Martial Peak - Chapter 821 - BoxNovel
Chapter 821, Long Time No See
The lake’s surface was sparkling clean and the water itself was crystal clear, a few fat fish could even be seen leisurely swimming about its depths.
Near the lakeside stood a young man who, at this moment, was smiling lightly towards Yun Xuan and Ruan Xin Yu who Liu Gui had brought here, raising his hand and waving as he casually called out, “Long time no see you two.”
Ruan Xin Yu and Yun Xuan didn’t immediately reply, both of them just standing there dumbstruck.
Seeing this, Yang Kai shook his head wryly and walked towards them.
When Yang Kai arrived in front of the trio, Liu Gui stepped forward and hastily bowed while letting out all kind of flattery, “Lord Holy Master, before, this lowly one had eyes but failed to see, I beg Lord Holy Master not to take offence.”
“It’s fine,” Yang Kai waved his hand lightly.
Liu Gui’s expression loosened as he respectfully said, “Sir, I have brought the two young ladies as you requested.”
“Good work,” Yang Kai patted the shoulder of the young man he had used the Great Heavenly Attraction on to control previous, causing the latter to feel quite flattered, “It is only what I should do.”
Hesitating for a moment, Liu Gui nervously continued, “Sir, you should be able to see I have no malicious intent towards you, so would it be possible for you to first return my Soul brand? Sir can rest assured, I, Liu Gui, will never reveal half a word about Sir Holy Master to another soul, lest Heavenly thunder strike me down!”
Seeing his begging appearance, Yang Kai simply smiled and said, “I cannot do what you request right now, but you can rest assured, so long as you obey me well, I will not harm you.”
“Does this lowly one dare not obey?” Liu Gui wore a bitter smile. The previous time Yang Kai left the nine peaks to go to the Beast Sea Jungle, Liu Gui’s team had been the ones to intercept him, but not only had they failed to capture Yang Kai, instead Liu Gui was forced to divulge everything he knew before having his Soul brand taken. If the Temple Master were to ever learn about this, even if he had nine lives Liu Gui wouldn’t be able to survive.
Considering all this, Liu Gui felt a deep bitterness in his heart.
“Obedience has its rewards,” Yang Kai was carefully observing and knew this youth was quite uncomfortable with the current situation. Knowing a willing pawn was more useful than an unwilling one, Yang Kai immediately threw Liu Gui a bottle of pills.
Liu Gui instinctively reached out and caught this bottle. After opening it and taking a sniff, a look of shock and joy filled his face as he unconsciously called out, “Spirit Grade pills?”
“Work hard and there will be more benefits in the future for you,” Yang Kai encouraged.
“Yes yes yes! Many thanks, Lord Holy Master!” Liu Gui gratefully exclaimed.
As an Immortal Ascension Boundary cultivator with average aptitude, Liu Gui’s status in War Spirit Temple was quite ordinary, so the pills he usually used were also ordinary goods. At best, by regularly performing tasks for the Sect, he could receive two or three Mysterious Grade pills a month, but now, after completing a trivial errand for Yang Kai, he had actually been rewarded with a bottle of Spirit Grade pills.
This was a massive windfall which caused Liu Gui to become somewhat dazed, no longer even caring that Yang Kai had taken his Soul brand and he could not control whether he lived or died.
He even secretly thought to himself that being able to work for this new Holy Master was a great good fortune.
Seeing Liu Gui’s reaction, Yang Kai was quite satisfied, further confirming that this guy was a villain who would forget all honour at the sight of profit. Giving such a person some small benefits would be enough to make him sell you his life.
Waving his hand to undo the seals Ruan Xin Yu had placed on him, Yang Kai signaled to Liu Gui, “Go back, there’s nothing more for you to do here.”
“Yes! Lord Holy Master, if you have any need of subordinate in the future, please do not hesitate to ask!” Liu Gui struck his chest and declared.
“There will be opportunities,” Yang Kai smiled and nodded.
Liu Gui turned around to leave, but just before taking off, he glanced over at Yun Xuan with a somewhat jealous look and muttered, “Young Lady’s good fortune is truly enviably.”
He could sense that this girl shared a not simple friendship with this new Holy Master.
Yun Xuan’s pretty face immediately blushed bright red while Ruan Xin Yu gave him a sharp glare and shouted, “You talk too much!”
Liu Gui let out a hollow laugh as he quickly scurried away.
After Liu Gui left, Yang Kai smiled and turned his attention to the two young women in front of him, “It’s been several years since we last met yet you two are still as graceful and charming as before.”
“Glib tongued brat!” Ruan Xin Yu snorted disdainfully, “You bastard, since you didn’t die, why did you not send Yun Xuan a message to let her know. Do you have any idea how much sadness you made her endure?”
“Xin Yu…” Yun Xuan cried out, biting her lip in the next instant as she directed her beautiful eyes towards Yang Kai, suddenly feeling like the young man in front of her had become incredibly tall and distant, as if she could only gaze up towards him from afar.
When she had first met him, his cultivation was actually below her own and his appearance was somewhat distressed. He was like a young, ignorant boy who had just wandered out from a deep forest.
However, just a few years later, he had now become the new Holy Master of Nine Heavens Holy Land and his strength had soared far beyond hers.
Currently, she was a Peak Immortal Ascension Boundary cultivator while he had actually become a Second Order Transcendent…
With such a gap between them, even if she were to work tirelessly for a dozen years she might not be able to catch up.
Standing in front of Yang Kai, Yun Xuan couldn’t help feeling a deep sense of inferiority, causing a pungent bitterness to fill her heart.
Perceiving Yun Xuan’s abnormal mood, Yang Kai’s brow furrowed slightly, but not knowing what she was actually thinking or feeling, all he could do was laugh and try to crack a joke, “Could it be you don’t recognize me?”
“Even if you were reduced to ashes I’d be able to recognize you,” Yun Xuan said with a forced smile.
“Then why are you looking at me like you’ve just met a stranger?” Yang Kai scratched his cheek awkwardly, “If you’re angry because I didn’t let you know I was safe, then I sincerely apologize, these past few years have been incredibly busy; moreover, there are certain things about me I don’t what to expose to the public.”
“Hmph, I think you’re just a shameless bastard,” Ruan Xin Yu snorted indignantly, “You clearly just want to play around and then run away so you can avoid taking any responsibility.”
“What responsibility do you want me to bear? Wasn’t everything that happened back then an unavoidable accident?” Yang Kai argued back somewhat awkwardly.
These past few years, Yang Kai really hadn’t thought about Yun Xuan much; although he felt somewhat embarrassed about what had happened, in his heart, she just couldn’t compare to Su Yan or his Little Senior Sister.
If it weren’t for the Charm Monster’s Spiritual Energy toxin, the two of them would never have become anything more than acquaintances.
“So you don’t want to take any responsibility, I really misjudged you!” Ruan Xin Yu shouted contemptuously, her gaze filled with scorn.
Helpless to argue back, Yang Kai could only shake his head wryly.
Yun Xuan, who had remained silent through this argument, finally let out a long breath and smiled slightly, “Xin Yu, don’t say any more, there’s no meaning to it. Some people, some encounters are just that fleeting, there’s no need to try to force things not meant to be.”
“You’re quite laissez faire,” Ruan Xin Yu stared at Yun Xuan with amazement.
“How did you make a disciple of War Spirit Temple bring us here? Why does he listen to your orders?” Yun Xuan turned a curiously look towards Yang Kai as she changed the subject.
“Heh, we had a slight conflict half a month ago and at that time, I placed a little seal on which allowed me to communicate directly with him. When I saw you two earlier today, I sent him a message telling him to lead you here,” Yang Kai explained, following up with a question is his own, “Is your Bold Independent Union also involved in this incident?”
“En,” Yun Xuan nodded, “Your Holy Land’s previous generation Saintess passed by my Bold Independent Union’s territory some time ago and killed a few of our disciples. That Zhang Ao of Shattering Mystical Palace somehow found out about this and sent an invitation to my father to come here. Thinking it would be an opportunity to discuss some matters with Nine Heavens Holy Land, my father decided to accept Zhang Ao’s invitation. Never had we expected that Zhang Ao’s purpose was not to reconcile with you but to launch an all-out fight.”
“Them inviting you to join them was simply for them to increase their numbers,” Yang Kai sneered.
“En, that should be the case. In fact, many forces that gathered here have similar experiences to my Bold Independent Union. Before we came here to see you, two small forces actually tried to leave, but before they could, they were ruthlessly slaughtered by Zhang Ao.”
Yang Kai’s eyes narrowed, “They’ve certain played a strong hand.”
“After that demonstration, I don’t think anyone will dare to leave. Zhang Ao also declared that next time they attack they will certainly flatten you Nine Heavens Holy Land; can you resist them?”
Yang Kai slowly shook his head, “If it really comes down to a fight, the end result will be a mutual loss. The Holy Land will definitely suffer heavy casualties, but your side won’t feel any better.”
“Then what are you going to do? You should leave here quickly; it’s far too dangerous to stay.”
“Don’t worry; I have a way to handle the situation. On the other hand, it’s you who should avoid getting involved here,” Yang Kai’s expression became serious, “If you continue to participate in this, your Bold Independent Union will definitely suffer greatly.”
“What do you mean?” Yun Xuan couldn’t help feeling startled.
“I can’t tell you any more right now. In any case, after you go back, do whatever you can to persuade your father to leave here as soon as possible. There will be a big change in the situation which will make it very dangerous to stay here soon.”
Yun Xuan frowned but nodded lightly, not asking Yang Kai to explain any further, choosing to believe in him.
Ruan Xin Yu on the other hand couldn’t help scoffing, “Aren’t you acting a bit too confident? Although your Nine Heavens Holy Land has a strong barrier and a number of powerful masters, as far as I know, along with the ones from those three sects, the number of Saint Realm powerhouses your facing is twice the number your Holy Land currently has.”
“And so?” Yang Kai snickered, “If they dare to come, they’ll pay a heavy price.”
“I can’t understand you at all…” Ruan Xin Yu slowly shook her head, “For that matter, how did someone like you become the new Holy Master of Nine Heavens Holy Land anyways?”
“Everyone has their own opportunities,” Yang Kai chuckled, “I’d rather not have become the new Holy Master of this place but… things happened.”
Ruan Xin Yu spat disdainfully, obviously not believing a word Yang Kai said. In her opinion, any man who managed to obtain such an opportunity would be beside themselves with joy, how could Yang Kai be any different?
This little brat was clearly trying to act aloof and mysterious! Ruan Xin Yu increasingly looked down on Yang Kai, secretly feeling that the rapid growth of his strength was entirely because he had received the cultivation of Nine Heavens Holy Land.
If Nine Heavens Holy Land was willing to train her, she could reach such a height.
“Is there anything else you want to say?” Yun Xuan asked Yang Kai.
Yang Kai was stunned by her forwardness but soon shook his head, “No.”
“Then we’ll head back first. If we stay out too long, it will cause people to become suspicious,” Yun Xuan said, directing a complicated expression towards Yang Kai in the next instant as she whispered, “No matter what, thank you for your reminder this time, I will speak with my father and let him know what you’ve told me, as for you… you must be careful, I know you’re much fiercer than you were when we first met and your status is also quite high, but your true strength is still quite limited. If you find you can’t solve this problem, please don’t force yourself.”
“Good, I’ll remember,” Yang Kai nodded sincerely.
“Then we’ll take our leave. If you can overcome these difficulties, you’re welcome to visit Bold Independent City at any time,” Yun Xuan smiled before grabbing Ruan Xin Yu’s hand and flying off.
Standing in place and gazing at their quickly fading backs, Yang Kai’s mood fluctuated quite a bit; he hadn’t expected this woman to act in such a composed manner, handling things calmly and then leaving without showing much hesitancy.
Originally, Yang Kai was still thinking about how he should comfort her but now it appeared that wouldn’t be necessary.
Chapter 822, You Stubborn Old Fart
Inside the jungle, Ruan Xin Yu, who was following the path back the gathering point, indignantly grumbled, “You fool, since you finally got to see him again, why did you just leave like that?”
“Isn’t he alive and well? What else was I supposed to do?” Yun Xuan smiled lightly.
“Are you alright with this?” Ruan Xin Yu asked, feeling bitter in her heart.
“En, I’m fine with it,” Yun Xuan replied with a relaxed and indifferent look upon her face, “He is not someone I can hope to be with anymore, even if I try to stay by his side, I’ll only be a burden to him. Since that’s the case, I might as well end things now and just leave it as a fond memory. That’s more than enough.”
“You won’t regret this in the future?” Ruan Xin Yu asked.
“There’s nothing to regret.”
“Forget it, do whatever you want, it’s your own business, just don’t come crying to me later saying you failed to grasp today’s once in a lifetime opportunity.”
“I won’t!” Yun Xuan said faintly, glancing back briefly before returning her gaze forward again. A tear gathering at the corner of her eye as her heart became clearer about what was in that man’s mind. She, more than anyone else in the world, understood that she was just a passer-by. If that wasn’t the case, he would definitely have chased after her.
…..
After Yang Kai returned to Nine Heavens Holy Land, he immediately called Xu Hui and the other Elders over.
“Holy Master, according to your instructions, all the disciples have made preparations to evacuate and are ready to depart!” Xu Hui cupped his fists and reported.
Yang Kai nodded, “Come with me!”
No one knew where he was going or what he was planning to do, but none of them asked any questions and simply followed behind Yang Kai.
Shuttling through the nine peaks, a moment later, Yang Kai arrived in front of a large smooth stone surrounded by carvings of dragons and phoenixes, and was engraved with the words ‘Holy Tomb’.
The Holy Tomb was the restricted area where all former Holy Masters of Nine Heavens Holy Land were buried. Arriving here, the looks on all of the Elders and Protectors’ faces became respectful.
“You’ve all been wondering where I plan to place the Holy Land’s thousands of disciples, do you still need to ask now?” Yang Kai stood in front of the giant stone and smiled back at everyone.
After a brief moment of confusion, all of them suddenly understood.
Xu Hui stuttered to ask, “Holy Master, the place you mentioned, it couldn’t be…”
“Besides here, can you think of anywhere else?” Yang Kai nodded lightly, “The Holy Tomb is without a doubt the best option.”
“We cannot!” Xu Hui’s expression changed greatly, “This is the sacred ground where all the Holy Land’s Holy Masters are entombed, how could we possibly disturb their eternal rest?”
“Those who are dead are gone. There is nothing we can do that will disturb them,” Yang Kai shook his head.
“The Holy Land has its customs, no one other than the Holy Master and the Saintesses may enter the Holy Tomb!”
“Customs are dead, people are alive, please be flexible Great Elder,” Yang Kai persuaded.
“While that may be true… No, this really will not do! If we were to enter the Holy Tomb, blatantly violating the customs and traditions passed down by our ancestors, what face would we have left in front of the Holy Land’s future disciples?”
“You stubborn old fart…” Yang Kai began losing his patience, turning his eyes to the rest of the Elders and asking, “What do you think?”
Shi Kun wore a difficult expression and quickly averted his eyes.
Meng Tian Fei and Luo Sheng also did not express their opinions.
Cheng Yue Tong opened her lips and tried to say something but quickly stopped herself.
“A group of wastes!” Yu Ying coldly snorted, solemnly saying, “Holy Master, although Great Elder is indeed somewhat stubborn and inflexible, in this case, I believe he is right.”
“You also think so?” Yang Kai stared blankly at this beautiful woman.
Yu Ying nodded firmly.
Yang Kai rubbed his forehead in frustration before turning to the last person present, “An Ling’er…”
“Don’t ask me, I’m just an ignorant little girl, I don’t know anything,” An Ling’er quickly pretended it was none of her business.
Yang Kai gawked at her for a moment before clenching his teeth. She was the only one he had counted on siding with him, yet she had actually abandoned him at this critical juncture.
“Is there really no way?” Yang Kai turned his eyes back to Xu Hui and asked solemnly.
“If it was any other matter, having received Holy Master’s command, even if this old master had to offer up his life, I would not hesitate, it’s just… regarding this…” Xu Hui stuttered, his expression filled with a mix of unwavering loyalty and guilt, as if he truly wished to obey Yang Kai’s command yet was simply incapable of doing so.
“Good!” Yang Kai interrupted him before he finished, “Then I wish all of you good luck, in two or three days, Zhang Ao will return and the Beast Sea Jungle’s Great Senior will bring the masters of the Monster Race here, when the time comes, we’ll see just how many of you can live! Farewell!”
Saying so, Yang Kai turned around and prepared to leave.
Xu Hui’s eyes shrank as he hastily reached out and grabbed Yang Kai’s sleeve, tightly pinching it as if his life depending on it, asking in amazement, “Holy Master, where are you going?”
“You all want to sit here waiting for death, but I have a bright future ahead of me, so why would I stay here to accompany you? Of course I’m going to leave,” Yang Kai replied as if it were a given.
“But if you leave, what is the Holy Land to do?” Xu Hui asked in a fluster.
“Huh? What does that have to do with me? I found a way out of this mess for all of you yet you refuse to take it, could it be you want me to stay here and be buried along with the rest of you?” Yang Kai spat disdainfully as he declared, “Sorry to disappoint you, I’m not so noble.”
“This…” Xu Hui suddenly became speechless, thinking that young people really acted like young people, making snappy decisions and rushing into things without the slightest hesitation. Before, Yang Kai had shown an attitude worthy of a Holy Master, yet now all of sudden he had become cold and indifferent, as if he didn’t care whether the Holy Land was destroyed or not.
“Furthermore…” Yang Kai snorted, “Even though you call me Holy Master, all of you refuse to execute my commands; what point is there in me staying here then? Even if you somehow survive this crisis, I’m afraid I’ll degenerate into a puppet you can manipulate at will.”
“We would not dare!” Xu Hui protested in horror.
“Oh really? Why are you still restraining me then?”
Xu Hui quickly let go and withdrew awkwardly.
“Enough!” Yu Ying called out, glaring towards Yang Kai somewhat badly, “The Holy Master should have the demeanor of a Holy Master, how can you act like such a rogue? Do you enjoy forcing Great Elder into a corner like this?”
After reprimanding Yang Kai, she let out a sigh and glanced over at Xu Hui, “Great Elder, this…”
Xu Hui hesitated for a long time, seemingly contemplating the issue, secretly glancing over at Yang Kai to observe the latter’s reaction, helplessly sighing after a while, “Since the Holy Master has made such a proposal… even though it will ruin the customs passed down by our ancestors, I suggest we take a vote. The seven of us here have the highest decision making authority in the Holy Land, so if the majority here agrees to enter the Holy Tomb, then… we can only do so.”
“So be it,” Yu Ying nodded.
“Who doesn’t agree to enter the Holy Tomb? Raise your hands high so I can see them,” Yang Kai asked, sweeping his eyes over the crowd.
Great Elder Xu Hui quickly raised his hand.
However, the other five Elders and Saintess An Ling’er all glanced around at each other awkwardly, none of them moving a muscle.
“You…” Xu Hui turned to face his fellow Elders with a shocked and somewhat hurt expression upon his face, as if he couldn’t believe no one here agreed with him that preserving the Holy Land’s traditions was of paramount importance.
“Slippery boy…” Yu Ying muttered to herself. She knew, if Yang Kai had phrased his question differently, the result of this vote would have been different.
The new Holy Master was a young man, and apparently an impulsive one at that. In this situation, who would be willing to openly refute his opinion? If they did that, it would only cause him to feel a sense of rejection towards the Holy Land, possibly leading to him abandoning them altogether.
No one could afford this responsibility.
“Great Elder, you let me win,” Yang Kai cupped his fists and grinned.
Xu Hui smiled back bitterly, “Since things have gotten to this point, this old master won’t make any more objections. Everything will be in accordance with Holy Master’s wishes.”
“I’m doing this for your own good, don’t look so distressed. If the Holy Land’s previous Holy Masters knew what the current situation was, I’m sure they’d forgive you.”
“I hope so.”
After opening the Holy Tomb with the Holy Master Spirit Ring, Yang Kai led everyone inside, each of them wearing a solemn expression, as if they were on some kind of sacred pilgrimage.
Once inside though, seeing this tiny city-sized Mysterious Small World that had no sun, moon, or stars, and was simply overcast with a hazy bluish white sky, all of them couldn’t help feeling a bit lost.
“This is the Holy Tomb?” Yu Ying whispered softly, her beautiful eyes unable to hide their disappointment. The sight in front of her was completely different from what she had imagined.
She had believed that the Holy Tomb was a serene and peaceful paradise with refreshing gardens and crystal clear lakes.
The reality though was that the Holy Tomb was a barren, dreary purgatory filled with a pervasive Yin Qi and the only moving objects inside were some dim fluorescent wisps, akin to spirits, that only added to the atmosphere’s creepiness.
Everyone else looked around with curiosity and surprise. Only Great Elder Xu Hui wore a worried look as he fidgeted about, constantly muttering under his breath, as if he was still afraid that their arrival had disturbed the slumber of the previous Holy Masters.
“The World Energy here is very rich,” Cheng Yue Tong inhaled gently, her full chest exaggeratedly undulating, a look of surprise flashing across her face.
The World Energy density among the nine peaks was already outstanding, but compared to the Holy Tomb, it was still dwarfed. It was no wonder all previous Holy Masters would choose to enter secluded retreat here.
“The environment isn’t very inviting, but it is a good place to take shelter and cultivate,” Yang Kai smiled, “When I first came here, I was also shocked by how rich the World Energy aura was. I don’t know where this World Energy comes from though. En, this Mysterious Small World is much smaller than an average Mysterious Small World, but there should be no trouble housing all the Holy Land’s disciples here.”
“From what Holy Master just said, it sounds as if you have been to other Mysterious Small Worlds, yes?” Cheng Yue Tong looked at Yang Kai with amazement.
Although the concept of Mysterious Small Worlds was widely known about, very few people had actually entered one before. These mysterious spaces were completely independent of Tong Xuan Realm and their entrances were usually quite difficult to find.
Yang Kai just smiled lightly, glancing over at An Ling’er, not bothering to explain.
“Where are the coffins of the previous Holy Masters? Why can I not see any of them?” Xu Hui looked around for a while, a look of confusion filling his face, “There should be many coffins here.”
Yang Kai’s brow twitched imperceptibly and asked, “Why do you say there should be coffins here?”
“It only makes sense, every previous Holy Master would craft his own coffin and carry it with him into the Holy Tomb at his predestined time of death… Also, this place is far too clean, there’s simply nothing here.”
Listening to Xu Hui say so, everyone else also discovered that something was out of place. The Holy Tomb’s ground was perfectly flat, as if it had been cut with a single stroke of a very sharp blade, and even though a layer of dust had covered most of it, there were some traces left behind by what appeared to be a violent explosion of energy.
“Yes, where are the remains of the previous Holy Masters?” Shi Kun scratched his head and looked around.
“There may be some hidden secrets inside the Holy Tomb… En, the last time I came here, it was like this,” Yang Kai quickly said.
If Xu Hui were to find out he had shattered all the bones and coffins inside the Holy Tomb when he absorbed the drop of Demon God Golden Blood, Yang Kai really didn’t know how this old man would react.
Chapter 823, Wild
After a busy day and night, everything was arranged.
The thousands of Holy Land disciples filed into the Holy Tomb, bring a sense of life to this Mysterious Small World filled with Yin Qi.
Although there were many people to house, the Holy Tomb was more than large enough.
Xu Hui and the other Elders also prepared a massive amount of living materials in advance, enough for Holy Land’s disciples to live off of for quite some time.
Yang Kai also told them to relax and focus on their cultivation, when the time came, he would naturally let them out again.
Xu Hui and the other Elders all nodded firmly.
Outside the Holy Tomb, Yang Kai sat alone on top of one of the nine spirit peaks, overlooking the huge foundation that had endured for countless years, his mood calm and tranquil.
At this moment, Nine Heavens Holy Land was practically silent as there was no one else around but him.
Closing his eyes, Yang Kai entered a state of meditation as he quietly waited for the enemy to come.
After an unknown amount of time, Yang Kai opened his eyes and stared off in a certain direction, a grin slowly appearing on his face.
Zhang Ao’s group had come once again and were now loudly cursing and shouting as they bombarded the Nine Peaks Barrier, sending loud bangs echoing throughout the Holy Land.
Yang Kai’s figure flickered and when he reappeared, he stood a short distance away from Zhang Ao.
Zhang Ao’s eyes narrowed as he shouted, “Little brat, seems you still have the courage to appear. Good, today shall be the day of your death!”
Cao Guan next to him also sneered, “Open the barrier and surrender, perhaps then we’ll spare you!”
Yang Kai turned a deaf ear to these two and instead glanced around, his eyes fixing on the cultivators from Bold Independent Union for a moment before quickly moving on, faintly saying, “Very good, since all of you are determined to be enemies with my Holy Land, you should be prepared to accept the consequences.”
Many people wore looks of dread as they quickly averted their eyes. On the other hand, among the Bold Independent Union cultivators, Yun Xuan wore a low-spirited expression.
She had discussed with her father, Yun Cheng, all night long, and even relayed the warning Yang Kai had given her, but right now, Bold Independent Union was riding a tiger, so Yun Cheng had no choice but to accompany Zhang Ao here.
Meeting again like this, Yun Xuan couldn’t help feeling like she had disappointed Yang Kai’s good intentions.
“Where’s Xu Hui? Why is it just you here you little bastard?” Zhang Ao was keenly aware that something was not right. Today, Nine Heavens Holy Land was too quiet, there were simply no signs of anyone about, only this new Holy Master had made an appearance, even Xu Hui and the other Holy Land Elders were nowhere to be seen.
“To deal with the likes of you, there’s no need for Great Elder to appear!” Yang Kai spat disdainfully.
“Maniac! Boy, I’d like to see if you can still be so arrogant once I have you on your knees!” Zhang Ao was completely irritated, waving his hand widely as he shouted, “No one hold back, I’ll handle this brat, the rest of you work together to break this damn barrier, once it falls, the wealth of the nine peaks will be shared amongst all of us!”
Hearing these words, many of the cultivators who were still hesitating suddenly became enthusiastic.
Nine Heavens Holy Land’s heritage was deep, and it was unknown just how many treasures, elixirs, Secret Arts, and Martial Skills they had horded away all these years, it would be a huge windfall for any of these forces to obtain even a tiny bit of these things.
Men die for wealth as birds die for food. Zhang Ao throwing out such temptation now naturally aroused the fighting spirit of many people.
In an instant, under the leadership of Cao Guan and Wu Jie, more than a dozen Saint Realm masters attacked the Nine Peaks Barrier while Zhang Ao summoned his scroll-type artifact and struck towards Yang Kai, apparently intending to pin down Yang Kai’s movements.
Yang Kai’s smile on deepened, showing no intention to confront Zhang Ao, simply falling back to avoid this attack but maintaining a cold, indifferent expression; he didn’t even make any attempt to block the bombardment of the Nine Peaks barrier.
Zhang Ao suddenly felt a tinge of unease in his heart as he stared towards Yang Kai, wondering what this little brat was up to.
*Chi chi chi…*
*Xiu xiu xiu…*
A shrill sound rang out as countless attacks struck upon the barrier, but to everyone’s surprise, the barrier Nine Heavens Holy Land was so proud of seemed to be as flimsy as paper.
Under the bombardment of so many masters, the Nine Peaks Barrier endured for less than thirty breaths before shattering, opening the road ahead to all of them.
Everyone was startled by this scene, none of them having anticipating things going so smoothly.
After gawking for a moment, Zhang Ao became overjoyed and yelled, “Little brat, let’s see try to run now!”
As he spoke, the dozen or so Saint Realm masters flew into the nine peaks and surrounded Yang Kai.
Immediately behind them, the forces which had gathered to crusade against Nine Heavens Holy Land also leapt forward frantically, as if they were afraid all the benefits here would be stolen by others if they moved too slowly.
Bold Independent Union’s Union Master, Yun Cheng’s expression fluctuated back and forth, quickly releasing his Divine Sense to probe the nine peaks but soon lifting his foot to step forward.
But before he could take this step, his sleeve was caught by someone. Looking back, he saw his daughter, Yun Xuan, staring at him with a pleading look.
“Xuan’er, what is it?” Yun Cheng frowned.
“Father… The Nine Peaks Barrier has been broken, let everyone else handle what comes next, let’s go back now!” Yun Xuan bit her lips and said.
“Go back now?” Yun Cheng thought for a moment before smiling gently, “Didn’t I explain carefully to you last night? How can you bring this matter up again?”
“Father, please trust me, staying here any longer really won’t have any benefit to us.”
“Yes, Union Master, we should leave now while that little bastard draws their attention,” Ruan Xin Yu chimed in.
“Do you also think this way?” Yun Cheng stared pensively towards Ruan Xin Yu, “Do you believe that little brat?”
Last night, Yun Xuan had conveyed Yang Kai’s warning to Yun Cheng, allowing him to realize that his daughter had actually gone to meet with this new Holy Master the day before; however, Yun Cheng had not taken Yang Kai’s warning very seriously. The difference in the two side’s strength was too great and Yun Cheng simply couldn’t think of any way Nine Heavens Holy Land could fight back. The only advantage the Holy Land had was the Nine Peaks Spirit Array and Barrier but that had already been collapsed now.
“Xuan’er, out of consideration for your friendship with him, do you not want to add insult to injury here?” Yun Cheng laid bare Yun Xuan’s true thoughts, “Don’t worry, if he really has the ability to escape from this crisis, it can only bring advantages to my Bold Independent Union, if he does not then that is simply his fate. However, under these circumstances, I believe he has run out of luck!”
Yun Cheng sighed, he also thought this might be a good opportunity for Bold Independent Union; after all, his daughter had a close relationship with the Holy Master of Nine Heavens Holy Land. If the Holy Land were really to make it through this disaster, in the future, would Bold Independent Union need to fear not having a backer?
But now it seemed like Nine Heavens Holy Land was only outwardly strong but inwardly weak.
At this most critical time, only the new Holy Master came out to meet the enemy while the Elders, Protectors, and even disciples had all disappeared.
This made Yun Cheng wonder if this new Holy Master had actually been abandoned here to attract Zhang Ao’s attention while the others escaped.
“Rest assured, Zhang Ao won’t kill him,” Yun Cheng comforted, “That boy is of great use to Zhang Ao.”
The biggest goal Zhang Ao had in uniting so many forces and masters to attack Nine Heavens Holy Land was to obtain the Holy Land’s core inheritance. Currently, this inheritance should be held completely and exclusively by Yang Kai, how could Zhang Ao be willing to kill him?
“If you don’t wish to be enemies with him… then you can withdraw along with Xin Yu,” Yun Cheng said, calling out to Ji Yan, “Take my daughter and Xin Yu to a safe place.”
“Yes,” Ji Yan nodded, wrapping up Yun Xuan and Ruan Xin Yu with his True Qi before flying away.
Yun Xuan wore a bitter look and obviously wanted to continue trying to persuade her father but she simply couldn’t think of a way to do so. Turning her beautiful eyes towards Yang Kai, who was currently surrounded by powerful masters, all she could do was lament as she was gradually brought far away.
After his daughter left, Yun Cheng snorted lightly and led his forces forward.
“Little bastard, your defeat is inevitable, surrender without a fight!” Zhang Ao shouted towards Yang Kai, a smug expression filling his face as his eyes filled with greedy light, as if the core inheritance of Nine Heavens Holy Land was already in his hands.
Cao Guan also called out for Yang Kai to give up resisting or face the consequences.
Yang Kai simply stood there indifferently and said nothing.
The place where he stood was surrounded on all sides by more than a dozen Saint Realm masters and several dozen Transcendents, each of them staring at him fixedly.
However, even in this situation, he wore a calm and relaxed expression, causing his captures instead to grow nervous, none of them daring to rush forward to attack him lest he had some trick up his sleeve.
They were inside the Holy Land now, and all of them had witnessed Yang Kai used the Nine Peaks Spirit Array to display power on par with a Saint Realm master, if they pushed him too far, no one here except Zhang Ao would be able to suppress him.
“Boy, things coming to this really is quite disappointing,” Wu Jie of Netherworld Sect suddenly spoke, cackling wickedly.
Yang Kai shot him a glance and grinned as well, “What were you hoping for?”
Wu Jie slowly shook his head, the eerie green aura swirling around his body like it had a mind of its own, “I thought you would use some shocking and unexpected method to resist us, but it seems I was expecting too much. If this is really all you have left to offer, I advise you to be surrender and let me seal your True Qi, lest Brother Zhang or Brother Cao accidentally hurt you.”
“Haha, I’m afraid I must decline your good intentions,” Yang Kai laughed heroically, “Wanting to capture me depending on just you people? I think you’re trying to bite off more than you can chew.”
“Wild!” Cao Guan shouted angrily, no Transcendent Realm cultivator would dare spout such nonsense in front of so many Saint Realm masters. This boy’s arrogance simply knew no bounds.
“Temple Master…” A figure suddenly flew over and shouted out to Cao Guan, “There’s no one here, all of the disciples of Nine Heavens Holy Land are gone.”
“No one?” Cao Guan was stunned.
“En.”
At the same time, Zhang Ao, Wu Jie, and the other Saints also received similar reports. This discovery inevitably concerned them somewhat, each of them putting on a dignified expression, wondering just what kind of trick Nine Heavens Holy Land was trying to pull.
Thousands of people suddenly disappearing, this phenomenon was simply too abnormal.
The faint uneasiness he had felt earlier became stronger and Zhang Ao decided not to delay matters any further.
A long night of sleep brings about many dreams.
In the next instant loudly shouting, “Brothers, let us capture this brat first. As long as we have him in our hands, Xu Hui and the others won’t be able to stir up any trouble no matter what scheme they have up their sleeves!”
Chapter 824, Accomplished With Ease
Zhang Ao waved his hand and everyone else nodded, quickly condensing their True Qi as they prepared to rush Yang Kai.
However, before they could take action, a series of screams rang out from afar. When they heard these blood curdling screams, everyone couldn’t help freezing in place.
Quickly sweeping the area with their Divine Senses, the masters gathered around Yang Kai all wore gloomy expressions.
None of these masters was weak and under investigation of their powerful Divine Senses, they swiftly discovered a large number of powerful auras which were flooding into the nine peaks, stirring up a great storm wherever they went.
On the horizon, a great disturbance, like a gathering storm cloud, was rapidly approaching. Amidst this dark cloud, a number of faint figures stood arrogantly in high up in the sky, staring down indifferently at the cultivators below, giving off a massive sense of oppression.
Zhang Ao’s complexion changed greatly, throwing Yang Kai to the back of his mind as he called out, “What’s going on?”
Pitiful screams continued to ring out once after another and the smell of blood soon filled the air. No one seemed to have any time to answer Zhang Ao’s question. Only after quite a while did a blood stained Shattering Mystical Palace disciple rush over and report, “Palace Master, it’s a disaster, a huge horde of Monster Beasts has appeared!”
“Monster Beasts?” Zhang Ao’s eyes narrowed as he shifted his gaze towards where the screams were coming from just in time to witness the terrifying scene of a giant Blue Eyed Python swallow a human cultivator whole.
Zhang Ao didn’t know which force that cultivator came from, but he could tell the latter’s strength was not weak, having a Peak Immortal Ascension Boundary cultivation. However, in front of this giant python, this unfortunate man had no power to fight back. It was as if an irresistible suction force was being emitted from this python’s mouth, sucking in this cultivator before the python swallowed him whole, a slight bulge which seemed to be struggling sliding down the giant python’s neck a moment later.
*Chi chi chi…*
A series of attacks landed on the giant python, creating a number of dazzling sparks, but the giant body covered with black scales seemed to be impregnable, remaining completely undamaged. Shaking its head and wagging its tail, the python swallowed down several more cultivators while pulverising others into bloody paste as it rampaged about.
This scene was nothing short of a bloody purgatory.
Looking around, Monster Beasts of various shapes and sizes had invaded every corner of the nine peaks. These Monster Beasts’ eyes were all red, as if their bestial instincts had been stimulated by the scene of blood in the air, all of them slaughtering their way through the human cultivators, no one able to block their path.
Screams of pain and terror resounded as everyone began panicking and fleeing.
“Where did these Monster Beasts come from?” Zhang Ao screamed as his face paled, a look of dread flashing across his eyes as he stared towards the black cloud in the distance.
“They seem to have come from the Beast Sea Jungle!” Cao Guan replied quickly.
As soon as these words came out, all the masters gathered around Yang Kai felt a cold chill run up their backs.
The Beast Sea Jungle was the territory of the Monster Race where one of the Monster Race Great Seniors lived; that was one of this world’s top powerhouses!
Glancing back towards the rapidly approaching dark cloud, everyone immediately understood what was happening.
“Hateful boy, actually colluding with these evil monsters!” Zhang Ao roared as he turned a hate filled glare back towards where Yang Kai was standing but to his shock, there was no one there. Yang Kai, who should have been completely surrounded, had at some unknown point disappeared, leaving behind several dozen bewildered masters.
The dark cloud finally arrived in the sky above the nine peaks and from it descended a glowing seven coloured beam of light. A graceful figure with fluttering translucent wings appeared from inside this beam of light a moment later, a cold, indifferent expression upon her beautiful face.
Cai Die!
Following closely behind Cai Die were twenty to thirty Monster Race masters in human form, each of them grinning fiercely as they radiated an awe inspiring pressure towards the Human Race cultivators below. Kuang Shi took the lead and plunged towards the ground like a meteor, opening up a giant crater when he landed. Immediately after, he rushed towards a Transcendent Realm human cultivator, shrugging off the attacks directed towards him with his flesh alone before grabbing hold of this unfortunate man and sinking his teeth into his neck.
Blood splashed out and Kuang Shi let out a thunderous roar, his eyes filled with joy. The Human Race Transcendent didn’t even have a chance to resist, dying immediately after Kuang Shi ripped out his throat.
This bloody scene was burned into the eyes of the surrounding Human Race cultivators, causing them to lose all courage and flee in all directions, none of them daring to fight with Kuang Shi.
Before they could escape far though, more Monster Beasts blocked their path and set upon them.
Atop one of the nine peaks, Yang Kai stood indifferently overlooking the bloody slaughter down below.
The figure of the Monster Race Great Senior appeared next to him a moment later.
“Great Senior, you’re a bit late,” Yang Kai smiled and quipped.
“Hmph, it’s not easy gathering up so much manpower, you didn’t exactly give me much time,” The Monster Race Great Senior coldly snorted.
“How many came?”
“Three thousand Sixth-Order, eighty Seventh-Order, and nine Eighth-Order!”
Yang Kai couldn’t help raising his brow, “An impressive lineup.”
“Do you think I, by myself, could assure the safety of the Beast Sea Jungle all these years? If not for there being enough masters beside me, the Beast Sea Jungle would already have been overrun by your Human Race,” The Great Senior slowly shook his head, “Take your Nine Heavens Holy Land as an example, you guys rely too much on your Holy Master, as soon as he died, this place became vulnerable.”
“Tell that to them, not me,” Yang Kai laughed, he had also seen the flaw in Nine Heavens Holy Land’s system, it was the exact opposite of the Monster Race which had a large number of top level masters accompanying the Great Senior so that, even if the latter fell, the Beast Sea Jungle would not be in any danger.
This time, it seemed like the Monster Race had turned out in full force.
“Remember what you promised me,” Great Senior glanced over at Yang Kai.
“Rest assured, since I’ve reached an agreement with you, I won’t renege on it,” Yang Kai nodded lightly.
“How do you want me to handle these invaders?” The Monster Race Great Senior asked.
“Do as you please,” Yang Kai shrugged his shoulders, as if it had nothing to do with him.
The Great Senior snickered back, “Little brat, are you looking forward to me killing all of them?”
Yang Kai smiled but didn’t reply, clearly indicating his stance.
“I’m afraid I’ll have to disappoint you then. Killing too many people is not good for my Monster Race, doing so will only bring out more intense revenge from your Human Race’s masters,” Great Senior snorted, already having seen through Yang Kai’s intent to use his Monster Race to solve the Holy Land’s problem for them.
If these human cultivators were really to be slaughtered clean, the hatred for their deaths would only be directed towards the Monster Race while Nine Heavens Holy Land could feign ignorance.
Although he understood this, the Monster Race Great Senior still couldn’t refuse Yang Kai’s proposal; however, when it came to the implementation, naturally he wouldn’t allow himself to be led around by Yang Kai.
“There’s one thing I don’t understand though, if it’s convenient, could you enlighten me, boy?” The Monster Race Great Senior glanced over and asked Yang Kai.
“What?”
“Where did all the people from your Nine Heavens Holy Land go? Why does it seem like only you are here?”
“Naturally they’ve hidden themselves in a safe place. Great Senior doesn’t need to worry. Once the unpleasant business here is concluded, the Alchemists and Artifact Refiners I promised you will return.”
“Good, I don’t believe you’d dare deceive me.”
Down below, upon seeing the Monster Race join the fray and quickly proceeded to slaughter countless masters, Zhang Ao and the other leaders of this crusade knew the situation could no longer be salvaged, quickly pushing their True Qi and using their movement skills to escape.
Even if their hearts were filled with unwillingness, there was simply nothing they could do.
Bold Independent Union’s Union Master, Yun Cheng, stared around in grief. Seeing so many of his disciples and subordinates either dead or seriously wounded, he couldn’t help feeling a profound sense of regret.
If he had just heeded his daughter’s persuasion and taken everyone back immediately, he could have avoided being swept up in this catastrophe and suffered no casualties at all.
Now, it was too late for all that, of the several hundred disciples he had brought with him, nearly half were already dead or dying, while even he himself had to flee under the terrifying charge of the Monster Race masters.
Seeing Zhang Ao and the other Saints already retreating, Yun Cheng no longer dared to remain, rallying his remaining subordinates and disciple together and immediately chasing after Zhang Ao, fighting their way out.
From the moment the Monster Race arrived till the battle ended, less time than it would take to burn a stick of incense had passed.
Among the nine peaks, dead bodies and blood could be seen everywhere, making for a shocking scene. Of the cultivators who had come to crusade against Nine Heavens Holy Land, at least a thousand had died.
Under the lead of some giant Monster Beasts, the horde soon ran out of the nine peaks to pursue the fleeing human cultivators.
“Do not pursue them!” A tender voice suddenly called out as Cai Die’s graceful figure fell to the ground lightly, blocking the stampeding Monster Beasts’ path. Upon hearing this command, all of these Monster Beasts came to a halt before lifting their heads towards the sky and letting out great roars.
When they heard this series of howls, the fleeing human cultivators trembled in fear, all of them immediately putting all their strength into increasing their speed.
“A difficult matter for one is accomplished with ease by another,” Yang Kai slowly shook his head and sighed. The huge, insurmountable crisis facing Nine Heavens Holy Land had easily been resolved by the Monster Race, making him feel somewhat frustrated.
“What you see here is the strength my Monster Race has accumulated for hundreds, if not thousands of years. Do you think you can obtain such power casually?” The Great Senior snickered, “Your Nine Heavens Holy Land isn’t bad, but it’s still not comparable to my Monster Race.”
“Indeed, otherwise there would be no point in taking advantage of your strength,” Yang Kai nodded.
“Well, you cultivate diligently, and in a hundred years or so you’ll be able to stand at my height. By then, Nine Heavens Holy Land will be strong again.”
“A hundred years? Great Senior, you’re looking down on me far too much,” Yang Kai grinned.
“You want to say it will only take you twenty or thirty years? How could this King believe your nonsense?”
“Just wait and see,” Yang Kai rolled his eyes.
As the two talked, Cai Die flew over and landed in front of them. After shooting a faint glance towards Yang Kai, she reported, “Great Senior, all the humans have fled.”
“Good, spread my commands, clean up the battlefield then let everyone find a place to settle down. From now on, these nine peaks are part of my Monster Race’s territory; we need to make good use of the resources here.”
“Yes.”
“Boy, I’ve solved your problem for you, shouldn’t you fulfill your end of the bargain now?”
Yang Kai nodded.
He had already reached an agreement with this Great Senior and had no plans on going back on his word.
Arriving in front of the Holy Tomb, Yang Kai let out the Alchemists and Artifact Refiners he had agreed to lend the Great Senior, satisfying the latter greatly.
The Holy Land’s Alchemists and Artifact Refiners were of course frightened facing these Monster Race powerhouses, but they settled down greatly when the Great Senior personally guaranteed their safety.
Yang Kai also activated the Nine Peaks Spirit Array to enrich the World Energy aura for the Monster Race.
Yang Kai then handed off a fine piece of jade upon which he had engraved the Natural Spirit Arrays he had agree to teach the Great Senior about previously, allowing the Great Senior to study it on his own.
These Natural Spirit Array diagrams were related to the Monster Race’s Beast Transformation Pond and were the most valuable item out of this entire transaction to the Monster Race Great Senior.
Chapter 825, If I Don’t Leave Now, I’m Afraid I Never Will
A few hundred kilometers away from the nine peaks.
Inside a dense jungle, many cultivators had hidden themselves, none of them daring to even breathe loudly. The sun shining down through the canopy illuminated the gloomy expressions upon Zhang Ao and the other’s faces.
Since their defeat at the hands of the Monster Race, ten days had already passed.
During these ten days, Zhang Ao constantly thought back to the scenes that day, his heart filled with a deep sense of unwillingness each time. He had thought that as soon as he captured that little bastard he would be able to obtain the core inheritance of Nine Heavens Holy Land, but never had Zhang Ao imagined the Monster Race would actually intervene at the critical moment.
The Monster Race Great Senior had brought several dozen masters with him and had forced them to flee like beaten dogs.
All the forces Zhang Ao had gathered together to crusade against Nine Heavens Holy Land had long been scattered, leaving only Shattering Mystical Palace, War Spirit Temple, and Netherworld Sect.
With just the three Sects, they wouldn’t be able to beat the original Nine Heavens Holy Land, much less exact revenge upon the Monster Race.
Moreover, all three Sects had suffered heavy losses and the number of masters they had left who could still fight was not many.
It was undoubtedly the best choice to withdraw here, but Zhang Ao simply couldn’t resign himself to that. After manipulating so many forces and masters yet still failing to defeat Nine Heavens Holy Land, Zhang Ao could imagine how much of a laughing stock his Shattering Mystical Palace would become once word spread out.
His blood boiling, Zhang Ao’s expression became even darker and more sinister.
“That despicable little brat, actually daring to collude with those evil monsters, hateful!” Zhang Ao cursed as he gazed back in the direction of Nine Heavens Holy Land, sullen and helpless.
Cao Guan also grumbled indignantly, “He dares face universal condemnation, as soon as the news of this spreads, I think it’ll be impossible for him to stand tall anywhere in Tong Xuan Realm.”
Wu Jie simply cackled and said, “Nine Heavens Holy Land is actually quite interesting, I never expected they’d actually join forces with the Monster Race.”
“This isn’t necessarily the idea of Xu Hui or the other Holy Land Elders. I’ve been dealing with Xu Hui for several decades so I have a fair understanding of his thinking; it’s highly unlikely he would propose such a thing. All of this is probably because of that little brat,” Zhang Ao coldly snorted, “The most important thing right now though is how to seize him from the Monster Race.”
“En, this is somewhat difficult to handle,” Cao Guan frowned deeply.
“You two still don’t want to give up?” Wu Jie stared at them with amazement and shook his head, “With that Monster Race Great Senior protecting him, what hope do you have to capture him with?”
“Can he not come out for a lifetime? I vow not to rest until I catch that little bastard!” Zhang Ao face filled with cruel madness.
“I as well! Why, what’s wrong? Does Brother Wu want to retreat now even after receiving so many benefits from us?” As he spoke, Zhang Ao shot a bad look towards Wu Jie.
Wu Jie quickly raised his hand and said, “Receiving wealth to disperse disaster has always been my Netherworld Sect’s objective. Now that I’ve received payment from you two, of course I’ll help you to the end.”
“That would be for the best,” Zhang Ao nodded with satisfaction.
As the three Sect leaders were talking, a cultivator who had gone to scout out the nine peaks situation returned and after respectfully bowing, reported, “The nine peaks have been completely occupied by the Monster Race, and there are no signs of any of Nine Heavens Holy Land’s disciples anywhere. There’s only traces of Monster Beast and Monster Race activity inside; they appear to be busy mining the Crystal Stone mineral lodes!”
Hearing this, Zhang Ao and Cao Guan’s brows both twitched in annoyance.
If it weren’t for the damn Monster Race, those rich mineral lodes would be theirs right now.
“Are you certain you didn’t see anyone from Nine Heavens Holy Land inside?” Zhang Ao frowned. This piece of information was something he was particularly concerned about. Before the war started, he hadn’t spotted any of the Holy Land’s disciples or even Elders which could possibly be explained by them hiding somewhere nearby, but them not appearing even now was a bit intriguing.
“Yes, this subordinate and several dozen others have been observing day and night, but no one has spotted a single disciple of Nine Heavens Holy Land since that day.”
“Nine Heavens Holy Land’s thousands of disciples couldn’t have simply vanished,” Cao Guan wore a puzzled expression, venturing a guess in the next moment, “Brother Zhang, could it be that the Monster Race…”
Hearing this, Zhang Ao was stunned for a moment before a sneer appeared on his face, “It’s possible. The Monster Race is by no means a trustworthy partner, perhaps that little brat thought he could collude with those beasts only to have them turn on him once they got what they wanted; if so, he really lifted a stone only to smash his own foot!”
“That little bastard got what he deserved!” Cao Guan’s mood improved noticeably, soon wondering though, “But if that’s the case, that little brat is likely now in the hands of that Monster Race Great Senior. How are we supposed to capture him?”
Zhang Ao frowned and sunk into contemplation, but even after thinking about it for half a day, no feasible plan came to mind.
…..
Inside a grand palace, Yang Kai sat face to face with the Monster Race Great Senior and portrayed several exquisite Spirit Arrays between them.
Yang Kai pushed down his impatience as he carefully taught the Great Senior.
Originally, he had already carved the entire series of Spirit Arrays related to the Beast Transformation Pond onto a fine jade slip; but after the Monster Race Great Senior examined it thoroughly and told Yang Kai he was unable to understand all of it, Yang Kai had no choice but to explain them himself.
Fortunately, the Great Senior’s perception wasn’t bad, so although he had never studied this subject before, after receiving ten days of Yang Kai’s dedicated lectures, he was finally able to grasp the key points of the Spirit Array diagrams.
All that was left for him to do now was to slowly comprehend it so that if any problems occurred when one of the Monster Race first tries to assume human form, the Great Senior could fix them himself without having to ask Yang Kai for help.
After Yang Kai finished explaining the Spirit Array diagrams, the Monster Race Great Senior let out a long breath, his face showing a look of shock as he muttered, “This Spirit Array diagram conforms greatly to the Heavenly Way and is of great use to those who cultivate the Martial Dao. Who was it that taught you these things?”
“No comment!” Yang Kai smiled.
“Good, I don’t intend to inquire about your secrets; it’s just that many of the mysteries hidden within these Spirit Array diagrams can’t be seen with your current cultivation and vision. Although my attainments in this field are much shallower than yours, my vision and experience far outstrip your own still. En, boy, treasure and study these Spirit Array diagrams well, one day you will discover that profundities hidden within them are far greater than you can imagine.”
Yang Kai’s brow wrinkled as a thoughtful look appeared on his face.
“Earlier you mentioned you were an Alchemist, right?” The Monster Race Great Senior suddenly asked.
“En,” Yang Kai nodded lightly.
“Since you’re an Alchemist, why not stay here and assist my clan? I think your Alchemy level should not be bad. My clan has collected a lot of rare materials over the years, things your Human Race would find difficult to ever acquire.”
“No thanks,” Yang Kai waved his hand, “I’m not interested.”
“Don’t say that, everything is open to discussion, let’s talk about it, what treatment you want, I can promise you,” The Monster Race Great Senior smiled widely.
Yang Kai slowly shook his head, “I’m afraid I’ll have to decline Great Senior’s kind intentions, I have others things to attend to so I can’t stay here for long, en, the Reflecting Moon Pond I told you about, I’ll have to ask you to help me look after it. Someone may come here later to examine it.”
“You want to leave?” Great Senior frowned.
“If I don’t leave now, I am afraid I never will,” Yang Kai stared straight into the Great Senior’s eyes, not showing any fear.
Great Senior grinned, hesitated for a moment, and then nodded, “Go, we’ll meet again.”
“Great Senior should take care, who knows, within a few years, I may be back to reclaim the nine peaks, so you’d best take advantage of the resources here while you can.”
Saying so, Yang Kai didn’t wait for the Great Senior to reply before flying off, quickly disappearing from the palace.
After Yang Kai left, the Great Senior’s expression turned into a sneer, “A few years? That boy looks down on people far too much.”
The Great Senior had brought his clansmen out from the Beast Sea Jungle in a grand fashion, risking a full scale conflict with the Human Race in order to help Yang Kai solve the Holy Land’s immediate crisis; how could he only occupy the nine peaks for a few years as payment?
“Great Senior, do you intend to just let him leave like that?” Cai Die appeared silently, a light frown upon her face, “He has precious knowledge about the Beast Transformation Pond’s hidden mysteries.”
“En, but he has also done a great favour for our Monster Race,” The Great Senior said with a complicated expression, “I know what you’re worried about, but you need not be, that little brat is trustworthy and will not easily leak the secrets of the Beast Transformation Pond. My Monster Race cannot stoop so low as to act like humans, repaying kindness with enmity. Cai Die, don’t get any crooked ideas, I know you want to put him under house arrest for safety’s sake; but do away with such thoughts.”
“Yes,” Cai Die respectfully replied, glancing off in the direction Yang Kai disappeared and suddenly chuckling, “But he certainly is crazy enough, claiming he will be able to stand on equal ground with Great Senior within twenty or thirty years and now saying he’ll be back to recover the nine peaks within a few years, I’d really like to know where he gets all his confidence from.”
“The young never lack confidence…” Great Senior mused, “However… I always feel like the things he said will come true. That boy is quite strange, so I don’t want to make a move against him. Instead, I’d like to see just how he plans to achieve those wild claims of his.”
“So that’s how it is,” Cai Die nodded, a smile appearing on her face.
“You should smile more, you look more attractive when you do,” Great Senior suddenly said.
Cai Die’s face blushed red before she directed a stern glare towards the Great Senior, “Why would Great Senior suddenly say something Kuang Shi would say?”
“Haha, beauty should naturally bloom more, what point is there in trying to hide it? What difference is there between that and how those deceitful humans act? One should be true to one’s nature and temperament. Regarding that, I really appreciate that little boy’s attitude; though his temperament is somewhat lawless, so he’s likely to suffer a big loss sooner or later!” Saying so, the Great Senior’s face showed a look of taking pleasure in others’ misfortune, as if he knew Yang Kai was about to suffer such a loss.
Cai Die couldn’t help pursing her lips and smiling, she never knew that her Great Senior actually had such a side to him.
Beyond the nine peaks, Yang Kai secretly wore a cold expression.
Working with the Monster Race was undoubtedly a double edged sword, the slightest carelessness would result in tragic consequences.
Although the Great Senior’s attitude towards him was quite good, Yang Kai still had to use an abundance of caution when dealing with such a powerhouse.
After all, Yang Kai never knew when this master would suddenly decide to act impulsively.
The gap in strength between them was still too great.
The Monster Race Great Senior sharing some friendship with the old Holy Master was naturally because the two of them stood at the same height. Although Yang Kai had inherited the old Holy Master’s titles and status, in the end he was still just a Second Order Transcendent Realm cultivator, a minor character in the eyes of the Great Senior.
Sweeping the area with his Divine Sense quickly and determining no one was pursuing him, Yang Kai finally breathed a sigh of relief.
He was certain that if he remained in the Holy Land for much longer, he would not be able to leave; the Great Senior would definitely ‘invite’ him to perform Alchemy for the Monster Race.
Chapter 826, Cockroaches
Yang Kai had gradually relaxed after flying out a few dozen more kilometers.
But before he had a chance to catch his breath, Yang Kai’s brow furrowed again and he quickly glanced over towards a certain area in the jungle. In the direction he was staring, a scroll-like artifact appeared and a large number of beast images that were drawn upon roared fiercely, leapt off the parchment, and charged towards him.
Immediately behind this horde of beasts was a sharp beam of light that was also honing in on Yang Kai, an oppressive and dangerous aura radiating from it.
Not daring to neglect, Yang Kai immediately condensed a Grand Heavenly Shield, one of Nine Heavens Divine Skills.
A golden shield was quickly formed in front of him.
The beasts that had rushed out of the scroll didn’t slow their pace at all and slammed directly into the Grand Heavenly Shield, each of them shattering into a million points of light one after another.
The beam of light that followed also hit the Grand Heavenly Shield and made a crisp bang before being bounced back.
The Grand Heavenly Shield also collapsed at this point and Yang Kai let out a cough before turning a gloomy look towards the source of the attacks.
Over there, Zhang Ao was laughing happily, “Little bastard, you really dared to come out. It seems the Heavens are truly helping me!”
Cao Guan stretched out his hand towards the beam of light and a long sword type artifact flew into his palm. Wu Jie also floated behind these two like a spectre, staring at Yang Kai quietly.
This trio had thought there was no hope of them being able to capture Yang Kai and had actually been preparing to withdraw to reconsider their strategy when they suddenly got word that Yang Kai had exited the nine peaks.
Immediately overjoyed, the three of them quickly set out to pursue and seize Yang Kai.
However, to their great surprise, even without the power of the Nine Peaks Spirit Array backing him up, Yang Kai had actually managed to block Zhang Ao and Cao Guan’s first attack unscathed.
Only now did the three of them realize they had far underestimated Yang Kai’s personal strength.
“Let’s see where you run this time! This place is far from your nine peaks; even if you want to ask for help from that Monster Race Great Senior it’s impossible,” Cao Guan laughed heartily.
“You’re all really annoying,” Yang Kai glared at the three of them with obvious impatience.
He too had not expected to run into these three here.
Yang Kai had thought that after suffering defeat at the Monster Race’s hands, these three would sneak back to their Sects and seal up their gates, but unexpectedly they had actually not lost hope and were still lingering around.
Three Saint Realm master, one of whom had reached the Second Order; Yang Kai knew he was not their opponent. With his current cultivation and means, he was barely able to fight with a First Order Saint, but the chances of him winning were slim.
The Saint Realm and Transcendent Realm seemed to be fundamentally different. After encountering so many Saints and even competing against a number of them, Yang Kai was keenly aware of this fact.
However, these three wanting to capture him was also not realistic, a fact that allowed Yang Kai to remain calm and indifferent even in this situation.
“Heh heh, boy, there is no road to Heaven nor path to Hell for you, surrender without a fight and you can lessen how much you’ll have to suffer!” Zhang Ao coldly declare, silently releasing his Spiritual Energy towards Yang Kai as he spoke, wanting to influence his mind and dampen his will to resist.
Yang Kai however didn’t even blink, completely ignoring Zhang Ao’s Divine Sense attack.
Seeing this, Zhang Ao’s brow knit slightly. This little Second Order Transcendent Realm brat in front of him was like a bottomless black pit, no matter how much Spiritual Energy Zhang Ao sent out, he couldn’t see through the latter’s depths.
“You think you can capture me with just the three of you?” Yang Kai snickered mockingly, not putting these three in his eyes at all, “Give it your best shot, I’d like to see if you have any skill at all.”
“Boy, don’t refuse a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit!” Cao Guan gnashed his teeth, “If you come quietly, we won’t treat you poorly, but if force us to catch you, we won’t show any mercy.”
“Come! If this time you fail to catch me, I swear I’ll return this insult by exterminating your whole families!” Yang Kai’s look suddenly became fierce as he shouted out angrily. These three were worse than cockroaches, making Yang Kai fume with irritation.
In his heart, Yang Kai made a vow that once he grew up, he would find and kill these three.
“Unfortunately for you, you’ll never get the chance!” Zhang Ao stretched out his hand and manipulated his scroll-type artifact, creating a powerful suction force which made the space around Yang Kai to ripple and distort like the ripples on a pond, becoming thick and viscous.
A smug look of victory appeared on Zhang Ao’s face, thinking there was no way Yang Kai could escape from this imprisonment.
Yang Kai simply grinned in response, a cold light flashing across his eyes as he stood in place, not moving.
The suction force increased suddenly and the scroll-type artifact rapidly expanded, spreading out in all directions before wrapping tightly around Yang Kai.
Seeing this, Cao Guan was overjoyed and let out a raucous laugh.
Zhang Ao just coldly snorted, drawing his artifact back towards him, but after carefully examining it, his expression became dark and gloomy.
Yang Kai, who should have been wrapped up inside the scroll, had mysterious disappeared, there was simply nothing inside!
“It seems like he ran away a long time ago!” Wu Jie’s eyes flashed an eerie green light as he solemnly stated.
“Ran away?” Zhang Ao’s eyes suddenly bulged, “When did you run?”
“Probably the moment you attacked him… Jie jie jie… the Nine Heavens Divine Skills are truly impressive… this movement skill is not ordinary!” Wu Jie turned his head and looked off into the distance.
Following his gaze, Zhang Ao and Cao Guan quickly released their Divine Senses and sure enough, a dozen or so kilometers away, they caught a trace of Yang Kai’s aura. At this moment, Yang Kai was flying away at such an extraordinary speed it caused both Zhang Ao and Cao Guan to gawk.
The speed Yang Kai was displaying right now was actually faster than an ordinary Saint Realm master.
No wonder this little brat didn’t show any signs of panic, it turns out he had his own skill.
“Don’t even dream of escaping from my grasp! I’ll chase you to the ends of the earth if necessary!” Zhang Ao loudly declared, his body flickering and disappearing in the next instant.
Cao Guan also hurried to keep up.
Wu Jie actually calmly stood in place for a moment, a look of interest appearing on his face, but soon flew off at lighting quick speed, leaving a trail of green mist behind him.
As he flew forward, Yang Kai spread out his Divine Sense to grasp the movements of the three people behind him, his expression becoming even more cold and vicious.
He had not anticipated being chased like this, and although he was not afraid of his pursuers, Yang Kai still felt quite uncomfortable, so while racing forward, he continuously looked for opportunities to lose them.
However, these three were all Saint Realm masters, so it was no easy task to completely throw them off.
Time passed by and Yang Kai had lost ago lost track of how far he had flown. Although he had managed to shake off his pursuers a few times already, after a while, they would seek him out again, just like flies to honey, annoying him to no end.
Yang Kai didn’t know what kind of method these three were using to accurately lock onto his position from so far away.
It was only now that Yang Kai understood he had underestimated the attraction of Nine Heavens Holy Land’s core inheritance to these three. Just because he despised this inheritance which traded one’s lifespan for power didn’t mean others didn’t covet it.
Originally, Yang Kai planned on flying in the direction of Soaring Heaven Sect. As long as he returned to Soaring Heaven Sect, these three men wouldn’t dare chase after him and would have no choice but to withdraw.
However, as he flew and flew, Yang Kai lost his way and couldn’t identify which direction Soaring Heaven Sect was in, so he could only take one step at a time while choking down his smoldering rage.
One day, as Yang Kai was continuing his long distance escape, he suddenly came to a stop and stared off into the distance.
Up ahead of him, an unusual aura was slowly gathering, causing Yang Kai to feel vigilant.
A moment later, this aura became much stronger and right before Yang Kai’s eyes, a figure wrapped black robes that gave off an eerie green mist seemed to appear out of thin air.
Yang Kai’s eyes narrowed slightly as he stared at this newly appeared man for a moment before calling out in surprise, “Wu Jie?”
Yang Kai didn’t know what kind of Divine Ability this Netherworld Sect Sect Master had used, but it had somehow allowed him to instantly appear right in front of him. This method far surpassed Yang Kai’s understanding.
However, from Wu Jie’s appearance, he seemed to be extremely tired, his complexion pale as he gasped for breath and his True Qi fluctuating somewhat unstably.
Yang Kai quickly spread out his Divine Sense as far as he could and after discovering no other signs of danger nearby, he immediately took action, “Soul Battle Hall!”
A white light flashed and a mysterious force bursts out of Yang Kai’s body, catching Wu Jie off guard and forcefully pulling his Soul Avatar out.
“Ah…” Wu Jie was shocked and shouted, but in the next instant, his consciousness blurred. When Wu Jie regained his sensed, he discovered that his Soul Avatar had actually left his Knowledge Sea and appeared in a strange white world.
Not far away, Yang Kai’s Soul Avatar was glaring at him viciously.
The Soul Battle Hall was the Saint Grade artifact that Yang Kai and An Ling’er had been trapped together in back in the Ancient Ruins beneath the sea and this was actually the first time Yang Kai had used it since acquiring it.
This artifact had a special effect that forcefully extracted the Soul Avatars of everyone within its range and pulled them into this space, forcing opponents into a contest between Souls.
However, there are great drawbacks to this artifact. When using it, Yang Kai’s Soul Avatar would leave his body and also enter it, leaving his physical body in the real world vulnerable.
Wu Jie was a First Order Saint and has powers that Yang Kai did not quite understand. The risk of taking a strike now and having the two chase behind him were too high a rick so, he had not hesitated to summon the Soul Battle Hall and draw him into this space, preparing to end this as quickly as possible.
Yang Kai’s eyes burned with flaming fighting intent, he wanted to know if his current Spiritual Energy cultivation could really compete with a genuine Saint Realm master’s.
The Soul Battle Hall was the perfect place to try.
Realizing Yang Kai’s intentions, Wu Jie quickly raised his hand and said, “Boy, don’t be impulsive, I’m not here to fight with you.”
Yang Kai’s brow wrinkled as he sneered, “Is there any point in saying such things now?”
“You don’t believe me?” Wu Jie looked at Yang Kai with a strange grin, “If I really had malicious intent towards you, I wouldn’t have appeared in front of you this way. I’m sure you can sense that my current strength is far from its peak level.”
Yang Kai narrowed his eyes and stared at Wu Jie deeply, his Divine Sense continuously probing him, observing his reactions and responses, trying to discern if he was telling the truth or not.
Chapter 827, Understanding What Needs to be Done
Wu Jie’s manner was calm, and at this moment, he seemed completely honest and upright.
After a moment, Yang Kai withdrew his hostility and sneered, “If you’re not here to fight, why appear in front of me at all?”
“Naturally to discuss something,” Wu Jie saw Yang Kai take back his murderous intent and also relaxed, letting out an evil sounding laughter
Yang Kai was stunned and couldn’t help wrinkling his brow, “Are you perhaps misunderstanding something? The two of us are sworn enemies, what is there to discuss?”
“The two of us being sworn enemies, isn’t that just Sir Holy Master’s one sided opinion?”
“What do you mean?” Yang Kai narrowed his eyes.
“My meaning is simple, this Wu is willing to exchange weapons of war for gifts of jade and silk with Sir Holy Master. I wonder what Sir Holy Master’s opinion is?”
“You might be willing, but I am not!” Yang Kai slowly shook his head, “You have pursued and harassed me for many days now, yet you think with just a few simple words you can resolve this grudge? Aren’t you being a bit too naive?”
Wu Jie wore a helpless expression and replied, “This Wu was forced to act so… Zhang Ao and Cao Guan joined forces to pressure me, so I had no choice but to go along with them. When we attacked Nine Heavens Holy Land last time, I only brought along a few people from my Netherworld Sect and I never once took action, yet my forces still suffered a number of casualties at the hands of the Monster Race.”
“You got what you deserved,” Yang Kai coldly snorted, but he also knew that what Wu Jie said just now was not a lie. During the last battle, he really had not seen many cultivators from Netherworld Sect.
“Heh heh…” Wu Jie grinned wryly, “I know that Sir Holy Master probably does not believe this Wu’s words, but how should I put it… This Wu’s Netherworld Sect’s objective has always been to collect wealth to disperse disaster. I accepted benefits from Zhang Ao and Cao Guan so naturally I had to work with them, but now, this Wu has decided to withdraw from this matter.”
“Why?” Yang Kai’s eyes flashed as he stared at Wu Jie curiously.
“Because I believe Sir Holy Master can become a great person! Zhang Ao and Cao Guan think that as long as they capture you, they can obtain the core inheritance of Nine Heavens Holy Land and become Third Order Saints, but I think they have simply been blinded by their own greed.”
“You don’t think so as well?” Yang Kai looked at Wu Jie with great interest.
Wu Jie firmly shook his head, “If becoming a Third Order Saint was really so easy, your Nine Heavens Holy Land would not only have your Holy Master break through to such a realm. If that was really the case, I’m afraid you would have already used such a method to become invincible throughout the world. Although I don’t know what that inheritance is, or what kind of secrets it hides, this Wu is clear that there is no such thing as benefits without cost. Every one of your Holy Land’s Holy Masters is short lived, and each generation only your Holy Master becomes a Third Order Saint. Although it is obvious this inheritance is quite profound and powerful, there are clearly many drawbacks as well. Even if we managed to obtain that inheritance from you, it’s not certain we will succeed in using it while the chance of failure is actually quite greater.”
“It seems you understand far more than those two,” Yang Kai couldn’t help improving his opinion of Wu Jie. This guy wrapped in black robes and green aura may seem like a sinister ghost, but his intelligence and wit were actually quite sharp.
“Sir Holy Master is too polite!” Wu Jie smiled and cupped his fists, displaying a modest and respectful manner, “It’s for these reasons this Wu does not want to become enemies with you. Also, you have proven your personal strength is out of the ordinary… I have never heard of a mere Second Order Transcendent being able to survive the pursuit of three Saints before. In fact, if it wasn’t for Zhang Ao’s Second Order Saint Realm cultivation, we would have long ago lost track of you. If things continue on like this, even if we pursue you for the rest of our lives we likely will never catch you.”
“But you actually managed to appear in front of me,” Yang Kai’s expression became cold, obviously quite concerned with how Wu Jie had magically overtaken him.
“The price I paid to do so though was enormous…” Wu Jie wore a forced smile and shook his head, “I’ll be honest with Sir Holy Master, when this Wu was young, he had a fortuitous encounter and obtained a mysterious technique which allows me to tear space and travel a thousand kilometers in the blink of an eye!”
“Tear space?” Yang Kai’s eyes shrank.
“Yes, but although this may sound simple, when executing this technique, it is easy to become lost in the Void, forever unable to find your way out. If it weren’t for us being absolutely unable to catch up to you, this Wu would never have used such a risky method! From the time I obtained this technique until now, this Wu has only used it twice, and each time was extremely dangerous.”
Wu Jie spoke very sincerely, not even concealing what method he used to appear before Yang Kai.
“Is Sir Holy Master perhaps interested?” Wu Jie suddenly smiled, “If you are, this Wu can freely offer this method to you.”
Hearing this, Yang Kai expression changed and his eyes flashed.
It would be a lie to say he was not interested in a method to tear space and instantly travel a thousand kilometers, but Wu Jie’s attitude so far was still concerning to him.
“What is it you want?” Yang Kai frowned and asked seriously.
“Sir Holy Master is quite cautious. Actually, this Wu does not want anything in particular at this moment, coming here to speak with you was simply to show my attitude… Good, Netherworld Sect is willing to always be on good terms with Sir Holy Master, I wonder if you understand my meaning?”
Yang Kai stared at him coldly and keenly grasped the key points in his words. The one Wu Jie wanted to make friends with was him, not Nine Heavens Holy Land.
For him, it was obviously more important to become friends with Yang Kai than Nine Heavens Holy Land.
“What advantage does that have for me?” Yang Kai relaxed as he could feel that Wu Jie was not telling lies because from the start, his Soul Avatar had not shown any unusual fluctuations.
“The method this Wu described earlier, could it be Sir Holy Master is not interested at all?” Wu Jie smiled, also relaxing somewhat, “This Wu does not have any particular strong points, but he understands what needs to be done! It is for this reason that Netherworld Sect could develop into the force it is today. Although Sir Holy Master’s cultivation is currently below this Wu’s, I believe that within a few years you will overtake me. I don’t want to sit idly by waiting for you to exact your revenge on my Sect, and… This Wu always felt that even if I was to fight with you now, I may not necessarily win.”
“You really do understand what must be done!” Yang Kai’s mouth curled into a fierce grin.
He suddenly found that this Wu Jie was quite interesting. Although he was no doubt a villain, he was an upfront and level headed one. Moreover, his vision and instincts were excellent. Inside this Soul Battle Hall, Yang Kai really didn’t fear him.
“Netherworld Sect received much favour from your old Holy Master and hopes to continue receiving such favour from you in the future. This Wu is not asking for much, he only wishes to secure a bright future for Netherworld Sect.”
“I can promise you that much!” Yang Kai nodded.
“Many thanks,” Wu Jie cupped his fists and bowed.
“In the future, you will rejoice that you made such a wise decision today,” Yang Kai laughed confidently.
“It seems Zhang Ao and Cao Guan are in for some misfortune…” Wu Jie said meaningfully as he exchanged a look with Yang Kai and laughed.
A moment later, he adjusted his expression and with a flick of his wrist, sent a glimmering ball of light towards Yang Kai and solemnly said, “Inside this are the memories of that fortuitous encounter this Wu had in the past. If you examine it briefly you’ll understand that what this Wu said is not false.”
“I’ll accept this then,” Yang Kai absorbed the ball of light into his Soul Avatar.
“Although this method is profound and shocking, this Wu must caution you, never use it unless absolutely necessary, otherwise you may find yourself lost in the Void, when this Wu first used it…” Coming to this point, it seemed Wu Jie recalled something terrifying and began shivering, unwilling to even remember it, “In any case, be abundantly cautious.”
“I’ll remember,” Yang Kai nodded, not bothering to check the information he received.
“There is still something I must tell you. This Wu estimates that Zhang Ao and Cao Guan will not give up on capturing you for some time so I have no choice but to continue chasing after you for a while. However, I don’t think Sir Holy Master will mind, there’s no way we can catch up to you anyways.”
“It doesn’t matter,” Yang Kai nodded.
“Good… then this Wu will say goodbye!” Having obtained Yang Kai’s promise, Wu Jie looked very satisfied.
Yang Kai waved his hand and released the Soul Battle Hall’s bindings, allowing the pairs Soul Avatars to return to their bodies in the next instant.
Wu Jie nodded towards Yang Kai and was about to depart when a frown appeared on his face and he seemingly casually mentioned, “Right, has Sir Holy Master ever seen the Coffin Carrying Man?”
Hearing this, Yang Kai’s eyes flashed a cold light and his aura became dangerous.
Wu Jie jumped in surprise and quickly said, “No need to get so excited, I was just asking offhandedly.”
“Why do you ask?”
“Because I inadvertently heard that Cao Guan and one of his subordinates named Yao Di talking about the Coffin Carrying Man when they were talking about you, so I thought you may have seen the Coffin Carrying Man at some point.”
“Yao Di?” Yang Kai frowned, suddenly recalling a person by that name having been outside Raging Flame City that day, asking, “What else did they say?”
Wu Jie shook his head, “I didn’t hear clearly, they were quite covert in their conversation.”
As if he was speaking to himself, Wu Jie continued, “It’s rumored that the Coffin Carrying Man hides some kind of shocking treasure that anyone who unlocks his secret can obtain the power to become a supreme ruler… En, I don’t know if such rumors are true or false. Heh, well, pay it not mind, I was speaking thoughtlessly, I’ll take my leave!”
Saying so, Wu Jie flew off in a leisurely manner.
Gazing at his disappearing back, Yang Kai’s brow wrinkled.
As the saying goes, there is no smoke without fire. The rumors about the Coffin Carrying Man weren’t exactly true, but they also weren’t entirely wrong.
On the Coffin Carrying Man’s back, there was indeed a hidden power that could allow a person to become the ruler of a vast territory, but this power could not be wielded by just anyone.
Wu Jie seemingly unintentionally raising this was obviously his way of subtly warning Yang Kai not to reveal his relationship with the Coffin Carrying Man.
This fellow… his thoughts were quite exquisite, and he was also the type who acted decisively.
Just because he was optimistic about Yang Kai’s future, he had done his best to melt the enmity between them and instead become friends. From a certain perspective, Wu Jie was quite far-sighted.
Shaking his head, Yang Kai didn’t think too much about it, turned in a certain direction and flew off.
Zhang Ao and Cao Guan were still chasing him and the former was a genuine Second Order Saint. Facing the Divine Sense probing of such a powerful master, Yang Kai had no choice but to flee as he couldn’t completely hide his aura.
In a flash, a month passed by, and Yang Kai faintly felt that he had gotten rid of Zhang Ao’s tracing.
After such a long chase, not only was Yang Kai depressed, it was likely Zhang Ao had also lost hope and had finally given up.
Spending a few more days wandering around to determine that he had really lost Zhang Ao, Yang Kai breathed a sigh of relief.
Although he was not worried about them being able to catch him, being pursued by a Second Order Saint was by no means comfortable.
Spotting a lush and verdant mountain range up ahead with extremely rich World Aura, Yang Kai spread out his Divine Sense to inspect the area but discovered only some low level Monster Beasts.
Nodding with satisfaction, Yang Kai immediately flew towards one of the mountain peaks.
Chapter 828, Tearing Space
Deep in a remote mountain range surrounded by lush vegetation that exuded a peaceful atmosphere, a beautiful and refreshing spring-like day.
Inside a natural cave half-way up a certain peak, Yang Kai sat cross-legged as he reviewed a certain scene in his mind over and over again, examining it from every angle, studying it diligently.
This memory was of the fortuitous encounter Wu Jie had spoken to Yang Kai about and subsequently passed on.
After managing to lose Zhang Ao and Cao Guan, Yang Kai didn’t immediately rush back to Soaring Heaven Sect but instead found a secluded place to begin studying this profound method to tear space.
Yang Kai was very interested in this technique.
If he could successfully grasp it, in the future, should he encounter an enemy he could not match, he could still easily escape.
However, from what Wu Jie had told him before they parted ways, using this method was accompanied by great risks.
Calming his mind, the scene from Wu Jie’s memory appeared before Yang Kai’s eyes as clearly as if he had been there to witness it personally.
After a day or two, Yang Kai had thoroughly remembered all of this memory’s contents.
Opening his eyes, Yang Kai let out a wry laugh, now understanding why Wu Jie had so easily handed over this extremely precious fortuitous encounter to him; it turned out the restrictions on its use were equally great.
Up until now he had still been wondering if Wu Jie was up to some kind of scheme, but after fully comprehending this tearing space method, Yang Kai realized he had been too suspicious. Wu Jie wasn’t plotting anything; it was just that whether he shared this technique with Yang Kai didn’t matter.
This method, while extremely profound and powerful, was actually also extremely simple.
It was like a combination of a Martial Skill and Soul Skill that consumed both True Qi and Spiritual Energy, and the amount consumed was astronomical.
Even someone as strong as Wu Jie, after displaying it once, was thoroughly exhausted.
Yang Kai was only a Second Order Transcendent; Wu Jie obviously thought that even if Yang Kai was able to comprehend this method, he wouldn’t be able to use it for some time.
Unfortunately for Wu Jie, he had looked down on Yang Kai too much. The True Qi and Spiritual Energy Yang Kai possessed were many times greater than Wu Jie imagined and were actually enough for him to display this method.
When using this method, the more True Qi and Spiritual Energy that was consumed, the farther away one could leap after tearing space.
Yang Kai completely immersed himself in this Divine Skill and quietly began comprehending it.
It was rumored that the Void Corridors and Mysterious Small Worlds scattered throughout this world were actually created in ancient times by extremely powerful masters.
Although these rumors weren’t necessarily true, Yang Kai realized from this point, just how high the strength and perception of the cultivators of that age were.
Tearing space and creating independent spaces were perhaps not difficult matters to them.
It was only because too much time had passed and the understanding of the Martial Dao and Heavenly Way had greatly declined that this kind of profound skill had gradually faded from existence.
Perhaps, in today’s world, only the top masters in the Third Order Saint Realm could touch this threshold and move instantly across a dozen or even several dozen kilometers, but none of them could tear space and cross a thousand kilometers all at once.
The only way to achieve such a feat was to use a Void Corridor.
Time passed and the sun and moon rose and set many times. Without even realizing it, Yang Kai had sat in this cave for half a month or so before he felt he had thoroughly comprehended this Divine Skill and was now eager to try it out.
Although Wu Jie had repeated warned Yang Kai that he must be cautious when using it, since he had obtained such a magical technique, if he didn’t try it at least once, Yang Kai wouldn’t be able to resign himself.
Only by personally experiencing it could Yang Kai determine if he could really tear space with this method or whether Wu Jie had just been exaggerating.
If he didn’t at least try it here, when he really found himself in danger in the future, it would be too risky to pin his hopes on this method he had no experience with.
After debating the issue in his head for a long time, Yang Kai eventually made up his mind and stood up.
True Qi and Spiritual Energy bursting out simultaneously, Yang Kai combined them with one another, causing a subtle change to occur and then bombarded the space in front of himself.
In front of Yang Kai, a series of ripples spread out, as if he had just thrown a stone into a calm lake.
When these ripples appeared, Yang Kai poured even more True Qi and Spiritual Energy into them, observing carefully as they slowly spread out.
After continuing this for a long time, Yang Kai’s eyes suddenly lit up as his thoughts became completely calm and tranquil. In that instant, he discovered that the space in front of him was now somewhat different from normal.
Before he had a chance to examine this space closely though, these minute differences vanished.
Taking a light breath, Yang Kai did not become anxious, restraining the release of his True Qi and Spiritual Energy and controlling his breathing.
Although he had thoroughly comprehended this Divine Skill, he still found it quite difficult to put into practice.
It really made Yang Kai wonder about how these ancient masters formed Void Corridors and Mysterious Small Worlds, moreover doing so inadvertently while they were in battle.
Compared with them, Yang Kai felt he was still far too weak.
Perhaps his current self, in front of those ancient masters, was no different from an ant.
Half a day later, when Yang Kai finished restoring himself to his peak state, he tried again.
True Qi and Spiritual Energy once again burst out and bombarded the space in front of Yang Kai, causing a new set of ripples to appear.
This time, Yang Kai could feel the changes in front of him much more clearly, causing him to celebrate slightly.
Gradually, the space in front of Yang Kai became somewhat wrinkled, or perhaps twisted, like a transparent piece of cloth that had been folded upon itself.
From this strange fold, some unusual energy fluctuations appeared.
Yang Kai’s spirit shook and without any hesitation he transformed his True Qi and Spiritual Energy into a sharp blade and slashed towards the fold.
*Ka…*
As if a door had been opened, a dark crack mysteriously appeared in front of Yang Kai. Staring into this tear in space, Yang Kai was unable to see anything, as if nothing at all existed inside it, causing him to wonder just what dangers it was hiding.
The aura around the mountain Yang Kai had secluded himself in suddenly became disordered as an unimaginable suction force emerged from this dark tear, madly swallowing the nearby World Energy, creating a violent storm.
As World Energy poured into it, the rift quickly collapsed in on itself.
Yang Kai didn’t even have time to observe it carefully before, in a flash of darkness, the rift disappeared and the twisted space in front of him returned to normal.
Yang Kai couldn’t help wrinkle his brow.
He clearly knew that he had only gotten halfway through displaying this Divine Skill and that as long as he could expand this tear in space enough he could enter it and explore what was inside.
Gently exhaling a breath, Yang Kai quickly inspected his current state and was shocked by what he discovered.
There was actually three or four drops less Yang Liquid in his dantian and about half the Spiritual Energy in his Knowledge Sea had been consumed.
Yang Kai was struck speechless. The cost to use this Divine Skill was far greater than he had imagined.
Even if he was in peak condition, he could only use it twice at most before he completely ran out of Spiritual Energy.
No wonder when Wu Jie appeared in front of him that day he looked like an arrow at the end of its flight. Displaying this method even with a First Order Saint’s cultivation must have been quite difficult.
Yang Kai quickly took a drop of Myriad Drug Liquid and swallowed some Spiritual Energy supplementing pills to increase the rate at which his Spiritual recovered.
After an hour, Yang Kai was fully restored and prepared to try again.
……
Through repeated trials and failures, Yang Kai gradually accumulated extremely valuable experience.
Three days later, after completely restoring himself, Yang Kai opened his eyes, full of confidence.
He believed firmly that this time he would successfully tear space.
Pushing his True Qi and Spiritual Energy in a controlled manner, much unlike his earlier attempts where he simply poured out as much strength as possible, Yang Kai merged the two energies together and bombarded the space in front of him.
An orderly series of ripples appeared and soon space began to wrinkle and distort. Seeing this, Yang Kai rapidly increased his output of True Qi and Spiritual Energy.
The dark slit appeared mid-air, as if a pair of invisible hands had torn the space apart, and suddenly expanded.
This tear in space soon began emitting a powerful suction force that madly swallowed the surrounding World Energy.
Yang Kai didn’t hesitate and leapt into the crack.
After he entered, the jet black rift disappeared.
As a familiar feeling of dizziness came over him, Yang Kai smiled. Not only did he not panic, he instead wore a look of great anticipation.
Just as Yang Kai had expected, the tear in space he had created was basically identical to a Void Corridor’s entrance, he could tell because the feeling he got when crossing the two were extremely similar.
Previously, when Yang Kai had entered Void Corridors, he would feel a subtle sense of vertigo, but it would subside shortly after exiting it on the other side.
This time however, the sense of vertigo persisted and Yang Kai felt like he had stepped into a bottomless abyss and was even now continuing to fall, unable to see where it ended.
A kind of turbulent energy flow lingered that seemed to contain a terrifying destructive force lingered about Yang Kai.
A cold chill ran up Yang Kai’s spine as he focused himself and carefully moved about in order to avoid these patches of turbulent energy.
These void turbulences were not something he could resist right now as he estimated they were even more powerful than the ambient energy of the Starry Sky. Once he was sucked into one of them, it was very likely he would become lost forever.
These void turbulences were also the reason Wu Jie had so strongly cautioned Yang Kai against using this method casually.
The first time Wu Jie used this technique, he had probably suffered a big loss in this place, leaving behind a kind of mental trauma.
Yang Kai suddenly felt like he was riding a small boat in the middle of a storm. Although he was in constant danger of being destroyed, he somehow managed to avoid the surrounding void turbulences and remain safe while exploring his surroundings.
Yang Kai didn’t hurry to leave this place as he wanted to thoroughly study and comprehend this tearing space method. He faintly felt that all the secrets of this profound technique were hidden among this seemingly turbulent void.
As long as he could unravel the mysteries here, Yang Kai estimated he could freely tear space and not have to worry about the inherent dangers.
Time passed by and Yang Kai became absorbed in his comprehension, slowly relaxing.
It was only when the surrounding void turbulences suddenly became chaotic and violent that Yang Kai’s expression change and he quickly condensed his True Qi and Spiritual Energy together to tear open another rift in front of him and flee.
In a flash, Yang Kai returned to Tong Xuan Realm and felt the scorching sun beam down on him, as if he had emerged high up in the sky, a thick layer of clouds actually appearing below his feet.
This scenery alone was enough to allow Yang Kai to relax as he let himself fall towards the ground, pushing his True Qi gently to stabilize his figure.
Chapter 829, Golden Dragon Head Appears
In a flash, two months passed by. Yang Kai had spent these past two months familiarizing himself with this tearing space method.
He had spent more than half this time inside the Void, quietly perceiving the turbulent flow of the Void, trying to comprehend its hidden mysteries.
When his Spiritual Energy ran out, he would leave the Void, find a place to meditate and restore himself, then repeat the process again.
By now he was able to easily tear space, enter the Void, and re-appear elsewhere in Tong Xuan Realm.
However, even when Yang Kai exerted his full strength, the distance he could cross was quite short, roughly two or three hundred kilometers at once. On top of that, he had yet to grasp which direction he traveled, so when he returned from the Void, he would appear in a random spot.
Every time he used this Divine Skill, Yang Kai exercised a high degree of caution.
The turbulence inside the Void could not be taken lightly as the chaotic energy they contained was too unpredictable and difficult to guard against. There were several times when Yang Kai was almost caught up in these currents, and if he had not hastily escaped, he likely would never have been able to leave the Void again.
Yang Kai’s tyrannical physique also played a vital role during this period. Just like the Starry Sky Energy, the Void turbulences were extremely harmful to one’s body. Yang Kai estimated that even Wu Jie would have to summon his defensive artifact to ensure his safety each time he used this method.
One day, Yang Kai returned from the Void through the Void Rift and appeared inside a misty mountain valley.
Yang Kai was still unable to control where he re-emerged from the Void, so each time he came back, he would raise his vigilance in case he landed in some dangerous place.
This time too, Yang Kai immediately concealed his aura and quietly began exploring his surroundings.
After a moment, Yang Kai couldn’t help feeling stunned.
He discovered that there were actually a few hundred people of varying strength led by a First Order Saint Realm master gathered at the mouth of this mountain valley.
All of these people seemed to be solemnly and silently waiting at the edge of this valley. As for why they were behaving this way or why they were here, Yang Kai couldn’t tell.
Yang Kai quickly realized he had inadvertently intruded into the territory of some force, but seeing as the strongest master present was just a First Order Saint, he also wasn’t worried.
Quietly finding a place to sit down, Yang Kai concealed himself and his aura before starting to restore the strength he had just consumed.
Yang Kai didn’t bother investigating what the group of cultivators outside the valley were up to, but half a day later, after finished restoring himself, he was surprised to discover that this unknown Sect seemed to be carrying out some kind of sacred ceremony. All of these cultivators were acting very seriously and the ones with lower strength seemed to be filled with excitement and anticipation.
Unable to hold back his curiosity, Yang Kai didn’t hurry to leave but instead decided to stick around and observe for a moment.
Another half a day later, the ceremony apparently ended and in a booming voice, the lone Saint Realm master began to solemnly chant some incomprehensible words.
A moment later, a cultivator with a Peak True Element Boundary cultivation strode into the mountain valley.
A Peak True Element Boundary would not be weak back in the Central Capital, but in Tong Xuan Realm, such cultivators either had mediocre aptitude or were very young.
The one who walked into the mountain valley belonged to the latter category.
Inside the thick mist, this individual walked straight towards Yang Kai. From his appearance, he appeared to only be a fourteen year old boy.
Not unlike Yang Kai many years ago, this slightly immature youth excitedly strode forward with an unyielding look upon his face that seemed eager for strength.
Yang Kai let out a chuckle as he such a thought came to mind.
Remaining hidden, his Divine Sense locked onto this boy, Yang Kai silently observed what he was doing.
This mountain valley was not too wide, but it stretched and twisted for quite some distance. The boy walking through the fog maintained a steady pace, his eyes focused ahead of himself.
But before this youth had gone more than a thousand meters, from the depths of the mountain valley, a gentle wind burst forth.
The youth was unable to resist this force and was pushed back towards the valley’s entrance.
After stabilizing himself, a discouraged look appeared on his face.
At the same time, Yang Kai wrinkled his brow, because when this thrust of wind appeared, he suddenly felt a tingling sensation from behind himself, as if something was trying to crawl across his back.
However, upon carefully examining himself, Yang Kai didn’t find anything at all on his back.
Yang Kai wore a puzzled expression and slowly shook his head.
After the boy was pushed back, he turned around, hung his head, and walked back the way he came. A moment later, upon leaving the mountain valley, everyone who was waiting there seemed to understand and sighed.
The First Order Saint simply glanced at the youth once before calmly shouting, “Next!”
Another cultivator, who was similar in age and cultivation to the first boy, then walked into the valley.
Like the first boy’s experience, after walking inwards a short distance, he was pushed back by the same soft force and turned back in frustration.
One by one, these youths walked into the valley, were repelled, and returned.
The Saint Realm master, who was presiding over all this, also began to appear somewhat low-spirited.
Yang Kai observed for some time before finally understanding. Although he didn’t understand the specifics of the ceremony these people were performing, it was in all likelihood some kind of test.
Unfortunately, it seemed like none of the youths gathered here were able to pass this test, each of them being blocked after advancing several hundred to a thousand meters into the mountain valley.
Out of the hundred or so young boys who had gathered at the mouth of the valley, fewer and fewer had not entered, those who had failed all wearing disappointed looks upon their faces.
Yang Kai turned his attention to the depths of the mountain valley at some point and narrowed his eyes.
Every time that gentle force appeared to push back these youths, Yang Kai would feel the same tingling sensation coming from his back. At first, Yang Kai thought it was just his imagination or perhaps some hidden master playing tricks on him.
But after experiencing this tingling sensation so many times and carefully investigating it over and over again, Yang Kai found that it was not like he originally thought.
The strange sensation he was feeling, as if something was crawling across his skin, was clearly coming from the Golden Dragon tattoo on his back.
Listening carefully, Yang Kai could even hear a subtle dragon roar from this tattoo.
The Golden Dragon tattoo on his back, and the Ice Phoenix tattoo on Su Yan’s, were things they obtained when they had inherited the Yin-Yang Joyous Unification Art.
What was the relationship between that and this place?
After thinking about it for a moment, Yang Kai left his hiding place and walked deeper into the mountain valley.
Spreading out his Divine Sense, a moment later, Yang Kai wore a look of surprise.
Although he had been observing the movements of the group at the mouth of the valley, he had not yet carefully examined the surrounding terrain, so it wasn’t until now that he discovered that this winding mountain valley, from a bird’s eye perspective, was actually shaped just like a great dragon.
The mouth of the valley was the dragon’s tail, while the deepest depths was its head. There were also several offshoots from the valley in the shape of dragon claws, giving it a vivid and realistic look.
Moreover, the deeper Yang Kai ventured into the valley, the clearer the sensation coming from his back was and the faster the Golden Dragon tattoo swam about.
Sensing this, Yang Kai was even more convinced that this place was related to the inheritance that he and Su Yan had received back in the Inheritance Heaven’s Cave.
[How could there be such a coincidence?] Yang Kai secretly thought to himself. He had only inadvertently arrived here while trying to master the technique to tear space.
(PewPewLaserGun: How? PLOT ARMOUR! That’s how!)
(Silavin: No no no. This is entirely the result of luck and meticulous planning)
If everything was as he suspected, then Yang Kai could even guess which force this place belonged to.
At the mouth of the valley, the Saint Realm master’s brow had by now completely turned into a frown as he shouted in a worn out voice, “Next!”
At this command, a young boy with somewhat delicate facial features stepped forward and walked towards the mountain valley.
When the youth disappeared into the fog, the Saint Realm cultivator couldn’t help letting out a sigh.
“Palace Master, this is the last person,” A nearby Transcendent Realm cultivator whispered.
The man referred to as Palace Master simply nodded slightly, “I know, it seems this time is also a failure.”
The Transcendent Realm cultivator frowned, “After three years training these hundred youths, which one of them hasn’t made good progress? Palace Master, could it be that our method is somehow wrong?”
The Palace Master glanced over at his subordinate and asked, “What are you suspecting?”
“Subordinate would not dare, but…”
“No buts!” The Palace Master scolded harshly, “Although our Sect is now not very strong, you must remember that long ago, we were one of this world’s most powerful forces! Anyone who saw us would treat us with courtesy, and our disciples could freely walk the world as no one dared to provoke us!”
“Yes.”
The Palace Master then let out a sigh, “Our ancestors recorded these things in our Sect’s ancient books so that we would never forget our past prosperity! Unfortunately, all these years, no one has passed the Dragon Valley’s test so it has been impossible for us to reproduce our past brilliance and glory!”
“Palace Master, you…” The Transcendent Realm cultivator curiously asked.
The Palace Master simply shook his head, “I did not pass the valley’s test, it was just good fortune that I was still able to break through to the Saint Realm, otherwise I’m afraid we wouldn’t have even been able to protect our Sect’s foundation.”
The group of youths standing nearby eagerly listened in on the conversation between these two masters, a look of curiosity appearing in their eyes.
At this moment, the fog that constantly shrouded the Dragon Valley suddenly became somewhat disordered and the enter mountain valley trembled slightly, startling everyone standing at its mouth, each of them wondering if some kind of accident had occurred.
The gathered youths even went somewhat pale with fright.
Suddenly, a great dragon’s roar resounded from the depths of the mountain valley and a dazzling golden radiance as brilliant as the noon sun shot into the sky.
The eyes of the man called Palace Master suddenly bulged as he stared dumbfounded at the golden light. The Transcendent Realm cultivator beside him also wore the same shock filled look.
The golden light began twisting and after a while, a dragon head filled with endless majesty was formed, proudly and indifferently overlooking the valley below.
Under its gaze, all the gathered cultivators couldn’t help feeling small and insignificant.
Even the First Order Saint Realm Palace Master couldn’t help trembling as he pointed towards the Golden Dragon high up in the sky and stammering, “It appeared, it really appeared… it’s exactly the same as what was recorded in the ancient book, the Golden Dragon’s head has appeared, the Dragon Emperor has returned…”
“Palace Master… this, does this mean… someone passed the test?” The Transcendent Realm master stuttered.
The Palace Master was too excited to compose himself as tears streamed down his face, not even reacting to his subordinate’s question as he stared fixedly at the Golden Dragon head for a moment. Only after a while did he suddenly ask, “The boy who just entered the Dragon Valley, what was his name?”
Chapter 830, Senior?
In the deepest part of the mountain valley, Yang Kai stared at the Golden Dragon head that suddenly appeared as his heart pounded furiously.
The tingling sensation Yang Kai had been feeling, had transformed into an intense throbbing that seemed to be resonating with the dragon roar coming from the valley. In the next instant, the Golden Dragon tattoo leapt off his back and flew straight toward the giant dragon head floating high up in the sky.
As the two dragons met, the intensity of the golden light rose drastically, to the point where no one could even open their eyes.
A moment later, the light faded and Yang Kai discovered that he was now inside a golden world filled with an unfathomable amount of pure energy. A Golden Dragon only a few meters in length was now swimming around him, constantly swallowing this rich golden energy.
Yang Kai probed this dragon slightly before relaxing his guard.
This several meter long Golden Dragon gave off the same aura as him and if Yang Kai’s guess was correct, it should be the tattoo which normally resided on his back. As to why it had suddenly manifested itself and was devouring this golden energy, Yang Kai did not know, but even so, he could tell that as it fed, this Golden Dragon was slowly growing both in size and strength.
From behind Yang Kai, all of a sudden, the sound of a heavy object hitting the ground rang out. Turning around, Yang Kai saw a youth roughly fourteen or fifteen years old sitting on his butt staring back at him in terror.
Seeing this, Yang Kai’s brow wrinkled.
He had been so focused on the shocking scenes before him that Yang Kai had actually not even noticed when this youth had appeared.
This boy was a True Element Boundary Seventh Stage cultivator, which in front of the current Yang Kai was no different from an ant.
After releasing his Divine Sense for a moment, Yang Kai slowly shook his head. He didn’t know why, but his Divine Sense was unable to penetrate this ocean of golden energy so he was unable to determine what had happened outside.
Sweeping his eyes around, Yang Kai confirmed that, besides the young boy in front of him, there was no one and nothing else present.
With a light smile, Yang Kai stepped towards this youth.
Yang Kai had many suspicions in his heart, and this boy was the perfect candidate to confirm them.
Seeing Yang Kai approach, the boy seemed to be overcome with fear and before Yang Kai could even speak a single word, the boy’s eyes rolled back and he fainted on the spot.
“Seriously?” Yang Kai gawked. Although he didn’t think he was particularly handsome, he also didn’t believe he appeared wicked. The timidity of this little brat was simply too great.
Without any choice, Yang Kai could only sit down and wait while carefully examining his surroundings.
This place had been completely engulfed by this golden energy ocean, and the Golden Dragon tattoo that usual rested on his back was still slowly swallowing it. Yang Kai tried to see if he could break through this energy blockade, but soon concluded it was futile.
The golden energy ocean was impregnable, and Yang Kai estimated that even if he used his Devil Transformation, he wouldn’t even be able to leave a scratch on it.
By tearing space, he may be able to leave here, but when he tried to recall the Golden Dragon, it didn’t respond to him, so Yang Kai had no choice but to settle in.
In any case, it was unlikely anyone from the outside could come in here as well.
Turning his attention to the youth in front of him, Yang Kai was surprised to discover that this boy’s Secret Art was actually a Yang Attribute one, similar to his own, and although the True Qi flowing through this boy’s body couldn’t be considered outstanding, it was still not bad considering his cultivation realm.
After waiting for half a day, the boy finally regained consciousness.
Upon opening his eyes, the youth didn’t seem to understand the situation he was in. However, the moment he spotted Yang Kai sitting a short distance away, breaking into a smile, the youth hurriedly crawled in retreat; he dared not lessen his vigilance against this stranger in front of him.
The youth’s eyes were filled with dread.
Seeing this, Yang Kai chuckled, “Don’t be afraid, I just have some things I want to ask you.”
The youth, however, maintained his wariness, showing a stance similar to a rabbit cornered by an eagle, pushing his True Qi to its maximum, preparing to put up a final resistance.
Yang Kai couldn’t help feeling a hint of approval.
In a sense, Yang Kai felt this boy was somewhat similar to himself, when faced with a strong enemy, he unconsciously wanted to resist.
“If I wanted to kill you, there’s nothing you could do to resist!” Yang Kai grinned fiercely.
Hearing these words, the youth seemed to be dumbstruck for a moment but soon let out a long sigh, and with a resigned expression, got to his feet, patted the dust from his pants, and bowed, “Please ask whatever you want, Senior.”
“Senior?” This time it was Yang Kai’s turn to be stunned. This was the first time he had ever been called this by another. Nodding slightly, Yang Kai figured that he really was the Senior in this circumstance. In terms of strength, he was far above this boy, and even in terms of age, he was around ten years older, being called Senior was understandable.
“What force do you belong to?” Yang Kai asked after a moment of contemplation.
The youths eyes flashed a confused light before he hesitantly answer, “Dragon Phoenix Palace… Doesn’t Senior know this already?”
“Dragon Phoenix Palace… Sure enough!” Yang Kai took in a breath. When he noticed the Golden Dragon tattoo on his back behaving unusually, he had guessed as much, so hearing this name from this boy’s mouth was just a way of confirming his speculation.
When he was back in Ice Sect, Qing Ya had mentioned Dragon Phoenix Heaven. Though the name was not exact, it was similar and unique enough to be recognisable to him.
Qing Ya told him that ‘the inheritance he and Su Yan had obtained may be related to Dragon Phoenix Heaven’. Many centuries ago, Dragon Phoenix Palace was a powerful force on par with the Ice Sect of that time, but it had gradually declined because of the loss of its core inheritance.
Although the long years had been unkind to it, causing it to wither away somewhat, like Ice Sect, Dragon Phoenix Palace had yet to disappear into the annals of history.
There were several forces which had similar experiences throughout Tong Xuan Realm, Dragon Phoenix Palace was simply one of them.
At that time, Yang Kai secretly decided that when he had free time he would pay a visit to Dragon Phoenix Palace to have a look around, but unfortunately, he had been involved in a series of troubles after leaving Ice Sect which kept him thoroughly occupied.
It was only a coincidence that while practicing his tearing space method he had come here today.
Perhaps this was also some kind of divine intervention or fate.
After learning that this place was Dragon Phoenix Palace, Yang Kai immediately affirmed that the inheritance he and Su Yan obtained back in the Inheritance Heaven’s Cave was from this force.
“Senior… who are you? How did you open the Dragon Valley’s ancient barrier? Before now, all of us just thought it was some kind of legend.”
“Me?” Yang Kai thought about it for a moment, “In a sense I have some connection with your Dragon Phoenix Palace.”
The youth happily smiled upon hearing this and hurriedly asked, “Does that mean we’re all one family?”
“One family? Heh, well you can think that if you’d like.”
The young boy’s expression suddenly relaxed a lot, “That’s good, I thought my time of death had arrived.”
“Were you afraid I’d kill you?” Yang Kai squinted at him with a wry grin.
The youth scratched his head awkwardly and replied, “Please don’t take offence, Senior, Junior was simply thinking too much. Right, I should introduce myself, this Junior is Dragon Phoenix Palace disciple Sun Yu.”
“My surname is Yang…” Yang Kai smiled and nodded.
“Greetings, Senior Yang,” Sun Yu’s bowed politely, as if he was greeting an Elder from his Sect.
It was only reasonable for Sun Yu to think like this; after all, this Senior Yang had the ability to open Dragon Valley’s ancient barrier, so he must have some relationship with Dragon Phoenix Palace. On top of that, Yang Kai had just acknowledged having some connection to his Sect, so Sun Yu immediately felt relieved and was no longer on edge.
“Come and sit down, there are many questions I still need to ask you,” Yang Kai motioned to Sun Yu in a congenial manner.
“Please speak freely, Senior Yang, disciple will do his best to answer your doubts,” Sun Yu nodded quickly.
After chatting with Sun Yu for a while, Yang Kai gradually understood Dragon Phoenix Palace’s current situation.
Simply put, it was neither weak nor strong. There was a single Saint Realm master in the Sect named Chen Zhou, he was the one Yang Kai had previously detected at the mouth of the valley.
Although just a First Order Saint, that was enough to barely guarantee the safety of Dragon Phoenix Palace.
The ceremony Yang Kai had witnessed was known as the Dragon Valley’s Trial and it was held once every three years. The various youths who participated were selected from Dragon Phoenix Palace’s disciples, like Sun Yu, as well as others from the nearby affiliated Sects.
The disciples who came from Dragon Phoenix Palace’s affiliated Sects and Families would have to return to their own forces if they failed to pass this trial.
Every past Palace Master of Dragon Phoenix Palace presided over this test in hopes that one day, one disciple would be fortunate enough to pass and revitalize Dragon Phoenix Palace.
Unfortunately, after innumerable years and many successive Palace Masters, no disciple had ever passed the Dragon Valley’s Trial. This had led to Dragon Phoenix Palace’s declining to the point where only the current Palace Master still believed there was any kind of hidden legacy inside Dragon Valley.
That was, until now when Yang Kai inadvertently arrived here, causing Dragon Phoenix Palace to once again see hope.
As Sun Yu was explaining all of this, he suddenly face palmed and jumped up, “Oh crap, Palace Master and the others must think I was the one who opened the barrier and passed the Dragon Valley Trial.”
“Just let them think so, what’s the problem?” Yang Kai smiled casually.
“But… this really has nothing to do with me, all I did was walk along the valley until a sudden strong force pulled me here. No no, this isn’t right, I have to tell Palace Master.”
“You can’t get out,” Yang Kai shook his head as he turned his eyes to the surrounding golden barrier, “Not only you, even I can’t get out. We’re stuck here until all of this golden energy has been swallowed up.”
“What?!” Sun Yu’s face went white, “Then… what should I do?”
“Wait,” Yang Kai replied briefly, not showing the slightest bit of anxiety.
Seeing this Senior Yang acting so calm and relaxed, Sun Yu also seemed to regain his composure and slowly sat back down.
After chatting a bit more, Yang Kai learned from Sun Yu that while the Dragon Emperor’s inheritance was hidden in Dragon Valley, Dragon Phoenix Palace had another restricted area called the Phoenix Nest!
Inside the Phoenix Nest was the inheritance of the Phoenix Empress.
Anyone who passed the Dragon Valley’s Trial would have to select a young woman to inherit the Phoenix Empress’ position and become his life partner.
Dragon Emperor and Phoenix Empress were the titles given to the two strongest masters of Dragon Phoenix Palace many centuries ago. With these two masters at the helm, Dragon Phoenix Palace was considered one of the most powerful forces in the world.
Nowadays, the leader of Dragon Phoenix Palace only dared call themselves Palace Master.
Yang Kai expression changed when he heard this, suddenly becoming interested in this so called Phoenix Nest. If his guess was right, there should be something important there for Su Yan.
“The disciples selected to participate in the Dragon Valley’s Trial will be granted a special Secret Art from Palace Master even if we fail to pass. As such, as long as we can find the right girl, we won’t cultivate too slowly in the future.”
“A Dual Cultivation Secret Art?” Yang Kai asked bluntly.
Sun Yu nodded slightly as his face turned somewhat red.
“Do you have a girl you admire?”
Sun Yu shook his head rapidly, his face becoming even redder, “But there are many beautiful girls in the Sect… we can choose freely from among them, but once we form a pair, it will be for life!”
Yang Kai expression changed, only those who had cultivated profound dual cultivation technique knew the true meaning of not separating for a lifetime. As such, Sun Yu’s words just now seemed to resonate with Yang Kai, causing the look in his eyes to become gentler.
(Silavin: Hmmm… Suspicious…)
Chapter 831, I’ll Give You Strength
Outside the Dragon Valley, all of Dragon Phoenix Palace’s leadership had come together and were staring excitedly in the direction of the valley’s depths.
Palace Master Chen Zhou wore the most joyful look of them all, with a gigantic smile plastered on his face.
Dragon Phoenix Palace was a little different from other forces because it practiced Dual Cultivation Techniques. As a result, basically every master here had their own life partner.
At this moment, Yu Ting Yi, Palace Master Chen Zhou’s companion, was also together with him, holding his hand gently but actually unable to stop his stalwart body from trembling lightly.
Yu Ting Yi looked like a beautiful middle-aged woman with an outstanding figure, but because her aptitude was slightly worse, she had fallen behind Chen Zhou’s cultivation slightly and was now only a Third Order Transcendent. Seeing her husband so unable to control himself, she couldn’t help laughing lightly, “Good good, just because that inheritance has reappeared, is that a reason to become so excited?”
Chen Zhou took a deep breath, “You don’t understand! All previous Palace Masters have taken the restoration of this inheritance as their highest responsibility, but now, after so many years, it has finally appeared under my watch, how can I not be excited? The reappearance of this inheritance means our Dragon Phoenix Palace will once again have a Dragon Emperor and Phoenix Empress. As long as we have these two masters, we will be able to restore our past prosperity…”
Saying so, he suddenly called out, “Has Xiao Ling still not returned?”
Just as Chen Zhou shouted, a figure flew over from the distance, calling out before he even arrived, “Palace Master, subordinate is back.”
It was the Transcendent who was previously with Chen Zhou.
Chen Zhou rushed forward anxiously and asked, “Have you inquired where that disciple is from? Is he a disciple of my Dragon Phoenix Palace or one of our subordinate forces?”
“Reporting to Palace Master, the boy is called Sun Yu and he is a disciple of Dragon Phoenix Palace, he was born and raised in the Sect,” Xiao Ling replied quickly.
Hearing this, Chen Zhou couldn’t help smiling and nodding, “Good good good! Very good!”
Although it wouldn’t be much of an issue if this Sun Yu had come from one of the affiliated forces, since he had grown up in Dragon Phoenix Palace, his feelings towards the Sect would definitely be deeper, relieving one of Chen Zhou’s concerns.
“Who is his teacher?”
“Elder Ling Jian!” Xiao Ling answered before yielding the way, “Elder Ling, please come!”
Chen Zhou looked up and saw Ling Jian flying over, letting out a hearty laugh.
When the two sides met, Chen Zhou solemnly said, “Elder Ling has worked hard, you have cultivated a good disciple.”
Ling Jian’s face filled with smiles as he shamelessly accepted this praise.
Although Ling Jian was indeed an Elder, he was still just a First Order Transcendent. He was essentially the last ranked amongst all the Elders and was not taken seriously by anyone in the Sect. On top of that, he was already quite old so these years he had basically just hung up the title of Elder while whiling away his remaining lifespan.
Never had he imagined he would encounter such a miracle today.
The disciple he taught had actually opened Dragon Phoenix Palace’s most core formation that had laid dormant for millennia, and if all went well, that disciple would obtain the Dragon Emperor’s inheritance.
His disciple obtaining this inheritance meant his value as his master would also soar to untold heights.
In all likelihood, when the Dragon Emperor matured, Ling Jian’s status would probably be equal to the current Palace Master’s.
Usually, Chen Zhou wouldn’t even bother meeting with this old Elder, but today he didn’t dare act disrespectful, showing Ling Jian the utmost courtesy and politeness.
Ling Jian wasn’t able to adapt to this new reality so quickly, but that did not stop him from enjoying it.
All the higher-ups of Dragon Phoenix Palace were staring at him with intense envy, wondering why they had not been the ones to cultivate the disciple who obtained the Dragon Emperor’s inheritance.
If they had been the ones to train such a disciple, it would be them talking and laughing merrily with the Palace Master right now.
The scene was quite lively as Chen Zhou constantly inquired about Sun Yu’s situation and information. In response, Ling Jian freely told everything he knew about Sun Yu, right down to the trivial anecdotes that had occurred when he was a baby.
Chen Zhou listened attentively to all of this and never once grew bored, instead only becoming more enthusiastic as he showered praise upon the old man, saying that Sun Yu was a good seed and that, in the future, Dragon Phoenix Palace would be relying on him and Ling Jian.
Ling Jian was so happy that he thought that even if he were to die right now, he would have no regrets.
The lively scene continued on for many days without subsiding. Every day, people gathered outside Dragon Valley and gazed fervently towards the valley’s depths. Of course, none of them could see anything, but that did not dampen their enthusiasm. Dragon Valley was normally filled with mist which blocked out all of the sun’s rays, but now it was actually shrouded in golden light and pulsed with an astonishing amount of energy, causing everyone to not dare to approach.
Palace Master Chen Zhou also took some protective measures, deploying all the elites of Dragon Phoenix Palace around Dragon Valley to guard against Sun Yu being disturbed while accepting this inheritance.
Time passed by, but no matter how long they all waited, Sun Yu didn’t emerge from Dragon Valley, inevitably causing them to feel anxious.
…..
Inside the golden energy ocean-wrapped world, Yang Kai was busy manipulating his pill furnace, adding herbs to it while refining pills with his Conflagrated Knowledge Sea, polishing his skills and knowledge of Alchemy.
He was currently only one step away from evolving his Alchemy, and since he was stuck in this place with nothing to do, Yang Kai decided to practice his Alchemy skill.
Sun Yu, who was caught up in this situation, also seemed to be a diligent youth. After spending two or three days together with Yang Kai and learning he was temporarily unable to leave, he immediately began cultivating.
The golden energy in this place with incredibly rich and potent, but was actually not of the Yang Attribute and instead had a sacred quality to it.
Yang Kai couldn’t tell what exactly this energy was, but using it for cultivation would not be an issue.
Moreover, the power contained within this golden energy was astonishing. Even if Sun Yu could only absorb a tiny fraction of it, it would be enough to benefit him for the rest of his life.
One cultivated, one practiced Alchemy, and the two essentially kept to themselves like this as the days flew by.
Yang Kai didn’t need to worry about running out of Alchemy materials as before he left Nine Heavens Holy Land, he had emptied the Holy Land’s Treasury into his Black Book space. He currently had enough herbs and spirit medicines to last for quite some time.
One day, after Yang Kai just finished refining a Saint Grade pill, he noticed that Sun Yu had stopped cultivating and was currently sitting nearby and observing his movements curiously.
“Understood anything?” Yang Kai smiled.
Sun Yu shook his head honestly and replied, “Senior, the way you perform Alchemy is quite strange; at least, it’s very different from the way I’ve seen anyone else perform Alchemy.”
“Oh, how so?” Yang Kai asked.
“You don’t use True Qi… All the Alchemists I’ve seen refining pills are constantly pushing their True Qi and their rate of consumption is quite fast, but when Senior performs Alchemy you don’t seem to use True Qi at all. Also, the speed at which Senior refines pills is much faster than those people… What grade of pill are you refining? Mysterious Grade?”
Hearing this, Yang Kai’s face went black, thinking this little brat really lacked vision, actually believing the Saint Grade pill he had just refined was a worthless Mysterious Grade pill.
Seeing his expression, Sun Yu wore a shocked look and gasped, “It wouldn’t be a Spirit Grade pill, would it?”
“En, that’s right,” Yang Kai didn’t want to explain too much to him.
“Senior is really fierce… Successfully refining a Spirit Grade pill in just one or two hours, if the Alchemists of our Sect were to learn of this I’m afraid they’d die of shame.”
As a man who had experienced many great storms and received no small amount of flattery in his life, Yang Kai was still somewhat pleased when he heard Sun Yu say this. Though, that was perhaps due to the pure look of admiration in this youth’s eyes.
“Why don’t you continue cultivating?” Yang Kai stored the Saint Grade pill away and asked.
Sun Yu smiled bitterly and replied, “I don’t know why but I can’t absorb the energy here… and the two Crystal Stones that I was carrying have also been used up.”
Yang Kai nodded slightly, knowing what Sun Yu was saying was the truth. Although the energy here could be used, Sun Yu’s strength was still too low.
Furrowing his brow as he stared at this youth, Yang Kai suddenly asked, “Do you long for strength?”
Sun Yu gawked for a moment before nodding firmly.
“Why?”
“Because I’m a man!” Sun Yu spoke as if it was only obvious, “Of course I long for strength. Moreover, when one day I meet a woman I like, if I don’t have enough strength, how will I keep her safe?”
Yang Kai laughed at this response, “Very good!”
Men long for strength, there was no need for any complicated reason.
Sun Yu scratched his head as he observed Yang Kai reaction curiously.
Yang Kai suddenly wore a sincere and solemn look and said, “Kid, how about making a deal with me?”
“Senior need not act so polite, if you have any instructions, please tell me, this Sun Yu will do whatever he can to help,” Sun Yu replied earnestly.
However, Yang Kai shook his head and emphasized once more, “I’m only interested in making a deal with you.”
Sun Yu’s face also became serious, realizing that what Yang Kai was about to request of him was likely something important and not easy to handle. Contemplating for a moment, he still nodded eventually, “Many thanks for Senior’s consideration, please ask!”
“Since you want strength, I can give it to you!” Yang Kai grinned, “But you have to agree to my request… En, when we leave here, and you return to Dragon Phoenix Palace, don’t divulge anything about me.”
Sun Yu was stunned and couldn’t help asking, “Why?”
“I have my reasons,” Yang Kai shook his head, “Do you agree?”
“But Senior, since you can open the barrier here, you must have a deep relationship with my Sect… and Palace Master and the Elders of the Sect are surely looking forward to your…”
“For the time being, I don’t want them to know about me. When I have time, I will meet with your Palace Master to explain,” Yang Kai replied casually.
Yang Kai had still not finished dealing with Nine Heavens Holy Land’s mess, so if he were now get involved in Dragon Phoenix Palace’s affairs, he would likely no longer be able to rest due to overwork.
However, since the Phoenix Nest held the Phoenix Empress’ inheritance, he would definitely have to return here one day with Su Yan.
The people of Dragon Phoenix Palace must currently think that Sun Yu was the one who opened this formation and raising this youths strength would help Yang Kai conceal the truth, provided Sun Yu didn’t say anything.
Yang Kai appreciated this boy somewhat so he wasn’t willing to kill him to keep his secret.
With the resources Yang Kai had on hand, it would be simple to cultivate one youth. Even if Sun Yu’s aptitude was mediocre, Yang Kai had methods to improve it. What’s more, this boy cultivated a Yang Attribute Secret Art similar to Yang Kai’s so it could be said they shared a common source.
So long as Sun Yu nodded, he could obtain a wonderful opportunity that was simply unimaginable to others.
After thinking for some time, Sun Yu said, “Although I don’t know why Senior must do this, there is surely an important reason… I must only ask, does Senior have any hostile intent towards my Dragon Phoenix Palace?”
“Of course not.” Yang Kai laughed.
“Good, then I promise not to reveal your existence!”
“Very good!” Yang Kai nodded with satisfaction.
Chapter 832, Sun Yu’s Opportunity
Two months passed by.
Sun Yu, who was staying with Yang Kai, had rapidly improved his strength. In just two months, he had reached the Peak True Element Boundary from the True Element Boundary Seventh Stage!
Sun Yu was ecstatic.
He was only fifteen this year and his aptitude was only slightly above average. If he had cultivated at his previous rate, reaching the Peak True Element Boundary would have taken him at least for a year or so.
But now, he had actually accomplished this feat in just two months.
He knew that all the credit for this belonged to the Senior surnamed Yang, causing Sun Yu to become even more respectful towards Yang Kai.
Over the past two months, all this Senior had done was provided Sun Yu with some Crystal Stones for cultivation and made him drink a drop of unknown medicinal liquid every day.
Sun Yu had no idea what kind of mysteries this medicinal liquid hid, but after taking it for two months, he actually felt like he had been reborn.
His physique had become both more powerful and flexible than before and he could tell that his meridians had been strengthened and expanded. However, the biggest and most important change was that the purity and richness of his True Qi was now double what it had been before. When his True Qi flowed through his meridians, Sun Yu could even hear some subtle rushing sounds.
These were all signs he had grown more powerful.
The most intuitive manifestation of all this was Sun Yu’s consumption of Crystal Stones when he cultivated.
In the past, it would take Sun Yu five or six days to absorb all the energy in a single piece of Crystal Stone.
But now, he didn’t even need a full day to absorb a piece of Crystal Stone, and this rate of consumption was still gradually getting faster.
Fortunately, this Senior Yang seemed to be extremely rich, so Sun Yu didn’t need to worry about his consumption of Crystal Stones. Every time, Senior Yang would give him a pile of Crystal Stones, and once Sun Yu ran out, Senior Yang would simply hand him more.
On top of all this, Senior Yang provided many different pills to assist Sun Yu in his cultivation. Whether it was Mysterious Grade pills or even Spirit Grade pills, it seemed like this Senior Yang had an endless supply of them.
Sun Yu couldn’t even describe the gratitude he felt.
Sun Yu understood that although this Senior didn’t teach him any powerful or profound Secret Arts or Martial Skills, he was actually fundamentally improving his body while enhancing his physique and aptitude. This kind of chance would benefit Sun Yu for the rest of his life.
[Is this one of those legendary fortuitous encounters?] Sun Yu thought to himself excitedly.
When he was back in Dragon Phoenix Palace, Sun Yu had often heard from the masters around him talk about these kinds of fortuitous encounters. They said that such things could not be sought out and were essentially chance occurrences, but those lucky enough to obtain one would be able to leap over the dragon’s gate and soar into the sky. Of course, Sun Yu had only thought that such things were the stuff of rumour and legend and never took his Seniors’ ramblings seriously.
After all, how could one come across such a good thing so casually?
But now, how else could Sun Yu describe everything that was happening to him, besides as a fortuitous encounter.
In Sun Yu’s heart he secretly rejoiced that he was fortunate enough to be the last disciple to enter Dragon Valley and then get dragged into this golden world by that inexplicable force. He was overjoyed he had met such a good person like Senior Yang.
Sun Yu seemed to be able to see his own bright future beckoning to himself!
As such, Sun Yu put even more effort into his cultivation, not daring to slack off for a moment. Such an opportunity was not something that everyone could meet, and Sun Yu was terrified he would fail to live up to the care Senior Yang had shown him.
Sun Yu wished for nothing more than to be able to clone himself so he could cultivate twice as fast while not sleeping or eating.
Yang Kai did not miss Sun Yu’s efforts and was very satisfied with what he saw.
This young boy had perseverance, determination, and most importantly obedience and endurance.
Yang Kai grew fonder of him as time passed.
Originally, Yang Kai had simply wanted to give Sun Yu some small benefits as payment for sealing his lips, but watching this boy put in so much effort to his cultivation, Yang Kai soon began sparing no effort to train him.
Every day, Yang Kai would give Sun Yu a drop of Myriad Drug Liquid as well as Crystal Stones and Mysterious Grade and Spirit Grade pills he had personally refined without any reservations.
Everyone who worked hard should have such opportunities.
Yang Kai often thought about all the hardships he had to endure on his path to acquire his current strength and couldn’t help wanting to lend this boy a helping hand.
What was rare was that, despite being just a young brat, Sun Yu actually understood that rest and relaxation were essential parts of cultivation. After he rushed to the Peak True Element Boundary and cultivated for a while, Sun Yu encountered a type of bottleneck and immediately took a step back instead of recklessly charging ahead. He spent time observing Yang Kai perform Alchemy as well as took the initiative to ask some questions about the Martial Dao.
A True Element Boundary cultivator breaking through to the Immortal Ascension Boundary was indeed a great hurdle. Yang Kai himself had been stuck at this point in his cultivation for some time and was naturally very experienced in how to handle it. Passing some small insights on to Sun Yu immediately allowed the latter’s eyes to light up, often leading the youth to sit in contemplation for long periods of time before once again beginning to cultivate.
Time continued to pass by.
One day, while Yang Kai was immersed in Alchemy, he suddenly noticed that Sun Yu, next to him, was giving off a faint pulse of Spiritual Energy, and couldn’t help showing a faint smile, stopping the movement of his hands and observing the youth intently.
Now was the most critical moment for Sun Yu to open his Knowledge Sea. No one could help him. Everything depended on his own efforts.
The process of opening his Knowledge Sea lasted for a few days, allowing Yang Kai to fully comprehend Sun Yu’s determination and perseverance; each time he nearly failed, Sun Yu would push through with sheer force of will.
Suddenly, inside Sun Yu’s inner world, the infinite void was torn asunder and an invisible space appeared as his aura underwent some subtle changes.
Immortal Ascension Boundary! He had finally broken through.
Yang Kai breathed a light sigh of relief. He had been with this boy for so many days now, observing the efforts he had made. Naturally, Yang Kai hoped Sun Yu would succeed.
Fortunately, the boy had succeeded.
Sun Yu’s Knowledge Sea was empty, completely unlike Yang Kai’s when he first broke through to the Immortal Ascension Boundary. Yang Kai had managed to cultivate out his Divine Sense while still at the True Element Boundary, so once he opened his Knowledge Sea, his was already abundant with Spiritual Energy, enough of which to form a vast sea.
Sun Yu, on the other hand, had to start gathering Spiritual Energy and form his Knowledge Sea from scratch.
“Senior…” Sun Yu’s face was filled with joy as he called out in excitement, speaking somewhat incoherently as he rejoiced, “I… I broke through… Immortal Ascension Boundary…”
Yang Kai smiled and nodded, “Have you realized the difference from how you used to be?”
“En, even when I close my eyes, I can still perceive everything around me.”
“Good, as your Soul becomes more powerful, the distance you’ll be able to sense things across, and how much detail you’ll be able to observe will also increase. Your present Soul is just like a candle in the wind, work hard to cultivate it.”
“Yes!” Sun Yu replied in a positive and respectful tone, quickly closing his eyes and beginning to meditate.
However, soon after, he awkwardly opened his eyes and stammered, “But Senior… I don’t know how to cultivate Spiritual Energy… Master never taught me this.”
When Sun Yu had entered Dragon Valley, he was only a True Element Boundary Seventh Stage cultivator. According to Ling Jian’s estimations, Sun Yu would need at least two more years before arriving at the Immortal Ascension Boundary, as such, he had yet to teach the youth anything about cultivating his Soul.
Hearing this, Yang Kai laughed in spite of trying not to. After organizing his thoughts for a moment, he then began passing on his own attainments and experiences in this field to the boy.
Sun Yu listened attentively to nodded repeatedly.
“Good, the best was to cultivate one’s Spiritual Energy is to refine a Soul type artifact, this not only improves your combat strength but also strengthens your Soul,” Yang Kai then smiled and said, “I happen to have a Soul type artifact quite suitable for you to use.”
As he spoke, Yang Kai opened his palm and summoned out a delicate little sword.
This little sword was an artifact Yang Kai had obtained when he participated in the Inheritance War and it had accompanied him for many years now. However, it was only a Heaven Grade Top-Rank artifact and along with the improvement of Yang Kai’s strength, fewer and fewer opportunities had arisen for it to be used.
Sun Yu quickly waved his hand, “Senior, you have already given me so much, this artifact…”
“It’s of no use to me, it’s only Heaven Grade Top-Rank, keeping it would just be a waste, but for you, it’s just right.”
Hearing Yang Kai say this, Sun Yu hesitated for a moment before composing himself, reaching out, and respectfully held out his hands, “Many Thanks for Senior’s gift, Sun Yu will work hard to not bring shame upon Senior’s name!”
Yang Kai chuckled, wiped his Soul mark from the sword, and said, “Refine it carefully. When you can take this artifact into your Knowledge Sea, you’ll basically be finished.”
“En!” Sun Yu nodded then quickly set about refining the small sword.
Yang Kai no longer paid attention to him and resumed refining pills.
After much long and painstaking effort, Yang Kai’s Alchemy’s proficiency had finally advanced once more and he was now able to consistently refine Saint Grade pills.
He had become a Saint Grade Low-Rank Alchemist!
(Silavin: Though he could have made a Saint Grade Pill in the past, it was not by his own strength. Most people would regard that as already reaching Saint Grade but not Yang Kai lol. He needs to do it without the other Plot Amor.)
He was only one minor rank away from meeting the requirements to free the Ancient Demon Clan.
Even throughout the entire world, there weren’t many Saint Grade Alchemists.
Du Wan of Grand Boulder City had also reached such a level in Alchemy; he was received courteously wherever he went and currently served as the respected manager of the Alchemist Guild’s Grand Boulder City Branch. With Yang Kai’s current skills and means, as long as he was willing, he too would be able to receive similar treatment.
However, Alchemy had always been an auxiliary pursuit to Yang Kai, a way to broaden his comprehension of the Martial Dao.
Yang Kai’s only wish was to pursue the peak of the Martial Dao.
Through studying Alchemy, Yang Kai had discovered many insights regarding his Conflagrated Knowledge Sea as well as many questions he needed to ponder, allowing him to become more and more skillful in manipulating it.
Although he was now just a Saint Grade Low-Rank Alchemist, Yang Kai estimated that if he used the Myriad Drug Liquid and auxiliary Spirit Arrays, there was a chance he could refine Saint Grade Mid-Rank pills.
The world formed by the golden energy ocean was still solidly wrapped around Yang Kai and Sun Yu, and the small Golden Dragon which had manifested itself from the tattoo on Yang Kai’s back was still swallowing this energy, its body growing larger by the day. As this Golden Dragon consumed this golden energy, it also began giving off a majestic and awe inspiring aura.
Yang Kai was not in a rush and simply continued going about his own business.
Recently, Yang Kai hadn’t had any time to pursue his own cultivation, so this was actually a welcome opportunity.
Just like the Golden Dragon, Sun Yu also showed rapid growth. After his physique was improved by the Myriad Drug Liquid, cultivating became much smoother and easier for him.
The small sword Yang Kai delivered Sun Yu took the later roughly one month to refine and after experimenting with its power, he soon fell in love with it.
Sun Yu’s current Knowledge Sea had a good accumulation of Spiritual Energy now as well.
Every day, he consumed many Crystal Stones and precious pills, and whenever he encountered a problem in his cultivation he couldn’t solve, all he had to do was consult Senior Yang to obtain appropriate guidance. Sun Yu felt he was the luckiest person alive and he now considered Yang Kai his own honoured master and respected him as such.
Chapter 833, Strange Change
One day, as he was refining a Saint Pill, Yang Kai suddenly frowned.
He had inadvertently noticed that the Yang Liquid he had stored in his own dantian was almost exhausted. The last time he re-supplied himself with Yang Liquid, Yang Kai had thought it would be sufficient to last him for a least a decade or so, but now he discovered that his estimations were wrong.
Every time he tore space it required a few drops of Yang Liquid, Yang Kai had apparently used too much in order to become familiar with this method.
It was time to supplement it.
Fortunately, Yang Kai had some sixty or seventy Divine Tree fruits in his Black Book space, each of which contained an amazing amount of Yang Attribute Energy. If he consumed all of them, he could fill his dantian again.
The Divine Tree was now residing in his Black Book space as well, and although cultivating these fruits was a long and difficult process, simply storing them away and not eating them would be a waste, so Yang Kai didn’t hesitate.
Taking out a fruit, Yang Kai began taking big bites of it.
The sound of Yang Kai snacking woke Sun Yu from his meditation, causing him to glance over, his eyes lighting up in the next instant.
Sun Yu was now an Immortal Ascension cultivator so he could naturally see just how extraordinary the Divine Tree fruit was; the seemingly overflowing Yang Attribute Energy it contained was particularly appealing to him.
However, Sun Yu also didn’t dare reveal any kind of covetous attitude in front of Yang Kai.
While preparing to close his eyes and continue his meditate, Yang Kai suddenly smiled towards him and tossed him a small piece of the fruit, “It’s not that I’m trying to be stingy, but you can’t eat too much of this thing.”
Sun Yu’s face blushed as he bashfully accepted the small piece of fruit before popping it into his mouth.
A moment later though, Sun Yu’s True Qi violently rioted and his skin became bright red, all his pores opening wide as they sprayed out excess heat and energy, making it seem like he was on the verge of exploding.
Yang Kai paid the boy no mind and simply allowed him to handle this crisis on his own.
Sun Yu didn’t dare neglect and immediately began circulating his Secret Art as quickly as he could in order to absorb the massive amount of energy now rampaging through his body.
Only after a long while did the violent aura gradually calm down. At this moment, Sun Yu was bursting with life and his aura was also noticeably stronger, even his complexion looked more radiant.
“Want some more?” Yang Kai asked.
Sun Yu quickly shook his head.
The small piece of pulp he had just eaten had nearly caused his dantian and meridians to rupture. Seeing Yang Kai eat them one after another like ordinary snacks without so much as blinking made him realizes just how huge the gap between them was once again.
Although this fruit was definitely a good thing, Sun Yu had enough self-knowledge and naturally didn’t dare ask for more.
Yang Kai swallowed down all sixty or seventy fruits in short order, causing the number of drops of Yang Liquid in his dantian to increase by several hundreds.
Just as he was smiling with satisfaction, Yang Kai’s brow suddenly wrinkled and he quickly sent his consciousness into the Black Book space.
“What happened?” Manifesting his Soul Avatar in front of the huge Divine Tree, Yang Kai asked.
“There are some strange changes happening over there,” The Divine Tree sent him a message.
It had been a long time since Yang Kai had acquired the Divine Tree and its consciousness had greatly matured since then. Now, it had no difficulty communicating with Yang Kai and could clearly express its thoughts and meaning.
“Where?” Yang Kai asked curiously.
“Follow me,” A wisp of golden light suddenly emerged from the Divine Tree and flew off in a certain direction, leading Yang Kai.
Following after it, Yang Kai soon came to a certain spot in the Black Book space and looking around, his brow wrinkled and a look of surprise appeared on his face.
“Here!” The Divine Tree sent him another message as the golden wisp circled the area.
Even without it telling him though, Yang Kai noticed something was wrong.
There were many scattered pieces of gravel here and some precious ores he had been keeping were now gone.
In particular, the quantity of rare minerals he had brought back from the Starry Sky had noticeably decreased.
Yang Kai remembered that after the Starry Sky Storm, he had collected a large number of precious ores and stored them here. Later, he had also piled up the ores he had taken from Nine Heavens Holy Land’s Treasury here.
However, now there seemed to be something that was absorbing the essence from these ores and leaving behind only some useless impurities.
Yang Kai couldn’t help glancing over at the Divine Tree curiously.
Some time ago, Yang Kai had accidentally discovered a similar occurrence. At the time, he had thought it was the doing of the Divine Tree, so he hadn’t paid it much mind.
But now it was fairly clear this wasn’t the doing of the Divine Tree because it didn’t seem like it was lying to him.
“You’ve been staying here the whole time, did you notice anything?” Yang Kai asked after being unable to glean any clues from the pile of ores in front of him.
“Nothing,” Divine Tree hesitantly replied, “I only felt something strange was happening here.”
“Help me keep an eye on this, if you find something, tell me immediately,” Yang Kai said.
Something so strange happening inside his Black Book space had confused Yang Kai greatly.
The essence contained within these ores wouldn’t just disappear for no reason, there must be something consuming them. But since the Divine Tree didn’t do it, the question was who, or what did?
Yang Kai would feel like he had a fishbone stuck in his throat so long as he couldn’t solve this mystery.
Receiving a nod from the Divine Tree, Yang Kai left the Black Book space and continued practicing his Alchemy.
Several peaceful days passed by before Yang Kai once again felt the call of the Divine Tree.
Without hesitation, he sent his Soul Avatar into the Black Book space and asked, “Did you discover something?”
“En,” The Divine Tree once again sent out a golden wisp and the two of them flew over to where the pile of ores lay before it pointed, “It’s them, I felt them slowly absorbing the essence of those stones, I’m certain of it.”
Following the direction it indicated, Yang Kai gawked for a moment at what he saw.
Although Yang Kai had just haphazardly piled the ore he had collected over the years here, he still recognized the two stones on the other end of his gaze and even clearly remember when and where he had obtained them.
Because these two stones were quite special compared to the others scattered around.
It was the two pitch-black round stones.
The first of these two stones had been found inside the secluded ancient cave which was home to the Soul Devouring Insects. At that time, Yang Kai was on his way to Soaring Heaven Sect for the first time and had taken a detour to explore this ancient cave mansion with Cang Yan and Fei Yu. His Martial Uncle and Martial Aunt had brought back a few treasure from the depths of the cave, one of which was this pitch-black round stone which had finally been collected by Yang Kai.
Yang Kai obtained the second pitch-black round stone back in Floating Clouds City. While waiting for the Thousand Year Demon Flower to bloom, he had been forced to participate in an Alchemy contest by Du Wan and Mi Na, ultimately winning first prize as well as the right to pick two treasures from Du Wan’s Saint Grade Alchemist colleagues’ Universe Bags.
Because the two pitch-black round stones were very similar, almost identical, they had caught Yang Kai’s attention and he had spent some time carefully examining them, unfortunately he had never learned anything useful about them despite his efforts.
Never had Yang Kai imagined that the culprit for this strange occurrence in the Black Book space was actually them.
What kind of strange stone absorbed the essence of other rare ores? Yang Kai thought about it for a long time but still ended up drawing a blank.
After carefully probing the two stones with his Divine Sense again for a while, Yang Kai’s brow furrowed slightly.
He discovered that some beautiful patterns, like the meridians of a human body, had appeared on the surface of the two pitch-black round stones. Unfortunately, these patterns only appeared intermittently, as if they had been damaged or worn out somehow.
This discovery greatly surprised Yang Kai.
When he first obtained these two pitch-black round stones, he had performed a detailed examination of them, but at the time, no such patterns had appeared at all.
The delicate and somewhat unclear patterns that had now shown up were obviously related to the two pitch-black round stones absorbing the essence of the ores around them.
On top of that, it was only now that Yang Kai could detected that there was some unusual energy flowing through these patterns, akin to the True Qi in a cultivator’s meridians.
These two stones really hid some kind of mystery!
After thinking about it for a while, Yang Kai decided to set the matter aside for now. After knowing what was happening inside the Black Book space, he was no longer overly worried and simply asked the Divine Tree to continue monitoring the two stones before he took back his consciousness.
Yang Kai faintly felt that the two strange stones weren’t simple, and if he continued to allow them to absorb mineral essences some unexpected changes would eventually occur.
The two stones absorbing the essence of other minerals would no doubt make them stronger, which meant Yang Kai would be able to use them to refine an even stronger artifact in the future.
Opening his eyes, Yang Kai glanced around and saw the Golden Dragon was still consuming the surrounding golden energy and that it would not be done for a while yet. He also noticed Sun Yu still hard at work cultivating nearby.
And so, Yang Kai went back to practicing Alchemy.
Inside the Holy Tomb, Yang Kai had refined a drop of Demon God Golden Blood and acquired the Soul Fission Divine Ability Soul that once belonged to the Great Demon God. Since then, Yang Kai had been cultivating this Divine Ability and had made good progress thanks to his Six Coloured Soul Warming Lotus constantly nourishing his Soul and Soul Clone.
At this moment, Yang Kai also clearly realized the benefits of cultivating Soul Fission.
When one cultivated this Divine Ability to the grand accomplishment stage, it would be as if they had two Souls and could thus cultivate Spiritual Energy twice as fast as others.
Yang Kai had never heard of any Secret Art that even remotely compared to such a boost in Spiritual Energy cultivation speed.
Although Yang Kai had not yet reached such a height, he could clearly feel that thanks to the existence of his Soul Clone, his Spiritual Energy was growing significantly faster than before.
As such, he had spared no effort to cultivate his Soul Clone in the hopes that one day it would be able to play its complete role.
Once he cultivated Soul Fission to its extreme, as long as he could find the right body for it, he could separate his Soul Clone from his Knowledge Sea and implant it into this second form, allowing him to essentially be in two places at once or explore some dangerous region without risking his life.
Yang Kai also began refining the Silver Leaf Saint Grade Top-Rank artifact which he had obtained from the previous Holy Master inside the Holy Tomb. This Silver Leaf was filled with a mysterious power and was extremely difficult to refine. Fortunately though, Yang Kai had plenty of time and was not in a hurry.
After confirming the source of the disturbance in the Black Book space, Yang Kai would check in on the two pitch-black round stones every few days to see what changes they were undergoing.
As time passed, the fine patterns on their surface became clearer and more coherent, the price paid though was that most of the minerals Yang Kai had collected had been reduced to dregs. Of the pile of ores he had harvested from the Starry Sky and Nine Heavens Holy Land, only about half remained.
If this kept up, within a year or so, the two stones would consume every last ore in the Black Book space.
Inside the golden energy ocean, whether it was Yang Kai or Sun Yu, both of them had lost track of the passage of time as they busied themselves with their own affairs. Occasionally, the two would stop what they were doing, relax, and chat, but after having rested themselves for a time, they would continue their work, neither one bothering the other.
The days that passed by were by no means wasted though, instead they were quite productive and meaningful. Both Yang Kai and Sun Yu obtained enormous growth and benefit from this unexpected accident.