Chapter 2241, Return
Translator: Silavin & Raikov
Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun
Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys
Three days later, in a stone cavern inside Azure Sun Temple’s Restricted Area, Yang Kai slowly opened his eyes in one of the stone rooms.
His Soul Avatar had returned to his physical body, and this moment felt so amazing that he could not help but have the illusion that he was being reborn.
After moving his arms and legs a little, he fully adapted. Even though he spent nearly a month in this stone room, Yang Kai’s cultivation did not suffer any damage, of course. On the contrary, due to his experiences in the Divine Ascension World, his Soul had grown significantly stronger.
He did not hurry to leave and instead checked on his own situation.
Looking inside himself, his Knowledge Sea was calm, but the waters had become much stronger than a month ago.
Before entering the Divine Ascension Mirror World, Yang Kai’s Divine Sense was strong enough to compete with a Third-Order Dao Source Realm cultivator’s. After absorbing so many Soul Sources in the Divine Ascension Mirror World though, it had grown noticeably.
What’s more, he also received a fine piece of Soul Jade, only that Soul Jade’s power was unable to be manifested in such a short amount of time. He would have to slowly absorb the benefits as his Soul Warming Lotus fed them to his Soul over time.
Right now, it was not too much to say that his Soul was only slightly weaker than an Emperor’s. He only had to wait for his physical body’s cultivation to catch up and then he could smoothly make a breakthrough.
The ball of light inside the Soul Warming Lotus with the sealed Soul Devouring Insects was still peaceful, without any abnormalities.
But Yang Kai knew he had to deal with it as soon as possible because this thing in his Knowledge Sea was a hidden danger that may suddenly explode.
There was also a Soul-type artifact in his Knowledge Sea that was dim and dull at this moment. It was the Purple Sun Profound Light Shield gifted to him by Gao Xue Ting. This Soul-type artifact could no longer be used after being wrecked by Ban Qing during their fight.
Yang Kai sorted out what he needed to do in his mind. With his plans set, he took out the seal token given to him by Gao Xue Ting and opened the stone room before walking out.
Looking around, the other stone rooms were empty just as he expected.
Obviously, during the time when he was with Tian Yan, Xia Sheng and the others had already been led back by Wen Zi Shan and should have been brought away to recover.
The Divine Ascension Mirror, however, was still erected at the centre of the stone cavern, rotating slowly as it emitted a faint light.
Yang Kai’s brow twitched as he stared at this unique treasure.
At this moment, he was able to feel a slight connection between himself and the Divine Ascension Mirror.
This type of connection came from the seal inside the Soul Warming Lotus as it was formed with the power of the Mirror Soul.
“You’re out!” A voice suddenly sounded in the darkness.
Yang Kai was stunned for a moment before he cupped his fists at the source of the sound, “Elder Gao!”
Gao Xue Ting was undoubtedly waiting here for Yang Kai and nodded lightly upon seeing him return safely, “There was a slight mishap during this training, and it was this Queen failing to take care of you all that almost led you to disaster.”
As an Emperor Realm Master, her frankly admitting her mistake in front of Yang Kai without the slightest intention of shirking her responsibility touched him greatly.
Yang Kai asked, “This is not Elder Gao’s fault, but Grandma You’s trickery. By the way, how is Grandma You now?”
Gao Xue Ting responded, “Temple Master has his own ways of dealing with Grandma, so you don’t need to worry.”
“What about Brother Xia and the others?” Yang Kai asked.
“Xia Sheng and the others have suffered some damage to their Souls, but it is nothing major. They only need to rest and recover for several months.”
“That’s good then!” Yang Kai let out a small sigh of relief. Even though he figured that Xia Sheng and the others would be fine, and that Grandma You hadn’t done anything fatal to them during her search for the Soul Warming Lotus, he couldn’t really put his mind at ease until now.
“Now that this matter is over, come with me. The Temple Master wishes to see you.” As she said that, Gao Xue Ting led Yang Kai out, but she did not forget to advise him before leaving, “The Divine Ascension Mirror is the greatest secret of the temple. It is already bending the rules to allow an outsider like you to enter it. You must never disclose its existence to the public.”
“Yes!” Yang Kai answered seriously.
Gao Xue Ting was silent on the way and only rushed over towards Myriad Saints Peak with Yang Kai in tow.
But Yang Kai noticed that there were several times where she seemed to want to ask something, but she never did so in the end.
Yang Kai figured that she probably wanted to ask about Tian Yan.
The reason Wen Zi Shan wanted to see him as soon as he returned was also because of Tian Yan.
The existence of a Great Emperor in the Divine Ascension World was simply too shocking. Even Wen Zi Shan may not have expected such a thing.
After a while, the two of them arrived at Myriad Saints Peak where Gao Xue Ting stopped outside the temple and said to Yang Kai, “You should go in by yourself, the Temple Master is right inside.”
Yang Kai nodded lightly and walked into the main hall.
Inside the main hall, Wen Zi Shan sat alone with his legs crossed and a heavy look on his face.
When he saw Yang Kai enter, he couldn’t help but brighten up and smile, “Boy, you’re finally back.”
Yang Kai went forward and cupped his fists, “Greeting Temple Master Wen. Some things happened and delayed my return for a few days.”
“En, it’s good that you’re back safely!” Wen Zi Shan beckoned Yang Kai over, “Come, have a cup of wine to settle down.”
As he spoke, he waved his hand, and a chair and wine bottle appeared in front of him.
Yang Kai was stunned but he did not refuse him. He strode forward and took a seat in front of Wen Zi Shan.
“This King has a few things to ask you.” Wen Zi Shan poured himself a cup of wine before pouring one for Yang Kai, not being punctilious at all while he said, “If you think you can answer this King, then speak freely. If it is not possible, then this King will not force you to do so. Just pretend I never asked, all right?”
He showed a very friendly attitude, so Yang Kai responded with, “Many thanks for your consideration, Temple Master Wen.”
“En!” Wen Zi Shan nodded and did not say anything else, as if he was thinking about what to ask first.
Yang Kai picked up his cup of wine and took a sip, but after waiting for a while, yet still seeing Wen Zi Shan hesitate to speak, he couldn’t help commenting, “Temple Master Wen, this wine can’t be compared to Monkey God Wine.”
Upon hearing this, Wen Zi Shan stared at Yang kai in surprise, “You met with Yi Quan?”
Yang Kai nodded and said, “Yes, Senior Yi Quan also told Junior some interesting stories about you back then.”
“Did that old thing tell you how many jars of Monkey God Wine he used to get me drunk?” Wen Zi Shan said while curling his lip.
Yang Kai laughed, “Of course.”
“Hmph!” Wen Zi Shan coldly snorted, “If this King had not acted like I was unable to take alcohol, then how would that old thing be willing to give me so much to drink? Everything is within this King’s plans!”
Yang Kai was stunned, unable to tell just which of these two Third-Order Emperor Realm Masters living in two different worlds won in that battle of wits.
“Senior Yi Quan still fondly remembers Temple Master Wen and even told Junior that you never showing up again to visit after several hundred years saddened him. He had also prepared a lot of Monkey God Wine in anticipation of Temple Master Wen’s next visit.”
“Hahaha!” Wen Zi Shan laughed, “At least he still has some conscience! En… This King did not return after all these years because this King was worried that the old granny would overthink it and try to lock this King up inside. The Divine Ascension Mirror is not something that this King can just enter as he pleases. However, this King really wonders whether Yi Quan has enough Monkey God Wine for him to drink to his fill.”
After he said that, he suddenly turned solemn and quickly said, “This King heard Little Xue Ting say that a Great Emperor suddenly appeared outside the Divine Movement Country and took you away. Is that true?”
“Yes!” Yang Kai nodded with a straight face.
“Are you sure that the other party was a Great Emperor?” Wen Zi Shan looked extremely serious.
Yang Kai pondered for a moment and said, “Though Junior’s cultivation is low and is unable to judge the other party’s true realm and strength, please excuse this Junior for saying something that may offend Temple Master Wen…”
“Go ahead!”
“That person is much, much stronger than you, Temple Master Wen!”
Wen Zi Shan’s expression turned serious.
“Temple Master Wen has entered the Divine Ascension Mirror and also knows Senior Yi Quan, so naturally Temple Master Wen should also know Zhou Dian. Grandma You’s Soul Avatar had also reached the Third-Order Emperor Realm. But in comparison, that Senior greatly surpassed any and all of you.”
“Then there is no doubt he is a Great Emperor!” Wen Zi Shan took a deep breath and said with a look of disbelief, “It’s unbelievable that a Great Emperor could be born in that place! If word spreads, it would probably shake the entire Star Boundary. By the way, what is the name of that Senior?”
“He calls himself Tian Yan!” Yang Kai replied.
“Great Emperor Tian Yan!” Wen Zi Shan murmured before turning back to Yang Kai and asking, “So, what did Sir Tian Yan take you away for?”
In this world, all Great Emperors were recognized and respected by the world, so even though Wen Zi Shan had never met Tian Yan, he still addressed him as Sir.
This was not only respect for a Master’s strength, but also for that Master’s achievements in the Heavenly Way and Martial Dao.
“For the Soul Devouring Insects,” Yang Kai answered, feeling he had no need to hide this matter. Of course, it was only limited to Wen Zi Shan. Despite this Temple Master Wen’s unusual character and usual lack of decorum, Yang Kai could sense that he was a very reliable and just Senior when it mattered.
Otherwise, he would not have taken the initiative to reveal information about the Divine Ascension Mirror to Yang Kai and arranged for him to enter it for training.
As a reward for the Star Seals, Wen Zi Shan even offered Yang Kai the chance to enter the Sect Treasury to pick out three treasures.
Just from Wen Zi Shan revealing the Sect’s top secret, the Divine Ascension Mirror, Yang Kai felt that there was no need to hide this from him.
“Soul Devouring Insects?” Wen Zi Shan raised his brows, but soon seemed to think of something and said, “I heard from Yi Quan in the past that a battle called the Holy War once broke out in that world, and the source of that conflict was a swarm of ‘Demon Insects’. Could it be…”
“En, it was none other than a swarm of Soul Devouring Insects. Senior Tian Yan asked Junior to bring the group of Soul Devouring Insects out of that world, which resulted in the slight delay in my return.”
“Soul Devouring Insects are the nemesis of all Souls! Even though I have no idea what sort of amazing methods you have used to restrain them, or what methods Sir Tian Yan used to help you, even if you have a precious treasure like the Soul Warming Lotus, you cannot act carelessly!” Wen Zi Shan warned him with a grave expression.
Hearing him say this, Yang Kai instantly understood that he must have had a detailed talk with Grandma You and learned from her about the existence of the Soul Warming Lotus.
