C.4525
Translator: Silavin & Tia
Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun
Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys
Following that sword strike, an overwhelming sword wave swept out in all directions. Gravel flew everywhere and countless figures emerged from their hiding places, landing in all directions to surround Yang Kai and the others in a tight circle.
There was a loud crash as Li Zheng Qing collapsed to the ground, causing dust to fly everywhere. His vitality was gone. Not only had Yang Kai’s sword strike sliced through his body, but the sharp Sword Qi had also flayed much of his flesh from his bones.
One of the people who revealed themselves turned to look at Li Zheng Qing’s corpse and frowned almost imperceptibly, seeming to be surprised by Yang Kai’s decisive action. This behaviour was completely different from the Yang Kai that he knew.
In Profound Pill Sect, Yang Kai had always presented himself as a genial and polite young man. Aside from his dispute with a Heaven Grade Alchemist called Wei Cheng when he first joined the Sect, he never lost his temper at anybody or even got into an argument. Despite being outstandingly talented and being highly cherished by the Elders of the Elder Council, he had never acted as though he was better than others.
Not only did he get along well with the other Heaven Grade Alchemists, but many of his comrades and Juniors in the Sect had also received his guidance. Thus, he was extremely highly regarded among all those who were below the Spirit Grade Alchemists in Profound Pill Sect.
When their gazes met, Yang Kai narrowed his eyes and spoke in a cold voice, “Vice Hall Master Wu!”
There were a total of three men hiding in the surroundings earlier, and one of them was none other than the Vice Hall Master of the Divine Flame Hall, Wu Zheng Qi! Back when Yang Kai and Wei Cheng had duelled against each other, Wu Zheng Qi had acted as their witness; therefore, there was a slight connection between them.
Over the years, Wu Zheng Qi had interacted with Yang Kai on numerous occasions, especially as the latter revealed an aptitude for the Alchemic Dao that surpassed all others in his Grade. That was because Wu Zheng Qi had intentionally tried to forge a friendship between them, so the relationship between these two could be considered pretty good in recent years.
For that reason, Yang Kai never imagined that he would encounter Wu Zheng Qi here.
Wu Zheng Qi’s expression was rather complicated, but he had already expected this scene when he first received this mission; hence, he said nothing.
Yang Kai turned to look at the other person, his pupils contracting slightly at the sight, “Old Man Qi!”
Wu Zheng Qi was in the Fifth-Step Spirit Realm, so he was not weak, but Yang Kai was not afraid of him. If it really came down to a fight, he might not be able to do anything to Yang Kai either.
However, it was a whole different case with Old Man Qi. This old man was the Blood Warrior of Profound Pill Sect’s Sect Master, Baili Yun Sang. Yang Kai had interacted with this old man on several occasions and even the Elder Token in his possession had been handed to him by the old man.
The old man was in the Ninth-Step Spirit Realm, which was practically the peak of the entire Divine Armament World, so Yang Kai was well aware of how horrifying the old man was.
Yang Kai did not know the third person; nevertheless, it was a given that this man was also in the Spirit Realm since he was standing here.
“So, that’s how it is. Is this all part of the Sect’s plan?” Yang Kai asked, looking at Old Man Qi. He did not know the old man’s full name and had always just addressed him by his surname.
Be that as it may, Yang Kai immediately understood something when he saw these three people. He had been wondering why he was allowed to leave Profound Pill Sect so easily as logically speaking, he shouldered the heavy burden of comprehending the mysteries of the Medicine King Furnace. That made him an extremely special existence in Profound Pill Sect.
Regardless of whether he had a valid and unavoidable reason, Profound Pill Sect would not have allowed him to leave so easily. Even on the off chance that he was allowed to leave, Profound Pill Sect would have dispatched many Masters to protect him, lest something unfortunate occurred.
Contrary to Yang Kai expectations though, Yu Bo Yang had allowed him to leave without any fuss. Now, looking at the current situation, it was obvious that this was all planned by Profound Pill Sect in advance. That was why he was not met with any resistance when he departed.
Many thoughts flickered through Yang Kai’s mind in that moment. He had made substantial contributions to Profound Pill Sect over the years through comprehending the mysteries of the Medicine King Furnace. In doing so, he had turned over various pill recipes and Alchemy Techniques to the Sect. Not to mention, he had displayed an aptitude for the Alchemic Dao that greatly surpassed all others.
[Logically speaking, Profound Pill Sect should value me very much. Why did they suddenly lure me out to Void Spirit Sword Sect and ambush me?] After thinking about it, there was only one explanation that came to mind, the lies he fabricated in the past had been exposed. Profound Pill Sect had learned that he was completely unrelated to that fabricated Master of his. [Does that mean that my fabricated Master has returned to Profound Pill Sect or made contact with them somehow?]
Hua Rong, Yang Huai, and Wan Ying Ying were stunned. They could not understand what was happening in front of them. Besides, Old Man Qi and the others did not act immediately after revealing themselves; therefore, Hua Rong and the others were completely confused and at a loss for what to do.
Old Man Qi looked at Yang Kai calmly and said, “Yang Boy, surrender without a fight. This Old Master does not hold back in a fight. Alchemists are generally weak and feeble. It will be bad if I accidentally hurt you.”
Wu Zheng Qi also persuaded Yang Kai from the side, “Alchemist Yang, it’s better not to resist. The order we received is to bring you back to Sect. Also, the Sect Master specially ordered for us not to endanger your life!”
Yang Kai turned to look at the stone monument carved with the characters ‘Void Spirit Sword Sect’ and asked, “Where are the people of Void Spirit Sword Sect?”
Wu Zheng Qi replied, “Rest assured, the people of Void Spirit Sword Sect have not been harmed. Half a month ago, we transferred them all to Profound Pill City. I’m sure they’ve settled there by now.”
Yang Kai breathed a sigh of relief at those words, “Good.”
At this point, it was obvious that Su Chang Fa being seriously ill was simply Li Zheng Qing’s excuse to lure him back to Void Spirit Sword Sect. When that thought crossed his mind, he frowned, “If the Sect Master wants to capture me, then why did he lure me out here? He could have made his move back at the Sect!”
Wu Zheng Qi shook his head and said, “I don’t know the exact details. We are simply acting according to our orders…” He gave a bitter laugh before he continued, “To be honest, this Wu didn’t even know that the person to be captured was you, Alchemist Yang.”
Turning to look at Old Man Qi, he added, “Perhaps Old Qi might know something.”
Old Man Qi shook his head, “This Old Master does not know either. The Sect Master gave his order, so this Old Master obeyed!” Glancing at the True Void Sword in Yang Kai’s hands, he gave a warning, “Yang Boy, this Old Master knows that there are two Sword Qi attacks sealed within that True Void Sword replica in your hands, but those Sword Qi attacks will not be effective against this Old Master. You can give it a try if you don’t believe me.”
Yang Kai nodded, “You are very strong, Old Qi, so I know well that these two trivial Sword Qi attacks will not be able to do anything to you.”
Old Man Qi replied, “Since you know that, then follow this Old Master back to the Sect. If there is some sort of misunderstanding, you can explain yourself clearly to the Sect Master in person.”
Likewise, Wu Zheng Qi tried to persuade Yang Kai, “Old Qi is right. Alchemist Yang, please follow us back to the Sect!”
Yang Kai took a short breath and narrowed his eyes marginally, “I will definitely return to the Sect, but… not now!”
Old Man Qi’s eyes contracted slightly, “Boy, this Old Master does not wish to harm you, but that does not mean that I won’t…”
Yang Kai raised his hand to interrupt Old Man Qi, “Old Qi, it’s not that I underestimate you; however, there is no one in this world who can stop me if I am determined to leave.”
Old Man Qi’s expression darkened and he seemed to have been angered by those words, “Shameless boasting!”
Ignoring Old Man Qi, Yang Kai turned to look at Hua Rong and Yang Huai instead, “I’m in trouble now. What do the two of you plan to do from now on?”
Hua Rong gritted her teeth, “What else can I do now that I’ve boarded your boat? Why don’t you follow them back? It’s better than being dragged back after getting beaten half to death.”
Yang Huai was never one to speak much. He simply cupped his fist and shouted, “I will serve you until the day I die, Sir!”
Wu Zheng Qi sighed, “Those who come from the Blood Warrior Hall have always been fiercely loyal to the Alchemist that they choose to serve.”
Yang Kai nodded lightly, “Very good!” Then, he turned to look at Old Man Qi and added, “Old man, please pass this message to the Sect Master when you return to the Sect, I will return within ten days and explain everything to him at the time. I ask that the Sect Master treat the people of Void Spirit Sword Sect kindly. They are unrelated to this matter!”
Old Man Qi raised his eyebrows, “Things have already come to this, are you still caught up in your delusions? Attack!”
As soon as the words left his mouth, he reached out to grab Yang Kai. A terrifying Spirit Qi spread out in a fluctuating wave, almost like ripples spreading out across the surface of a pond.
With the hand looming over them, both Hua Rong and Yang Huai were so scared that all the hair on their bodies stood upright. There was a sense of being shrouded by a cage made from the World itself, which gave them the illusion that there was nowhere to run. The might of a Ninth-Step Spirit Realm Master was evident. It was not something that either one of them could even hope to compete with.
In the next moment, however, Old Man Qi’s expression changed drastically. That was because he was caught off-guard by a sudden discovery. When he reached out towards Yang Kai, he found that rather than getting closer, the distance between them actually extended further and further away. The space between them seemed to stretch out strangely, even though Yang Kai was clearly standing right in front of him without moving a muscle.
There was a peculiar force affecting his perception and judgement! He was shocked. In all the years that he spent cultivating, he had never encountered something as peculiar as this. He urged his Spirit Qi fiercely, trying to break free from the influence of that strange power, but unfortunately, his attempts proved to be fruitless.
Yang Kai’s voice sounded in his ears, “I told you. If I want to leave, nobody in this world can stop me! Old man, don’t forget to pass my message to the Sect Master. Also, please tell him that I don’t hold any malice towards Profound Pill Sect!”
The space in front of Yang Kai distorted abnormally, and by the time Old Man Qi’s hand clenched shut, Yang Kai and the others had already inexplicably vanished out of sight.
Similarly, the attacks of Wu Zheng Qi and the other Spirit Realm Master landed on empty space, narrowly missing Old Man Qi.
Old Man Qi’s eyes widened so wide that they were bigger than eggs. He could scarcely believe what he was seeing and turning to look around his surroundings, he shouted, “Where are they!?”
Wu Zheng Qi and the other Spirit Realm Master shook their heads in unison.
Three Spirit Realm Masters had formed a tight encirclement around Yang Kai and his group, but Yang Kai and the others had disappeared right in front of their eyes. What’s more, one of them was also a Ninth-Step Spirit Realm Master! If they had not witnessed what happened themselves, even they wouldn’t have believed it!
“Impossible! Search for them! They must be hiding nearby!” Old Man Qi shouted angrily and hurriedly began searching his surroundings.
A short while later, the three of them gathered together and looked at each other, their expressions extremely ugly.
Yang Kai and the others were gone… They not only vanished without a trace but also left no clues behind.
“Just now… What did he do?” Wu Zheng Qi asked with a gloomy expression. It was his first time encountering such a bizarre phenomenon after so many years of cultivation.
Old Man Qi snapped angrily, “If I knew what kinds of means he used, I would not have allowed him to get away!”
Wu Zheng Qi and the other Spirit Realm Master looked at each other only to see the inexplicable horror in each other’s eyes! What happened just now was simply too bizarre. They could only watch helplessly as four living people vanished from under their very noses! More importantly, if Yang Kai could disappear so suddenly, then he could also appear just as suddenly! Such an ability would be very difficult to fight back against!
