Martial Peak

Chapter 2097, Surprising Change

Translator: Silavin & frozenfire

Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys

In front of everyone's eyes, Jiang Tai Sheng's body expanded abruptly in size. Within the blink of an eye, he transformed into someone extremely obese, ripping all his robes clean off his body.

Extremely discomforting energy fluctuations radiated out from his body, causing everyone's heart to jump.

The Seven Points Black Tortoise Spirit Array blossomed with radiance, faintly showing signs of reaching its limit.

"Hurry up and stop him!" How would Hua Qing Si have the mood to act flirtatious at this moment? As she shrieked, her beautiful eyes were filled with the glow of terror.

Although she was a Third-Order Dao Source Realm master, it was impossible for her to simply disregard the self-destruction of a First-Order Dao Source Realm master. Furthermore, Jiang Tai Sheng had been demonised!

A similar look of dread was also present on the middle-aged man's face. A short blade surfaced within his hand, slashing right down at Jiang Tai Sheng, attempting to kill him before he self-destructed.

Duan Yuan Shan, Qin Zhao Yang, Du Li Shen and Yang Kai simultaneously unleashed their strength, sending multi-coloured energy attacks rumbling towards Jiang Tai Sheng.

However, right at this moment, something that no one could have expected actually occurred.

All of a sudden, with a loud scream, Zhuang Pan's eyes trembled violently, before he fled with all his might.

He had actually been frightened past his limits! The only thought he had at that moment was to flee as far as possible, absolutely forgetting the heart demon oath he had made with the group, as well as the safety of the others.

Originally, the Seven Points Black Tortoise Spirit Array would still be able to defend and not get broken. However, with his actions, the gigantic Black Tortoise Projection started to warp and distort, teetering on the brink of collapse.

"Bastard!" Yuan Shan almost coughed out blood upon seeing the fleeing figure of Zhuang Pan.

"Hurry up and come back, Brother Zhuang!" Du Li Shen shouted out loudly. Nevertheless, having already fled, how could Zhuang Pan hear him?

Hong…

A gigantic sound rang out as the earth shook. A dark black hole had appeared abruptly at where Jiang Tai Sheng used to be. Not a single trace of light could be seen within it as it appeared incomparably deep, as though it was able to devour anything it came into contact with.

The black hole expanded outwards, carrying energy shockwaves that caused people's skin to turn cold.

Pu pu pu…

Being at the front of the group, blood mist erupted from Duan Yuan Shan's mouth, as the strength of his aura declined substantially.

In the next instant, the faces of the middle-aged man and Hua Qing Si turned pale, while blood dripped down from their noses and mouths. Fortunately, due to their powerful cultivations, as well as their reasonably powerful Secret Techniques, they were able to rely on them to stand their ground and block the greater portion of the damage.

Being the weakest members of the group, Qin Zhao Yang and Du Li Shen's conditions were the most miserable, with Qin Zhao Yang being sent flying by the explosion, landing a great distance away, his condition unknown.

Du Li Shen lost half of his body from Jiang Tai Sheng's self-destruction and died right where he stood.

On the other side, Yang Kai continued to protect Qin Yu, back facing towards the explosion while channelling his Source Qi to protect himself.

Being a weak Second-Order Origin Returning Realm cultivator, coupled with the heavy responsibility of repairing the seal, this mission would be a complete failure if Qin Yu were to lose her life to Jiang Tai Sheng's self-destruction.

Therefore, his first thought was to ensure Qin Yu's safety.

Right when the terrifying energy shockwave arrived, despite using his Space Force Secret Technique, Exile, to negate the bulk of the impact, it still felt as though a giant hammer had struck him. An intense, scorching pain racked his back, churning his insides, causing him to spurt out a mouthful of golden blood.

As the aftermath of the explosion died down, the scene before them was too miserable to take in.

Everyone was gasping for air, their faces filled with dread and fear.

The explosion from the self-destruction of a First-Order Dao Source Realm absolutely did not possess such might. Jiang Tai Sheng being able to achieve this feat was absolutely due to him being demonised.

"Yu'er, how's the repair of the seal?" within the silence, Duan Yuan Shan suddenly turned his head around to ask Qin Yu.

At this moment, of the seven original Dao Source Realm masters, one had fled, one had died, and another's condition was unknown. They could no longer execute the Seven Points Black Tortoise Spirit Array any further. If the seal had been completely repaired, the group would immediately head back to Maplewood City. If it just needed a little more time, Duan Yuan Shan felt that they could just push through and get it done. However, if the repairs were nowhere near completion, they had no choice but to leave immediately.

As his question rang out, everyone turned their gazes towards Qin Yu.

In the next instant, a blank look appeared on everyone's faces, before being replaced by despair.

That was due to the substantial increase in damage to the seal on the stone wall compared to before. Clearly, this was the result of the self-destruction. Furthermore, a weak golden sparkling glow was radiating from the seal, travelling across the lines like golden earthworms, appearing to have come alive after devouring some kind of life force.

On top of that, a weird suction force had appeared on the stone wall, preventing people from turning their eyes away.

Shock filled everyone's hearts as they hastily bit their tongues, using the pain and resulting instance of clarity to immediately close their eyes.

"We can't stay here for long. Let's hurry up and leave!" Knowing that the mission was a failure, Duan Yuan Shan immediately moved to Qin Zhao Yang's side, extending his hand to check on his breathing. Upon discovering that Qin Zhao Yang was still alive, his eyes lit up in pleasant surprise as he helped him up.

The middle-aged man and Hua Qing Si exchanged glances, both of them seeing the intent to retreat present in each other's eyes.

"Little Brother, let's go!" Hua Qing Si shouted to Yang Kai, who was still standing still, revealing what seemed to be a look of great concern.

"There's something amiss with Senior Yang." Qin Yu said through her sobs.

Being protected by Yang Kai, she did not suffer any injuries at all. On the contrary, Yang Kai had faced that terrifying energy shockwave head-on, causing him to spurt a mouthful of golden blood onto the seal.

Qin Yu had seen it with great clarity; when Yang Kai's mouthful of golden blood landed on the seal, something within it had changed, as it became full of vitality and a strange type of demonic energy erupted.

In fact, she could even faintly feel that at this moment, Yang Kai had some ambiguous connection with the seal.

"What happened?" Hua Qing Si was shocked by this development, prompting her to ask out.

"I'm also not sure." Qin Yu shook her head as she continued to look at Yang Kai in a daze.

Duan Yuan Shan's expression turned gloomy before he proceeded to move beside Yang Kai to observe his condition. In the next instant, his expression suddenly changed.

That was because he discovered that Yang Kai's eyes were wide open, and golden blood was dripping from their corners. Yang Kai was staring deeply at the seal, as though he was being attracted by something. Furthermore, a look of struggling was present on his face, though no matter what he did, he seemed to be unable to extricate himself from it.

Jet-black Demon Qi suddenly gushed out from the seal, before climbing straight up Yang Kai's body. Just like a black rope, it bound him tightly to the stone wall where the seal was.

The aura radiating from Yang Kai promptly turned demonic, while weird jet-black Demon Crests started to surface on his revealed skin.

"Demonization!" Duan Yuan Shan cried out in shock.

After noticing this spectacle, how would he not know that Yang Kai had already been corroded by the Demon Qi, and that it would not take much longer for him to become an existence exactly like what Jiang Tai Sheng had been?

As such, he no longer hesitated. Extending his hand, he pulled Qin Yu to his side, surrounded her and the unconscious Qin Zhao Yang with his Source Qi, before shouting to Hua Qing Si and the middle-aged man. "This Duan will take leave first."

As he said those words, he shot off like a bolt of lighting towards Maplewood City.

The energy he had remaining in his body should be enough for him to rush back to Maplewood City. As long as he arrived back at the city, he could rely on the city's defensive Spirit Array to defend against the Demon Qi.

"What about Senior Yang?" Qin Yu asked in panic.

It was more or less due to her that Yang Kai had ended up in his current situation. If not for Yang Kai protecting her, leaving his back exposed, he would not spit that mouthful of golden blood that just so happened to land on the seal.

Therefore, Qin Yu could not stay silent. Nevertheless, with her cultivation realm being too low, she was utterly incapable of doing anything at all.

"Don't worry about him." Duan Yuan Shan replied, before abruptly increasing his speed, disappearing in a blink of an eye.

On the other side, the middle-aged man and Hua Qing Si did not immediately retreat. With their powerful cultivation realms, they were not too afraid of the Demon Qi that had gathered in their surroundings. On the contrary, they were sending weird gazes at Yang Kai.

After an instant, the middle-aged man let off a cold laugh before speaking, "Little brat, since you've been corroded by Demon Qi, you'll definitely become a Demon. Therefore, this king killing you will be considered an act of justice for the heavens."

The short spear resurfaced in his hand. In the next instant, a shockwave erupted as it stabbed right towards Yang Kai's head.

However, right at this moment, Hua Qing Si's hands suddenly shook, before a coloured streamer-like artifact shot out. Twirling around the short spear, it did not let the spear advance an inch further.

"What are you doing? Don't tell me that you've also been corroded by the Demon Qi?" Anger surged as he turned his head and shouted.

With a giggle, Hua Qing Si replied, "Sir, do I look like I've been corroded by Demon Qi?"

"Then why did you obstruct this king?"

"Just a moment ago, this little brother was risking his life alongside us, and in a blink of an eye, you, sir, wanted to kill him. Aren't you a little bit too heartless?" Hua Qing Si looked at the middle-aged man in contempt, before speaking out in a ridiculing tone. "Your change of attitude is faster than flipping through a book."

"What kind of friendship do I have with a brat like him?"

"You didn't have one, but I do now," Hua Qing Si giggled sweetly. "Earlier, I said that I'd protect him. Now, are you not giving this mistress any face by trying to kill him in front of me?"

"This King has to give you face? Who do you think you are?" The middle-aged man squinted and replied, "Hurry up and scram. If not, don't blame this king for being discourteous."

"Aiya, I'm so scared." Hua Qing Si made a frightened look while patting her well-rounded chest, before bursting into a fit of giggles. "You've become angry just like that, sir? Anger isn't good for the body, it makes people grow old faster."

"You cheap slut… time and time again you've infuriated me! This king doesn't wish to argue with you anymore. However, if you continue to court death, don't blame this king for being merciless and killing you first!" The middle-aged man roared out. With a wave of his short spear, it transformed into eight copies of itself, howling as they shot towards Hua Qing Si.

Faced with such an attack, even Hua Qing Si did not dare to be any bit careless. Forming a seal with her hands, dots of starlight suddenly erupted from her tender body, causing her to appear just like a sea of stars. In the next instant, the beams of starlight condensed together to form several dozen arrows that floated before her.

Each arrow appeared to be held in invisible bows, and with a flash, clashed against the incoming spears.

"Star Chaser Arrow!" The middle-aged man's expression changed drastically upon seeing this spectacle. As he controlled his artifact to resist her Secret Technique attack, he roared out, "Are you a member of the Star Soul Palace?"

"Hehehehe… so, what if I am?" Hua Qing Si giggled sweetly. While doing so, she clapped her hands, before forming a series of complicated hand seals. Patting down in the direction of the middle-aged man's head, she shouted, "Star Descent!"