Translator: Silavin Tia
Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun
Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain Dhael Ligerkeys
Yang Kai frowned slightly. Although he did not know anything about the Heartless Dao, the name itself made one uncomfortable.
Qu Hua Shang explained, “Those who cultivate the Heartfelt Dao have to fall in love to enter the Dao while those who cultivate the Heartless Dao have to cut off their affections to enter the Dao. But, both the Heartfelt Dao and the Heartless Dao will eventually end up at the same destination. In the end, we will achieve the Grand Dao and receive recognition as an Open Heaven Realm Master!”
“I still don’t understand how that is related to why you want to cultivate together with me, Senior Sister.”
“Stupid!” She rolled her eyes at him, “I have to cut off my affections in order to create my own Dao. But, I currently have no love to speak of. How am I supposed to cut off my affections and advance into the Open Heaven Realm?”
He understood, “So, you want to fall in love with me and then cut off your affections for me.”
“That’s right!” She readily admitted and looked at him with a pitiful gaze, “Junior Brother, just think of it as doing me a favour!”
Yang Kai didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. [How can there be such strange things in the world? Such a mesmerising woman wants to cultivate together with me, but it turns out that I’m just doing her a favour?]
Be that as it may, it was exactly as she said before. Regardless of which Dao Yin-Yang Cave Heaven disciples cultivated, they first had to fall in love with someone. Those who cultivated the Heartfelt Dao did not need to go through the trouble of cutting off their affections. On the other hand, the Heartless Dao could only be cultivated by those with great perseverance; otherwise, they would experience dissonance in their cultivation if they failed to cut off their emotions. The consequences would be unimaginable.
“Senior Sister, do you love me?” Yang Kai asked.
She considered the question seriously before making a pinching gesture with her fingers, “A little bit? But, it’s not enough. It doesn’t matter. I’m certain that I will fall in love with you once I cultivate together with you, Junior Brother.”
Yang Kai burst out laughing, “Love between a man and woman is not quite as simple as how you put it, Senior Sister.”
She blinked, “Junior Brother, you seem very experienced in this field.”
His face flushed bright red and he quickly changed the topic, “Please don’t mention cultivating together again. I’m sure you will eventually find the right person for you, Senior Sister. It’s just... that person is not me.”
“Fine!” Seeing his firm attitude, she immediately stopped talking about this matter. There were times when it was enough that she had expressed her intentions. It would have the opposite effect if she pressed too hard.
“Junior Brother, are you willing to join Yin-Yang Cave Heaven?” She abruptly changed the topic, “I’ll be honest with you. I actually came to the Blood Monster Cave Heaven with another task from the Master Sect.”
“What task?” Yang Kai asked curiously.
“Find you and ask you to join Yin-Yang Cave Heaven.” She explained, “I’m sure you don’t need me to tell you what kind of situation you’re in right now, Junior Brother. Although you intend to advance into the High-Rank Open Heaven Realm directly, you’ve stepped on too many toes in the process. The Cave-Heavens and Paradises only have two attitudes towards an existence like yours. They either want to take the cautious approach and kill you in advance or they want to win you over into their camp. Yin-Yang Cave Heaven is part of the latter.”
Yang Kai understood that she must have contributed a lot for Yin-Yang Cave Heaven to willingly try to win him over to their side. All of a sudden, what Pei Wen Xuan mentioned in the past echoed in his ears once more.
Pei Wen Xuan had claimed that he was not the only person in the Blood Monster Cave Heaven who wanted Yang Kai dead. It would now seem that many of the Cave-Heaven and Paradise disciples in the Blood Monster Cave Heaven were tracking Yang Kai’s whereabouts in order to kill him.
“Although I believed that you would enter the Blood Monster Cave Heaven, I never imagined that I would encounter you so quickly. It looks like you and I are destined for each other, Junior Brother.” Qu Hua Shang laughed lightly.
Yang Kai asked curiously, “Senior Sister, you mentioned that Yin-Yang Cave Heaven wished for me to join them. If I join Yin-Yang Cave Heaven, will they guarantee that I can advance into the High-Rank Open Heaven Realm?”
If he remembered correctly, the Proprietress had clearly mentioned that the Cave-Heavens and Paradises would not be able to accept somebody like him with peace of mind. That was because they had no way to guarantee his loyalty. Only those cultivators who were nurtured from birth could safely advance into the High-Rank Open Heaven Realm directly. It was just that cultivators like these were incredibly rare throughout the ages; hence, the appearance of anyone who could directly break through to the High-Rank Open Heaven Realm was bound to create a huge uproar in the 3,000 Worlds.
It was not just because the High-Rank materials were difficult to find and refine, it was also because forcefully cultivating them when one’s Dao Seal was not firm enough would only result in death. Even if somebody were to condense High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Powers, they would face great danger when trying to split Heaven and Earth apart inside their body to create a Small Universe.
Many talented cultivators who condensed High-Rank Elements would fail at the last moment and extinguish their souls as a result.
“No.” She shook her head, “If you join Yin-Yang Cave Heaven, you will have to advance into the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm!”
Yang Kai was stunned. He thought that Yin-Yang Cave Heaven would be able to guarantee that he broke through to the High-Rank Open Heaven Realm. Who could have known that their offer came with such a condition? It was just a casual remark in the first place, but what he learned immediately made him lose all interest in Yin-Yang Cave Heaven. The Sixth and Seventh-Order might only be one Order apart, but they were fundamentally different.
Nevertheless, Yang Kai finally understood why Qu Hua Shang was acting so forward and kept making those kinds of requests when he met her again this time. If he cultivated together with her, then he would undoubtedly carry Yin-Yang Cave Heaven’s mark. Not only would she be able to complete the task given to her by the Master Sect, but she would also find a partner to fall in love with. It was killing two birds with one stone.
“Many thanks, Senior Sister, for being so frank with me.”
No matter what her original intentions towards him were, the fact that she could tell him everything without hiding anything indicated that she did not wish to harm him.
“Junior Brother, are you unwilling?” She asked.
His answer was resolute, “I will go forward bravely on the road beneath my feet. I have already seen the path to the High-Rank Open Heaven Realm. Even if it is narrow, muddy, and full of thorns, I will not retreat. My Dao Heart will become clouded if I choose the easier road instead!”
Qu Hua Shang sighed softly, “Junior Brother, you are still a long way from advancing into the Open Heaven Realm. Many people might have taken notice of you, but they have no intention of making a move against you yet. That is because they are people who must consider their own status. They cannot abuse their strength to crush you; otherwise, it will harm their reputation if word gets out. At the moment, they are only using their Juniors to cause trouble for and suppress you. But, if they perceive you as a threat one day, they will neither hold back nor be merciful.”
“Senior Sister, can you tell me why the Cave-Heavens and Paradises are so sensitive to advancing directly into the High-Rank Open Heaven Realm?” Yang Kai asked. He could not understand this point no matter how hard he thought about it. He was simply cultivating his own Dao. It was not as if he was harming other people, so why did he end up in this situation for no apparent reason?
Qu Hua Shang explained, “I don’t know if this is true as it is something I only heard about in rumours. A certain Paradise once recruited a talented and promising disciple like you, Junior Brother. That disciple certainly lived up to expectations and advanced directly into the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm and was granted an important position as a result. Subsequently, the Cave-Heaven exhausted all its resources and spent thousands of years helping him advance into the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm. In the Open Heaven Realm, the First-Order is the weakest while the Ninth-Order is the strongest. Once he reached the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm, there was practically nobody in the 3,000 Worlds who was his equal. Afterward, nobody knew the reason why he suddenly had a drastic change of heart, but he went on to slaughter the entire Paradise in a single day. Not only did everybody from that Paradise lose their lives, but the Paradise itself was destroyed.”
She paused for a moment and highlighted, “Following those events, the Masters of the various Cave-Heavens and Paradises who were allies of the previous Paradise joined together to hunt him down. Unfortunately, the force sent to subdue him was also wiped out. Moreover, it would seem that this incident caused that person to greatly despise the various Cave-Heavens and Paradises. He deliberately went on to wreak havoc for the Cave-Heavens and Paradises. For a time, the entire 3,000 Worlds was plunged into a reign of terror. All 36 Cave-Heavens and 72 Paradises were swept up in this incident. This matter lasted for several hundreds of years. Only then was that person besieged to death. Unfortunately, all the Cave-Heavens and Paradises took severe damage as a result. Having learned from the lessons of the past, the current Cave-Heavens and Paradises tend to pay great attention to those who advance directly into the High-Rank Open Heaven Realm, lest the tragedy repeat itself.”
She carried on, “At present, there exists a Desolate Territory where the space is shattered and the vitality is gone. That is where the final battle took place in the past. It is said that several hundred High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters alone died in that battle! It is impossible to calculate how many Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters and Low-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters died as well. Even though so many years have passed, that Great Territory is still fraught with dangers. The power of all sorts of Divine Abilities remains. No matter how powerful you are, nobody who enters that place has returned alive.”
“The Desolate Territory was a battlefield in the past?” Yang Kai was astonished.
In order to locate the Star Boundary, he once scoured the entire Universe Chart. Needless to say, he had noticed the existence of the ‘Desolate Territory’. He had not given much thought to this matter at the time and only felt curious as to why there was nothing marked within that Desolate Territory. Only now did he learn that the Desolate Territory had such history behind it.
Nevertheless, he couldn’t help looking down on the Cave-Heavens and Paradises that were so sensitive and stressed about something that occurred in the distant past. [Instead of guarding against others, why don’t they strengthen themselves instead?]
“Junior Brother, won’t you reconsider?” Qu Hua Shang glanced at him pitifully, but her expression was filled with anticipation.
He reached out and flicked her on the forehead, “Focus on healing. Stop talking so much.”
She clutched at her forehead and rolled her eyes in frustration.
As time passed, their injuries gradually healed and they were no longer as weak as before.
…
Inside the City Lord’s Mansion, Fan Wu Xin took out the Wooden Token that he obtained from Yang Kai and played with it. He was extremely curious as the pattern on the Wooden Token was very familiar to him. It was none other than the insignia of Abundance City. [But, why does a Wooden Token brought in by an Outer World visitor have Abundance City’s insignia on it? Not to mention, the appearance of this Wooden Token indicates that it is from hundreds or even thousands of years ago.]
Unable to solve this puzzling question, Fan Wu Xin asked several others about this Wooden Token. Unfortunately, nobody knew anything either. [Perhaps, I will only learn the truth once the City Lord comes out of retreat.]
Just as he was about to put the Wooden Token away, he suddenly felt a gust of wind brushing against him. Immediately after that, a beardless middle-aged man with a fair face appeared in front of him.
Fan Wu Xin hurriedly straightened up and cupped his fist, “Elder Tan!”
The person who just arrived was none other than Tan Luo Xing, one of the five Great Elders of the Abundance City. He was very powerful and held great authority.
Like Tan Luo Xing, Fan Wu Xin had also condensed the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Elements; however, the other party was older than him by several thousands of years. If it really came down to a fight, Fan Wu Xin was certain that Tan Luo Xing could take his life within a hundred moves.
“Deacon Fan!” Tan Luo Xing nodded in acknowledgement, “I heard you were asking about the origins of a Wooden Token.”
“Indeed!” Fan Wu Xin nodded.
“Is that it? Can I have a look?” Tan Luo Xing cast his gaze in the direction of Fan Wu Xin’s hands.
“Please have a look, Elder Tan.” Fan Wu Xin immediately handed the Wooden Token over. While Tan Luo Xing was investigating the Wooden Token, Fan Wu Xin briefly recounted the story about how he had captured Yang Kai and Qu Hua Shang.
Tan Luo Xing’s eyes flashed and he narrowed his eyes slightly, “Are they really Outer World visitors?”
“Yes, they are Outer World visitors.” Fan Wu Xin nodded in confirmation, “Elder Tan, do you recognise this Wooden Token? Do you know what it is? Why does it have Abundance City’s insignia?”