Chapter 1444, Turning Down
The situation here really surprised Yang Kai. He never thought that the Emperor Garden would actually open to the entire Star Field; all along, he had assumed it was only Shadowed Star’s cultivators who would have a chance to enter it.
This accident was nothing less than a calamity to the cultivators from Shadowed Star; after all, the number of competitors had now dramatically increased along with the danger they were facing.
Suddenly thinking of something, Yang Kai hurriedly asked, “Island Master Min, are there Origin King Realm masters here?”
Hearing this question, Min Sha smiled lightly and waved his hand, “Little Friend Yang need not worry about this. There are no Origin Kings here.”
He had the same concerns as Yang Kai before; after all, Azure Tree Star’s World Energy wasn’t too rich, nor were its cultivation resources, so although there was no suppression from its World Principles and Origin Kings could indeed appear, it had been several thousand years since anyone broke through to the Origin King Realm on Azure Tree Star. With his Third-Order Origin Returning Realm cultivation, Min Sha was already a top expert on Azure Tree Star.
This was basically the same as Shadowed Star!
Entering this place with this kind of cultivation, Min Sha had thought he would be able to explore at ease, but when he learned that cultivators from other stars could also enter this place, naturally he feared he would encounter fierce opponents.
However, after some enquiries, Min Sha was overjoyed to learn that, due to some kind of mysterious force inside this place, no Origin Kings could enter it. That is to say, the strongest cultivators currently inside the Emperor Garden were on the same level as he was.
After hearing Min Sha’s explanation, Yang Kai couldn’t help feeling relieved and his expression eased greatly.
Although he had broken through to the Origin Realm now, and was confident he could compete with Third-Order Origin Returning Realm masters, if he was facing an Origin King, he was quite certain he would not be able to fight back. Meeting an Origin King here would lead to dire consequences.
Fortunately, the situation wasn’t that bad…
Yang Kai pondered for a while before suddenly wearing a solemn expression and asking, “Then may I ask, is this place really the Emperor Garden?”
Before Min Sha could answer, the young woman wearing a tight-fitting black combat outfit replied, “Of course this is the Emperor Garden. We all entered here through the Space Array by using an Emperor Jade, if this place wasn’t the Emperor Garden, where would it be?”
She stared towards with an amused look on her face Yang Kai, sizing him up with great interest.
“If this is the Emperor Garden, then why…” Yang Kai frowned.
“Little Friend Yang wants to ask why this place is so different from what he imagined?” Min Sha looked at him with a smile.
Yang Kai nodded lightly.
“In your imagination, as the Great Emperor’s residence, shouldn’t the Emperor Garden be a vast and grand palace?”
“Exactly!”
“En, that’s only natural. There is a palace a hundred thousand kilometres west of here, that should be the real Emperor Garden!” Min Sha said while pointing in a certain direction.
Yang Kai’s eyes lit up.
Min Sha laughed before continuing, “But the Emperor Garden is not only the Great Emperor’s palatial residence, there is actually a vast territory surrounding it. The grassland we are standing on now is part of that territory. Aside from this grassland, there is also a vast swamp, dessert, and ocean in the other three cardinal directions, each of which has its own dangers and opportunities. The cultivators holding Emperor Jades were all sent to random locations inside this place. En, our luck is pretty good actually, the grassland actually has the lowest risk, but it is still not to be underestimated!”
“So that’s how it is!” Yang Kai wore an enlightened expression. If he didn’t find someone to ask about these matters, he really wouldn’t have been able to understand his current situation. In fact, before talking to Min Sha, Yang Kai was still wondering whether this was or was not the Emperor Garden.
“Since the real Emperor Garden is over there, why are Island Master Min and several friends here?” Yang Kai looked around at the five people in amazement, not understanding why they would let go of such an astonishing opportunity to enter the depths of the Emperor Garden in favour of lingering on this grassland.
Min Sha smiled bitterly and replied, “It’s a long story. Suffice it to say that, although the main palace of the Emperor Garden is indeed filled with treasures, there is an equal amount of danger inside. Without even mentioning the ancient barriers, Spirit Arrays, and mechanisms, just the number of powerful masters concentrated inside at this moment is quite terrifying! Originally, this old master’s group numbered ten people, but little friend can see how many of us are left now.”
Listening to his explanation, Yang Kai immediately understood that these five people probably encountered some kind of huge danger inside the Emperor Garden’s main palace and withdrew in fright.
This was not difficult to understand though; after all, everyone only had one life, so although treasures and opportunities were tempting, if one lost their life trying to obtain these benefits, how were they to enjoy them?
It seemed the Emperor Garden was a little different from when Yang Kai last visited it! The degree of danger should also have greatly increased, otherwise, it would not have scared off these five people so easily.
This too was not too surprising though. When Yang Kai came here with Fei Zhi Tu, the Emperor Garden had not truly opened, so many of its defences were likely in an inactive state.
Seeing Yang Kai sink into contemplation, Min Sha didn’t disturb him. After a while though, he smiled heartily and said with enthusiasm, “However, Little Friend Yang should not underestimate this outer perimeter of the Emperor Garden. Whether it is the grassland, swamp, desert, or ocean, each one hides numerous astonishing opportunities.”
“Oh? Why do you say so?” Yang Kai couldn’t help getting excited.
“That palace is truly the residence of the Great Emperor, but Little Friend Yang should understand that the Great Emperor did not live a completely solitary life. There were certainly many people who served him, as well as disciples he cultivated. What cultivation the Great Emperor reached in the past, this old master doesn’t dare to speculate, but even those who served him were surely not weak. Additionally, the Great Emperor’s disciples should not have all lived inside the main palace but instead had their own residences scattered about outside. As such, there are plenty of secluded homes and cave mansions in the Emperor Garden’s surroundings. As long as one can find such a secluded home, heh heh… such a discovery would guarantee that this old master and his friends had not made this trip in vain!” Min Sha said while stroking his long beard, a ruddy glow appearing on his face.
“En, in addition to these hidden secluded homes and cave mansions, there are also many spirit grasses and spirit medicines that have long disappeared from the outside world as well as precious ores and rare Monster Beasts like that Seven Coloured Elk variant. If we could just kill it…” The young woman began speaking but suddenly stopped as she directed an awkward look towards Yang Kai, as if only just remembering that she shouldn’t be mentioning this creature.
Yang Kai simply laughed at this though, not showing any meaning of blame. Not only had he not suffered any loss as a result of that incident, instead he had reaped significant gains, after which he had even obtained a lot of useful information from these five.
Based on this, Yang Kai considered them to be even.
“Has anyone found one of these secluded homes yet?” Yang Kai asked casually.
“Yes!” Min Sha nodded solemnly, a look of envy filling his face, “Just three days ago, someone found a hidden cave mansion somewhere in this grassland and managed to obtain an Origin King Grade artifact and many valuable pills from inside it!”
As he narrated this point, Min Sha’s breathing quickened slightly. The situation on Azure Tree Star was almost the same as that of Shadowed Star, so Origin King Grade artifacts were naturally quite tempting to him.
“Since this news has leaked out, it seems that the person didn’t have a very good end!” Yang Kai’s lips curled upwards slightly.
Min Sha looked at Yang Kai with admiration, “Little Friend Yang understands well, that person was indeed chased down by many people, as for what ultimately happened, this old master isn’t clear, but it’s fairly obvious his fate was quite miserable.”
Yang Kai nodded lightly, not saying anything more.
He had learned what he wanted to learn; knowing that this was indeed the Emperor Garden was enough for Yang Kai. On top of that, he had learned where to find the main palace as well.
Yang Kai wasn’t planning on spending any more time outside. Although he didn’t know when the Emperor Garden would close, there was definitely a time limit, so before then, there were at least two things he needed to do. There were two treasures he had encountered the last time he came to the Emperor Garden, but back then, he had not had enough time or ability to collect them.
Now that his strength had greatly increased, it was only natural for him to try again.
“Little Friend Yang, from the looks of it, you entered this place alone. If you are willing to trust this old master, how about acting together with us? If we find something good, the six of us will each take an equal share. You won’t suffer any kind of loss.” For some unknown reason, Min Sha actually took the initiative to invite Yang Kai to join their group suddenly.
“This Yang will have to politely decline Island Master Min’s kind intentions,” Yang Kai didn’t even consider it before shaking his head and refusing, “Although I am alone now, I did not enter this place alone, I still have companions waiting for me, I have to find them!”
“Is that so…” A regretful look flashed across Min Sha’s face, but he didn’t press the issue any further, just nodding lightly, “In that case, just pretend this old master didn’t say anything.”
“Thank you. All of you take care, this Yang will take his leave.” Yang Kai cupped his fists before his body flickered and he rushed out of the cave, found the appropriate direction, and flew off.
After Yang Kai left, the dark-haired old man inside the cave directed a puzzled look towards Min Sha, “Brother Min, why did you invite that little brat? He’s so weak!”
The others of this group were also confused, not knowing what Min Sha’s true intentions were.
Min Sha simply chuckled and explained, “Although his strength isn’t worth mentioning, him being able to escape from that Seven Coloured Elk variant proves his speed must be quite astonishing. This old master inviting him to join us was because I wanted to use him as a scout, but since the other party refused, there’s no reason to force things.”
The other four inside the cave showed looks of understanding.
“Enough about this matter, we should focus on figuring out how to kill that Seven Coloured Elk variant. If we can kill it, we can sell its heart and Monster Core for an incredible price!” Min Sha’s face became serious.
The others nodded repeatedly before immediately beginning to plan out their next move, completely unaware that the Seven Coloured Elk variant had already been harvested by Yang Kai, its heart and Monster Core now stored inside his Space Ring.
At this moment, Yang Kai was flying in the direction of Emperor Garden’s main palace.
According to Min Sha, the main palace was a hundred thousand kilometres away from this place, which at Yang Kai’s current speed was a two to three days journey. As such, he wasn’t in too much of a rush.
While he looked calm and indifferent on the surface however, his heart and mind were in a state of chaos as he was filled with anticipation!
Most of all though he felt a deep sense of hope.
He hoped to meet Su Yan here!