Chapter 2472 - Deeper Inside
Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun
Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys
Xiao Bai Yi suddenly snorted coldly, “How dare you harass my Junior Sister in front of me? Do you think I’m deaf… or blind?”
Yang Kai turned his head with a smile, “Xiao Bai, long time no see.”
Xiao Bai Yi’s face darkened, “I told you, my name is Xiao Bai Yi, Xiao! Bai! Yi! Not Xiao Bai!” The vein on his forehead was pulsing, obviously very annoyed by the name Xiao Bai.
After a pause though, he calmed down, “I heard that you are now a temple disciple. Although you are late to enter the Sect, according to the laws of the Martial Dao, whoever is stronger is Senior, regardless of age. If you don’t want to address me by my full name, it’s fine for you to call me Junior Brother Xiao, but I don’t want to hear the words ‘Xiao Bai’ anymore!”
“I see, Junior Brother Xiao Bai!” Yang Kai grinned.
Xiao Bai Yi’s face went white with fury.
Murong Xiao Xiao giggled, “Senior Brother Yang, did you come here to help when you received our message?”
“Message?” Yang Kai frowned and looked at her curiously.
Murong Xiao Xiao asked quizzically, “Senior Brother Yang didn’t see it?”
“How am I supposed to receive any message when I don’t have your Communication Bead or communication artifact…”
Having said that, Yang Kai suddenly thought of something and quickly took it out of his Space Ring.
It was a golden token, the Azure Sun Golden Token that Gao Xue Ting handed to him in Maplewood City. Only Core Disciples of Azure Sun Temple would have this Azure Sun Golden Token.
Ever since Yang Kai received the Azure Sun Golden Token, he had never used it for anything.
He investigated the token with his Divine Sense before understanding what Murong Xiao Xiao meant.
This Azure Sun Golden Token actually had the function of a communication artifact, allowing disciples to send messages to one another. At this moment, Yang Kai saw a message waiting in the token, a request for assistance sent by Murong Xiao Xiao not long ago.
Murong Xiao Xiao observed him, and realizing that it was the first time he heard about this, she pursed her lips in a smile, “Senior Brother Yang should check the Azure Sun Golden Token for information more often in the future, we won’t know when any of our fellow Junior Brothers or Junior Sisters might leave a message.”
“Noted.” Yang Kai nodded and put away the Azure Sun Golden Token.
Although he did not receive the message from Murong Xiao Xiao in time, he did manage to save her and Xiao Bai Yi by accident.
“What about Xia Sheng? Why don’t I see him?” Yang Kai glanced around, asking suspiciously.
Since Xiao Bai Yi and Murong Xiao Xiao were together, it did not make sense that Xia Sheng was not here, but there indeed was no trace of him.
Xiao Bai Yi replied, “Eldest Senior Brother separated from us two months ago. He said he wanted to look for a place to make a breakthrough.”
Yang Kai raised his brows, “Oh? Is Xia Sheng going to break through to the Emperor Realm?”
Murong Xiao Xiao answered with a worried look, “En, Eldest Senior Brother’s cultivation has reached the peak of the Dao Source Realm a long time ago, but he never had the opportunity to break through. Now that he felt his shackles loosening after coming to the Shattered Star Sea, he hurriedly went to prepare.”
“Then why didn’t you follow?” Yang Kai frowned.
Since Xia Sheng wanted to break through to the Emperor Realm, he would need someone guarding him, otherwise he would not be able to resist any kind of outside influence.
“He wouldn’t allow us. We followed him quietly for a few days, but he managed to throw us off with his Golden Cicada Shell Shedding technique,” Xiao Bai Yi sighed.
“Threw you off…” Yang Kai was exasperated, but figured that Xia Sheng could do such a thing based on his character.
From this point of view, it seemed that Xia Sheng was not very confident he could break through to the Emperor Realm! If he really was confident, he would not have left his Junior Brother and Junior Sister behind and snuck off secretly.
It was precisely because of his lack of confidence and the possibility that he would fall under the World Energy Baptism that he did not want Xiao Bai Yi and Murong Xiao Xiao to witness it, lest they become traumatized from the experience.
Xiao Bai Yi and Murong Xiao Xiao were both Third-Order Dao Source Realm cultivators, and if a shadow was left in their hearts because of Xia Sheng’s failure, it was very likely that they would never be able to break through in the future.
If Yang Kai figured this out, Xiao Bai Yi and Murong Xiao Xiao undoubtedly had as well, so both of them looked anxious and uneasy.
Seeing this, Yang Kai consoled them quickly, “Xia Sheng has a firm foundation, so a breakthrough shouldn’t be a big problem to him. I have already met others who have successfully taken that step, so if others can break through, Xia Sheng can too, don’t worry.”
“I hope so,” Xiao Bai Yi knew that there was nothing to be done except to pray for Xia Sheng’s good fortune.
“Senior Brother Yang, are you here to find a place to refine Source Strength?” Murong Xiao Xiao asked.
“En, I just happened to pass by and noticed something strange here, so I came to have a look.”
Murong Xiao Xiao smiled, “This is the famous Source Sea, so you don’t need to go anywhere else to look for Source Strength once you’re here. Senior Brother Yang, stay here and absorb the Source Strength with Senior Brother Xiao. This spot is big enough for two people.”
“What about you?”
The island was not big, just enough to accommodate two people, so if Yang Kai stayed, Murong Xiao Xiao would definitely have no place to sit.
“I will stand guard for you,” Murong Xiao Xiao smiled gently.
“The three of us can take turns. It’s good to have someone to stand guard, to prevent any unexpected attacks,” Xiao Bai Yi added.
Yang Kai pondered for a while before he shook his head, “I’ll have to refuse. This is a rare opportunity, so the two of you should continue to refine and absorb the Source Strength here. I will look for another place. If anybody is stupid enough to cause you trouble, just send me a message and I will rush over as soon as possible.”
Murong Xiao Xiao objected hurriedly, “But there is no other available place, that’s why many people are fighting for territory.”
“No more places?” Yang Kai’s face darkened.
“There is basically no free space left. We had to search for a long time to find this place, and we were targeted by those people before we could even sit down,” Xiao Bai Yi reported, “It will be in vain to look for another spot, unless…”
“Unless what?” Yang Kai looked at him curiously.
Murong Xiao Xiao bit her red lips and mumbled, “Unless Senior Brother Yang has an Emperor Realm cultivation.”
“Why would I need an Emperor Realm cultivation?” Yang Kai showed a puzzled look.
“The depths of the Source Sea are where the strongest Source Strength is located and it is easier to absorb and refine it there. As such, the deeper one goes, the higher the average cultivation of the cultivators there will be. Didn’t you realize that on your way here, all the cultivators in these outskirts don’t have very high cultivation?” Xiao Bai Yi explained.
Yang Kai recalled carefully and realized it was exactly as he said, but he still probed in confusion, “What does this have to do with being in the Emperor Realm?”
“Because several Emperor Realm Masters are occupying a large area in the deepest place, where the Source Strength is strongest. No one except for other Emperor Realm Masters are allowed to approach. Many people accidentally rushed in there and were killed,” Xiao Bai Yi revealed.
“What blatant bullying!” Yang Kai’s expression turned solemn.
Murong Xiao Xiao continued, “Although there are wide spaces to settle down there and the Source Strength is far richer, no one dares to go there. Senior Brother Yang, you must not go there, otherwise, your life will be in danger.”
“I understand,” Yang Kai nodded without explaining too much.
He was not afraid of the newly promoted Emperor Realm Masters in this place. Even Feng Xuan’s Soul Descent had been killed by him, so how could these new Emperors in the Shattered Star Sea threaten him?
“I still want to look for a place, and if I can’t find one…” Yang Kai muttered, grinning with a sinister smile, “I can just take one.”
Murong Xiao Xiao and Xiao Bai Yi were about to object, but when they recalled the strength that Yang Kai showed just now, their worries faded.
Yang Kai’s strength seemed to have surpassed the Dao Source Realm, otherwise, he would not have been able to destroy the long-faced Pointed Star Sect old man with one punch.
“Be careful anyway!” Xiao Bai Yi exhorted, knowing that Yang Kai could not be dissuaded.
“You have to be careful too, remember to send me a message if there is any trouble,” Yang Kai responded, cupping his fists towards the two before turning around and flying towards the deepest part of the Source Sea.
Xiao Bai Yi and Murong Xiao Xiao watched his back, which was moving further and further away in silence. After a long time, Xiao Bai Yi urged her, “We should hurry up and begin, we can’t miss this opportunity.”
Murong Xiao Xiao nodded, and the two sat down cross-legged.
While flying, Yang Kai took out his Azure Sun Golden Token from his Space Ring and kept it on him.
This way, he would be able to immediately receive notifications of messages rather than having to periodically check the token in his Space Ring.
As he flew deeper, the Source Strength gradually thickened.
Yang Kai did not know how far he had flown, only that along the way he saw a lot of Dao Source Realm cultivators sitting cross-legged on vacant islands, refining and absorbing Source Strength.
But after a while, there was no one to be seen anymore. No one was occupying the islands. Instead, there were extremely grotesque looking dead bodies lying on the vacant islands, serving as a warning to the latecomers.
Yang Kai guessed that this should be the work of the Emperor Realm Masters who occupied the best position. Although it was a bloody method, it was extremely effective because the dead bodies all belonged to top Dao Source Realm cultivators from the Star Boundary. Seeing this, any straggler would have to weigh their own abilities before proceeding.
Other cultivators might have turned around and left immediately after witnessing such a sight, but Yang Kai turned a blind eye to it and continued to move forward, without any intention of hiding.
At a certain moment, an Emperor Pressure suddenly surged up from somewhere down below. Although the Emperor Pressure wasn’t very pure, nor very powerful, it was still Emperor Pressure that harmonized with the Heavenly Way. Yang Kai’s body jerked slightly while in flight and his breathing became slightly difficult.
“How dare a Dao Source Realm trash come here! It seems that you don’t know how to write the word ‘death’.” A low voice snarled, and immediately from somewhere on the Source Sea, a huge bloody palm shot towards Yang Kai.
This palm was not only gigantic, but also emitted a strong stench of blood, as if it was formed from the accumulation of fresh blood, making it both nauseating and terrifying.