After searching around for less than an incense stick worth of time, Yang Kai leapt out of the hole he had been digging with a frown on his face.

He had determined that finding Brilliant Fire Crystal here was all a matter of luck.

Because the Fire Attribute energy was too rich here, the aura given off by Brilliant Fire Crystals were completely covered up.  It was impossible to search for them using one’s Divine Sense, so one could only dig blindly and hope for the best. This reality greatly reduced Yang Kai’s interest.

While other cultivators would be enthusiastic about an Origin Grade High-Rank material, Yang Kai wasn’t.  There was no need for him to waste time here for a few pieces of Brilliant Fire Crystal.

It would be better for him to head straight for the Treasure Area.  Considering all this, Yang Kai didn’t bother digging anymore.

Before leaving, Yang Kai took a casual look over at the middle-aged man he had arrived with and discovered that he had actually struck it lucky, both he and his fellow Sect Brother were celebrating that they had some gains.

Not thinking of disturbing them, Yang Kai left the hill alone.  As he walked further, he would occasionally run into cultivators who had obtained word of the Brilliant Fire Crystals, many of whom would call out to him and ask if the news was true, annoying him somewhat.

These people clearly saw that Yang Kai was and his cultivation wasn’t high, so they didn’t consider him a threat; otherwise, how could so many have pulled him aside?

However, these people were just asking him a few questions, so Yang Kai didn’t feel it was right to kill them.  The best he could do was try to avoid others while continuing forward.

Yang Kai didn’t use his Wind and Thunder Wings at this time because they were too conspicuous, if they were seen by other people, it might cause him some unnecessary trouble.  Yang Kai wasn’t afraid of trouble, but he didn’t want to be delayed by it either, so he used his own two feet to hurry along.

Two days later, Yang Kai was still walking along when suddenly he heard the sound of clothes swishing behind him.  It seemed as if someone was running at full speed towards him.

On top of that, from what Yang Kai could tell, this person was coming from the direction he just left, causing him to frown, look back to check.

Turning around, Yang Kai saw a figure jumping down from the undulating hills he had just passed and land right in front of him.

When their four eyes met, Yang Kai immediately recognized this person.  It was actually the middle-aged Second-Order Saint King who had a jade pendant hanging from his hat he had met a few days ago.  This middle-aged man had given Yang Kai a fairly good impression; after all, the other party had tried to persuade him to not take risks purely out of goodwill when they met.

Yang Kai couldn’t help but chuckle and was about to say hello, but suddenly his face sank.

He found that there was something wrong with the other party.  This middle-aged man’s Saint Qi was chaotic and he wore a tense look upon his face.  He also seemed to be injured heavily on his shoulder, his wound still bleeding, staining his clothes red.

On top of that, this man’s eyes were bloodshot and full of anger and unwillingness.

After seeing Yang Kai, the middle-aged man froze slightly, as if he hadn’t expected to run into someone here.  A hint of guilt and annoyance flashed across his eyes as he stomped his foot and hurriedly said, “Hurry up and run if you don’t want to die!”

Having said this, he dashed off in a different direction.

Yang Kai was confused, but soon he understood what was going on.  Thirty breaths after the middle-aged man ran off, a group of six cultivators wearing dark green robes appeared behind Yang Kai.

The one leading this group was a young man who looked almost the same age as Yang Kai; however, his true age wasn’t clear.  This young man’s complexion was cold and he made no attempt to conceal his Third Order Saint King cultivation. The men and women following this young man were all Second-Order Saint Kings.

As soon as he saw this young man, Yang Kai found that the other party seemed very familiar, as if he had seen him somewhere before.

Just as he was wondering about this, the young man arrogantly called out, “Tell me which way that man went.”

Yang Kai’s face went cold.  This person’s impolite way of questioning made him quite upset.  Forget about Yang Kai having a good impression of that middle-aged man, even if it was a complete stranger, being asked so rudely about their whereabouts, Yang Kai wouldn’t have answered.

“Senior Brother Meng, that way!”  A young woman among the group suddenly pointed to one side, the direction in which the middle-aged man had escaped.  It was easy to tell because there were a few conspicuous drops of blood leading off in that direction.

“Hmph!”  The young man called Senior Brother Meng coldly snorted before leading everyone off to chase after that man.  Before he left though, he waved his hands and a golden radiance suddenly shot towards Yang Kai.

Yang Kai was furious, lifting his hand and condensing a Grand Heavenly Shield in front of himself to block this attack.

However, the Grand Heavenly Shield Yang Kai condensed actually failed to completely resist the golden radiance, cracking and nearly shattering on impact.

Yang Kai was shocked, but by the time he had recovered, the other party had already run off.  As for Senior Brother Meng, he too seemed surprised he had failed to kill Yang Kai, a mere First Order Saint King, turning a cold glare back toward him as if he was trying to remember his appearance.

However, chasing after that middle-aged man right now seemed to take precedence in his mind so he didn’t bother with Yang Kai any further.

Within moments, the group of six had disappeared in the direction the middle-aged people fled.

Yang Kai stood in place, thinking back carefully.  He was certain he had met that young man somewhere before, otherwise, he wouldn’t have felt such a strong sense of familiarity.  After a while, he finally remembered, and couldn’t help raising his brow before quickly chasing after this group.

Whether it was because of that young man’s actions, or his slight relationship with that middle-aged man, Yang Kai wasn’t prepared to simply let things end like this.

The middle-aged man was truly a righteous character.  Earlier, he had persuaded Yang Kai to not take risks with his life, and just a moment ago, when he met Yang Kai again, he had again warned him to quickly flee.  The look of guilt in his eyes at that time was clearly because he had run into Yang Kai and involved him accidentally. If that had not been the case, he wouldn’t have changed the direction he was escaping.

Having been shown such goodwill, Yang Kai naturally wanted to reciprocate.

Chasing after them for a short time, Yang Kai was easily able to catch up.

The middle-aged man was already an arrow at the end of its flight, so he wasn’t able to run far.  At this moment, that Senior Brother Meng and his several Junior Brothers and Junior Sisters had gathered around this man and were attacking him.  The middle-aged man’s cultivation wasn’t high, but the defensive Artifact Armour he was wearing was actually quite good and was prevented him from suffering any fatal injuries so far.

Unfortunately, this Artifact Armour had also reached its limit and its aura was now quite dull, its protective effects had diminished severely.

Senior Brother Meng was acting aloof, not even participating in this battle and instead standing aside with his arms crossed and a sullen look of ridicule on his face as he watched.

It was fortunate he hadn’t taken action personally, otherwise the middle-aged man would already have fallen.

“Meng Hong Liang, you will die like a dog!”  The middle-aged man spat blood and roared in anger as he suffered a blow from the young woman who had spoken a moment ago.

These words made the young man named Meng Hong Liang wear an even colder look as he commanded, “Don’t rush to kill him, play with him until he’s completely broken so he understands the fate those who dare offend my Imperial City Sect must suffer.”

“Yes!”  The Imperial City Sect cultivators besieging the middle-aged man heard this and immediately lightened their attacks, intentionally adding wounds to this middle-aged man like cats playing with a corner mouse.  Each of their attacks was designed to cause him the maximum amount of pain while not fatally wounding him.

“Meng Hong Liang, I already surrendered that Brilliant Fire Crystal Essence to you, why must you act so ruthlessly?  What need is there to kill me and my Junior Brother?” The middle-aged man was doing his best to avoid these attacks but the number of wounds he suffered was still gradually increasing.  His face was also growing pale from excessive blood loss.

“Hmph!”  Meng Hong Liang coldly snorted, “Do you have the qualifications to possess a treasure as valuable as that Brilliant Fire Crystal Essence?  As for why you must die, the fewer people who know about such a treasure the better, if you want to blame someone, blame yourself and your Junior Brother for having the good fortune to dig up such a good thing and the misfortunate of having me learn of it.  Haha, this Brilliant Fire Crystal Essence can only be owned by me, but don’t worry, you and your Junior Brother can accompany each other on the road to the next world, so that he isn’t lonely.”

“Even if I must become a ghost I won’t let you off!”  The middle-aged man roared as the last ray of light from his Artifact Armour faded and crumbled.

This Artefact Armour had been thoroughly destroyed and could no longer be repaired.

“Kill him, any delays now would only leads to more problems!”  Meng Hong Liang wasn’t in the mood to play with this middle-aged man anymore and ruthlessly commanded.

The other Imperial City Sect disciples surrounding the middle-aged man simultaneously pushed their Saint Qi and unleashed killing blows upon hearing this.

The middle-aged man also seemed to feel he could no longer escape this calamity and did not put up any pointless resistance.  Before dying, he simply stared at Meng Hong Liang with bloodshot eyes, seemingly wanting to engrave his figure into his soul so that after he reincarnated he could find him to seek revenge!

Just when the middle-aged man was about to die though, a number of shields formed from jet black flames appeared all around him, blocking all of the fatal strikes.

One of the Imperial City Sect disciples saw this and was unwilling to relent and slammed his palm onto the black flame shield.  The shield remained unscathed under this attack while the cultivator leapt back like a frightened rabbit and as he shrieked loudly.

The crowd all stared dumbstruck at this scene, their eyes immediately filling with fear and terror.

The black flames were rapidly spreading from this man’s palm up to his arm and towards his body.  Wherever this flame passed, everything was reduced to ash, and it was obvious that as soon as it reached his chest, he wouldn’t be able to survive.

“Senior Brother Meng, save me!”  The cultivator realized that he wasn’t strong enough to resist these black flames and immediately begged for rescue from Meng Hong Liang, hoping the latter had some method that could save him.

But how could Meng Hong Liang allow this man to get any closer to him?  Those black flames were simply too frightening.

Seeing his fellow Sect disciples rushing over towards him, Meng Hong Liang’s expression became cold as a ruthless light flashed across his eyes.  Retreating a few steps, he raised his hand and shot a golden ray of light towards the head of the approaching cultivator. This cultivator immediately fell to the ground after having his brow pierced by this golden light, a look of complete shock covering his face, seemingly never having imagined his Senior Brother would act so callously towards him.

In the blink of an eye, this man’s body was completely devoured by the Demonic Flames.

The remaining young men and women paled, partly because of the incredible power of Demonic Flame, and partly because they had witnessed Meng Hong Liang coldly killing a fellow member of their sect.  For a moment, all of them stared at this Senior Brother of theirs in shock and disbelief.