If An Ling’er had asked him to stay when she had first discovered him, Yang Kai would have left without any hesitation.
But instead she had actually encouraged him to go!
Obviously, she had done this completely out of consideration for him. An Ling’er being willing to go so far for him made Yang Kai reluctant to just abandon her.
After all, it appeared as if Nine Heavens Holy Land had suffered some kind of calamity!
Seeing Yang Kai take the initiative to stay, An Ling’er was particularly happy, hurriedly explaining what had transpired after he had entered the Holy Tomb.
Only now did Yang Kai learn that it had been nine whole months since he entered the Holy Tomb.
For the first six of those months, nothing of note had happened.
However, on a certain day roughly three months ago, the barrier around the periphery of Nine Heavens Holy Land’s nine spirit peaks had suddenly ceased functioning, catching all the Elders and Protectors somewhat unprepared.
No matter how they investigated though, they couldn’t discover what had gone wrong much less repair and re-activate the various Spirit Arrays which formed the barrier.
Just as everyone was at a loss, Saintess Nan, who noticed the disappearance of the barrier, attacked the Holy Land.
Together, the various Elders and Protectors managed to successfully repel Saintess Nan but the Holy Land suffered terrible damage in the process, many disciples suffering injuries or falling in the battle.
Immediately after that incident, foreign enemies appeared.
“Foreign enemies?” Yang Kai asked curiously.
“En, my Holy Land has been a peak force for many years, but what force doesn’t have enemies? When the old Holy Masters was alive, we could still deter these foes, but after his passing two years ago, and with no new Holy Master succeeding his position, these enemies saw an opportunity. My Holy Land’s nine peaks is an excellent territory for cultivating, causing many people to secretly covet it.”
“So these enemies of yours decided to hit you while you’re down?” Yang Kai snickered.
“En,” An Ling’er nodded in agreement, looking somewhat low-spirited, “But it’s not like we have no blame in this matter. When the old Holy Master was alive, we held a dominant position, so it’s only natural they have some grievances with us…”
“Hmph, if it was just some trivial small forces, my Holy Land still wouldn’t even put them in our eyes, but…” Yu Ying followed up, frowning deeply as she lamented, “But for the past while, Saintess Nan has stirred up a great deal of trouble outside, so a few forces that have grudges against us took the opportunity to gather a large number of masters to pressure my Holy Land. These masters were either harmed directly by Saintess Nan, or had their loved ones killed by her, causing them to resent my Holy Land.”
“Seems like when it rains, it pours!” Yang Kai frowned and understood why the atmosphere inside Nine Heavens Holy Land was so bleak.
However, Nine Heavens Holy Land’s barrier failing three months ago coincided with when he obtained the Holy Master Spirit Ring.
[Could it be related to that?] Yang Kai secretly pondered, not entirely sure.
“Half a month ago, those people came to complain, demanding we turn over the previous generation’s Saintess to them, but in the battle three months ago, Saintess Nan was injured and fled far away. How are we supposed to find her now? Great Elder tried to explain the situation, but it didn’t help at all. The few forces coveting our nine spirit peaks continued to inflame the situation eventually leading to a fight. Both sides suffered multiple dead and wounded in that battle, worsening the situation, so not it is almost impossible to resolve this matter peacefully, haa…”
“Which forces are stirring up trouble?” Yang Kai asked.
“The ringleaders are the three nearby forces, Shattering Mystical Palace, War Spirit Temple, and Netherworld Sect!” Yu Ying said with a look of disgust and anger appearing on her pretty face, “These three forces are the main culprits. If it was just one of them, even though my Holy Land’s strength has declined greatly, we wouldn’t even bother paying attention to them, but the three of them are now working together and have simultaneously drawn in a large number of outside masters. Now, my Holy Land is facing almost half the world’s forces!”
“Is the situation really that bad?” Yang Kai was also taken aback.
However, upon remember what Saintess Nan had been doing these past two years, it wasn’t beyond the realm of possibility for things to have reached such a point.
Wherever Saintess Nan went, death and destruction would follow, causing a huge problem for Nine Heavens Holy Land. As a Second Order Saint, Saintess Nan’s base strength was incredible; add to that her mastery of the Nine Heavens Divine Skills, only a Third Order Saint Realm master would be able to subdue her. In this world, there weren’t many such masters!
Yang Kai wasn’t even sure if Soaring Heaven Sect’s Chu Ling Xiao had reached such a level.
“It’s even worse than you think!” Yu Ying’s expression became cold, “These three forces aren’t just coveting the Holy Land’s resources and land, what they’re most interested in is Ling’er!”
Saying so, she unconsciously glanced over at An Ling’er.
Yang Kai’s thoughts turned quickly and suddenly understood, “They want to force you to join one of their Sects’ disciples together with her in order to obtain the inheritance of your Holy Master, right?”
Once they acquired the Holy Master’s inheritance, they could reach the sky in a single leap, it was a huge benefit that even if they struggled for a few hundred years they couldn’t obtain.
“Exactly!” Yu Ying nodded sternly, “When they drew back half a month ago, they gave us an ultimatum, hand over Saintess Nan one month later, or they would flatten our nine peaks! But later that day, the Great Elder received a secret letter saying that if the previous generation’s Saintess couldn’t be delivered, the current Saintess would be acceptable as a substitute!”
“They’ve thought this out quite well…” Yang Kai was genuine impressed with these force’s scheme. After pausing for a moment to absorb all he had just heard, he then asked, “So, are you planning to just sit here and wait for death?”
Yu Ying’s mood became depressed as she replied, “What else can we do? Although this world is vast, we have nowhere else to go. And there’s still half a month left until the deadline, Great Elder is even now trying to convince the forces who were roped to take a step back and negotiate. If only the three local forces remain, they won’t be able to cause any waves, and once my Holy Land recovers, we can slowly deal with them.”
“Your old Holy Master has really harmed you,” Yang Kai slowly shook his head. “Why didn’t he treat those three forces better before he died, at least to the point where they won’t come to cause trouble for you?”
“Hey! Which side are you on?” Yu Ying glanced over at Yang Kai somewhat disgruntled.
“I’m just telling the truth,” Yang Kai shrugged his shoulders.
“When the old Holy Master was alive, although he did treat them somewhat overbearingly and demanded they pay a certain amount of tribute each year in the form of cultivation materials, it was because of the Nine Heavens Holy Land’s shelter that their three forces could remain safe and sound,” An Ling’ Er explained, “Now they choose to repay that kindness with enmity, they’re nothing more than ungrateful wolves.”
“What do you mean? How did your old Holy Master shelter them?” Yang Kai was puzzled.
“I didn’t tell you? Our Holy Land is at the edge of the Human Territory, just over that mountain range is the Beast Sea Jungle which is the territory of the Monster Race. If it weren’t for the old Holy Master’s presence here, the Monster Race’s Great Senior over there would have already brought his forces to occupy this land.”
“Monster Race?” Yang Kai raised his brow and asked, “You mean to say that over there is the Monster Domain?”
“Yes!”
“Then why haven’t they taken action as well?”
Since the old Holy Master had fallen, the Monster Race making a move should have been given. The Three Clans all had irreconcilable enmity between them to the point where fights broke out simply by meeting one another. The Monster Race not taking advantage of such a superb opportunity didn’t make sense. Given this, Yang Kai keenly realized that there should be something more to this story than meets the eye.
An Ling’er glanced over at Yu Ying, seemingly seeking her opinion. Yu Ying’s pretty face wore a complex expression as she contemplated for a while before finally nodding lightly.
Only then did An Ling’er continue, quietly explaining, “The old Holy Master and that side’s Monster Race Great Senior seem to have some friendship… them not moving is probably for this reason.”
“Oh?” Yang Kai showed an interested look, sneering as he ridiculed, “Then it seems the Monster Race is actually more humane… That Monster Race Great Senior’s strength must not be weak, right?”
“We’ve never met him, but it’s more than likely that’s the case,” Yu Ying nodded.
“And that’s the current situation,” An Ling’er said, looking straight at Yang Kai, seemingly waiting for him to state his opinion. Yu Ying also looking at him anxiously, as if she was worried he would immediately leave after learning how dire things were.
If that were to really happen, Yu Ying would probably break down and cry.
Yang Kai being able to safely return from the Holy Tomb meant he must have passed its test. That meant that as of right now, he was essentially the Holy Land’s Holy Master. With him assuming command, it would be possible to stabilize the mood of the Holy Land’s disciples and it would become more convenient to handle various large and small affairs.
Two beautiful women, one young, one old, staring at him so fixedly made Yang Kai feel a certain helplessness, eventually forcing him to ask, “Where are Xu Hui and the others?”
Hearing him ask this, both An Ling’er and Yu Ying smiled joyfully, Yu Ying quickly replying, “I’ll take you to them!”
Saying so, she immediately turned around and led the way.
Yang Kai and An Ling’er followed close behind.
“Does… does this mean you’re willing to become the new Holy Master?” An Ling’er suddenly whispered.
“I didn’t say that, so don’t misunderstand. Right now… I can make some effort, as for if it will make any difference, I can’t guarantee. I can only say that I’ll do my best. If your Holy Land is still destroyed by this catastrophe, at least you won’t be able to complain about me not trying.”
“En, en,” An Ling’er smiled brightly, “I knew you were a good person, we really are friends, right?”
“En,” Yang Kai grinned, a mischievous glint flashing across his eyes, “So you’d best not fall in love with me. If you do, I’ll leave, and we won’t be friends anymore.”
“Hmph, don’t be so arrogant!” An Ling’er blushed bright red, hitting Yang Kai a few times, grinding her teeth as she muttered, “You really think that all the women in the world will be attracted to you? Although you’re not bad, you’re not my type at all.”
“Oh? What kind of man is your type then?” Yang Kai asked curiously.
“Someone older than me, tall and handsome, kind and caring…” An Ling’er suddenly fell into a fantasy, quickly firing off a long list traits her dream man should have.
“Your vision is really lacking!” Yang Kai kept shaking his head, wearing an expression seemingly bloated with arrogance, causing An Ling’er to giggling.
As they flew forward, Yang Kai saw numerous broken buildings and traces of blood left behind from battle.
The busy Holy Land disciples who saw Yu Ying and An Ling’er all stopped and saluted respectfully, but when they noticed Yang Kai who was walking together with An Ling’er, they all, without exception, showed looks of shock, none of them able to believe their own eyes.
Up ahead, Xu Hui was busy directing people. Yu Ying shouted out to him, causing him to turn his head to answer her, but before he could utter a single word, his eyes suddenly bulged. It was like he had seen a ghost, causing his jaw to drop, rendering him speechless for quite some time.
In front of a collapsed building, Xu Hui stood there staring at Yang Kai dumbly, hardly able to believe his eyes.
Shi Kun, Cheng Yue Tong, and the other Elders also wore similar expressions.
“Don’t look so surprised. Or what, did you think I already died inside that tomb?” Yang Kai quipped.
Xu Hui finally came back to his senses, a trail of tears soon streaming down his face as he wore a joyful expression, trembling greatly as he cupped his fists and bowed deeply, “Greetings, Holy Master!”
“Congratulations on returning, Holy Master!” The other Elders also respectfully called out.
It seemed like Yang Kai appearing here now was equivalent to seeing hope, the haze and depression on their faces were instantly swept away.
Even the Holy Land disciples who were gathered nearby all turned fervent looks towards Yang Kai, regarding him as some kind of saviour.
In response, Yang Kai frowned and raised his hand, “Don’t be in such a rush to address me so…. Let’s put such matters aside for now; I’ve heard about the general situation from Elder Yu Ying and An Ling’er. Is there anything I can do to help? Speak freely, if I it’s within my ability, I’ll try my best to assist you.”
Xu Hui was startled, immediately understanding the meaning of Yang Kai’s words, quickly adjusting his tone as he cautiously said, “Of course, of course. The things we’re dealing with here are just minor matters such as comforting the disciples and treating the injured, there’s no need for you to intervene.”
As he spoke, Xu Hui’s eyes unconsciously glanced towards Yang Kai’s hand, a look of disappointment soon appearing on his face.
“Are you looking for this?” Yang Kai flipped his hand and summoned out the Holy Master Spirit Ring.
Everyone gathered around trembled when they saw this small ring appear. Xu Hui nodded repeatedly as his mood recovered, excitedly shouting, “Little Brother, you really brought the Holy Master Spirit Ring out!”
Yang Kai nodded lightly, putting the ring on his finger in front of everyone and casually saying, “I had wanted to deliver this ring to you when I came out, but… something unexpected came up so before I reach the Saint Realm I’ll have to keep it with me. I’ll return it to you when the time comes.”
Yang Kai estimated that when he broke through to the Saint Realm he would be able to take back his Soul brand from this ring.
“No, no, this Spirit Ring is yours now, it doesn’t matter how long you want to wear it,” Xu Hui smiled, the other Elders also nodding in agreement.
“However… now that we have the Holy Master Spirit Ring, things will really be much easier,” Xu Hui said in a relieved tone, “Little brother, this old master needs to ask you to do a few things.”
“Go ahead, Great Elder,” Yang Kai nodded.
“There are a large number of injured disciples and there aren’t enough healing pills and herbs available, you I’d like to ask little brother to go to the Sect’s main Treasury to take some things out.”
“Good, lead the way.”
Xu Hui quickly nodded, issuing some instructions to the other Elders before leading Yang Kai off in a certain direction.
After they left, the shocked expressions returned to the other Elders’ faces.
“He really came out of the Holy Tomb? It’s already been nine months. How did he do it?” Shi Kun kept shaking his head, unable to understand.
“This has broken all records for the longest time spent in the Holy Tomb by far, right? I remember that the previous record was only two months.”
“Taking so long to pass the Holy Tomb’s test, could it be this new Holy Master’s ability is that poor? Did we perhaps look too highly upon him?”
“None of that matters, the most important thing is that he brought out the Holy Master Spirit Ring, so the Spirit Arrays that form the barrier around the nine peaks can be reactivated and we can prevent those bastards’ invasion.”
Everyone nodded in agreement. Only Yu Ying’s eyes flashed an extremely complex light.
She had yet to figure out how Yang Kai had just fooled her senses and silently appeared beside her. Even if he had mastered the Nine Heavens Divine Skills, he still shouldn’t have been able to accomplish such a feat.
Had they looked too highly upon him, or were they actually still underestimating him?
“Yu Ying, what’s wrong?” Cheng Yue Tong saw her friend acting somewhat unsettled and quickly came over to ask.
“Nothing, I was just thinking that this future Holy Master is very different.”
“Different how?” Cheng Yue Tong asked curiously.
“I’m not sure,” Yu Ying slowly shook her head before turning around and shouting, “What are you staring at? Don’t you have things to do?”
The disciples who had gathered around were suddenly awoken from their daze and quickly scattered like frightened birds, returning to their own individual tasks.
However, word of the new Holy Master successfully passing the Holy Tomb’s test still spread rapidly, causing all the Holy Land disciples who heard the news to rejoice, feeling the Holy Land now had hope.
At the same time, Yang Kai and Xu Hui arrived in front of the Holy Land’s main Treasury.
After a quick inspection, Yang Kai was quite surprised; he didn’t know what material this Treasury was made from but even with his unusually powerful Divine Sense he couldn’t even penetrate its outer layer much less see what was stored inside. On top of that, this Treasury was obviously incredibly sturdy, essentially impregnable to outside attacks.
On the way over, Xu Hui had also given Yang Kai a quick explanation of the situation.
The materials collected by Nine Heavens Holy Land that weren’t immediately needed were usually sent to this Treasury for preservation. Over the years, the amount of rare and precious material stockpiled in this vault was considerable.
However, since the fall of the old Holy Master, this place had become inaccessibly.
Over the past two years, the remaining materials in the Holy Land had slowly been used up, and after experiencing this most recent disaster, the last remnants had been consumed clean, leaving many of the injured disciples without any healing pills, let alone pills used to cultivate.
So right now the highest priority was to open the Treasury so the supplies inside could be used.
But the only key to open the Treasury was the Holy Master Spirit Ring brought out by Yang Kai.
Following Xu Hui’s instructions, Yang Kai poured his True Qi into the Holy Master Spirit Ring and then pushed the ring on his finger into a slot in the center of the Treasury’s door.
A flash of light appeared and the heavy door slowly slid open.
A huge underground warehouse appeared in front of Yang Kai’s eyes that were lined with all kinds of commodities such as herbs for Alchemy, metals for Artifact Refining, jade bottles filled with finished pills, and countless artifacts.
Yang Kai was dazzled and even somewhat shocked by this sight.
After all, this was the storage space for the accumulated wealth of an apex level force; the amount of wealth in this place was simply beyond Yang Kai’s imagination.
“Little brother, have a look around for yourself, if there is anything you need, feel free to take it, I will go call some disciples right now to help bring out the materials we need!” Xu Hui said to Yang Kai before turning around to leave.
Yang Kai was immediately overjoyed.
The materials here were diverse and abundant, enough to supply the needs of ten thousand disciples for quite some time. It was no wonder that the three nearby forces had taken the risk of attacking Nine Heavens Holy Land. Without even mentioning how good the surrounding nine spirit peaks were for cultivating, just the wealth stored in this vault was enough to make them salivate.
Whether in good times or in bad times, what ultimately moved people were benefits, this was an unchanging truth.
Yang Kai didn’t have the slightest reservations and immediately began wantonly stuffing herbs used for Alchemy into the Black Book space in preparation for whatever the future held.
Yang Kai still needed to increase his Alchemy skill. Although he could currently refine Saint Grade Low-Rank pills, he was not very adept at it yet. Only when he became capable of refining Saint Grade Mid-Rank pills could he return to the endless Snow Mountain Range to find Coffin Slave Senior, enter the Mysterious Small World, and free the Ancient Demon Clan from their captivity.
Compared with Nine Heavens Holy Land, Yang Kai valued Li Rong and Han Fei more.
It was also because of his complicated relationship with the Ancient Demon Clan that Yang Kai didn’t want to have much to do with Nine Heavens Holy Land.
Humans and Demons were irreconcilable enemies, if he were to become both the Holy Master and leader of the Ancient Demon Clan, if a conflict were to erupt between the two, Yang Kai would find himself caught in the middle.
In no time at all, Yang Kai had swept away a lot of precious spirit herbs, even acquiring materials necessary for the Saint Pill the Ancient Demon Clan needed.
Finally, Yang Kai had collected all the materials needed for that Saint Pill!
Yang Kai’s was in utter joy. Even after collecting numerous materials already, it seemed that none of the supply has diminished in the slightest. It was only when he started collecting some Crystal Stones for cultivating, that he stopped.
Xu Hui bustled about inside, stuffing a large number of Universe Bags with herbs before handing them to the disciples waiting outside and instructing them to deliver them to the Holy Land’s Alchemists.
Half a day later, this work slowly came to an end.
“Little brother, did you not find anything you needed?” Xu Hui saw Yang Kai empty-handed, without even a single Universe Bag, and misunderstood that he had returned empty handed.
However, Xu Hui was also keenly aware that besides the things he had taken, a large amount of supplies, especially high grade Alchemy’s material, were now missing, puzzling him greatly.
“I’m fine,” Yang Kai slowly shook his head.
“Let’s go then, if you want, you can come back here anytime,” Xu Hui laughed, no longer raising the issue.
After leaving the Treasury, Xu Hui then said, “I’ll have to trouble little brother to follow this old master again so that the Nine Peak barrier can be opened again.”
Yang Kai nodded, indicating to him to lead the way.
The Nine Peaks Spirit Array and barrier were profound, the culmination of all the previous Holy Masters’ countless years of effort. Once opened, this barrier could withstand the indiscriminate attacks of a Saint Realm master undamaged for some time.
Although every Holy Master was a peak Third Order Saint, but there were always times when the Holy Master had to leave the Holy Land. When he left, it was this barrier that kept the Holy Land safe.
Yang Kai wasn’t proficient in barrier type Spirit Arrays as he had almost never been involved in arranging them before; however, it is not necessary for him to spend a lot of time learning about the Nine Peaks Spirit Array, all he had to do was use the Holy Master Spirit Ring in accordance with Xu Hui’s instructions to re-activate it.
Traveling back and forth among the nine spirit peaks, stopping from time to time, Yang Kai consumed a massive amount of True Qi until half a day later the Spirit Array was successfully re-started.
World Energy once again began to rapidly flow towards the Holy Land while at the same time a thin energy membrane barely visible to the naked eye enveloped Nine Heavens Holy Land, protecting it from the outside world.
Xu Hui was completely shocked!
He was well aware of just how much True Qi it took to activate this Spirit Array; even the previous generation’s Holy Master couldn’t re-start after it shut down it within half a day.
It was a Spirit Array that covered the entire Holy Land.
However, Yang Kai did just that, and even after activating the Spirit Array, his face wasn’t the slightest bit flushed, as if he hadn’t exerted any effort at all.
Xu Hui couldn’t even begin to speculate how massive the amount of True Qi hidden inside Yang Kai’s body was, causing him to be deeply astonished.
Realizing this, Xu Hui’s attitude became even more respectful.
He knew that although his current cultivation was higher than Yang Kai’s, in a short time, this young man would definitely ascend to a height that he would forever be unable to reach. At that time, the entire Holy Land would have to rely on Yang Kai.
After hurrying about for an entire day, most of the Holy Land’s immediate concerns had been dealt with.
As night fell, clouds gathered overhead, blocking out the starlight, causing a heavy aura to cover the sky above the Holy Land.
The various Protectors and Elders of Nine Heavens Holy Land gathered to discuss how to deal with the crisis which would befall them half a month later.
The various masters, led by the Holy Land’s neighbouring three forces, had already declared that after half a month, they either surrender the previous generation’s Saintess or hand over current generation’s Saintess, otherwise it would be war.
The three forces who had been suppressed by Nine Heavens Holy Land, daring to make such a bold statement obviously indicated how great their confidence was, otherwise their attitude wouldn’t have been so intractable.
Handing over the previous generation’s Saintess was impossible for Xu Hui and the other Elders, they didn’t even know where Saintess Nan was right now. Likewise, it was impossible for them to hand over the current generation’s Saintess. A battle half a month later was essentially inevitable.
Not even knowing what this meeting was about or what intentions this group of Elders had, Yang Kai was dragged over and forced to attend by An Ling’er.
As the various Elders were discussing matters, Yang Kai remained silent, showing no intention to express his own opinion.
Yang Kai had enough self-knowledge. Although this group of Saints continuously expressed their expectation that he inherit the Holy Master’s position, at this critical juncture, he had no decision-making power. In all of their opinions, Yang Kai was still too young.
Therefore, Yang Kai just chose to remain silent.
After listening for a while, Yang Kai was surprised to discover that no one here had any thoughts of escaping, they were all determined and stay behind and fight to defend the honour of the Holy Land.
Yang Kai shook his head secretly, deciding not to pass judgement on this decision.
Although he also knew that by fleeing to the mountains one didn’t need to worry about having firewood to burn, Yang Kai was also aware that a large force like Nine Heavens Holy Land wanting to migrate was not an easy task. Even if Xu Hui and the other Elders could safely evacuate, the common disciples would likely be abandoned.
Right now, the most crucial thing was how to console the foreign masters that were gathered together by Shattering Mystical Palace, War Spirit Temple, and Netherworld Sect. As long as they could make these masters withdraw, even with its current weakened strength, the Holy Land could easily repel the three local forces.
After discussing this matter at length yet not reaching any kind of consensus, everyone’s eyes suddenly turned to Yang Kai who was sitting to the side drinking his tea.
“What are you looking at me for? I’m used to wandering freely, I don’t have any experience about such matters. You talk, I’ll just listen.”
“Heh heh…” Xu Hui let out a hollow laugh and calmly said, “Though that may be the case, surely little brother has some opinions of his own, yes? Please share them with us, perhaps a fresh perspective will help us find a solution.”
The other Elders in the room all turned looks of anticipation towards Yang Kai as well, seeming curious about what he would say.
Yang Kai wrinkled his brow, and although he was somewhat unwilling to contribute, he still reluctantly asked, “How many Saint Realm masters are there among the three forces stirring up trouble?”
Xu Hui’s expression brightened as he quickly replied, “These three forces are not very powerful, each of them only possessing two Saint Realm masters, all of which as basically First Order. The only one we need to pay attention to is Zhang Ao from Shattering Mystical Palace, that old bastard’s cultivation is the same as mine, Second Order Saint. If the two of us were to really fight, it’s not certain who would win.”
Yang Kai expression moved slightly. Each of the three local forces possessing two Saints meant there was a total of six Saint Realm opponents, five of which were First Order while one of them was Second Order.
This lineup was the same in terms of number and cultivation as the current Nine Heavens Holy Land.
Right now, Nine Heavens Holy Land had one Second Order Saint and five First Order Saints.
This was not counting the forces which had been roped in by the three forces though; there were surely a number of powerhouses among this group. Having just suffered an attack from Saintess Nan, Nine Heavens Holy Land wanting to repel such a force was indeed unrealistic.
Moreover, if it really came down to a fight, even if Nine Heavens Holy Land survive, it might never be able to rise up again.
There were simply too many forces involved in this matter.
They had never wanted to become enemies with so many forces, but the trouble caused by Saintess Nan was undeniable so naturally Nine Heavens Holy Land’s had to take some responsibility.
“Haven’t you thought about asking for help? Nine Heavens Holy Land has existed for so many years so shouldn’t you have some allies?” Yang Kai suggested hesitantly, “Can’t you ask your allies for help during this crisis in exchange for a favour down the road?”
When Yang Kai spoke these words though, everyone else in the room wore an awkward embarrassed.
Seeing this, Yang Kai immediately understood. Nine Heavens Holy Land really had no allies! When the old Holy Master was alive, they were conceited, thinking that no force in the world could stand on the same level as their Holy Land, but as a result, now that their Sect had encountered a crisis, obviously no one would come to their aid.
Yang Kai rubbed his forehead for a while, rendered absolutely speechless by this fact.
He could ask Soaring Heaven Sect for help. His three Marital Uncles and his Martial Aunt would definitely respond, but there simply wasn’t enough time for that. By the time Yang Kai returned to Soaring Heaven Sect, Nine Heavens Holy Land would likely already be destroyed.
Suddenly, Yang Kai’s eyes lit up, solemnly saying, “That Monster Race Great Senior… Have you ever thought about asking him for help?”
“The Monster Race Great Senior?” Xu Hui’s complexion changed.
“En, since he is a Great Senior, his strength and the strength of his subordinates is certainly not weak.”
“You must be joking,” Shi Kun frowned, “Those Monster Race powerhouses only regard us humans as eyesores. If we were to ask for help from them and they accepted, once word of it spread out, Nine Heavens Holy Land would immediately become an enemy of the entire human race and never be able to rise again.”
“Exactly,” Yu Ying gently nodded, agreeing with Shi Kun’s statement, “No matter how bad the situation becomes, it is impossible for us to ask for reinforcements from the Monster Race. In addition, none of us have ever met with that Monster Race Great Senior, only the old Holy Master has some friendship with him, there’s very little chance we could convince him to help even if we did ask.”
Yang Kai was stunned, never having expected his proposal to be so firmly rejected; only not understanding that he had greatly underestimated the degree of hatred between the different races.
He was not a native of Tong Xuan Realm and although he had been in this world for a number of years now, the deep-rooted prejudices of this world had not affected him much.
Before coming here, Yang Kai hadn’t even known about the existence of difference races like the Demon Race and Monster Race.
“There is a person who, if he can be found, may be able to easily resolve the Holy Land’s crisis,” Xu Hui suddenly fell into contemplation and whispered softly.
“Does Great Elder mean that man?” Cheng Yue Tong seems to remember something and immediately asked.
“En.”
“What man?” Yang Kai was curious, not knowing who they were talking about, but surmising he was some extraordinary master.
“An old man with mysterious origins, we don’t know anything specific about him, but he should be an old friend of the previous Holy Master. Half a year before the old Holy Master fell, that old man suddenly came to visit him and stayed a few days in the Holy Land. During that time, the old Holy Master was very courteous towards him, so the relationship between them shouldn’t be just a casual one. If we can find him, he would surely help us.”
“En, that old man had a profound aura around him, as if he was impossible to see through. Moreover, I have never seen the old Holy Master act so politely towards another individual before, so he obviously isn’t some average person,” Yu Ying followed up.
“An old man with mysterious origins?” Yang Kai was stunned, “Do you have any idea where he is now?”
Everyone shook their heads.
“However, he should return to the Holy Land again at some point,” Xu Hui suddenly said confidently.
“Why do you say that?”
“Because when he came to my Holy Land, the little girl accompanying him left something behind on one of the nine peaks. After he left, the old Holy Master told me to pay special attention to that place and not allow anyone to approach or damage it. I assume after a certain period of time that old man and little girl will come back here and retrieve whatever it is they deposited there.”
“En, after that little girl set up some kind of array in that place, I had a casual look once,” Meng Tian Fei nodded, somewhat helplessly confessing, “Whatever it is she did though, has made the place uninhabitable. If one stays there too long, they’ll freeze, even I couldn’t stand being there for very long.”
Listening to their words, Yang Kai suddenly understood what they were talking about.
When he was opening the Nine Peaks Spirit Array and barrier with Xu Hui during the day, he indeed came across an odd place. That region was particularly cold, and not just in a temperature sense. There was some kind of unusual chill in the air that caused one to feel quite uncomfortable.
At the time, Yang Kai thought it was a natural occurrence, some kind of restricted zone in Nine Heavens Holy Land, but apparently that was not the case.
However, suddenly hearing about an old man accompanied by a little girl, a certain familiar pair emerged in Yang Kai’s mind.
Chuckling to himself, Yang Kai shook his head, thinking there was no way such a coincidence could possible happen.
With a smile on his face, he asked casually, “That old guy you mentioned, he wouldn’t happen to be a geezer that tries to put on a sagely appearance yet has a wandering obscene gaze?”
Xu Hui didn’t have time to respond before Yu Ying and Cheng Yue Tong both nodded, Yu Ying even gritting her teeth as she grumbled, “Exactly! That old bastard’s eyes were always staring at places they shouldn’t be.”
Cheng Yue Tong also chimed in, “En, en, at his age yet still acting so wantonly, Yu Ying and I somehow managed to treat him politely, but in truth we couldn’t wait to dig out his eyes!”
The breathing of the two beautiful women both became rough, seemingly still quite angry with that old man.
Xu Hui, on the other hand, smiled dumbly, “Aren’t you two perhaps mistaken? When one reaches a certain height, their eyes are naturally filled with ‘life’.”
Yu Ying and Cheng Yue Tong both glared coldly at Xu Hui at the same time.
“Ahem, just pretend I never said anything,” Xu Hui’s immediately retreated.
Yang Kai’s expression, on the other hand, became cramped, his pulse slightly accelerating as a sense of excitement and expectation filled his chest, continuing to ask, “Was that little girl wearing a veil, making people unable to see her true appearance, but still giving off a pure, and innocent aura?”
Everyone in the room turned to look at Yang Kai with amazement, Xu Hui asking in a shocked tone, “Holy Master, you… *ahem*, little brother, how did you know?”
“Seriously?” Yang Kai suddenly felt a little dumbfounded, quickly confirming his suspicions, “Did she also wear a light blue gem on her forehead?”
Hearing Yang Kai’s question, everyone nodded, Yu Ying adding, “Although that old guy was somewhat hateful, the little girl who was accompanying him was another story entirely. Although we couldn’t see her true appearance, I don’t think she was any less beautiful than our Saintesses, and… her cultivation was also incredible, no worse than yours. Before meeting you, she was the greatest genius of the younger generation I’d ever seen.”
“That was two or three years ago, her current cultivation is probably higher than mine!” Yang Kai declared, his mood suddenly become somewhat complicated.
Meng Wu Ya and Xia Ning Chang!
There were not many people who the Holy Master of Nine Heavens Holy Land would treat with courtesy, but Meng Wu Ya was one of them. Coupled with the fact he was followed by a little girl similar to Xia Ning Chang… The people Xu Hui and the other Elders were talking about could only be them.
They had actually come to Nine Heavens Holy Land, a fact that surprised Yang Kai greatly.
“Does little brother know them?” Xu Hui and the others glanced around at each other after noticing Yang Kai’s unusual state, the meaningful smile on his face that was somewhat absentminded, as if he was lost in his memories, making them realize that this new Holy Master might be old friends with that pair.
“How should I put this…? I’m acquainted with them,” Yang Kai smiled.
Xu Hui’s mood brightened and was just about to ask but Yang Kai cut him off before he had the chance, “Unfortunately I haven’t seen them for a number of years and I don’t know where they are right now.”
“Ah…” Xu Hui showed a disappointing look, but quickly recovered, “Since we can’t find someone to help us, we can only rely on our own strength now. Fortunately, little brother has retrieved the Holy Master Spirit Ring so if those people dare to attack, they will certainly pay a heavy price!”
“Good!” The crowd nodded, continuing their discussion.
Yang Kai found an opportunity and sneak away.
Following his memories from earlier that day, he soon came to a certain spot on one of the nine peaks.
This mountain was not much different from the other eight, standing tens of thousands of meters high, towering up into the sky, a magnificent scene to behold.
However, halfway up the mountain, a frigid aura appeared. The higher one climbed, the more intense this aura became and close to the summit, countless icicles hung from the rocky ridges, like sharp spears.
During the day, when Yang Kai was reactivating the Nine Peaks Spirit Array, he had found this place somewhat odd, but had not given it much thought at the time.
Now he wanted to see just what his Little Senior Sister had set up and left behind here.
Flying upwards, it only took a moment to reach the summit where the chill in the air was so strong it seemed to penetrate into the depths of the soul and freeze one’s thoughts.
Yang Kai began probing the area but soon paled slightly. He found that even with his Conflagrated Knowledge Sea, he had to exert his full strength in order to stop his Soul from being affected by the chill in the air.
As for his body, even circulating his True Qi at full speed Yang Kai couldn’t completely dispel the cold which penetrated his skin.
[How strange!]
Yang Kai slowly shook his head, but with great confidence in his ability still boldly went forward.
After a while, a clear and deep pond suddenly appeared before Yang Kai’s eyes, the chill seemingly emanating from its depths. Around its perimeter was small depression, which seemed to have been left by people. [It seemed that not everyone from the Nine Heavens Holy Land has completely avoided coming here.]
Around the deep pond, there were some subtle energy fluctuations, arranged in a mysterious and profound manner.
Yang Kai released his Divine Sense to probe these fluctuations and soon a smile of delight appeared on his face.
This was definitely his Little Senior Sister’s handiwork. Yang Kai could tell because the Spirit Arrays which were giving off the energy fluctuations contained many traces of the Spirit Arrays he had taught Xia Ning Chang.
Why had she done this though? From what Yang Kai heard from Xu Hui, Xian Ning Chang and Treasurer Meng did not take anything away from this place, probably because the time was not right, which also indicated that they’d likely return at some point.
What secrets were hidden in the depths of this frigid pond? Was it related to breaking the seal placed on Meng Wu Ya?
Yang Kai secretly guessed but couldn’t say for certain.
Chu Ling Xiao said that Meng Wu Ya had fought with the Demon Commander and was hit by the latter’s Profound Heavenly Seal, suppressing his cultivation to the Peak Immortal Ascension Boundary. This led to Treasurer Meng to seek refuge in Yang Kai’s homeland. Searching for someone with a Sacred Spirit Medicine Body might also have been a reason Meng Wu Ya traveled to the other world.
Beneath the Central Capital, Meng Wu Ya managed to lift the first layer of the seal and restore his strength to the Second Order Transcendent Realm. After not seeing him for so many years though, Yang Kai couldn’t be sure what his current situation was.
Yang Kai had always been very curious about Treasurer Meng’s true cultivation.
That old man knew Chu Ling Xiao and was friends with Ice Sect’s Sect Master, Qing Ya, he even knew the old Holy Master of Nine Heavens Holy Land…
Which one of these three was not a top level master? Being able to associate with such people must mean Treasurer Meng’s true strength couldn’t be much worse than theirs.
On top of that, everywhere he went, he seemed to leave behind a profound impression on others.
“Why did you come to see the Reflecting Moon Pond?” A voice suddenly called out from behind. Yang Kai was in deep thought and hadn’t even detected this newcomer’s approach, so when he heard these words he immediately condensed his True Qi, but in the next instant he calmed down and turned to look at An Ling’er and said, “I just wanted to take a look around. This place is called Reflecting Moon Pond?”
“En,” An Ling’er smiled as she looked up into the sky, “There’s no moon tonight, if there were, the view would have been even more beautiful. What kind of secret the Reflecting Moon Pond holds, no one knows, but it can show a near perfect reflection of the moon and stars above, indistinguishable from the real thing. I used to come here to play with Xiao Lian frequently…”
Seeming remembering about her three sisters who were killed by Saintess Nan, An Ling’er’s mood suddenly dampened.
“Is it really so mysterious?” Yang Kai quickly changed the subject to avoid An Ling’er dwelling on her sadness, “Even though it’s inside your territory, your Nine Heavens Holy Land doesn’t know what’s hidden here?”
An Ling’er shook her head slowly, “Great Elder and the other Elders don’t dare explore its depths. No one knows how deep this Reflecting Moon Pond is. The old Holy Master once went down to try to uncover its mysteries but returned empty handed; after he came out, he forbade anyone else from entering though, so what is hidden inside, no one knows. Moreover, originally, this peak didn’t have this pervasive chill, only when one dove into the Reflecting Moon Pond would they feel cold. I don’t know how it became like this but it should be related to the Spirit Array that little girl arranged here.”
After she finished explaining, An Ling’er apparently couldn’t take it anymore, shivering as she hastily said, “Let’s go back, it’s too cold here.”
Yang Kai nodded, not insisting on staying any longer, and flew down with her.
Yang Kai spent the rest of the night in contemplation and reflection, eventually coming to a decision about his next course of action.
The next day, he went to find Xu Hui and directly said, “Great Elder, I want to meet that Monster Race Great Senior!”
Upon hearing this, Xu Hui couldn’t help doing a double-take, hurriedly asking, “Why does little brother want to see him? Do you still want to ask him for help?”
Yang Kai smiled and shook his head, “He might have had a relationship with the old Holy Master but no friendship exists between him and I, even if I ask him for help, the answer will obviously be no.”
“Then why do you…” Xu Hui somewhat couldn’t understand.
Yang Kai’s expression suddenly became solemn and he hesitated for a moment before asking, “Great Elder, have you ever thought about abandoning the Holy Land’s territory?”
“You mean escaping?” Xu Hui frowned.
“Yes, escaping, of course, only temporarily,” Yang Kai nodded firmly, “As the saying goes, by staying in the azure mountains, one need not fear having wood to burn. Now, surrounded by foreign enemies, the Holy Land has no way to resist. If the situation really breaks down and turns into a fight, I’m afraid Nine Heavens Holy Land will really be destroyed in your generation. When things reach that point, how many of you will be able to escape? Perhaps you Elders and Protectors with your profound strength and deep cultivation will be able to flee, but what about the remaining disciples?”
Xu Hui expression became gloomy as he sighed deeply, “this is something we all understand, but the Holy Land’s disciples number between six and seven thousand, where could we possible go with so many people? Shattering Mystical Palace, War Spirit Temple, and Netherworld Sect have all chosen to thoroughly offend my Holy Land; naturally they won’t give up easily now. They also understand the concept of beating a snake to death to avoid future calamities. I’m afraid that if we try to stage a mass evacuation, they will immediately chase after and attack us. Since that’s the case, we might as well stay and fight where we have the territorial advantage.”
“So, you have considered it?” Yang Kai’s eyes flashed.
Xu Hui nodded somewhat awkwardly, “Although doing so is a great humiliation to our ancestors, right now what’s most important is to preserve the blood of the Holy Land. When we have accumulated enough strength, we can stage a comeback and make those who desecrated the Holy Land pay a steep price!”
As he spoke these words, Xu Hui’s face filled with determination and anger.
“Good good, since you’ve already thought about it, I don’t need to worry about convincing you,” Yang Kai laughed sinisterly, continuing a moment later, “I have a place to safely house all the Holy Land’s people. As long as we move there, no one will have any way of harming you.”
“Oh?” Xu Hui’s eyes lit up, asking somewhat curiously, “Little brother is referring to…”
“It’s not convenient to tell you now; just wait, when the time comes I’ll inform you. Of course, the premise is that you believe me!” Yang Kai said vaguely.
“I believe, naturally I believe!” Xu Hui nodded repeatedly, soon becoming confused though, “What does any of this have to do with you going to see that Monster Race Great Senior?”
“These two matters really have nothing to do with each other, at least not directly, but if you really agree to give up the Holy Land’s territory for a while, I think seeing that Monster Race Great Senior is a necessary,” Yang Kai grinned fiercely, “The Holy Land’s foundation can’t simply be handed over to those three forces freely; in that case… if that Monster Race Great Senior learned that Holy Land was now empty, what do you think he would do?”
Xu Hui knit his brow slightly and quickly muttered, “The World Energy aura inside the Monster Race’s territory isn’t nearly as rich as my Holy Land’s. They have also coveted this place for a long time. If they were to learn that the Holy Land had been deserted, I’m afraid they would immediately invade and occupy the nine peaks…”
As he spoke, Xu Hui suddenly understood what Yang Kai wanted to do, a look of shock filling his eyes as his face twitched slightly. He had never expected that this new, young Holy Master actually had such a sinister and devious side.
Yang Kai smiled villainously as he spoke in a frightful tone, “My mother taught me, those who respect me one step, I should respect ten steps, but those who wrong me, I should beat three times over!”
Xu Hui couldn’t help feeling a chill run up his spine, as if he had just been thrown out into a frigid blizzard, only able to mutter somewhat haltingly after a long time, “Your mother is a true hero…”
“Good, I know that you can’t take responsibility for such a decision alone, go discuss it with the other Elders now, if they all agree, let me know.”
Xu Hui’s eyes flashed as he cupped his fists and said, “Although I can’t take responsibility for such a decision by myself, if little brother were to promise to inherit…”
“Scram!” Yang Kai didn’t wait for Xu Hui to finish before bluntly cutting him off.
The corner of Xu Hui’s lips twitched for a moment before he let out a sigh and flew off.
The Patreon changed, so I wanted to reschedule everything to be 9 Chapters this week. Do enjoy ~
Yang Kai hated being led around by others, his fate could only be forged with his own hands.
It was for this reason that he had always been extremely opposed to the idea of inheriting the position of Holy Master of Nine Heavens Holy Land, because this was not something he sought on his own. No matter how friendly the people of the Holy Land were to him, his intentions were simply incompatible.
However, when Yang Kai learned that Xia Ning Chang and Meng Wu Ya came here and arranged something around the Reflecting Moon Pond, Yang Kai’s resistance to Nine Heavens Holy Land noticeably decreased.
By preserving the foundation of Nine Heavens Holy Land, perhaps he could meet his Little Senior Sister again in the future!
He had already found Su Yan who was now staying in Ice Sect, concentrating on cultivation. As for Old Demon, Yang Kai wasn’t worried, that old Devil Lord was not someone good to provoke. It was only his Little Senior Sister that he would often worry about.
Now that he had found a concrete method to reunite with her, Yang Kai naturally didn’t want to see this hope dashed by some foreign enemies’ invasion.
Therefore he had taken the initiative to make this proposal to Xu Hui’s.
Soon, Xu Hui sent word and, just as Yang Kai had expected, after learning that there was a place that could safely house the Holy Land’s disciples, the various Elders and Protectors all expressed their willingness to temporarily evacuate in order to preserve their strength in anticipation of retaliating one day.
However, regarding this place which could house six or seven thousand disciples, they were obviously curious and repeatedly inquired about. However, Yang Kai was unwilling to inform them and the issue was only resolved when An Ling’er stepped forward to mediate the situation, convincing the Elders to temporarily back off.
“Since you’ve decided to follow my suggestion, let’s move on to other matters. Tell me everything you know about that Monster Race Great Senior,” Inside a grand hall, Yang Kai looked across at the Elders and quickly said, “The more detailed the better.”
After coming to Tong Xuan Realm, Yang Kai had only ever met a single member of the Monster Race.
The Charm Monster!
That devilish woman could use her Spiritual Energy toxin to stimulate the basest desires buried inside a human’s heart. But aside from that, Yang Kai essentially knew nothing about the Monster Race. Now that he was planning to go see a Monster Race Great Senior, naturally he had to prepare himself.
“None of us have met that Monster Race Great Senior, but from what the old Holy Master told us, he is an Eighth-Order Monster Beast. What’s more, he is naturally capable of cultivating two different elemental attributes. His strength is quite impressive and he has a number of powerful inborn Divine Abilities.”
“An Eighth-Order Monster Beast…” Yang Kai frowned. In the past he had speculated that a Sixth-Order Monster Beast was equivalent to a human Immortal Ascension Boundary cultivator, while a Seventh-Order was equivalent to a Transcendent. So, an Eighth-Order was essentially a Saint.
In other words, the Monster Race Great Senior had strength on par with a Second Order Saint Realm master at least, most likely a Third Order!
“That Monster Race Great Senior also has a number of Eighth-Order Monster Beast subordinates who, while not as strong as him, are by no means weak. There are also a large number of Seventh-Order and Sixth-Order Monster Beasts who serve under him but those who have achieved human form only number around twenty.”
“Twenty or so, all of them at least equivalent to Transcendent, Seventh-Order and above…”
“They are naturally gifted in combat as well, so although they have not cultivated any Martial Skills, their strength in battle should not be underestimated.”
“They also don’t understand Spirit Arrays, so the World Energy where they live is not very rich and is completely determined by nature.”
Everyone began explaining what little information they knew to Yang Kai.
Yang Kai listened carefully to them, only asking curiously once they had finished, “The hatred between the two races is not shallow, so how did your old Holy Master manage to befriend that Monster Race Great Senior?”
Xu Hui chuckled and explained, “The Monster Race’s territory doesn’t have many Crystal Stone mines but it has an abundance of spirit grasses and spirit medicines. Once, the old Holy Master went out to search for a certain herb and coincidentally ran into that Monster Race Great Senior. The two of them fought for a while but neither of them could triumph over the other. After exchanging blows for a while, they apparently gained a kind of mutual respect for one another and negotiated a kind of trade deal. From then on, the old Holy Master would occasionally bring a large number of Crystal Stones with him to exchange for spirit grasses, spirit herbs, and some rare ores and materials from that side. They aren’t very proficient in Alchemy or Artifact Refining, so the artifacts and pills they use were basically supplied to them by the old Holy Masters.”
“So it’s like that…” Yang Kai nodded lightly, “Then, if that Monster Race Great Senior still respects that old friendship, I shouldn’t encounter any danger this time… En, that should be the case!”
“Why do you think so?” Xu Hui asked curiously.
“The old Holy Master fell almost two years ago. The Monster Race must have gotten word of such a big development a long time ago yet they haven’t taken any action. The only explanation is because the Monster Race Great Senior doesn’t plan on hitting Nine Heavens Holy Land while it’s down. If that weren’t the case, your Holy Land’s current situation would be far worse than it is now!”
Listening to Yang Kai’s explanation, everyone only thought about it slightly before nodding in agreement.
“I heard that the Monster Race has a magical ground called the Beast Transformation Pond, yes?” Yang Kai asked suddenly.
“En,” Xu Hui nodded, “The Beast Transformation Pond is the foundation of the Monster Race. I don’t know how it was created, but every place that has a Beast Transformation Pond has a large gathering of Monster Race powerhouses living nearby. On that side, whenever a Monster Beast breaks through to the Seventh-Order, it is eligible to enter the Beast Transformation Pond, and if it’s luck and opportunity is good enough, it can transform into human form. If not, those Monster Beasts can only forever remain in their beast form.”
“Something like that really exists?” Yang Kai suddenly became interested, unable to help himself from wanting to see one of these mysterious ponds.
Xu Hui however shook his head, “Not every Monster Beast that enters it can successfully obtain a human form, I’ve heard that many Monster Beasts fail in their attempt. But even if they manage to obtain a human form, many of the Monster Races chose to remain in their true form most of the time. As such, even though we only see around twenty of them at a time, it is quite likely that there are more members of the Monster Race, possibly even double that number.”
“Impressive!” Yang Kai praised liberally.
The entire Nine Heavens Holy Land only had about that many Transcendents, which meant that the strength of the Monster Race group just across the mountains was basically on par with the Holy Land even at its peak.
“Prepare some Crystal Stones first,” Yang Kai ordered, “Since I will be meeting the Monster Race Great Senior for the first time, as a Junior, it is only natural I bring some gifts, or else I probably won’t even be able to see him.”
“Good, I will arrange it,” Xu Hui responded and immediately went out.
An hour or so later, everything was prepared. Yang Kai took two Universe Bags filled with Crystal Stones and left the nine peaks in the direction of the jungle.
The Protectors and Elders of the Holy Land all watched him leave, complicated looks upon their faces.
“Great Elder, why does it feel like the attitude of the new Holy Master has suddenly changed a lot?” Shi Kun frowned.
“En, it’s as if he has become enthusiastic about protecting the Holy Land. He used to have an indifferent attitude, but now…” Cheng Yue Tong also wrinkled her brow.
“I don’t know,” Xu Hui slowly shook his head, “But whatever the cause, it is a good thing. Him being concerned about the Holy Land today means he is more likely to succeed the position of Holy Master tomorrow.”
“Perhaps it’s related to the Reflecting Moon Pond,” An Ling’er muttered.
“Oh? Why do you say that?”
“Just a guess,” An Ling’er smiled, but couldn’t explain any further.
“Ling’er, can we really believe him? He said he knows of a place where so many Holy Land disciples can take shelter and has now suddenly left to meet with a Monster Race Great Senior, I can’t comprehend what he is thinking!” Yu Ying said worriedly.
“Weren’t we all prepared to fight to the death against the enemies outside our gates? If he succeeds, the situation may turn for the better, if not, we will simply have to act in accordance with our previous plans. Since that’s the case, what does it matter if we believe in him or not?”
“True,” Yu Ying smiled, feeling slightly relieved.
“But… if you’re asking me personally, I believe him,” An Ling’er’s face suddenly became solemn. “He is someone who can always survive through. Regardless of how hopeless the situation he is thrown into. Turning danger into safety, I think he can do so again this time.”
“If that’s the case, when all of this is over, whether he agrees or not, this old master will regard him as Holy Master!” Xu Hui firmly declared.
“It is exactly as Great Elder says,” The crowd nodded, their gazes filled with anticipation.
…..
Yang Kai had only just left the nine peaks before he suddenly felt he was being watched.
Shattering Mystical Palace, War Spirit Temple, and Netherworld Sect had gathered a great many masters together and attacked Nine Heavens Holy Land half a month ago. Although they were forced to retreat, they had certainly not gone far and had obviously set up patrols nearby in order to monitor Nine Heavens Holy Land’s movements while they waited for the deadline they set to come.
Anyone who left the Holy Land’s territory would definitely be spotted by them.
However, Yang Kai wasn’t the slightest bit flustered. With his powerful Divine Sense, the cultivation levels of his pursuers were clear to him.
A single First Order Transcendent, and a dozen Immortal Ascension cultivators!
Such a team wasn’t even enough to fill the gaps between Yang Kai’s teeth.
After chasing him for an hour through the mountains, those people lost Yang Kai’s trail.
The Transcendent Realm leader’s expression became solemn as he came to a halt and signaled his Immortal Ascension Boundary subordinates to gather around and carefully probe their surroundings; however, no matter how they searched, none of them could perceive Yang Kai’s position.
“Senior, where did that little brat go?” From amongst the team, a young man with a square head asked.
The Transcendent Realm master slowly shook his head, his expression becoming even more dignified as he said, “This boy is somewhat strange, we should fall back.”
“He didn’t look very old so his strength shouldn’t be too high, right?” The young man sneered, thinking this Senior was being too cautious.
“What do you know? Do you think that all young people in this world are as useless as you? That boy might look younger than you, but since he can escape from my perception, it’s obvious his strength is not to be trifled with. Perhaps… he already noticed us and was simply trying to lead us into a trap up ahead.”
The youth who had been scolded and slandered seemed to be slightly dissatisfied, grumbling under his breath, “I don’t think he’s that strong.”
The Transcendent Realm master sneered and no longer spoke any nonsense, simply saying, “If you think you’re stronger than him, go chase him yourself, I’d like to see if you can come back alive.”
Saying so, he turned around to leave.
This team was made up of cultivators from a number of forces. Because the region around Nine Heavens Holy Land they needed to monitor was vast, a large number of people were required so the groupings had become somewhat messy. After the youth was reprimanded by someone from a different Sect, he was naturally unhappy, but although his words were somewhat impertinent, since this Senior planned to leave, naturally he wouldn’t stay behind by himself. And so, with a sullen expression, the youth also followed behind the crowd silently.
The moment the youth turned around though, he saw the First Order Transcendent who was leading their team suddenly come to a stop again. Glancing at this Senior’s face, the youth noticed the former had a terrified expression and was shivering in fright.
“What happened?” The young man who had been reprimanded before couldn’t help muttering, glancing towards where his Transcendent team leader was staring. What he saw there caused him to become dumbstruck.
Down below, under the shade of a big tree, the young man who had flown out of Nine Heavens Holy Land had at some point unknown to them appeared behind them. He was just standing there smiling casually towards their group.
Everyone realized they were in a critical situation and hurriedly pushed their True Qi as they stared towards Yang Kai vigilantly.
The method this youth had used to evade their senses and approach them was enough to demonstrate his extraordinary ability. Everyone in this patrol team had some degree of vision, so they immediately understood that Yang Kai was not someone good to provoke.
In particular, the lead Transcendent, who was the closest to Yang Kai, had constantly been trying to probe the latter’s depths but no matter how he used his Divine Sense, it was like he was staring into a bottomless sea, unable to determine anything, causing him to feel extremely shocked.
“I’ll stall him, the rest of you split up!” The Transcendent Realm leader shouted to everyone.
Yang Kai simply maintained his smile, turning a deaf ear to this man’s words as he walked towards them.
As Yang Kai approached them, everyone in this patrol team felt as if a huge pressure had descended upon them from the sky, as if they were standing in the path of an avalanche, incapable of resisting.
The Immortal Ascension Boundary cultivators couldn’t help feeling like collapsing to the ground, as if under this pressure they would soon be ground into dust, bones and all.
“Run!” The Transcendent screamed, forcefully circulating his True Qi as he soared into the sky.
“You think you can run?” Yang Kai coldly snorted as his Spiritual Energy condensed into a sharp blade and shot towards the Transcendent’s forehead, in the next instant tearing apart the latter’s Knowledge Sea defences.
A small piece of jade that was worn around this Transcendent’s neck flashed brilliantly before immediately shattering.
This jade pendant was a Soul defensive artifact designed to protect against enemy Divine Sense attacks and its grade was not bad, at least Mysterious Grade Mid-Rank.
But even so, this artifact was completely destroyed by Yang Kai’s Divine Sense attack.
The man, who had just flown up into the sky, came crashing down, his eyes losing all semblance of light. The First Order Transcendent slammed head first into the ground as he let out a piercing howl, the sound passing into the ears of the surrounding Immortal Ascension cultivators, sending cold chills up their spines.
The young man with the square head realized just how massive the gap in strength between him and Yang Kai was in that instant and understood that the Senior who led his team had not made the slightest exaggeration.
The young man didn’t know what method Yang Kai had used just now, but to reduce a First Order Transcendent to such a miserable state, how deep would this youth’s cultivation have to be?
The miserable cries only lasted for ten breaths before gradually weakening and eventually stopping all together, the Transcendent Realm cultivators now lying stiffly on the ground, not moving.
Dead!
The remaining dozen or so Immortal Ascension cultivators all shuddered and the sound of their teeth chattering was audible, each and every one of them staring towards Yang Kai in horror, none of them know what to do now.
Yang Kai glanced around at them faintly, all of them quickly turning their heads as he did, none of them having the courage to meet eyes with him.
A dozen Immortal Ascension cultivators… Yang Kai couldn’t help chuckling wryly at this sight. Back when he was in the Central Capital, this kind of lineup would be considered quite formidable, but only a few years later, Yang Kai could actually completely disregard their combat strength.
These people were now no different from ants before him.
“I have some questions to ask you, who can answer me?” Yang Kai suddenly said.
These people were all scared stiff, each of them thinking they were going to die soon, so none of them reacted immediately; however, the square headed youth was actually able to compose himself somewhat quicker than the others and shouted, “I can!”
Yang Kai shot a glance towards this youth and nodded lightly, “Tell me, where are you guys stationed?”
“We have a camp set up at the base of a mountain roughly fifty kilometers from your noble sect!” The young man was afraid that if he answered too slowly it would annoy Yang Kai so he blurted out a response as quickly as he could.
“How many of you are there?”
“At least three thousand…”
“That’s certainly a lot, how many Saints?” Yang Kai continued questioning. Three thousand was less than half the number of people Nine Heavens Holy Land had, but if a fight really broke out, what was important was the number of masters each side had. If one side’s masters emerged victorious, that side would win the war.
Only those with Transcendent or Saint Realm cultivations mattered. No matter how many cultivators below the Transcendent Realm there were, their combat strength would make no difference.
“Liu Gui, if you dare reveal information to the enemy, once we return, your head will fly from your neck!” One of the Immortal Ascension cultivators in the crowd with some backbone shouted after coming to his senses.
The others in the group also turned angry and disdainful looks towards the young man named Liu Gui.
Liu Gui immediately became nervous and he didn’t dare continue speaking, only able to turn a timid and anxious look towards Yang Kai, as if worried about annoying him with this indecisive attitude.
However, Yang Kai just smiled softly and nodded, “You can rest assured that no one will ever learn you told me this information, so speak freely!”
Saying so, Yang Kai waved his hand towards the surrounding Immortal Ascension Boundary cultivators causing them all to lose strength and kneel on the ground, none of them able to move or even speak, each of them sweating profusely as they shivered in fear.
Having received Yang Kai’s assurance, Liu Gui seemed to be relieved and quickly revealed everything he knew.
As he listened, Yang Kai’s expression became gloomier and gloomier.
It seemed this time Nine Heavens Holy Land was truly facing a great disaster.
Shattering Mystical Palace, War Spirit Temple, and Netherworld Sect had not only managed to rally their own allies and friends again Nine Heavens Holy Land, but taking advantage of the destruction Saintess Nan had wrought outside, they had even managed to rope in another dozen forces to their cause.
None of these dozen or so forces were too strong, each of them possessing a single Saint Realm master at most, some not even having such a powerhouse among their ranks.
However, counting the six Saints the three Sects had between them, the total number of Saints Nine Heavens Holy Land was currently facing was twelve.
In terms of numbers, the enemy had twice as many top level masters as Nine Heavens Holy Land; as for Transcendents, the difference was even greater.
If it became a fight, Nine Heavens Holy Land had no chance of winning, even with the help of the Nine Peaks Spirit Array and barrier; they would only be able to resist the enemy for a short time.
As Xu Hui had said, since the three Sects had chosen to thoroughly offend the Holy Land, they had spared no effort to ensure their victory. There was no chance they would give Holy Land an opportunity to make a comeback.
There had been no attacks since their first offensive not only because they had delivered the Holy Land an ultimatum, but also because they were waiting for more reinforcements to arrive.
Half a month later, they would no doubt invade in masse, destroy Nine Heavens Holy Land and plunder the wealth this colossus had accumulated over thousands of years before carving up its territory.
Besides the three Sects, the other forces had basically gathered here because of Saintess Nan and had no deep hatred with Nine Heavens Holy Land.
Liu Gui was born with a square head but he was also a clever person. Even under the hate filled glares of his companions, he told Yang Kai various pieces of valuable information.
After listening to Liu Gui’s words, Yang Kai had a fairly good idea of his enemy’s situation.
Nodding lightly with a satisfied expression, Yang Kai patted Liu Gui’s shoulder in a friendly manner and praised, “Young man, you have a promising future, be sure to keep on living.”
“Yes yes… many thanks for young master’s praise,” Liu Gui responded with an awkward smile, his expression suddenly changing as he stared at Yang Kai suspiciously.
A moment ago, he felt something go missing from his Knowledge Sea, but after briefly inspecting himself, he couldn’t find anything wrong.
Yang Kai smiled and explained, “As insurance, I’ll be keeping your Soul brand with me. Don’t divulge anything that happened here after you go back; otherwise, even if we are separated by thousands of kilometers, I can easily put you to death.”
Liu Gui’s face went white and he couldn’t help stumbling backwards a few steps, fumbling for his words as he shouted, “Sou… Soul brand?”
“En. Also, don’t even think of running away, with your Soul brand in hand I can sense your location, if you dare act disloyal in any way… you know the consequences.”
“Yes yes yes, I understand!” Liu Gui nodded his head rapidly. Although he wasn’t sure what Yang Kai had just done to him, he did have a vague feeling he was no longer in control of his own fate.
“Good, I’ll take my leave then!” Yang Kai grinned, his figure flickering and disappearing before Liu Gui could blink.
Liu Gui was once again stunned but soon regained his senses and pointed to his companions who were still unable to move and shouted, “What about them?”
However, he didn’t receive any response.
Liu Gui’s expression fluctuated, becoming somewhat strained.
A moment later, Yang Kai, who was heading towards the Monster Domain, heard a faint series of screams and curses from behind him. Obviously Liu Gui had started ‘processing’ his former compatriots.
Liu Gui was not a good person. That was judged when Yang Kai had seen how he acted. He was clearly the type that would use underhanded schemes and cunning to accomplish his goals. As such, in order to protect his secrets from being leaked out, Liu Gui would naturally silence the witnesses to his crimes. This kind of person was always despicable and shameless.
However, Yang Kai needed to arrange a game piece in the enemy’s camp, so he could monitor their movements, and this kind of person who greatly feared death and would do whatever it took to survive was undoubtedly a good candidate.
As for how Liu Gui would explain how he alone survived when the rest of his team was wiped out, that was his problem.
Flying forward, Yang Kai moved as fast a lightning as he followed the directions Xu Hui had given him.
After crossing the great mountain range, Yang Kai quickly felt that he had arrived in a completely different land.
The World Energy that permeated the atmosphere was a bit strange.
Just like in the Demon Land, where the World Energy was mixed with a faint Demonic Qi, a faint Monster Qi filled the Monster Domain’s World Energy aura.
However, regardless of whether it was the Monster Qi or Demonic Qi within the World Energy of either territory, it only existed because the race which lived there had subtly influenced the world around them, causing slight changes in the natural aura.
Beyond the vast mountain range lay an expansive forest.
This place was known as the Beast Sea Jungle and it was the territory of the Monster Race.
Trees which would take several people to surround were everywhere, creating shelter from the hot sun.
Yang Kai had only just entered this place before he noticed a Monster Beast staring at him. Examining it slightly, Yang Kai discovered that this Monster Beast had only reached the Sixth-Order and thus didn’t pay it any mind, continuing forward in hopes he could find a Monster Race person he could communicate with.
But soon, Yang Kai noticed that the Monster Beast he had come across earlier was different from any he had ever encountered before.
It was actually trailing him from a short distance, not rashly launching an attack but instead seemingly monitoring him.
As Yang Kai continued forward, he ran into several other Monster Beasts, all of which began following along with him just like the first one he had come across.
On top of that, this group of Monster Beasts was well organized and disciplined, obviously having a certain degree of sentience even if it wasn’t that high.
Perceiving this, Yang Kai stopped for a moment and attempted to communicate with these Monster Beasts.
Yang Kai actually had a fair amount of experience in this area as he had spent many months communicating with the Divine Tree, allowing him to convey his thoughts relatively clearly to these creatures.
The most important thing to do now was the patiently communicate with these Monster Beasts that he bore them no malicious intent. Only after Yang Kai managed to accomplish this would the other party not act vigilantly towards him and actively engage in conversation.
During this process, showing any kind of urgency would only stimulate the other party’s wariness which would be counterproductive.
Somewhere inside the jungle, Yang Kai stood quietly, restraining his aura while integrating himself into the environment, constantly releasing his Divine Sense towards his surroundings, trying to convey his goodwill.
The nearby Monster Beasts silently hid themselves while staring fiercely towards Yang Kai’s position.
Time flowed by but Yang Kai didn’t become anxious.
After half a day’s effort, Yang Kai finally heard the sound of rustling nearby and when he turned his head he saw a giant tiger-like Monster Beast slowly emerge from its hiding place.
*Sha sha sha…*
After the first Monster Beast emerged, the others quickly followed suit and soon Yang Kai found himself surrounded.
Yang Kai swept his eyes around and couldn’t help smiling brightly.
These Monster Beasts came in all shapes and sizes but each of them had a grand an imposing appearance and aura.
When they had approached to within a dozen meters or so of Yang Kai, they all stopped and sent out low roars. At the same time, Yang Kai felt that they were trying to communicate something to him.
Unfortunately, these Monster Beasts’ intelligence was not fully developed so they couldn’t perfectly express their thoughts.
Yang Kai smiled and then passed a message back to them which went something like, “Hello everyone, I have no ill intentions in coming here today, you don’t have to worry, I just wish to see your Great Senior. If it is convenient, could you show me the way?”
After sending out this message, the giant tiger-like Monster Beast let out a growl, seemingly asking why Yang Kai wanted to see the Great Senior.
“I have something to discuss with him,” Yang Kai patiently answered.
The Monster Beasts fell into silence, each of them glance around at each other, seemingly unable to make a decision.
After a while, the tiger-like Monster Beast tilted its head back and let out a thunderous roar.
Seeing this, Yang Kai’s brow furrowed slightly but he didn’t make any attempt to stop it, simply standing there quietly and waiting.
Yang Kai had no idea where the Monster Race Great Senior lived, so right now his only option was to try to get these lower level Monster Beasts to help him.
Immediately after the tiger Monster Beast roared, a second roar deeper into the jungle resounded, then a third, then a fourth, each one getting farther and farther away, as if the message was being relayed over and over again.
Yang Kai blinked at this sight but quickly understood, sitting down next to a big tree and taking out a few bottles of pills from his pocket before tossing their contents out towards the nearby Monster Beasts.
These pills were all made by Yang Kai himself and were for improving the flow of one’s True Qi, allowing them to cultivate more easily.
The surrounding Monster Beasts saw these pills and carefully leaned down to smell them.
Monster Beasts had sharp instincts which allowed them to inherently avoid danger while seeking out opportunity. So, although the grade of these pills weren’t very high, the medicinal aura which leaked from them naturally drew their interest.
Within a few breaths, the pills were snatched up by the Monster Beasts and swallowed down like beans before all of them turned looks of anticipation towards Yang Kai.
Smiling and shaking his head wryly, Yang Kai could only pull out a few more bottles of pills.
Roughly half an hour later, Yang Kai, who had been sitting casually, suddenly wore a solemn expression and looked up towards a certain direction.
From the direction he was staring, Yang Kai sensed an unruly aura rapidly approaching.
On top of that, the strength of this newcomer was definitely not low, at least equivalent to a Third Order Transcendent, or in terms of Monster Beasts, a Peak Seventh-Order!
*Hong…*
A burly figure descended from the sky like a meteor, landing directly in front of Yang Kai, throwing up a cloud of dust and causing a shockwave that caused all the giant trees in the surrounding to sway wildly.
The Monster Beasts, who had been quietly waiting with Yang Kai, were frightened and quickly dispersed.
Yang Kai blinked as he stared forward, soon discovering a middle-aged male with a massive build about forty years old standing there. The man was looking down at him with eyes filled with scorn and disdain.
This man’s appearance was also quite eye-catching, wearing only some rough animal skins and having thick, messy black hair that blew about in the wind freely.
At first glance, this person appeared like a mad lion, everything about him screaming the word ‘wild’.
[A Monster Race Cultivator!]
Yang Kai immediately determined this man’s identity. After receiving the relayed message the Monster Beasts had sent out, this Monster Race powerhouse had obviously immediately rushed over.
This burly man’s eyes were filled with aggression and blood-thirst; what’s more, the once calm and friendly Monster Beasts that had been lying down next to Yang Kai seemed to be infected by this man’s aura and were now baring their fangs while letting out low growls.
Yang Kai didn’t mind however, simply grinning and standing up calmly.
“Human, you dare intrude into the Beast Sea Jungle, your courage is not small!” The middle-aged Monster Race man roared, his Monster Qi condensing as he directed a menacing intent towards Yang Kai. .
“I have some things to do here and would like to ask this friend to give me a moment to explain,” Yang Kai replied with a genial smile.
“Who is your friend!?” The burly Monster Race man shouted, turning his face and spitting before continuing to yell, “Despicable human, my Monster Race can never be friends with you!”
“Ah…” Yang Kai was speechless.
The other party was obviously completely opposed to interacting with him, causing Yang Kai to feel somewhat helpless.
“May I ask Your Excellency’s honoured name?” Yang Kai cupped his fists and asked, not giving up.
“Great Senior has bestowed me the name Kuang Shi (Wild Tiger)!” The Monster Race man’s face seemed to glow with pride as he spoke these words, as if it was a great honour for him to have received his name from the Great Senior, coldly snorting in the next instant, “Got it?”
“En, I remember,” Yang Kai nodded seriously.
“Hateful human,” Kuang Shi shook his head before asking, “What did you do to my compatriots? Why did them seem so close to you a moment ago?”
“I didn’t do anything to them, I simply gave them some pills,” Yang Kai explained casually, “Don’t worry, they’re just pills that assist one cultivate, they don’t have any harmful side effects.”
“Pills?” Kuang Shi’s eyes lit up, apparently quite sensitive to this word.
Yang Kai smiled and asked, “I have some more of those pills here, does Brother Wild want them? As this is our first meeting, consider them a small gift from me!”
Saying so, Yang Kai took out a few bottles of pills and handed them over.
Kuang Shi expression clearly showed he wanted to accept, but there were clear signs of struggle between his brows as well. After smelling the pill fragrance directly though, his desire immediately won out over his reason, reaching out and accepting the pill bottles before grumbling, “Despicable, hateful human, don’t think you can win my approval with these things… En, although, now that I take a closer look, you don’t seem to be too annoying.”
Yang Kai chuckled dumbly despite trying not to; secretly thinking this guy was a bit too pure and innocent.
If everyone from the Monster Race was like this Kuang Shi, perhaps dealing with them would be easier than Yang Kai anticipated.
Checking the bottles of pills, Kuang Shi was apparently quite satisfied and carefully put them into his pant pockets, apparently treasuring them greatly.
Curling his lips fiercely, Kuang Shi swept his eyes over Yang Kai once and asked, “I heard that you want to see Great Senior?”
He had not asked Yang Kai anything since arriving here so obviously he had received this bit of information from the message the Monster Beasts had passed along.
“Good, could Brother Wild possibly introduce me?”
Kuang Shi just laughed in response though, “Boy, what do you think my Beast Sea Jungle is? You think you can just casually meet our Monster Race Great Senior? Seeing how respectful you’ve acted so far, I won’t kill you immediately. Quickly go back to wherever you came from. I’ll give you until sunset tonight, if you dare remain here after that, tonight will be the night of your death!”
Yang Kai’s brow wrinkled slightly as he patiently explained, “Brother Wild, I wish to see your Great Senior in order to discuss some important matters, is there any way you can stretch the rules?”
“Don’t test my patience; you humans never know when to back down. If you irritate me, your end will be very miserable. The Beast Sea Jungle never allows humans to enter, me not attacking you immediately is already a great mercy,” Kuang Shi coldly snorted.
Yang Kai just laughed though, “That’s not entirely true, Brother Wild, I’ve heard that a man used to come to your Beast Sea Jungle every now and then to chat and drink with your Great Senior, correct?”
Kuang Shi’s expression changed greatly as he shouted, “Where did you hear that? Ah… that ring on your hand, why does it look somewhat familiar?”
“Because the man who used to come here wore this ring,” Yang Kai raised his hand and clearly showed the ring on his finger to Kuang Shi, “You should have heard about the old Holy Master of Nine Heavens Holy Land falling, yes? In a sense, I am his successor! The old Holy Master and your Great Senior shared some friendship, it was for that reason I came here to discuss something with your Great Senior.”
“You are his successor?” Kuang Shi couldn’t help widening his eyes as he stared at Yang Kai with amazement, “That guy was very powerful, even able to fight on par with Great Senior, how could his successor be so weak?”
Obviously he looked down on Yang Kai greatly, as if he thought one finger would be enough for him to crush the latter.
Yang Kai didn’t mind though and just continued, “You should know that the old Holy Master brought a lot of Crystal Stones and pills with him each time he came… But now two years have passed without any new supplies being brought here, yes? Since I’ve inherited the position of the old Holy Master, in the future, I also plan to bring a number of things here to trade, such as…”
“Such as?” Kuang Shi couldn’t help being attracted to this idea.
“For example, those few bottles of pills I just gave you,” Yang Kai smiled.
“Those are already mine!” Kuang Shi hastily covered his pocket and stared at Yang Kai vigilantly, fearing he would ask for them back.
“En, naturally those are yours,” Yang Kai nodded lightly, “But if you want any more of those, I first need to speak with your Great Senior. Only after I reach an agreement with your Great Senior can I continue to bring such things here. Aren’t you interested in that?”
Kuang Shi lifted his head and stared off into the distance, his brow wrinkling tightly as if he was deep in thought.
After thinking for a while, he scratched his and sighed, “Why do I feel that your words are only half true… Boy, are you trying to deceive me?”
Saying so, he glared directly into Yang Kai’s eyes.
Yang Kai returned his stare, not revealing any signs of anxiety.
After some brief interaction, Yang Kai understood that although this Kuang Shi had achieved a high degree of sentience, like many of the Monster Race, he still mainly relied on his instincts.
After all, having evolved from Monster Beasts, this was understandable.
This kind of person showed everything they were thinking on their face and would change between happy and angry in an instant. If they felt that you were a good person, they would open up to you and trust you, if you weren’t pleasing to the eye though, they would not hesitate to attack.
Yang Kai actually felt that dealing with this kind of person was quite interesting.
So when he faced Kuang Shi, he didn’t try to put up any kind of front.
“Good, I’ll lead you to the Thunder Tree Palace, but whether Great Senior will see you is not something I can guarantee,” Kuang Shi hesitated for a long time before finally agreeing.
“Many thanks,” Yang Kai sighed with relief and knew that it was the approval of the other party.
Thunder Tree Palace… Although Yang Kai wasn’t familiar with this place, he simply assumed it was where the Monster Race Great Senior lived.
It was an imposing sounding name.
After agreeing to lead Yang Kai, Kuang Shi didn’t waste any time and immediately set off. Along the way he constantly warned Yang Kai to not play any tricks otherwise he would make him suffer.
Each time the subject came up, Yang Kai would promise to not cause trouble.
It wasn’t until now that Yang Kai realized just how vast the Beast Sea Jungle was, and as he flew forward he saw tens of thousands of Monster Beasts living here, from newborn cubs to the Monster Race masters that had achieved human form.
There were only a few Monster Race gatherings of this size throughout the entire Monster Domain and each one had their own Great Senior assuming command.
The Human Territory, Monster Domain, and Demon Land, were not equal in size. The Human Territory was the most extensive, followed by the Demon Land, then finally the Monster Domain.
This Beast Sea Jungle was a whole one-tenth of the entire Monster Domain.
If Yang Kai wanted to travel to Thunder Tree Palace from here, it would take at least three days.
Three days one way meant a six day round trip. While this wasn’t a short amount of time but it also wasn’t too long, so Yang Kai didn’t rush, calmly flying forward, following behind Kuang Shi as he appreciated to sights of the Beast Sea Jungle.
Under his Divine Sense’s exploration, Yang Kai discovered numerous types of rare ores, spirit grass, and spirit medicines which were simply growing wildly in the jungle, no one even attempting to mine or harvest them. Occasionally, some Monster Beasts would directly eat some of the spirit herbs like a cow chewing on grass. Seeing this, Yang Kai felt an impulse to spit blood.
If he could get his hands on these materials and refine them into pills, their efficacies could be multiplied several times over compared to simple swallowing them.
However, Yang Kai knew this was not the time to pursue such matters and simply praised the richness of the Beast Sea Jungle instead.
Of course, the only one around to share these words of praise with was Kuang Shi. After traveling together for a day, Kuang Shi discovered that this human was actually quite easy to get along with and began speaking more opening with him.
After Yang Kai gifted him an artifact that was quite suitable for him to use, Kuang Shi immediately became friendly with him.
Giving away a Saint Grade artifact he obtained from the Holy Tomb was naturally impossible; each of them was worth as much as a city and could be called a rare treasure under the Heavens.
Even if Yang Kai was to gift one of these to another, it would have to be someone very close to him.
However, Yang Kai had a number of lower grade artifacts on hand. When he had gone to explore the Ancient Ruins deep below the sea with An Ling’er last time, he had collected quite a few, so giving one away here to acquire some favour was no burden to him.
With a new artifact in hand and a few bottles of pills in his pocket, Kuang Shi was all smiles.
Now, when Yang Kai called him Brother Kuang or friend, Kuang Shi didn’t raise any objections.
As they traversed the Beast Sea Jungle, with Kuang Shi leading the way, although they were stopped every now and then by other Monster Race masters, upon hearing that Yang Kai was the new Holy Master of Nine Heavens Holy Land, all of them simply cast him curious glances before allowing them to pass.
Perhaps, to these Monster Race masters, Nine Heavens Holy Land disappearing was not something they wanted to see.
In the past, the old Holy Master had brought a lot of Crystal Stones, pills, and artifacts which had enriched their lives greatly, so after going two years without any of these, these Monster Race masters were quite anxious to see trade resume.
Three days later, a massive tree that towered higher than any he had ever seen before appeared before Yang Kai’s eyes.
This ancient tree was like a mountain, soaring into the sky, innumerable giant branches growing from its immense trunk, and its massive canopy casting a shadow more than a dozen kilometers in length.
Yang Kai suddenly came to a halt.
When he first saw this ancient tree, he actually thought his eyes were playing tricks on him, but after carefully examining the scene in front of him, he realized it really was a tree.
It’s just that this tree was too enormous.
The world was truly filled with wonders. Compared to this giant tree, the Divine Tree in Yang Kai’s Black Book space was like a three-year-old baby.
Kuang Shi saw the shocked look on Yang Kai’s face and couldn’t help smiling smugly, “What you’re seeing is the Thunder Tree Palace, the place where Great Senior and the various members of my clan live. Great Senior’s residence is at the very top.”
“Why is it called Thunder Tree Palace?” Yang Kai asked with genuine curiosity.
Kuang Shi snorted gruffly and explained, “Thunder Tree Palace is actually a tens of thousands of years old Thunder Swallowing Wood. It is capable of naturally attracting Heavenly Thunder and refining it within its trunk. You must have heard that Great Senior’s original form is the noble Scarlet Flame Thunder Dragon. Great Senior’s cultivation requires the power of thunder and lightning so this is the perfect place for him to live.”
“It can attract the power of thunder and lightning?” Yang Kai was shocked, “If that’s so, how can others live there?”
“Great Senior’s methods are not something you can comprehend. The power of Heavenly Thunder is absorbed by Great Senior and will thus not affect others who live down below,” Kuang Shi proudly explained, “Of course, there are a few others among my clan who need the power of thunder and lightning to cultivate so Great Senior will give a portion to them.”
On the road here, Yang Kai learned that Kuang Shi deeply admired this Monster Race Great Senior, any time his name came up in conversation, Kuang Shi would show a look of worship.
So seeing the abundance of pride on his Kuang Shi’s face right now didn’t even faze Yang Kai anymore, simply nodding and replying, “So that’s how it is, your Great Senior is truly impressive.”
“Naturally,” Kuang Shi laughed heartily, “I wonder if I, Kuang Shi, will be able to reach Great Senior’s height in this life. Good, let’s not discuss this anymore, come with me, we’ll be there soon.”
Yang Kai nodded and quickly followed.
A short time later, the two arrived below the huge ancient tree.
As soon as arrived, from all directions, Yang Kai felt numerous Divine Senses probing him, like a raging torrent, washing over every inch of his body, seemingly want to inspect him inside and out.
Yang Kai’s expression remained calm, allowing them to scan him all they wanted, not putting up any kind of resistance, and simply staring around indifferently.
Beneath the ancient tree there were many Monster Beasts, each and every one of them possessing a sturdy body.
Purple-backed blood spider, golden-striped steel turtle, phosphorous green leopard, red-flowered pheasant… all sorts of rare Monster Beasts Yang Kai couldn’t identify had gathered around.
As if awoken by Yang Kai’s appearance, these Monster Beasts all stood up and glared towards him menacingly, their eyes darting back and forth, seemingly communicating with each other.
Yang Kai immediately understood that these Monster Beasts couldn’t be compared to the ones he encountered in the Beast Sea Jungle.
These Monster Beasts all undoubtedly possessed a high degree of intelligence, no worse than Kuang Shi, and their strengths were also not low, at minimum having reached the Seventh-Order.
Yang Kai secretly guessed that they might not be able to assume human form or were members of the Monster Race who simply preferred remaining in beast form.
Under the gaze of so many eyes, Yang Kai remained calm and composed, further attracting the attention of these Monster Beasts.
On the other hand, after arriving here, Kuang Shi became slightly more restrained, quickly greeting some of his acquaintances here before hurriedly saying to Yang Kai, “You wait here, I’m going to report to Senior Cai Die (Bright Butterfly); whether or not you can meet Great Senior will be up to her.”
Yang Kai gently nodded.
Kuang Shi then leapt up into the ancient tree, quickly disappearing into its branches.
Yang Kai stood in place like he was told while the surrounding powerful Monster Beasts eyed him like an uninvited guest, obviously not pleased with his appearance.
However, all of this was within Yang Kai’s expectations so he was psychologically prepared.
*Sha sha sha…*
Suddenly, a rustling sound came from above his head and a moment later several figures fell down onto some of the lower branches, each of them directing curious and condescending looks towards Yang Kai.
When he heard this movement, Yang Kai unconsciously lifted his eyes and couldn’t help feeling shocked.
Naturally, these figures were Monster Race masters who had achieved human form. Each of them was dressed similarly to Kuang Shi and gave off a wild aura, all of them still retaining some of their original beast characteristics.
The middle-aged man on the left had a furry tail behind him and a somewhat long neck and beady eyes. It was apparent his original form was some kind of ape.
The woman on the right had a graceful figure and snow white slender legs, her flat belly exposed to the air and some small, sharp tiger teeth showing from the side of her mouth. On top of her head there were also two fluffy triangular ears, indicating her original form was some kind of tiger or a cat.
Yang Kai couldn’t help staring curiously.
These Monster Race masters simply stood atop the nearby branches and observed Yang Kai, seemingly having no intention of causing trouble for him. Each and every one of them remained silent, only the young woman with the cat ears showing an extremely interested look, muttering under her breath, exposing her sharp teeth.
When he met eyes with any of them, Yang Kai would gently nod while the Monster Race masters would simply sneer lightly.
Suddenly, a pitiful yell came from high up in the ancient tree. When he heard this yell though, Yang Kai immediately frowned.
Because the one shouting was clearly Kuang Shi who had led him here. It seemed like he had been beaten ruthlessly and was now falling.
With a burst of snapping sounds, Kuang Shi’s burly body broke numerous branches and ripped off countless leaves before smashing into the ground in front of Yang Kai, directly opening up a large pit.
“You dare bring a human to my clan’s Thunder Tree Palace, Kuang Shi, are you tired of living? If so, I’ll send you to the afterlife right now!” A tender yet ice cold voice suddenly called out from above. In the next instant, in a flash of multi-coloured light, a pretty figure appeared in front of Yang Kai and gently floated mid-air. Although this woman was clearly reprimanding Kuang Shi, her beautiful eyes were actually fixed on Yang Kai, a sharp light flashing across them.
With this posted, it will still be 9 chapters a week. Though, there might have been some broken-hearted readers.
At the same time as the voice called out, a dangerous aura flared up, causing all the hair on Yang Kai’s neck to stand on end. It was only after he furiously circulated his True Qi that he was able to resist this invisible pressure.
The other party was a woman, a young and very beautiful woman.
She wore a clean, moon-white dress that lightly wrapped around her enchanting figure and was embroidered with floral patterns, giving her a dainty and petite look, but the momentum pulsing from her small body was anything but cute.
Moreover, behind her was a pair of seven coloured wings. The wings were very different from Yang Kai’s Wind and Thunder Wings; they were thin and nearly transparent, almost like the wings of a butterfly. They were spread wide but seemed incredibly flexible and gave of a light, intoxicating fragrance.
This pair of wings looked sleek and fragile, but had obviously been cultivated by this woman into an artifact-like existence, their edges giving off a sharp, cold light. Yang Kai had no doubt that this pair of wings was comparable to the sharpest of blades, capable of easily slicing through stone or metal.
As soon as this woman appeared, the Monster Race masters who had been casually observing Yang Kai all turned and bowed to her respectfully.
Saint Realm! Yang Kai’s eyes narrowed as he immediately judged the cultivation of this petite woman with her pair of seven coloured wings. On top of that, she was no ordinary Saint.
The tremendous pressure Yang Kai felt from her indicated that this woman’s strength was at least comparable to a Second Order Saint.
“That’s not right! Senior Cai Die, please let me explain!” Kuang Shi, who had been knocked into the ground, leaped up and shouted anxiously, his face beaten black and blue yet not daring to show the slightest hint of dissatisfaction.
“What is there to explain?” Cai Die shifted her eyes to Kuang Shi and coldly spoke, an invisible strength suddenly emerging from her hand and drawing out the artifact and pills in Kuang Shi’s pockets.
“After receiving a bribe from this human you then brought him to Thunder Tree Palace? Kuang Shi, your courage is not small!” Cai Die shouted menacingly, her wings beating slight faster as a cold murderous intent flashed across her eyes.
Kuang Shi’s face went pale as he waved his arms frantically, “It’s not like that, it’s… well, it is like that… this human did give this Kuang Shi some things in exchange for bringing him here, but… but there’s a deeper reason for this!”
“I don’t care what your ‘deeper reason’ is, since you dare to break the rules set by Great Senior, you will die today!” Cai Die coldly snorted, staring towards Kuang Shi like he was a dead man.
Yang Kai quickly tried to step forward, but the moment his foot left the ground, it seemed to touch the nerves of many of the gathered Monster Race masters, their countless pairs of eyes fixed on him in the next moment as they exerted a great pressure towards him from all sides.
Yang Kai’s physique squirmed slightly but quickly shrugged off this pressure, which would ordinarily be enough to paralyze someone of his cultivation, and gently took a step forward.
The Monster Race masters who saw this showed startled looks, as if they hadn’t expected Yang Kai to be able to achieve such a feat.
“Senior Cai Die, is it?” Yang Kai cupped his fists, showing neither fear nor nervousness, “This Junior is Nine Heavens Holy Land’s new Holy Master, Yang Kai. I requested Brother Kuang here to lead me to Thunder Tree Palace in order to meet your Great Senior and discuss some business with him.”
“Nine Heavens Holy Land’s new Holy Master?” Cai Die’s brow furrowed deeply, seemingly skeptical.
“Yes, yes! Senior Cai Die, it was because he is from Nine Heavens Holy Land that I agreed to bring him here. If that was not the cause, I would never have done so. Please understand, Senior Cai Die!” Kuang Shi bobbed his head; cold sweat pouring dripping down his forehead, thinking to himself he had really made a mistake this time. If he had known Senior Cai Die would be so angry he wouldn’t have dared bring Yang Kai to Thunder Tree Palace.
“If you say you are, you are?” Cai Die shouted coldly, “What proof do you have?”
“The Holy Master Spirit Ring is the best proof,” Yang Kai raised his hand and showed the ring to her.
The Monster Race masters all stared at him for a moment before bursting out into laughter.
Cai Die coldly snorted, “How can a ring prove your identity? That ring was indeed worn by the person who used to come to my Thunder Tree Palace, but how do I know where you obtained it from?”
“Then how does Senior Cai Die want me to prove my identity?” Yang Kai stared back at her calmly.
Cai Die curled her lips fiercely as she flapped her wings gently and floated up to a nearby branch, sitting down beside the young cat eared girl before faintly replying, “There’s no need for you to prove anything. Since you dared to come here, you must die! Kuang Shi, you brought him here, so he is your responsibility, understand?”
Kuang Shi shot a complicated look over towards Yang Kai before nodding lightly, “I understand.”
“Kuang Shi, do it right, don’t lose to this human.”
“Come on, dig out his heart, the heart of the human cultivators is amazing.”
“If you lose, we’ll all look down on you.”
Up in the branches, the several Monster Race masters who had assembled began shouting excitedly, all of them sitting down and preparing to watch the show.
Kuang Shi grumbled silently to himself for a moment. Although he was some reluctance, since Cai Die had ordered him to, he had no choice in the matter. Helplessly, he turning to Yang Kai and saying, “Boy, I apologize in advance, if you die here, don’t blame this Kuang Shi for being too ruthless.”
“Please act freely, Brother Kuang,” Yang Kai smiled as he shot a glance over towards Cai Die before continuing, “I’m also quite interested to see how the Monster Race fights.”
“Big Sister, this guy is quite interesting, it’s like he’s not afraid at all,” The cat eared young girl stared at Yang Kai with great interest.
“Hmph, human men like him most like acting mysterious. Just wait, he’ll show you his pathetic side soon enough,” Cai Die coldly muttered, as if she had a very good understanding of humans.
“En, en, Kuang Shi will definitely tear him to pieces!” The cat eared young girl also nodded.
Down below, a great roar suddenly rang out and Kuang Shi charged forward straight towards Yang Kai.
Although he did not use any profound movement skill or any kind of special ability, the mere force behind his charge was enough to shake a mountain.
In this initial clash, Yang Kai wanted to test the other party’s strength, so he intentionally did not dodge and instead tightened his muscles and stretched out his arms to meet Kuang Shi head on.
*Hong…*
A violent explosion burst out and Yang Kai felt an irresistible force smash into him, sending his body flying out uncontrollably.
From this brief exchange, Yang Kai realized he had greatly underestimated the raw strength of Kuang Shi.
This brute force alone was enough to make Kuang Shi a difficult opponent for any ordinary cultivator in the same realm.
Flipping mid-air, Yang Kai quickly stabilized himself and landing on the ground, retreating a few steps before finally coming to a stop.
“So weak…” The cat eared young girl spat disdainfully, feeling a little disappointed in this outcome. On the other hand, Cai Die’s eyes narrowed slightly, a look of surprise briefly appearing on her face.
Originally, she had thought Yang Kai wasn’t very strong; the energy fluctuations coming from his body allowed her to instantly grasp his true cultivation which was obviously lower than Kuang Shi’s.
But after this initial clash, Cai Die discovered that although this human wasn’t able to withstand Kuang Shi’s blow, he had also not suffered any trace of injury.
She had estimated that Yang Kai would have at least ended up with a pair of broken arms.
[Interesting, this boy seems to have some skill,] Cai Die thought to herself, suddenly paying more attention to the fight.
Although he had sent Yang Kai flying, Kuang Shi seemed quiet dissatisfied with this result. Not giving Yang Kai any time to breath, Kuang Shi once again roared and charged forward, his Monster Qi bursting out and a bloodthirsty aura pulsing from his body.
“Brother Kuang, defend yourself!” Yang Kai’s gaze became cold as he lifted his hand towards the sky, gripped something invisible, and swung it down.
In that instant, a huge sword of golden light appeared, carrying with it a terrifying might as it slashed towards Kuang Shi.
This giant sword had an unstoppable momentum, seemingly cutting space apart as it fell.
Seeing this, Kuang Shi’s complexion changed greatly, immediately halting his charge, planting his feet, and crossing both his arms in front of his body to defend himself just as the giant sword was about to strike him.
*Keng…*
The Profound Heavenly Sword landed on Kuang Shi’s arms, sending out a grating sound as if it had struck a wall of iron, its golden body shattering as it sent its target tumbling through the air, leaving behind a shallow wound that oozed red blood.
“Hm?” Yang Kai raised his brow as he stared at this result.
Kuang Shi had actually blocked a strike from his Profound Heavenly Sword with just his bare arms, showing that his physique was at least as strong as a high-grade artifact.
The Monster Race’s methods were quite impressive!
Kuang Shi completely ignored the injuries to his arms and immediately went back on the attack. After the Profound Heavenly Sword shattered, Kuang Shi’s burly body flickered and, taking advantage of Yang Kai’s moment of confusion, managed to arrive behind him. Monster Qi condensing in his hand, Kuang Shi claw towards Yang Kai’s seemingly unguarded back.
In one swipe, Yang Kai’s body was split in two.
Kuang Shi was stunned and felt that something was wrong because when he struck Yang Kai, it was as if he hit thin air and there was no trace of blood anywhere.
“Kuang Shi, behind you!” The cat eared young girl anxiously shouted.
Just as she shouted, Yang Kai re-appeared wearing a light smile upon his face and threw out a golden spear towards Kuang Shi before the latter could even turn around.
Heaven Punishing Spear!
Kuang Shi’s reaction though was still extremely quick. As soon as he heard the cat eared young girl’s warning, he immediately leapt up into the air, flipping over as he used him Monster Qi to seal off the area around Yang Kai, blocking any path of retreat.
However, just as Kuang Shi did so, a giant golden palm appeared before his eyes, flying towards him and rapidly enlarging until it was the only thing he could see.
Heaven Covering Hand!
*Hong…*
Kuang Shi was struck head on and tumbled through the air more than a dozen times before pounding into the ground.
Up on the giant ancient tree’s branches, the Monster Race powerhouses all stared in amazement at this development.
Each of their strengths and insights were quite refined, so they were all clear that Yang Kai’s true cultivation realm was lower than Kuang Shi’s, but in this fight, it was actually Kuang Shi who was being suppressed, and quite badly at that. There was essentially no opportunity for him to even counterattack.
This reality was somewhat difficult for them to accept.
As they were lost in thought, Kuang Shi climbed up from the ground and roared angrily, as if he had finally become enraged. At this moment, the Monster Qi in his body began pulsing rapidly as his eyes became blood red, as if he wouldn’t rest until he tore Yang Kai limb from limb.
Yang Kai wasn’t intimidated though, and instead was quite relaxed, using one Nine Heavens Divine Skill after another to suppress the enemy before him.
From beginning to the end, Yang Kai did not use his full strength, diverting a part of his attention towards the pair of eyes that were staring down at him from above as he fought with Kuang Shi.
If Yang Kai wasn’t mistaken, the owner of this gaze was the Monster Race’s Great Senior which ruled over this place.
Yang Kai had achieved a comprehensive understanding of the Nine Heavens Divine Skills back in the Holy Tomb, all he lacked now was real experience using them. Kuang Shi, a master with strength equal to a Third Order Transcendent, was just right for him to practice on. Yang Kai couldn’t have asked for more.
During the battle, Yang Kai continuously displayed the various Nine Heavens Divine Skills, becoming more skillful with them each time he did.
The Monster Race masters sitting up in the ancient tree also soon noticed that something wasn’t right. Kuang Shi wasn’t this human boy’s opponent at all, yet the fight was still continuing, obviously this human boy wasn’t taking this seriously!
“Big Sister Cai Die, this human is really interesting! How can he have so many different ways of fighting?” The cat eared young girl asked, her eyes shining brilliantly as if she had just witness a brand new world.
Cai Die gently nodded and patiently explained, “The Human Race doesn’t have a beast core or naturally strong physique like our Monster Race, but instead, by molding the True Qi in their bodies in special ways, they can display techniques called Martial Skills. Many Human Race martial skills are actually imitations of our Monster Race’s innate abilities. If you fight against human cultivators in the future, be sure not to judge them solely based on their appearance and physical strength. If you underestimate them, you’ll be the one to suffer a loss.”
“Good, I’ll remember,” The cat eared young girl nodded, suddenly excitedly saying, “Big Sister Cai Die, can you catch this human so I can play with him? He can use so many different tricks, I’m sure it’ll be lots of fun to play with!”
Cai Die was stunned by this innocent request, soon rubbing her forehead with a forced smile on her face, “I’m afraid I can’t do that.”
“Why?”
“Because…” Cai Die stops her words there and turned her eyes towards the top of Thunder Tree Palace, seemingly receiving some kind of instructions, and nodding firmly, “Understood!”
Saying so, she calmly turned her eyes to the battle down below and shouted, “Enough!”
Hearing this order, Kuang Shi immediately retreated from Yang Kai and directed a somewhat awkward look towards him, shaking his head wryly after a moment, “You brat, you’re quite fierce, fortunately I didn’t rashly attack you a few days ago when we first met, or I’m afraid I would have embarrassed myself!”
“Brother Kuang is too polite; your strength is by no means bad!” Yang Kai laughed back freely.
“Of cou…” Kuang Shi suddenly became proud, but upon noticing Cai Die’s cold eyes staring at him, he quickly swallowed back his words, turned around, and dashed into the jungle, his voice calling out from afar a moment later, “I’m off to patrol the area. Recently, the jungle hasn’t been peaceful!”
After he left, Yang Kai turned his attention to Cai Die and smiled lightly, “Have I passed your test?”
“Hmph, you think you’re so smart!” Cai Die grumbled under her breath, a clear look of disgust showing on her face, coldly shouting in the next moment, “Come with me, Great Senior wants to see you!”
Saying so, the wings behind the back flapped and she soared up into the canopy.
Yang Kai nodded and quickly followed after her as the Monster Race masters resting on the branches stood by and watched, many of them wearing unsatisfied expressions on their faces, as if the battle just now hadn’t been exciting enough for them.
The cat eared young girl simply pursed her lips as she stared at Yang Kai’s disappearing back reluctantly.
Flying higher and higher, Yang Kai realized just how enormous this ancient tree really was. Passing through the various wide and dense branches, as he followed after Cai Die, Yang Kai saw a number of Monster Race masters playing around as well as a large number of tree houses built right into the ancient tree’s trunk.
The entire ancient tree was like a giant family home with traces of Monster Beast activity everywhere one looked.
Seeing this, Yang Kai inexplicably felt a unique sense of cohesion and unity!
There was an incalculable number of Monster Beasts living throughout Tong Xuan Realm, but the number of Monster Race masters that had managed to assume human form was quite limited. As such, the Monster Race was far more united than the Human or Demon Race. The ones beneath each Monster Race Great Senior were closer to brothers and sisters than subordinates.
When Kuang Shi was being stared down by Cai Die, although he appeared quite scared, he didn’t once display a formal attitude. Amongst the Monster Race, everything that did not relate to survival and power, was apparently superfluous.
The human form Monster Race masters were few in number in the first place, and most of them chose to remain in their original forms; as a result, since entering the Beast Sea Jungle, Yang Kai had only seen ten or so such human form masters.
However, each of them was a true powerhouse.
The higher he flew, the denser the World Aura became, and Yang Kai was also keenly aware that the trunk of the ancient tree contained Thunder Attribute energy.
Probably because this ancient tree had bathed in Heavenly Thunder for over ten thousand years, it had taken on a powerful Thunder Attribute aura.
After a long upward flight, Yang Kai and Cai Die passed into a layer of clouds and became surrounded by a soft white mist that was almost like wisps of cotton one could grasp with their fingers. It was a rare and beautiful sight to behold. Amongst these white clouds stood a charming wooden house built right into the trunk of the ancient tree.
A powerful dragon’s breath pulsed from this wooden house, immediately drawing Yang Kai’s attention.
Feeling this powerful aura, Yang Kai secretly gulped.
“Go in, Great Senior is waiting for you inside!” Cai Die stopped in front of the wooden house and motioned Yang Kai inside.
“Many thanks!” Yang Kai nodded to her lightly before calmly stepping forward.
The first thing Yang Kai saw upon entering the wooden house was a middle-aged man sitting at a table quietly. This middle-aged man was quite handsome and wore a plain robes, appearing harmless to humans and animals. The only distinguishing feature he had were two horns only about as long as one’s finger sticking out from either side of his head.
The two horns were dyed a mix of red and blue and seemed to contain rich Fire Attribute and Thunder Attribute energy, flashing a dull light from time to time.
This was a true Peak Eighth-Order Monster Beast, the Monster Race’s Scarlet Flame Thunder Dragon Great Senior!
Yang Kai couldn’t help admiring this man silently.
The Great Senior slowly opened his eyes and stared at Yang Kai faintly, not showing the slightest aggression or probing intent, but under this gaze, Yang Kai felt somewhat uncomfortable, as if the man in front of him could see through all of his secrets.
Yang Kai quickly composed himself, sealed off his Knowledge Sea, and restrained his aura.
The Great Senior smiled lightly, his expression both handsome and imposing as he calmly asked, “Are you the successor of that guy?”
“En,” Yang Kai nodded, knowing the ‘guy’ this Great Senior referred to was the old Holy Master of Nine Heavens Holy Land.
“Your cultivation isn’t as high as his, but your aptitude is good.”
“Great Senior is too polite!”
“So, why have you come here?” The Great Senior continued, “The Beast Sea Jungle generally does not allow human cultivators to enter, those who do soon become food for my clansmen. Seeing as you are that guy’s successor, I gave him some face and didn’t let them immediately attack you, but if you dare displease me, I promise you your end will be very miserable. I had some friendship with that guy, but that doesn’t mean I have any friendship with his Sect, so… you’d best think carefully before you answer my question.”
Although his tone was light, Yang Kai could still tell there was a hint of annoyance in his voice. Perhaps this Great Senior felt Yang Kai was too young or too weak to be worthy enough to see and speak with him.
Yang Kai however just laughed fearlessly before pulling out the two Universe Bags he had brought with him, placing them on the table as he said, “I heard the old Holy Master and Great Senior were on good terms, as his successor, naturally I must visit Great Senior to pay my respects. After all, I may have business dealings with you in the future.”
The Monster Race Great Senior chuckled and didn’t even glance at the two Universe Bags, dismissively saying, “I was on good terms with that guy because I respected his strength. What do you have that can earn my respect? Perhaps you’ll have such qualifications a hundred years from now, but the current you… is insufficient.”
Yang Kai frowned slightly, “A hundred years? It won’t be that long, in at most twenty or thirty years… I’ll have such qualifications.”
The Monster Race Great Senior gently sneered and shook his head, “You’re certainly crazy enough… Since that’s the case, come here twenty or thirty years from now, that is, if you can live that long!”
His not so subtle meaning that Yang Kai appeared like the type to die young. This of course made Yang Kai somewhat unhappy.
Knitting his brow further, Yang Kai got to the main point, “Great Senior, do you have any interest in making a business investment?”
“An investment?” Great Senior squinted at Yang Kai before smiling lightly, “Invest in you? Why should I do that? If I can’t see any advantage in that, of course I won’t.”
Not waiting for Yang Kai to answer, the Great Senior pointedly asked, “Your days must not be feeling good about now, yes?”
Yang Kai nodded lightly, curiously asking, “Did Great Senior receive news about the Holy Land’s current state?”
The Great Senior slowly shook his head though, “I have no interest in inquiring about your side, but that guy, before he died, came here once and predicted this situation.”
“The old Holy Master predicted this situation?” Yang Kai was stunned.
“En, he knew he wouldn’t live much longer and told me that before he died he should properly handle the woman next to him, but after all, she was a companion he had spent his entire life together with so he couldn’t bring himself to discard her so even though he knew that after he died she would surely stir up a great storm… If my guess is right, you should currently be besieged by many people right now, yes?”
Yang Kai nodded solemnly, “Since Great Senior knows that much, you must also know the purpose of my trip.”
The Great Senior snickered as he slowly sat up in his chair, “I indeed know why you’ve come, but unfortunately for you, I refuse to lend you any help, no matter how many supplies you bring me. Why do you think the Monster Race has endured so long? It’s not because of the few masters we possess, but because we don’t intervene in outsider’s affairs. Once I leave the Beast Sea Jungle and enter your Human Territory, I can no longer control the situation. Don’t you humans have a saying, sticking one’s neck out makes it easier to chop off? Putting my entire clan in grave danger for some meager benefits, do you think I, a Monster Race Great Senior, would do something so short sighted?”
As he spoke, his eyes flashed a sharp light.
Yang Kai wore a forced smile as he replied, “Since Great Senior knows all this, I won’t speak any more nonsense. In truth, even if you don’t help me, the Holy Land’s people won’t be in any danger, moreover, we have we decided to temporarily abandon the Holy Land’s territory and wait for a day when we’ve accumulated enough strength to stage a comeback. However, during that time, I’d prefer the resources located within our nine spirit peaks not fall into the hands of those invaders; on the other hand, since Great Senior had some friendship with the old Holy Master, I thought it would be alright to let you take care of it for a while. It would also be an opportunity for you to improve your clan’s strength.”
Hearing these words, the Monster Race Great Senior frowned as he directed a cold stare towards Yang Kai, as if trying to see through his real thoughts at this moment.
After hesitating for a moment, the Great Senior said, “That Spirit Array of yours is very powerful and the World Energy aura is truly quite rich. If my clansmen were allowed to cultivate there, their strength would definitely improve rapidly, but that alone is not enough to make us leave the Beast Sea Jungle.”
“Then what if I leave you all the Holy Land’s Alchemist to help you refine pills as well?” Yang Kai suddenly suggested, “As far as I know, there is no one among the Monster Race who is proficient in Alchemy. On top of that, I can let the Holy Land’s Artifact Refiners stay behind as well. Before we come back, they can refine a large number of pills and artifacts for you. Of course, you’ll have to provide the materials, but I don’t think that should be too difficult for you.”
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.
The lake’s surface was sparkling clean and the water itself was crystal clear, a few fat fish could even be seen leisurely swimming about its depths.
Near the lakeside stood a young man who, at this moment, was smiling lightly towards Yun Xuan and Ruan Xin Yu who Liu Gui had brought here, raising his hand and waving as he casually called out, “Long time no see you two.”
Ruan Xin Yu and Yun Xuan didn’t immediately reply, both of them just standing there dumbstruck.
Seeing this, Yang Kai shook his head wryly and walked towards them.
When Yang Kai arrived in front of the trio, Liu Gui stepped forward and hastily bowed while letting out all kind of flattery, “Lord Holy Master, before, this lowly one had eyes but failed to see, I beg Lord Holy Master not to take offence.”
“It’s fine,” Yang Kai waved his hand lightly.
Liu Gui’s expression loosened as he respectfully said, “Sir, I have brought the two young ladies as you requested.”
“Good work,” Yang Kai patted the shoulder of the young man he had used the Great Heavenly Attraction on to control previous, causing the latter to feel quite flattered, “It is only what I should do.”
Hesitating for a moment, Liu Gui nervously continued, “Sir, you should be able to see I have no malicious intent towards you, so would it be possible for you to first return my Soul brand? Sir can rest assured, I, Liu Gui, will never reveal half a word about Sir Holy Master to another soul, lest Heavenly thunder strike me down!”
Seeing his begging appearance, Yang Kai simply smiled and said, “I cannot do what you request right now, but you can rest assured, so long as you obey me well, I will not harm you.”
“Does this lowly one dare not obey?” Liu Gui wore a bitter smile. The previous time Yang Kai left the nine peaks to go to the Beast Sea Jungle, Liu Gui’s team had been the ones to intercept him, but not only had they failed to capture Yang Kai, instead Liu Gui was forced to divulge everything he knew before having his Soul brand taken. If the Temple Master were to ever learn about this, even if he had nine lives Liu Gui wouldn’t be able to survive.
Considering all this, Liu Gui felt a deep bitterness in his heart.
“Obedience has its rewards,” Yang Kai was carefully observing and knew this youth was quite uncomfortable with the current situation. Knowing a willing pawn was more useful than an unwilling one, Yang Kai immediately threw Liu Gui a bottle of pills.
Liu Gui instinctively reached out and caught this bottle. After opening it and taking a sniff, a look of shock and joy filled his face as he unconsciously called out, “Spirit Grade pills?”
“Work hard and there will be more benefits in the future for you,” Yang Kai encouraged.
“Yes yes yes! Many thanks, Lord Holy Master!” Liu Gui gratefully exclaimed.
As an Immortal Ascension Boundary cultivator with average aptitude, Liu Gui’s status in War Spirit Temple was quite ordinary, so the pills he usually used were also ordinary goods. At best, by regularly performing tasks for the Sect, he could receive two or three Mysterious Grade pills a month, but now, after completing a trivial errand for Yang Kai, he had actually been rewarded with a bottle of Spirit Grade pills.
This was a massive windfall which caused Liu Gui to become somewhat dazed, no longer even caring that Yang Kai had taken his Soul brand and he could not control whether he lived or died.
He even secretly thought to himself that being able to work for this new Holy Master was a great good fortune.
Seeing Liu Gui’s reaction, Yang Kai was quite satisfied, further confirming that this guy was a villain who would forget all honour at the sight of profit. Giving such a person some small benefits would be enough to make him sell you his life.
Waving his hand to undo the seals Ruan Xin Yu had placed on him, Yang Kai signaled to Liu Gui, “Go back, there’s nothing more for you to do here.”
“Yes! Lord Holy Master, if you have any need of subordinate in the future, please do not hesitate to ask!” Liu Gui struck his chest and declared.
“There will be opportunities,” Yang Kai smiled and nodded.
Liu Gui turned around to leave, but just before taking off, he glanced over at Yun Xuan with a somewhat jealous look and muttered, “Young Lady’s good fortune is truly enviably.”
He could sense that this girl shared a not simple friendship with this new Holy Master.
Yun Xuan’s pretty face immediately blushed bright red while Ruan Xin Yu gave him a sharp glare and shouted, “You talk too much!”
Liu Gui let out a hollow laugh as he quickly scurried away.
After Liu Gui left, Yang Kai smiled and turned his attention to the two young women in front of him, “It’s been several years since we last met yet you two are still as graceful and charming as before.”
“Glib tongued brat!” Ruan Xin Yu snorted disdainfully, “You bastard, since you didn’t die, why did you not send Yun Xuan a message to let her know. Do you have any idea how much sadness you made her endure?”
“Xin Yu…” Yun Xuan cried out, biting her lip in the next instant as she directed her beautiful eyes towards Yang Kai, suddenly feeling like the young man in front of her had become incredibly tall and distant, as if she could only gaze up towards him from afar.
When she had first met him, his cultivation was actually below her own and his appearance was somewhat distressed. He was like a young, ignorant boy who had just wandered out from a deep forest.
However, just a few years later, he had now become the new Holy Master of Nine Heavens Holy Land and his strength had soared far beyond hers.
Currently, she was a Peak Immortal Ascension Boundary cultivator while he had actually become a Second Order Transcendent…
With such a gap between them, even if she were to work tirelessly for a dozen years she might not be able to catch up.
Standing in front of Yang Kai, Yun Xuan couldn’t help feeling a deep sense of inferiority, causing a pungent bitterness to fill her heart.
Perceiving Yun Xuan’s abnormal mood, Yang Kai’s brow furrowed slightly, but not knowing what she was actually thinking or feeling, all he could do was laugh and try to crack a joke, “Could it be you don’t recognize me?”
“Even if you were reduced to ashes I’d be able to recognize you,” Yun Xuan said with a forced smile.
“Then why are you looking at me like you’ve just met a stranger?” Yang Kai scratched his cheek awkwardly, “If you’re angry because I didn’t let you know I was safe, then I sincerely apologize, these past few years have been incredibly busy; moreover, there are certain things about me I don’t what to expose to the public.”
“Hmph, I think you’re just a shameless bastard,” Ruan Xin Yu snorted indignantly, “You clearly just want to play around and then run away so you can avoid taking any responsibility.”
“What responsibility do you want me to bear? Wasn’t everything that happened back then an unavoidable accident?” Yang Kai argued back somewhat awkwardly.
These past few years, Yang Kai really hadn’t thought about Yun Xuan much; although he felt somewhat embarrassed about what had happened, in his heart, she just couldn’t compare to Su Yan or his Little Senior Sister.
If it weren’t for the Charm Monster’s Spiritual Energy toxin, the two of them would never have become anything more than acquaintances.
“So you don’t want to take any responsibility, I really misjudged you!” Ruan Xin Yu shouted contemptuously, her gaze filled with scorn.
Helpless to argue back, Yang Kai could only shake his head wryly.
Yun Xuan, who had remained silent through this argument, finally let out a long breath and smiled slightly, “Xin Yu, don’t say any more, there’s no meaning to it. Some people, some encounters are just that fleeting, there’s no need to try to force things not meant to be.”
“You’re quite laissez faire,” Ruan Xin Yu stared at Yun Xuan with amazement.
“How did you make a disciple of War Spirit Temple bring us here? Why does he listen to your orders?” Yun Xuan turned a curiously look towards Yang Kai as she changed the subject.
“Heh, we had a slight conflict half a month ago and at that time, I placed a little seal on which allowed me to communicate directly with him. When I saw you two earlier today, I sent him a message telling him to lead you here,” Yang Kai explained, following up with a question is his own, “Is your Bold Independent Union also involved in this incident?”
“En,” Yun Xuan nodded, “Your Holy Land’s previous generation Saintess passed by my Bold Independent Union’s territory some time ago and killed a few of our disciples. That Zhang Ao of Shattering Mystical Palace somehow found out about this and sent an invitation to my father to come here. Thinking it would be an opportunity to discuss some matters with Nine Heavens Holy Land, my father decided to accept Zhang Ao’s invitation. Never had we expected that Zhang Ao’s purpose was not to reconcile with you but to launch an all-out fight.”
“Them inviting you to join them was simply for them to increase their numbers,” Yang Kai sneered.
“En, that should be the case. In fact, many forces that gathered here have similar experiences to my Bold Independent Union. Before we came here to see you, two small forces actually tried to leave, but before they could, they were ruthlessly slaughtered by Zhang Ao.”
Yang Kai’s eyes narrowed, “They’ve certain played a strong hand.”
“After that demonstration, I don’t think anyone will dare to leave. Zhang Ao also declared that next time they attack they will certainly flatten you Nine Heavens Holy Land; can you resist them?”
Yang Kai slowly shook his head, “If it really comes down to a fight, the end result will be a mutual loss. The Holy Land will definitely suffer heavy casualties, but your side won’t feel any better.”
“Then what are you going to do? You should leave here quickly; it’s far too dangerous to stay.”
“Don’t worry; I have a way to handle the situation. On the other hand, it’s you who should avoid getting involved here,” Yang Kai’s expression became serious, “If you continue to participate in this, your Bold Independent Union will definitely suffer greatly.”
“What do you mean?” Yun Xuan couldn’t help feeling startled.
“I can’t tell you any more right now. In any case, after you go back, do whatever you can to persuade your father to leave here as soon as possible. There will be a big change in the situation which will make it very dangerous to stay here soon.”
Yun Xuan frowned but nodded lightly, not asking Yang Kai to explain any further, choosing to believe in him.
Ruan Xin Yu on the other hand couldn’t help scoffing, “Aren’t you acting a bit too confident? Although your Nine Heavens Holy Land has a strong barrier and a number of powerful masters, as far as I know, along with the ones from those three sects, the number of Saint Realm powerhouses your facing is twice the number your Holy Land currently has.”
“And so?” Yang Kai snickered, “If they dare to come, they’ll pay a heavy price.”
“I can’t understand you at all…” Ruan Xin Yu slowly shook her head, “For that matter, how did someone like you become the new Holy Master of Nine Heavens Holy Land anyways?”
“Everyone has their own opportunities,” Yang Kai chuckled, “I’d rather not have become the new Holy Master of this place but… things happened.”
Ruan Xin Yu spat disdainfully, obviously not believing a word Yang Kai said. In her opinion, any man who managed to obtain such an opportunity would be beside themselves with joy, how could Yang Kai be any different?
This little brat was clearly trying to act aloof and mysterious! Ruan Xin Yu increasingly looked down on Yang Kai, secretly feeling that the rapid growth of his strength was entirely because he had received the cultivation of Nine Heavens Holy Land.
If Nine Heavens Holy Land was willing to train her, she could reach such a height.
“Is there anything else you want to say?” Yun Xuan asked Yang Kai.
Yang Kai was stunned by her forwardness but soon shook his head, “No.”
“Then we’ll head back first. If we stay out too long, it will cause people to become suspicious,” Yun Xuan said, directing a complicated expression towards Yang Kai in the next instant as she whispered, “No matter what, thank you for your reminder this time, I will speak with my father and let him know what you’ve told me, as for you… you must be careful, I know you’re much fiercer than you were when we first met and your status is also quite high, but your true strength is still quite limited. If you find you can’t solve this problem, please don’t force yourself.”
“Good, I’ll remember,” Yang Kai nodded sincerely.
“Then we’ll take our leave. If you can overcome these difficulties, you’re welcome to visit Bold Independent City at any time,” Yun Xuan smiled before grabbing Ruan Xin Yu’s hand and flying off.
Standing in place and gazing at their quickly fading backs, Yang Kai’s mood fluctuated quite a bit; he hadn’t expected this woman to act in such a composed manner, handling things calmly and then leaving without showing much hesitancy.
Originally, Yang Kai was still thinking about how he should comfort her but now it appeared that wouldn’t be necessary.
Inside the jungle, Ruan Xin Yu, who was following the path back the gathering point, indignantly grumbled, “You fool, since you finally got to see him again, why did you just leave like that?”
“Isn’t he alive and well? What else was I supposed to do?” Yun Xuan smiled lightly.
“Are you alright with this?” Ruan Xin Yu asked, feeling bitter in her heart.
“En, I’m fine with it,” Yun Xuan replied with a relaxed and indifferent look upon her face, “He is not someone I can hope to be with anymore, even if I try to stay by his side, I’ll only be a burden to him. Since that’s the case, I might as well end things now and just leave it as a fond memory. That’s more than enough.”
“You won’t regret this in the future?” Ruan Xin Yu asked.
“There’s nothing to regret.”
“Forget it, do whatever you want, it’s your own business, just don’t come crying to me later saying you failed to grasp today’s once in a lifetime opportunity.”
“I won’t!” Yun Xuan said faintly, glancing back briefly before returning her gaze forward again. A tear gathering at the corner of her eye as her heart became clearer about what was in that man’s mind. She, more than anyone else in the world, understood that she was just a passer-by. If that wasn’t the case, he would definitely have chased after her.
…..
After Yang Kai returned to Nine Heavens Holy Land, he immediately called Xu Hui and the other Elders over.
“Holy Master, according to your instructions, all the disciples have made preparations to evacuate and are ready to depart!” Xu Hui cupped his fists and reported.
Yang Kai nodded, “Come with me!”
No one knew where he was going or what he was planning to do, but none of them asked any questions and simply followed behind Yang Kai.
Shuttling through the nine peaks, a moment later, Yang Kai arrived in front of a large smooth stone surrounded by carvings of dragons and phoenixes, and was engraved with the words ‘Holy Tomb’.
The Holy Tomb was the restricted area where all former Holy Masters of Nine Heavens Holy Land were buried. Arriving here, the looks on all of the Elders and Protectors’ faces became respectful.
“You’ve all been wondering where I plan to place the Holy Land’s thousands of disciples, do you still need to ask now?” Yang Kai stood in front of the giant stone and smiled back at everyone.
After a brief moment of confusion, all of them suddenly understood.
Xu Hui stuttered to ask, “Holy Master, the place you mentioned, it couldn’t be…”
“Besides here, can you think of anywhere else?” Yang Kai nodded lightly, “The Holy Tomb is without a doubt the best option.”
“We cannot!” Xu Hui’s expression changed greatly, “This is the sacred ground where all the Holy Land’s Holy Masters are entombed, how could we possibly disturb their eternal rest?”
“Those who are dead are gone. There is nothing we can do that will disturb them,” Yang Kai shook his head.
“The Holy Land has its customs, no one other than the Holy Master and the Saintesses may enter the Holy Tomb!”
“Customs are dead, people are alive, please be flexible Great Elder,” Yang Kai persuaded.
“While that may be true… No, this really will not do! If we were to enter the Holy Tomb, blatantly violating the customs and traditions passed down by our ancestors, what face would we have left in front of the Holy Land’s future disciples?”
“You stubborn old fart…” Yang Kai began losing his patience, turning his eyes to the rest of the Elders and asking, “What do you think?”
Shi Kun wore a difficult expression and quickly averted his eyes.
Meng Tian Fei and Luo Sheng also did not express their opinions.
Cheng Yue Tong opened her lips and tried to say something but quickly stopped herself.
“A group of wastes!” Yu Ying coldly snorted, solemnly saying, “Holy Master, although Great Elder is indeed somewhat stubborn and inflexible, in this case, I believe he is right.”
“You also think so?” Yang Kai stared blankly at this beautiful woman.
Yu Ying nodded firmly.
Yang Kai rubbed his forehead in frustration before turning to the last person present, “An Ling’er…”
“Don’t ask me, I’m just an ignorant little girl, I don’t know anything,” An Ling’er quickly pretended it was none of her business.
Yang Kai gawked at her for a moment before clenching his teeth. She was the only one he had counted on siding with him, yet she had actually abandoned him at this critical juncture.
“Is there really no way?” Yang Kai turned his eyes back to Xu Hui and asked solemnly.
“If it was any other matter, having received Holy Master’s command, even if this old master had to offer up his life, I would not hesitate, it’s just… regarding this…” Xu Hui stuttered, his expression filled with a mix of unwavering loyalty and guilt, as if he truly wished to obey Yang Kai’s command yet was simply incapable of doing so.
“Good!” Yang Kai interrupted him before he finished, “Then I wish all of you good luck, in two or three days, Zhang Ao will return and the Beast Sea Jungle’s Great Senior will bring the masters of the Monster Race here, when the time comes, we’ll see just how many of you can live! Farewell!”
Saying so, Yang Kai turned around and prepared to leave.
Xu Hui’s eyes shrank as he hastily reached out and grabbed Yang Kai’s sleeve, tightly pinching it as if his life depending on it, asking in amazement, “Holy Master, where are you going?”
“You all want to sit here waiting for death, but I have a bright future ahead of me, so why would I stay here to accompany you? Of course I’m going to leave,” Yang Kai replied as if it were a given.
“But if you leave, what is the Holy Land to do?” Xu Hui asked in a fluster.
“Huh? What does that have to do with me? I found a way out of this mess for all of you yet you refuse to take it, could it be you want me to stay here and be buried along with the rest of you?” Yang Kai spat disdainfully as he declared, “Sorry to disappoint you, I’m not so noble.”
“This…” Xu Hui suddenly became speechless, thinking that young people really acted like young people, making snappy decisions and rushing into things without the slightest hesitation. Before, Yang Kai had shown an attitude worthy of a Holy Master, yet now all of sudden he had become cold and indifferent, as if he didn’t care whether the Holy Land was destroyed or not.
“Furthermore…” Yang Kai snorted, “Even though you call me Holy Master, all of you refuse to execute my commands; what point is there in me staying here then? Even if you somehow survive this crisis, I’m afraid I’ll degenerate into a puppet you can manipulate at will.”
“We would not dare!” Xu Hui protested in horror.
“Oh really? Why are you still restraining me then?”
Xu Hui quickly let go and withdrew awkwardly.
“Enough!” Yu Ying called out, glaring towards Yang Kai somewhat badly, “The Holy Master should have the demeanor of a Holy Master, how can you act like such a rogue? Do you enjoy forcing Great Elder into a corner like this?”
After reprimanding Yang Kai, she let out a sigh and glanced over at Xu Hui, “Great Elder, this…”
Xu Hui hesitated for a long time, seemingly contemplating the issue, secretly glancing over at Yang Kai to observe the latter’s reaction, helplessly sighing after a while, “Since the Holy Master has made such a proposal… even though it will ruin the customs passed down by our ancestors, I suggest we take a vote. The seven of us here have the highest decision making authority in the Holy Land, so if the majority here agrees to enter the Holy Tomb, then… we can only do so.”
“So be it,” Yu Ying nodded.
“Who doesn’t agree to enter the Holy Tomb? Raise your hands high so I can see them,” Yang Kai asked, sweeping his eyes over the crowd.
Great Elder Xu Hui quickly raised his hand.
However, the other five Elders and Saintess An Ling’er all glanced around at each other awkwardly, none of them moving a muscle.
“You…” Xu Hui turned to face his fellow Elders with a shocked and somewhat hurt expression upon his face, as if he couldn’t believe no one here agreed with him that preserving the Holy Land’s traditions was of paramount importance.
“Slippery boy…” Yu Ying muttered to herself. She knew, if Yang Kai had phrased his question differently, the result of this vote would have been different.
The new Holy Master was a young man, and apparently an impulsive one at that. In this situation, who would be willing to openly refute his opinion? If they did that, it would only cause him to feel a sense of rejection towards the Holy Land, possibly leading to him abandoning them altogether.
No one could afford this responsibility.
“Great Elder, you let me win,” Yang Kai cupped his fists and grinned.
Xu Hui smiled back bitterly, “Since things have gotten to this point, this old master won’t make any more objections. Everything will be in accordance with Holy Master’s wishes.”
“I’m doing this for your own good, don’t look so distressed. If the Holy Land’s previous Holy Masters knew what the current situation was, I’m sure they’d forgive you.”
“I hope so.”
After opening the Holy Tomb with the Holy Master Spirit Ring, Yang Kai led everyone inside, each of them wearing a solemn expression, as if they were on some kind of sacred pilgrimage.
Once inside though, seeing this tiny city-sized Mysterious Small World that had no sun, moon, or stars, and was simply overcast with a hazy bluish white sky, all of them couldn’t help feeling a bit lost.
“This is the Holy Tomb?” Yu Ying whispered softly, her beautiful eyes unable to hide their disappointment. The sight in front of her was completely different from what she had imagined.
She had believed that the Holy Tomb was a serene and peaceful paradise with refreshing gardens and crystal clear lakes.
The reality though was that the Holy Tomb was a barren, dreary purgatory filled with a pervasive Yin Qi and the only moving objects inside were some dim fluorescent wisps, akin to spirits, that only added to the atmosphere’s creepiness.
Everyone else looked around with curiosity and surprise. Only Great Elder Xu Hui wore a worried look as he fidgeted about, constantly muttering under his breath, as if he was still afraid that their arrival had disturbed the slumber of the previous Holy Masters.
“The World Energy here is very rich,” Cheng Yue Tong inhaled gently, her full chest exaggeratedly undulating, a look of surprise flashing across her face.
The World Energy density among the nine peaks was already outstanding, but compared to the Holy Tomb, it was still dwarfed. It was no wonder all previous Holy Masters would choose to enter secluded retreat here.
“The environment isn’t very inviting, but it is a good place to take shelter and cultivate,” Yang Kai smiled, “When I first came here, I was also shocked by how rich the World Energy aura was. I don’t know where this World Energy comes from though. En, this Mysterious Small World is much smaller than an average Mysterious Small World, but there should be no trouble housing all the Holy Land’s disciples here.”
“From what Holy Master just said, it sounds as if you have been to other Mysterious Small Worlds, yes?” Cheng Yue Tong looked at Yang Kai with amazement.
Although the concept of Mysterious Small Worlds was widely known about, very few people had actually entered one before. These mysterious spaces were completely independent of Tong Xuan Realm and their entrances were usually quite difficult to find.
Yang Kai just smiled lightly, glancing over at An Ling’er, not bothering to explain.
“Where are the coffins of the previous Holy Masters? Why can I not see any of them?” Xu Hui looked around for a while, a look of confusion filling his face, “There should be many coffins here.”
Yang Kai’s brow twitched imperceptibly and asked, “Why do you say there should be coffins here?”
“It only makes sense, every previous Holy Master would craft his own coffin and carry it with him into the Holy Tomb at his predestined time of death… Also, this place is far too clean, there’s simply nothing here.”
Listening to Xu Hui say so, everyone else also discovered that something was out of place. The Holy Tomb’s ground was perfectly flat, as if it had been cut with a single stroke of a very sharp blade, and even though a layer of dust had covered most of it, there were some traces left behind by what appeared to be a violent explosion of energy.
“Yes, where are the remains of the previous Holy Masters?” Shi Kun scratched his head and looked around.
“There may be some hidden secrets inside the Holy Tomb… En, the last time I came here, it was like this,” Yang Kai quickly said.
If Xu Hui were to find out he had shattered all the bones and coffins inside the Holy Tomb when he absorbed the drop of Demon God Golden Blood, Yang Kai really didn’t know how this old man would react.
After a busy day and night, everything was arranged.
The thousands of Holy Land disciples filed into the Holy Tomb, bring a sense of life to this Mysterious Small World filled with Yin Qi.
Although there were many people to house, the Holy Tomb was more than large enough.
Xu Hui and the other Elders also prepared a massive amount of living materials in advance, enough for Holy Land’s disciples to live off of for quite some time.
Yang Kai also told them to relax and focus on their cultivation, when the time came, he would naturally let them out again.
Xu Hui and the other Elders all nodded firmly.
Outside the Holy Tomb, Yang Kai sat alone on top of one of the nine spirit peaks, overlooking the huge foundation that had endured for countless years, his mood calm and tranquil.
At this moment, Nine Heavens Holy Land was practically silent as there was no one else around but him.
Closing his eyes, Yang Kai entered a state of meditation as he quietly waited for the enemy to come.
After an unknown amount of time, Yang Kai opened his eyes and stared off in a certain direction, a grin slowly appearing on his face.
Zhang Ao’s group had come once again and were now loudly cursing and shouting as they bombarded the Nine Peaks Barrier, sending loud bangs echoing throughout the Holy Land.
Yang Kai’s figure flickered and when he reappeared, he stood a short distance away from Zhang Ao.
Zhang Ao’s eyes narrowed as he shouted, “Little brat, seems you still have the courage to appear. Good, today shall be the day of your death!”
Cao Guan next to him also sneered, “Open the barrier and surrender, perhaps then we’ll spare you!”
Yang Kai turned a deaf ear to these two and instead glanced around, his eyes fixing on the cultivators from Bold Independent Union for a moment before quickly moving on, faintly saying, “Very good, since all of you are determined to be enemies with my Holy Land, you should be prepared to accept the consequences.”
Many people wore looks of dread as they quickly averted their eyes. On the other hand, among the Bold Independent Union cultivators, Yun Xuan wore a low-spirited expression.
She had discussed with her father, Yun Cheng, all night long, and even relayed the warning Yang Kai had given her, but right now, Bold Independent Union was riding a tiger, so Yun Cheng had no choice but to accompany Zhang Ao here.
Meeting again like this, Yun Xuan couldn’t help feeling like she had disappointed Yang Kai’s good intentions.
“Where’s Xu Hui? Why is it just you here you little bastard?” Zhang Ao was keenly aware that something was not right. Today, Nine Heavens Holy Land was too quiet, there were simply no signs of anyone about, only this new Holy Master had made an appearance, even Xu Hui and the other Holy Land Elders were nowhere to be seen.
“To deal with the likes of you, there’s no need for Great Elder to appear!” Yang Kai spat disdainfully.
“Maniac! Boy, I’d like to see if you can still be so arrogant once I have you on your knees!” Zhang Ao was completely irritated, waving his hand widely as he shouted, “No one hold back, I’ll handle this brat, the rest of you work together to break this damn barrier, once it falls, the wealth of the nine peaks will be shared amongst all of us!”
Hearing these words, many of the cultivators who were still hesitating suddenly became enthusiastic.
Nine Heavens Holy Land’s heritage was deep, and it was unknown just how many treasures, elixirs, Secret Arts, and Martial Skills they had horded away all these years, it would be a huge windfall for any of these forces to obtain even a tiny bit of these things.
Men die for wealth as birds die for food. Zhang Ao throwing out such temptation now naturally aroused the fighting spirit of many people.
In an instant, under the leadership of Cao Guan and Wu Jie, more than a dozen Saint Realm masters attacked the Nine Peaks Barrier while Zhang Ao summoned his scroll-type artifact and struck towards Yang Kai, apparently intending to pin down Yang Kai’s movements.
Yang Kai’s smile on deepened, showing no intention to confront Zhang Ao, simply falling back to avoid this attack but maintaining a cold, indifferent expression; he didn’t even make any attempt to block the bombardment of the Nine Peaks barrier.
Zhang Ao suddenly felt a tinge of unease in his heart as he stared towards Yang Kai, wondering what this little brat was up to.
*Chi chi chi…*
*Xiu xiu xiu…*
A shrill sound rang out as countless attacks struck upon the barrier, but to everyone’s surprise, the barrier Nine Heavens Holy Land was so proud of seemed to be as flimsy as paper.
Under the bombardment of so many masters, the Nine Peaks Barrier endured for less than thirty breaths before shattering, opening the road ahead to all of them.
Everyone was startled by this scene, none of them having anticipating things going so smoothly.
After gawking for a moment, Zhang Ao became overjoyed and yelled, “Little brat, let’s see try to run now!”
As he spoke, the dozen or so Saint Realm masters flew into the nine peaks and surrounded Yang Kai.
Immediately behind them, the forces which had gathered to crusade against Nine Heavens Holy Land also leapt forward frantically, as if they were afraid all the benefits here would be stolen by others if they moved too slowly.
Bold Independent Union’s Union Master, Yun Cheng’s expression fluctuated back and forth, quickly releasing his Divine Sense to probe the nine peaks but soon lifting his foot to step forward.
But before he could take this step, his sleeve was caught by someone. Looking back, he saw his daughter, Yun Xuan, staring at him with a pleading look.
“Xuan’er, what is it?” Yun Cheng frowned.
“Father… The Nine Peaks Barrier has been broken, let everyone else handle what comes next, let’s go back now!” Yun Xuan bit her lips and said.
“Go back now?” Yun Cheng thought for a moment before smiling gently, “Didn’t I explain carefully to you last night? How can you bring this matter up again?”
“Father, please trust me, staying here any longer really won’t have any benefit to us.”
“Yes, Union Master, we should leave now while that little bastard draws their attention,” Ruan Xin Yu chimed in.
“Do you also think this way?” Yun Cheng stared pensively towards Ruan Xin Yu, “Do you believe that little brat?”
Last night, Yun Xuan had conveyed Yang Kai’s warning to Yun Cheng, allowing him to realize that his daughter had actually gone to meet with this new Holy Master the day before; however, Yun Cheng had not taken Yang Kai’s warning very seriously. The difference in the two side’s strength was too great and Yun Cheng simply couldn’t think of any way Nine Heavens Holy Land could fight back. The only advantage the Holy Land had was the Nine Peaks Spirit Array and Barrier but that had already been collapsed now.
“Xuan’er, out of consideration for your friendship with him, do you not want to add insult to injury here?” Yun Cheng laid bare Yun Xuan’s true thoughts, “Don’t worry, if he really has the ability to escape from this crisis, it can only bring advantages to my Bold Independent Union, if he does not then that is simply his fate. However, under these circumstances, I believe he has run out of luck!”
Yun Cheng sighed, he also thought this might be a good opportunity for Bold Independent Union; after all, his daughter had a close relationship with the Holy Master of Nine Heavens Holy Land. If the Holy Land were really to make it through this disaster, in the future, would Bold Independent Union need to fear not having a backer?
But now it seemed like Nine Heavens Holy Land was only outwardly strong but inwardly weak.
At this most critical time, only the new Holy Master came out to meet the enemy while the Elders, Protectors, and even disciples had all disappeared.
This made Yun Cheng wonder if this new Holy Master had actually been abandoned here to attract Zhang Ao’s attention while the others escaped.
“Rest assured, Zhang Ao won’t kill him,” Yun Cheng comforted, “That boy is of great use to Zhang Ao.”
The biggest goal Zhang Ao had in uniting so many forces and masters to attack Nine Heavens Holy Land was to obtain the Holy Land’s core inheritance. Currently, this inheritance should be held completely and exclusively by Yang Kai, how could Zhang Ao be willing to kill him?
“If you don’t wish to be enemies with him… then you can withdraw along with Xin Yu,” Yun Cheng said, calling out to Ji Yan, “Take my daughter and Xin Yu to a safe place.”
“Yes,” Ji Yan nodded, wrapping up Yun Xuan and Ruan Xin Yu with his True Qi before flying away.
Yun Xuan wore a bitter look and obviously wanted to continue trying to persuade her father but she simply couldn’t think of a way to do so. Turning her beautiful eyes towards Yang Kai, who was currently surrounded by powerful masters, all she could do was lament as she was gradually brought far away.
After his daughter left, Yun Cheng snorted lightly and led his forces forward.
“Little bastard, your defeat is inevitable, surrender without a fight!” Zhang Ao shouted towards Yang Kai, a smug expression filling his face as his eyes filled with greedy light, as if the core inheritance of Nine Heavens Holy Land was already in his hands.
Cao Guan also called out for Yang Kai to give up resisting or face the consequences.
Yang Kai simply stood there indifferently and said nothing.
The place where he stood was surrounded on all sides by more than a dozen Saint Realm masters and several dozen Transcendents, each of them staring at him fixedly.
However, even in this situation, he wore a calm and relaxed expression, causing his captures instead to grow nervous, none of them daring to rush forward to attack him lest he had some trick up his sleeve.
They were inside the Holy Land now, and all of them had witnessed Yang Kai used the Nine Peaks Spirit Array to display power on par with a Saint Realm master, if they pushed him too far, no one here except Zhang Ao would be able to suppress him.
“Boy, things coming to this really is quite disappointing,” Wu Jie of Netherworld Sect suddenly spoke, cackling wickedly.
Yang Kai shot him a glance and grinned as well, “What were you hoping for?”
Wu Jie slowly shook his head, the eerie green aura swirling around his body like it had a mind of its own, “I thought you would use some shocking and unexpected method to resist us, but it seems I was expecting too much. If this is really all you have left to offer, I advise you to be surrender and let me seal your True Qi, lest Brother Zhang or Brother Cao accidentally hurt you.”
“Haha, I’m afraid I must decline your good intentions,” Yang Kai laughed heroically, “Wanting to capture me depending on just you people? I think you’re trying to bite off more than you can chew.”
“Wild!” Cao Guan shouted angrily, no Transcendent Realm cultivator would dare spout such nonsense in front of so many Saint Realm masters. This boy’s arrogance simply knew no bounds.
“Temple Master…” A figure suddenly flew over and shouted out to Cao Guan, “There’s no one here, all of the disciples of Nine Heavens Holy Land are gone.”
“No one?” Cao Guan was stunned.
“En.”
At the same time, Zhang Ao, Wu Jie, and the other Saints also received similar reports. This discovery inevitably concerned them somewhat, each of them putting on a dignified expression, wondering just what kind of trick Nine Heavens Holy Land was trying to pull.
Thousands of people suddenly disappearing, this phenomenon was simply too abnormal.
The faint uneasiness he had felt earlier became stronger and Zhang Ao decided not to delay matters any further.
A long night of sleep brings about many dreams.
In the next instant loudly shouting, “Brothers, let us capture this brat first. As long as we have him in our hands, Xu Hui and the others won’t be able to stir up any trouble no matter what scheme they have up their sleeves!”
Zhang Ao waved his hand and everyone else nodded, quickly condensing their True Qi as they prepared to rush Yang Kai.
However, before they could take action, a series of screams rang out from afar. When they heard these blood curdling screams, everyone couldn’t help freezing in place.
Quickly sweeping the area with their Divine Senses, the masters gathered around Yang Kai all wore gloomy expressions.
None of these masters was weak and under investigation of their powerful Divine Senses, they swiftly discovered a large number of powerful auras which were flooding into the nine peaks, stirring up a great storm wherever they went.
On the horizon, a great disturbance, like a gathering storm cloud, was rapidly approaching. Amidst this dark cloud, a number of faint figures stood arrogantly in high up in the sky, staring down indifferently at the cultivators below, giving off a massive sense of oppression.
Zhang Ao’s complexion changed greatly, throwing Yang Kai to the back of his mind as he called out, “What’s going on?”
Pitiful screams continued to ring out once after another and the smell of blood soon filled the air. No one seemed to have any time to answer Zhang Ao’s question. Only after quite a while did a blood stained Shattering Mystical Palace disciple rush over and report, “Palace Master, it’s a disaster, a huge horde of Monster Beasts has appeared!”
“Monster Beasts?” Zhang Ao’s eyes narrowed as he shifted his gaze towards where the screams were coming from just in time to witness the terrifying scene of a giant Blue Eyed Python swallow a human cultivator whole.
Zhang Ao didn’t know which force that cultivator came from, but he could tell the latter’s strength was not weak, having a Peak Immortal Ascension Boundary cultivation. However, in front of this giant python, this unfortunate man had no power to fight back. It was as if an irresistible suction force was being emitted from this python’s mouth, sucking in this cultivator before the python swallowed him whole, a slight bulge which seemed to be struggling sliding down the giant python’s neck a moment later.
*Chi chi chi…*
A series of attacks landed on the giant python, creating a number of dazzling sparks, but the giant body covered with black scales seemed to be impregnable, remaining completely undamaged. Shaking its head and wagging its tail, the python swallowed down several more cultivators while pulverising others into bloody paste as it rampaged about.
This scene was nothing short of a bloody purgatory.
Looking around, Monster Beasts of various shapes and sizes had invaded every corner of the nine peaks. These Monster Beasts’ eyes were all red, as if their bestial instincts had been stimulated by the scene of blood in the air, all of them slaughtering their way through the human cultivators, no one able to block their path.
Screams of pain and terror resounded as everyone began panicking and fleeing.
“Where did these Monster Beasts come from?” Zhang Ao screamed as his face paled, a look of dread flashing across his eyes as he stared towards the black cloud in the distance.
“They seem to have come from the Beast Sea Jungle!” Cao Guan replied quickly.
As soon as these words came out, all the masters gathered around Yang Kai felt a cold chill run up their backs.
The Beast Sea Jungle was the territory of the Monster Race where one of the Monster Race Great Seniors lived; that was one of this world’s top powerhouses!
Glancing back towards the rapidly approaching dark cloud, everyone immediately understood what was happening.
“Hateful boy, actually colluding with these evil monsters!” Zhang Ao roared as he turned a hate filled glare back towards where Yang Kai was standing but to his shock, there was no one there. Yang Kai, who should have been completely surrounded, had at some unknown point disappeared, leaving behind several dozen bewildered masters.
The dark cloud finally arrived in the sky above the nine peaks and from it descended a glowing seven coloured beam of light. A graceful figure with fluttering translucent wings appeared from inside this beam of light a moment later, a cold, indifferent expression upon her beautiful face.
Cai Die!
Following closely behind Cai Die were twenty to thirty Monster Race masters in human form, each of them grinning fiercely as they radiated an awe inspiring pressure towards the Human Race cultivators below. Kuang Shi took the lead and plunged towards the ground like a meteor, opening up a giant crater when he landed. Immediately after, he rushed towards a Transcendent Realm human cultivator, shrugging off the attacks directed towards him with his flesh alone before grabbing hold of this unfortunate man and sinking his teeth into his neck.
Blood splashed out and Kuang Shi let out a thunderous roar, his eyes filled with joy. The Human Race Transcendent didn’t even have a chance to resist, dying immediately after Kuang Shi ripped out his throat.
This bloody scene was burned into the eyes of the surrounding Human Race cultivators, causing them to lose all courage and flee in all directions, none of them daring to fight with Kuang Shi.
Before they could escape far though, more Monster Beasts blocked their path and set upon them.
Atop one of the nine peaks, Yang Kai stood indifferently overlooking the bloody slaughter down below.
The figure of the Monster Race Great Senior appeared next to him a moment later.
“Great Senior, you’re a bit late,” Yang Kai smiled and quipped.
“Hmph, it’s not easy gathering up so much manpower, you didn’t exactly give me much time,” The Monster Race Great Senior coldly snorted.
“How many came?”
“Three thousand Sixth-Order, eighty Seventh-Order, and nine Eighth-Order!”
Yang Kai couldn’t help raising his brow, “An impressive lineup.”
“Do you think I, by myself, could assure the safety of the Beast Sea Jungle all these years? If not for there being enough masters beside me, the Beast Sea Jungle would already have been overrun by your Human Race,” The Great Senior slowly shook his head, “Take your Nine Heavens Holy Land as an example, you guys rely too much on your Holy Master, as soon as he died, this place became vulnerable.”
“Tell that to them, not me,” Yang Kai laughed, he had also seen the flaw in Nine Heavens Holy Land’s system, it was the exact opposite of the Monster Race which had a large number of top level masters accompanying the Great Senior so that, even if the latter fell, the Beast Sea Jungle would not be in any danger.
This time, it seemed like the Monster Race had turned out in full force.
“Remember what you promised me,” Great Senior glanced over at Yang Kai.
“Rest assured, since I’ve reached an agreement with you, I won’t renege on it,” Yang Kai nodded lightly.
“How do you want me to handle these invaders?” The Monster Race Great Senior asked.
“Do as you please,” Yang Kai shrugged his shoulders, as if it had nothing to do with him.
The Great Senior snickered back, “Little brat, are you looking forward to me killing all of them?”
Yang Kai smiled but didn’t reply, clearly indicating his stance.
“I’m afraid I’ll have to disappoint you then. Killing too many people is not good for my Monster Race, doing so will only bring out more intense revenge from your Human Race’s masters,” Great Senior snorted, already having seen through Yang Kai’s intent to use his Monster Race to solve the Holy Land’s problem for them.
If these human cultivators were really to be slaughtered clean, the hatred for their deaths would only be directed towards the Monster Race while Nine Heavens Holy Land could feign ignorance.
Although he understood this, the Monster Race Great Senior still couldn’t refuse Yang Kai’s proposal; however, when it came to the implementation, naturally he wouldn’t allow himself to be led around by Yang Kai.
“There’s one thing I don’t understand though, if it’s convenient, could you enlighten me, boy?” The Monster Race Great Senior glanced over and asked Yang Kai.
“What?”
“Where did all the people from your Nine Heavens Holy Land go? Why does it seem like only you are here?”
“Naturally they’ve hidden themselves in a safe place. Great Senior doesn’t need to worry. Once the unpleasant business here is concluded, the Alchemists and Artifact Refiners I promised you will return.”
“Good, I don’t believe you’d dare deceive me.”
Down below, upon seeing the Monster Race join the fray and quickly proceeded to slaughter countless masters, Zhang Ao and the other leaders of this crusade knew the situation could no longer be salvaged, quickly pushing their True Qi and using their movement skills to escape.
Even if their hearts were filled with unwillingness, there was simply nothing they could do.
Bold Independent Union’s Union Master, Yun Cheng, stared around in grief. Seeing so many of his disciples and subordinates either dead or seriously wounded, he couldn’t help feeling a profound sense of regret.
If he had just heeded his daughter’s persuasion and taken everyone back immediately, he could have avoided being swept up in this catastrophe and suffered no casualties at all.
Now, it was too late for all that, of the several hundred disciples he had brought with him, nearly half were already dead or dying, while even he himself had to flee under the terrifying charge of the Monster Race masters.
Seeing Zhang Ao and the other Saints already retreating, Yun Cheng no longer dared to remain, rallying his remaining subordinates and disciple together and immediately chasing after Zhang Ao, fighting their way out.
From the moment the Monster Race arrived till the battle ended, less time than it would take to burn a stick of incense had passed.
Among the nine peaks, dead bodies and blood could be seen everywhere, making for a shocking scene. Of the cultivators who had come to crusade against Nine Heavens Holy Land, at least a thousand had died.
Under the lead of some giant Monster Beasts, the horde soon ran out of the nine peaks to pursue the fleeing human cultivators.
“Do not pursue them!” A tender voice suddenly called out as Cai Die’s graceful figure fell to the ground lightly, blocking the stampeding Monster Beasts’ path. Upon hearing this command, all of these Monster Beasts came to a halt before lifting their heads towards the sky and letting out great roars.
When they heard this series of howls, the fleeing human cultivators trembled in fear, all of them immediately putting all their strength into increasing their speed.
“A difficult matter for one is accomplished with ease by another,” Yang Kai slowly shook his head and sighed. The huge, insurmountable crisis facing Nine Heavens Holy Land had easily been resolved by the Monster Race, making him feel somewhat frustrated.
“What you see here is the strength my Monster Race has accumulated for hundreds, if not thousands of years. Do you think you can obtain such power casually?” The Great Senior snickered, “Your Nine Heavens Holy Land isn’t bad, but it’s still not comparable to my Monster Race.”
“Indeed, otherwise there would be no point in taking advantage of your strength,” Yang Kai nodded.
“Well, you cultivate diligently, and in a hundred years or so you’ll be able to stand at my height. By then, Nine Heavens Holy Land will be strong again.”
“A hundred years? Great Senior, you’re looking down on me far too much,” Yang Kai grinned.
“You want to say it will only take you twenty or thirty years? How could this King believe your nonsense?”
“Just wait and see,” Yang Kai rolled his eyes.
As the two talked, Cai Die flew over and landed in front of them. After shooting a faint glance towards Yang Kai, she reported, “Great Senior, all the humans have fled.”
“Good, spread my commands, clean up the battlefield then let everyone find a place to settle down. From now on, these nine peaks are part of my Monster Race’s territory; we need to make good use of the resources here.”
“Yes.”
“Boy, I’ve solved your problem for you, shouldn’t you fulfill your end of the bargain now?”
Yang Kai nodded.
He had already reached an agreement with this Great Senior and had no plans on going back on his word.
Arriving in front of the Holy Tomb, Yang Kai let out the Alchemists and Artifact Refiners he had agreed to lend the Great Senior, satisfying the latter greatly.
The Holy Land’s Alchemists and Artifact Refiners were of course frightened facing these Monster Race powerhouses, but they settled down greatly when the Great Senior personally guaranteed their safety.
Yang Kai also activated the Nine Peaks Spirit Array to enrich the World Energy aura for the Monster Race.
Yang Kai then handed off a fine piece of jade upon which he had engraved the Natural Spirit Arrays he had agree to teach the Great Senior about previously, allowing the Great Senior to study it on his own.
These Natural Spirit Array diagrams were related to the Monster Race’s Beast Transformation Pond and were the most valuable item out of this entire transaction to the Monster Race Great Senior.
A few hundred kilometers away from the nine peaks.
Inside a dense jungle, many cultivators had hidden themselves, none of them daring to even breathe loudly. The sun shining down through the canopy illuminated the gloomy expressions upon Zhang Ao and the other’s faces.
Since their defeat at the hands of the Monster Race, ten days had already passed.
During these ten days, Zhang Ao constantly thought back to the scenes that day, his heart filled with a deep sense of unwillingness each time. He had thought that as soon as he captured that little bastard he would be able to obtain the core inheritance of Nine Heavens Holy Land, but never had Zhang Ao imagined the Monster Race would actually intervene at the critical moment.
The Monster Race Great Senior had brought several dozen masters with him and had forced them to flee like beaten dogs.
All the forces Zhang Ao had gathered together to crusade against Nine Heavens Holy Land had long been scattered, leaving only Shattering Mystical Palace, War Spirit Temple, and Netherworld Sect.
With just the three Sects, they wouldn’t be able to beat the original Nine Heavens Holy Land, much less exact revenge upon the Monster Race.
Moreover, all three Sects had suffered heavy losses and the number of masters they had left who could still fight was not many.
It was undoubtedly the best choice to withdraw here, but Zhang Ao simply couldn’t resign himself to that. After manipulating so many forces and masters yet still failing to defeat Nine Heavens Holy Land, Zhang Ao could imagine how much of a laughing stock his Shattering Mystical Palace would become once word spread out.
His blood boiling, Zhang Ao’s expression became even darker and more sinister.
“That despicable little brat, actually daring to collude with those evil monsters, hateful!” Zhang Ao cursed as he gazed back in the direction of Nine Heavens Holy Land, sullen and helpless.
Cao Guan also grumbled indignantly, “He dares face universal condemnation, as soon as the news of this spreads, I think it’ll be impossible for him to stand tall anywhere in Tong Xuan Realm.”
Wu Jie simply cackled and said, “Nine Heavens Holy Land is actually quite interesting, I never expected they’d actually join forces with the Monster Race.”
“This isn’t necessarily the idea of Xu Hui or the other Holy Land Elders. I’ve been dealing with Xu Hui for several decades so I have a fair understanding of his thinking; it’s highly unlikely he would propose such a thing. All of this is probably because of that little brat,” Zhang Ao coldly snorted, “The most important thing right now though is how to seize him from the Monster Race.”
“En, this is somewhat difficult to handle,” Cao Guan frowned deeply.
“You two still don’t want to give up?” Wu Jie stared at them with amazement and shook his head, “With that Monster Race Great Senior protecting him, what hope do you have to capture him with?”
“Can he not come out for a lifetime? I vow not to rest until I catch that little bastard!” Zhang Ao face filled with cruel madness.
“I as well! Why, what’s wrong? Does Brother Wu want to retreat now even after receiving so many benefits from us?” As he spoke, Zhang Ao shot a bad look towards Wu Jie.
Wu Jie quickly raised his hand and said, “Receiving wealth to disperse disaster has always been my Netherworld Sect’s objective. Now that I’ve received payment from you two, of course I’ll help you to the end.”
“That would be for the best,” Zhang Ao nodded with satisfaction.
As the three Sect leaders were talking, a cultivator who had gone to scout out the nine peaks situation returned and after respectfully bowing, reported, “The nine peaks have been completely occupied by the Monster Race, and there are no signs of any of Nine Heavens Holy Land’s disciples anywhere. There’s only traces of Monster Beast and Monster Race activity inside; they appear to be busy mining the Crystal Stone mineral lodes!”
Hearing this, Zhang Ao and Cao Guan’s brows both twitched in annoyance.
If it weren’t for the damn Monster Race, those rich mineral lodes would be theirs right now.
“Are you certain you didn’t see anyone from Nine Heavens Holy Land inside?” Zhang Ao frowned. This piece of information was something he was particularly concerned about. Before the war started, he hadn’t spotted any of the Holy Land’s disciples or even Elders which could possibly be explained by them hiding somewhere nearby, but them not appearing even now was a bit intriguing.
“Yes, this subordinate and several dozen others have been observing day and night, but no one has spotted a single disciple of Nine Heavens Holy Land since that day.”
“Nine Heavens Holy Land’s thousands of disciples couldn’t have simply vanished,” Cao Guan wore a puzzled expression, venturing a guess in the next moment, “Brother Zhang, could it be that the Monster Race…”
Hearing this, Zhang Ao was stunned for a moment before a sneer appeared on his face, “It’s possible. The Monster Race is by no means a trustworthy partner, perhaps that little brat thought he could collude with those beasts only to have them turn on him once they got what they wanted; if so, he really lifted a stone only to smash his own foot!”
“That little bastard got what he deserved!” Cao Guan’s mood improved noticeably, soon wondering though, “But if that’s the case, that little brat is likely now in the hands of that Monster Race Great Senior. How are we supposed to capture him?”
Zhang Ao frowned and sunk into contemplation, but even after thinking about it for half a day, no feasible plan came to mind.
…..
Inside a grand palace, Yang Kai sat face to face with the Monster Race Great Senior and portrayed several exquisite Spirit Arrays between them.
Yang Kai pushed down his impatience as he carefully taught the Great Senior.
Originally, he had already carved the entire series of Spirit Arrays related to the Beast Transformation Pond onto a fine jade slip; but after the Monster Race Great Senior examined it thoroughly and told Yang Kai he was unable to understand all of it, Yang Kai had no choice but to explain them himself.
Fortunately, the Great Senior’s perception wasn’t bad, so although he had never studied this subject before, after receiving ten days of Yang Kai’s dedicated lectures, he was finally able to grasp the key points of the Spirit Array diagrams.
All that was left for him to do now was to slowly comprehend it so that if any problems occurred when one of the Monster Race first tries to assume human form, the Great Senior could fix them himself without having to ask Yang Kai for help.
After Yang Kai finished explaining the Spirit Array diagrams, the Monster Race Great Senior let out a long breath, his face showing a look of shock as he muttered, “This Spirit Array diagram conforms greatly to the Heavenly Way and is of great use to those who cultivate the Martial Dao. Who was it that taught you these things?”
“No comment!” Yang Kai smiled.
“Good, I don’t intend to inquire about your secrets; it’s just that many of the mysteries hidden within these Spirit Array diagrams can’t be seen with your current cultivation and vision. Although my attainments in this field are much shallower than yours, my vision and experience far outstrip your own still. En, boy, treasure and study these Spirit Array diagrams well, one day you will discover that profundities hidden within them are far greater than you can imagine.”
Yang Kai’s brow wrinkled as a thoughtful look appeared on his face.
“Earlier you mentioned you were an Alchemist, right?” The Monster Race Great Senior suddenly asked.
“En,” Yang Kai nodded lightly.
“Since you’re an Alchemist, why not stay here and assist my clan? I think your Alchemy level should not be bad. My clan has collected a lot of rare materials over the years, things your Human Race would find difficult to ever acquire.”
“No thanks,” Yang Kai waved his hand, “I’m not interested.”
“Don’t say that, everything is open to discussion, let’s talk about it, what treatment you want, I can promise you,” The Monster Race Great Senior smiled widely.
Yang Kai slowly shook his head, “I’m afraid I’ll have to decline Great Senior’s kind intentions, I have others things to attend to so I can’t stay here for long, en, the Reflecting Moon Pond I told you about, I’ll have to ask you to help me look after it. Someone may come here later to examine it.”
“You want to leave?” Great Senior frowned.
“If I don’t leave now, I am afraid I never will,” Yang Kai stared straight into the Great Senior’s eyes, not showing any fear.
Great Senior grinned, hesitated for a moment, and then nodded, “Go, we’ll meet again.”
“Great Senior should take care, who knows, within a few years, I may be back to reclaim the nine peaks, so you’d best take advantage of the resources here while you can.”
Saying so, Yang Kai didn’t wait for the Great Senior to reply before flying off, quickly disappearing from the palace.
After Yang Kai left, the Great Senior’s expression turned into a sneer, “A few years? That boy looks down on people far too much.”
The Great Senior had brought his clansmen out from the Beast Sea Jungle in a grand fashion, risking a full scale conflict with the Human Race in order to help Yang Kai solve the Holy Land’s immediate crisis; how could he only occupy the nine peaks for a few years as payment?
“Great Senior, do you intend to just let him leave like that?” Cai Die appeared silently, a light frown upon her face, “He has precious knowledge about the Beast Transformation Pond’s hidden mysteries.”
“En, but he has also done a great favour for our Monster Race,” The Great Senior said with a complicated expression, “I know what you’re worried about, but you need not be, that little brat is trustworthy and will not easily leak the secrets of the Beast Transformation Pond. My Monster Race cannot stoop so low as to act like humans, repaying kindness with enmity. Cai Die, don’t get any crooked ideas, I know you want to put him under house arrest for safety’s sake; but do away with such thoughts.”
“Yes,” Cai Die respectfully replied, glancing off in the direction Yang Kai disappeared and suddenly chuckling, “But he certainly is crazy enough, claiming he will be able to stand on equal ground with Great Senior within twenty or thirty years and now saying he’ll be back to recover the nine peaks within a few years, I’d really like to know where he gets all his confidence from.”
“The young never lack confidence…” Great Senior mused, “However… I always feel like the things he said will come true. That boy is quite strange, so I don’t want to make a move against him. Instead, I’d like to see just how he plans to achieve those wild claims of his.”
“So that’s how it is,” Cai Die nodded, a smile appearing on her face.
“You should smile more, you look more attractive when you do,” Great Senior suddenly said.
Cai Die’s face blushed red before she directed a stern glare towards the Great Senior, “Why would Great Senior suddenly say something Kuang Shi would say?”
“Haha, beauty should naturally bloom more, what point is there in trying to hide it? What difference is there between that and how those deceitful humans act? One should be true to one’s nature and temperament. Regarding that, I really appreciate that little boy’s attitude; though his temperament is somewhat lawless, so he’s likely to suffer a big loss sooner or later!” Saying so, the Great Senior’s face showed a look of taking pleasure in others’ misfortune, as if he knew Yang Kai was about to suffer such a loss.
Cai Die couldn’t help pursing her lips and smiling, she never knew that her Great Senior actually had such a side to him.
Beyond the nine peaks, Yang Kai secretly wore a cold expression.
Working with the Monster Race was undoubtedly a double edged sword, the slightest carelessness would result in tragic consequences.
Although the Great Senior’s attitude towards him was quite good, Yang Kai still had to use an abundance of caution when dealing with such a powerhouse.
After all, Yang Kai never knew when this master would suddenly decide to act impulsively.
The gap in strength between them was still too great.
The Monster Race Great Senior sharing some friendship with the old Holy Master was naturally because the two of them stood at the same height. Although Yang Kai had inherited the old Holy Master’s titles and status, in the end he was still just a Second Order Transcendent Realm cultivator, a minor character in the eyes of the Great Senior.
Sweeping the area with his Divine Sense quickly and determining no one was pursuing him, Yang Kai finally breathed a sigh of relief.
He was certain that if he remained in the Holy Land for much longer, he would not be able to leave; the Great Senior would definitely ‘invite’ him to perform Alchemy for the Monster Race.