Chapter 3641: Zhou Quan
The more than ten teams that consisted of several hundred people had gathered in this nameless valley outside the Four Seasons Realm. They had hidden everywhere in this valley and it wasn’t certain what they were up to.
The cultivation of the more than ten Emperor Realm Masters ranged from First-Order to Third-Order. If Yang Kai hadn’t gone to the Demon Realm in the past, he would have to be more cautious so that his whereabouts wouldn’t be exposed, but now, his Soul cultivation had strengthened dramatically, to the point that no Pseudo-Great Emperor or Half Saint could compare. If he wanted to hide his aura, those in the valley wouldn’t be able to notice him.
There was nothing special about these people except for the fact that they were all from Demon Heavenly Dao.
With a frown, Yang Kai investigated the surroundings and decided to observe them before making a move. This matter was serious as it had something to do with the Four Seasons Realm. If he took action now, with the help of Bai Zhuo and Bai Ya, Yang Kai was confident he could defeat the force here with ease, but it wouldn’t be easy to find out their intentions for coming here. After all, the Emperor Realm Master, who had been thrown into the Small Sealed World earlier, didn’t even know the reason why he was told to come here, so these Emperor Realm Masters in the valley might not have any idea either.
These people were probably summoned to this place; in which case, someone must have given them the order to gather here.
This person must hold an important position in Demon Heavenly Dao and was most likely a Pseudo-Great Emperor. It wasn’t difficult to decide that he should catch the big fish rather than kill these insignificant shrimp.
For the following ten days, Yang Kai remained hidden outside the Four Seasons Realm as he observed these people from Demon Heavenly Dao. He had thought about sneaking into one of the teams, but all of them seemed to know each other so he refrained.
In the morning, these people were extremely quiet as they cultivated and meditated in their respective locations; however, they started becoming busy at night.
After observing them for over ten days, Yang Kai realised that they were arranging some kind of Grand Spirit Array that could encompa.s.s the entire entrance of the Four Seasons Realm in this nameless valley.
Naturally, not everyone could arrange a Spirit Array. Nevertheless, there was a skilful Array Master among these people, and under his guidance, an array slowly took shape.
Yang Kai memorised all the key points of the Spirit Array as it was being arranged and engraved them into a jade slip. In the morning, he would send the jade slip back to High Heaven Palace through a s.p.a.ce Beacon to ask Nanmen Da Jun about it.
However, the arranging of the Spirit Array in this valley was slow and gradual, and the information Yang Kai had gathered was incomplete; therefore, despite the fact that Nanmen Da Jun was an Emperor Array Master, it was still difficult for him to guess its purpose right away.
A few days later, Nanmen Da Jun sent a message to inform Yang Kai that it was likely a Summoning Array, but it had been modified in some way. Since the array was incomplete, he couldn’t tell what these people from Demon Heavenly Dao were trying to summon; thus, Nanmen Da Jun requested to come over from High Heaven Palace to have a closer look.
He was keen to learn everything about Spirit Arrays, but Yang Kai directly rejected him.
Nanmen Da Jun was only a First-Order Emperor, so he wouldn’t be able to hide his aura if he came here. Even if Yang Kai tried to hide him, his whereabouts might still be exposed.
Nanmen Da Jun felt helpless at the fact that his request had been rejected, so he could only warn Yang Kai by saying, “Regardless of how powerful that array is, that is a Summoning Array, so Palace Master must be on guard in case they try to summon some kind of ferocious, uncontrollable beast.”
Yang Kai replied, “En.”
Nanmen Da Jun wasn’t aware that there were three Half-Saints inside Yang Kai’s Sealed World Bead, so even if Demon Heavenly Dao was really going to summon some kind of ferocious beast, it wasn’t certain who would be the one to die in the end. Yang Kai doubted that the thing they were going to summon could be more powerful than the combined force of three Half-Saints.
Noticing Yang Kai’s perfunctory tone, Nanmen Da Jun said solemnly, “Palace Master, please carefully observe them for the following days. I suspect that a key item is missing from that array. If you discover anything, please inform me immediately.”
Yang Kai wasn’t sure what the missing key was, but since Nanmen Da Jun had made such a judgement, he must have a valid reason. Hence, Yang Kai could only redouble his observation efforts.
A few days later, the array was seemingly almost completed. The bases of the array were hidden beneath the valley, so everything appeared normal on the surface, though the entire valley seemed to be engulfed in a strange aura now that could make anyone feel depressed.
Just then, Yang Kai received a message from the Embodiment, who was in the Small Sealed World. Noticing that, Yang Kai was elated. As he observed the changes in the array, he used his Divine Sense to send a projection into the Small Sealed World.
Seeing Yang Kai, Bai Ya and Bai Zhuo cupped their fists, “Brother Yang.”
Yang Kai looked down at a middle-aged man who was sitting cross-legged on the ground, then he arched his brow, “Did you manage to extricate him?”
This middle-aged man was the Emperor Realm Master who had been captured some time ago. Recently, Bai Zhuo had been trying to come up with a way to break the Secret Technique the Blood Demons had used on those from Demon Heavenly Dao. It wasn’t until this day that he finally achieved success.
Presently, the middle-aged man was pale, and his aura was unstable. It seemed that he was still very weak.
Hearing Yang Kai’s voice though, this man quickly opened his eyes and struggled to get up. With a smile, Yang Kai gently clapped his shoulder to motion for him to sit properly. This man really seemed to have no energy left, so he could only cup his fists at Yang Kai while he sat on the ground, “Palace Master Yang, many thanks for saving this pitiful one’s life.”
“He’s become clear-headed?” Yang Kai raised his brow.
Bai Zhuo turned his palm over and revealed a drop of blood, which was squirming like it was a living creature; however, the drop of blood was filled with Demon Essence and a sense of ferocity. Obviously it was Demon Blood. Bai Zhuo said, “This is the culprit.”
Yang Kai took a look at the drop of Demon Blood and frowned, “What do you mean?”
Bai Zhuo explained, “A Blood Demon planted his own Blood Essence in this fellow, and that blood then circulated through all his veins. It’s not usually visible, but the Demon Essence would be ignited when he entered battle; therefore, in order to save him, I had to completely extract the drop of Blood Essence out of him, which was a difficult feat to pull off. Fortunately, it seems he didn’t willingly join Demon Heavenly Dao, so he subconsciously resisted this drop of Demon Blood and that’s why I was able to cure him. Despite this, before treating him, I knew that there’s only a fifty-fifty chance that he could survive.”
Upon hearing that, Yang Kai knitted his eyebrows together, “You mean, even if we catch more people from Demon Heavenly Dao in the future, it’s not guaranteed that they can be saved?”
Bai Zhuo shook his head, “I’m not capable enough to do so.”
He was a Half-Saint, but even he said that he wasn’t capable enough to handle this, and it wasn’t like they could look for Xue Li to help them. At the thought of this, Yang Kai heaved a sigh. Nevertheless, they had saved a person, which could serve as a bit of a consolation. Then, he turned to look at Du Juan, who was still unconscious, “How about her? Can she be saved?”
Bai Zhuo wouldn’t dare to make any promises so he simply said, “I’ll try my best.”
Yang Kai knew that there was nothing else he could do, so he turned to look at the middle-aged Emperor and asked, “What’s your name?”
The man lethargically replied, “Zhou Quan.”
After a talk, Yang Kai learned that Zhou Quan was an Elder in a medium-sized Sect in the Western Territory. When the war in the Western Territory broke out, he fell into the hands of the Demons because he tried to help his disciples escape. He thought that he was doomed, but unexpectedly, the Demons had only imprisoned him. Sometime later, a Master from the Demon Race brought him to a secret room and used some kind of Evil Secret Technique on him, after which he became a member of Demon Heavenly Dao.
That was why Bai Zhuo said that Zhou Quan hadn’t willingly joined Demon Heavenly Dao, he simply fell into the hands of the Demons because he wanted to save his disciples.
According to him, many cultivators who had been captured by Demons would be implanted with Blood Demon Blood Essence, which turned them into members of Demon Heavenly Dao. A large number of them couldn’t bear the Demon’s Blood Essence though and died directly.
Those who survived would become loyal to the Demons, as though they had transformed into entirely different people.
Now that the Blood Essence had been removed from Zhou Quan’s body, he became clear-headed again. Looking back, he couldn’t believe that he had worked under the Demons.
Despite the fact that he was weak, his eyes still turned bloodshot and he gnashed his teeth together as he spoke about it.
A smiling Yang Kai said, “There’s a chance for you to get your revenge. Do you dare to come with me?”
Zhou Quan immediately replied loudly, “Why wouldn’t I dare to? As long as I can kill those wretched Demons, this Zhou doesn’t mind losing his life! I was supposed to have pa.s.sed away a few years ago anyway!”
“You won’t die. I just need you to bring me into the core of Demon Heavenly Dao.” Yang Kai put on a smile.
He had intended to infiltrate Demon Heavenly Dao, but he couldn’t find a way in. Now that Zhou Quan had been saved by Bai Zhuo, the chance presented itself.
Zhou Quan was an intelligent person, so his gaze brightened when he heard that, “Palace Master Yang, are you talking about the Four Seasons Realm?”
“That’s right. I’m just outside the Four Seasons Realm right now. To be honest with you, many people from Demon Heavenly Dao have gathered there.”
Zhou Quan nodded, “Good. I’ll go with you.”
“Good, rest for now though. I’ll summon you out of this place when the time is right.” Yang Kai turned his palm around and pa.s.sed him a jade bottle, which contained some pills that could help him restore his strength.
Zhou Quan took it and thanked him before swallowing the pills and meditating.
The people in the valley were still very busy as the Array Master kept walking around and giving instructions to everyone. It seemed the array would be completed within a day or two.
At the break of dawn, they dispersed and returned to their respective hiding places.
At the same time, a thousand kilometres away from the Four Seasons Realm, Yang Kai revealed his figure and waved his hand, after which Zhou Quan appeared beside him.
“Palace Master Yang!” Zhou Quan cupped his fists. He had had a proper night’s rest, and although his face was still pale, he was already in a better state than he was on the previous night. At the very least, he could walk around with ease and protect himself.
Yang Kai briefly told him what had been going on near the Four Seasons Realm, then he said, “You’ll take the main role and I’ll follow you. There’s nothing else you need to do besides getting their acknowledgement and making them accept us.”
Zhou Quan replied, “That will be simple, Palace Master Yang. Just be ready when I signal you.”
“Good. Let’s go,” Yang Kai put on a smile.
Zhou Quan then led the way while Yang Kai followed from a short distance behind. At the same time, he put on some clothes that had been prepared beforehand to cover himself fully. He had no other choice because he was too famous in the Star Boundary. If he came across anyone who recognised him, his ident.i.ty would be exposed.