Chapter 1732 - Unexpected Attack

Ten days later, inside the original ruins, there was now a cluster of newly built houses. Because this would be a long-term camp, the disciples of the two great forces had spared no effort in their construction.

These houses were not exquisite in design, but they were extremely practical. Living in them would be just like living in their respective Sects, except for the lacking of World Energy.

However, this was not a big problem. If one really wanted to cultivate, they simply needed to rely on Saint Crystals.

Along the roads of the former ruin, light stones were hung at regular intervals to provide a soft illumination, brightening up the originally dark and dreary space.

Yang Kai had informed Qian Tong and Ye Xi Yun about the locations of the eight mineral lodes he had already found; as for how they were mined, Yang Kai did not need to concern himself. Qian Tong and Ye Xi Yun would take charge of everything.

If they needed more manpower, they could always bring people over from Shadowed Star at any time; Yang Kai had arranged everything for them.

Not only that, once everything in the camp was in order and the disciples began mining operations, Yang Kai went out alone, and within a ten-million-kilometre radius, he arranged several Space Arrays!

Over the next several dozen years, these Space Arrays arranged by Yang Kai would allow the cultivators from Shadowed Star to move about easily within this range.

One month later, Yang Kai was ready to leave.

After all, his original intention was to open up a connection between Shadowed Star and the outside world; finding this Ore Star was just an inadvertent harvest.

Now that things were settled on this Ore Star, there was not any reason for Yang Kai to delay his trip further.

Standing amidst the ruins, Yang Kai summoned Xiao Xiao back!

Since arriving on this Ore Star, Yang Kai had never taken Xiao Xiao back, because this place was a paradise for him. By devouring all kinds of rare ores, Xiao Xiao could strengthen himself, and if there was enough of a particular type of ore, Xiao Xiao might even be able to acquire new abilities related to their properties.

His lava armour was a perfect example!

This was an ability Xiao Xiao gained after refining some of the Sun’s True Fire.

As soon he donned his lava armour, no one could approach to within ten metres of Xiao Xiao, as the heat he gave off was enough to force even Origin Realm masters back.

In any case, the resources on this Ore Star were extremely abundant, so no matter how much Xiao Xiao swallowed, the overall amount would not decrease. As such, Yang Kai had left Xiao Xiao to his own devices.

However, when he tried summoning Xiao Xiao, Yang Kai discovered that Xiao Xiao had dug extremely deep into the star, apparently having found something good.

Perceiving Yang Kai’s call, Xiao Xiao began tunnelling his way back up from below.

An hour later, Xiao Xiao appeared in front of Yang Kai.

But with just a glance, Yang Kai could not help becoming worried.

Because Xiao Xiao’s current state seemed somewhat improper.

Xiao Xiao had always appeared a bit gruff and silly because his sentience simply was not very high, a trait that was reflected by his somewhat dull outward appearance. However, at this moment, he appeared even dimmer than before, with the intelligent glint in his eyes now severely diminished.

When he walked about, Xiao Xiao staggered and swayed, as if he was drunk.

Yang Kai was taken aback and instinctually thought that Xiao Xiao had swallowed something he should not have, causing some kind of accident. But after performing a thorough check, Yang Kai was surprised to find that nothing was wrong with Xiao Xiao. In fact, his physical condition had never been better.

Additionally… Yang Kai sensed a strange, mysterious power coming from Xiao Xiao’s body.

This kind of power was familiar to Yang Kai as it was like the World Principles he felt as he refined the Star Source of Shadowed Star to become its Star Master.

“World Principles?” Yang Kai’s complexion changed drastically as he quickly began investigating more carefully.

After a long, silent probe, Yang Kai took back his Divine Sense and knitted his brow.

He did not feel anything was wrong with Xiao Xiao, but it was also undeniable that he now gave off a trace of World Principles from his body. This fluctuation was quite faint, though, countless times weaker when compared to Shadowed Star’s.

However, World Principles were still World Principles, a concept that even Origin Kings were unable to touch!

The question was now, how could Xiao Xiao suddenly begin giving off traces of Heavenly Law?

After recalling all his previous experiences in search of an answer, Yang Kai’s eyes lit up as a bold guess emerged in his heart, “Did you swallow and refine the Star Source of this Dead Star? Did this Dead Star actually have a Star Source to begin with?”

Xiao Xiao raised his dim eyes and looked at Yang Kai with a blank expression for a while before raising his foot and began stumbling about before tripping over himself and falling to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.

Yang Kai didn’t know whether to laugh or cry as he realized that Xiao Xiao wasn’t in any danger, but was simply unable to completely digest the power of the Dead Star’s Source, causing his control over his own strength to become unstable. Realizing this, Yang Kai simply took Xiao Xiao back into the Sealed World Bead.

However, this entire situation was quite a surprise to Yang Kai.

That this Dead Star still had its own Star Source was a shocking discovery.

It should be impossible for a Dead Star to possess a Star Source because, without World Energy, there simply could not be World Principles, naturally meaning there was no way for a Star Source to be born. This was the same concept as a person dying and their body rotting, their essence disappearing leaving behind only withered bones.

However, there were always exceptions to the rules.

According to Yang Kai’s own previous speculations, this Dead Star was originally an extremely vibrant Cultivation Star that had for some reason died throughout thousands, if not millions of years. As such, some of its original Source could have remained.

Xiao Xiao had obviously dug deep underground and found the remains of this Star Source and swallowed it.

This was a great blessing. If it was the Star Source of a true Cultivation Star, Xiao Xiao would never have been able to refine it.

This kind of refining was completely different from the refining Yang Kai performed to become a Star Master. Star Master and Cultivation Star were closely linked, sharing honour and disgrace. After Yang Kai became a Star Master though, Shadowed Star’s Star Source still existed, there was now just a mysterious connection between them that allowed Yang Kai to use many conveniences on Shadowed Star that others could not.

Xiao Xiao, on the other hand, had directly swallowed and absorbed this place’s Star Source, meaning it was gone forever and would not be completely converted into Xiao Xiao’s strength.

Various thoughts flashed through Yang Kai’s head, making him more and more certain his guess was correct.

Since Xiao Xiao was fine though, Yang Kai was no longer as worried about this. After talking to Qian Tong and Ye Xi Yun, he departed from the Ore Star and continued his journey.

Traversing the Star Field was desolate and lonely, especially in this region where there were no Cultivation Stars at all.

Through his Star Chart, Yang Kai confirmed that the nearest Cultivation Star was at least a year away.

Not becoming irritable or impatient, Yang Kai would sometimes travel under his own strength, while at other times he would land on an asteroid and cultivate while allowing it to carry him forward.

Sometimes, he would land on Dead Stars he came across to search for gains.

However, Dead Stars were Dead Stars in the end, and despite searching a number of them, Yang Kai didn’t have much of a harvest. It could be said that his discovery of that Ore Star was simply a stroke of luck.

Such an accident was not going to happen a second time.

That being said, Yang Kai arranged another Cross-Cultivation Star Space Array on a certain Dead Star he passed by, connecting it with the previous one.

During this period, Xiao Xiao had been asleep inside the Sealed World Bead, not moving at all. However, Yang Kai was aware that Xiao Xiao was now slowly releasing a thick, impurity-like casing from his body, forming a kind of stone cocoon around himself.

This was quite similar to his original state as a stone embryo.

[Could Stone Puppets evolve?] While Yang Kai was suspicious, he was also looking forward to it, wondering what kind of changes Xiao Xiao would experience after he emerged from the cocoon.

After many days of cultivating, Yang Kai also faintly noticed a kind of barrier blocking his path forward.

This was the barrier which separated him from the Origin King Realm! Only by breaking through these shackles could Yang Kai reach the Origin King Realm.

At this time, if he could find a Cultivation Star and enter retreat for a year, or even half a year, Yang Kai was confident he could make a breakthrough attempt.

One day, Yang Kai was performing a check on Xiao Xiao’s condition.

Because Xiao Xiao had not moved at all for the past year or so, Yang Kai would check in on him occasionally. This time, however, some faint fluctuations were coming from the cocoon, a clear sign Xiao Xiao was about to emerge from it.

Joyful, Yang Kai immediately looked for a place to stay for a while to wait for Xiao Xiao to complete his evolution.

After scanning his surroundings, Yang Kai rushed straight towards a nearby Asteroid Sea.

This Asteroid Sea was quietly suspended in the void, with no signs of movement at all within or around it, the perfect place to enter retreat for a while.

However, when Yang Kai approached the Asteroid Sea, he suddenly frowned.

He noticed that several auras were trying to conceal themselves in this Asteroid Sea. Although these people were doing their best to remain hidden, it was obvious each one was a powerful Origin Realm master.

It was only because Yang Kai’s Divine Sense was much more powerful than average that he could notice this group.

These people sneakily hiding here were obviously plotting something nefarious.

Yang Kai felt his luck was quite bad, as he did not want to be caught up in this kind of turbid water, so he quickly turned around and left.

However, his figure had only moved slightly when a brilliant glimmer flashed in the distance, transforming into a beam of light which shot out from behind one of the asteroids.

A terrifying power radiated from this streak of light as it rapidly closed the several-dozen-kilometre distance between Yang Kai and the asteroid, causing him to feel a slight tightness on his skin.

“An Origin King!” Yang Kai’s face sank when he realized there was an Origin King Realm master hidden in this Asteroid Sea! Even he had not noticed the presence of such a powerful master until just now.

Although with his current strength, Yang Kai was already invincible under the Origin King Realm, facing an Origin King still put a great deal of pressure onto him.

Origin Kings and Origin Realm masters were completely different existences, and there was a vast gap between them, which was why so many remained stuck at the Third-Order Origin Returning Realm their entire life, never able to spy on the mysteries of the Origin King realm.

This hidden master suddenly making a move obviously indicated they intended to kill Yang Kai with a single blow.

However, the master who took action greatly underestimated Yang Kai’s strength. Faced with such a terrifying blow, Yang Kai let out a long roar, stretched out his hand, and weaved together hundreds of his Golden Blood Threads to condense a great golden shield to protect himself!