Chapter 2283, Spirit Lake Palace

The flying Soul Devouring Insects flew towards Yang Kai, emitting a ceaseless buzzing noise. Yang Kai stood in place with a solemn look plastered on his face, raising his guard against them in preparation for any unexpected accidents.

In a short while, he was surrounded by Soul Devouring Insects, and one of them landed on him and stopped flapping its wings, laying there calmly, shortly followed by more of them.

A large mass of insects fell upon him, wrapping him completely and hiding his body, but these Soul Devouring Insects only laid there peacefully and didn’t mount an attack against Yang Kai. They all obeyed the orders Yang Kai issued due to the formless connection between them.

“Hahaha!” Yang Kai laughed loudly. The Insect Enslavement Bracelet was really a precious treasure.

In the Divine Ascension Mirror World, he had detected that his original batch of Soul Devouring Insects was starting to resist his control, and he didn’t have any mental connection with the new batch he obtained from Tian Yan. Yet now, all of the Soul Devouring Insects that had evolved obeyed his commands and he was able to perfectly order them around. This was all thanks to the Insect Enslavement Bracelet!

This Emperor Artifact didn’t have any offensive or defence power, yet it could control all forms of Exotic Insects in this world. It was the fruit of the Insect Emperor’s lifetime of work. Naturally, it was supremely effective against the Soul Devouring Insects.

Now, Yang Kai didn’t have any more qualms, as even if he ran into a powerful enemy in the future, he would be able to deal with them with these Soul Devouring Insects.

It looked like the inner space of the Insect Enslavement Bracelet was able to nurture Exotic Insects. The Exotic Insects in it wouldn’t weaken and die, only grow stronger.

However, Yang Kai obviously had to feed the Soul Devouring Insects enough Facetless Profound Grass to raise their growth speed.

The Facetless Profound Grass wasn’t a precious spirit grass and many Sects could cultivate it, so it wasn’t difficult to obtain. However, Yang Kai needed a large amount and he would have to pay a large sum to purchase them.

If it was in the past, Yang Kai might not have been able to afford such expenses, but now, he had gotten his hands on a Source Crystal lode and he wouldn’t have to worry about a shortage of Source Crystals in the near future. Therefore, he could carry out large purchases without any restraints.

As he thought of this, Yang Kai quickly left the Insect Enslavement Bracelet and opened his eyes, then stood up and opened the door of the room. He planned to make a trip to the city and buy Facetless Profound Grass.

But, as he pushed open the door and left, he detected unusual World Energy in the vicinity. It looked like the density of the World Energy in Maplewood City had increased greatly during his secluded cultivation.

Yang Kai was very surprised by this. Lou Chi had used the Emperor Artifact, Unified Ceremonial Record, to seal the Spirit Lake, so the World Energy should have turned thinner, going back to its normal state.

But, the opposite had occurred. The density of World Energy didn’t drop, but rather it increased further. This was bewildering!

At this moment, a pretty silhouette rushed toward him and landed in front of him. It was Ye Jing Han!

“Young Master Yang, you finally exited your retreat!” Ye Jing Han sized him up with her eyes and she noticed that his aura had turned more stable and restrained. She couldn’t help but say out of envy, “Young Master Yang, it looks like you have made pretty good progress.”

“It’s not much.” Yang Kai grinned in response. He had already decided to leave for Thousand Leaves Sect with Ye Jing Han so he didn’t shun her as before.

Yang Kai’s expression suddenly changed and he asked in surprise, “Did you stand guard here all along?”

Ye Jing Han smiled sheepishly, “In any case, I have nothing else to do.”

“You can set your mind at ease, I have already accepted your request so I won’t run away. I’ll surely take a trip to your Thousand Leaves Sect with you.”

“I wasn’t keeping watch on you…” Ye Jing Han quickly waved her hand with a flustered look, “It’s just… It’s just that…”

She stammered for a long while, yet couldn’t come with any excuse, and she only got more flustered, as she was afraid to incur Yang Kai’s wrath.

Yang Kai smiled, “Just forget it! Let’s go together to make some purchases. We’ll set off right away after I’m done with them.”

Delight appeared on the face of Ye Jing Han and she quickly nodded, then said, “Good, good…”

As such, they both rushed into the city. On the way, Yang Kai noticed that there were fewer cultivators in Maplewood City than before, and it wasn’t as lively as usual. But, every cultivator in the street was beaming, as if they all had a fortuitous encounter lately. He was puzzled by this and could only ask, “Why are they all smiling? Did something good occur recently?”

Ye Jing Han pursed her lips and said with a smile, “The current Maplewood City isn’t the same as before. Its World Energy is denser than before by at least three or fivefold, that’s why they’re all happy.”

“By the way, I was just about to ask about this,” Yang Kai turned his head and looked at her, “What happened to the World Energy here? Why did it become so dense?”

Ye Jing Han said, “Young Master Yang, you have been in seclusion for the last month so you obviously have no idea about the latest changes of Maplewood City. A month ago, Star Soul Palace’s Senior Xiao and several other Seniors carried out a discussion that lasted several days and decided to turn the Spirit Lake into a public cultivation paradise.”

“They summoned manpower from each of their Sects for this project and finished the work ten days ago. The Spirit Lake has already made a name for itself in the Southern Territory as a wondrous cultivation paradise and many cultivators have swarmed over to make use of it. Numerous residents of Maplewood City have also gone there to observe it and that’s why the city is so deserted.”

Upon hearing her explanation, Yang Kai finally understood why so few people were present in Maplewood City. They had all gone to observe the Spirit Lake and join in the fun.

“That land has been named the Spirit Lake Palace by Xiao Yu Yang and the other Seniors. The land has a large expanse and numerous rooms were built there, rooms suitable for secluded cultivation.”

“Spirit Lake Palace?” Yang Kai raised his brows

Ye Jing Han said with a smile, “That’s right.”

Yang Kai said with a pensive look, “Who is the manager of the Spirit Lake Palace and… Who is its owner?”

Ye Jing Han said, “The great Sects don’t plan to seize it and it is jointly managed by Maplewood City, Star Soul Palace, and the other great Sects. It is open to the entire Southern Territory. Anyone can enter it and cultivate there as long as they pay enough Source Crystals.”

“Huh?” Yang Kai was surprised, “Even Maplewood City has the right to manage it?”

“That’s a matter of course. The Spirit Lake Palace is next to Maplewood City and it is best to have the City Lord manage certain aspects of it. Now, Maplewood City has already made a name for itself with this amazing exploit.”

Yang Kai chuckled, “I can bet that City Lord Duan is thrilled right now.”

Ye Jing Han pursed her lips, “Actually, even though City Lord Duan is still at the Third-Order Dao Source Realm, his status has risen greatly thanks to the Spirit Lake Palace and he’s already on equal standing with the Sect Masters of first-class Sects.”

“His status is pretty high, but his cultivation base is still low and he can’t deter the masses,” Yang Kai furrowed his brow. He was quite worried about Duan Yuan Shan.

Ye Jing Han cast a glance at him. “Young Master Yang, you don’t have to worry about him. Senior Xiao has already taken care of this by accepting City Lord Duan and Vice City Lord Drunkard as Outer Disciples of Star Soul Palace. Those two have also gotten a sinecure in Azure Sun Temple, Heavenly Martial Holy Land, and the other top Sects.”

Upon hearing this, a startled look showed up on the face of Yang Kai, “Is that alright?”

Ye Jing Han covered her mouth and chuckled. She said, “They probably had no other choice.”

“Those Seniors are all quite sharp,” Yang Kai shook his head and smiled bitterly. “I have never heard about a similar occurrence, but I can still bet that none will dare to belittle City Lord Duan and Drunkard now, much less oppose them.”

The cultivations of Duan Yuan Shan and Drunkard weren’t high, but their backers were all the top Sects of the Southern Territory, so it wouldn’t be difficult for them to manage Maplewood City and the Spirit Lake Palace.

If anyone dared to violate their commands, it would be equivalent to opposing all the top factions of the Southern Territory. Which daredevil had the guts to attempt this?

“Senior Xiao is a virtuous and magnanimous person. As expected of Star Soul Palace, the overlord of the Southern Territory. They have outstanding bearing,” Yang Kai said sincerely.

If Star Soul Palace wanted to seize the Spirit Lake Palace, then none would dare to fight back; after all, Star Soul Palace was overseen by Bright Moon Great Emperor and the other top Sects couldn’t contend against them.

But Star Soul Palace didn’t do so and instead led the various factions to turn the Spirit Lake Palace into a Cultivation Paradise open to the entire Southern Territory. From this deed alone, one could see the magnanimity and integrity of this hegemon Sect.

Not every sect would do the same. If Azure Sun Temple’s Wen Zi Shan got his hand on this Cultivation Paradise, then he would likely hide it away and use it for just the disciples of Azure Sun Temple.

That wasn’t a strange matter, as people had different priorities and none would put thoughts into the issues of other people for no reason.

“Go on,” Yang Kai said.

“The Spirit Lake Palace has imitated the structure of the Cultivation Paradise of Star Soul Palace and is divided into three grades: Mortal, Earth, and Heaven. The Mortal Grade Cultivation Paradise is open to cultivators at the Origin Returning Realm or below, while the Earth Grade Cultivation Paradise is open to cultivators at the Dao Source Realm or below. As for the Heaven Grade rooms, they are only open to Emperor Realm Masters.”

As Ye Jing Han spoke up to here, a longing look appeared on her face, as if she yearned for the supreme Emperor Realm, “The entry fee of every grade is higher than the one below it, and it’s said that the Heaven Grade Cultivation Paradise costs a thousand High-Rank Source Crystals for a day and you can only pay with High-Rank Source Crystals. You can’t use an equivalent amount of Mid-Rank or Low-Rank Source Crystal.”

“This price is too… horrifying!” Yang Kai said with a distressed look.

A thousand High-Rank Source Crystals was tantamount to a hundred thousand Mid-Rank or ten million Low-Rank Source Crystals, and that was the fee for a single day. When someone entered secluded cultivation, the shortest it normally lasted was half a month.

Moreover, if they wanted to study and comprehend some Secret Techniques or Arts, they would spend an entire year or more in cultivation, and this was even more obvious for Emperor Realm Masters, as they might easily spend several or dozens of years in secluded cultivation.

The number of Source Crystals they would have to pay for this was almost immeasurable.

Moreover, they were still limited to only High-Rank Source Crystals. The conditions were quite severe.

“But, I guess most Emperor Realm Masters are wealthy, and if they wanted to advance further on the Martial Dao, they might not mind wasting mere worldly possessions to do so,” Yang Kai said with a pensive look.

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