Chapter 2014, Return Translator: Silavin & PewPewLaserGun Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys The woman was no ordinary Origin King either and she was on the verge of a breakthrough right now, so the power of her attack was extraordinary, not something an average Origin King should be able to resist. Yet Yang Kai had managed to resist it without any difficulty, even taking advantage of the brief confrontation to boost his fleeing speed, so the woman was able to faintly understand his real strength. “Does this tiny Maplewood City actually have such a genius?” The woman frowned, expressing surprise. But soon, she set this matter aside because the World Energy baptism which accompanied her breakthrough to the Dao Source Realm was about to fall and she could not afford to be distracted. Not long after, from the sky above, a massive amount of energy fell down like lightning towards the spot where she was sitting. ... Yang Kai flew a hundred kilometres before slowly coming to a stop. He did not know who this woman was, or how she had managed to enter the third layer, but since he had robbed so many benefits from her, it was better for him to withdraw first. The other party was also at a critical point in their breakthrough, so it would obviously be impossible for her to chase after him, allowing Yang Kai to relax. From the distance behind him, Yang Kai heard the sound of booming thunder, and looking back, he could still see the swirling black clouds filling the sky, which signified that the woman he encountered was already receiving her World Energy baptism. Once she succeeded, she would break through to the Dao Source Realm. And judging from the woman’s previous state, it was obvious that she had been preparing for this moment for a long time, so her chances of success were likely quite high. Thinking so, Yang Kai stepped forward again and flew away from this place. Over the next few days, Yang Kai’s harvest was quite good. He also encountered some dangers. At one point, he found himself being pursued by a Monster Beast at the peak of Eleventh-Order. A peak Eleventh-Order Monster Beast was equivalent in strength to a Third-Order Dao Source Realm cultivator, not an opponent Yang Kai could handle with his current strength. If it had not been for his Monster Insect Queen and Blue Flame Thunder Wolf, as well as comprehension of the Dao of Space, Yang Kai would likely have been in much greater peril. After spending some time throwing off his pursuer, Yang Kai found a place to rest and recover, but after just half a day, he suddenly felt the surrounding space tighten, a vague force coming from the surrounding world seemingly constricting and immobilizing him. Yang Kai’s face changed drastically, but before he could even attempt to resist, a mysterious circular array suddenly appeared below his feet. This array spun rapidly and produced an irresistible suction force, holding Yang Kai in place for a moment before sucking him in. A familiar feeling of weightlessness came over Yang Kai and allowed him to relax. Because he understood that this sensation meant the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda was closing and all the living cultivators inside were being teleported out. Realizing this, Yang Kai stopped resisting and simply allowed the array to do its work. Sure enough, when Yang Kai’s vision was restored, he was already back in the square of the City Lord’s Mansion. A dense crowd surrounded him, standing shoulder to shoulder, all of them with somewhat dizzy or disoriented looks on their faces, a result of the long-distance teleportation. To avoid appearing suspicious, Yang Kai pretended to feel some discomfort as well as he slowly shook his head. Noise came from all around as the cultivators of Maplewood City who entered the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda this time began to mull about. Some had obtained great opportunities while others came back empty-handed, so there was naturally much discussion to be had. Now that everything was over, the scene was a big mix of joy and sorrow. While tens of thousands of Maplewood City cultivators entered the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda, only about half returned while the rest were buried inside. It could be seen from this alone that although the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda had many benefits and opportunities, it was also extremely dangerous. The Emperor Realm masters who had been sitting on the high platform when the pagoda opened looked as if they had not moved at all, with Xiao Yu Yang who sat in the centre position sweeping his eyes around and quickly fixing on a graceful-looking woman with a blue gauze veil. The woman’s eyes met with Xiao Yu Yang’s and she nodded lightly, allowing Xiao Yu Yang to let out a hearty laugh, appearing to be incredibly happy. “Senior Xiao seems to be in a good mood,” Chen Wen Hao, sitting on the right-hand side of Xiao Yu Yang, gave him a suspicious look. Xiao Yu Yang smiled, “And if so, does Brother Chen have some objection?” “I would not dare,” Chen Wen Hao’s face twitched as he quickly backed down. Although he was a master from Heavenly Martial Holy Land and had a powerful First-Order Emperor Realm cultivation, Xiao Yu Yang was a Silver Star Envoy of Star Soul Palace and had an even stronger cultivation, so in front of Xiao Yu Yang, how could Chen Wen Hao dare act presumptuously? “However, it is surprising that there are so many cultivators from this small Maplewood City who managed to come out of the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda alive,” Feng Ming of Orthodoxy Temple glanced back and forth across the crowd, as if trying to find some good seedlings, mentioning to the side, “City Lord Duan must be quite pleased his Maplewood City is so full of talents. Although the loss this time was not small, those who survived will definitely be able to support Maplewood City in the future.” “Sir is too polite, this is all thanks to the blessing of Seniors!” Maplewood City’s Lord Duan Yuan Shan smiled from ear to ear, his tone very humble. As Feng Ming said, although many Maplewood City cultivators lost their lives inside the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda this time, the ones who came back would no doubt have bright futures and would be able to enhance the city’s strength by several levels if given enough time to mature. Looking out into the crowd, Duan Yuan Shan saw his son Duan Tian Ci and noticed the bright smile on his face. Obviously, his son had gained much so how could Duan Yuan Shan not be happy? At that moment though, Duan Yuan Shan frowned as he suddenly took out a communication artifact from his sleeve and poured his Divine Sense into it, his expression changing drastically in the next moment. Quickly turning his eyes towards Duan Tian Ci in the crowd, he saw his son nod solemnly to him. At that moment, several other messages were passed out to the various communication artifacts of the Patriarchs of the major families in Maplewood City, all of them saying the same thing. “City Lord Duan, is something wrong?” Feng Ming looked at Duan Yuan Shan suspiciously and asked. “Seniors, something has indeed gone seriously wrong,” Duan Yuan Shan heard this and hurriedly stepped forward and bowed. Feng Ming smiled, “City Lord Duan need not be so worried, with the few of us here, how could anything be too serious?” It was not surprising he spoke with such confidence; after all, there were five Emperors present, one of them Second-Order. As long as it was not on the level of one of the Ten Great Emperors coming to lay waste to the city, they could handle practically anything. Duan Yuan Shan wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and explained, “It is like this, my Maplewood City cultivators broke a seal at the second layer of the pagoda and released an ancient Wood Spirit from inside!” “What?” Feng Ming heard this, and his face changed abruptly, standing up as he questioned, “Are you serious?” “It is absolutely true, this Duan has just received reports from all the Patriarchs of the big families in Maplewood City.” “A Wood Spirit... there was actually a Wood Spirit sealed on the second layer of the pagoda?” The young woman who had not spoken until now frowned and asked in surprise. This young woman was impressively Gao Xue Ting of Azure Sun Temple, another powerful First-Order Emperor who could stand on equal footing with Feng Ming and the others. “Wood Spirits are not easy to deal with, and this one is actually an ancient Wood Spirit. Senior Xiao, why didn’t you warn us about this earlier?” Chen Wen Hao glanced at Xiao Yu Yang and complained. Xiao Yu Yang, though, just rolled his eyes, “The Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda is not as simple as you think. The internal space is something that not even the Great Emperor himself fully grasps. There are many seals and barriers that are extremely well hidden, to the point that even if the Great Emperor searched for them, he would not be able to find them. This Wood Spirit was likely hidden in one such restriction.” With him explaining it this way, there was nothing more the others could say. “This Duan must ask Seniors to take action to purge this Wood Spirit, otherwise it will be a great disaster for my Maplewood City,” Duan Yuan Shan looked at the six Emperor Realm pleadingly. “It is just a trivial Wood Spirit, what does City Lord Duan have to fear? Moreover, it has been sealed for countless years, so its strength has undoubtedly fallen greatly. Even if we did not take action, City Lord Duan would be able to solve the problem himself,” Feng Ming wore a face of disinterest. However, Duan Yuan Shan said with a bitter face, “Senior Feng perhaps does not know, but according to the news this one has received, this Wood Spirit is able to swallow the essence and vitality of cultivators to quickly restore its strength and can also implant cultivators with its own Wood Seeds, letting them lie in wait until the time is right to burst from their shell, occupy that cultivator’s body, and spread itself further. Among the cultivators of my Maplewood City, this Duan is afraid some have already been parasitized.” “Is that true?” At this moment, the six Emperors could not help becoming more serious. “Undoubtedly. This news was passed to me by my son, who was nearly killed by such a cultivator who had been infected with a Wood Seed,” Duan Yuan Shan replied quickly. “If that’s the case, then this situation is indeed a bit serious,” Xiao Yu Yang pondered for a moment before ordering. “Alright. Since the Wood Spirit came out of the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda, it is partially my Star Soul Palace’s responsibility, so this Xiao will not just sit back and watch. First, open Maplewood City’s Protective Array and close the city gates. No one is allowed to enter or leave. Also, ensure no one can leave the square! We will eliminate the problem here and now!” “Yes! Many thanks for your assistance, Seniors!” Duan Yuan Shan was overjoyed when he saw this and quickly turned around, raising his voice as he shouted, “In accordance with Sir Star Envoy’s command, everyone here is to remain where they are. Several Seniors have a matter they must process immediately, and only once this matter is completed will you be allowed to leave. Please cooperate.” As soon as he said this, the noisy square down below instantly became silent while everyone turned to look at Duan Yuan Shan in amazement. Yang Kai, who was using the Communication Bead to contact Mo Xiao Qi, could not help raising his head, frowning slightly, wondering why Duan Yuan Shan and the six Emperors were making such a move. However, the command of an Emperor could not be ignored, so even if the cultivators who were in the square were a little bit dissatisfied, none dared show any dissatisfaction and simply stood obediently. The next moment, the six Emperors on the high platform seemed to exchange a few words before four of them suddenly shot off in different directions, leaving only Xiao Yu Yang and Gao Xue Ting still in place. Next, a hum sounded across Maplewood City as the sky was immediately covered in a thin, translucent barrier of light, forming a dome over the top of it.