Among these Opening Heaven Realm experts, the Qiqiao Heavenly Lord was definitely one. The territorial protectors who had guided them here, like the elderly man, should all be Opening Heaven Realm. Whether there were others, Yang Kai had no way of knowing.
But having at least eight Opening Heaven Realm powerhouses standing guard, even if Qiqiao Ground couldn't compare to those Grotto-heavens and Blessed Lands, it wouldn't be considered weak among the realms beyond.
Having just arrived, what he had seen and heard gave Yang Kai a rough understanding of Qiqiao Ground. Now, as a menial worker at the Fire Spirit Ground of Qiqiao Ground, he had no idea what fate awaited him in three days.
After thinking for a moment, Yang Kai stepped out of his room and headed toward a house to his left.
When he had arrived earlier, someone had been living in that house—he remembered it was a young man. With nothing to do now, it was the perfect time to go gather some intelligence.
He needed to understand what exactly the so-called menial workers actually did.
However, judging from Zhou Zheng's attitude today, even if there was some hard labor, it probably wouldn't be anything too difficult.
The menial quarters here weren't built densely; each house was separated by a dozen zhang or so. In just a few steps, Yang Kai arrived at the house. The barrier was active and the door was shut. Yang Kai raised his hand and knocked, waited quietly for a moment, and then the door opened. The young man he had seen before stood in the doorway, staring at Yang Kai with an indifferent expression. "What do you want?"
Yang Kai clasped his fists. "Greetings, friend. I've just arrived and know nothing about this place, so I was hoping to—"
"Get lost!" The young man didn't even wait for Yang Kai to finish speaking before slamming the door shut.
Yang Kai rubbed his nose, speechless. But since the man wasn't willing to talk, there was nothing he could do. After a moment's thought, he headed toward the next house.
The owner of the second house was far more hospitable—a short, half-aged fellow who welcomed Yang Kai inside, and the two sat down as host and guest.
Yang Kai repeated what he hadn't been able to finish saying earlier. The half-aged man smiled at him, looking him up and down. "Where does this young friend come from? Which world?"
Yang Kai shook his head. "I come from a nameless place. I wouldn't even know how to refer to it."
The elder said, "Then does this young friend have any treasures to offer this old man?"
Yang Kai blinked, almost thinking he had misheard. "What was that?"
The elder chuckled. "You want to ask questions, and I'm willing to answer, but I can't very well tell you for free. It would be best if you had something to offer as thanks."
Only then did Yang Kai realize the man was asking for payment.
He actually had quite a few treasures on him—the Azure Dragon Spear, the Mysterious Realm Bead, and the like. Even in the realms beyond, plenty of people would fight over them. But he couldn't just give those away. Anything else of lesser value, the man probably wouldn't care for. And to think he was only asking a few questions, yet the man openly demanded payment—Yang Kai found this rather hard to stomach.
He gave a soft laugh, said nothing more, rose, clasped his fists, and walked out the door.
The elder didn't try to stop him.
Having failed twice, Yang Kai gave up on gathering intelligence. In any case, everything would become clear in three days.
He returned to his quarters, took out the Void Spirit Bead and tried once more to contact Zhang Ruoxi, but to no avail. He could only sit cross-legged and regulate his breathing. He had already condensed the Wood Element power; the next to condense would be the Fire Element power. Whether by fate or coincidence, this time he had been brought to Qiqiao Ground, and specifically to the Fire Spirit Ground.
He just didn't know whether the Fire Spirit Ground had suitable resources.
Before he knew it, the night had passed.
The next day, before dawn had fully broken, a resounding rooster's crow reached his ears. Yang Kai opened his eyes, a look of surprise on his face.
He hadn't heard such a sound in many years. A rooster crowing at dawn—only common households still had that. At first he thought he had imagined it, but listening carefully, it was indeed a rooster's crow.
With an odd expression, Yang Kai descended from his second-floor resting area, opened the barrier, and pushed the door open to look outside.
The sky outside was dim, yet the scene was bustling with activity. One by one, the Fire Spirit Ground's menial workers emerged from their houses—some in groups of three to five, others alone—and transformed into streaks of light that shot off into the distance, quickly vanishing from sight. No one knew where they had gone.
And at the very center of the village, a golden rooster roughly half a person's height hovered in midair like a small sun, its entire body radiating golden light, its head raised as it crowed.
That resounding sound had come from this golden rooster.
Yang Kai stared, clicking his tongue in amazement.
He could sense that this golden rooster was a spirit beast carrying an exceptional bloodline, and its strength didn't seem low either. He had no idea who had raised it.
Three crows later, the village was more than half empty—at least several hundred people had departed.
Yang Kai watched with amusement, wondering if the menials here also needed a rooster's crow before heading out to work. Just as this thought crossed his mind, the golden rooster turned its head to glance in his direction. Though it was merely a chicken, it wore an arrogant look in its eyes, which left Yang Kai torn between laughter and speechlessness.