After listening to their self-introductions, Yang Kai raised his brow as he discovered that these people all belonged to different forces, some of which even seemed to have grudges between them.
This left Yang Kai a little at a loss, wondering what they wanted from him.
“It’s like this, Friend,” The man named Wu Chang took the lead, putting on a friendly smile that felt entirely fake to Yang Kai but made the others present scowl somewhat unhappily. “From the looks of it, Friend came alone to enter the depths of Fallen Emperor Mountain to treasure hunt, yes?”
“Indeed!” Yang Kai gently nodded, “So what?”
Wu Chang chuckled, “Friend doesn’t need to be so vigilant, this one has no malicious intentions and simply wishes to invite you and to enter with him.”
“With you?” Yang Kai frowned.
“Exactly,” Wu Chang nodded quickly before stretching out his hand and pointing in a specific direction. “Friend must be able to tell that this Wu is nothing more than a Second-Order Saint King, and although such cultivation is not low, it is also not high. In fact, the disciples of Extreme Heaven Sect currently here do not have an Origin Realm master to assume command, so if we were to encounter a powerful enemy while exploring the Fallen Emperor Mountain…”
Although he didn’t finish his words, Yang Kai still understood why this man extended an invitation. Looking in the direction this Wu Chang was pointing, Yang Kai noticed a group of cultivators wearing similar robes, about a dozen or so in total and all of them Saint Kings. There was no trace of an Origin Realm master in sight.
It seemed that Extreme Heaven Sect wasn’t a very powerful force.
“You want me to protect your safety?” Yang Kai asked.
“Talking with someone smart makes things so much easier. Rather than just protection, this Wu would rather call it cooperation, it all depends on whether this friend is willing or not,” Wu Chang nodded quickly.
“Is there a difference?” Yang Kai was surprised.
“Naturally there is a difference,” Wu Chang saw that Yang Kai seemed a bit interested and hurriedly struck while the iron was hot. “If Friend just protects my Extreme Heaven Sect, we will simply pay Friend a satisfactory price, but whatever we discover in Fallen Emperor Mountain will then belong exclusively to my Extreme Heaven Sect. If we cooperate, however, friend and I can discuss the terms of how to distribute the treasures we find. Of course, this Wu would earnestly like to cooperate with this friend.”
Yang Kai nodded lightly, finally figuring out why the other party was acting so enthusiastic. It turned out that this Wu Chang’s Sect lacked any powerful masters, and since Yang Kai hadn’t bothered to conceal his cultivation, even if Wu Chang was just a Saint King, it wasn’t hard to realise Yang Kai was an Origin Realm master.
“The same goes for all of you?” Yang Kai swept his eyes over the others gathered around him.
These cultivators nodded quickly, one-by-one introducing their own families or Sects.
“I understand,” Yang Kai chuckled before asking meaningfully, “Aren’t you worried I’ll go back on my word and silence the witnesses if we discover something truly good?”
Hearing this, Wu Chang and the others present went somewhat stiff, their expressions becoming uncomfortable, but soon, Wu Chang composed himself and said, “Friend must be joking.”
“Whether I’m joking or not, since I can enter the Fallen Emperor Mountain to explore on my own, why would I bother cooperating with you and be forced to share the profits?” Yang Kai sneered. He wasn’t so idle or bored to help these people. The only reason he even bothered talking to these people was because he had only just arrived and was hoping to gleam so information from them about Fallen Emperor Mountain’s current situation.
“En… it’s like this, Friend. The ancient secluded homes and cave mansions in Fallen Emperor Mountain are all extremely well hidden. Many cannot even be found with Divine Sense, so if there are more people to search, there is a higher chance to discover opportunities. Moreover, most of the barriers protecting these secluded homes and cave mansions cannot be opened by individuals and instead require the cooperation of many, which is why most people choose to form groups to explore. There are very few who decide to enter all on their own.”
“From what you said, I guess it does make sense,” Yang Kai nodded lightly.
Wu Chang and the others were overjoyed hearing this, but just as they were about to continue pressing their advantage, Yang Kai waved his hand and said, “But I only just arrived here and don’t plan on immediately diving in, so you’d all best look for someone else to cooperate with.”
Saying so, Yang Kai left.
He never had any intention to cooperate with these people.
Although Wu Chang and the others were unwilling, they were unable to continue blocking Yang Kai, so they turned their attention back to their surroundings instead, hoping to spot other lone Origin Realm masters they could win over.
After getting rid of those few people, Yang Kai didn’t rush to enter Fallen Emperor Mountain but instead walked around the random stalls while taking out his communication artifact and pouring his Divine Sense into it.
Unfortunately, there was no response, so Yang Kai could only shake his head and put it away.
It seemed that Qian Tong was too far away. Otherwise, he would have been able to make contact.
Yang Kai wasn’t actually investigating these stalls for treasures. There were a lot of goods at these stalls, and many of them weren’t bad in terms of quality, but how could these things possibly enter Yang Kai’s eyes? Moreover, who would be willing to display any kind of real treasure here? After obtaining something precious, anyone’s first thought would be to hide it from public view.
It could be said that the items on sale here were all just common goods.
Of course, some people couldn’t judge the real value of things and treated treasures like garbage, but such instances were scarce.
Yang Kai continued to wander around since he wanted to gather information. At the very least, he could get a rough understanding of the situation inside Fallen Emperor Mountain through the conversations of the cultivators around him.
There were countless people here, so it wasn’t tricky for Yang Kai to glean some valuable news.
The ancient Sect ruins actually existed! Apparently, it was located at the innermost part of Fallen Emperor Mountain. Now, many masters had already rushed there; however, the Sect Defending Array of that ruin seemed quite sturdy, so it probably wouldn’t be easy to break through in short order. As such, the masters who first discovered it were at a loss and could only wait for more people to arrive so they could join forces to crack it.
If Yang Yan were here, with her abilities, breaking through that Sect Defending Array wouldn’t be any trouble at all, but unfortunately, she had already fused with the Great Emperor’s true body and was now still in a state of deep sleep.
Thinking of Yang Yan, Yang Kai sighed unconsciously.
This woman was the closest friend Yang Kai had made since he arrived on Shadowed Star. She had followed him through many ups and downs, sharing joys and sorrows, but how could Yang Kai have known her actual life experiences would be so astonishing?
Just as he was reminiscing, Yang Kai’s eyes flashed lightly before he collected himself and walked off towards a sparsely crowded place.
After a while, he suddenly turned around with a smile on his face and called out, “Friend, why are you following behind this Yang so stealthily? How about you come out and show yourself?”
A surprised outburst rang out before a figure strangely appeared not far away, its eyes sweeping over Yang Kai in shock as it called out, “You can actually see through this Jiang’s concealment technique?”
Yang Kai snorted as he swept his Divine Sense across his opponent and found that this man was a Second-Order Origin Returning Realm cultivator who appeared to be about fifty years old with slightly greying hair and a short stature. This older man’s Saint Qi also seemed somewhat obscure.
Although this old man was one Minor Realm higher than him, Yang Kai showed no signs of fear at all.
He had killed a few of the cultivators at the Third-Order Origin Realm before, so why would he fear a mere Second-Order old man? Moreover, looking at the other person’s expression, it seemed that there was no malice contained in it, so Yang Kai didn’t plan an act before he understood this old man’s true intentions.
“Don’t take offence, Little Brother. This Jiang had no ill intentions,” The cultivator surnamed Jiang quickly expressed his attitude; after all, it was something of a taboo to follow after someone secretly. Although Yang Kai’s cultivation was lower than this old man’s, this place was currently a great mixing pot of dragons and snakes, so he didn’t want to stir up any unnecessary conflict with Yang Kai only to benefit others.
“I can see that,” Yang Kai smiled lightly, not seeming to pay it any mind, “But I still want to know why you were following me.”
“Hehe, then this old man will be succinct with Little Brother.” Although this man looked far older than Yang Kai, since both of them were Origin Realm cultivators and were unfamiliar with one another, he didn’t dare assume an air of seniority. “En, if Little Brother doesn’t mind, may this old man inquire as to what attribute Saint Qi you cultivate?”
“What attribute?” Yang Kai frowned, his face growing solemn, “Why should I tell you?”
“If it’s convenient, would little brother mind indulging this old man? This old man is searching for a companion who cultivates a specific attribute of Secret Art. Of course, if Little Brother is unwilling, then just pretend this old man never asked. This Jiang can always search for others to cooperate with,” The man surnamed Jiang asked sincerely.
Yang Kai frowned and pondered for a moment before saying, “See for yourself.”
Saying so, he stretched out his hand and released a dark Demonic Flame atop his palm which gave off a scorching heat.
The cultivator surnamed Jiang saw this and his face lit up, “Fire Attribute, finally!”
“Hm?” Yang Kai frowned, “You were looking for a cultivator that specifically cultivates Fire Attribute Saint Qi?”
“Indeed!” The expression of the cultivator surnamed Jiang turned serious again, “This old man has already spoken to more than a dozen people, but none of them could meet my requirements. If Little Brother doesn’t mind, can we move elsewhere to discuss the situation in detail?”
Saying so, he looked at Yang Kai eagerly.
Seeing Yang Kai hesitating though, the old man surnamed Jiang grit his teeth and quietly sent a Divine Sense Message to Yang Kai.
“Oh? Is there such a good deal?” Yang Kai asked in surprise before nodding immediately, “In that case, please lead the way, Brother Jiang.”
“Please, please!” Jiang Shan saw Yang Kai agree and was overjoyed, hurriedly turning and walking off in a certain direction.
Yang Kai followed him away from the crowds and towards a more and more deserted area; however, having complete confidence in his strength, Yang Kai wasn’t worried this old man was up to anything nefarious.
After a while, the two arrived at a small slope about ten kilometres away, where three other people were sitting cross-legged in meditation, seemingly adjusting their breathing.
Yang Kai was surprised and quickly swept this group with his Divine Sense, immediately discovering that these three were all Second-Order Origin Returning Realm cultivators comparable to the old man whose name he now knew was Jiang Shan.
Of these three people, two were men while one was a woman. One of the men appeared similar to Jiang Shan, about fifty or sixty years old, while the other man and the woman looked much younger. Of this younger-looking pair, the man had a wild look about him as well as burly muscles while the woman had a delicate appearance with an impressive pair of jade peaks and a thin, enchanting figure.
