Translator: Silavin & Jon
Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun
Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys
Certainly, Yang Kai had heard the saying. In fact, he was intimately familiar with it. Since he started cultivating, he had come across countless dangers because of this exact scenario; therefore, he understood the meaning of the saying better than anyone else.
“Good, this Queen was caught off guard and framed by you, so now, many people out there believe that the Golden Crow carcass is in my hands.” Madam Lan gazed at him, “In that case, I don’t mind making their speculation a reality. Why don’t I take the trouble from you now? What do you think?”
Yang Kai asked, “You want me to give you the carcass?”
Madam Lan replied, “I won’t take it from you for free. I’ll give you enough compensation.”
After giving it a thought, Yang Kai asked, “May I know what the compensation is?”
With a smile, Madam Lan stuck out one finger, “The first compensation is simply Open Heaven Pills. This number.” Then, she swayed her finger at him.
“10 million?” Yang Kai was stunned.
In response, Madam Lan nodded her head.
Yang Kai said, “Madam Lan is indeed generous.” Ten million Open Heaven Pills was really a large number, tempting for any Emperor Realm cultivator.
“Since you’ve mentioned the first one, there must be a second option. What is it?”
Madam Lan shot him a look, “The second option is a full set of Fifth-Order Yin, Yang, Five Elements materials to help you break through to the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm.”
That was another tempting offer. A Fifth-Order set of materials could be traded for 7.5 million Open Heaven Pills. However, considering the rarity of such items, it would actually be equivalent to 10 million Open Heaven Pills.
Moreover, a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master could be considered a powerhouse in the Outer Universe. It was in the middle of the Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm. Duan Hai was only a Fourth-Order while both Qi Qiao Heavenly Monarch, whom Yang Kai had never met, and Old Xu were Fifth-Order. In other words, a Fifth-Order cultivator was powerful enough to gain a footing and build a great force in the Outer Universe.
Madam Lan was indeed sincere, but that was the reason Yang Kai realised that the Golden Crow carcass was far more valuable than he thought. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have decided to pay such a hefty price to obtain it. The carcass must be worth a lot more than the compensation she had offered.
“Is there a third option?” he asked.
A frustrated Madam Lan said, “Aren’t you satisfied with two options? Brat, don’t be too greedy.”
Yang Kai raised his hands, “I was just asking. Don’t get mad.” Then, he hurriedly filled her cup with tea to prevent her from blowing her top again.
After a snort, Madam Lan took a sip of the tea and shot him a look, “You should count your blessings. Countless newcomers like you struggle for hundreds or even thousands of years in the 3,000 Worlds without achieving anything. You got some luck not long after you arrived at the Outer Universe. Many people would die of jealousy if they heard.”
What she had said reminded Yang Kai of Dié You and Old Fang. It had been a long time since they arrived in the Outer Universe, but they had been trapped in Seven Wonders Land for practically all that time, which was why they hadn’t even ascended to the Open Heaven Realm. In comparison, Yang Kai was in a much better spot. With that said, the reason he had the options to choose from on this day was that he had risked his life to achieve this; it had nothing to do with luck.
Thus , he took a sip of water and fell silent for a moment before replying, “Proprietress, I’m tempted by both options, but I’m not sure what to choose.”
Madam Lan said, “Do you want my advice?”
“Yes, please.”
“If I were you, I’d choose the second option. Although Open Heaven Pills are beneficial, it’s not safe for you to carry so many pills around as you’re only an Emperor Realm Junior. Moreover, you don’t have the means to buy higher-order materials. So, you should just let First Inn purchase those Fifth-Order materials for you and enjoy the fruits of our labour.”
“You have a point,” Yang Kai crossed his arms and fell into his thoughts.
The Proprietress observed him and gently let out a breath. Judging from his expression, she knew that there was a chance to achieve her goal. If he wasn’t even willing to talk to her, there wouldn’t be any hope. It seemed that he had also realised that the potato was too hot for him to handle.
The Golden Crow carcass was a ticket to Hell for an average person, but to a great force like First Inn, it was an invaluable treasure. As long as she could secure the corpse, she wouldn’t mind paying a big price.
While Yang Kai was pondering on the issue, she didn’t disturb him.
However, one hour later, he still hadn’t made up his mind. Seeing this, she was speechless as probed, “Have you made your decision yet?”
Yang Kai knitted his brows together as though he was in a dilemma. Hearing her voice, he turned to look at her, “Proprietress, I’m fine with the options you’ve mentioned, but can you also compensate for the loss of the two Mie Meng golden tail feathers?”
At the mention of the golden tail feathers, Madam Lan became indignant as Yang Kai had used one of them on her when she was unsuspecting, which caused her to be wounded. She had never been humiliated in such a way before.
“Do you even want me to compensate for that? Are you out of your mind?” Madam Lan barked.
Yang Kai replied, “Of course you have to. In order to snatch the carcass, I had to use two of Mie Meng’s golden tail feathers. Although I don’t know how much they’re worth, they’re obviously not cheap. If I sold them, many people would want them. Perhaps they could even be traded for 10 million Open Heaven Pills. Since that’s the value of two golden tail feathers, the offer you’ve mentioned can only make up for a fraction of my losses.”
Upon hearing that, Madam Lan put on a sneer. Just when she wanted to mock him, she recalled how the golden tail feathers were powerful enough to even harm her, making them practically invaluable safety charms. If they were sold, they really could be worth a lot of money. The generous ones might even be willing to offer him 10 million pills.
Thus, she changed the topic by saying, “Now that you mention this, there’s a question I need to ask you. Where did you get those Mie Meng golden tail feathers from?” If she were aware of them in the first place, she wouldn’t have suffered such a setback.
Yang Kai grinned, “I also have a question for you. Why don’t we trade information?”
Madam Lan sized him up, “What do you want to know?”
In a stealthy manner, Yang Kai uttered in a hushed voice, “What are the uses of the Golden Crow carcass? Why do so many people want it?”
Madam Lan questioned, “Why are you asking this question?”
“I’m curious,” Yang Kai stared fixedly at her.
After giving it a thought, Madam Lan replied, “Since so many people want it, it naturally has its value. It’s difficult to look for a Golden Crow. Throughout the 3,000 Worlds, there are only a small number of them. This kind of ancient beast is born with a Sun and perishes with that Sun, so it is truly an amazing being. Its flesh can be made into pills, and its bones can be used to forge artifacts. Most importantly, the Golden Crow’s True Fire in its body is invaluable. If anyone is able to refine it, they will gain an extremely powerful Fire Element.” This wasn’t secret information, so Yang Kai could find out about it by simply asking around, thus she didn’t hide it from him.
Yang Kai’s gaze brightened when he heard that, “You mean the black flames we saw in the Golden Crow Divine Palace?” He had seen how horrifying the Golden Crow True Fire was. Any Low-Rank cultivator contaminated by it died.
“That’s right.” Madam Lan nodded and sneered, “Brat, I suggest you give up even dreaming about it. Golden Crow’s True Fire is so terrifying that without a strong enough Wood Element to suppress it, you’ll be burned to death by just absorbing a wisp of it.”
Yang Kai appeared grateful for her warning, “Certainly I wouldn’t be reckless.”
“Good. Now tell me where you obtained the golden tail feathers from.”
Yang Kai grinned, “Of course they were gifted to me by Mie Meng. Some time ago, I lent her a hand, and in order to thank me, she gave me three golden tail feathers before leaving.”
Madam Lan didn’t seem to believe him, but she wasn’t willing to dwell on this issue. In an impatient manner, she said, “Enough idle chatter. Have you made up your mind?”
Yang Kai replied, “Stop pressuring me. I won’t know what to choose if you do that. Why don’t you go back to your room first? I’ll keep on thinking it over. When I’ve made a decision, I’ll inform you.”
After he finished speaking, he rose from the chair and walked up to the door. Then, he opened the door as though he was ready to see her off.
Madam Lan was dumbstruck by what he had said; however, as a woman, it was inappropriate for her to insist on staying in a man’s room. Gritting her teeth, she got up and walked out, but as she was passing by Yang Kai, she extended her leg from her dress and landed a kick on his shin before shuffling out of the room.
Yang Kai grimaced in pain as he hugged his leg with both hands and jumped around for a long time. At the same time, he secretly cursed at this woman for being so violent.
A moment later, he closed the door and turned on the barrier. Then, he sat down on the bed with his legs crossed and snuck into the Sealed World Bead.
It was completely serene inside the Sealed World. Upon landing on a flatland, he fished out Six Fated Paths Bag and shook it, upon which the Golden Crow carcass dropped on the ground.
Since he obtained the carcass, Yang Kai had never carefully examined it. Upon learning the uses of the carcass from the Proprietress though, he couldn’t help but feel tempted.
He had never expected that the True Fire within the Golden Crow carcass could be used to condense the Fire Element.
In fact, this was exactly the kind of treasure he had been trying so hard to find. The reason he went to the Sun Star was to hunt for a Seventh-Order Sun’s True Gold. Although he had seen a number of such Sun’s True Golds, they ultimately didn’t end up belonging to him. The carcass he had accidentally snatched, however, had given him a new option.
Madam Lan had warned him against having his eye on the Golden Crow’s True Fire as he wouldn’t be able to suppress this kind of fire without a strong Wood Element. However, that was basically not an issue for him.
Yang Kai had no idea what Order the Wood Element which he had condensed from the essence of Immortal Tree was, but he reckoned that few if any other treasures in the world comparable to it.
The Wood Element within his body was certainly strong enough to suppress the Golden Crow’s True Fire.
Nevertheless, in order to be safe, Yang Kai decided to test it out first, which was why he had snuck into the Small Sealed World; otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to take the risk with so many top cultivators currently staying at First Inn.
That was his initial plan at least, but as soon as the carcass was released, Yang Kai immediately felt the entire Small Sealed World descending into chaos as its World Principles began to warp. The Sealed World seemed to be on the brink of exploding.
Yang Kai was the Master of the Small Sealed World, so he was especially sensitive to the changes it was going through.
It was like a big stone that had been forcefully stuffed into a glass of water, which caused the glass to crack.