As Yue He spoke, Guo Ziyan suddenly closed his eyes and collapsed to the ground.
“Father!” The woman called Miao’er cried out in shock.
Yue He said, “Don’t worry, he just fainted.” Previously, he had been besieged and could die at any moment, but now that he was saved by Yang Kai and Yue He, his tense mind finally relaxed. Coupled with the fact that he had consumed too much energy in the previous battle, he could no longer hold on.
Although Miao’er knew Yue He wouldn’t lie to her, Miao’er still personally checked Guo Ziyan’s injuries and confirmed that he had really just fainted.
Wiping the tears from the corners of her eyes, she respectfully bowed, “Thank you for your life-saving grace, Sirs.”
Yang Kai said, “Commander Guo is a member of my Void Land and has accompanied me to death for many years. If he is in trouble, I will naturally help him. There is no need to thank me, I was negligent this time.”
Guo Ziyan had only gone to find his daughter, how could Yang Kai have expected him to be in mortal danger? If he had known this would happen, he would have followed along. With Yue He by his side, such a thing would not have happened.
“What’s your name?” Yang Kai looked towards her.
The woman sniffed and whispered, “My name is Guo Miao.”
Yang Kai nodded and summoned Lang Qingshan, Cunning Face, and the others to carry the unconscious Guo Ziyan back to Lotus Fall while Yue He held Guo Miao’s hand and comforted her gently.
A moment later, in the Lotus Fall, Yue He asked gently, “What exactly is going on? Who were those who made things difficult for you? Didn’t Commander Guo go to Blood Goose Continent to pick you up?”
Guo Miao should also know about the existence of Yang Kai and Yue He, probably because Guo Ziyan had told her before, so under Yue He’s comfort, her mood gradually calmed down.
Hearing this, Guo Miao replied, “Those are the Elders and deacons of Blood Goose Continent. That Third Order Open Heaven Stage is called Gu Zhixin.”
Yang Kai was surprised, “Gu Zhixin?” After thinking for a moment, he asked, “Isn’t that your Honored Master?”
Guo Ziyan had mentioned this person a few days ago, saying that he and Gu Zhixin were old friends, so he entrusted his daughter to him.
Guo Miao grit her teeth, her eyes filled with hatred, “I don’t have such a treacherous and despicable Honored Master, he almost killed my father.”
Yang Kai frowned, “What happened?”
Guo Miao let out a sigh and explained the entire story.
After listening to her explanation, Yang Kai finally understood what had happened today.
A few years after Guo Miao was born, Guo Ziyan sent her to Blood Goose Continent and asked her to become Gu Zhixin’s disciple. Firstly, at that time, the environment Guo Ziyan was in was quite harsh, and the three great forces were fighting openly and secretly in that Star City, fighting each other to the death. He had sent his daughter away to protect Guo Miao, and secondly, Guo Ziyan was only a Second Order Open Heaven Stage cultivator, so he wasn’t very strong. Although Blood Goose Continent wasn’t much, just a Third Class Force, Gu Zhixin was a Third Order Open Heaven Stage cultivator and was slightly stronger than him. If he sent Guo Miao over, she would be able to obtain better cultivation environment.
Guo Miao’s aptitude wasn’t bad, and after all the hard work she had put into cultivating in the Blood Goose Continent, along with the cultivation resources Guo Ziyan often gave her, she had gradually advanced to the peak of the Emperor Realm.
Before the Star City was swallowed by the Great Ruins Boundary, she had to prepare to condense her own Dao Seal. Once the Dao Seal was successfully condensed, the next step would be to condense the power of Yin-Yang + Five Elements forces, allowing her to open the Heaven and Earth in her body.
Guo Ziyan’s starting point wasn’t high, just a mere Second Order, but for the sake of his daughter, he had put in a lot of effort. He had risked his life on the Scarlet Star, so all the gains he had obtained had basically been exchanged for various cultivation resources and sent to Blood Goose Continent to Guo Miao.
Guo Miao wanted to condense a Dao Seal, so Guo Ziyan naturally made preparations in advance, spending his lifetime’s savings to buy two sets of Fourth Grade materials and handing them over to Guo Miao, waiting for her to condense a Dao Seal before refining them.
If the Star City where Scarlet Star was located hadn’t been swallowed by the Great Ruins Boundary, there probably wouldn’t have been anything else.
However, more than a decade ago, the Star City where the Scarlet Star resided suddenly disappeared, along withScarlet Star, who had occupied the Star City for thousands of years, along with Thunder Light and Sword Pavilion. Over a million people in the Star City had disappeared without a trace.
At that time, this matter had caused a great uproar in several nearby Great Domains. Many people had tried to investigate the situation, but unfortunately they had found nothing.
Guo Miao had also been led by Gu Zhixin to take a look, but they couldn’t find any clues.
Several years later, there was still no news of Guo Ziyan, so everyone thought he was dead.
In the beginning, Gu Zhixin still remembered some of their old friendship. Although he didn’t show much favoritism towards Guo Miao’s cultivation, at the very least, he was able to maintain a peaceful relationship.
But several years later, one day, Gu Zhixin called Guo Miao over to talk to her, repeatedly mentioning the two Fourth Grade resources Guo Ziyan had given to Guo Miao, as if he wanted her to give them to him.
Hearing this, Yang Kai was puzzled, “Gu Zhixin is already a Third Order Open Heaven Stage master, what does he need this Fourth Grade resource for? What use does this Fourth Grade resource have for him?”
Yue He, who was standing to the side, said, “I’m afraid he wants to exchange it for a Third Grade resources, then refine and absorb it to enhance his own strength.”
Yang Kai asked curiously, “How can the Open Heaven Stage cultivator continue to refine those resources?”
Yue He explained, “Young Master still hasn’t broken through to Open Heaven yet, so you may not know this, but after a cultivator breaks through to Open Heaven, it’s not that they have no need for cultivation resources, but rather that their needs have become greater. Young Master should know that the Open Heaven Stage enhances the foundation of their Small Universe World and can increase one’s strength. If one’s foundation accumulates to a certain extent, they can break through to the next grade.”
Yang Kai nodded, “Of course I know.”
Lu Xue had told him about this last time. The most common and reliable way to strengthen one’s foundation in the Open Heaven Stage was to take the Open Heaven Pill and absorb its medicinal efficacies. In addition, there were many other methods.
For example, Black Feather Old Ancestor had targeted the Demon Territory because he wanted to devour and refine the Demon Territory’s Laws and World Force. However, this method had its advantages and disadvantages compared to consuming the Open Heaven Pill.
The advantage was its speed. Consuming the Open Heaven Pill was a process of accumulating sand to form a tower. Every advancement in one level required a long period of accumulation, and if one could swallow and refine the Law and World Force of the Universe World which was compatible with them, they would be able to obtain great benefits in a short period of time.
The downside was that no matter how high the compatibility of the Universe World was, it would definitely not be the same as his own Small Universe World, so this kind of improvement had some hidden dangers that had to be slowly eliminated.
However, comparatively speaking, the efficiency of absorbing the laws and World Force of a certain Universe World was countless times higher than simply taking the Open Heaven Pill.
In addition to these two methods, there was also the most common method, which was to refine various grades of resources.
The reason why cultivators were able to create Heaven and Earth in their bodies was because they had accumulated enough Yin-Yang + Five Elements. After advancing to Open Heaven, they could continue to refine and strengthen their foundations.
It could be said that when a cultivator advanced to Open Heaven, it wasn’t that they didn’t have any requirements for various cultivation resources, but rather that their requirements would be greater.
After listening to Yue He’s explanation, Yang Kai finally understood. It wasn’t that he was ignorant, it was just that his current strength wasn’t enough to touch these things.
When Guo Ziyan was around, Gu Zhixin knew that Guo Miao had two Fourth Grade cultivation resources, but he didn’t dare to act rashly. After all, Guo Ziyan was backed by Scarlet Star, he wasn’t afraid of Guo Ziyan, but he couldn’t afford to offend Scarlet Star.
But Gu Zhixin didn’t know whether Guo Ziyan was dead or alive, so there was no need for him to worry.
Guo Miao was only an Emperor Realm master, yet she had two pieces of Fourth Grade cultivation resources in her possession. This was no different from a child holding a bag of gold coins in the bustling road, it was only natural for Gu Zhixin to have such thoughts.
“That old bastard is really hateful, Commander Guo is really unlucky,” Yang Kai coldly snorted.
Guo Miao went along with his words and said, “That old thief didn’t want these two Fourth Grade resources for himself, the Chief is currently in seclusion trying to break through to Fourth Order Open Heaven and is in desperate need of a large amount of resources. The old thief seized them to display his loyalty so that the Chief could reward him in the future.”
Listening to her words, Yang Kai suddenly remembered some news he had heard in the Startled Goose Territory Inn. It was said that Blood Goose Continent’s Chief, Yun Xinghua, had broken through to the Fourth Order.
From the looks of it now, it was likely due to Guo Miao’s two Fourth Grade resources.
“What happened next?” Yue He asked softly.
Guo Miao said sadly, “That old thief came to me to ask for it, but this is a resource that Father had saved with his life, so how could I agree to it? I originally wanted to condense my Dao Seal as soon as possible and then refine these two resources, making that old thief unable to think of anything else, but after I condensed my Dao Seal, he actually forced me to refine a Second Grade Wood Element resource!”
As she spoke, Guo Miao’s red lips almost bled from her biting, her eyes filled with tears.
To any cultivator, the foundation was the most important. What grade of resources they could condense would allow them to reach the Open Heaven Stage in the future.
Since Guo Miao had been forced to refine a Second Order material, she could only achieve Second Order Open Heaven Stage in the future.
Breaking a person’s future was tantamount to killing their parents. However, what was done was done, and with a weak woman like Guo Miao living under someone else’s roof, how could she possibly protect those two Fourth Grade resources? In the end, the two Fourth Grade resources were forcibly seized by Gu Zhixin and handed over to Yun Xinghua, allowing him to advance to the Fourth Order.
Originally, Guo Miao had already accepted her fate. After all, she was alone, so even if she was unwilling, what could she do?
Who knew that a few days ago, Guo Ziyan, who had been missing for more than a decade, would suddenly appear in Blood Goose Continent?
The reunion of father and daughter after such a long time was supposed to be a joyous event, but when Guo Ziyan discovered that his daughter had only condensed a Second Grade force, he couldn’t help feeling shocked and angry. He had clearly prepared two Fourth Grade Resources for Guo Miao, and Guo Miao’s aptitude was enough to refine them, so why was she like this now?
Under these questions, Guo Miao had some scruples and didn’t dare tell the truth.
Guo Ziyan noticed that something was wrong and didn’t ask any questions, instead pretending not to know anything and chatting with Gu Zhixin.
TO BE CONTINUED...
Martial Peak