This was three thousand zhang underground, and because it was the Celestial Polarity Mountain, the ground here was extraordinarily hard. In the Great Ruins Realm, where those in the Open Heaven Realm couldn't exert their full power, there was no way anyone could force open an exit.
Even if Yang Kai himself tried, unless he used the Azure Dragon Spear, he wouldn't have a chance either.
Only Earth Dragon, who was naturally gifted at burrowing, had managed to drill a passage leading underground through the Celestial Polarity Mountain itself.
Time trickled by as people arrived from all directions, hoping to leave through the passage. Without exception, every one of them was stopped by Guo Ziyan.
At the mouth of the passage, more and more people gathered. In less than half a day, there were already several hundred of them.
Yang Kai sat atop the stone pillar, calm and unperturbed. Below him, several hundred people clamored noisily, seething with indignation. Many cast hostile glares up at Yang Kai, but none dared provoke him openly, contenting themselves with silent curses.
As time wore on, even more people arrived at the spot. Those who didn't understand the situation asked around and only then learned that the Sixth Master of Red Star was demanding a toll before letting anyone pass—and had even shamelessly declared he would inspect the spatial rings of every cultivator who passed through.
No one would agree to such an outrageous demand. After all, what if they handed their spatial ring to Yang Kai and he simply took the valuable items? They certainly couldn't fight him, and they couldn't take anything back by force. So even though hundreds had gathered here, not a single person could leave.
Hu Yi was among them, as were several other Open Heaven Realm cultivators.
All eyes turned to them, everyone hoping they would uphold justice.
Hu Yi had no desire to be the one to step forward. He would have loved nothing more than to shrink into the crowd, but with everyone's expectations upon him and hundreds of eyes burning with hope, step forward he must. After all, if the Open Heaven Realm cultivators didn't stand up, could they expect the Emperor Sovereign Realm ones to speak?
Raising a hand to calm the restless crowd, Hu Yi said: "Everyone, please be patient. Allow me to go and find out what exactly Master Yang intends."
The surrounding crowd cupped their fists: "We appreciate Master Hu's effort."
Hu Yi sighed inwardly, glanced toward where Yang Kai sat, then looked at the Scarlet Flood Dragon and Earth Dragon lying nearby—seemingly dozing but radiating a fearsome, overwhelming aura. His scalp tingled, and he swallowed quietly. With a flick of his wide sleeve, he flew up to the stone pillar.
Guo Ziyan and the others watched coldly but made no move to stop him.
Upon reaching the pillar, Hu Yi first cupped his fists toward Guo Ziyan, then turned to Yang Kai: "Master Yang!"
Yang Kai opened his eyes and regarded him: "Master Hu, so you've thought it over? If you have, then hand over your spatial ring."
The corner of Hu Yi's mouth twitched. Forcing a smile, he said: "Master Yang jests. I've come only to ask—what is the meaning of this?"
Yang Kai replied coolly: "What do you think it means?"
Hu Yi said: "It must be about the Celestial Polarity Divine Stones!"
"If you already know, why waste my time?"
Hu Yi's expression stiffened. Frowning, he said: "I understand, but I'm afraid this action of yours is hardly appropriate, Master Yang. The Celestial Polarity Divine Stones were painstakingly gathered by everyone here. Who would be willing to hand them over so easily? Besides, you've stationed yourself alone here to block everyone's passage, and you have no justification for doing so."
Yang Kai raised his thumb and pointed upward: "I built this road! Is that justification enough?"
Hu Yi was taken aback, then broke into a bitter smile. The road really had been opened by this fellow—there was simply no way to argue against it.
Yang Kai snorted: "You lot used my spirit beast's passage—dug through this mountain without my permission—to go underground and search for Celestial Polarity Divine Stones. I let that slide. And now, when I ask you to share a small portion of the gains, you hem and haw? Do you really think I'm a soft touch?"
"Of course not!" Hu Yi waved his hands frantically, thinking to himself that if this fellow was a soft touch, there wasn't a single person in the entire Great Ruins Realm who wasn't. After a moment's deliberation, he said: "Master Yang makes a fair point. How about this—you name a percentage. Ten percent, twenty, or perhaps thirty? If no one here objects, we'll happily hand over your share, and in return, we ask that you let us pass."
"What percentage? How would I know what you've all found? What if someone deliberately conceals the truth?"
"That would never happen," Hu Yi waved his hand.
"Can you guarantee it?"
Hu Yi froze. How could he guarantee something like that? What if someone really couldn't bear to part with too much and simply handed over some low-quality Celestial Polarity Divine Stones as filler?
"Enough talk. One sentence—if you want to leave this place, bring out your spatial rings for my inspection. Once I've looked, you'll be free to go."
Hu Yi said: "Master Yang, I fear this will incite the wrath of everyone here."
Yang Kai let out a derisive laugh: "It wouldn't be the first time!"
Hu Yi shook his head: "Things are different now. Before, people were divided, but now everyone wants to leave. If you insist on blocking the way, what chance do you have against several hundred—perhaps a thousand—people rushing you all at once? And that's not even counting all those who haven't arrived yet."
Yang Kai raised his hand and produced the Ruyi Satchel, flashing a grin: "Would I need to hold them off? Whoever tries to force their way through—just try my Celestial Polarity Divine Light and see what happens!"
Hu Yi's face went white. He had forgotten that this fellow had already collected a substantial amount of Celestial Polarity Divine Light. If he was pushed too far, all he'd need to do was block the entrance and unleash it. No matter how many people there were, it wouldn't be enough for him to slaughter.