Chapter 696, Travel Together
Seeing Yang Kai appear, Cang Yan and the others didn’t waste any time, nodding briefly before immediately setting off.
The four Transcendents all soared up into the sky, flying ahead at a relaxed pace with Yang Kai quickly following behind them.
Sweeping Yang Kai with their Divine Senses, Soaring Heaven Sect’s four Protectors all couldn’t help feeling a bit surprised.
This was because they found that Yang Kai had still not taken off the Primordial Shackles Fei Yu had given to him a few months ago; even at this moment he was still wearing them while burdening himself with several thousand extra kilograms of weight
On top of that, he even seemed to have completely adapted to this situation and showed not the slightest bit of disturbance on his face, as if he was in his natural state.
[This kid’s physical body is really more akin to a monster. He is likely to be even stronger than those of the Demon Race!] All four of them involuntarily thought.
Not long after their departure, Cang Yan suddenly came to a halt and turned his eyes towards a certain spot down below. At the same time, Yang Kai also heard a pair of voices calling out to them from the ground. Looking down, there was a white-haired old man stroking his beard while staring up at them while next to him was a young woman who was waving her arms towards them.
“It’s Old Man Du!” Cang Yan looked surprised and waved, “Let’s go down.”
As he landed on the ground, Yang Kai once again saw the Alchemist Guild’s Old Man Du and Mi Na. After seeing Yang Kai, Mi Na immediately rushed up and started complaining, “You bastard, didn’t you say when you had free time you’d come to Grand Boulder City to see me? Why have I not seen you for so many months now then?”
“Ah… Er, I was a little busy and forgot,” Yang Kai replied awkwardly.
“Really? Or did you perhaps think my Alchemy skills weren’t as good as yours and so you disdained to meet with me?” Mi Na narrowed her eyes, crossed her arms, and asked in an accusatory tone.
“Nothing of the sort!” Yang Kai quickly waved his hand, “I really was just busy with things.”
“You better be telling me the truth. If I find out you’re later that your lying to me, I’ll teach you a lesson you’ll never forget!” Mi Na snorted before saying proudly, “I’ll have you know I’m also a Spirit Grade Low-Rank Alchemist now just like you! So don’t be too proud, if you’re not careful I’ll overtake you before you know it.”
Old Man Du smiled as he watched this scene play out, his eyes flashing suddenly as he gently said, “Mi Na, Little Friend Yang is different from you.”
“What? Different how?” Mi Na asked, somewhat puzzled.
“Little friend Yang must be at least a Spirit Grade Top-Rank Alchemist now, right?” Old Man Du stared at Yang Kai.
Yang Kai scratched his head awkwardly before cupping his fists and replying, “Sorry Old Man Du, I wasn’t completely honest with you back at the Alchemist Guild. Actually, I was a Spirit Grade Top-Rank Alchemist a few months ago.”
The look on Old Man Du’s face changed slightly as he looked at Yang Kai with a bit of shock. Mi Na on the other hand couldn’t help covering her mouth in surprise, an absent minded look appearing on her face as if she had become somewhat dazed.
“So it’s like that,” Old Man Du chuckled and nodded, “It seems this old master underestimated you. Little friend Yang does not need to pay it any mind, you being able to honestly tell this old master now makes me very pleased.”
“How did Old Man Du know that I am now a Spirit Grade Top-Rank Alchemist?” Yang Kai asked.
“Cang Yan and them are traveling with you to Floating Clouds City, yes? Alchemist traveling there now must at least be Spirit Grade Top-Rank,” Old Man Du smiled.
Cang Yan expression changed hearing this, “Is Old Man Du also headed there?”
“Indeed, this old master was actually waiting for you here. The road is long so this old master wanted to find a few bodyguards to accompany him,” Old Man Du said half-jokingly half seriously, “But you can rest assured, this old master going there is not for the upcoming blossoming of the Thousand Year Demon Flower, I just want to take Mi Na out for some life experience to broaden her horizons. This little girl doesn’t know the immensity of Heaven and Earth and thinks her aptitude in Alchemy is first under the sun, I believe this trip outside will benefit her greatly.”
“Old Man Du, I don’t think like that at all,” Mi Na objected in a somewhat wronged tone.
Before she met Yang Kai, Mi Na really did have eyes atop her head. She was quite young but still qualified as a Mysterious Grade Top-Rank Alchemist a few months ago, and Old Man Du and her master Ye Xiong had great expectations for her, cultivating her as the heir to the Grand Boulder City’s Alchemist Guild branch.
However, when she met Yang Kai, Mi Na suffered a hard blow and redoubled her efforts, but now, a few months later, Yang Kai had already become a Spirit Grade Top-Rank Alchemist, yet she had actually dared to brag to him about her small breakthrough.
Thinking about all of this, Mi Na’s pretty face blushed bright red and she couldn’t wait to find a hole to crawl into to avoid the eyes of these people she had just embarrassed herself in front of.
Old Man Du just laughed though, “The Thousand Year Demon Flower is about to bloom, so I believe there will be a lot of powerful Alchemists traveling to Floating Clouds City. This is a rare, once in a millennium event, this old master doesn’t want to miss it. If you don’t mind, how about we travel together?”
“Old Man Du is too polite,” Cang Yan waved his hand, “Since we are all going to Floating Clouds City, we may as well all go together, that way each of us can take care of the others.”
Old Man Du smiled and nodded gently.
After some quick discussions, the four Soaring Heaven Sect Protectors pushed their True Qi, wrapped up Old Man Du and Mi Na, and flew off together with them.
Seeing Mi Na’s somewhat listless appearance, Yang Kai also felt a bit guilty, quickly calling out to her, “Are you alright?”
“No! You’re too much!” Mi Na pursed her lips and shot him a glare.
“I’m too much?” Yang Kai was taken aback by her sharp response.
Mi Na nodded repeatedly before suddenly wearing a stern look and declaring, “But don’t get too full of yourself. As Old Man Du said, as long as I can keep working hard, I’ll catch up to and surpass you one day.”
“Do I look full of myself?” Yang Kai asked helplessly.
“Although you don’t show it on your face, you’re actually quite proud of yourself in your heart.”
Yang Kai stared at her blankly for a moment before shaking his head and sighing, “Your thoughts are quite dark.”
The others in their group of people saw these two juniors noisily arguing with each other and couldn’t help smiling; it seems this long journey wouldn’t be so dull after all.
Soaring Heaven Sect was quite far from their destination, Floating Clouds City; even with Cang Yan and the other’s great strength, they would have to spend at least a month on the road.
And that was only the case if they travelled at full speed.
Fortunately, there was still a lot of time before the Thousand Year Demon Flower was expected to bloom, so Cang Yan and others weren’t flustered.
Alternating flying and resting, Yang Kai finally had an opportunity to experience just how vast and prosperous Tong Xuan Realm was. On this continent, there were countless large and small forces, and every day, many of these forces were destroyed, yet like spring bamboo shoots after the rain, no matter how many were cut down, new ones would spring up to take their place.
Moreover, as they hurried along, their group encountered several other batches of Transcendent Realm masters heading towards Floating Clouds City. These teams of Transcendent Realm masters, without exception, would have an Alchemist amongst them.
Originally, when they met such a group, everyone would become vigilant and hastily avoid one another.
As time passed, and they got closer and closer to Floating Clouds City, the smell of danger in the air grew stronger. Cang Yan, Fei Yu, Li Wan, and Fei Jian were now constantly on alert, always paying attention to the safety of Yang Kai, Old Man Du, and Mi Na.
Twenty days after they set out, Yang Kai’s group witnessed a battle between Transcendent Realm masters.
The two parties were almost equal in terms of number and strength, so the battle was quite intense with dazzling Martial Skills and artifact attacks streaking across the sky.
The result of this battle was not witnessed by Cang Yan and the other as they didn’t have so much free time to intervene in other people’s disputes. The four Protectors simply took Yang Kai, Old Man Du, and Mi Na around the battlefield and avoided getting involved.
After this first battle, Yang Kai and his group witnessed an increasingly frequent number of fights between Transcendent Realm masters until almost every day they would see traces left behind of great battles that had been fought.
According to Cang Yan, these masters who were rushing to Floating Clouds City were already fighting like this to eliminate potential opponents.
Yang Kai’s blood ran cold as he gradually understood just how great the temptation of the Thousand Year Demon Flower was to these Second and Third Order Transcendents.
However, what puzzled Yang Kai was that even though this was a grand event that attracted the attention of Human, Demon, and Monster race powerhouses alike, he had yet to see a single Saint Realm master.
When he asked Cang Yan about this, the latter smiled and said, “Saint Realm masters won’t be interfering in this matter. It is an unwritten rule. The Thousand Year Demon Flower is only useful to Transcendents who are trying to break through to the Saint Realm. Whether they are Human, Demon, or Monster, if one wants the Thousand Year Demon Flower, they can only fight for it with their own ability.”
“That’s only one of the reasons,” Old Man Du suddenly interrupted, “There’s another, more important one.”
“Oh? Please enlighten us,” Cang Yan seemed surprised, obviously he wasn’t aware that there was a deeper reason behind this unwritten rule.
Yang Kai and Mi Na were also eager to hear about this and listened attentively. Such secrets were always very attractive to young people.
“The Thousand Year Demon Flower apparently isn’t native to Tong Xuan Realm,” Old Man Du quickly said.
Fei Yu’s thoughts revolved quick as she called out in amazement, “Is it from the Starry Sky?”
“Good, it is said to be so,” Du Wan nodded lightly, “It is said that a great many years ago, a seed fell from the Starry Sky onto Ascending Heaven Cliff. Afterwards, a plant that no one had ever seen before slowly grew there and after an entire millennium, it blossomed and was inadvertently obtained by a common man, after which the entire world came to know of its magical effect. Once the news spread, it set of a great stir among all three great clans. Saint Realm masters who were rarely seen all travelled to the Thousand Year Demon Flower to help their Third Order Transcendent juniors break through to the Saint Realm. After the second millennium, many Saint Realm masters participated in the contest for the Thousand Year Demon Flower and ultimately a Human Race master emerged victorious and boarded the Ascending Heaven Cliff, but surprisingly, when that master reached the summit, the Thousand Year Demon Flower withered the instant after it blossomed.”
“Why is that?” Everyone in the crowd couldn’t help revealing a puzzled expression.
“Nobody knows why exactly, but since then, there have never been any Saint Realm masters intervening in the battle for the Thousand Year Demon Flower. Once the aura of a Saint appeared, the Thousand Year Demon Flower will not bloom, so those who go to Ascending Heaven Cliff now are basically all Transcendents.”
“Is something so strange really true?” Li Wan muttered.
“The products of the Starry Sky cannot be explained by common sense,” Old Man Du slowly shook his head.
“Old Man Du, has anyone really travelled the Starry Sky?” Cang Yan knit his brow and asked, “Although I’ve heard many stories about the Starry Sky, it’s as if no one can actually confirm what kind of place the Starry Sky really is.”
“This old master isn’t clear either,” Old Man Du smiled faintly, “According to the Demon Race, the Great Demon God, their greatest ancient master, successfully entered the Starry Sky. Even among the Human Race and Monster Race such rumours exist, but whether or not it’s true, no one knows.”
Yang Kai’s eyes flashed but he did not interject.
Although he knew that Great Demon God had not broken through the Starry Sky and was already dead, he knew such things shouldn’t be discussed easily. Between the Human, Demon, and Monster Races there seemed to be a completely irreconcilable hatred where each of them couldn’t wait to exterminate the other two, so obviously no one was willing to admit someone from a different race had succeeded where theirs had not.