expression flashed on Yin Jian’s face and he decided to no longer continue arguing over this issue, instead just coldly snorting and declaring, “Don’t talk nonsense boy! You dared to hurt me and my Junior Brother, so today I will surely cripple you!”

Saying so, Yin Jian pushed his Saint Qi fully and summoned out a broadsword artifact.

Having taken Yang Kai’s fist just now, Yin Jian understood that there was something off about this First Order Saint King, so he had immediately summoned his artefact, hoping to end this battle as quickly as possible to avoid suffering another embarrassment at Yang Kai’s hands. If he were to suffer another loss, no amount of words would be enough to cover his incompetence.

This kid was a trivial disciple from some unknown small family, without any Elders present to lead or protect him, so even if Yin Jian killed him here, at most Blue Sparrow Sect would have to pay some Saint Crystals to settle the matter. It might even be possible to brush this matter off entirely if this kid’s background was small enough.

Yin Jian had not placed the force behind Yang Kai in his eyes at all.

But before Yin Jian could launch his attack, a burst of laughter came from afar, “Interesting, this Wei had only left for a moment, yet someone actually came over and is now trying to ride atop my Shadow Moon Hall’s head?”

“Shadow Moon Hall?” Yin Jian was startled and quickly swept Yang Kai up and down, a flurried look appearing on his face.

The thirty or so disciples of Blue Sparrow Sects surrounding Yang Kai also went pale.

Not far away, Wei Gu Chang, who was surrounded by a dark mist, strode forward, a pitch-black ball of energy casually being tossed about with his hand like some kind of toy. This black ball of energy clearly contained a fearful amount of power though.

A suffocating amount of pressure emanated from him, causing the faces of the disciples from Blue Sparrow Sect to all turn incomparably ugly.

Dong Xuan’er followed closely behind him and also seemed to have a kind of inexplicable energy flowing about her, a faint wind caressing her tender body adding a hint of radiance to her beautiful appearance.

“Are you from Shadow Moon Hall?” Yin Jian no longer dared to underestimate Yang Kai as he asked quickly.

“Although it has nothing to do with you, I’ll still tell you. I’m not from Shadow Moon Hall,” Yang Kai stared at him mockingly, “If you want to fight, just fight, you don’t need to worry about Shadow Moon Hall retaliating.”

A moment ago, Yin Jian was behaving extremely domineeringly, but as soon as Wei Gu Chang said the words ‘Shadow Moon Hall’, he immediately became like a mouse who saw a cat.

Listening to the ridicule in Yang Kai’s words, Yin Jian’s complexion became ugly. Although he was incredibly angry on the inside, he didn’t dare to openly display hostility towards Yang Kai anymore.

Wei Gu Chang brought Dong Xuan’er together with him and the Blue Sparrow Sect disciple in front of him involuntarily parted, allowing him to easily walk over to Yang Kai.

“Brother Yang, are you okay?” Wei Gu Chang looked at Yang Kai and found him unharmed, allowing him to feel relieved.

Although Qian Tong had said Yang Kai had killed a cultivator at the Third Order Saint King, that was nothing but hearsay, seeing was believing. Wei Gu Chang didn’t know the true extent of Yang Kai’s strength, but seeing him here surrounding by thirty people yet not showing the slightest sign of anxiety, Wei Gu Chang was secretly surprised.

Without real ability, it would be impossible to remain so indifferent; was Yang Kai confident he could escape from the siege of thirty Saint Kings?

“Brother Wei arrived a little early,” Yang Kai slowly shook his head.

Wei Gu Chang was surprised once more, suddenly discovering that Yang Kai was not the peaceful type. In fact, he still seemed eager to fight it out with these disciples from Blue Sparrow Sect.

“Wei Gu Chang, he’s Wei Gu Chang!” Among the Blue Sparrow Sect disciples in the surrounding, someone who recognized Wei Gu Chang couldn’t help shouting.

Although none of these Blue Sparrow Sect disciples had ever met him, Wei Gu Chang had openly declared he was from Shadow Moon Hall while announcing his surname as Wei. Coupled with his Saint King Realm cultivation and incredible imposing manner, he could only be Wei Gu Chang.

On top of that, it was well known that Wei Gu Chang from Shadow Moon Hall was always together with a woman named Dong Xuan’er, so seeing the beautiful yet equally powerful woman beside him, if the people from Blue Sparrow Sect couldn’t guess Wei Gu Chang’s identity, then they’d really be blind.

Among Shadowed Star’s young generation, Fang Tian Zhong, Qu Chang Feng, Yin Su Die, Wei Gu Chang, Dong Xuan’er, and a few other outstanding talents had world-shaking reputations. However, Wei Gu Chang wasn’t like Qu Chang Feng who liked to show off and was usually very low-key, so many even among Shadow Moon Hall’s disciples had only heard his name but never met him.

This did nothing to hinder the deterrence his name carried though.

After knowing that this person was Wei Gu Chang, Yin Jian’s expression fluctuated wildly as his mouth filled with bitterness.

If he had known this information earlier, how could he have brought his Junior Brother over to Yang Kai to try to buy his entry pass? He would have avoided him at mere sight. How could he deliver himself up to be humiliated?

Unlike the annoyance and bitterness Yin Jian was feeling, the other cultivators who had previously been thinking of trying to buy Yang Kai’s entry pass were currently rejoicing. All of them were grateful Yin Jian had acted so swiftly; otherwise the ones suffering this embarrassment would not be Blue Sparrow Sect but themselves.

“Brother Yang, what happened?” Wei Gu Chang asked curiously. He really had just left with Dong Xuan’er a moment ago to greet their Martial Uncles Wang and Yan, but the moment they returned they saw Yang Kai surrounded.

Yang Kai didn’t seem like the type to look for trouble, so how did this situation come to be?

“It’s nothing much, this guy just brought his Junior Brother over to buy my entry pass for the Flowing Flame Sand Field. Brother Wei, what is this entry pass thing, why didn’t you mention it before?” Yang Kai looked at Wei Gu Chang curiously.

“Ah… Sorry, I forgot about that,” Wei Gu Chang scratched his head and apologized, “But you can’t blame me, I hadn’t gotten the entry passes yet, they’re being kept by Elder Qian right now. When he comes here, he will distribute them to everyone. When the Flowing Flame Sand Field opens, anyone who wants to enter through the entrances will need to present an entry pass otherwise the Seniors on guard won’t allow them though. These entry passes were specially manufactured by masters from the various great forces so they’re impossible to counterfeit or copy. Right, in addition to the entry pass that Elder Qian will later distribute, he will also give each of us something called a Yuan Magnetic Compass. After entering the Flowing Flame Sand Field, we’ll need to depend on that thing to determine our direction.”

“I see,” Yang Kai nodded lightly.

Something Wei Gu Chang wasn’t responsible for wasn’t something Yang Kai would expect him to tell him about. Additionally, it didn’t seem to be something important in the short term, so he didn’t think much of this. After Qian Tong arrived Yang Kai would have naturally understood.

As the two of them were chatting, the disciples of Blue Sparrow Sect felt incredibly uncomfortable.

These few obviously didn’t put them in their eyes, otherwise, how could they casually be discussing entry passes and Yuan Magnetic Compasses while ignoring them?

Waiting for Wei Gu Chang and Yang Kai to finish talking, Yin Jian struggled to cup his fists and politely said, “Originally, it was Brother Gu Chang from Shadow Moon Hall…”

“Did I allow you to call me Brother Gu Chang?” Wei Gu Chang interrupted him immediately, displaying an overbearing arrogance that caused Yin Jian’s face to twitch and flush red, but even so, the latter didn’t dare to complain.

Although both of them were Third Order Saint Kings, Yin Jian knew that if he really fought Wei Gu Chang, he would only last a few moves before being defeated. All of these famous young talents possessed such extraordinary ability.

So, Yin Jian also had some self-knowledge.