MARTIAL PEAK Continued 140-uptodate(ONGOING)

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Martial Peak - Chapter 793 - BoxNovel

Chapter 793, He Likes Strength

Using his Divine Sense to penetrate every inch of his body, Yang Kai carefully examined all the changes his True Qi and physique had undergone. After breaking through to the Second Order Transcendent Realm, Yang Kai felt that his True Qi’s density and purity had improved significantly once again.

In that last life or death fight, his physical body had also become sturdier.

His Spiritual Energy had also undergone a kind of sublimation. Under the constant nourishment of the Six Coloured Soul Warming Lotus, the growth Yang Kai’s Soul had experienced as a result of this breakthrough was quite gratifying.

Right now, Yang Kai felt that even in a frontal collision, his Spiritual Energy strength wouldn’t be weaker than that of a First Order Saint.

Coupled with the potency of his Conflagrated Knowledge Sea, if an ordinary First Order Saint really tried to fight with him in this way, Yang Kai felt he would be the one to come out on top.

This comprehensive rise in strength greatly increased Yang Kai’s confidence. This past year filled with setbacks and misfortune had been like a driving force pushing him to become stronger.

Any master, in a life or death battle, would be able to gain insights he would otherwise be unable to acquire. Only by pushing oneself to the edge of death could some things be understood.

It could be said that every true master had experienced many life or death situations, allowing them to temper their spirit, which in turn gave them the will to survive and pursue greater heights of the Martial Dao.

The spoilt children who grew up in greenhouses, sheltered from such trials and tribulations, would no doubt be able to advance smoothly and rapidly upon the road paved for them, but upon encountering even the slightest setback, would become lost and fade from glory.

Yang Kai obviously belonged to the former type. Since he began to cultivate, his path had been filled with thorns, and only by dragging his broken and bloodied body through many life and death crises had he achieved strength far beyond his peers.

Everything Yang Kai now possessed had been won through his own efforts, his strength the result of steadfast determination and hard work, not just luck.

(PewPewLaserGun: You know… except when he found that rock he used as pillow that turned out to be an ancient inheritance of a supreme cultivator…)

(Silavin: Shhh… the author doesn’t want you to think he has too much ‘plot’ amour)

Realizing all of this, Yang Kai’s mentality had gradually undergone some subtle changes, becoming more confident and feeling that as long as he was given enough time, he could rise to the peak of the Martial Dao and overlook all mortal beings.

Calming himself, Yang Kai continued to examine the changes in his body.

What surprised him the most was that the golden blood flowing through his veins seemed to be much more concentrated than before.

Both Li Rong and Han Fei had said that once his blood become completely golden in colour, it would be equivalent to him possessing the blood of the Great Demon God and would allow him to manifest the Great Demon God’s Divine Abilities.

The Great Demon God was a legendary figure, a man recognized by the Three Clans as the first master under Heaven. During his time, no one dared to challenge his majesty.

The wondrous uses of the Demon God’s Golden Blood were endless. It was because the Demon God’s Blood flowed through his veins that Yang Kai’s body was so study and his physical strength had reached such an astonishing height.

Yang Kai could hardly imagine how strong his physique would become once the transformation of his blood was complete.

The reason the Ancient Demon Clan’s bodies were so formidable was because they had inherited some blood from the Great Demon God. Compared to them though, Yang Kai’s golden blood was undoubtedly the most orthodox inheritance and was thus far purer.

As he immersed his consciousness into the Black Book space and communicated with the Divine Tree, Yang Kai’s simultaneously circulated his Secret Art and began cultivating.

Just as Yang Kai was constantly growing, so too was the Divine Tree evolving. With Yang Kai’s permission, the Divine Tree had been absorbing a drop of Myriad Drug Liquid every day. Thanks to this, its consciousness seemed to have become clearer and its intelligence was also rapidly increasing; now, not only could it communicate clearly with Yang Kai, it even began asking him questions.

Like he was caring for a young child, Yang Kai did his best to answer the Divine Tree’s inquires.

Time flew by and suddenly more than two months had passed since Yang Kai arrived in Nine Heavens Holy Land.

After spending so much time here, Yang Kai had gradually become accustomed to Nine Heavens Holy Land and aside from not being able to leave easily, the treatment he received was quite good.

Great Elder Xu Hui and the other Elders seemed to be receiving him as the highest grade of guest, not only sending him a large number of pills and elixirs to assist him in his cultivation, but also providing several young beautiful maidservants to tend to his day to day needs; they even brought Yang Kai a large number of Nine Heavens Holy Land’s Martial Skills and Secret Arts for him to use as references.

Aside from not touching any of the maidservants, Yang Kai accepted what he could. He spent all his time diligently, allowing him to quickly consolidate his Second Order Transcendent cultivation.

Xu Hui and the other Saint Realm masters would also visit Yang Kai frequently to chat, though they tactfully avoided the subject of the Holy Master’s succession. Occasionally, when they supposedly had free time, Xu Hui or one of the other Elders would bring Yang Kai out to sightsee and allow him to experience the Holy Land’s rich heritage and natural beauty.

It was obvious they wanted to use such an approach to impress Yang Kai, hoping he would take the initiative to accept the position of Holy Master.

Unfortunately for them, even after two months of this, Yang Kai’s stance had not changed, causing Xu Hui and the others to grow somewhat anxious.

Atop one of the nine spirit peaks, inside a majestic building, the Holy Land’s Elders and Protectors gathered together for a discussion headed by Xu Hui.

Nine Heavens Holy Land’s original lineup was incredibly strong, with the old Holy Master standing at the top with his Third Order Saint Realm cultivation, followed by Saintess Nan and Xu Hui who were Second Order Saints, then finally the remaining Elders and Protectors Yu Ying, Luo Sheng, Shi Kun, Meng Tian Fei, and Cheng Yue Tong. These five people were all First Order Saints, Yu Ying and Cheng Yue Tong being women.

A single force having so many Saint Realm masters was extremely rare throughout Tong Xuan Realm.

“Great Elder, what is the attitude of the future Holy Master?” A middle-aged beauty Yu Ying asked. She wore a bright red dress that perfectly outlined her rich, mature body. Her skin was smooth and tender and she possessed a graceful style that was complimented by a pair of bright and pure eyes.

Listening to her question, everyone gathered here cast their eyes towards Xu Hui with concern.

In response, Xu Hui frowned and sighed, “He still shows an abundance of reluctance. Although I have never deliberately mentioned this matter during our time together, it is obvious he has no intention of becoming the Holy Land’s next Holy Master.”

“This boy is really quite interesting…” Luo Sheng said with an astonished look upon his face, “Throughout the world, which young man doesn’t want to become the Holy Master of Nine Heavens Holy Land? It’s like reaching the sky with a single step, yet since he arrived here he has always remained indifferent, as if we’re trying to force some unwanted burden onto him.”

“Pay attention to your words, that’s the future Holy Master you’re speaking of, not some random ‘boy’!” Cheng Yue Tong, who wore a sleek white dress, coldly said to Luo Sheng, the latter smiling awkwardly as he glanced over at Great Elder Xu Hui. Upon finding the latter not looking angry, Lou Sheng breathed a quiet sigh of relief.

“However, it truly is quite strange,” Cheng Yue Tong frowned slightly, “Is it possible he disdains to join our Holy Land?”

“How can that be?” Shi Kun snorted, “Although the old Holy Master has fallen, our Holy Land is still a great force, second to none in this world. Whether it is fame or heritage, it is far better than his Soaring Heaven Sect, how could he not understand that?”

“It is not impossible!” Xu Hui suddenly said, “I personally took him to visit the Holy Land’s various spirit peaks while showing him the heritage of our Holy Land, and although he listened carefully and offered his praise, he never once showed the shock a young man his age should show, as if everything in his eyes was just fleeting clouds.”

“Did that boy… *ahem*, the future Holy Master really show such a reaction?” Luo Sheng asked curiously.

“Great Elder, do you know what he likes? If so, we can try to approach him by offering him that,” Meng Tian Fei suggested, “The Holy Land cannot go one day without a Holy Master, yet it has already been over a year since the old Holy Master passed away. Fortunately we have sought a future Holy Master and brought him back to the Holy Land, causing quite a stir amongst the disciple. Many of them are wondering when the ascension ceremony will take place and have begun to ask questions. Such uncertainty has even started to affect their cultivation. The situation can’t be left as is for much longer.”

“En,” Yu Ying also nodded, “If we know what he likes, we can retain him. At the very least, we can let him have some sense of belonging to the Holy Land. Only by doing so can we guarantee the Holy Land’s future prosperity.”

“He likes strength!” Xu Hui’s eyes flashed, “After all my observations, I found that the only constant with him is his pursuit of power. Besides that, everything else for him seems superfluous. Even the maidservants I sent to serve him have failed to catch the slightest bit of his attention!”

“There’s actually a young man in this world who doesn’t like beauties?” Luo Sheng’s eyes almost popped out of their sockets, as if he had just heard something unbelievable.

“Do you think everyone is like you, obsessed with women?” Yu Ying coldly snorted, her expression becoming unpleasant, causing Luo Sheng’s neck to shrink up.

“Could it be he likes Her Highness Saintess and is putting on such a performance for her?” Cheng Yue Tong suddenly thought of a possibility. In front of a woman he favoured, no man wanted to show off his ugly side, many of them even often trying to appear noble and heroic in order to attract the other party’s attention. If it was because of Saintess An Ling’er, Yang Kai acting so would not be unusual.

Everyone gathered here was a seasoned person and understood this point.

However, Xu Hui just smiled bitterly, “It’s not like that. On the contrary, it is Her Highness Saintess who adores him, yet he seems to only treat her as a friend.”

“Poor Ling’er…” Yu Ying and Cheng Yue Tong both muttered, feeling somewhat mournful.

The two of them had watched over An Ling’er as she grew up, so naturally they had some sentiments towards her.

“The future Holy Master is no ordinary person…” Xu Hui suddenly said, “I have never met such a young Second Order Transcendent before, have you?”

Everyone shook their heads.

“Soaring Heaven Sect… they’ve raised a rare genius. But it’s strange we have never heard anything about him up till now. Such an outstanding youth should be famous throughout the world yet he has somehow managed to remain hidden all this time, it’s seriously incomprehensible! Moreover, he actually brought Her Highness Saintess and escaped from Demon General Xue Li’s hands. I can’t even imagine how he accomplished that.”

“He also escaped from Saintess Nan’s pursuit…”

Chapter 794, Holy Tomb

As these words were spoken, everyone’s heart quietly filled with shock one more.

Having never discuss the matter, no one had paid it much mind, but thinking about it now, it was really an unbelievable feat. A Second Order Transcendent repeatedly escaping from Saint Realm masters determined to capture or kill him, and even bringing another person along with him, this would only be possible with either Heaven defying luck or possessing astonishing methods.

The people gathered here were more inclined to believe it was the latter of the two possibilities, making it even more difficult for them to estimate Yang Kai’s real depths.

Those who became Holy Master of Nine Heavens Holy Land had come from all different walks of life and their aptitudes had ranged from outstanding to below average.

Therefore, even if a particular generation’s Saintesses only brought back a low level Immortal Ascension Boundary cultivator, Nine Heavens Holy Land was confident it could cultivate them into a top level master, not to mention Yang Kai whose aptitude and starting cultivation were simply a hundred times better than that.

“In any case, we must find a way to let him inherit the position of Holy Master! Without the Holy Master’s Spirit Ring, many critical locations in the Holy Land cannot be opened. This matter cannot be delayed any further!” Xu Hui suddenly declared firmly.

“But isn’t he still unwilling?” Yu Ying frowned, feeling the situation was somewhat awkward.

“So what if he’s not willing? With so many Saint Realm masters here are you saying we can’t even accomplish this?” Shi Kun said, evidently growing impatient.

“Do you want to use force?” Yu Ying’s eyes narrowed as she stared at Shi Kun coldly.

“I also had such intentions!” Xu Hui let out a long breath, “His manner is very firm, and continuing to wait won’t help matters. Given that, we might as well take a gamble and send him into the Holy Tomb!” “

As soon as this statement came out, everyone’s brow wrinkled. It seemed that this Holy Tomb contained danger that caused even Saint Realm master like them some anxiety.

“If… if he can’t come out?” Cheng Yue Tong asked, a hint of worry in her voice, “Ling’er is the only Saintess left in this generation and she has already chosen him so she won’t be able to find a second candidate. If he fails to come out…”

“If he can’t come out, then my Holy Land can only seclude itself from the world and wait for the next generation of Saintesses to mature.”

The next generation of Saintesses had not even been selected yet, so it would be at least twenty years before they could mature. Twenty years may not seem long, but if the Holy Land lacked a Holy Master, no one could obtain the old Holy Master’s Spirit Ring from the Holy Tomb and many important places would be inaccessible. Not having access to these critical locations would be enough to bring down even a colossus like Nine Heavens Holy Land.

This was the reason why for the past two months these Saints had not dared to act rashly, but seeing Yang Kai remain so stubbornly opposed had caused Xu Hui to think twice.

“But he has yet to fully comprehend all of the Nine Heavens Divine Skills, how is he supposed to go inside? It is said that the Holy Tomb is the place where the Nine Heavens Divine Skills were created and one needs to be proficient in them in order to enter.”

“He has learned three of the Divine Skills, that should be enough. This is all for my Nine Heavens Holy Land. Even if he is the future Holy Master, if he must be sacrificed then we must not hesitate!” Xu Hui shouted, “If he can come out smoothly, presumably he will be grateful for our decision today!”

“Good!” Shi Kun, Meng Tian Fei and the others nodded in agreement.

No Holy Master had ever come out of the Holy Tomb and not had a sense of belonging to the Holy Land. The reason these Holy Masters who were brought back by the Saintesses dedicated their lives to the Holy Land was inseparable from the secrets contained inside the Holy Tomb.

Although no one here knew what exactly was hidden inside Holy Tomb, they were all well aware of this point.

Yu Ying and Cheng Yue Tong, the two middle-aged beauties both had uncertain expressions on their faces, obviously not fully onboard with this idea, but under the circumstances they knew not to raise any objections here.

Having come to a consensus, this group of Saints quickly took action, preparing to send Yang Kai into the Holy Tomb.

The next day, Yang Kai, who was meditating inside the palace, opened his eyes upon perceiving Xu Hui and the other Elders approaching.

Yang Kai also noticed that something was a little different this time. This time, the ones who had come weren’t only the ones he had seen before, but even some he had never met before.

Although they did their best to conceal it, Yang Kai could sense a kind of solemn and serious mood from these people’s breathing and aura, causing him to become somewhat alert, not knowing what they were planning.

A moment later, there was a knock at the door. After Yang Kai allowed them to enter, the door was pushed open and Xu Hui and the other Elders and Protectors all stepped inside.

Yang Kai couldn’t help raising his brow, faintly feeling that Xu Hui was about to tell him something important related to the Holy Master’s position. If not, there would be no need to assemble all of the Holy Land’s masters here.

After exchanging greetings, Xu Hui introduced Yang Kai to the other Elders assembled here, Yang Kai politely greeting them in turn.

“What important matter does Great Elder have to discuss today?” Yang Kai asked bluntly, making no attempt to hide his own wariness.

“Today I want to ask little brother to accompany us to a certain place!” Xu Hui showed a faint smile and said kindly.

“I believe I have toured your entire Nine Peaks region, are there still other places I’ve yet to see?”

“En, my Holy Land has a number of restricted areas that little brother isn’t normally able to see. Today we wish to take you to one of them.”

Yang Kai’s eyes narrowed and asked, “Since it is a restricted area, isn’t it inappropriate for an outsider like me to visit it?”

“Little brother is not an outsider, and on top of that, no one may enter this particular place except little brother!” Xu Hui replied solemnly.

“Oh?” Yang Kai raised his brow, “No one but I can enter. Does that mean that only those qualified to become Holy Master may enter this place you speak of? Heh heh, this matter, can I refuse?”

Xu Hui’s expression became somewhat embarrassed as he cupped his fists and said, “I must ask little brother to forgive our forcefulness. Please accompany us!”

Yang Kai gently sneered, sweeping his eyes over the Saint Realm masters in front of him, secretly estimate what kind of chance he would have if he were to put up a resistance here, quickly dismissing the idea.

There were simply too many people here, and each of them was a powerful Saint. Yang Kai felt that even if he used his full strength he wouldn’t be able to escape from here.

Considering all this, Yang Kai’s look relaxed and shrugged his shoulders, “Then… I must ask you to show me the way.”

Hearing this, everyone smiled happily, Xu Hui especially as he quickly motioned, “Please!”

Xu Hui had thought that today there would be have to deal with some unpleasantness with this future Holy Master and had made up his mind to use whatever means necessary should Yang Kai resist to bring the latter to the Holy Tomb.

So it came as a pleasant surprise when Yang Kai actually took a step back and agreed to go with them, allowing him to avoid an awkward situation. After all, if Xu Hui were to displease the future Holy Master today, there was no telling what kind of retaliation he would face in the future.

Once outside the palace, everyone surrounded Yang Kai and quickly flew towards one of the spirit peaks. This group appeared completely casual at the moment but in fact, they were all paying close attention to Yang Kai’s movements; once he showed any signs of resistance, there was no doubt they would immediately take action against him.

“Great Elder, can you tell me where you’re taking me this time?” Yang Kai asked on the way.

Xu Hui hesitated for a moment before honestly replying, “The Holy Tomb!”

“Holy Tomb?” Yang Kai was stunned, “Why does that sound like some kind of burial place?”

“You’re not wrong,” Xu Hui nodded heavily, “When each of my Holy Land’s Holy Masters realize their time of death is approaching, they will enter the Holy Tomb! So it is indeed a burial ground. It is the resting place for all of my Holy Land’s previous Holy Masters!”

“Is it dangerous?” Yang Kai asked with a smiling, seemingly just casually making conversation.

“For any of us, it truly is dangerous. Anyone who is not a candidate to become Holy Master will die if they enter, but for little brother, it can be thought of as a kind of final test!”

“What do you mean?”

Xu Hui once again hesitated to respond.

Seeing this, Yang Kai immediately said, “If you don’t want to say then don’t bother. I don’t have any interest in learning others secrets, especially ones of such importance. The more one knows, the more dangerous it is for them.”

To Yang Kai’s words, Xu Hui smiled awkwardly, “It’s not that it is impossible to say… Since things have reached this point, this old master won’t hide anything from you. Little brother only knows that each new Holy Masters is brought back by the Saintesses from the outside world, but what you may not know is that every time the Saintesses go out to make a selection, more than one candidate is brought back. This is because my Holy Land has several Saintesses in every generation and each of them finds a Holy Master candidate according to their own vision and Secret Art’s induction. Through the installment of each Saintess, these candidates comprehend the Nine Heavens Divine Skills and then enter the Holy Tomb. Only the one who can return from the Holy Tomb alive will then become the true Holy Master!”

“Then it seems I’m quite lucky, there’s no one to compete with me this time,” Yang Kai said sarcastically.

Xu Hui just laughed awkwardly and nodded, “You can say that.”

“What’s inside?” Yang Kai asked, his tone suddenly becoming serious.

“This old master doesn’t know… I only know that it is the place where all previous Holy Masters are buried. Other than that, I know nothing else about what is inside. Not only me, the other Protectors and Elders have no knowledge of what is contained inside the Holy Tomb because only those who have learned the Nine Heavens Divine Skills are eligible to enter!”

“So what you mean is, the Nine Heavens Divine Skills are the key to entering?” Yang Kai asked thoughtfully.

“Most likely; however, what is certain is that there are real dangers inside. Little brother, once you enter, you must be careful, negligence will only result in irredeemable accidents.”

Cheng Yue Tong quickly added here, “Although there are dangers, there are also many benefits.”

“Benefits?” Yang Kai turned to her, his interest immediately piqued, “What kind of benefits? Explain clearly.”

Cheng Yue Tong smiled and continued, “I can’t say for certain, but whenever they needed to enter secluded retreat, all previous Holy Master would choose to do so here, and each time they came out after, their strength would improve greatly. On top of that, each time the old Holy Master entered, he would obtain some fair gains from inside.”

“Indeed, the artifact used by the old Holy Master was brought out from the Holy Tomb. That was a Saint Grade Top-Rank artifact. There aren’t many such artifacts in the entire world!”

“Every artifact used by the previous Holy Masters was similarly powerful, and all of them are buried inside the Holy Tomb. So to speak, this is a big opportunity for little brother. Perhaps you may be able to obtain a useful artifact from inside,” Xu Hui elaborated.

“Saint Grade Top-Rank artifacts? Why didn’t you say so earlier! If you had told me that from the beginning, I’d have already entered that Holy Tomb, there would have been no need for all these games!” Yang Kai suddenly looked very excited.

Everyone was dumbstruck.

“Taking risks is one of the things I enjoy most,” Yang Kai grinned, an unreadable expression appearing on his face, “The more dangerous the place, the more I feel like visiting it, especially places like your Holy Tomb where even surviving is not a certainty!”

Xu Hui’s face twitched upon hearing this, suddenly finding that he couldn’t completely understand Yang Kai.

Martial Peak – Chapter 795, Cracking

Xu Hui and the others soon brought Yang Kai to the base of one of the nine peaks.

Yang Kai looked around curiously for a moment but the only thing of note he could see was a flat stone embedded in the mountainside with two magnificent words carved into its slightly mossy surface.

Holy Tomb!

This was obviously the entrance to the Holy Tomb.

Yang Ka’s brow rose. Although he couldn’t see anything with his eyes, he noticed a faint energy fluctuation coming from this stone slab in front of him.

Xu Hui stepped forward and formed a few mysterious hand seals before patting his hand on the stone, causing ripples across its surface, as if a stone had been thrown into a calm lake. A moment later, a hole appeared in the center of the stone.

Upon seeing this hole, Yang Kai couldn’t help calling out in shock, “A Void Corridor!”

Xu Hui gently nodded, “Good. Beyond this lies the Holy Tomb, the final resting place of all previous Holy Masters. Naturally, the inside of the Holy Tomb is a Mysterious Small World. Every perspective Holy Master has to pass this test before officially succeeding the position. Little brother, you must be careful inside. If nothing else, you must bring out the Holy Master’s Spirit Ring which should be with the old Holy Master, it is the key to many important places in the Holy Land.”

“En, you must surely come back alive!” Yu Ying said seriously.

“The Holy Land’s future rests in your hands,” Cheng Yue Tong whispered solemnly.

Everyone else also wore looks of anticipation and concern as they stared at Yang Kai.

On the other hand, Yang Kai just glanced around at them and chuckled, “I think you should instead pray I never come out.”

“Why is that?” Xu Hui asked curiously.

Yang Kai’s eyes flashed a cold light as he glared at them, “If I come out, I’ll make sure you pay for this!”

Everyone was startled by these words and only now realized just how angered Yang Kai was at being forced to enter the Holy Tomb, but before any of them could say anything, Yang Kai plunged into the Void Corridor and disappeared.

“This future Holy Master is clearly one to hold a grudge… It can’t be he really plans to seek compensation from us after exiting, right?” Shi Kun frowned.

Xu Hui’s expression also fluctuated, letting out a deep sigh a moment later, “It seems his disposition… isn’t very mature.”

“Well, in any case, all of this was Great Elders proposal, we just went along with it. If the future Holy Master really does intend to blame us, Great Elder will be here to shoulder the responsibility!” Meng Tian Fei said, clearly taking some pleasure in Xu Hui’s misfortune.

All the other Saints immediately cast contemptuous looks towards him.

…

Once Yang Kai entered the Holy Tomb, the Void Corridor closed. All around him, fluorescent green wisps floated about, like tiny spirit. A cold breeze gently permeated this space, carrying with it indistinct cries and howls, causing one to shudder.

The ambient light was not bright, leading to limited visibility, but the density of World Energy was quite astonishing, so thick it had almost condensed into a white fog that filled this space.

This Mysterious Small World had richer World Energy than any place Yang Kai had ever seen with the exception of an Earth Vein. It was obvious why each Nine Heavens Holy Land’s Holy Master would choose to enter retreat here.

With this kind of ambient World Energy, one wouldn’t even need to use any pills or Crystal Stones to cultivate; all they’d need to do is breathe.

This was indeed a cultivation paradise, the only drawback being its gloomy atmosphere.

As he observed his surroundings vigilantly, Yang Kai couldn’t help going slightly pale.

In his perception, several powerful energy auras had suddenly appeared and were rapidly moving towards him.

These auras were extremely strange. They seemed to have always been here but only when Yang Kai appeared did they become active.

Before Yang Kai had time to react, these energy auras had already engulfed him.

Yang Kai hurriedly condensed his True Qi into a protective barrier but soon he found that things weren’t what he had expected.

These strange energy auras that had gathered around him weren’t causing him any harm.

Wrinkling his brow, Yang Kai carefully examined these auras and a moment later a look of shock appeared on his face.

He found that there were a total of nine distinct energy auras, each of them containing a profound and abstruse sentiment, similar to a remnant Soul yet seemingly naturally produced.

Three of these energy auras also contained something which felt familiar to Yang Kai.

Carefully probing one of these auras with his Divine Sense, Yang Kai immediately recognized traces of one of the Nine Heavens Divine Skills.

The Profound Heavenly Sword!

Yang Kai’s expression changed and a certain suspicion appeared in his heart. Quickly probing the other two energy auras he felt a sense of familiarity towards, he soon recognized them as insights of the Imprisoning Heaven Chain and Great Heavenly Attraction.

These three Divine Skills were exactly the three moves Yang Kai had learned from An Ling’er, yet now they had appeared in this place.

[So, these nine auras in front of me are the nine, Nine Heavens Divine Skills?] Yang Kai frowned slightly, almost certain of his guess.

That old fart Xu Hui had said that in order to enter the Holy Tomb, one must learn the Nine Heavens Divine Skills, because only if one comprehended the Nine Heavens Divine Skills could they enter safely.

The nine energy auras in front of him should be obstacles meant to test him. Without breaking through them, he couldn’t penetrate further into the Holy Tomb.

Yang Kai instantly understood the mystery of this Holy Tomb. After thinking about it, he sat down cross legged in front of the energy aura that represented the Profound Heavenly Sword.

The Nine Heavens Divine Skills were all quite unusual, they could be displayed as Martial Skill with True Qi or as Soul Skills with Spiritual Energy, something Yang Kai had never encountered before.

If he wanted to break through this barrier, Yang Kai’s only choice was to comprehend and displays all of the Nine Heavens Divine Skills.

Yang Kai’s Divine Sense burst forth and his invisible Spiritual energy quickly transformed into a giant sword that cut towards the energy aura in front.

Nothing happened though!

Yang Kai’s powerful Divine Sense attack had vanished into the energy aura, like a drop of water sinking into a vast sea.

Yang Kai’s brow furrowed, using his Profound Heavenly Sword a few more times to attack the energy aura yet each time he failed to achieve any noticeable results.

Yang Kai suddenly felt that this test might not be as simple as he originally thought.

After carefully recalling what Xu Hui and the other Saints had said and reviewing everything he had learned about Nine Heavens Holy Land, Yang Kai suddenly thought up a possibility.

Could it be that he was not skilled enough at displaying the Nine Heavens Divine Skills causing him to fail to break through the blockade of this energy aura in front of him?

Yang Kai had learned his Nine Heavens Divine Skills from An Ling’er, so his comprehension of them was only as good as hers. An Ling’er was still young so her understanding of the Divine Skills was still somewhat immature. As such, it was reasonable that Yang Kai couldn’t display the full profoundness of the Divine Skills.

Yang Kai had witnessed Saintess Nan using the Profound Heavenly Sword, it was on a completely different level than his own. Obviously Saintess Nan’s comprehension of the Divine Skills had reached an extremely high level.

Moreover, each prospective Nine Heavens Holy Land Holy Master had to enter the Holy Tomb before he could qualify to inherit the position. What was most important though was that those who came before Yang Kai didn’t necessarily have higher strength yet they had passed through the Holy Tomb, so the conditions to clear this test had nothing to do with strength, it only depended on one’s comprehension of the Nine Heavens Divine Skills!

Considering all this, Yang Kai didn’t rush to show his poor Nine Heavens Divine Skills but instead immersed his consciousness in the Profound Heavenly Sword energy aura in front of him, carefully perceiving its mysteries.

As time passed, Yang Kai gained much, repeatedly comprehending the insights contained within the Profound Heavenly Sword energy aura, his understanding of its mysteries constantly deepening, soon becoming so familiar with it; it was as if it had been branded into the depths of his soul.

When Yang Kai opened his eyes again, he discovered he could perceive the various traces within the energy aura in front of him and all of its mysteries and hidden rules had become clear.

Spiritual Energy bursting forth once more, Yang Kai again displayed the Profound Heavenly Sword.

This time, Yang Kai used the purest form of this Nine Heavens Divine Skills, its profoundness several times greater than the one he learned from An Ling’er.

With a great cracking sound, the energy aura in front which was bombarded by Yang Kai’s Profound Heavenly Sword shattered.

A long winding road suddenly appeared in front of Yang Kai, leading straight into the depths of the Holy Tomb.

Yang Kai smiled slightly and instantly understood the mysteries behind this Holy Tomb.

For those who entered here that hadn’t practiced the Nine Heavens Divine Skills, they would likely be torn to dust by these nine energy auras, but those who had were different. As long as one could crack any of these energy auras, they could then find their way out.

On top of that, the more of these energy auras one solved, the clearer their path and the safer they would be!

What Xu Hui said was right, the Nine Heavens Divine Skills were indeed the key to entering the Holy Tomb.

Yang Kai didn’t immediately rush forward but instead turned his attention to the other energy auras.

In any case, he had been forced into the Holy Tomb by Xu Hui and the others. If he didn’t fish enough benefits from here before going out, wouldn’t that be too much of a waste?

Each of the Nine Heavens Divine Skills was incredibly powerful and profound. After seeing Saintess Nan display them multiple times, Yang Kai had already had ideas about learning them. Now that such a good opportunity had appeared in front of him, how could he simply pass it up?

Not to mention that by solving more of these energy auras, Yang Kai would be safer in this place.

Making up his mind, Yang Kai immediately began to spy on the mysteries of the other two Nine Heavens Divine Skills he was familiar with.

Four days later, he cracked the Imprisoning Heaven Chain energy aura, then three days after that the Great Heavenly Attraction energy aura was solved…

After that point, Yang Kai’s pace slowed noticeably. The first three Divine Skills he had already learned a fair deal about from An Ling’er so his starting proficiency was quite high. The remaining six though, were Divine Skills he had never studied before, naturally this meant Yang Kai had to start from scratch. It was fortunate that these energy auras contained all the mysteries of the Divine Skills within them, so all he had to do was study and comprehend.

Cultivation knew no years. This saying was not false, as Yang Kai immersed himself in the Nine Heavens Divine Skills inside the Holy Tomb, he quickly lost track of time. On the other hand, the Elders and Protectors outside the Holy Tomb quickly began to worry.

For the first few days after Yang Kai entered, all of them held great expectations, hoping he would suddenly emerge from the Holy Tomb, bring with him the Holy Master’s Spirit Ring, and inherit the position of Holy Master.

Ten days later, everyone became slightly anxious, although none of them said anything out loud; all of them began wondering if Yang Kai had encountered some kind of difficulties inside.

A month later, everyone’s expression had become dignified.

Two months later, despair appeared on their faces and forlorn sighs could be heard frequently.

Three months, four months…

As time passed, fewer and fewer Elders and Protectors remained here, all of them now believing it was impossible for Yang Kai to appear before them again.

Silavin: Well, they don’t really know the contents of the test. Just that the ones who goes in needs to be a candidate.

Martial Peak – Chapter 796, Completely Comprehending the Nine Divine Skills

Translator: Silavin & PewPewLaserGun

Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain

Every Holy Master candidate who entered the Holy Tomb had to pass this test. This was well documented in Nine Heavens Holy Land’s historical records.

Xu Hui and the other Elders naturally knew that this process would take some time.

The fastest time a candidate had cleared the Holy Tomb’s test was fifteen days, while the slowest one took two months.

However, it had now been four months since Yang Kai entered the Holy Tomb and there was no sign of him, this led Xu Hui and the others to believe Yang Kai was already dead.

The various Protectors and Elders all sighed heavily as they departed one by one; they all held important positions and had many things to deal with, how could they continue to wait here in vain?

Even Xu Hui, who had initiated this matter, left after four months.

Only An Ling’er remained outside the Holy Tomb.

Three days after Yang Kai entered the Holy Tomb, An Ling’er learned of this incident, but even though she immediately rushed over and openly complained to Xu Hui and the other elders, there was nothing that could be done.

These past four months she had been waiting here, but no matter how eager she was, Yang Kai never appeared.

On a certain day, two beautiful women, Yu Ying and Cheng Yue Tong, came together and saw An Ling’er still standing outside Holy Tomb, causing the two of them to sigh.

“This little girl, she’s still waiting here,” Yu Ying said faintly.

“We were too anxious, not only have we ruined our Holy Land’s one hope, we also destroyed a bright young man’s future,” Cheng Yue Tong’s pretty face also flashed a trace of embarrassment and remorse.

“What use is saying this now? When Great Elder made this proposal, we didn’t raise any objections, all of us carry some responsibility,” Yu Ying slowly shook her head. “Fortunately, the one this little girl sent to deliver a message to Soaring Heaven Sect was intercepted by Great Elder, otherwise, if Soaring Heaven Sect were to learn about this, they would certainly not let our Holy Land off.”

“En, such an outstanding young talent, no matter which Sect he belonged to, would be vigorously cultivated,” Cheng Yue Tong said with a hint of anxiety.

Right now, Nine Heavens Holy Land was now suffering from many external troubles, if they suddenly made enemies of Soaring Heaven Sect as well, it was likely they would need to immediately activate the Nine Peaks Array and isolate themselves from the outside world. If that were to happen, even if they raised a new generation of Saintesses, they would not be able to leave to seek out a new Holy Master.

“In the end, did we think too highly of him, or did he just happen to have bad luck?” Yu Ying sighed, “Each of the past Holy Master candidates received some advice and guidance from the previous Holy Master before entering the Holy Tomb, but this time he had to dive in completely unprepared, it must have been too difficult for him…”

“Let’s go take a look,” Cheng Yue Tong said, stepping forward.

A moment later, the two of them arrived in front of the Holy Tomb. An Ling’er, who heard movement behind her, turned her head and saw them arrive, nodding her head slightly to greet them before turning around again.

In the past, An Ling’er and these two female Elders were quite close, but the relationship between them had now grown a bit cold, obviously as a result of them forcing Yang Kai to enter the Holy Tomb.

Exchanging a somewhat depressed glance with one another, Yu Ying and Cheng Yue Tong didn’t know how to comfort this young girl and instead stood there staring at the entrance to the Holy Tomb awkwardly.

After a long silence, Yu Ying finally spoke up, “Ling’er, don’t wait any longer, it’s unlikely he’ll be able to come out.”

An Ling’er just shook her head in response.

“Listen to us, go back and rest, you’ve been waiting here for four months already,” Cheng Yue Tong also advised.

“He will come out,” An Ling’er said solemnly in a firm tone.

Yu Ying and Cheng Yue Tong were stunned for a moment before the two of them wore forced smiles and asked, “How do you know that? No Holy Master has ever taken so long to return from the Holy Tomb.”

An Ling’er just confidently said, “Just because others couldn’t, doesn’t mean he can’t. None of you have witnessed his skill, so it’s only natural for you to think that way, but I know he will come out.”

The two beautiful women narrowed their eyes and tentatively asked, “What kind of skill does he possess to makes you evaluate him so highly?”

Although Yang Kai’s aptitude was obviously uncommon and his strength wasn’t bad, the two middle-aged beauties had never actually seen him take action so naturally they didn’t know his true depths. An Ling’er on the other hand was different, the time she spent with Yang Kai was not short, so she was obviously clearer on his details.

Yu Ying and Cheng Yue Tong suddenly became somewhat curious and wanted to find out more from An Ling’er.

“I can’t explain it too well, but he can always manage to pull off miracles one after another. Surprising those around him to no end. On top of that, he said… even if it doesn’t enter my Holy Land, he will reach the same height as the old Holy Master within thirty years!”

“The same height?” Yu Ying and Cheng Yue Tong both wore stunned expressions, “The peak Third Order Saint Realm?”

An Ling’er nodded sincerely.

Yu Ying smiled wryly, “He is now a Second Order Transcendent, wanting to become a Third Order Saint within thirty years… I’m afraid that’s impossible.”

“En, there aren’t many Third Order Saints in the entire world,” Cheng Yue Tong also smiled, the two women apparently thinking that Yang Kai was just shamelessly boasting.

Both of them were well aware of how difficult it was to improve one’s strength after reaching the Transcendent Realm. Their aptitudes were considered excellent, or else it would be impossible for them to have reached the Saint Realm, but even they had trouble progressing now.

Even if Yang Kai’s aptitude exceeded their own; impossible things were still impossible.

In this world, which Third Order Saint was not at least a hundred years old? Even if they looked young, each one of them had experienced the long passage of time and only through constant accumulation had they reached their current height.

Yang Kai seemed to only be in his twenties, saying he could reach such a level within thirty years, wasn’t that like saying he could stand at the top of this world at only fifty years old?

Reaching the Saint Realm before one turned one hundred was extremely rare, a fifty year old Third Order Saint was simply impossible!

[Youthful ignorance!] Both Yu Ying and Cheng Yue Tong pursed their lips, thinking Yang Kai was just a boy who didn’t understand the immensity of Heaven and Earth.

“Why are you smiling like that?” An Ling’er turned and stared at them angrily, “Since he dared to say that, he can certainly achieve it. Just you wait, within thirty years he will definitely become a Third Order Saint.”

“He needs to come out from inside the Holy Tomb first,” Yu Ying frowned slightly, turning a worried look towards An Ling’er, hesitating for a moment before asking, “Ling’er, do you like him that much? Otherwise, how could you speak like that about him?”

An Ling’er’s face immediately went bright red as she hung her head in embarrassment.

“I don’t hate him…” After a moment of silence, An Ling’er whispered softly, “But more than that, I feel guilty towards him. I was the one who involved him in all of this, if I hadn’t taught him the Nine Heavens Divine Skills, he wouldn’t have encountered so much misfortune and he wouldn’t have been forced into the Holy Tomb by all of you. He should have had a better future…”

“That was our decision, it has nothing to do with you,” Yu Ying sighed, assuming full responsibility here.

“Elders, can I ask something of you?” An Ling’er suddenly raised her head and spoke with a deep seriousness.

“Speak,” Yu Ying and Cheng Yue Tong nodded lightly.

“If… if he can return from the Holy Tomb, can you let him leave? He truly doesn’t want to remain here,” An Ling’er smiled bitterly, “Perhaps for others, becoming Holy Master of the Holy Land is a dream come true, but for him, it is nothing but a shackle. Forcing him to stay here does not have any advantage to him, do you really want to obtain a Holy Master who so wholeheartedly rejects the Holy Land?”

Yu Ying and Cheng Yue Tong’s brows furrowed, exchanging awkward glances with one another, unable to simply agree to this request, causing them to feel somewhat embarrassed.

An Ling’er continued, “Don’t both of you think he won’t ever come out? That since he died he won’t reveal any of the Holy Land’s secrets? Since that’s the case, what difference is that with complying with this?”

“This… this has to be discussed with Great Elder,” Yu Ying smiled reluctantly; “We can’t take responsibility for such a decision.”

“I can promise you!” A loud voice suddenly came from afar, a streak of light rushing over and the figure of Great Elder Xu Hui appearing in front of Holy Tomb.

“Great Elder,” Yu Ying and Cheng Yue Tong greeted hastily.

Xu Hui nodded lightly before turning to look at An Ling’er, “Your Highness Saintess, what you just said, I can promise you!”

“Really?” An Ling’er smiled happily.

“En, Elder Yu and Elder Cheng can testify to it!” Xu Hui said, nodding firmly, “Of course, the premise is that he can come out, and he really does not want to become Holy Master!”

“He should not be willing.”

“That may not be the case…” Xu Hui smiled meaningfully, “Perhaps when he comes out, there will be no need for us to ask and he will take the initiative to inherit the position of Holy Master… no Holy Master candidate who has ever successfully left the Holy Tomb has not pledged their life to the Holy Land.”

Yu Ying and Cheng Yue Tong eyes flashed slight as smiles appeared on their faces.

Although none of them knew what mysteries were hidden inside the Holy Tomb, what Great Elder Xu Hui said just now was true. Every Holy Master candidate who returned from the Holy Tomb wholeheartedly considered the Holy Land his home and worked tirelessly to support it, even if they had come from a completely different Sect or family.

“Does Great Elder also think he can return?” An Ling’er focused on this point, her eyes shining brilliantly.

“I hope so…” Xu Hui slowly shook his head, “But I don’t think there’s much of a chance.”

“Just wait; he’ll definitely give all of you a surprise!” An Ling’er gently clenched her fist.

The three Elders all looked at her curiously, not knowing why she was so confident that Yang Kai, who had entered the Holy Tomb for more than four months, could return safely.

……

Inside the Holy Tomb, Yang Kai let out a low shout and a burst of Spiritual Energy surged up from his Knowledge Sea before slamming into a mass of energy floating in front of him.

Accompanied by the crisp cracking sound, the last of the Nine Heavens Divine Skills energy auras shattered and all of its profound insights flowed back into Yang Kai’s mind, allowing him to thoroughly comprehend it.

Profound Heavenly Sword, Imprisoning Heaven Chain, Great Heavenly Attraction, Capturing Heaven Net, Heaven Covering Hand, Punishing Heaven Spear, Grand Heavenly Shield, Flickering Heavenly Shadow, Scarlet Heavenly Arrow…

All of the Nine Heavens Divine Skills flashed across Yang Kai’s mind, now seemingly incomparably familiar. These nine Divine Skills were astounding, far superior to any Martial Skill or Soul Skill Yang Kai had previously encountered.

After such a long period immersed in their study, Yang Kai had mastered the Nine Heavens Divine Skills.

Also, with the World Energy aura in this place being extremely rich, by practicing here for several months, Yang Kai had not just become proficient in the Nine Heavens Divine Skills, but he had also made great progress in his cultivation.

Martial Peak – Chapter 797, So That’s How It Is

Translator: Silavin & PewPewLaserGun

Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain

Every time he broke through one of the Nine Heavens Divine Skill energy auras, the road in front of Yang Kai became clearer and more spacious. After fully comprehending all nine of them and shattering the last energy aura, the entire Mysterious Small World seemed to become brighter, allowing Yang Kai to see the full extent of the Holy Tomb.

Releasing his Divine Sense to explore his surroundings, Yang Kai suddenly showed a surprised expression.

The World Energy was so rich that Yang Kai originally thought that this Mysterious Small World was extremely vast, but from what he could tell, it was actually only about as large as a mid-sized town. This was without a doubt the smallest Mysterious Small World Yang Kai had ever seen.

Yang Kai couldn’t fathom where the near inexhaustible supply of World Energy was coming from in such a tiny space. It was almost as if there was some great source of World Energy which was constantly yet undetectably being poured into this Mysterious Small World.

Throughout the Holy Tomb, Yang Kai sensed all kinds of dangerous Spirit Arrays. These arrays all gave off potent energy fluctuations and radiated a dangerous aura. Once someone accidentally touched one, they would likely suffer a terrifying attack.

Yang Kai could now see through all of this, that was how clear his surroundings had become. It was likely related to the Nine Heavens Divine Skill energy auras he had shattered before, the more of them that were broken, the more traps were revealed.

Yang Kai had shattered all nine energy auras, so naturally he could see all the mysteries hidden inside the Holy Tomb.

Not far away, there were several skeletons scattered about, their flesh already completely gone and their possessions all turned to dust.

These skeletons should have been the Holy Master candidates who had entered the Holy Tomb in the past but had failed to pass the test and died here. From what Yang Kai could tell, these skeletons’ ages varied greatly and were spread out across the entire Holy Tomb, their number not small.

In addition, there were a number of large coffins which placed in different locations around the Holy Tomb.

These coffins were all different shapes and colours, but one thing they shared in common was the grim aura they emitted.

Yang Kai quietly condensed his True Qi to guard against any accidents and walked towards the nearest coffin.

Quickly arriving in front of this coffin, Yang Kai found that it was no covered and inside there was a neatly dressed, handsome, middle-aged male corpse.

Yang Kai’s brow wrinkled as his eyes were attracted to a bronze ring on the corpses’ left hand.

Standing beside the coffin for a long time, Yang Kai eventually determined that there was no hidden dangers and reached out his hand to touch this ring.

If his guess was right, this ring should be the Holy Master’s Spirit Ring that Xu Hui had mentioned.

All previous Holy Masters would enter the Holy Tomb with the Holy Master Spirit Ring when they felt their time of death was approaching, and the next Holy Master’s first and most important task was to retrieve this ring from the Holy Tomb.

This was because this ring was related to the operation of the entire Nine Heavens Holy Land, without it, many important places were inaccessible.

Also, from the condition of this corpse, it was obvious it had died just recently.

It was absolutely the previous generation’s Holy Master!

A Third Order Saint Realm master, only living a short three hundred years before dying of old age, throughout the entire world, such a phenomenon could only be found in Nine Heavens Holy Land.

Observing this man for a moment, Yang Kai couldn’t help frowning slightly, thinking that if he were to become the master of this place, three hundred years later this would be his fate.

A pitiful and lamentable prospect.

After removing the ring from the fingers of the previous generation’s Holy Master, Yang Kai examined it carefully but soon shook his head. He couldn’t recognize what this ring was made of and could only say that it was some kind of special artifact because inside the ring there some vague energy fluctuations which even after thousands of years did not seem likely to dissipate.

These energy fluctuations were odd and seemed to follow some inexplicable law Yang Kai couldn’t quite make sense of.

As he was staring at it, Yang Kai suddenly felt a powerful suction force emerge from the ring. It was as if a big invisible hand had appeared, broke through space, and dove straight into the depths of Yang Kai’s Knowledge Sea, causing his Soul to shudder slightly.

“Great Heavenly Attraction!” Yang Kai paled, instantly recognizing the burst of energy from the Spirit Ring as one of the Nine Heavens Divine Skills and quickly trying to resist, but before he could even blink, a dim light flashed and he felt something disappear from his Knowledge Sea.

The next moment, Yang Kai felt a subtle connection between himself and the Holy Master Spirit Ring.

Yang Kai’s face became gloomy as he stood there, staring at the Holy Master Spirit Ring in his hand, wishing he could immediately destroy it.

Great Heavenly Attraction could forcefully remove another’s Soul brand, allowing one to control it. Yang Kai had initially caught An Ling’er off guard and used this trick to obtain her Soul brand. With it, Yang Kai gained control over whether An Ling’er lived or died and could even spy on the changes in her mood.

However, at this moment, this Holy Master Spirit Ring had used the Great Heavenly Attraction to obtain Yang Kai’s Soul brand.

Needless to say, this was something the previous generation’s Holy Master had secretly arranged.

A move made by a Third Order Saint was not something Yang Kai could resist or dispel.

This also meant that if Yang Kai were to throw away this ring, he would also be throwing away his Soul brand. Once it was obtained by an enemy, it would be equivalent to seizing control of Yang Kai’s life.

Yang Kai couldn’t help cursing repeatedly. Originally he planned on taking this Holy Master Spirit Ring and use it as a bargaining chip to obtain his freedom from Xu Hui, but now, this Holy Master Spirit Ring was his and absolutely couldn’t be handed over to someone else.

Yang Kai’s mood suddenly became awful.

Before Yang Kai could compose himself though, from the body of the previous generation Holy Master in the coffin, a huge wave of energy rushed out.

At the same time, from all the coffins inside the Holy Tomb, similar waves of energy burst forth and rushed towards Yang Kai.

It was as if they were being drawn towards Yang Kai somehow.

In an instant, Yang Kai felt his Knowledge Sea’s defenses torn apart and these masses of energy pour into his head, causing his consciousness to become chaotic.

Yang Kai went pale and didn’t dare hesitate, quickly sitting down cross legged and immersing his consciousness into his Knowledge Sea.

In his Soul Avatar form, Yang Kai swiftly examined his Knowledge Sea and found that it was now turbulent and stormy. It seemed that his Knowledge Sea had automatically responded to this invasion by counterattacking.

The sea of flames roared as waves crashed back and forth, battering these invaders which seemed to instinctively fear Yang Kai’s Conflagrated Knowledge Sea and were fleeing in all directions.

While they were rushing about, these invaders were releasing invisible spiritual energy fluctuations towards Yang Kai’s Soul Avatar.

Yang Kai immediately wore a suspicious expression, his eyes narrowing as he stared at the energy masses which had rushed into his Knowledge Sea, his mind gradually stabilizes.

The roaring sea water and flames also calmed down.

From what Yang Kai could see, these energy masses were actually the wills of the old Nine Heavens Holy Land Holy Masters. Strictly speaking, they were remnant Souls.

However, Yang Kai couldn’t sense any conscious thought from these Soul remnants; they seemed to only be autonomously completing some final task their previous owners had set at their time of death.

These energy masses didn’t have any hostile intent and were simply releasing continuous bursts of Spiritual Energy towards Yang Kai’s Soul Avatar, seemingly trying to convey something.

Yang Kai hesitated for a moment before taking the initiative to lower his Soul’s defences and accepting whatever it was that these Soul remnants were trying to instill into him.

After a while, Yang Kai’s expression became strange.

Unlike what he expected, these Soul remnants weren’t trying to teach him some kind of Secret Art or Martial Skill, but rather were trying to apply some kind of brainwashing to him.

In an instant, Yang Kai’s views towards Nine Heavens Holy Land underwent some subtle changes, suddenly feeling like staying here wouldn’t be so bad. By becoming Holy Master he would not only gain great wealth and status, he would be able to command thousands of disciples and arrive at the peak of Martial Dao in the shortest time. It was far better than trying hard on his own.

Such thoughts caused Yang Kai’s will to soften and a sense of laziness to take over. He also felt that the remnant Souls of the past Holy Masters were warm and friendly and that he wanted to hear more of their teachings.

However, a sense of deep repulsion soon emerged from the depth of his soul. His heart clenching from those thoughts and Yang Kai quickly cut off the connection of his Soul Avatar with them. He hastily expelled all these misleading thoughts, turning a cold eye to the Soul remnants floating around him.

“So that’s how it is!” Yang Kai sneered, his eyes flashing a cold light.

Yang Kai had always been curious about why the Holy Masters brought back by the Saintesses would be so willing to join the Holy Land, even if it meant their lives would be greatly shortened. It turns out they were indoctrinated by these Soul remnants inside the Holy Tomb.

If not for his Soul being far stronger than normal, it was likely Yang Kai would have followed in these people’s footsteps and been completely brainwashed within an hour or two.

The Spiritual Energy bursts emanating from the Soul remnants of these previous Holy Masters had a strong enticement to them. Under their influence, anyone would quickly feel a sense of connection and affection towards Nine Heavens Holy Land, regarding it as their own home and a place they needed to protect.

Even the strongest of the previous Holy Master candidates who entered the Holy Tomb and passed its test were merely First Order Transcendents, so their Souls weren’t very strong. But Yang Kai was different, his cultivation was far stronger and his Spiritual Energy was even stronger than that, giving him a certain ability to resist this kind of spiritual attack.

Additionally, he had never wanted to become Holy Master of Nine Heavens Holy Land, allowing him to quickly come to his senses.

Understanding all of this, Yang Kai suddenly became fearless. If it was some other kind of restriction or technique, he might be worried, but the biggest mistake the remnant Souls of these previous Holy Masters was diving into his Knowledge Sea.

In this place, only he was the master!

Trying to communicate with the remnant Souls, Yang Kai didn’t receive any response. These previous Holy Masters had died long ago and these remnant Souls had simply been preserved in this place via some strange method, but none of their consciousness remained, they simply carried out this one task mechanically.

The mental attacks of these Soul remnants continued uninterrupted, using all kinds of appeasement and inducement, trying to shake Yang Kai’s Soul, causing him to gradually grow impatient. After failing to communicate with them, Yang Kai decided to put an end to this once and for all and opened the Demon Eye of Annihilation floating over his Knowledge Sea.

The golden eye stared down at these Soul remnants like a majestic king before shooting out a beam of golden light.

With a great whoosh, all the remnant Souls of these once powerful Third Order Saints were instantly purified.

Martial Peak – Chapter 798, Demon God Golden Blood

Inside the Holy Tomb, Yang Kai spent a few days meditating as he absorbed the essence of the Nine Heavens Holy Land’s previous Holy Masters’ remnant Souls.

His harvest was unimaginably huge!

Although Yang Kai’s cultivation realm hadn’t changed at all, because he assimilated the sentiments and insights of so many Third Order Saint Realm masters, his understanding of his future path had become incomparably clear.

As long as his physique and True Qi could keep up, his cultivation would be able to advance without any worries. It could be said that before becoming a Third Order Saint, he would not encounter any bottlenecks when trying to break through.

Such fortune was something all cultivators could only dreams of.

The reason why it was so difficult to break through to higher realms was that every time one reached a critical point, they would encounter bottlenecks. If they failed to spy on the mysteries of the next realm, they would forever be unable to break through.

All cultivators encountered bottlenecks along their path, preventing them from advancing further. Even those favoured Sons of Heaven with incredible aptitude who rapidly progressed and caused the world to marvel at their talent when they were young, would often times later in life encounter insurmountable bottlenecks and find themselves unable to advance any further.

If they encountered some kind of opportunity or if their luck was good enough to break through that bottleneck though, their strength would increase sharply.

So, bottlenecks were something that every cultivator worried about, and no matter who it was, they would encounter at least some in their pursuit of the Martial Dao.

Yang Kai had also encountered several bottlenecks in the past and only after overcoming several life and death situations had he managed to surmount them.

But from now on, he wouldn’t have to worry about this problem. Before becoming a Third Order Saint, his cultivation path would be smooth.

Letting out a gentle breath, Yang Kai stood up and felt that his entire world had undergone some subtle changes, a sense of connection and understanding permeating his soul, giving him a wondrous and mysterious feeling.

Suddenly, from the coffin in front of him, Yang Kai felt some faint energy fluctuations, and after inspecting this anomaly for a moment, a smile appeared on his face.

Upon direction a thread of his Divine Sense towards the source of the energy fluctuations, a stream of light burst forth from the coffin and flew straight towards Yang Kai.

Yang Kai stuck out his hand and the stream of light landed on his palm; examining it, it turned out to be a small silver leaf.

The veins on this leaf were distinct and lifelike, as if it had just been plucked from a tree, but this seemingly simple and delicate leaf was actually radiating a shocking aura!

Saint Grade Top-Rank artifact!

Xu Hui and the other Elders had said that the artifact used by the previous Holy Master was of this grade, and that there weren’t many like it throughout the entire world.

This Silver Leaf artifact bore the Soul mark of the previous generation Holy Master, but since Yang Kai had purified all the remnant Souls of the previous Holy Masters with his Demon Eye of Annihilation and absorbed their essence, naturally he could control their leftover Soul marks.

In other words, if there were any artifacts left in any of these coffins, Yang Kai could easily obtain them without worrying about any kind of backlash.

Yang Kai had never seen an artifact like this one, but the variety of artifacts throughout the world were many and they came in all shapes and sizes. This Silver Leaf obviously possessed incredible power but since he had not refined it, Yang Kai couldn’t be clear about its use, so for now he simply stored it into his Black Book space.

Avoiding the various arrays and barriers inside the Holy Tomb, Yang Kai eagerly walked towards the second coffin.

He intended to sweep this place clean!

Making his way around, Yang Kai reaped a great harvest once again. These coffins all belonged to previous Holy Masters who were top level powerhouses, so naturally the artifacts they used were outstanding as well.

Almost every coffin had at least one Saint Grade artifact, most of them Mid-Rank with a small number only Low-Rank. Unfortunately, the only Top-Rank Yang Kai obtained was the Silver Leaf, showing just how rare such powerful artifacts were.

Although these artifacts were all not bad, Yang Kai actually wasn’t that interested in them. These swords, halberds, and spears weren’t suitable for him to use as he had never studied any weapon techniques, he was more accustomed to using his own hands and feet when it came to fighting.

The only item which drew Yang Kai’s attention was a dark red Armour Artifact. This armour was light yet dazzling and had a beautiful design. It could absolutely withstand the attacks of a lower level Saint Realm masters.

This armour was designed for a woman. Yang Kai was certain of this as he had taken it off a female corpse.

The coffin where he had found this armour was different from the others. There were two skeletons lying inside of it, one of them a previous Holy Master and the other one of the Saintesses from that generation. The two of them were embracing one another, even in death, causing even Yang Kai to let out a faint sigh.

This Armour artifact would actually make a good gift, whether it was for Su Yan or Xia Ning Chang.

Thinking about it for a moment, Yang Kai decided to collect it as well.

Soon, Yang Kai stopped in front of the last coffin, but what made him surprised was that there was no trace of any artifacts inside, and unlike all the others, this coffin was actually sealed shut and encased in multiple layers of barriers. These barriers had obviously been in place for many, many years and were thus showing some signs of degradation.

Also, for some unknown reason, when Yang Kai stood in front of this coffin, he felt the blood stir and his heartbeat become stronger. It was as if something inside the coffin was calling out to his blood.

After staring for a while with a frown upon his face, Yang Kai slowly shook his head. Because of the barriers, he couldn’t effectively investigate the inside of the coffin to figure out what was happening.

However, only this coffin was sealed, making it obvious that this particular Holy Master didn’t want others to open it and investigate the secrets hidden inside.

If it weren’t for his strange induction, Yang Kai also would have simply let things be as he didn’t sense any artifacts inside, but now he couldn’t bring himself to simply ignore it.

Even though he tried, Yang Kai couldn’t suppress his curiosity.

After hesitating for a moment, Yang Kai’s expression became firm and he lifted his hand and punched towards the coffin, sending out a burst of True Qi.

The barrier set up by a Third Order Saint, in theory, would be impossible for Yang Kai to break, but this Holy Master had died countless years ago so the barrier was now nowhere near its peak strength.

It took Yang Kai less than half an hour to break through all the barriers.

As the last rays of light faded, the final barrier sealing the coffin lost its effect. Yang Kai took a deep breath, reached out and unsealed it.

After a putrid gas leaked out, the skeleton that appeared before Yang Kai’s eyes causing him a great deal of shock.

This skeleton was severely damaged, with broken bones and fractures all over. From what Yang Kai could tell, over eighty percent of this skeleton’s bones had some kind of injury on them.

Yang Kai was astonished!

Every Holy Master lying here was a peak Third Order Saint, and this one was no exception. When one reached such a realm, their flesh and bones would become incredibly tough and very few attacks could damage them.

However, the scene in front of Yang Kai showed that this Holy Master had fought with a powerful enemy before he died and regardless of whether he won or lost, had actually taken a severe beating. The reason why this master had died was definitely related to these injuries!

What kind of person could kill a peak Third Order Saint?

Somewhat absent minded, Yang Kai’s gaze drifted over the broken skeleton and eventually landed on a jet black bottle.

Before he died, this Holy Master had folded his hands and tightly held this black bottle to his chest. This bottle also had several restrictions on it and was clearly trying to seal something inside.

A terrifying energy pulsed from this bottle, immediately making Yang Kai feel like his whole body was throbbing.

*Kacha…*

A crisp sound rang out suddenly. It seemed like when Yang Kai broke the barrier around the coffin, he had caused the contents of the bottle to become unstable and at this moment it was violently rampaging, trying to break free of its prison.

The black bottle couldn’t bear such strain and within moments countless cracks appeared on its surface while the light from the seals also began to fade.

Yang Kai stood by and watch, not making any attempt to interfere. He faintly felt that whatever was inside the bottle had something to do with him.

Together with the scene in front of him, he even had some guesses as to what was happening.

*Kacha…*

With a crack, the black bottle shattered and a brilliant golden light burst forth, brightly illuminating the entire Holy Tomb.

The various barriers and Spirit Arrays all over the Holy Tomb were smashed by this golden light and ceased to function.

A terrifying Demonic Qi, centered on the golden light, erupted into the surroundings, sending all the scattered coffins hurtling through the air before causing them to explode, turning all the skeletons of the previous Holy Masters into dust.

Yang Kai stared intently at the golden light, his expression fluctuating as he muttered under his breath, “Demon God Golden Blood?”

From the golden light Yang Kai could smell a strong bloody scent; there was no doubt this was a drop of blood. Moreover, this drop of blood was like the purest molten gold. It exuded a rich Demonic aura that made even Yang Kai fearful. To actually be grasped by a deceased Holy Master of Nine Heavens Holy Land, besides being a drop of Demon God Golden Blood, Yang Kai couldn’t think of any other possibilities!

Why was there a drop of Demon God Golden Blood here thought? What kind of relationship was there between his Holy Master and the legendary Great Demon God?

Before Yang Kai could organize his thoughts though, the drop of Demon God Golden Blood floating in front of him, as if having discovered its target, suddenly disappeared, leaving behind a golden afterimage and it rushed directly towards Yang Kai’s brow, entering his forehead and disappearing before he could react.

In the next moment, Yang Kai’s expression twisted.

The golden blood in his veins seemed to have been hyper-stimulated and was on the rampaging wildly. This quickly spread to his meridians and physique, causing multiple explosions all over his body. Within a few breaths, Yang Kai was covered in wounds and his whole body felt as if it was on fire, causing him unbearable pain.

A dazzling golden light shrouded Yang Kai. Unable to bear the pain, Yang Kai lifted his head and roared as this Mysterious Small World was filled with a thick bloody aura, transforming it into a strange red and golden space.

Yang Kai’s Unyielding Golden Skeleton squirmed and creaked as the Demonic Qi stored inside it burst forth and transformed into Demon Crests covering his skin, disappearing into his physique in the next instant.

The red and gold Mysterious Small World was suddenly submerged in a thick darkness without a single trace of light.

Inside this darkness, Yang Kai grit his teeth and trembled, his skin filled with cracks as red blood oozed out onto the ground.

However, in front of his eyes, a series of illusory scenes began unfolding, depicting an earth-shattering battle.

Martial Peak – Chapter 799, Divine Ability

Yang Kai didn’t open his eyes nor did he use his senses to try to perceive anything, yet the scenes of this battle still vividly appeared in his consciousness.

Soon, Yang Kai found himself drawn in by this battle, even forgetting the extreme pain he was experiencing, all his attention focused on it.

The battle was between two extremely powerful masters, every move they made containing unimaginable power. It was as if these two really had the power to destroy the world.

One of them was a man who gave off a shocking Demonic Qi while the other was a temperate middle-aged man.

The appearance of the former was familiar to Yang Kai, and after thinking about it for a moment, his eyes lit up and immediately understood who this master surrounded by Demonic Qi was.

The Great Demon God!

This was the Great Demon God!

Yang Kai had seen the statue of the Great Demon God back in the Mysterious Small World where the Ancient Demon Clan lived; it was very similar to the person in front of him, practically identical.

The Great Demon God was a legendary existence; during his time, no one was his opponent, the recognized first master under Heaven! Under his command, the Demon Race reigned supreme and even the Human Race with its superior population had to bow and give way.

Since then, no leader of the Demon Race dared to use the title Demon God, all of them instead calling themselves Demon Commander, such was the extent of their worship and respect towards the Great Demon God.

It was said that there was once a Demon Commander who in his arrogance named himself Demon god, and as a result, within a few days, was besieged and killed by his own subordinates.

From this it was obvious just how much influence and prestige the Great Demon God still had in the Demon Race even after his fall.

However, the scene in front of Yang Kai was probably from before the Great Demon God matured and reached that peak. Even so, the masters who could fight one on one with him were still extremely rare.

This middle-aged man was one such person!

He was that era’s Holy Master of Nine Heavens Holy Land! The one whose body Yang Kai had discovered broken and shattered within the sealed coffin.

Yang Kai couldn’t help feeling somewhat agitated. He didn’t know why he could see this battle which had occurred countless years ago, but he faintly felt it was related to the drop of Demon God Blood. Perhaps the Demon God’s Golden Blood carried with it some memories of the Great Demon God.

The Great Demon God and the Holy Master of the time were both Third Order Saints, it was truly a showdown between peak level masters.

What lead to this battle, Yang Kai didn’t know, by the time he began observing the two masters were already engaged in an intense struggle, both of them holding nothing back.

From the ground to the sky, the sky to the Starry Sky, and then back to the ground from Starry Sky, the scene changed rapidly as the two fought. Their strength seemed even, neither one of them gaining any advantage over the other.

The more Yang Kai watched, the more enthralled he became, unable to think of anything else.

Being able to witness such a high level battle had great benefits to his growth. The Juniors of great forces would often be taken by their Seniors to observe the battles of high-level cultivators so they could witness what true combat looked like, hopefully allowing them to gain some form of inspiration or insight in the process.

It could be said that the scene in front of Yang Kai was a rare opportunity!

The methods these two men used in their battle caused Yang Kai to sink into contemplation while fixedly observing them.

After an unknown amount of time passed, the stalemate between the two men was gradually broken.

Whether the Holy Master made some slight mistake or he couldn’t see a path to victory and his momentum faded, he suddenly found himself at a disadvantage.

The Great Demon God on the other hand was like a raging beast, taking this opportunity to ruthlessly suppress his opponent.

As Yang Kai watched this battle with great relish, the picture in front of him suddenly changed again. Probably because so much time had passed, the memories stored in the Demon God’s Golden Blood weren’t very coherent.

When the vision stabilized again, Yang Kai saw that the battle had already been decided. That generation’s Holy Master coughed up a large amount of blood and his face went pale, his figure quickly transforming into a streak of light as he fled from the Great Demon God.

Before leaving though, he took with him a drop of the blood from the Great Demon God.

The Great Demon God just stood in place, staring coldly and arrogantly towards the retreating figure, not showing any intention to pursue, a moment later his figure also fading away.

The scene in his mind was then cut off…

Yang Kai let out a long breath and slowly calmed his racing heart.

He had never expected he would one day witness the Great Demon God in such a way. Since coming to Tong Xuan Realm, he had heard many legends about this man from many different people and knew that he was somehow inextricably linked with himself.

The Unyielding Golden Skeleton was from the Great Demon God’s body and the Demon Eye of Annihilation was once his eyes, even the Wordless Black Book had been created by him. Unfortunately so many years had passed since the Great Demon God’s time so Yang Kai never had a chance to witness his true strength.

However, now he had.

The inheritance left behind by the Great Demon God had been of great help to Yang Kai’s growth, but Yang Kai felt that he would not be bound by the Great Demon God’s path. On the contrary, Yang Kai was convinced that he could one day exceed the Great Demon God and arrive at a height far surpassing his past achievements.

Only by doing so could he live up to inheritance he received and also prove that all he had obtained was not simply given to him by the Great Demon God.

After watching this great battle, Yang Kai finally understood what had happened to the Holy Master inside this last coffin.

The wounds this Holy Master’s bones suffered should have been caused by the Great Demon God. After that battle, the former had returned to the Holy Land and soon after passed away. The reason he had left behind a drop of Demon God Golden Blood was likely because he couldn’t accept this outcome.

This series of coincidences led to Yang Kai accidentally obtaining this drop of Demon God Golden Blood and being able to observe such a fierce battle.

Inside the Holy Tomb, Yang Kai slowly opened his eyes. The darkness that had permeated this space had faded and the original gloomy atmosphere had been restored.

Examining himself, Yang Kai was slightly surprised.

Although he had suffered numerous injuries all over his body, with his powerful restorative abilities, such wounds were irrelevant. What he cared about though was that because he had absorbed a drop of Demon God Golden Blood, the blood flowing through his veins had undergone significant changes.

The amount of golden blood Yang Kai possessed increased noticeably and the Demonic Qi which filled his Unyielding Golden Skeleton had become even more potent.

Additionally, he had even comprehended one of the Great Demon God’s Divine Abilities!

Soul Fission!

By using one’s own Soul brand as a base and filling it with a massive amount of Spiritual Energy, one could nourish it using special methods to grow a second Soul. This second Soul could then be split from one’s body and move independently, essentially a Soul Clone.

The strongest of Soul Clones could display over eighty percent of all of its original’s abilities.

Yang Kai’s eyes lit up, remembering the Soul Clone of Demon General Meng Ge who he met in his previous world.

Inside the Evil Cavern, Yang Kai, without knowing anything, had used the Devil Sealing Chain to kill Meng Ge’s Soul Clone, and was subsequently threatened by the Demon General.

It wasn’t until coming to Tong Xuan Realm that Yang Kai understood just what kind of powerhouse Meng Ge was.

At that time, Meng Ge should have been using this Soul Fission Divine Ability and somehow sent his Soul Clone to the Evil Cavern. However, compared to the Great Demon God’s Soul Fission Divine Ability Yang Kai had just obtained, there was a big gap in performance.

Simply put, Meng Ge’s Soul Clone was far too weak.

Yang Kai guessed that Meng Ge had discovered some ancient books left behind by the Great Demon God and used them to replicate this Divine Ability, but it had turned out far inferior to the original.

Cultivating Soul Fission had many advantages. Once one’s Soul Clone was formed, one would have two Souls inside their Knowledge Sea. Having two Souls cultivating at once meant the growth of one’s Spiritual Energy would be twice as fast.

Of course, the price one had to pay in order to cultivate a second Soul was massive! Cultivating Soul Fission required a huge amount of Spiritual Energy.

However, for Yang Kai, this was not a problem. With the Six Coloured Soul Warming Lotus constantly nourishing his Soul, his Spiritual Energy could be recovered far more rapidly than others.

Sweeping his eyes around his surroundings, Yang Kai discovered that the Holy Tomb was now a complete mess. It seemed like because of his entry this time, this Mysterious Small World had been all but destroyed.

From now on, any Holy Master candidate who came here would likely not be able to gain any benefits, nor would they receive any brainwashing from their predecessors.

Even Yang Kai couldn’t help feeling a bit awkward. Although he had been forced to enter this place by Xu Hui and the others, the Holy Tomb was also one of the pillars of Nine Heavens Holy Land’s foundation. If the Elders and Protectors of Nine Heavens Holy Land were to learn that he had ruined this place, they definitely wouldn’t let him off easily.

At the very least, they would force him to accept the position of Holy Master to take responsibility.

On top of that, the Holy Master Spirit Ring had absorbed Yang Kai’s Soul brand.

Yang Kai suddenly felt things have become complicated and unless he was willing to go to war with Nine Heavens Holy Land, the situation had become set.

Letting out an exasperated sigh, Yang Kai didn’t rush to leave the Holy Tomb and instead began cultivating the Great Demon God’s Soul Fission.

Inside his Knowledge Sea, Yang Kai condensed a Soul brand and then using some special methods began injecting his Spiritual Energy into this brand, building and nourishing his Soul Clone.

The Spiritual Energy required for this process was immense and even with the help of the Six Coloured Soul Warming Lotus Yang Kai couldn’t keep up with the consumption. Fortunately, there were many pills inside the Black Book space, including those for restoring Spiritual Energy.

Yang Kai also had a large amount of Myriad Drug Liquid left so he wasn’t worried about his Spiritual Energy running dry.

Days flew by.

Yang Kai had no intention of quickly leaving the Holy Tomb, hoping that with the passage of time, he could fade from the memories of Xu Hui and the other Nine Heavens Elders. And so he continued to cultivate.

Only when he had reached the minor accomplishment stage of the Soul Fission Divine Ability did Yang Kai decided to stop.

From now on he didn’t need to actively cultivate this Divine Ability as his second Soul would now continue to strengthen itself all on its own. Unfortunately, until it reached full maturity it would not have its own consciousness and could not provide him with any assistance. Once it reached maturity, Yang Kai would also need to find a suitable container to implant it into in order to create a true Soul Clone.

Right now, his Soul Clone lacked the ability to think for itself and could only be manipulated directly by Yang Kai. But sending it into places that were inconvenient or dangerous for him to go might prove useful at some point!

Slowly standing up, Yang Kai looked around for the Holy Tomb’s exit.

Chapter 800, He Will

Moments later, Yang Kai sensed a faint energy fluctuation and moved towards it, soon arriving in front of a stone wall. After pouring his True Qi into this wall, a Void Corridor appeared in front of him and he stopped through, returning to the outside world once more.

Yang Kai arrived in front of the same blue stone entrance to Nine Heavens Holy Land’s Holy Tomb he had entered from.

As soon as he appeared, Yang Kai immediately concealed his aura and quietly probed his surroundings.

He wasn’t sure how long he had stayed inside the Holy Tomb but he knew it wasn’t a short amount of time. Since there wasn’t anyone around anymore, obviously Xu Hui and the others had left long ago.

This was the perfect time for him to sneak away.

As long as he left Nine Heavens Holy Land, he would be like a bird returning to the sky, a fish swimming through the sea. It would be incredibly hard for Xu Hui and the others to bring him back once more.

However, after carefully examining the situation around him, Yang Kai’s expression became somewhat strange.

The entire Nine Heavens Holy Land was in a state of confusion. It seemed like a big battle had just occurred as traces of destruction could be found all around. There were many houses and buildings among the Nine Peaks that had broken walls or collapsed roofs.

Yang Kai also smelled a faint scent of blood in the air and cries of pain reached rang in his ears.

Suddenly, Yang Kai sensed a familiar life aura. This person seemed to have noticed his presence causing their aura to fluctuate wildly.

Yang Kai turned his head just in time to see An Ling’er.

This Saintess, a symbol of purity and nobility, currently had a blue cloth wrapped around her head and her white dress was covered in dust and blood, clearly she had just been involved in a fight.

When she saw Yang Kai, a look of joy and disbelief filled An Ling’er’s beautiful face as she stood there dumbfounded.

Before she could open her mouth to speak though, An Ling’er saw Yang Kai’s figure flicker and in the next moment appear in front of her. Her mouth was covered and her movements sealed, causing her to be unable to resist as Yang Kai quickly brought her to relatively secluded pavilion a short distance away.

“I’m letting you go now, don’t shout!” Yang Kai whispered.

A hint of panic flashed across An Ling’er’s pretty eyes before she quickly nodded.

Yang Kai released her and then quickly backed away, lest she misunderstand his actions as an attempt to silence her.

“You came out?” An Ling’er glanced around nervously before whispering.

Yang Kai gently nodded, “Just now.”

“You really came out!” An Ling’er breathed out a sigh of relief, a light smile appearing on her face. She had been worried about Yang Kai this entire time so seeing him now, safe and sound, it was like a large stone had been lifted off her heart, causing her to relax.

Yang Kai being forced into the Holy Tomb was something An Ling’er always felt she carried a large responsibility for. During this time, she had always been blaming herself to the point where it had affected her health.

Now though she could finally feel at ease.

“It’s good that you’ve come out!” An Ling’er gently patted her chest, “Since you’ve come out, you should quickly leave before Great Elder or any of the others find you.”

Yang Kai’s eyes flashed as he stared towards An Ling’er and asked, “Are you willing to let me just leave?”

“En,” An Ling’er revealed a forced smile, “I know you don’t want to be here, trying to force you to stay would only make you hate me. Since that’s the case, I might as well just let you go.”

Yang Kai expression softened and a hint of gratitude appeared on his face.

“What are you staring at me like that for? If you’re discovered you won’t be able to get away!” An Ling’er frowned.

“I was just thinking you look much more attractive now!” Yang Kai flattered shamelessly.

An Ling’er’s face blushed bright red as she angrily spat, “Don’t try to sweet talk me now, I’ve known you’re not a good thing since long ago. Don’t think you can win my favour after all this time.”

Yang Kai laughed dumbly before putting on a serious face and cupping his fists said, “This is goodbye then, I hope there’s a chance for us to meet in the future.”

“En, go quickly. Head south, Great Elder and the others are currently north of this place,” An Ling’er urged.

Yang Kai nodded lightly, quickly found his bearings and then quietly flew off towards the south.

Shortly after Yang Kai’s departure, a figure emerged from the shadows and walked towards An Ling’er.

“Ah, Elder Yu Ying!” An Ling’er was startled and called out unconsciously.

Yu Ying stared in the direction Yang Kai disappeared for a while before letting out a sigh and faintly asking, “Are you really willing to just let him go like that?”

“You saw?” An Ling’er’s expression became somewhat awkward. She didn’t know when Yu Ying had arrived behind her but from the latter’s tone of voice it obvious she had seen and heard everything just now.

“I only saw him hurriedly leave, without any hesitation.”

“There’s nothing here that would cause him to hesitate,” An Ling’er said with a forced smile.

“What about you? You exhausted yourself worrying about him, spent so much time together with him, shared so many hardships together with him, even admired and respected him. Aren’t the two of you at least more than friends?” Yu Ying looked faintly towards An Ling’er.

An Ling’er shook her head gently, “While he is certainly somewhat hateful, I don’t think I’m worthy to be joined together with him. Moreover, I truly don’t think of him in that way, just being friends with him is probably for the best. En, undeniably, following beside him I felt a deep sense of security, making me mistakenly feel like I was the younger one, and I would always be protected by him… but with the current position the Holy Land is in, I don’t think it’s right to implicate him. Elder Yu Ying, can you not mention this to Great Elder? We might as well just say he died here.”

Yu Ying’s brow furrowed deeply, seemingly weighing the decision.

An Ling’er quickly hugged Yu Ying’s arm, acting the part of a spoiled child.

Faced with this combination of soft and hard sell tactics, Yu Ying could only smile bitterly and rub her forehead, “Alright, alright… Nothing happened here and I didn’t see anything… I won’t say a word about this to anyone. Ling’er, you’ve exhausted yourself these past few days, you should quickly go back and have a rest. We Elders will take care of the problems outside, you don’t need to worry about them. All the Holy Land’s hopes now can only be pinned on you. You must diligently cultivate the Saintess’ Secret Arts for now. If the Holy Land can survive this crisis, it will be up to you to train a new generation of Saintesses.”

Seeing Yu Ying agree to her request, An Ling’er immediately became joyful.

However, when the two of them remembered the Holy Land’s precarious situation, their eyes noticeably dimmed. Whether the Holy Land could survive the current catastrophe or what the future held, neither of them could say.

Perhaps, within a short time, everyone here would die. If not for this cruel realty, it would have been impossible for Yu Ying to so easily agree to An Ling’er’s request.

“Elder Yu Ying is apparently quite amenable,” A light voice suddenly reverberated throughout the pavilion, making it impossible to determine exactly where the person speaking actually was.

Yu Ying’s beautiful face paled as she quickly condensed her True Qi, shouting aggressively, “Who goes there!”

As soon as these words left Yu Ying’s lips, a figure emerged a few steps away from her, a somewhat teasing smile upon his face.

“Flickering Heavenly Shadow?” An Ling’er cried out, immediately recognizing this Nine Heavens Divine Skill. This was a very profound movement skill that was equally useful for concealing one’s presence or escaping from an enemy.

Recovering from her shock, An Ling’er stared at Yang Kai who had suddenly returned and couldn’t help asking, “Why didn’t you leave?”

Yang Kai shrugged his shoulders before seemingly unintentionally shooting a glance towards Yu Ying.

When he had left just now, he noticed that this woman was hiding behind An Ling’er, so in order to insure news of his re-appearance was not leaked, he had concealed himself in order to monitor these two. By doing so though, he had overheard the conversation between the two women and suddenly felt that simply disappearing on his own would leave a sour taste in his mouth.

“How did you deceive my Divine Sense? I clearly noticed that you had already traveled far away, just when did you come back?” Yu Ying stared at Yang Kai, a look of incredible disbelief spread across her face.

She was a genuine First Order Saint, but Yang Kai was still able to silently approach this close to her without her noticing. That meant that if Yang Kai had harboured any hostile intent towards her, it was quite possible she would be a corpse right now.

Immediately realizing this, Yu Ying’s tender body shivered as a cold sweat dripped down her back, suddenly discovering that this future Holy Master was somewhat beyond her ability to understand or control.

“No need to be so nervous, it’s not like I’m going to eat you,” Yang Kai grinned, intentionally not answering Yu Ying’s question, his expression then quickly becoming serious as he asked, “On the other hand, I’m somewhat curious about what you two were just discussing. What exactly happened to your Nine Heavens Holy Land while I was gone?”

An Ling’er opened her mouth to explain but before she could get a single word out, Yu Ying quickly cut her off, “Does that have anything to do with you? Since you’re unwilling to inherit the position of Holy Master, is there any point in asking about that?”

Yang Kai knit his brow and felt somewhat confused.

The last time he had seen her, this beautiful woman had spoken and acted very respectfully towards him, yet this time it was as if she had encountered an enemy and was harshly rejecting him.

Yang Kai had no intention of haggling over the issue with her though so he just shrugged his shoulders and nodded, “If you don’t want to say that’s fine too, I don’t have a habit of prying into other people’s business. Farewell.”

Saying so, he really turned around to leave.

“Wait!” Yu Ying suddenly called out again.

“What now?” Yang Kai shot an impatient look towards her.

Yu Ying’s expression became a complicated mix of embarrassment and reluctance, only speaking again after a long silence, “Don’t rush off, I’ll explain everything to you.”

“Sorry, I don’t want to know anymore. The more I know, the more trouble it will be!”

“You…” Yu Ying gawked at him, her face turning from green to red to blue as she grumbled, “How can you like this?”

This boy was acting completely like a delinquent, without the slightest majesty or nobility a Holy Master should have. Didn’t he enter the Holy Tomb? How come his attitude was still so defiant?

In the past, everyone who had passed the Holy Tomb’s test and re-emerged had treated the Holy Land as their home.

Yu Ying simply couldn’t understand.

Seeing this beautiful woman at a loss, Yu Kai’s mood suddenly became excellent, sitting down on a nearby stool in the corner pavilion before turning to An Ling’er, “You tell me.”

An Ling’er snuck a glimpse towards Elder Yu Ying only to see her glaring towards Yang Kai viciously, as if she couldn’t wait to peel his skin, eat his flesh, and drink his blood. Understanding what Elder Yu Ying was feeling all too well as she had experienced similar incidents many times in the past when it came to Yang Kai, An Ling’er did her best to stifle her laughter for a while before pursing her lips and saying, “Why do you want to know about this? Once you know, it will only bring you trouble.”

“From what you two discussing just now, the situation is quite serious, of course I’d want to know. Besides, you just said we’re friends… I don’t have many friends,” Yang Kai suddenly said solemnly.

An Ling’er’s expression changed greatly upon hearing these words, a meaningful smile soon appearing on her face as she said, “That Gou Che will definitely regret not treating you sincerely in the future!”

“En, he will,” Yang Kai grinned, his face filled with confidence.

Chapter 801, External Worries

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.

Chapter 802, Don’t Look So Surprised

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.

Chapter 803, Seriously

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?”

Chapter 804, Your Mother is a True Hero

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.

Chapter 805, Change in Attitude

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.

Chapter 806, Beast Sea Jungle

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.