Translator: Silavin & Tia
Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun
Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys
In the middle of the wilderness, the stench of blood filled the air. A calf-sized Beast corpse lay in a pool of blood. Meanwhile, seven or eight bony Earth Wolves gnawed away at the flesh of their prey and devoured their food greedily. This was a perfect hunt. Under the command of the Alpha Wolf, this small group of Earth Wolves had finally obtained a chance to fill their stomachs after starving for half a month.
The Alpha Wolf, who was much larger than the other Earth Wolves, had already eaten his fill and at this moment, he was lying lazily by the side and licking his front paw that had been injured earlier. All of a sudden, his ears stood up alertly. His golden eyes were fixed on a certain point in the space in front of it. The area in that direction was twisted and distorted. Furthermore, pitch-black lines abruptly appeared in the area like cracks that had been torn open.
An uneasy feeling rose in the Alpha Wolf’s heart and he slowly got to his feet, baring his fangs and growling in that direction. The other Earth Wolves snapping for food looked over in unison and a series of wolf howls rang out one after another in the next moment.
The pitch-black cracks interweaved with each other, moving faster and faster. Then, a strange force suddenly erupted from within and four figures eerily appeared out of nowhere in the vision of the Earth Wolves.
A huge black hole that emitted the chaotic aura of nothingness appeared behind these four people, but under the effects of the local World Principles, the black hole was quickly sealed shut again.
The golden pupils of the Alpha Wolf contracted sharply, becoming the size of needlepoints. He let out a low howl before he turned and fled. In that moment, his beastly instincts allowed him to sense the threat of death. Thus, the Earth Wolves fled swiftly across the wilderness and vanished out of sight in the blink of an eye.
When Yang Kai and the three others suddenly emerged, only Yang Kai stood there without much of a reaction. The other three, including Hua Rong, were very pale. Covering their mouths with their hands, they ran to the side and bent over to vomit out everything in their stomachs!
Experiencing teleportation for the first time was not a glorious feeling. The feeling of tearing space, then traveling through the chaotic Void, was akin to the sensation of one’s body being broken down into countless tiny pieces and then recombined once more.
Yang Kai had witnessed this scene in front of him many times, so he was unsurprised by it. Hua Rong and the others were not considered weak in the Divine Armament World, but they were not nearly strong enough to withstand the effects of teleportation. If not for his protection, they would have been sliced to pieces by the Void Turbulence.
Turning to look back at the pitch-black cracks that were rapidly sealing together, Yang Kai frowned slightly. The World Principles here were far stronger than he imagined.
Several years had passed since he first arrived in the Divine Armament World, and his cultivation was now in the Ninth-Step Heaven Realm. The power of his Dragon Vein had also been greatly stimulated during this period. Aside from strengthening his Dragon Vein, Yang Kai mainly cultivated the Dao of Space over the past year. He was uncertain whether it was due to the limitation of his cultivation, but his progress in the Dao of Space was very unsatisfactory, and many of his Space Secret Techniques could not be used.
Nevertheless, he was titled Void Great Emperor in the Star Boundary thanks to his accomplishments in the Dao of Space, so he was still capable of displaying its brilliance even though he was in the Divine Armament World. At the very least, escaping from Old Man Qi was not an issue.
What surprised Yang Kai was that Profound Pill Sect had planned the incident involving Void Spirit Sword Sect. First, they lured him back to Void Spirit Sword Sect. Then, they arranged for Old Man Qi and two other Spirit Realm Masters to ambush him…
If his guess was correct, then Profound Pill Sect must have figured out that he had nothing to do with his fabricated Master; otherwise, there was no reason for them to do something like this.
Fortunately, Wu Zheng Qi had mentioned that the people of Void Spirit Sword Sect had been relocated and resettled in Profound Pill City approximately half a month ago without any casualties. That being the case, Yang Kai would need to return to Profound Pill Sect regardless of anything else.
[My cultivation in the Ninth-Step Heaven Realm is a little lacking. Now that I have one year’s worth of accumulation and precipitation, it’s time to advance into the Spirit Realm.]
“Just now…” Hua Rong walked over with a pale complexion, her face practically colourless as she asked, “What happened? Where are Old Man Qi and the others?”
“We shook them off!” Yang Kai responded casually and looked around his surroundings and did not know where they were. Although he could use Space Principles to an extent in this place, he could not control them with precision. That was why he could not guarantee his landing location or distance traveled. Randomly choosing a direction, he beckoned towards the others, “Let’s go. Let’s find somebody to ask for directions.”
Hua Rong remained confused. She could not understand how they managed to shake off the pursuit of three powerful Spirit Realm Masters. Following Yang Kai, she came to stand beside Yang Huai and reached out to poke him in the waist as she asked quietly, “Hey, big guy! Do you know what happened just now?”
Yang Huai’s expression was cold and he said nothing.
She snapped, “I’m talking to you! Are you deaf!?”
He lowered his head to look at her, his expression becoming more and more troubled.
Hua Rong became puzzled and asked, “Why are you looking at me like that?”
“I… need to throw up again!” After saying that, he rushed to the side and retched again.
…..
After walking for less than an hour, the group came across a small village. Hua Rong went ahead to ask for information and it didn’t take long before she returned and pointed in a certain direction, “Heavenly Martial City is in that direction!”
Yang Kai nodded lightly and looked at her, “Can you fly?”
She pointed at her colourless small face, “Do you think I can fly in this state? I barely have the strength to walk right now!”
Yang Kai raised an eyebrow at those words and nodded, “Then, let’s find a place to stay for the night.”
None of them had any objections, so they quickly found a place to set up camp. Yang Huai hunted a roe dear; and after that, the four of them lit a bonfire and roasted something simple to fill their now mostly empty stomachs.
After resting for a night, they finally recovered their strength.
An hour after sunup, Yang Kai and the three others arrived at Heavenly Martial City and landed directly in front of the City Lord’s Mansion.
Many of the guards at the City Lord’s Mansion immediately reacted as though they were facing a formidable enemy. Heavenly Martial City was quite prosperous, and there were many Heaven Realm Masters in the city; even so, Hua Rong’s unconcealed aura clearly indicated that she was a Spirit Realm Master. The guards couldn’t help being fearful of her as a result. How could they dare to act rashly before figuring out the reason for the arrival of Yang Kai and the others?
The City Lord of Heavenly Martial City, Miao Hong, soon received the news and came forward to check out the situation. As soon as he saw Yang Kai, he was stunned, “Alchemist Yang?”
Yang Kai cupped his fist, “City Lord Miao, it’s been a long time!”
“It really is you, Alchemist Yang!” Miao Hong laughed loudly, “What a rare guest!”
Waving his hands widely, he scolded the guards around him, “Disperse! Disperse! How can you all have eyes but fail to see!? He is a Heaven Grade Alchemist from Profound Pill Sect! What do you think you’re doing!?”
When the guards saw this situation, they immediately understood that these people were acquaintances of the City Lord. Thus, they couldn’t help breathing a sigh of relief and scattering back to their posts.
Meanwhile, Miao Hong enthusiastically came forward, “Alchemist Yang, it’s been several years, but your noble bearing remains unchanged!”
“You praise me too much, City Lord Miao.” Yang Kai smiled in greeting, “Please forgive me for coming without invitation.”
Miao Hong smilingly replied, “You are my saviour, Alchemist Yang. I’ve yet to thank you properly for what you did for me back then. This Miao is absolutely thrilled by your arrival. How can I be upset with you? Come! Let’s talk inside.”
It might be that he was grateful for the saving grace he received in the past or that he wanted to strengthen their friendly relations, but regardless, Miao Hong was extremely hospitable. He initially wanted to host a huge banquet to welcome Yang Kai, but to his disappointment, the latter was in no mood for pleasantries and politely declined.
Inside a reception room, Yang Kai sternly said, “I came here because I have something to ask of you, City Lord Miao.”
Upon hearing this, Miao Hong patted his chest loudly, “Please feel free to speak, Alchemist Yang. As long as it is within this Miao’s abilities, this Miao will not refuse!”
“I want to borrow some Red Jades from you, City Lord!” Yang Kai declared.
“No problem. How many do you need, Alchemist Yang?” Miao Hong immediately agreed. His answer was very straightforward.
“How many do you have?” Yang Kai countered with another question.
Miao Hong was flabbergasted by the question, but he quickly realised that the amount Yang Kai needed might be enormous.
Then again, Yang Kai was now a Heaven Grade Alchemist. That was not all; he was an extremely well-known Heaven Grade Alchemist in Profound Pill Sect. He would not be lacking in funds; therefore, he would not borrow money from Miao Hong if it were a small amount.
After pondering for some time, Miao Hong finally answered, “To be honest, this Miao has never taken an inventory of how many Red Jades there are in Heavenly Martial City. I don’t know if I can satisfy your needs, Alchemist Yang. Why don’t we do this instead? Come with me to the treasure vault. All the resources in Heavenly Martial City are stored there!”
Yang Kai did not refuse. He nodded and said, “En.”
Miao Hong gestured politely and walked ahead to lead the way.
Along the way, Yang Kai asked, “Aren’t you going to ask me why I need so many Red Jades, City Lord Miao?”
Miao Hong laughed, “You are famous now, Alchemist Yang. Even this Miao who lives in Heavenly Martial City year-round has heard your name. You’re a walking billboard among the Heaven Grade Alchemists in Profound Pill Sect! Alchemist Yang, you came to borrow from this Miao because you think highly of this Miao. If it is within this Miao’s abilities, I will surely help you to the best of my abilities! As for what you plan to do, that’s your business.”
Yang Kai nodded, “Rest assured, City Lord Miao. For everything that I borrow from you today, I will surely reward you handsomely!”
Miao Hong chuckled, “We’ll talk about the future when the future comes! We’re here!”
Needless to say, the treasure vault of Heavenly Martial City was very heavily defended. There were several layers of guards protecting the place both overtly and covertly along the way. It was just that City Lord Miao Hong himself was leading the way, so these guards did not dare to stop them.
When Miao Hong opened the gates of the treasure vault, a strong wave of Spirit Qi immediately poured out.
Yang Kai stepped inside and immediately saw several small mountains of Red Jades. There were at least 2 or 3 million pieces in this place.
Thinking about it, it was not that strange. Back then, Miao Hong had readily given Yang Kai 200,000 pieces of Red Jades in order to thank him for his help. How could he afford to be so generous if he did not have the backing of immense wealth?
Aside from the Red Jades, there were also tons of Spirit Flowers, exotic herbs, and strange ores. All the wealth accumulated by Heavenly Martial City over the years was currently stored inside this treasure vault.
“Take a look, Alchemist Yang. Is this enough Red Jade?” Miao Hong asked with a smile.
“It’s enough!” Yang Kai nodded, “I will need to enter retreat for a few days. Please make the necessary arrangements, City Lord.”
Miao Hong nodded, “Good. Go ahead and enter retreat in peace, Alchemist Yang. This Miao guarantees that nobody will come and disturb you during this period.”
“Many thanks!” Yang Kai cupped his fist. Immediately after that, he issued some instructions to Hua Rong and Yang Huai.
With a loud rumble, the doors of the treasure vault closed. Hua Rong and Yang Huai stood on both sides of the entrance and even Wan Ying Ying stood nearby, trying her hardest to keep her eyes open and remain vigilant of her surroundings.
