Translator: Silavin & Jon
Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun
Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys
Yang Kai refined Open Heaven Pills while examining his Small Universe. The eerie gale had caused his Small Universe to descend into chaos.
All of a sudden, he became startled for a moment before he zoomed in on a particular place in his Small Universe. That was the place where the Manifestation of his Towering Evergreen Divine Manifestation was located. It was a gigantic ancient tree.
The area around the gargantuan tree that was covered by the tree crown was totally undamaged. Yang Kai couldn’t see any traces left behind by the gale. It was as though the eerie wind was blocked by something around this area.
Yang Kai frowned and carefully examined other areas in his Small Universe. He could confirm that all other places were damaged by the wind except for this place.
That discovery made his gaze brighten as he thought that his Towering Evergreen might be able to fend off the effects of the wind, which was why this area was completely undamaged. Unfortunately, he didn’t pay attention to this area when the gale was torturing him; otherwise, he could’ve intently observed it.
He could only wait for the wind to strike again before he could test his speculation. If his theory was correct, he would have a way to protect himself in the Shadowless Cave Heaven. At the very least, he didn’t have to worry about his Small Universe being damaged when the wind struck.
After pulling himself together, Yang Kai set off.
He had no idea where Profound Yang Mountain was, but he reckoned that he would find out about it if he came across others. Ma Tian Yuan had said that there were three main great forces in the Shadowless Cave Heaven, and all cultivators belonged to one of them. That was because a cultivator wouldn’t be able to survive if he or she refused to join one of the great forces.
Perhaps everyone had gone into hiding due to the wind just now, because as Yang Kai moved forward, he didn’t bump into anyone.
Half a day later, he finally saw two figures passing by from the corner of his eye. Hurriedly, Yang Kai charged forward and raced after them.
When the two people detected Yang Kai’s presence, they immediately stopped in their tracks and turned around with vigilance, preparing for a fight.
Yang Kai landed on a spot in front of them and sized them up before discovering that both of them were in the Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm. One of them looked rough while the other was tall.
As soon as they sensed Yang Kai’s Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm aura, they put up their guard and the rough-looking man bellowed, “Who are you? Why did you run after us?”
“Don’t panic. I don’t have any ill intentions. I just want to ask for directions.” Yang Kai cupped his fist with a smile.
The two of them traded glances, then the rough-looking man asked with an awkward expression, “Where do you want to go?”
Yang Kai asked, “Where is Profound Yang Mountain?”
The rough-looking man appeared to be in disbelief, “You don’t know where Profound Yang Mountain is?”
The other man seemed cleverer as he figured out something and secretly spoke to his companion. It was only then that the rough-looking man realised something and asked, “Have you just arrived in the Shadowless Cave Heaven, Senior Brother?”
Only newcomers would be clueless about the location of Profound Yang Mountain.
“That’s right.” Yang Kai nodded, “I accidentally fell into this place and heard that there are three great forces. There’s no doubt that Profound Yang Mountain is the strongest, so I’d like to join it, but I don’t know where it’s located. That’s why I want to ask you about it. I’m sorry if I’ve offended you in any way.”
Upon hearing that, the rough-looking man guffawed, “I see I see. I thought you were going to rob us. You’re right. Of the three great forces in the Shadowless Cave Heaven, Profound Yang Mountain is the best. We have Four Great Mountain Lords, all of whom are Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters. The First Mountain Lord is even just one step away from the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm. Unrivalled Guild only has three Sixth-Orders while Twin Spirit Island has two. They’re not even worth comparing to our Profound Yang Mountain.”
Yang Kai’s gaze brightened when he heard that, “Are you two from Profound Yang Mountain?” He had never expected that the first people he bumped into would be from Profound Yang Mountain. After giving it a thought though, he realised that it wasn’t so surprising. There were only three great forces in the Shadowless Cave Heaven. Since he had met the people from Unrivalled Guild, it was expected that he’d also chance upon people from Profound Yang Mountain.
The rough-looking man sported a modest smile, “That’s right.”
An elated Yang Kai said, “What a coincidence. Would it be alright for you to lead me to Profound Yang Mountain? Of course, if it’s not convenient for you, you can just tell me the directions and I’ll go over there myself.”
The rough-looking man exchanged glances with his companion and secretly communicated with him before nodding, “We don’t have any important tasks to attend to anyway. Since Senior Brother is willing to join Profound Yang Mountain, I believe that the Mountain Lords will welcome you. We’ll lead you to the headquarters now.”
A Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master was considered fairly powerful in the Shadowless Cave Heaven, so any great force would welcome him. Moreover, a newcomer would have to hand over a large portion of his resources. When that happened, they would get some rewards for bringing Yang Kai to the Sect.
That was also the reason Ma Tian Yuan wanted to lure Yang Kai to Unrivalled Guild.
“Many thanks.” Yang Kai cupped his fists with gratitude.
The rough-looking man laughed and said, “Don’t mention it, Senior Brother. If you join Profound Yang Mountain, we’ll be one family. Both of us are weak, so you have to take care of us in the future.”
“Good good,” Yang Kai replied with a smile.
Then, they identified the direction and headed straight to Profound Yang Mountain.
As a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, Yang Kai seemed pretty easy-going, so the two men wanted to befriend him. Therefore, they had a pleasant chat on the way to their destination. The two of them were biological brothers whose surname was Wei.
As they spoke, they implicitly asked about Yang Kai’s background. Yang Kai was being frank as he mentioned that he was from Void Land. While treasure hunting in the Shattered Heaven, he accidentally fell into the Shadowless Cave Heaven.
Void Land was a very new great force while these people had lived in the Shadowless Cave Heaven for years, so they knew nothing about the place Yang Kai was from. As such, they were unable to figure out whether Yang Kai was speaking the truth.
However, regardless of one’s background, it was useless in the Shadowless Cave Heaven. There was once a disciple from one of the Cave Heavens who fell into this place and thought himself superior to others, but he ended up in a miserable state. Perhaps he was secretly killed by one of the top cultivators here.
Yang Kai’s aura suggested that he was a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master while the Wei Brothers were only in the Fourth-Order, which was why they were polite to him.
There came a moment when Yang Kai thought that it was the right time to ask about the wind, “By the way, I came across a strange gale in this damned place half a day ago. What was that? Why was I still unable to avoid it even though I dove several thousand metres below ground?”
At the mention of the eerie wind, the Wei Brothers couldn’t help but shudder. The older Brother Wei gazed at him with an awkward expression and asked, “You snuck into the ground in order to avoid the wind, Senior Brother Yang?”
“Yes.”
The Wei Brothers exchanged glances and seemed to take a stroll down memory lane. Then, the older Brother Wei burst into laughter, “That was what we did in the past, but it was totally useless. The wind is unavoidable. Not only can it reach underground, but it also blows into our Small Universes. We suffered immense losses because of that.”
Yang Kai repeatedly nodded, “That was what happened to me. My Small Universe is in a mess now.”
The younger Brother Wei added, “Since you’re a newcomer, it’s expected that you know nothing about it. We call that strange wind Shadowless Astral Wind, but no one knows what it actually is. The wind is able to penetrate essentially any kind of barrier to reach every point in the Shadowless Cave Heaven, only a few special spots are safe from it. You can’t avoid the wind anywhere else.”
The older Brother Wei said, “These places are the Headquarters of the three great forces in the Shadowless Cave Heaven. The location of Profound Yang Mountain is the biggest one. Whenever the Shadowless Astral Wind comes, all of us have to avoid it; otherwise, we suffer big losses.”
Upon that realization, Yang Kai nodded, “It’s no wonder that the person I came across earlier told me that we’re unable to survive in the Shadowless Cave Heaven if we don’t join one of the three great forces.”
The older Brother Wei nodded repeatedly, “True. Without shelter, a person will lose all the heritage in his or her Small Universe due to the wind, and once their Small Universe collapses, they’ll die.”
A worried Yang Kai asked, “Are only the Headquarters of the three great forces safe from the wind in the Shadowless Cave Heaven?” In that case, the Proprietress and the others were probably in a terrible state right now. It had been one year since they fell into the Shadowless Cave Heaven, so they must have experienced the Astral Wind many times, which would certainly have a negative impact on their Small Universes.
The younger Brother Wei shook his head, “Not exactly. There are some smaller places where one can take refuge from the wind, but they can’t accommodate a lot of people.”
The older Brother Wei followed up, “To be honest with you, even the Headquarters of the three great forces are not completely immune to the Shadowless Astral Wind, it’s just that the impact is less severe when we hide inside those places. Even though there are other shelters, none of them are as good as the Headquarters of the three great forces.”
To the side, the younger Brother Wei nodded in agreement.
Yang Kai arched his brow, “It seems that we’re really unable to survive if we don’t join one of the three great forces.”
“That’s right.”
Yang Kai looked away and asked, “Has no one survived over the years while not being in one of the three great forces?”
“There are none. You had a taste of Shadowless Astral Wind earlier, Senior Brother Yang. Even though you’re a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, how many times do you think you can endure it?”
The younger Brother Wei muttered, “En, I remember that there are three people who are outside of the three great forces now. I wonder how they’re doing.”
“Three people?” Yang Kai appeared shocked, “Who are they? Why are they not part of the three great forces?”
The younger Brother Wei took a glance at his older Brother, not knowing whether he should talk about it.
After a moment of hesitation, the older Brother Wei reasoned, “Senior Brother Yang is going to join Profound Yang Mountain, so there’s no reason we can’t tell him.”
It was then the younger Brother Wei continued, “Senior Brother Yang, you said you want to join Profound Yang Mountain, but do you know our rules?”
“Please tell me about them.”
“If you join Profound Yang Mountain, you can stay in the great force when the wind comes to prevent being harmed. However, cultivation resources in the Shadowless Cave Heaven are very scarce, so every newcomer has to hand over 80% of their cultivation resources upon joining.”
“I did hear something like that.” Yang Kai nodded.
It was then the younger Brother Wei breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that other great forces must have attempted to lure Yang Kai to join them, but he had turned them down. It wasn’t until he had a taste of Shadowless Astral Wind that he decided to join Profound Yang Mountain.
