Chapter 2346 , Must Die Translator: Silavin & Raikov Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys The stench of blood rose into the air. The area that was sealed off had practically turned into hell on earth. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂 Nobody knew what sort of secret trick Shi Cang Ying used to be able to go into hiding, but he surprisingly did not die immediately. His Blood Essence was burning madly, constantly keeping him from dying, but the aura of death swirled around him and he could only cry and beg, “Sect Master, I was wrong! Please spare my life! I will repent of my mistakes!” When things came to this, he finally understood he had been standing on the wrong side. If he had known the Heaven-Grade puppets left behind by their Ancestors would be this strong, he would have never sought to abandon this path. He might have even been more assertive than Ye Hen when it came to studying the Secret Techniques of how to command the Heaven-Grade puppets. But what was the use of thinking about this now? These four Heaven-Grade puppets hardly did anything since coming out, only forming a Killing Array, and that alone was able to wipe out an entire army. How could Shi Cang Ying survive? He could only plead with Ye Hen, hoping that he would spare his life in consideration of their friendship built from their cooperation over the years. Liu Yan turned to look at Ye Hen, asking for his opinion. Ye Hen calmly declared, “The moment you ambushed me and opened the Sect Defending Array, you were no longer part of Thousand Leaves Sect.” Blood drained from Shi Cang Ying’s face and he yelled, “Sect Master, this Shi has been loyal to the Sect all these years. Even if this Shi offered no merits, this Shi has still worked hard for the benefit of the Sect! Please, spare my life, Sect Master!” Ye Hen shook his head slowly, “Please continue, little girl, I don’t want to hear him speak again.” If Shi Cang Ying had only been at odds with him and had conflicting ideologies, Ye Hen would not have killed him; after all, Shi Cang Ying was just thinking of the Sect’s future and was seeking a way out for them. It was normal for him to be a little selfish. At the same time, Ye Hen was also hesitating and wondering whether supporting the Dao of Puppetry the whole way through was the right choice. But he never should have opened the Sect Defending Array and let their Sect disciples be slaughtered. If Shi Cang Ying was spared today, how could the thousands of disciples who died as a result rest in peace? Thus, Shi Cang Ying must die for his sins! Liu Yan gently nodded. Giving the command with her Divine Sense, the peerless killing force of the Four Divine Beasts Attack pressed down on Shi Cang Ying. At a rate visible to the naked eye, Shi Cang Ying’s entire body could be seen swelling up like a balloon before bursting into a bloody mist, leaving no bones behind. At this point, not a single one of the cultivators invading Thousand Leaves Sect was left, they had all been wiped out in this mountain valley. As Liu Yan continued forming hand seals, the Four Divine Beasts Heaven-Grade puppets slowly withdrew their power and landed in place, ceasing their movements. The smell of blood was incredibly strong and the mountain valley had become quiet. Turning his head and looking around, even though Ye Hen felt relieved, there was still a sorrowful look on his face. The Thousand Leaves Sect had lost a lot during this event, and if Yang Kai had not appeared at the last moment to turn the tide, then even the foundation of the Sect would have been destroyed. The only thing that made Ye Hen feel somewhat relieved was the fact that Yang Kai had returned safely from the Sealed World and even brought back the Secret Technique to activate the Heaven-Grade puppets. “Father...” Ye Jing Han called out and supported her old father. Seeing his aged appearance, her eyes couldn’t help but redden. Ye Hen waved his hand and cupped his fists to Yang Kai with a serious face, “Young Master Yang, we owe you our deepest gratitude. Ye Hen and the Thousand Leaves Sect will never forget this great favour...” Yang Kai smiled, “No need to be polite, Sect Master Ye. I didn’t put in too much effort either. It was thanks to your noble Sect’s Heaven-Grade puppets that we were able to defeat such strong enemies in one fell swoop.” While speaking, he glanced at the Four Divine Beast Heaven-Grade puppets, thinking about how nice it would be to keep these Heaven-Grade puppets with him. He had seen the might of these Heaven-Grade puppets, and even though it was a little overboard to use them on Qiu Ze and the others, Yang Kai was certain that these Heaven-Grade puppets did not even use ten percent of their full power during that fight. If the might of these Heaven-Grade puppets were fully unleashed then who knows what that would be like. After a pause, Yang Kai once again spoke, “After such a huge fight, Sect Master Ye must have many things to deal with, so I will not bother you any longer. We can talk again once Sect Master Ye has settled the Sect’s business.” Naturally, Ye Hen understood his meaning and knew that this was not the best time to hold a discussion. He immediately nodded, “Yes, yes. Jing Han, bring Young Master Yang and our other friends to rest. I will take care of some of the Sect’s matters before visiting them again.” ..... Ye Jing Han led Yang Kai and the others back to the main hall of the Sect’s Main Peak, then turned around and left. Right now, there was much to do in the Thousand Leaves Sect. Not only did they have to repair the Sect Defending Array, but there were also many injured disciples to take care of. Naturally, Ye Jing Han couldn’t stay here. Only after she left did Chi Yue and the others look towards Yang Kai, an inquiring gaze in all their eyes. Everything happened so suddenly today that there was a lot they found hard to process. Yang Kai said, “Let’s talk in the room.” A few moments later, all of them arrived at Yang Kai’s room. Only then did Yang Kai smile and introduce Hua Qing Si to everyone. Previously, he told Hua Qing Si to protect Chi Yue and the others, but Hua Qing Si had never shown her face in front of them until Shi Cang Ying sent people over to capture them, and it was then that she suddenly showed up and disabled the attackers. However, she never introduced herself, only telling Chi Yue and the others that she was a friend of Yang Kai’s. Now, after hearing Yang Kai’s explanation, they all finally learned that Hua Qing Si’s actions were all at Yang Kai’s behest. “Then... Who is this little girl?” Chi Yue looked confused at Liu Yan. She had the feeling that Liu Yan was quite strange, but it wasn’t a dangerous feeling. Instead, Liu Yan’s aura was simply different somehow. Moreover, it was a little unbelievable that a little girl who only looked seven or eight years old would have the power of a Third-Order Dao Source Realm, to begin with. Compared to Liu Yan, Chi Yue and the others felt like they were simply too weak. Yang Kai did not know how to explain his relationship with Liu Yan either, but it was Liu Yan who stood up directly, bowed elegantly to everyone, and said in a melodious voice, “Liu Yan is the Master’s servant. Greeting Sirs and Madam!” “Master? Servant?” Chi Yue stared oddly at Yang Kai with her beautiful eyes and snorted coldly, “I never knew you had strange hobbies like this.” Ai Ou also looked at Yang Kai with a derisive expression, “Do Xue Yue and the others know that you are doing something like this?” These two, one was his mother-in-law and the other was his father-in-law. Even though they could not be perfectly described as Yang Kai’s family, they were still Yang Kai’s Elders and would likely look at things from Shan Qin Luo and Xue Yue’s perspectives. They were worried that Yang Kai would forget about his companions back home, in their native Star Field, after coming to the wondrous Star Boundary and having a change of heart, so they didn’t hesitate to speak to him in harsh tones to remind him of his obligations. Yang Kai wiped the cold sweat off his brow, “Liu Yan, the link between our Souls has already been broken so you are free now, there’s no need to call me that anymore.” Liu Yan wrinkled her nose, “Master doesn’t want me anymore?” Yang Kai responded, “Of course that’s not what I mean! What I’m saying is that since you’re free, then you can do whatever you want in the future. Naturally, it couldn’t be better if you were willing to stay by my side from now on, but if you wish to go your own way, it is also your choice to make.” After Liu Yan obtained her Spirit Puppet body, the connection between her and Yang Kai’s Soul was broken; as such, Liu Yan was indeed a free person now with her own mind and physical body. She could be described as a living being now, only that the structure of her body was different from ordinary people. Hearing this, Liu Yan thought seriously about it for a while before smiling, “In that case, then I choose to follow Master all the way! So please, Master, don’t drive me away.” Hua Qing Si squinted and snorted, “See if he dares!” “When did I say I would drive her away?” Yang Kai looked wronged. After some thought, he quickly changed the topic, “By the way, Liu Yan. Those Heaven-Grade puppets...” Seemingly knowing what Yang Kai was thinking, Liu Yan responded seriously before he even finished his sentence, “Controlling the Heaven-Grade puppets consumes too much energy. It’s not my energy that is consumed, but rather the Heaven-Grade puppets’ themselves. Whenever they move they need a source of power to move. For the short time just now, I estimate that the number of Source Crystals consumed totalled at least a million.” “A million Source Crystals?” Yang Kai was speechless. Liu Yan nodded, “That’s right. Large amounts of Source Crystals are kept within the bodies of the Heaven-Grade puppets, that was why I was able to control them. Moreover, they have to be High-Rank Source Crystals.” Yang Kai drew a sharp breath. Previously, the Four Divine Beast Heaven-Grade puppets definitely did not move for more than thirty breaths of time and merely formed the Four Divine Beasts Attack Formation, not actually doing much, but even with just that, a million High-Rank Source Crystals were consumed, which translated to a hundred million Low-Rank Source Crystals. What did that entail? “The Heaven-Grade puppets are certainly powerful, but also require a lot of capital to use,” Liu Yan summarized. “In that case, these Heaven-Grade puppets are no more than mere decorations in the current Thousand Leaves Sect.” Yang Kai estimated that Thousand Leaves Sect definitely did not have enough Source Crystals to allow the Heaven-Grade puppets to move again, so even if the Secret Arts and Secret Techniques were given back to them, there was still no way to strengthen the Thousand Leaves Sect directly. “Not so!” Liu Yan shook her head and explained, “There are two possible sources of energy for the Thousand Leaves Sect’s Heaven-Grade puppets. One is the Source Crystals kept inside their bodies, and the other is the Sect’s Earth Vein.” Yang Kai’s expression changed, “You mean the Earth Vein inside the Sealed World?” Liu Yan nodded, “That’s right. Previously, you only repaired the Space Array of the Sealed World, but the entrance was not completely opened, so the Earth Vein’s power could not be borrowed; however, if the corridor was fully opened, then the Heaven-Grade puppets will be able to move with the power of the Earth Vein. In that case, the number of Source Crystals consumed by them would be greatly reduced. Thousand Leaves Sect should be able to afford that.” After a pause, she went on, “But Master, if you wish to borrow one or two of them to play with, then you can only use Source Crystals to get them to move.” “Understood,” Yang Kai gently nodded. If he wished to bring the Heaven-Grade puppets away from here, then he would definitely not be able to borrow the Earth Vein’s power; however... he had Earth Vein Crystals buried beneath his medicine garden. Moreover, he also had a good amount of Source Crystals. So, even if it was very expensive, Yang Kai still wanted to obtain one or two of these puppets to take with him. These things were able to unleash the power of an Emperor Realm Master, so they were definitely wonderful treasures. After an hour, all of them left Yang Kai’s room and returned to their own rooms to cultivate. The fight today had given Chi Yue and the others the realization that their strength was insufficient. In their native Star Field, they were all domineering existences that could shake any Cultivation Star they set foot on, but after arriving in the Star Boundary, their strength was insignificant. Because of that, they desperately wanted to increase their strength.