The Monster Race was not proficient in Alchemy or Artifact Refining, but they were certainly not lacking in materials. The spirit grasses and spirit medicines in their territory were simply swallowed by them directly while they essentially turned a blind eye to rare ores and materials. If these resources could be refined though, the Monster Race’s overall strength would improve significantly.
Although the Monster Race Great Senior had, in the beginning, stated with absolute certainty he would not intervene in the Human Race’s internal struggles, the hidden meaning behind his words just now had not gone unnoticed by Yang Kai.
He too wanted his clansmen to settle down on the nine spirit peaks of Nine Heavens Holy Land so they could make use of the rich World Energy to cultivate, but the conditions proposed by Yang Kai at first were simply not enough to move him!
In other words, this guy was also a master who would not strike unless he was certain he could deal a killing blow. As long as there were enough benefits, his prior insistence would be worth less than nothing.
It was because he understood this that Yang Kai immediately proposed leaving the Holy Land’s Alchemist and Artifact Refiners behind to assist the Monster Race.
Sure enough, this condition had caught the Great Senior’s attention, but there was clearly still some hesitation in his expression.
Yang Kai laughed happily and continued, “Among the nine peaks, there are a number of Crystal Stone mineral lodes. Before we return, you may mine them to your heart’s content, however many Crystal Stones you mine you can keep.”
Hearing this, the Great Senior suddenly raised his brow and stared at Yang Kai curiously, “All these various conditions you’ve given are entirely beneficial to my Monster Race, why is that? You’re not going to tell me it’s just because you want us to guard your house while you’re gone, are you?”
“En, there is one place in particular I would like Great Senior to protect!” Yang Kai went silent for a moment before saying, “If the nine peaks were to fall into the hands of our enemies, they might destroy that place… that is not something I wish to see happen.”
“That place should be very important to you.”
“Indeed, but it is worthless to Great Senior and the other masters from your clan,” Yang Kai nodded in agreement.
“Are you confident that after my clan occupies your home, we will simply give it to you when you come back to claim it?” The Great Senior looked at Yang Kai with a grin, a playful expression appearing on his face, “Perhaps after we occupy it we’ll simply declare it our territory from now on!”
“Since I dare to ask Great Senior to help me, I am certain I can retrieve the nine peaks when the time comes,” Yang Kai replied calmly, “Also, being on good terms with the Holy Land is good for you too. We will be able to conduct business just like before only if that basic condition is maintained.”
“I’d very much like to see how you plan on snatching your nine peaks back once they land in my hands!” The Great Senior sneered fiendishly, “When the time comes, if you still don’t have the qualification to speak on equal terms with me, forget about returning your nine peaks, I’ll take your life instead!”
“Does that mean Great Senior agrees?” Yang Kai grinned.
“Naturally, I agree!” The Monster Race Great Senior nodded lightly. Yang Kai was essentially giving him a mountain of benefits for free, how could he not agree?
Although entering the Human Territory would have its dangers, Nine Heavens Holy Land was situated on the very edge of the Human Territory, and with a master like him assuming command, it was essentially impossible for them to be encircled by human race powerhouses so they only needed to sit back and calmly cultivate.
To the Great Senior, if Yang Kai wanted to take back the nine peaks from his Monster Race, he would at least need to have strength equal to him.
As for how many years that would take, it shouldn’t be a small number.
Quite likely it would be at least a hundred years! Yang Kai’s shameless boasting about being able to stand on equal ground with him in two or three decades was something the Great Senior had dismissed offhandedly.
A hundred years was enough time for his clan’s strength to grow several times over and to mine clean the Crystal Stone mineral lodes in the nine peaks.
There would even be enough time for some of his clansmen to study Alchemy and Artifact Refining from the Nine Heavens Holy Land’s Alchemists and Artifact Refiners, that way they would never need to rely on outsiders for such things again in the future.
All kinds of wonderful thoughts passed though the Great Senior’s mind, suddenly making him feel like he had picked up a huge bargain!
Of course, if they wanted to occupy the nine peaks, they would have to help Nine Heavens Holy Land expel their enemies; this point was not lost on Great Senior.
At that moment, Cai Die, who had been waiting outside, suddenly rushed inside, a dignified expression upon her face, completely ignoring Yang Kai as she quickly said, “Great Senior, there’s been an accident at the Beast Transformation Pond!”
Great Senior’s expression also sank as he immediately stood up and rushed out the door with Cai Die hurriedly following after him.
The two of them seemed to have completely forgotten about Yang Kai’s existence.
A short time later, Yang Kai heard a number of rushing sounds come from down below, apparently all of the Monster Race masters had also swiftly left.
Yang Kai sat in place awkwardly for a moment before making up his mind, standing up, and chasing after the masters who had just flew out.
He had always been quite curious about the Beast Transformation Pond the Monster Race was in sole possession of, wondering just what kind of mysterious power it held that allowed a Monster Beast to achieve human form.
Although approaching such an important location would likely provoke the anger of the Monster Race masters, Yang Kai decided to go anyways.
There would not be many such opportunities to expand his understanding like this.
The Beast Transformation Pond was located only a dozen or so kilometers from Thunder Tree Palace. At the base of a great mountain, in a relatively flat region, powerful energy fluctuations were being sent out, causing even the sky above to change colour.
At this moment, the howl of a beast in great pain were ringing through the air, causing the vitality of all who heard them to tumble as their hearts pounded.
When Yang Kai arrived nearby the Beast Transformation Pond, he discovered that it was surrounded by countless Monster Beasts and Monster Race masters.
Each of them had a worried look upon their face as they stared towards the sight in front of them silently and anxiously.
Even Yang Kai’s appearance here had been ignored by them.
Standing slightly behind the crowd, Yang Kai glanced towards where all of them were staring and his eyes lit up.
At a certain point where the surrounding mountains met lay a deep pit with a diameter of about three hundred meters. This pit was filled with an unknown liquid that gave off a mysterious energy.
This was no doubt the Monster Race’s Beast Transformation Pond.
At this moment, inside the Beast Transformation Pond was a snow white deer shaped Monster Beast with two great antlers sticking out from its head. The mysterious energy contained in the strange liquid was currently flowing into the body of this Monster Beast, modifying its physique in some way, but something had obviously gone wrong as it was now crying out in pain and sorrow.
Beside the Beast Transformation Pond, the Monster Race Great Senior stood with a dignified expression on his face, his Monster Qi surging up and spreading out in all directions, seemingly trying to help this deer-shaped Monster Beast.
Unfortunately, this seemed to be having little effect.
Centered around the Beast Transformation Pond, flashing lines appeared on the ground from time to time, similar to how the lines of a Spirit Array would react when energy flowed through them.
Seeing this, Yang Kai’s brow wrinkled as he became somewhat confused.
He had heard that the Monster Race didn’t understand how to engrave or use Spirit Arrays, so how was this giant Spirit Array beneath the Beast Transformation Pond arranged? Also, just by looking at how the Great Senior was acting, it was obvious he was oblivious to the Spirit Array; otherwise instead of spreading out his Monster Qi in all directions he would be coordinating it with the flashing energy lines of the array which would clearly be more efficient and effective.
“Hey, why are you here?” Yang Kai had been so lost in thought that he had failed to realize when a petite figure had arrived beside him until it spoke.
Coming back to his senses, Yang Kai turned to the side to see a Monster Race master standing next to him.
It was the cat eared young girl who had been watching him during his fight with Kuang Shi. At this moment, she was staring at Yang Kai with an interested look, her pair of light blue jewel-like eyes filled with curiosity, her lips curled into a light smile which showed her sharp tiger-like teeth.
“Hello,” Yang Kai quickly cupped his fists to her and with a smile explained, “I heard a lot of movement coming from here so I decided to come see what it was all about.”
“Your courage is really big, even daring to come here! Be careful the others don’t tear you to pieces when they notice you!” The cat eared young girl made a few clawing motions as if she was picture the scene of Yang Kai being ripped into.
“They wouldn’t, would they?” Yang Kai’s face went black upon hearing this.
“Hehehe…” The cat eared young girl suddenly smiled and let out a laugh which resembled the sound of a silver bell as she teasingly stared at Yang Kai, “Scared you!”
“You were playing with me?” Yang Kai immediately understood what this little girl was up to, chuckling helplessly as he asked, “What happened here?”
When Yang Kai asked this, the smile on the cat eared young girl quickly vanished as she let out a sad sigh, “Poor White Jade Deer, when he tried to assume human form, something went wrong, he’s probably going to fail.”
“What went wrong?”
“I don’t know,” The cat eared young girl slowly shook her head, “I also had trouble when I tried to take human form for the first time. At that time, it was only thanks to Great Senior’s help, otherwise I would have failed.”
“Are the consequences of failure quite serious? Why does it seem like all of you are so worried?”
“Of course the consequences are serious!” The cat eared young girl nodded repeatedly, “This is not because of a lack of personal understanding and insight, but rather a problem with the Beast Transformation Pond itself. If it was just a personal failing, then at worse you’d just maintain your beast form, but if one fails like this, even keeping your life is uncertain.”
“The problem is with the Beast Transformation Pond itself?”
“En, this situation has actually occurred several times, many of those guys didn’t survive in the end…” The cat eared young girl said sadly.
“Hateful human, why are you here?” Just then, a delicate voice called out and Cai Die quickly arrived, sheltering the cat eared young girl behind her as she stared vigilantly towards Yang Kai, “Who allowed you to come here?”
“Err…” Yang Kai shrugged his shoulders, “I just came over to take a look.”
“Mao Niang, did he do anything to you?” Cai Die stared at Yang Kai coldly as she asked the cat eared young girl she was protecting behind her.
“No, he just spoke a bit with me,” The cat eared young girl replied quickly.
“Be careful around humans, if you’re not, he’ll do something bad to you.”
“Em, like what?” The cat eared young girl asked curiously and innocently.
Cai Die pretty face flushed slightly red as she angrily replied, “Capture you and beat you ruthlessly before locking you up starving you to death!”
The cat eared young girl suddenly panicked as she directed a fearful look towards Yang Kai. It seemed for her, this was the most severe torture in the world.
“Hey, please don’t casually slander me,” Yang Kai smiled bitterly, “Do I look like such a person?”
“How dastardly you are, you should be clear about in your heart!” Cai Die sneered, “Because of Great Senior’s orders, I haven’t taken any action against you, but you’d best behave honestly… otherwise I don’t mind teaching you a lesson.”
Seeing how firm her attitude was, Yang Kai just sighed, “Fine, I’ll return back to Thunder Tree Palace and wait for your Great Senior to come back so we can finish our previous discussion.”
Saying so, he turned around and prepared to leave.
Yang Kai had already gotten to see the Beast Transformation Pond so he decided to withdraw for now, lest he stir up the Monster Race’s resentment unnecessarily.
Yang Kai was just about to leave when a violent energy fluctuation burst out from the Beast Transformation Pond. Along with a loud hissing sound, the entire Beast Transformation Pond seemed to boil up from below.
At the same time, the massive Spirit Array lines centred around the Beast Transformation Pond began flashing randomly.
Yang Kai’s eyes lit up all of a sudden and immediately cancelled his plans to leave, focusing his sight on the Beast Transformation Pond once again as he sent his powerful Divine Sense into the ground nearby.
With the sudden change in the Beast Transformation Pond, Cai Die was apparently in no mood to deal with Yang Kai, quickly turning around together with the cat-eared young girl to watch the White Jade Deer that was struggling in the pool, a look of worry filling both their faces.
Standing on the edge of the Beast Transformation Pond, the Monster Race Great Senior’s expression also became more solemn than before and the Monster Qi which he was emitting from his body became even fiercer, spreading out to cover the entire Beast Transformation Pond.
But even with the Great Senior’s incredible strength, he couldn’t suppress the riots of the Beast Transformation Pond.
The White Jade Deer, who was half submerged in the pond, looked like he wanted to jump out but was seemingly being grasped by a pair of giant invisible hands he could not break free from. A series of mournful howls leaked from his mouth as he stared desperately towards the Great Senior, as if imploring him to save him.
All the Monster Races masters who saw this scene couldn’t help wearing aggrieved expressions, causing the atmosphere to become particularly heavy.
A mysterious energy which was now visible to the naked eye was slamming into the body of the White Jade Deer, drilling into his physique like countless worms, causing his flesh to swell up and distort randomly, producing a horrifying picture.
Dark red blood flowed out from the White Jade Deer’s seven orifices and it became clear that this powerful Seventh-Order Monster Beast that had achieved the qualifications to take human form would soon die.
The Great Senior also slowly withdrew his Monster Qi while directing a helpless look towards the still struggling White Jade Deer.
Everyone realized that this clansman of theirs no longer had any hope and all of them began to silently mourn for him, many Monster Race masters even shedding tears.
“Big Sister Cai Die, can’t you find a way to save him…” The cat-eared young girl begged Cai Die while weeping.
Cai Die smiled bitterly as she stroked the young girl’s head while helplessly shaking her own.
Even their Great Senior was helpless, what could she possibly do?
“Can you let me try? I might have a way to save him,” Yang Kai, who has been observing the Beast Transformation Pond fixedly, suddenly opened his mouth.
Cai Die glanced over at him suspiciously, a clear look of doubt and anger flashing across her pretty face as she shouted, “A mere human boy like you?”
Yang Kai simply stared back at her without the slightest bit of timidity.
Cai Die frowned deeply, wondering just where this human brat was getting his confidence from, disdainfully snorting in the next breath, “You say you have the ability to save him? Boy, don’t think that because Great Senior has made some kind of deal with you, you can act however you want here. This is my Monster Race’s territory, not your Human Race’s land, if you annoy me, I can kill you at any time.”
“Instead of wasting your breath threatening me, you might as well ask Great Senior to see what he thinks,” Yang Kai coldly snorted. This Cai Die was always showing him a rather disgusted look, causing Yang Kai to feel somewhat uncomfortable and confused, wondering just how he had offended her.
“Maybe I can save him, maybe he will still die, but if you continue doing nothing, your clansman will definitely die. We humans have a saying, ‘giving medicine to a dead horse can’t do any harm’; I don’t know if you’ve heard it before?”
Being spoken to like this, Cai Die’s pretty face became cold and she was just about to shoot back at Yang Kai when the cat-eared young girl hurriedly cut her off, “I’ll go ask Great Senior now!”
Saying so, her petite body swiftly flickered a few times and arrived in front of the Great Senior who was still standing beside the Beast Transformation Pond.
Cai Die was stunned for a moment before she quickly turned a suspicious glare towards Yang Kai and coldly asked, “What scheme are you up to? Do you want to destroy my Monster Race’s foundation by ruining the Beast Transformation Pond?”
Yang Kai couldn’t help laughing dumbly, “Is paranoia a way of life for you? Why do I feel like you hate humans so much? Were you abused by humans in the past for something?”
When these words came out, a thick murderous intent burst out from Cai Die’s body. It seemed like Yang Kai’s casually guess had actually touched upon some painful experience she was hiding in her heart, causing her pretty face to warp with hatred.
Not waiting for her to explode, Yang Kai quickly said, “I have no interest in your Monster Race’s Beast Transformation, about that you can rest assured. The only thing I’m interested in is what’s hidden beneath it.”
“What’s hidden below?” Cai Die narrowed her eyes, but didn’t have time to ask Yang Kai about what he meant before the cat-eared young girl flew back over and pulled him towards the Beast Transformation Pond as she hurriedly said, “Great Senior wants to see you!”
Yang Kai nodded lightly and followed the cat-eared young girl towards the Beast Transformation Pond under Cai Die’s vigilant gaze.
“I want to see just what kind of mischief you’re up to!” Cai Die coldly snorted and hurriedly followed.
A lot of Monster Race masters saw this scene and showed curious looks, wondering why, at this critical moment, their Great Senior had suddenly allowed this unfamiliar human boy to approach the Beast Transformation Pond.
A moment later, Yang Kai stood beside the pond. At such a close distance, Yang Kai fully realized just how enormous the amount of energy hidden inside the Beast Transformation Pond truly was.
“Mao Niang said you have a way to save him?” Great Senior stared at Yang Kai solemnly.
“I can try!” Yang Kai nodded lightly, not explaining any further.
“Just try?” The Great Senior’s brows furrowed, appearing somewhat disgruntled.
“In this situation he’s guaranteed to die, right? Since that’s the case, you have nothing to lose by letting me try,” Yang Kai calmly replied.
Great Senior hesitated for a moment before decisively nodding, “Good, try! But no matter what happens, after this is all over, you have to give me a reasonable explanation!”
“Fine,” Yang Kai nodded. Since he chose to make a move here, he was prepared to be questioned later by this Great Senior.
As soon as they reached an agreement, Yang Kai shut his eyes and began wantonly releasing his Spiritual Energy into the surrounding.
Feeling the power of his Divine Sense, the Monster Race masters nearby were all shocked; even the Great Senior couldn’t help calling out in surprise, “Conflagrated Divine Sense?”
Cai Die, who was also standing nearby, also trembled lightly upon sensing this.
Yang Kai fully releasing his Divine Sense at this moment made it impossible for him to hide his Soul’s true strengths.
The Spiritual Energy intensity he was releasing right now was comparable to a Saint Realm master’s and even carried a special attribute to it.
Like molten gold, Yang Kai’s Spiritual Energy penetrated into the surrounding earth. No one here was able to understand what Yang Kai was doing though; only feeling like his Spiritual Energy was flowing in some kind mysterious pattern.
The bright lines which appeared all around the Beast Transformation Pond also began to shine on and off.
The White Jade Deer who was submerged in the pond was still howling as painfully as before though as his physique deformed irregularly and his bones creaked. The mysterious force which was surging into his body was clearly still wreaking havoc.
The White Jade Deer’s eyes were completely red now and tears of blood were rolling down its face, but through all this pain and suffering, it stared desperately towards Yang Kai, as if grasping at any straw it could, its vision filled with expectation and pleading.
Yang Kai remained focused though and simply continued to release his Spiritual Energy faster and faster.
Gradually, all the Monster Race masters felt that the chaotic energy fluctuations coming from the Beast Transformation Pond become gentler, as if they were gently being smoothed out by a giant invisible hand.
Seeing hope in this desperate situation, even Cai Die, who was extremely prejudiced against Yang Kai, couldn’t help revealing a look of anticipation towards him, because he had managed to achieve something even their Great Senior couldn’t.
“Come on!” Mao Niang cheered the White Jade Deer on while paying close attention to Yang Kai.
As soon as the first positive signs came out, she began cheering even louder.
As time went by, the turbulence in the Beast Transformation Pond became weaker and weaker and the chaotic energy fluctuations slowly stabilized. The White Jade Deer soaking in the pond also no longer called out painfully but instead showed an expression filled with comfort and joy.
“He really did it?” Cai Die stared dumbfounded at the scene in front her, almost unable to believe her own eyes.
The Monster Race masters in the crowd all showed shocked expressions as well, holding their breaths as looks of excitement and anticipation crept onto their faces.
They were all happy because they knew White Jade Deer had escaped the jaws of death.
A half hour later, everything became calm.
Another hour after that, the White Jade Deer immersed in the pond suddenly began squirming again as his physique distorted wildly and he released howls as if he was suffering from the most brutal torture as his bones seemed to be snapping.
However, the Monster Race masters who saw this scene not only did not worry, but instead showed joyous expressions.
Because they knew that White Jade Deer was about to achieve human form.
Sure enough, as his flesh distorted and his bones cracked, the White Jade Deer’s body gradually began to transform into a human form.
Yang Kai also opened his eyes and took in this magical scene with great interest.
The transformation process continued for a while yet.
Eventually, though, a young, naked teenage boy with a short pair of antlers on his head appeared in the Beast Transformation Pond, and all the Monster Race masters burst into cheers.
Great Senior, who was still standing beside the Beast Transformation Pond, reached and lifted the young boy from the Beast Transformation Pond with his Monster Qi before draping a fresh new robe over him.
The young man fell to the ground and violently shuddered while gasping for breath. It was only after quite some time that he managed to stumble to his feet and sweep his spirited eyes around like a newborn baby, curiously taking in everything he could see.
“Another new family member! Hehe…” Mao Niang came over and patted the boy’s head, her face filled with joy, “Good, good!”
The young boy then turned his head and looked at Yang Kai, opening his mouth as he tried to speak but no words came out; however, the look of gratitude on his face was unmistakable.
“There’s no need to rush,” Mao Niang softly comforted, “When you’ve recovered a bit, Big Sister here will teach you to speak.”
The young boy gently and obediently nodded.
“Cai Die, take him back to rest,” Great Senior ordered.
Cai Die gently nodded and quickly shot a complicated glance towards Yang Kai before leading Mao Niang and the young boy back to Thunder Tree Palace.
As he stood beside the Beast Transformation Pond, Great Senior stared deeply towards Yang Kai, his expression only lightened after a long silence, “You should restore yourself first. We’ll talk about this later.”
Yang Kai smiled and nodded before sitting down cross-legged and closing his eyes.
Even with the Great Senior still watching, Yang Kai didn’t hesitate to continue submerging his Divine Sense into the Beast Transformation Pond, seemingly studying something.
Of course, this did not escape the Great Senior’s notice, but he made no attempt to stop Yang Kai, instead just waving to his fellow clansmen to disperse.
Looking at the closed eyed Yang Kai, the Great Senior’s lips curled slightly, feeling that after this time he might uncover some of the secrets he had been trying to figure out since long ago.
And all of this was actually thanks to a human boy.
Even if the Great Senior was somewhat unwilling in his heart, he was helpless to change the situation now.
[This little brat…] Great Senior shook his head and smiled wryly, it seemed he had somewhat looked down upon Yang Kai’s abilities. Just the fact that the latter had a Conflagrated Knowledge Sea was enough to classify him as out of the ordinary.
Yang Kai sat for a whole day and night, exploring the mysteries hidden below the Beast Transformation Pond while slowly recovering his strength.
The Great Senior naturally didn’t stay behind to watch him and had returned to Thunder Tree Palace long ago.
When Yang Kai opened his eyes once again, only Cai Die remained nearby the Beast Transformation Pond. This Monster Race beauty with her seven coloured wings was currently staring at Yang Kai curiously.
Their four eyes suddenly met and Cai Die’s expression became a bit unnatural, quickly averting her gaze.
“Senior Cai Die…” Yang Kai hurriedly stood up and greeted her.
“Finished?” Cai Die asked lightly.
Yang Kai nodded, not sure if he was imagining it but thinking this woman’s hostility towards him had decreased a lot.
“Since you’ve finished restoring yourself, come with me, Great Senior is waiting for you!” Cai Die said, flapping her wings and leading the way.
Yang Kai hurried to keep up.
On the way back to Thunder Tree Palace, the Monster Beasts and the Monster Race masters who appeared all showed kind eyes towards Yang Kai, their previous revulsion and rejection completely disappearing.
It seemed like because Yang Kai saved the White Jade Deer, he had won their collective goodwill.
The Monster Race was truly united! Yang Kai silently praised.
Such a scene would be impossible to see in any human force; at most, this act would have won the favour of a few people related to the one he saved, very much unlike the current situation Yang Kai found himself in with the Monster Race clan here. Now, no one despised Yang Kai or looked down on him, most of them even regarding him as a distinguished guest.
Arriving at the top of Thunder Tree Palace, in front of the Great Senior’s house, Cai Die stopped and motioned to Yang Kai, “Go in.”
“Many thanks!” Yang Kai smiled and walked towards the house.
“Ah…” Cai Die suddenly called out.
“Hm?” Yang Kai turned to her and quickly noticed an awkward look upon her face. Her pink lips quivered a few times before she quietly shouted, “Thank you!”
After squeezing out these words, her body flickered and quickly flew down, disappearing in the blink of an eye.
Yang Kai smiled dumbly at this sight for a moment before turning back around and walking into the Great Senior’s house while shaking his head.
Inside the house, the Great Senior stared at Yang Kai with a smile for a moment before kindly motioning to him, “Sit down.”
As he said so, he glanced towards the door and seemingly unintentionally mentioned, “You’re the first human to obtain Cai Die’s approval; even though your Holy Land’s old Holy Master came here many times, she never gave him any face.”
“Oh? I suppose I should feel honored then,” Yang Kai raised an eyebrow.
The Great Senior smiled and shook his head, “Don’t blame her for being prejudiced against you, she has her reasons.”
Saying so, the Great Senior handed over a bottle of fine wine and continued, “Let’s drink while we talk. This wine was also brought by your old Holy Master. The Monster Race doesn’t excel at creating such good things.”
Yang Kai accepted, took a sip, and frowned slightly, “It’s alright, I have something better, do you want to try it?”
“Please!” Great Senior said unceremoniously.
Yang Kai laughed and brought out a bottle of wine from his Black Book space and filled Great Senior’s cup.
Seeing this, the Great Senior frowned slightly before grinning, “Boy, I thought you were somewhat pleasing to the eye before, but now it looks like you’re a stingy one. Every time your old Holy Master visited, he would bring several hundred bottles of wine. This King can drink several bottles of that wine at a time yet now you only offer me this small cup?”
Yang Kai’s face immediately went black, “This wine is incredibly precious, I only have this bottle left, how could I allow it to be drunk so carelessly?”
The Great Senior snorted lightly and with a somewhat dissatisfied look upon his face he reluctantly picked up the cup in front of him and drank it down.
The moment the Great Senior drank this wine though, his expression changed greatly, as if his very soul had been shaken. On his face, all signs of dissatisfaction completely disappeared as he seemed to be immersed in a wondrous mood, grinning a moment later as he liberally praised, “Good wine! This is far superior to any of the wines your old Holy Master ever brought. Come, come, another!”
Saying so, he thrust his cup in front of Yang Kai and continually urged.
Yang Kai generously filled his glass again and watch as the Great Senior drank it down again. Only after drinking his third cup did the Great Senior sit back and relax.
“Was this wine brewed by you?” The Great Senior asked.
Yang Kai shook his head, “It was brewed by my alcohol-obsessed Martial Aunt. Great Senior shouldn’t expect too much and must savour the taste well; after all, it took her fifty years to brew this.”
“Fifty years…” Great Senior was dumbstruck for a moment, soon shaking his head, “Your Martial Aunt is really interesting, actually taking a whole fifty years to brew this bottle of wine? On the other hand, it was not time wasted, this wine is not simple.”
Yang Kai showed a faint smile and lightly sipped his own glass. His cultivation and strength were not nearly as high as this Great Senior’s so he couldn’t drink it freely.
The amount of energy contained in the Thousand Safflower Wine brewed by his Martial Aunt Fei Yu couldn’t be underestimated. If he were to drink too much all at once, he would really become drunk and pass out.
“Great Senior just mentioned something about Senior Cai Die having a reason for her prejudice towards humans, what exactly happened to her?” Yang Kai asked curiously.
“Oh, she…” The Great Senior took a moment to organize his thoughts before saying, “Before she achieved human form, she was caught by a Human Race cultivator because her true form is the Seven Coloured Illusory Butterfly which was known for its rarity and beauty. Although the human who caught her and raised her didn’t abuse her per-say, while she was in captivity she witnessed a great many disturbing things… En, suffice it to say, the man who caught here wasn’t a good thing, so she developed a deep disgust and distrust towards humans.”
“So it’s like that,” Yang Kai now understand why Cai Die always seemed to feel repugnance for him.
“Well, it’s a tale from long ago,” Great Senior smiled, “When this King was out traveling many years ago, I happened to come across her and saved her.”
“Good, let’s not mention this anymore.”
Great Senior nodded lightly, setting the topic aside.
The room suddenly fell silent as the Monster Race’s Great Senior stared deeply towards Yang Kai, a while later asking, “Are you prepared to explain to me what the previous matter was all about?”
“What does Great Senior want to know?”
“What do you know?” Great Senior answered with a question of his own.
Yang Kai wrinkled his brow slightly and responded, “I know just about everything.”
“How do you know all that? Even I haven’t comprehended the mysteries hidden beneath the Beast Transformation Pond!” Great Senior’s expression suddenly became incredibly solemn.
“That’s because what is beneath the Beast Transformation Pond is a giant Natural Spirit Array. Great Senior isn’t proficient in Spirit Arrays, right?” Yang Kai smiled, “I think Great Senior already knows that there is a powerful Earth Vein running below the nearby mountain range, yes? The Beast Transformation Pond is a manifestation of the overflowing energy from the Earth Vein; however, the Beast Transformation Pond also seems to contain some other mysterious energy. What that mysterious energy is, I have yet to figure out, all I know is that it is that energy which helps your Monster Race achieve human form.”
“Explain carefully!” The Great Senior quickly urged.
“I’ll be honest with Great Senior, in fact, I am an Alchemist. The Natural Spirit Array below the Beast Transformation Pond is similar to the Spirit Arrays I use in Alchemy, but that Spirit Array is actually a collection of countless smaller Spirit Arrays and is extremely complicated and complex. The process your Monster Race undergoes to achieve human form is essentially equivalent to an Alchemist performing Alchemy.”
“What is the relationship between the two?” The Great Senior asked somewhat confused.
“The Beast Transformation Pond is the furnace, the Earth Veins are the Spirit Arrays, the pond’s water is the medicinal liquid, and the Monster Beast is the pill!”
“You’re saying my Monster Race is the same as a medicinal pill?”
“En. When one performs Alchemy, they blend all kinds of different herbs together in one place to produce various profound and subtle changes to their medicinal properties and eventually condense them into a single pill. The same is true for how your Monster Race achieves human form. Upon clearing certain conditions and with enough of the mysterious energy contained within the pond, your physique undergoes various changes which allow you to take human form.”
The Great Senior wrinkled his brow deeply as he muttered to himself, seemingly carefully digesting what Yang Kai had just told him.
Despite his exquisite strength and deep cultivation, he still had difficulty understanding this abstract Alchemy knowledge.
After a long time, the Great Senior sighed helplessly, “I only understand about half of what you said…”
“It’s not that easy to explain. If Great Senior is willing to study Alchemy, in less than ten years or so, you should be able to completely understand what I am saying,” Yang Kai smiled and shook his head, “Unfortunately, Great Senior’s Monster Qi is not suitable for Alchemy.”
“I don’t need to comprehend Alchemy; I just need to understand how that Spirit Array beneath the Beast Transformation Pond functions. If my guess is right, my clansmen often having accidents during their initial transformation is because that Natural Spirit Array is damaged, correct?”
“En, I was able to patch it, allowing me to save that White Jade Deer,” Yang Kai nodded, sinking into silence for a moment before continuing, “Good, after the crisis my Nine Heavens Holy Land has been dealt with, how about I teach Great Senior how to maintain and repair that Spirit Array?”
“What are your conditions?” Great Senior narrowed his eyes slightly as he stared at Yang Kai warily.
“Heh heh… For any Alchemist or Artifact Refiner, the Spirit Arrays they use are part of their core secrets, something they won’t easily divulge to outsiders, doing so will be a big loss to me. How does Great Senior plan to compensate me?”
The Great Senior glared at Yang Kai indignantly for a while before cursing through his teeth, “Hateful! As long as you can teach me about that Spirit Array, my Monster Race will owe you a favour, if you have any needs in the future, just come to me and I will assist you!”
“Great Senior’s attitude is really refreshing! It looks like we’ll be good friends in the future,” Yang Kai smiled innocently.
“You’re more difficult to deal with than your old Holy Master,” Great Senior grumbled, soon laughing though as he raised his glass and drained it, “Forget it, your Human Race can always produce one or two outstanding talents, this King is also looking forward to seeing if you can rise to my level in twenty or thirty years. As for owing you a favour, it’s not a big deal either way. You can even use this favour now to let me help you resolve your Nine Heavens Holy Land’s current crisis.”
“No, regarding the Holy Land’s crisis, let’s stick with the agreement we negotiated before. I’ll save this favour for later.”
“Do as you please!” The Great Senior pursed his lips slightly and said no more.
After a lengthy chat, both sides were quite satisfied.
The half bottle of Thousand Safflower Wine was almost completely drunk by Great Senior alone but Yang Kai didn’t regret it, to him, it was far more important to obtain the friendship of the Monster Race. Even if this friendship was still mainly based on mutual interests, Yang Kai didn’t mind.
After Yang Kai patched the Beast Transformation Pond’s Spirit Array, it wouldn’t have any problems in the short term. He had also taught some basic information about the Natural Spirit Array to Great Senior as well, just in case.
Since his business here had been concluded, Yang Kai bid the Great Senior farewell.
The Great Senior naturally didn’t try to detain him and saw Yang Kai off.
Down below Thunder Tree Palace, the White Jade Deer, who had been rescued by Yang Kai, was waiting. After achieving human form, he now looked like a gentle young boy with skin so white even women would be jealous.
After being able to personally thank Yang Kai, he looked quite happy.
In response to this young boy’s gratitude, Yang Kai simply waved his hand, indicating he didn’t need to pay it any mind; then, after briefly saying goodbye to the other Monster Race masters, Yang Kai flew off towards Nine Heavens Holy Land.
It took Yang Kai three days to get to the Thunder Tree Palace so it would obviously take that long to go back.
However, there was still time until the Holy Land’s deadline so he was not in a hurry.
Two days later, while flying above the jungle, Yang Kai suddenly felt a rambunctious aura rapidly approaching him. After examining this aura for a moment, Yang Kai smiled and stopped.
A short time later, Kuang Shi appeared in the distance and called out, “Little brother, I’m glad you are safe and sound.”
“En,” Yang Kai nodded, “What a coincidence, meeting Brother Kuang here.”
Kuang Shi curled his lips, “I’ve been waiting for you here… your business with Great Senior, did he agree?”
“En, he agreed, a few days from now your Great Senior will lead your clan to my Holy Land.”
“Hahaha, really?” Kuang Shi laughed, seemingly very happy, nodding to himself for a while as he openly said, “Very good, I’ve always wanted to see what the outside world is like. Spending every day patrolling this jungle is simply too boring.”
Yang Kai was amazed that this was what Kuang Shi was so happy about, but soon shook his head wryly and cupped his fists, “If Brother Kuang plans on visiting, little brother will prepare a warm welcome. En, I will definitely provide good entertainment for you.”
“Naturally I must go, I’ve heard there are so many novel things in your Human Territory, and of course I have to go see them for myself!”
“There are indeed many interesting things, but there are also many dangers, Brother Kuang must not let his guard down.”
“Why must I fear danger?” Kuang Shi said heroically, “The more dangerous the better, what would I do if the outside world was just as boring as this place?”
“It’s good that Brother Kuang can think like that… Good, there’s not much time left, I have to hurry back. Little brother will be waiting in the Holy Land for Great Senior and your clan’s arrival!”
“Go on, be careful!” Kuang Shi waved his hand and waited for Yang Kai to leave before turning around and heading back to Thunder Tree Palace, planning on volunteering to join the expedition Great Senior would be leading to Nine Heavens Holy Land.
Two days later, Yang Kai arrived back at Nine Heavens Holy Land.
Quietly releasing his Divine Sense, Yang Kai soon discovered that the situation had changed somewhat since he left.
Ten kilometers or so outside the nine peaks, Yang Kai noticed many signs of human activity and the Nine Peaks Barrier itself had also become somewhat weaker, as if it had recently suffered some bombardment.
Yang Kai’s expression immediately became cold, understanding that these forces had not followed their own deadlines and had already begun launching attacks.
However, judging from the state of the Holy Land’s barrier, it should still be on the level of tentative attacks.
Word of Yang Kai’s return quickly spread, and Xu Hui and the other Elders soon gathered together inside the main palace.
Inside the hall, the Holy Land’s six Saint Realm masters and An Ling’er, the only surviving Saintess, stared towards Yang Kai, waiting for him to speak.
“Things went well, the Monster Race’s Great Senior has agreed to our request. Of course, his help comes at a cost.”
Xu Hui and the other Saint Realm Elders were all shocked; although they had agreed to Yang Kai’s plans and proposals before, none of them had expected too much and were simply willing to let him try in order to give some face to this new Holy Master.
One had to know the person Yang Kai was dealing with as a Monster Race Great Senior, not a simple character.
But unexpectedly, in less than ten days, Yang Kai had already secured this supreme powerhouse’s cooperation.
“That Monster Race Great Senior… What price does he expect us to pay?” Xu Hui asked worriedly.
“While they watch over the nine peaks for us, all the Holy Land’s Alchemists and Artifact Refiners have to stay behind and assist them. They will also be able to freely mine the Crystal Stone lodes located among the nine peaks.”
“Just those two conditions?”
“En, only those two.”
The six Elders all exchanged glances and silently relaxed.
It was only natural for them to mine the Crystal Stone lodes. If the Holy Land’s people temporarily evacuated from here, the Crystal Stone lodes would definitely fall into the hands of their enemy. Since that was the case, they might as well just let the Monster Race mine them instead.
As for lending them the Holy Land’s Alchemists and Artifact Refiners, as long as it was arranged properly and not discovered by outsiders, this also wasn’t an issue.
These two conditions were within everyone’s ability to accept.
This way, rather than saying Nine Heavens Holy Land was asking for help from the Monster Race, it was better to say they were taking advantage of the Monster Race’s strength to give their enemies a harsh blow, like driving a pack of wolves to attack a tiger.
The only issue was that this pack of wolves was not easy to deal with. If they really let the Monster Race take root in the nine peaks, it would likely cost them quite a bit if they ever wanted to expel them.
But Xu Hui and the other Elders didn’t need to think that far ahead right now. So to say, this was all the decision of the new Holy Master, they just had to obey.
Once the new Holy Master grew to a certain height, he would naturally retrieve the nine peaks.
Seeing Yang Kai take the initiative to travel to the Monster Race’s territory to seek assistance, Xu Hui felt that this new Holy Master had become more concerned about the Holy Land. As long as things proceeded like this, Xu Hui was certain Yang Kai would soon agree to inherit the position of Holy Master.
Having reached this critical turning point, the disaster facing the Holy Land right now become unimportant.
“Great Elder, I noticed that the Nine Peaks Barrier has recently been attacked, did they decide to make a move while I was away?” Yang Kai asked Xu Hui who was somewhat lost in thought.
Xu Hui quickly composed himself and nodded, “Just a day ago, they launched a probing attack, but as soon as they noticed that the Nine Peaks Barrier had reopened, they immediately gave up. However, judging from their current movements, I’m afraid they will come in full force within one or two days.”
“That should be more than enough time. Go arrange the disciples, have them start preparing to withdraw. Let me know as soon as everything is in order.”
“Yes,” Xu Hui and the other Elders nodded firmly.
Although Yang Kai’s had developed some friendship with the Monster Race Great Senior, and even earned a favour from him, Yang Kai still felt leaving all the Holy Land’s people here together with the Monster Race was not a good idea, so the evacuation still had to be done. This was the best way to avoid any unforeseen accidents from occurring that could ruin all his previous efforts.
What’s more, the place he chose to house the Holy Land’s people was perfect for them to enter secluded retreat and cultivate.
As the Elders and Protectors all set about their individual tasks, An Ling’er followed beside Yang Kai and explained the other magical uses of the Holy Master Spirit Ring.
The Holy Master Spirit Ring was not just a symbol of the Nine Heavens Holy Land’s Holy Master, it could also open many places that normally were sealed off, such as the Treasury and the Nine Peaks Spirit Arrays.
But that was not all, the Holy Master Spirit Ring also allowed the Nine Heavens Holy Land’s Holy Master to use the energy stored in the Nine Peaks Spirit Array to multiply the power of his own Nine Heavens Divine Skills.
Each of the nine spirit peaks contained a repository that stored a mysterious energy which corresponded to one of the Nine Heavens Divine Skills. When the Holy Master fought within range of the Nine Peaks Spirit Array, as long as his own cultivation was sufficient, he could be called unrivaled in the world.
Knowing this, Yang Kai’s spirit was roused and eagerly began studying this newfound ability, only now understanding some of the hidden mysteries of the Holy Master Spirit Ring.
With this card in hand, Yang Kai’s confidence about the approaching war grew once more.
Yang Kai also found some time to go to the Nine Heavens Holy Land’s Treasury and swept everything inside into the Black Book space.
In any case, the Holy Land was going to be temporarily evacuated, if he left these things here, they would only wind up in the enemy’s hands. Since that was the case, Yang Kai felt it was better to just take them away right now.
After cleaning the Treasury out, Yang Kai nodded with satisfaction.
With all kinds of herbs, ores, artifacts, and Crystal Stones, Yang Kai’s net worth suddenly multiplied many times over.
Two days later, at the crack of dawn, Yang Kai, who was silently meditating, felt a faint shock come from somewhere outside the nine peaks and opened his eyes, coldly staring in the direction of the explosion.
[They’ve come!]
The masters who had been gathered nearby finally couldn’t hold themselves back and had begun their assault on Nine Heavens Holy Land.
Slowly getting up, Yang Kai swiftly walked out of his room and found Xu Hui and the other Elders lined up solemnly, seemingly waiting for Yang Kai.
Everyone’s expression was very dignified and a mix of tension and anger could be seen on their faces.
Seeing Yang Kai appear, all of them bowed.
Yang Kai nodded lightly, “Let’s go take a look, I wonder who it is that is so eager to die!”
A light flashed across the eyes of Xu Hui and others as they quickly nodded and followed after Yang Kai.
They found that after returning from the Monster Race, Yang Kai no longer seemed to reject them, and although he had not once personally admitted it, his words and deeds now truly aligned with the Holy Land.
Upon realizing this, all of their spirits rose and they faintly felt that the Holy Land still had hope.
*Hong Hong Hong…*
A burst of loud explosions echoed throughout the nine peaks as one region of the barrier was continuously shelled. However, despite this section of the Nine Peaks Barrier flickering somewhat, there were no signs of it failing or enemies invading.
The Holy Master Spirit Ring was on Yang Kai’s hand, and the Nine Peaks Barrier was opened by him personally, so there was a subtle connection between the two.
Any attack that hit the barrier Yang Kai could sense far more clearly than Xu Hui and the others.
The attacks just now stemmed from a number of Transcendent Realm cultivators. So far, none of the enemy’s Saint Realm masters had taken action, allowing Yang Kai to relax.
A short time later, the group led by Yang Kai arrived at the edge of the nine peaks and came to a stop mid-air. Looking out at the scene in front of him, Yang Kai couldn’t help grinning, “There’s certainly a lot of them !”
Beyond the Nine Peaks Barrier, a large crowd had assembled.
At the very least there were several thousand people gathered here; it seemed like the three forces had won over a lot of helpers during this time.
Yang Kai swept his eyes and Divine Sense over this crowd indifferently and soon noticed that among these thousands of people, there were three particularly large teams, immediately understanding that they were the cultivators from Shattering Mystical Palace, War Spirit Temple and Netherworld Sect.
In addition to these three large teams, there were many other forces mixed in, each of them clustered together as they occupied different positions and coldly stared towards the nine peaks.
After Xu Hui and the other Elders appeared, the cultivators who were attacking the barrier quickly leapt back while various others in the crowd showed looks of fear.
An injured tiger was still a tiger. Although Nine Heavens Holy Land had suffered a sharp decline in strength, it was still a powerful force that had survived for countless years, whether it was in terms of history or heritage, none of the forces present could compare.
An inherent deterrence still remained.
All of the masters gathered understood that if they couldn’t completely wipe out Nine Heavens Holy Land today, once it recovered and sought revenge, none of them would be able to escape.
Every Holy Master of the Holy Land had become a Peak Third Order Saint, this was a legendary feat. Throughout the entire Tong Xuan Realm, only a select few forces could guarantee that one of their Sect’s disciples could achieve such cultivation.
Each and every one of these forces was one to be feared and respected.
Under the probing of Yang Kai’s powerful Divine Sense, the number of enemy Saint Realm masters was clear at a glance.
There were fifteen in total!
Two of them were Second Order Saint while the rest were First Order.
Nine Heavens Holy Land was at an absolute disadvantage in terms of quantity and cultivation.
“Xu Hui, you and I have known each other for nearly a hundred years, but it wasn’t until today that this old master discovered that you’re such a turtle. What’s wrong? Do you really think that as long as you hide behind your Nine Peaks Barrier you’ll be safe? Do you think you can just pretend the atrocities your previous generation Saintess committed have nothing to do with you?” The leader of one of the three big teams suddenly shouted.
As soon as this voice called out, a number of others began yelling and cursing as well.
Xu Hui’s expression remained indifferent as he coldly replied, “Zhang Ao, why must you do this?”
Hearing this, Yang Kai expression changed as he couldn’t help staring towards this old man.
Zhang Ao, Shattering Mystical Palace’s Sect Master, a Second Order Saint and the one Xu Hui said a few days ago was the only man from the three forces they had to be concerned about. All the other masters from the three nearby sects weren’t strong enough to enter Xu Hui’s eyes, but this Zhang Ao had the same cultivation as him, so if they were to fight, it was impossible to tell who would win and who would lose.
“Why must I do this?” Zhang Ao coldly snorted, “This old master simply led these numerous friends to Nine Heavens Holy Land today to seek justice for our many dead relatives and friends!”
“Justice?” Xu Hui stared at Zhang Ao with eyes full of contempt and disdain, “A despicable villain like you dares talk about justice?”
“Whether or not this old master is a despicable villain is not for you to judge,” Zhang Ao snorted, “Your previous generation’s Saintess murdered countless people from outside yet your Nine Heavens Holy Land hid here behind your precious barrier and did nothing. Did any of the dead ever provoke your Nine Heavens Holy Land? What wrong did they ever commit towards you that you had to go so far as to slaughter them? Did any of them even know you at all?!”
“That’s right, you allowing the previous generation Saintess to wantonly torment the world’s common people, you must answer for this!”
“If you can’t present the corpse of the previous generation Saintess to us, today we will trample flat your Nine Heavens Holy Land!”
“I say they’re all in this together! Perhaps they were the ones who sent the previous generation Saintess to murder our friends and family!”
“……”
Many people among this group of people were angry and as soon one of them began shouting, others joined in, and although their words were course, many of them were actually fact, so when Xu Hui and the others heard all of this, although they were angry, they were also unable to refute them.
They didn’t intend to ignore the actions of Saintess Nan, it was simply that they didn’t have enough strength to deal with her.
The old Holy Master died, and the only remaining Saintess and the future Holy Master had only been recently brought back from the Demon Land by them. Where did they have time to seek out Saintess Nan? What’s more, Saintess Nan was proficient in the Nine Heavens Divine Skills, Xu Hui and the other Elders were not her opponent at all, even if they found her, they would only bring disgrace upon themselves if they fought.
When Saintess Nan had previously attacked the Holy Land, it took them a lot of effort simply to repel her, resulting in the Holy Land suffering massive damage and casualties.
Seeing the frustrated expressions of Xu Hui and the other Holy Land Elders, Zhang Ao smiled smugly and continued to pour fuel onto the fire, loudly calling for Xu Hui and Nine Heavens Holy Land to bring out Saintess Nan and execute her in front of everyone to comfort the souls of the innocents she had mercilessly killed.
Even if Xu Hui wanted to argue back, there was nothing he could say.
The Saintesses were not to kill a single soul throughout their lifetime, yet after death, they would slaughtering a million corpses. This was a secret deeply hidden by the Holy Land, even if they tried to explain now, no one would believe them.
“Zhang Ao, are you really so vicious? When the old Holy Master was alive, he provided no small favour to your Shattering Mystical Palace!” Xu Hui shouted indignantly, “Cao Guan, Wu Jie, must you two also act like this?”
Of the two people Xu Hui named, Cao Guan was the head of War Spirit Temple, and Wu Jie was the master of Netherworld Sect, the two of them were First Order Saint.
Cao Guan shouted firmly, “What is Great Elder talking about, this Cao Guan has always been righteous and only ever stands on the side of justice!”
Wu Jie was a man with a thin build and pale face. He had a sinister and vicious look and had obviously cultivated some kind of Evil Secret Art. His body and the green and black robes he wore gave off an eerie aura which made no one dare stand within a dozen meters of him. Hearing Xu Hui’s words, he cackled evilly and said, “My Netherworld Sect is only causing trouble in order to seek compensation. Great Elder should understand the concept of paying money to dispel disaster. In fact, if you can afford the price, it’s not impossible for this Wu Jie to help you out now.”
“Wu Jie!” Zhang Ao glanced over at him gloomily, “Don’t speak such tasteless jokes.”
Wu Jie just grinned and shrugged his shoulders, not saying any more.
Seeing this, Zhang Ao sneered, “Xu Hui, you just said your old Holy Master provided us no small favour, yes? Then how do you explain why every year our three forces had to give your Nine Heavens Holy Land tribute in the form of cultivate materials yet seven years ago, when this old master wanted to enter your nine peaks’ Four Spirit Cave to cultivate I was flatly rejected? Is this the so called favour we were given?”
Xu Hui slowly shook his head, “You presenting us tribute was not fake, but have you ever thought about what would happen if you didn’t have the shelter of my old Holy Master? Could your three forces have developed so calmly and safely? Without my old Holy Master, the Great Senior of the Beast Sea Jungle would have already wiped your three Sects out!”
“Don’t try to raise that Great Senior with me,” Zhang Ao shouted angrily, a vicious light flashing across his eyes, “Don’t think I don’t know your old Holy Master and that Monster Race Great Senior were on good terms in private and that he even often went to the Beast Sea Jungle to trade with him! You dare do such despicable deeds, consorting with our Human Race’s mortal enemy, betraying the world’s common people; do you not fear the Heavens’ retribution? Every year, many of our three Sects’ disciples mysteriously go missing, are you going to stand there and tell me they weren’t caught and eaten by those Monster Race bastards?”
Hearing this accusation, many of the gathered masters wore stunned and horrified looks.
All of them turned questioning glances towards Zhang Ao.
Zhang Ao sneered and continued, “It’s true, the old Holy Master of Nine Heavens Holy Land frequently interacted with that Monster Race Great Senior. This old master witnessed him come and go from the Beast Sea Jungle several times. This old master even caught some Monster Beasts and searched their memories to confirm the truth of this matter; this is by no means some unfounded slander!”
Receiving this response, the masters who were still acting somewhat hesitant suddenly became determined.
The hatred between difference races ran very deep so hearing what Nine Heavens Holy Land was guilty of immediately caused these masters a great deal of revulsion. On top of that, Zhang Ao making such a bold claim yet Xu Hui not trying to refute him obviously meant it was true.
In an instant, all the gathered masters outside the Nine Peaks Barrier glared towards Xu Hui and the other Holy Land Elders with hatred.
“Xu Hui, why didn’t you go and ask that Monster Race Great Senior to help your Nine Heavens Holy Land?” Zhang Ao stared down at Xu Hui triumphantly, his voice laced with sarcasm, “That Monster Race Great Senior has the strength of a Peak Third Order Saint, as long as he makes a move, we would have no choice but to retreat. Your old Holy Master was good friends with him, wasn’t he? Could it be those Monster Race bastards believe that after death, nothing remains (not ties or soul to reincarnate)?”
Xu Hui’s face went from red to white, obviously completely enraged but unable to argue back, his blood boiling up.
“Saying anything more is useless,” Yang Kai suddenly said, “You don’t need to waste your breath, the more you speak, the more disadvantageous it will be for the Holy Land. After all, the incident with Saintess Nan is indeed the responsibility of the Holy Land.”
“En,” Xu Hui nodded low spiritedly.
In front of everyone’s eyes , Yang Kai took a step forward and stood in front of o Xu Hui and the other Holy Land Elders.
Thousands of pairs of eyes fixed on Yang Kai, most of them revealing looks of confusion, not knowing what this young man was thinking standing up at this time.
In fact, when the representatives of Nine Heavens Holy Land first appeared, many people had eyed Yang Kai suspiciously.
Xu Hui and the other Saint Realm masters from Nine Heavens Holy Land appearing was a matter of course and An Ling’er was a Saintess of Nine Heavens Holy Land, but only Yang Kai was unfamiliar to them, this youth’s origins and identity a complete mystery to them.
Such a young man standing side by side with Xu Hui and the other Holy Land Elders was more than just strange, and from what they could see, Xu Hui was actually quite polite and respectful towards this youth.
Even Zhang Ao was a bit confused and even after pouring over his memory he couldn’t recall a young man like Yang Kai holding any sort of position of importance in Nine Heavens Holy Land.
“Guests,” Yang Kai called out, “The incident regarding Saintess Nan is truly the responsibility of the Holy Land, but Holy Land is also helpless to do anything about it now. Saintess Nan is already dead, now she is just a walking corpse, so the Holy Land cannot order her to do anything. Moreover, she also holds great killing intent towards the Holy Land; I believe many of you know that Saintess Nan attacked the Holy Land a few days ago. En, the Holy Land, just like all of you, has suffered losses at Saintess Nan’s hands, and we too wish we could swiftly deal with her, so I will ask you here to give the Holy Land some time to allow Great Elder to provide a satisfactory answer to all of you and remove the scourge of Saintess Nan.”
Hearing Yang Kai’s words, the masters who had been persuaded by the three Sects to crusade again Nine Heavens Hold Land frowned deeply.
None of them were fools and each was capable of making rational judgements. Looking back now, they found that Yang Kai’s words had some truth to them. When they had encountered Saintess Nan, not only had they not felt any vitality from her, but they had also sensed a touch of Death Qi instead.
Moreover, these past two years, Saintess Nan, regardless of who it was or where they were, would directly try to kill them, as if the only thing remain in her heart was killing intent, but before that, all of them had only heard that the old Saintess of Nine Heavens Holy Land was a good person with a kind heart.
The difference between the two and the way her personality suddenly changed was just too drastic.
Also, several days ago, Saintess Nan attacking Nine Heavens Holy Land was a fact.
Some of the gathered masters were shaken by Yang Kai’s words; in the end, they weren’t eager to become enemies with Nine Heavens Holy Land.
“Boy, stop speaking nonsense!” Zhang Ao glared at Yang Kai, “You say that Saintess Nan is already dead? How can a dead person go around killing people? Do you think we’re all fools you can deceive with such an obvious lie?”
“That’s right, if she was really dead, how could she have done all that?”
“Then I ask you, why would the Holy Land want this to happen? Allowing Saintess Nan to go on a wanton slaughter, what advantage does that bring to the Holy Land?” Yang Kai asked.
Zhang Ao opened his mouth to speak but couldn’t think of anything to say.
Most of the forces here had come because they had suffered losses at Saintess Nan’s hands and wanted the Holy Land to give them justice. In truth, the only ones who really wanted to eliminate Nine Heavens Holy Land were the three forces led by Zhang Ao, and they were simply taking advantage of this opportunity to act.
“Boy, enough of your rubbish! What thing are you? You think you have the qualifications to speak with this old master,” Zhang Ao disdainfully snorted, “The only one here who is qualified to speak with this old master is Xu Hui. Xu Hui, have you gone senile in your old age? Actually allowing a snot nosed brat to speak for you, truly laughable!”
“I’m not qualified to speak with you?” Yang Kai grinned, “Sorry, I think I’m the most qualified to speak here.”
Zhang Ao frowned, not understanding what Yang Kai was talking about.
“I am the new Holy Master of Nine Heavens Holy Land. Do you still want to say I lack the qualifications to speak to you?” Yang Kai said calmly as he looked down on Zhang Ao.
When this statement came out, everyone stared dumbfounded towards Yang Kai.
Even Xu Hui and the other Holy Land Elders wore looks of shock, but soon their eyes lit up as they gazed towards Yang Kai’s back, each of them silently shouting joyfully in their hearts.
He acknowledged it! He personally acknowledged it!
Yang Kai had actually acknowledged that he was the new Holy Master of the Holy Land in front of these thousands of people.
Xu Hui even felt the urge to throw his head back and laugh. During the past year, he had constantly been working hard to make Yang Kai feel a sense of belonging to Nine Heavens Holy Land, but Yang Kai had never relented, and although Xu Hui felt Yang Kai’s attitude had changed a bit after returning from the Monster Domain, until now everything had still just been fleeting.
But after declaring himself the new Holy Master in front of so many people, even if he wanted to change his mind in the future it wouldn’t be possible.
At this moment, all the masters from the Holy Land, including Xu Hui, felt a great weight lift from their hearts. The sense of relief that filled their souls made even the difficulties in front of them seem insignificant.
Yu Ying and Cheng Yue Tong, the two beautiful women, suddenly appeared even more radiant and spirited.
Vaguely, they seemed to see a great pillar which supported the Holy Land stand back up again, supporting the nine peaks.
“The new Holy Master?” Zhang Ao’s complexion suddenly became somewhat pale as he stared at Yang Kai in disbelief; War Temple’s Cao Guan also wore a frown as a cold light flashed across his eyes.
Wu Jie of Netherworld Sect simply grinned and let out a somewhat creepy laugh as he whispered to himself, “Interesting, we thought they were a bamboo basket incapable of carrying water… yet they already have a new Holy Master.”
These three forces had brought together and misled a great many masters not just to destroy Nine Heavens Holy Land but to occupy the foundation of the Holy Land, and what they most valued was the core inheritance of Nine Heavens Holy Land.
Who wouldn’t covet an inheritance which guaranteed a person could easily break through to the Third Order Saint Realm?
As long as they could overwhelm Nine Heavens Holy Land, capture An Ling’er, and join her to one of their Sects’ elite disciples, they would only need to spend some years to cultivate a top level powerhouse. At that time, their forces would be completely reborn and become existences no less powerful than Nine Heavens Holy Land.
So when they heard Yang Kai say this, whether it was Zhang Ao or Cao Guan, both of them couldn’t help feeling frustrated and angry, as if the treasure they had coveted had actually been snatched right from under their noses.
“Xu Hui, what he said… is it true?” Zhang Ao asked, his expression becoming gloomy.
Xu Hui took a step forward and with a solemn expression declared, “Yes, for more than half a year, my Holy Land has had a new Holy Master, but as these days have been quite busy, we had yet to make a public announcement. However, there is no need to hide this fact any longer.”
Listening to him, Zhang Ao felt a little disheartened.
It was no impossible for him to accomplish his biggest goal here. Even if he could lay claim to Nine Heavens Holy Land, he wouldn’t be able to acquire this mysterious inheritance.
Cao Guan saw his partner’s interest begin to fade and quickly passed a Divine Sense message to him, causing Zhang Ao’s look to brighten and his eyes to heat up as he snickered and stared towards Yang Kai.
Obviously he had found a new goal; as long as he can capture both Yang Kai and An Ling’er, this mysterious inheritance would fall into the palm of his hand.
Many people among the crowd were now whispering to each other, the young men all staring enviously towards Yang Kai because they knew becoming the Holy Master of Nine Heavens Holy Land was the same as reaching the Heavens in a single leap. No matter what he used to be, or how terrible his aptitude was, he would definitely stand among the clouds in the future, overlooking the entire world.
This envy gradually transformed into anger as the gazes they directed towards Yang Kai became filled with hatred, as if they thought it was only alright for such good fortune to fall upon them rather than this brat from who knows where take advantage of it.
A few kilometers back from the front lines of this gathering of forces, two young women were staring at Yang Kai fixedly, one of them filled with doubt and curiosity, the other actually breathing somewhat rapidly as a faint trace of excitement filled her chest.
“Hey, Yun Xuan, is it just me or does this new Holy Master of the Nine Heavens Holy Land look like a certain person we once knew?” Ruan Xin Yu of Bold Independent Union whispered to Yun Xuan subtly, “See, doesn’t he look quite similar?”
“He does resemble him, but that can’t be right?” Yun Xuan bit her lip gently, “Back then, he should have died…”
“Who saw him die?” Ruan Xin Yu frowned, “We only saw him being taken away.”
“But… if he didn’t die, why didn’t he contact me after all this time?” Yun Xuan couldn’t help feeling somewhat lost, in her mind the figure of a young man she greatly missed surfacing and slowly overlapping with this new Holy Master in front of her, the two images almost exactly the same.
Her heart clenched as she began to shiver, could it really be him?
With a few kilometers separating them, Yun Xuan couldn’t see this new Holy Master clearly, so she wasn’t completely sure.
Ruan Xin Yu on the other hand just coldly snorted and said, “That little brat is surely just a careless womanizer. After playing with you, he abandoned you without a second thought, why would he come back to find you?”
“Don’t talk so loudly!” Yun Xuan hurriedly hushed her, glancing over nervous at the two middle-aged men standing nearby, lowering her voice and whispering, “Don’t let my father hear you, he still doesn’t know…”
Ruan Xin Yu curled her lips, “I think that person is absolutely him. How can there be two people so similar under the sun? Unless it’s his twin! He didn’t care one bit about you, yet you still want to defend him?”
“I’m not trying to defend him…” Yun Xuan glanced over at Yang Kai again, but the more she stared at him, the harder it became for her to peel her eyes away.
Whether it was his figure, his sound, or his demeanor, everything matched perfectly with the images in her memory, causing her heart to suddenly fill with a complicated mix of hope, sorrow, joy, and grief.
“Do you at least dare to come with me and confirm whether or not it’s him?” Ruan Xin Yu immediately felt a sense of indignation for her friend and proposed, “If we get a closer look, you should be able to tell, right?”
“Now?”
“Of course now!” Saying so, Ruan Xin Yu couldn’t help grabbing hold of Yun Xuan’s arm and dragging her forward.
“Xuan’er…” Yun Cheng, the Union Master of Bold Independent Union, called out suddenly, “What are you going to do?”
“Union Master, we’re just going to get a closer look at the excitement. We’ll be back soon,” Ruan Xin Yu answered before quickly flying off.
Yun Cheng shook his head before glancing over at middle-aged man standing next to him and asking, “Ji Yan, you’ve been staring at that so called new Holy Master with a thoughtful expression for a while now, did you notice something?”
Hearing this, Ji Yan quickly replied, “Union Master, do you still remember the major incident I reported to you a few years ago?”
“Several years ago?”
“The year when my Raging Flame City was destroyed, it was also the year when Union Master and the Young Lady finally made amends,” Ji Yan said.
“You mean that matter, of course I remember,” Yun Cheng gently nodded. A city under Bold Independent Union’s control was destroyed, causing them to suffer heavy losses, it was only natural that Yun Cheng but what made Yun Cheng would recall such an event; the only silver lining of that tragedy was that the daughter who had stubbornly refused to talk to him had finally returned home afterwards.
Ji Yan was Raging Flame City’s City Lord at the time and had accompanied Yun Xuan back to Bold Independent City to report on this event.
“Why bring that up now?” Yun Cheng asked, quite confused.
Ji Yan stared at Yang Kai for a moment before drawing a deep breath and whispering, “Union Master, if I am not mistaken, that new Holy Master of Nine Heavens Holy Land was the young man who was taken away by the Coffin Carrying Man.”
“What?” Yun Cheng’s expression changed greatly, “Are you certain?”
Ji Yan nodded firmly, “Absolutely. Because he came to Raging Flame City with the Young Lady, my impression of him is quite clear. I think the Young Lady should have also noticed something and thus decided to get closer to make sure.”
“Didn’t you say he died?” Yun Cheng suddenly realized the seriousness of the matter. This was related to the mysterious Coffin Carrying Man, if news of this spread out, it would likely shake the world.
The Coffin Carrying Man had existed for countless years, and everyone wanted to unravel the secrets surrounding him, but no one had ever succeeded as they no one had ever discovered his hiding place.
If this new Holy Master was really the one who was caught in the past, he must know more about the Coffin Carrying Man’s secrets than anyone else in history, even where he was currently hiding.
“We all thought he was dead, but now it seems he’s not only alive, he has also been blessed with a great opportunity and succeeded the position of Nine Heavens Holy Land Holy Master.”
Yun Cheng’s face twitched unconsciously, feeling somewhat bitter in his heart.
Because this new Holy Master was quite possibly once a disciple of his Bold Independent Union.
“However… how could his strength have increased so fast?” Ji Yan was dumbstruck, “When I last saw him, he was only an Immortal Ascension Boundary Eighth Stage junior, but now, only four or five years later, he’s already become a Second Order Transcendent, the same as me. How did he do it? Young Lady having a liking for him wasn’t without cause it seems.”
“You said Xuan’er… she…” Yun Cheng heard these words and frowned pensively, “Had a special relationship with him?”
Ji Yan laughed somewhat dryly and replied, “En, according to my observation at the time anyways, but because we all thought that he was dead I did not report this matter to Union Master. I ask Union Master to punish me appropriately.”
Yun Cheng slowly shook his head, “No matter, Xuan’er is also a young woman, and naturally she will have someone she likes… No wonder when she returned to Bold Independent City she was depressed for a while, I thought she hadn’t completely put down the previous matter about her brother and thus was trying to avoid me still, but it appears that wasn’t the case. According to your observation, what was this youth’s attitude towards Xuan’er?”
Ji Yan respectfully replied, “He didn’t reveal too much concern for her, but young people… heh.”
“Oh?” Yun Cheng smiled, “If that’s the case, if Nine Heavens Holy Land doesn’t fall this time, it seems my Bold Independent Union might have a good opportunity!”
“What does Union Master mean?” Ji Yan heard this and immediately knew what to say, having some idea about what Yun Cheng was thinking.
“Let’s just observe for now, perhaps they won’t be able to withstand this calamity, but if they can…. En, we must act careful this time, make a show of things but don’t get caught up in the storm.”
“Union Master is wise!”
Elsewhere, another person was also staring towards Yang Kai with great interest, and when he determined that Yang Kai was indeed the young man taken by the Coffin Carrying Man back in Raging Flame City, he couldn’t help smiling fiercely and quickly flying forward.
A short time later, this man came up to War Spirit Temple’s Cao Guan.
“Temple Lord, subordinate has something to report!”
Cao Guan, who was staring at Yang Kai with a gloomy expression, impatiently replied, “Tell me later.”
“Temple Lord, this matter is related to that new Holy Master!”
Cao Guan turned his head and looked at him before nodding lightly, “Yao Di… what do you want to say?”
The man named Yao Di quickly rushed over and whispered something into Cao Guan’s ear.
If Yang Kai saw this man, he would likely remember his appearance.
When Yang Kai had encountered the Coffin Carrying Man in Raging Flame City, this person was also present.
At the time, Yao Di had appeared together with Xu Qi of Bright Thunder Spirit Religion and Zuo Xing of Profound Heaven Alliance. These three had specifically pointed out to him by Yun Xuan as characters to beware of.
Back then, these three masters had been following the Coffin Carrying Man and had eventually arrived at Raging Flame City.
Later, Yang Kai was taken away by the Coffin Carrying Man and sent into the Mysterious Small World where the Ancient Demon Clan lived. When he came out, he went to Grand Boulder City and then to Bright Thunder Spirit Religion under the recommendation of Grand Boulder City Alchemist Guild Branch Manager Du Wan. Xu Qi lost his life as a result of this series of events.
Listening to Yao Di’s story, Cao Guan’s eyes grew brighter and brighter, eventually asking in a shocked voice, “Is that true?”
Yao Di quickly nodded, “Subordinate clearly remembers his appearance!”
“This has become really interesting,” Cao Guan snickered, “It seems that this time we can reap twice the harvest we expected. After grabbing him, not only will be able to obtain the inheritance of Nine Heavens Holy Land, but also solve the mystery of the Coffin Carrying Man… “
His spirits roused, Cao Guan whispered quietly, “Who else besides you knows about this?”
Yao Di frowned and pondered for a moment before replying, “That Ji Yan of Bold Independent Union should also recognize him; after all, he was there when the incident happened!”
“Bold Independent Union… hmph, nothing to fear, keep an eye on them, if they dare leak this news, I’ll tidy them up personally,” Cao Guan spat disdainfully.
Yao Di nodded quickly before casting a glance over towards the delegation from Bold Independent Union.
The most powerful master in Bold Independent Union was Yun Cheng, a Third Order Transcendent, there wasn’t a single Saint Realm master in their force. Such a force was naturally despised by Cao Guan.
In Tong Xuan Realm, only the forces that had Saint Realm masters could be considered powerful.
Inside the Nine Peaks Barrier, Xu Hui spoke sincerely, “I believe everyone is now clear about Saintess Nan’s current condition. Her actions were not the will of my Holy Land, if all of you can draw back and not embarrass my Holy Land further, my Holy Land will surely compensate you for the losses you suffered. If you insist on being enemies with my Holy Land, then I’m afraid we can only settle this with force.”
“Compensation? You think human lives can simply be compensated for?” Zhang Ao saw many people showing signs of hesitation because of the emergence of this new Holy Master and immediately roared, “Xu Hui, are you seriously going senile? Who doesn’t know that since ancient times, paying for murder with one’s life is the only true compensation?”
“Zhang Ao, don’t go too far!” Xu Hui shot back angrily.
However, Zhang Ao simply became even more rampant as he let out a loud laugh, “I’m going too far? Clearly it is your Nine Heavens Holy Land that is going too far! Actually thinking you can just bully us, kill our loved ones, then throw a few Crystal Stones at us and expected us to happily accept! We’re not here for money, we’re here to seek justice!”
“Have I not just offered you justice? Why do you insist on acting so aggressive?”
“You’ve offered us justice? When? Where?”
“Just now! This old master pledged that we will deal with Saintess Nan and offer compensation for the damage she caused to your forces! Zhang Ao, do you think this old master can’t see through your scheme? You still insisting on resolving this matter with force is just you trying to mislead everyone into becoming enemies of my Holy Land!”
Having been so bluntly exposed in front of everyone by Xu Hui, Zhang Ao’s brow twitched ever so slightly before he sneered and suddenly nodded, “Good, I believe the words you spoke earlier, but you must know that verbal agreements aren’t guarantees, even if I am willing to believe you, others may not be! Before you fulfill your promise, I think you should offer us some kind of insurance. ”
“What kind of insurance do you want?” Xu Hui frowned.
Zhang Ao’s gaze slowly shifted towards Yang Kai and An Ling’er, letting out a laugh as said, “Please allow your new Holy Master and Saintess to stay in my Shattering Mystical Palace for a while. Before you solve the problem of the previous generation’s Saintess, we will take care of them.”
Hearing this, Cao Guan quickly followed up, “Yes, Brother Zhang’s proposal is good, my War Spirit Temple also agrees. Great Elder can rest assured, the new Holy Master and Her Highness Saintess will be treated appropriately, absolutely no harm will come to them.”
Wu Jie, who was standing to the side like a shadow, surprisingly did not express his opinion, simply letting out a creepy laugh.
“In your dreams!” Xu Hui shouted furiously, the new Holy Master was indeed young, but he was the symbol of the Holy Land, if he fell into the hands of another force and was used as a hostage, not only would he become a laughing stock, even Nine Heavens Holy Land would be forever disgraced. On top of that, what Zhang Ao’s was plotting, Xu Hui knew clearly; naturally there was no way he would agree to this ridiculous request.
“Then there’s no need for any more nonsense,” Zhang Ao’s eyes flashed a cruel light, raising his voice as he shouted, “Today, we shall trample flat your Nine Heavens Holy Land to avenge our dead family!”
With this war cry, many others behind Zhang Ao also became excited, caught up in the atmosphere.
“There’s indeed no need for any nonsense!” Yang Kai gently took a breath and shouted, “The time for words is over, those friends gathered here today who intend to reconcile, the Holy Land will naturally reconcile with, those who do not, we will treat as enemies!”
As he spoke, Yang Kai’s eyes swept over the crowd before him.
Suddenly, an astonished light flashed across Yang Kai’s eyes as he gazed towards a certain inconspicuous spot in the crowd. On the other side of his gaze stood two young women who were staring back at him, one of them was gnashing her teeth and muttering what seemed like a series of curses while the other was just staring at him blankly, her beautiful eyes trembling slightly.
Yun Xuan and Ruan Xin Yu!
Yang Kai recognized them at a glance.
Although a few years had passed, their appearances hadn’t changed much. Yun Xuan seemed to have a slightly more mature air to her while Ruan Xin Yu was still the same as Yang Kai remembered.
The only big change was the relationship between the two of them. They used to be very uncomfortable in each other’s presence, but now they looked as close as sisters.
When their four eyes suddenly met, Yun Xuan shivered, instantly realizing that the young man in front of her was definitely the one she constantly saw in her dreams. In that moment, her expression became disordered and although she quickly concealed this face, it had not escaped observation.
“See? I told you it was him,” Ruan Xin Yu ground her teeth as she bitterly muttered, “This unfaithful bastards is really living well.”
Yun Xuan’s mind was in a state of confusion and didn’t know what she should do. If it weren’t for the current situation, she would definitely have flown over, grabbed hold of him, and asked why he hadn’t contacted her all these years if he was still alive.
But now wasn’t the time for such things, under these circumstances, she didn’t dare to expose her feelings.
Seeing Ruan Xin Yu open her mouth in preparation to shout, Yun Xuan quickly grabbed her arm, “It’s not him, though they are quite similar…”
Saying so, she turned around and flew away.
Recognizing and making contact with each other wouldn’t bring any advantage to either of them, so Yun Xuan immediately decided to leave and pretend she hadn’t seen anything.
“Hey…” Ruan Xin Yu hesitated for a moment before hurriedly chasing after Yun Xuan, angrily whispering, “What are you saying? It’s clearly him! Even if that brat turned into ashes I’d recognize him!”
“I said it’s not, so it’s not him!” Yun Xuan replied impatiently.
“Fine fine fine, if that’s the way you want to handle this, so be it. Far be it for me to meddle in other people’s business,” Ruan Xin Yu grumbled unhappily.
Looking at the quickly retreating backs of the two young women, Yang Kai quickly composed himself. Although he wasn’t certain why Bold Independent Union was involved in this incident, Yang Kai was fairly sure it was because of Saintess Nan.
“Boy, you’re really quite pitiful!” Zhang Ao stared at Yang Kai coldly, “You may be the shortest reigning Holy Master in the history of Nine Heavens Holy Land history. Although you Holy Masters have never lived long, you will definitely break the record today.”
“Is that so?” Yang Kai sneered lightly, “I’d like to see how you plan on taking my life today!”
Even in this hopeless situation, Yang Kai didn’t show the slightest sign of panic or fear; on the contrary, he seemed so calm and carefree that many were unable to unable to accept it.
In the next instant, from Yang Kai’s body, a burst of burning hot True Qi shot out, quickly leaving the Nine Peaks Barrier and transforming into a several meter long golden sword.
It was one of the Nine Heavens Divine Skills, the Profound Heavenly Sword.
Simultaneously, from one of the nine peaks, a massive amount of mysterious energy erupted, like a great beast that had awakened from its slumber, releasing a terrifying aura.
This aura and energy instantly flowed through the Nine Peaks Spirit Array and merged together with the Profound Heavenly Sword Yang Kai had just released.
In the blink of an eye, the several meter long Profound Heavenly Sword grew to over a hundred meters in length, cutting through the air, carrying with it an awe-inspiring power as he slashed towards Zhang Ao.
*Chi chi chi…*
It was the very space around it was being sliced apart, a shocking destructive aura descended. This Profound Heavenly Sword fell towards the crowd like a great mountain, causing many to give up any idea of resisting, their expressions filling with fear.
When this Profound Heavenly Sword first appeared, Zhang Ao didn’t pay it any mind; after all, Yang Kai’s cultivation wasn’t high and it was displayed across the Nine Peaks Barrier, there was no way it could threaten a Second Order Saint like him.
But when it inexplicably swelled up, even Zhang Ao felt a hint of danger from it.
In an instant, the power of this Profound Heavenly Sword has increased several fold.
Zhang Ao couldn’t ignore it.
With a loud shout, Zhang Ao counterattacked.
*Hong…*
When the giant sword struck, a golden light bursts out, blinding everyone around. Even with his profound strength, Zhang Ao was almost knocked out of the sky by this sword strike.
Beside him, many of the Shattering Mystical Palace’s cultivators, who had been swept up in this golden light, didn’t even have a chance to shout before they were disintegrated, leaving not even ashes behind, as if they had simply vanished.
Seeing this, everyone went pale.
No one had thought that this new Holy Master of Nine Heavens Holy Land who had just been speaking about reconciliation would suddenly turn around and launch a killing blow in the next instant.
Cold, ruthless, and without the slightest hesitation.
This new Holy Master’s face changed faster than flipping a book.
A roar of cursing erupted from the Shattering Mystical Palace’s camp, as the survivors of this attack saw their friends and family slaughtered, their eyes going bloodshot and rage filling their hearts as they glared towards Yang Kai.
The cultivators from War Spirit Temple and Netherworld Sect hastily withdrew upon feeling the terrifying power contained within that sword strike. Seeing the destruction caused by this sword, all of them couldn’t help shuddering as they hurriedly looked for shelter.
The grand formation outside the Nine Peaks Barrier suddenly became messy.
Everyone felt the earth beneath them shake and the masters who had been misled by the three Sects into joining this crusade swiftly retreated. Yang Kai’s attack had been directed entirely at Zhang Ao, so it had not affected them much.
At this moment, they all suddenly had second thoughts, unsure whether or not they should continue antagonizing Nine Heavens Holy Land.
The law of the jungle was the one unchanging truth from the ancient past to the present. Nine Heavens Holy Land’s previous generation Saintess had indeed carried out a merciless slaughter, stirring up a great deal of anger and resentment, but if the people from Nine Heavens Holy Land were telling the truth, it really had nothing to do with them; they had even publicly offered to compensate the victims of this tragedy.
The courage to recognize responsibility for this matter alone was worthy of respect. There were few forces in this world like Nine Heavens Holy Land who would admit to such mistakes. If it was another great force, they would likely pretend they were uninvolved and simply order the victims to go back to where they came from.
Many of the forces gathered here felt that if they withdrew now, not only would they be able to avoid suffering any more losses, they could even receive some compensation from Nine Heavens Holy Land. There was even a possibility of building some small friendship with Nine Heavens Holy Land under these circumstances.
In an instant, many people became hesitant.
Zhang Ao, Cao Guan, Wu Jie, and the other masters from the three Sects all stood dumbly in place; that one strike from Yang Kai had simply left them flabbergasted.
None of them could have ever imagined that Yang Kai, who was only a Second Order Transcendent, could release such a strong attack.
That sword strike just now was comparable to the full powered attack of a Peak First Order Saint, and although Zhang Ao had managed to resist it, his arms were now numb and his vitality was disturbed, causing his face to flush; obviously he had not escaped unscathed.
Even as Saint Realm powerhouses, facing such power, they felt that their lives were at risk, causing them to shudder involuntarily.
Yang Kai, who had just displayed the Profound Heavenly Sword, grinned towards Zhang Ao and slowly extended one of his palms.
Above where the Shattering Mystical Palace cultivators were gathered, World Energy suddenly began condensing and becoming heavier. A storm whipped up and in an instant, a grand palm print appeared.
Another of the nine spirit peaks suddenly released a torrent of profound energy just like before, and under the blessing of this power, the big palm print suddenly became many times larger and more powerful, now seemingly covering the entire sky, blocking out all traces of light.
Heaven Covering Hand, one hand covers the Heavens!
Zhang Ao finally came back to his senses and together with the other Saint Realm master of the Shattering Mystical Palace summoned their most powerful artifacts and released powerful attacks towards this giant hand.
*Xiu Xiu…*
Two flashes of light, like bolts of lightning, shot towards the sky, piercing two large holes in it. In an instant, the giant palm print distorted and its momentum greatly reduced, but it had not dispersed entirely.
*Hong…*
The earth shook violently once more and outside the Nine Peaks Barrier, a thousand meter long palm print appeared on the ground.
Several dozen Shattering Mystical Palace cultivators had failed to avoid this strike and had now been reduced to piles of meat, their deaths extremely miserable, a thick bloody scent filling the air.
“Ruthless!” A few kilometers away, Yun Cheng’s eyes shrank as he called out in alarm.
“Such power!” Ji Yan, who was standing next to him, felt a cold chill run up his spine. Although he felt that Yang Kai’s cultivation was now comparable to his own, the two attacks just how were not something cultivators of their level could produce.
Ji Yan thought to himself that if he had been standing over there a moment ago, even if he didn’t die from that attack, he would be seriously injured.
“By drawing support from the Nine Peaks Spirit Array, he can enhance the power of his own attacks several times,” Yun Cheng saw through this mystery at a glance. Although Yang Kai had only attacked twice, each time he did, one of the nine peaks had sent out a powerful burst of energy; this subtle connection was obviously not missed by him. Gently sighing, Yun Cheng spoke in a dispirited tone, “It seems my Bold Independent Union isn’t qualified to swim in these turbulent waters.”
Although Bold Independent Union had many disciples, they had few top level masters. On top of that, they didn’t have a single Saint Realm master. Facing this kind of fierce struggle, Yun Cheng couldn’t help feeling a sense of frustration as well as a burning desire for strength. .
“What are you all standing around for, quickly break this barrier!” Seeing so many of his Sect’s disciples killed and wounded right before his eyes, Zhang Ao bristled with anger.
Upon hearing Zhang Ao’s roar, the Shattering Mystical Palace’s masters all suddenly awoke from their daze, quickly summoned their artifacts, and struck towards the Nine Peaks Barrier.
Cao Guan of War Spirit Temple also came to his senses, hurriedly put aside his fear and shock and quickly taking action to deal with this disaster.
Yang Kai on the other hand let out a wild laughter as he stood at the edge of the barrier and continued to unceasingly release his Nine Heavens Divine Skills.
One spirit peak after another erupted, connecting with Yang Kai and enhancing the power of his killing strikes a dozen times over.
He was indulging in what he had obtained!
Yang Kai had never wielded such awesome strength so freely, he could clearly sense just how terrifying the power of each of his attacks was after they were boosted by the Nine Peaks Spirit Array.
Each strike he made was almost comparable to Second Order Saint’s attack.
Having already torn all face, Yang Kai no longer held back and simply attacked without holding anything back.
After the Profound Heavenly Sword and Heaven Covering Hand, Yang Kai displayed the Punishing Heaven Spear, Capturing Heaven Net, and Imprisoning Heaven Chain in short order.
Yang Kai also used the Grand Heavenly Shield, using several drops of Yang Liquid to condense it and directly placing it outside the Nine Peaks Barrier. After being enhanced by the Nine Peaks Spirit Array, this massive golden shield became like a second barrier, standing firm no matter how the masters outside bombarded it.
Fighting against all the cultivators of Shattering Mystical Palace and War Spirit Temple, Yang Kai not only didn’t show the slightest fear, but instead seemed to be enjoying himself.
Xu Hui and the other Hold Land Elders all stared at him in shock.
Originally, they were also a little uneasy in their hearts, wondering if they would be able to overcome this crisis, but witnessing such an outstanding performance from this new Holy Master of theirs allowed them to put down the huge stone which had weighed upon their hearts. Standing behind Yang Kai, it was like they were simply there to watch a good show, neither taking action nor saying a word, simply standing there like faithful bodyguards, even seeming somewhat bored.
Zhang Ao cursed unceasingly, apparently having become truly enraged. At some point, he threw out a large scroll-like artifact which was filled with drawings of many different exotic beasts and released a strong five coloured glow.
Pouring his True Qi into it, the scroll unfurled and expanded greatly before pasting itself onto the Nine Heavens Barrier.
The beasts which were painted onto this scroll seemed to come alive in that instant and leapt off the paper, passing through the barrier without the slightest resistance and rushing towards Yang Kai.
At the same time, Cao Guan of War Spirit Temple also summoned a long sword which transformed into a great beam of light and, following the pattern of the scroll’s beasts, broke through the Nine Peaks Barrier and stabbed towards Yang Kai’s forehead, bringing with it an aura of death.
The masters from these two forces and some other powerhouses who had been infected with the war-like atmosphere also shouted angrily and pushed their True Qi violently, sending out their fiercest attacks towards Yang Kai.
These many masters had all joined forces in this instant to try to eliminate Yang Kai in one fell swoop.
In their minds, at this moment, Yang Kai was undoubtedly their most dangerous enemy, but as long as they could kill him, they would be able to break through this barrier and destroy Nine Heavens Holy Land.
The Nine Peaks Barrier and Spirit Array were all linked to this new Holy Master. As such, if this new Holy Master were to have an accident, Xu Hui and the other Holy Land Elders would no longer be able to resist.
In fact, they were mostly correct; without Yang Kai, Nine Heavens Holy Land wouldn’t last long.
These strange beasts all let out Heaven shaking roars and each of their attacks was not to be underestimated, showing prestige comparable to that of Saint Realm and Transcendent Realm masters.
However, Yang Kai wasn’t afraid and didn’t even show any intention of dodging.
Xu Hui and the other Saint Realm masters who had been standing behind him moved in that instant, pushing their True Qi rapidly as they surrounded Yang Kai and struck towards the sea of attacks converging towards him.
A massive number of explosions filled the air and innumerable burst of multi-coloured light spread out around Yang Kai, just like a brilliant fireworks display.
When the light died down and everyone could finally see again, their blood couldn’t help going cold.
Yang Kai stood in the exact same place, completely unscathed, and all the killing strikes which had been launched towards him had been completely defeated and dispersed.
“With just this meager amount of strength, you want to trample flat my Nine Heavens Holy Land? Are you all sleepwalking or just stupid?” Yang Kai sneered as he casually let out a few insults.
The faces of Zhang Ao, Cao Guan, and many other attacking masters flashed between red and white, each of them wanting to refute this brat before them but unable to do so, causing them to feel incredibly awkward.
“Boy, don’t think this has anything to do with your ability! Without the support of your Nine Peaks Spirit Array, you’re not worth shit!” Cao Guan shouted angrily, his face filled with unwillingness.
Yang Kai’s true cultivation was completely unworthy of his attention, but this brat hiding behind the Nine Peaks Barrier and using the Nine Peaks Spirit Array to attack them was indeed quite tricky for them to deal with.
The Nine Peaks Barrier and Spirit Array were the culmination of all the previous Holy Masters of Nine Heavens Holy Land’s effort. Each of these previous Holy Masters were all Peak Third Order Saint Realm masters; naturally the Spirit Array they collectively arranged and improved wouldn’t be weak.
In addition to the special methods utilized by a few of the Saint Realm masters such as Zhang Ao and Cao Guan, very few of the attacks from a moment ago had even managed to pierce the Nine Peaks Barrier.
Without first breaking this barrier, there was no way for these invaders to fight with the people of Nine Heavens Holy Land.
Realizing this, a deep sense of unwillingness spread across Cao Guan’s face.
Upon hearing Cao Guan’s insult, Yang Kai simply let out a burst of laughter and snapped his fingers, his demeanor calm and carefree.
No one knew what this action meant.
However, in the next instant, Cao Guan heard screams all around him and dozens of his War Spirit Temple’s elites, including two or three Transcendent Realm masters, fell from the sky, writhed in pain for a moment, and then died.
A huge panic instantly spread and everyone couldn’t help putting some distance between Cao Guan and themselves.
Even Cao Guan himself couldn’t help himself from shivering.
No one knew what method Yang Kai had just used to silently kill several dozen War Spirit Temple cultivators, making it all the more frightening.
None of them saw Yang Kai use any kind of Martial Skill, artifact, or Soul Skill; he only seemed to snap his fingers and suddenly dozens of people had died.
This unfathomable occurrence brought about a huge panic, everyone fearing they would be the next one to suffer this invisible attack.
“Whether or not I have the qualification to stand here is not for you to judge,” Yang Kai coldly snorted.
Yang Kai didn’t want to use his Soul Devouring Insects on the mass here, but he felt that continuing his previous offensive was also somewhat difficult.
Although his own True Qi was abundant, with his connection to the Nine Peaks Spirit Array, Yang Kai understood that the energy required to maintain this level of combat was far too great.
As for his Soul Devouring Insects, they were capable of killing anyone below the Saint Realm, so killing several dozen people was a cinch.
However, Yang Kai didn’t dare release too many of them. These ancient exotic insects were not very obedient and the cultivators gathered outside weren’t all sworn enemies of Nine Heavens Holy Land, if he really slaughtered all of them, it would only create bigger problems for him and the Holy Land.
Not to mention he also saw Yun Xuan and Ruan Xin Yu here.
If either of them were to accidentally becoming involved, it would be bad.
Fear and panic were still spreading outside the barrier though; after several dozen elites from War Spirit Temple died, no one dared to make any rash moves, all of them just staring towards Yang Kai nervously, their eyes flashing a complicated light.
The strength and methods Yang Kai showed had shocked everyone and let them all realize that even if they managed to defeat Nine Heavens Holy Land this time, they would have to pay a heavy price.
“Wu Jie, why didn’t you make a move just now?” Zhang Ao suddenly turned his head and shouted. In the direction he was staring, Wu Jie of Netherworld Sect stood quietly, having not taken action from beginning to end, the green aura around his body still causing everyone to avoid him by far.
Wu Jie laughed lowly as he replied, “I’m just looking for the right opportunity.”
“Have you found one yet?” Zhang Ao asked in a low voice.
Wu Jie slowly shook his head.
“I’ll settle this account with you later!” Zhang Ao coldly snorted, a look of dissatisfaction filling his face. From the beginning, Shattering Mystical Palace and War Spirit Temple had been fighting full force against Yang Kai, and although there were some hot-headed masters who had joined in, most people had actually been standing back and watching the whole time.
Moreover, Yang Kai’s attack had also been completely focused on his and Cao Guan’s forces, never one involving anyone else.
This made Zhang Ao keenly realize that today, there was no chance of them breaking through Nine Heavens Holy Land’s defences. What’s more, if he continued to linger here with such dismal morale, perhaps Nine Heavens Holy Land would instead launch a counterattack!
That old dog Xu Hui was no pushover, after dealing with him for so many years, Zhang Ao knew this point quite well.
“We’ll withdraw for now and let you live a few more days, but mark this old master’s words, we’ll be back soon enough, I hope next time your luck is also so good,” Zhang Ao spat coldly before waving his hand and leading the remaining Shattering Mystical Palace cultivators away.
“Whoever dares come next time, we will show no mercy,” Yang Kai declared coldly.
“So wild…” Ji Yan, who had been observing the battle from a distance, couldn’t help muttering, “Young and impulsive!”
Yun Cheng, the Union Master of Bold Independent Union, chuckled wryly in response, “Let’s go, there’s nothing for us to do here today, we’ll withdraw first and see what comes next.”
“En,” Ji Yan nodded, quickly keeping up with Yun Cheng’s pace.
Standing at the edge of the barrier, Yang Kai quietly released his Divine Sense and scanned the crowd for a certain individual, sending them a message a moment later.
The young man who was following the crowd to retreat received this message and couldn’t help trembling slightly; however, he quickly composed himself before stealthily sneaking away.
A moment later, everyone had scattered and withdrawn, leaving behind only a pile of bloody corpses.
Seeing this, Yang Kai finally breathed a sigh of relief and felt a trace of exhaustion.
On the other hand, the Holy Land’s Elders and Protectors were in high spirits, as if they had just won a great victory, each of them staring towards Yang Kai with looks of respect and even some traces of worship.
“Holy Master… May I call you so from now on?” Xu Hui asked, carefully observing Yang Kai’s reaction. After discovering that Yang Kai didn’t make any objections, Xu Hui’s last shred of tension relaxed and he smiled broadly, “Sure enough, the new Holy Master is not an average person. In just a few days, actually being able to connect your own Soul to the Nine Peaks Spirit Array, this Xu cannot even begin to express his admiration.”
“En, en…” Yu Ying nodded repeatedly, her beautiful eyes now filled with spirited light, “I had thought that today the Holy Land would have to mount a desperate escape. Never had I expected we could actually push these invaders back so easily.”
“Don’t celebrate yet,” Yang Kai knit his brow, “Today, they greatly underestimated the strength the Holy Land still possessed, causing them to suffer such a big loss, next time things won’t be so easy.”
Listening to Yang Kai’s words, everyone fell silent, Xu Hui eventually saying, “With Holy Master here, and with the assistance of the Nine Peaks Spirit Array, can we not…”
“What kind of ability do you think I possess?” Yang Kai slowly shook his head, “You may not be able to tell, but the power stored in the nine spirit peaks is not inexhaustible. After connecting with it directly today, I am certain of this point.”
“Ah? What does Holy Master mean to say?” Xu Hui and the others asked worriedly.
“What I mean to say is at most, I can only use the same power I used today one more time before the mysterious energy contained within the nine peaks is completely drained. When that time comes, I won’t be able to enhance the power of my attacks. Simultaneously, the Nine Peak Spirit Array will shut down and the barrier around the Holy Land will collapse,” Yang Kai explained.
Everyone present suddenly realized the seriousness of the problem.
Today, they could force Zhang Ao to retreat only because of the Nine Peaks Spirit Array and Barrier; without it though, Yang Kai was still just a Second Order Transcendent.
Even with their six Saint Realm masters, how could they possible resist such a large number of enemies?
“However, after this battle, I think at least half of the forces which were gathered by the three Sects will leave; after all, no one wants to become enemies with a powerful force that has the possibility to rise once more,” Yang Kai analyzed.
“If it is half, then it’s half, the rest who still dare to come will really be enemies of my Holy Land.”
“En, next time we won’t hold back,” Yang Kai sneered. For this battle, he had purposefully only attacked the cultivators from War Spirit Temple and Shattering Mystical Palace. As for the cultivators from Netherworld Sect, since none of them had taken the initiative to attack, Yang Kai had ignored them as well.
Yang Kai acted so to send a clear message, those who didn’t treat the Holy Land as an enemy would not be attacked.
After knowing this fact, anyone who still chose to invade the nine peaks could only be judged as a true enemy of the Holy Land.
“How is the arrangement of the disciples?” Yang Kai asked.
“Everything has been arranged!” Xu Hui nodded firmly, but soon became somewhat uneasy as he asked, “Holy Master, even if it is only temporarily, must we really abandon the nine peaks?”
“En,” Yang Kai nodded firmly, “I have already reached an agreement with the Monster Race Great Senior, it’s impossible for us to renege on that agreement now… The Holy Land must first draw back. We will let the Monster Race and those invaders take on one another, that way, anyone who dies can only blame the Monster Race. Otherwise, the Holy Land will have too many enemies.”
“Very well,” Xu Hui nodded low-spiritedly.
No matter what it did this time, the Holy Land would not feel any better. If they stood and fought, winning would only lead to the Holy Land forging a great number of enemies. In a time where the Holy Land had both internal and external troubles, it would be very difficult to recover. On the other hand, if they lost, not only would the Holy Land suffer a great number of casualties, they would also lose their home and foundation.
Moreover, given their enemy’s strength and number, the Holy Land losing was far more likely than them winning.
Since that was the case, the best option was to temporarily evacuate, keep a low profile, and leave this mess to the Monster Race to clean up.
The hatred between the races had existed since ancient times, so it didn’t really matter how many people the Monster Race killed, nothing would change.
“Holy Master, I still want to ask, where is this place that can house thousands of the Holy Land’s disciples?” Xu Hui narrowed his eyes as he asked Yang Kai.
“When the time comes, I’ll naturally inform you…” Yang Kai smiled, “Good, you should first inform the disciples to prepare to evacuate. I’ll be going out for a moment.”
“Go out, at a time like this?” Xu Hui heard this and couldn’t help wondering what Yang Kai was thinking, quickly proposing, “If Holy Master wishes to go out, at least allow Elder Yu Ying to accompany you.”
“No, the enemy has withdrawn temporarily and won’t be back for some time. I’m only going out to see someone quickly, there won’t be any danger,” Saying so, Yang Kai’s figure flickered and disappeared from everyone’s sight. Even when the various Elders tried to use their Divine Senses to find him, they couldn’t.
Flickering Heavenly Shadow! The only movement skill among the Nine Heavens Divine Skills.
Xu Hui and the other Elders all exchanged stunned looks before shaking their heads wryly, wondering just who Yang Kai was going out to see at this critical time.
A dozen or so kilometers away, the many forces and cultivators who had come to crusade against Nine Heavens Holy Land had gathered together, many of them wearing gloomy and worried expressions.
Many people were currently debating whether or not they should continue trying to fish in these turbid waters.
In order to face Nine Heavens Holy Land, this once colossal monster, they had to gather so many forces together in order to barely stand a chance. However, if they were to fail in this endeavour and allow Nine Heavens Holy Land to survive, what would be waiting for them would definitely be ruthless retaliation.
How could any of these individual forces withstand this kind of revenge? The most likely result would be them collapsing at the first blow.
Zhang Ao and Cao Guan were particularly unhappy.
Inside a large tent, the two of them, along with Wu Jie, sat around a table. Currently, Zhang Ao and Cao Guan were berating Wu Jie for his actions, or rather lack thereof, today. Wu Jie just standing by and watching the show had caused the two of them to lose a great deal of face.
Wu Jie however didn’t pay them much mind, simply sitting there smirking, further fueling Zhang Ao and Cao Guan’s anger.
After letting them vent their frustrations for a while, Wu Jie said, “Do you two think that if this Wu had taken action the situation could have been saved? I’m sure you both saw, even if this Wu joined in the attack, nothing would have changed.”
“At the very least, we wouldn’t have been so badly embarrassed!” Zhang Ao shouted, “Even with so many masters on our side, we were actually shamed by a snot nosed brat and forced to retreat!”
Saying so, he pounded his fist on the arm of his chair, pulverising it into dust.
“That little brat, I want him dead!” Cao Guan also chimed in, his eyes somewhat bloodshot.
Only after cursing a few more times did the mood inside the tent gradually calm down.
Cao Guan let out a long sigh, “In the end, we’re just a collection of loose sand. If those forces could unite together like Brother Zhang and I, what would we need to fear about attacking Nine Heavens Holy Land?”
“Indeed,” Zhang Ao nodded. Today it had essentially been the cultivators of Shattering Mystical Palace and War Spirit Temple battling against Yang Kai, everyone else had simply been standing on the sidelines watching the show. If everyone had worked together though, it might have been possible for them to break the Nine Peaks Barrier.
“Palace Master, Palace Master…” Suddenly, a cry came from outside the tent and a disciple of Shattering Mystical Palace rushed inside.
“What is it?” Zhang Ao asked unhappily, immediately feeling disgruntled about one of his own subordinates not understanding proper etiquette.
The disciple showed an awkward expression upon being scolded but still quickly said, “Palace Master, a number of small forces are preparing to leave.”
“Leave?” Zhang Ao’s eyes narrowed and a cold light flashed across their depths.
“En, they said they didn’t want to become enemies with Nine Heavens Holy Land, so they intend to withdraw.”
“Nonsense!” Cao Guan stood up and shouted, “No one may leave!”
At this critical moment, if anyone were to leave, it would have a devastating effect on morale and it would not be long before others started withdrawing as well.
“It appears there’s a need to have a good talk with those who wish to leave,” Zhang Ao muttered coldly, glancing over at Cao Guan and Wu Jie, “What about you two?”
“I was thinking so too!” Cao Guan nodded firmly.
Wu Jie also shrugged his shoulders indifferently.
With the three of them reaching a consensus, they quickly got up and left the tent.
In a different tent nearby, everyone from Bold Independent Union gathered around to discuss the situation.
Union Master Yun Cheng was constantly glancing over towards his daughter, a thoughtfully expression upon his face. Yun Xuan on the other hand seemed like she was in a daze, her somewhat gloomy and vacant expression only further convincing Yun Cheng that something significant had happened between his daughter and the new Holy Master of Nine Heavens Holy Land.
“Union Master,” Ji Yan, who was paying attention to the situation outside, quickly whispered, “It seems like Star Gathering Sect and Cold Snow Hall are preparing to leave.”
Yun Cheng nodded lightly, “When we returned, I overheard the leaders of those two Sects discussing this matter. Apparently the losses they suffered at Saintess Nan’s hands weren’t great, only a few common disciples. They came here essentially to join the fun thinking they might be able to extract some form of compensation from Nine Heavens Holy Land; they never anticipated becoming blood enemies with them. After seeing the depths of Nine Heavens Holy Land’s heritage, them wanting to leave is reasonable.”
“En, what Union Master says make sense,” Ji Yan said, “From what I’ve heard, only a few forces suffered serious losses because of Saintess Nan, the rest only have some minor grievances like us. However, Zhang Ao and Cao Guan’s actions today are also quite thought provoking; it doesn’t seem like either of their Sects suffered any losses so are they just using this opportunity to add insult to injury?”
Yun Cheng sneered, “Of course they have a bigger purpose for doing all this. Just the nine spirit peaks of the Holy Land are enough to make them drool, but if my guess is right, their main objective is that new Holy Master and the only remaining Saintess. As long as they can capture those two…”
Ji Yan’s eyes lit up as he suddenly understood, “I see! Their appetite is really not small!”
“I hadn’t thought of it before today, but now I understand why Zhang Ao and Cao Guan gathered up so many forces; they’re treating us all like pawns, haa… We are still far too weak, if we had a strong enough background, why would our Bold Independent Union have to pay any heed to the schemes of Zhang Ao and Cao Guan.”
Saying so, Yun Cheng intentionally or unintentionally glanced over at Yun Xuan, secretly smiling after discovering that his daughter chose to remain silent.
Yun Cheng was obviously very concerned about what kind of relationship his daughter had with the new Holy Master.
“Then, Union Master, what do we do, should we also leave?” Ji Yan asked.
“Leave?” Yun Cheng snorted, “Do you think we can just casually leave now?”
“Hm?” Ji Yan was confused for a moment but his face soon went pale, “Union Master can’t possibly mean…”
“En!” Yun Cheng smiled calmly, his brow wrinkling a moment later as he looked up, “They’ve already made their move. Let’s go. There’s a good show to see.”
After saying so, he got up and walked out of the tent, the other members of Bold Independent Union quickly following after him.
Outside, the cultivators of Star Gathering Sect and Cold Snow Hall, who were preparing to leave, had been stopped by Zhang Ao, Cao Guan, and Wu Jie. No one knew what they were saying; all anyone could see was that Zhang Ao’s face grew quite gloomy as the leaders of these two small forces spoke. Suddenly, the situation changed.
A series of miserable screams rang out as Zhang Ao, Cao Guan and the masters who accompanied them began slaughtering the members of these two small forces.
After less than ten breaths, more than a hundred people had become fresh corpses.
All the onlookers were stunned, their eyes widening as they took in this tragic sight, feeling as if they had been trust out into a blizzard, shivering uncontrollably.
Sweeping his gaze across the crowd, Zhang Ao shouted, “Refusing to avenge the deaths of their friends and family and actually wanting to fawn over Nine Heavens Holy Land, these scum aren’t qualified to live in this world! This Zhang is ashamed to have once called them companions and has given them what they deserve! From now on, this Zhang will assume responsibility for seeking the justice their loved ones need in order to find eternal rest!”
Cao Guan followed up, “All of you can rest assured, Nine Heavens Holy Land is only a grasshopper after autumn! Let them act arrogantly for a few more days; when we next attack, we will surely emerge victorious! Everyone disperse now and rest well. A few days from now, we will require everyone’s strength!”
Hearing the self-absorbed preaching of these two, no one responded. It was only now that everyone realized what kind of trouble they had gotten themselves into.
“We’re riding a tiger now, heh!” Yun Cheng smiled and shook his head, a look of self-ridicule upon his face.
The forces and masters who had been tempted and misled into coming here had all seen through the truth of this situation now, but facing Zhang Ao and Cao Guan’s tyrannical strength and methods, they could do nothing but shut their mouths and obey.
Judging from the way they had treated Star Gathering Sect and Cold Snow Hall, if anyone was to voice a dissenting opinion now, they would soon find themselves lying on the ground in a pool of their own blood.
Gradually, the crowd dispersed as a few people processed the dead.
After returning to their tent, Yun Cheng looked around and couldn’t help asking worriedly, “Where is Xuan’er?”
Yun Xuan have been with them until just a moment ago but now she was nowhere to be seen.
“Xin Yu is also not here, the two of them probably had something to take care of and have gone out,” Ji Yan replied.
Hearing this, Yun Cheng felt somewhat relieved and no longer asked any questions.
Somewhere in the surrounding jungle, Yun Xuan and Ruan Xin Yu both followed behind a young man vigilantly. The three of them had gone a fair distance from the gathering place and were now deep into the wilderness, but the young man in front of them simply kept walking.
“Hey, what force are you a disciple of? What’s your name?” Ruan Xin Yu wasn’t very patient so after seeing this youth lead her and Yun Xuan forward while not explaining anything she couldn’t help calling out and asking.
This young man’s cultivation wasn’t very high, so she wasn’t worried he would try something with her and Yun Xuan.
“Two young ladies, this one is called Liu Gui, a disciple of War Spirit Temple,” The young man responded quickly, his attitude quite polite.
“War Spirit Temple?” Ruan Xin Yu’s brow furrowed, “Why did you call the two of us out here? What is this important matter you spoke of?”
“Hehe, young ladies will know when we arrive at our destination, please rest assured. I am not a bad person,” Liu Gui smiled.
Ruan Xin Yu coldly snorted, “Listening to you say that only makes you sound even more suspicious. If there really is some important matter happening up ahead, why not inform your Temple Master instead of covertly leading the two of us out to this remote jungle? Tell me, what are your true intentions?”
“I have no intentions at all,” Liu Gui desperately wanted to cry but was unable to shed any tears, “I was simply entrusted with this mission. A certain man asked me to bring you… no, to bring her to a certain place, you simply followed on your own.”
“Someone entrusted you to lead us here?” Yun Xuan heard these words and couldn’t help trembling, suddenly feeling a sense of expectation, hurriedly asking, “Who was it that entrusted you to do this?”
Liu Gui stammered for a moment only to helplessly reply, “Young lady, please don’t ask, I have my own difficulties so I really can’t say anymore. However, you can rest assured we will be there soon.”
Yun Xuan quickly turned her eyes forward and fully released her Divine Sense, but she was unable to sense anything or anyone up ahead.
“Yun Xuan, this kid is too suspicious. Maybe there is some kind of trap waiting for us up ahead. I think we should just go back,” Ruan Xin Yu whispered to Yun Xuan.
Yun Xuan however just smiled back at her, “You’re thinking too much. No matter what, he is a disciple of War Spirit Temple, there’s no need for him to do any of this.”
“No reason to do any of this? Isn’t it clear he has ulterior motives? Maybe he was just fascinated by your beauty!”
“Don’t scare me…” Yun Xuan quickly tightened her grip on her clothes.
“If two young ladies are really uncomfortable, why not seal this one’s strength first? That way, when we arrive at our destination, if there really is any danger, this one’s life will be in your hands,” Liu Gui heard them whispering to each other and suddenly understood why they didn’t feel relieved following him, immediately making this proposal.
“Good, then I won’t be polite!” Ruan Xin Yu immediately acted, quickly patting her palm on Liu Gui’s back a few times, sealing his True Qi.
Liu Gui didn’t mind and simply continued walking forward in a calm manner.
Seeing his appearance, Yun Xuan and Ruan Xin Yu felt relieved.
After walking more than a dozen kilometers, the trio came to a small lake and Liu Gui finally breathed a sigh of relief before pointing to the front, “We’re here, the man who wishes to see you is over there.”
Looking in the direction he was pointing, Ruan Xin Yu couldn’t help covering her mouth in shock as she let out a yelp while Yun Xuan also stared in disbelief, her beautiful eyes flashing a brilliant light as she saw who was waiting for them.