Martial Peak

Translator: Silavin & Tia

Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun

Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys

When Elder received the Divine Sense transmission Yang Kai sent to him, his expression changed and he immediately instructed the other eight Stone Spirits in a soft voice. In the next moment, the nine members of the Stone Spirit Clan dispersed and headed in all directions.

An Elder of Orthodoxy Temple, who had been possessed by a Demon Spirit, stood atop a certain tree canopy. He carefully concealed his aura, hid his figure, and blended perfectly into his surrounding environment. Many people passed both above and below him, but nobody noticed his presence. He hid in this spot and watched the battlefield several kilometres away while controlling the hundreds of Demons that had been greatly boosted in strength to fight against more than a dozen Emperor Realm Masters.

At that moment, his vision darkened without warning as a large mountain stood in front of him and blocked the light coming from above. Surprised, he looked up only to see a Stone Spirit that was several tens of meters tall staring straight at him.

[I've been discovered! I can't believe I was discovered! And by a Stone Spirit at that! Since when does a Stone Spirit have such keen senses!?] In his opinion, his concealment was perfect and it was impossible to discover him unless a Third-Order Emperor Realm Master was deliberately searching for him.

Nevertheless, he immediately shrank back to retreat without any hesitation. At that moment, he felt something tightening around his leg which was followed by a pulling force. It felt like he had been caught by a large hand. He turned back to look in horror, revealing a look of disbelief on his face. The thing that was grabbing onto his ankle was not a large hand, but a vine.

His Demon Qi shot out and immediately turned that vine into dust; however, that momentary delay gave the Stone Spirit an opening to attack. A large fist came smashing towards him as though a meteor was falling from the sky. It landed squarely on his chest and in that instant, he felt as though he had been struck by lightning. The sound of bones breaking rang out and subsequently, his entire person collapsed to the ground like a ragged gunny sack. Before he touched the ground, fragments of his internal organs spurted out of his mouth and nose. Then, his neck tilted to the side and his aura disappeared completely.

Even though this person was possessed by a Demon Spirit, he was still just a First-Order Emperor. Each member of the Stone Spirit Clan was so powerful that even a Third-Order Emperor Realm Master would suffer heavy injuries if they took a direct hit from them, much less a mere First-Order Emperor. A single attack had immediately ended this man's life.

After that, the Stone Spirit turned and ran off in another direction, a soft whispering voice coming from behind him. It was true that the Stone Spirits did not have keen vision or senses, but it was different when they had the guidance of the Wood Spirits. The Wood Spirit Clan and the Stone Spirit Clan complemented each other perfectly and would fight side-by-side in battle. Furthermore, the Wood Spirit Clan's perception of plants was unparalleled. Those Demon Spirits who hid among the trees might be difficult to detect by most people, but the Wood Spirits simply needed to communicate with the surrounding forest to get a clear insight into where these Demon Spirits were hiding so they could accurately guide the Stone Spirits to their targets.

The nine Stone Spirits acted together to root out the Demon Spirits hiding in various locations throughout Orthodoxy Temple and either killed or severely injured them. Without the control of these Demon Spirits, the mindless Demons quickly lost their ability to fight. They simply stood there motionlessly, allowing others to knock them unconscious or fall out of the sky like raindrops.

Yang Kai monitored his surroundings with a cold look in his eyes and his gaze quickly fixed on a certain spot in a certain direction. That was the mountain valley where the Martial Gathering had been held. When he left one day ago, that mountain valley had been swamped with Demon Qi, a complete sea of black. Now that he was looking at it again, the situation seemed even worse than before. Moreover, Wen Zi Shan and the others were trapped in that mountain valley.

The overall situation had been settled. Almost all the people who had been possessed by Demon Spirits had been eliminated, and without them, the remaining Demons could no longer cause any trouble. Thus, Yang Kai headed in the direction of the mountain valley.

Along the way, three streams of light rushed towards Yang Kai from three different directions and arrived next to him. They were Fan Wu, Cang Gou, and Luan Feng. They had clearly noticed his movements and came to provide support. No matter how much they disliked him and even wanted to kill him themselves at times, that woman, who was the natural enemy of all Divine Spirits, was standing behind him. They had personally witnessed the intimacy between him and that woman before she entered the Blood Gate and also knew how important he was to her; therefore, they knew that she would definitely make them suffer greatly the moment she came out of her retreat if they allowed Yang Kai to die right under their noses. For that reason, they had no choice but to stay by his side to prevent any accidents.

These four figures sped forward without running into any hindrances along the way and soon arrived next to the mountain valley, landing on a certain mountain peak. Looking around, the three Divine Spirits frowned, and a hint of fear showed in their eyes. That was because the mountain valley was flooded with dense Demon Qi, squirming and rolling about like a living thing. They did not know how the Demon Qi was formed, but they were certain that they would suffer greatly if they fell into it.

The sounds of fighting and killing came out from the middle of the mountain valley, making it clear people were trapped and besieged inside.

"Boy, how dare you ruin my plans!? Did you think you could rescue them? In your dreams!" Lei Gu's voice came from somewhere inside the mountain valley, echoing from all directions, making it impossible to tell where it was coming from.

"Why are you hiding in the shadows!? If you have the guts, why don't you come out and fight!?" Yang Kai snorted coldly.

Lei Gu laughed, "How naïve! Just wait right there! I will finish them off first, then I'll come and deal with you!" After those words left his mouth, the Demon Qi in the mountain valley churned even more violently and screams rang out from all over.

Yang Kai's expression changed, "Junior Sister Murong!"

He distinctly heard Murong Xiao Xiao's voice among those screams and was just about to rush in when Luan Feng grabbed his shoulder and shot him a glare as she snarled, "What are you doing!? Do you court death!?"

"Let go!" Yang Kai shook off her hand angrily.

Fan Wu's figure flickered and stood in Yang Kai's path, quickly warning, "Yang Kai, don't be so impulsive. It's clear as day that that guy is deliberately trying to provoke you and lead you into a trap. You will be doing exactly what he wants if you rush in right now!"

Cang Gou also tried to persuade Yang Kai, "That's right. The Demon Qi is so dense here that it's incredibly dangerous inside. You need to reconsider this."

"To Hell with reconsidering!" Yang Kai shouted, spraying the three Divine Spirits in the face with his spit, his expression turning savage, "My friends are inside! I don't know how much longer they can hold on for! How can I not go and rescue them!? Are you asking me to stand here and watch them die!?"

"Recklessly rushing in is not the way! At the very least, we need to know the situation inside!" Fan Wu scowled, "Let's do this. Call over everyone outside and we will work together to disperse the Demon Qi in the mountain valley. That way, the situation will reveal itself on its own."

Yang Kai's expression was gloomy, but nevertheless, he did not insist on rushing in again either. Even he knew that that was the only choice they had at the moment.

At that moment, Murong Xiao Xiao's screams rang out again.

"Lei Gu, you court death!" Yang Kai's expression became hostile again and Space Principles flared before he vanished from where he stood, rushing in without any regard for anything else.

Fan Wu and the others were instantly dumbfounded.

Luan Feng was so livid that her chest heaved violently and she frustratedly cursed, "Fool!"

Similarly, Cang Gou shook his head with a helpless look, feeling helpless.

On the other hand, Fan Wu's expression was grim as he gritted his teeth and spoke up, "What are you still standing there for? Let's go."

Regardless of whether they wanted to or not, since Yang Kai had rushed in, they had no choice but to follow. Fortunately, the three of them were Divine Spirits so they had inherently strong resistance towards Demon Qi corruption and did not need to fear it in the short term. However, nobody dared to make any assumptions if they were exposed to this Demon Qi for an extended period. Besides, what worried them the most was Yang Kai as who knows what treachery Lei Gu had prepared in advance to deal with him? It would be a miracle if Yang Kai could survive for this long after plunging headlong into such an obvious trap.

As soon as they stepped into the Demon Qi, the three Divine Spirits felt their hearts sinking. That was because they immediately lost sight of each other. The Demon Qi was swirling in all directions and completely disoriented them, making it impossible to distinguish North from South. Even up, down, left, and right confused.

Burst of screams rang in their ears, further disturbing their senses. Moreover, murderous intent came from all directions while black shadows that were barely perceptible flitted around them like fish, moving so fast that one couldn't grasp their traces.

The Demons could bring out their full power in this environment while the three Divine Spirits had to remain on guard while protecting themselves against the corruption of the Demon Qi. If this situation continued for long, it would become extremely unfavourable for them.

The three of them were duty-bound though, so as soon as they entered this place, they kept calling out Yang Kai's name in hopes of receiving a reply. Unfortunately, each of them now felt as though they were the only person left in this world, so how could anyone else exist close to them?

Meanwhile, Yang Kai's figure flitted through the darkness. He kept speeding forward as Murong Xiao Xiao's screams resounded in his ears. She sounded like she was fighting somebody. He tracked the sounds and followed in the direction it was coming from, but even so, he couldn't find anybody.

All of a sudden, Murong Xiao Xiao let out a blood-curdling scream which then stopped abruptly. The veins in Yang Kai's forehead twitched in response and he paused mid-motion. His surroundings were completely silent, and no matter how he tried to listen, he couldn't hear a single voice anymore. It seemed something tragic had happened to her since her scream that came to such an abrupt end just now. As a result, Yang Kai's expression twisted and he raised his hand to summon out the Myriads Sword.

Yang Kai's Emperor Qi surged and a powerful sword wave flashed out as he roared, "Lei Gu, face me!"

Obviously, Lei Gu didn't react at all and instead, another scream came from the place where the sword wave had passed.

Yang Kai was stunned for a moment. He could tell that the voice belonged to Xiao Bai Yi. Rushing over, he saw a person leaning against a tree, dressed in familiar white robs now stained red in blood. This man used his hands to press against the wound but couldn't seem to stop the blood from flowing out, a crimson pool gathering below him.

"Xiao Bai!" Yang Kai walked up to Xiao Bai Yi and called out in a trembling voice.

Xiao Bai Yi looked up, his complexion utterly bloodless. When he saw Yang Kai, he smiled sorrowfully, "Junior Brother Yang…"

"Your injury…" Yang Kai stared blankly at the injury on Xiao Bai Yi's body. The injury stretched from Xiao Bai Yi's shoulder all the way to his abdomen and was clearly caused by a sword strike. In addition, traces of Yang Kai's Emperor Qi remained in the wound.

Yang Kai was dumbfounded.

"Junior Brother, don't blame yourself…" Xiao Bai Yi smiled at Yang Kai, blood trickling out from the corner of his mouth, "I was dying anyway. You need to escape. You have to run as far away as you can."

However, Yang Kai remained frozen to the spot as if somebody had cast a Binding Technique on him, his eyes fixed on the sword wound on Xiao Bai Yi's body. His gaze trembled lightly and his face filled with shock, fear, and guilt. He never expected that the random attack he unleashed would hit Xiao Bai Yi.