Martial Peak

Translator: Silavin & Tia

Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun

Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys

Orthodoxy Temple was one of the top three Sects in the Southern Territory, but it was now a chaotic mess. There were broken ruins everywhere and traces of the great battle from before were clearly visible.

The remaining cultivators camped separately on the numerous mountain peaks in the area. All their faces were filled with a lingering sense of fear. They couldn't help shuddering slightly whenever they recalled the experience they went through over the past few days.

On the other hand, the people from the Northern Territory tirelessly went around to check on some of the Emperor Realm Masters of the Southern Territory. The thirty-two Monster Kings from the Ancient Wild Lands occupied an entire Spirit Peak alone. They had managed to procure a lot of food and wine from somewhere and they were celebrating merrily, having the time of their lives. Their celebrative atmosphere formed a stark contrast with the gloom and depression among those from the Southern Territory. To those of the Monster Race, the life and death of these Humans were none of their concern. They would never have intervened in the affairs of the Southern Territory if they had not followed Yang Kai here.

Meanwhile, the people of the Southern Territory were glad that the current situation between the Humans and the Monster Kings was only as such. It was no lie to say that each and every one of those Monster Kings was not to be trifled with. Moreover, most of the Monster Race had innately violent personalities. Conflicts might arise if they were to co-mingle with the Humans, and there was nobody here that could stop them if it came to that; thus, nobody objected to their actions; they could drink and have fun all they want if that was what they wanted to do.

A few days passed just like that. Murong Xiao Xiao quietly floated in mid-air and monitored the surroundings for any commotion. All of a sudden, her expression became stern as she carefully studied something that appeared on the horizon. A moment later, she happily shouted downward, "They're back!"

*Shua…*

Wen Zi Shan's figure suddenly appeared beside her. He looked nervously in that direction and saw several figures rushing towards them at a high speed. Yang Kai was in the lead, followed by the seven-or-eight-year-old little girl, then the three great Divine Spirits of the Eastern Territory, and… no one else. Seeing this, Wen Zi Shan's complexion suddenly became as pale as could be, and his fists clenched tightly together.

Similarly, Murong Xiao Xiao seemed to have realized something and her pretty face changed slightly, her eyes reddening.

"Temple Master!" Yang Kai flew over to Wen Zi Shan and cupped his fists. He then noticed that Wen Zi Shan and Murong Xiao Xiao's expressions were a little off, so he couldn't help feeling worried for a moment, "What's wrong?"

Wen Zi Shan hesitated a moment before speaking up, "You've worked hard." He then opened his mouth again as if he had a question he wanted to ask but didn't dare to, lest he heard an answer he did not want to hear.

Murong Xiao Xiao asked the question on his behalf in a choked-up voice, "Where is Senior Sister Gao?"

Only then did Yang Kai understand why these two had such solemn expressions. It turned out to be related to Gao Xue Ting's safety. His expression became serious, and he said in a low voice, "Senior Sister Gao, she…"

Upon hearing those words, Murong Xiao Xiao promptly covered her mouth with her hands as large, pea-like tears slid down her cheeks as she broke down in tears.

Yang Kai instantly felt speechless. [I haven't even finished talking. Why are you crying? I already told him before that she is fine… He should have shared this piece of information with you. Why are you immediately assuming the worst?]

Turning to glance at Wen Zi Shan, he discovered that Wen Zi Shan had an extremely mournful expression that looked more sorrowful than death itself, he even swayed unsteadily on his feet as though he would collapse at any time.

"Senior Sister Gao was injured, but it's nothing too serious." Yang Kai finally finished his sentence. At the same time, he stretched out his hand to summon Gao Xue Ting from the Small Sealed World.

Gao Xue Ting looked a little confused, suddenly being brought to a new place, but she quickly pushed her Emperor Qi to steady herself. Lifting her head to look around, she asked curiously, "Junior Sister, what happened to you?"

Murong Xiao Xiao's tears were still flowing down her face, but her eyes widened and she looked at Gao Xue Ting stupidly for a moment before she burst into laughter and called out softly, "Senior Sister Gao!"

Gao Xue Ting nodded lightly before looking at Wen Zi Shan and furrowed her brow slightly, "And what's wrong with you?"

Wen Zi Shan gulped with some difficulty and walked over to her slowly, looking as if he couldn't believe his eyes. He finally came to a standstill when he stood in front of her, then he reached out a hand to stroke her face.

A blush instantly crept onto Gao Xue Ting's face as she leaned back slightly and bit her red lips lightly, "What are you doing?"

"Don't move!" Wen Zi Shan shouted, causing her body to stiffen as she obediently stayed still and allowed that large hand to press against half of her face. A slight tremor came from that hand, making her feel confused, but when she realized that he was tremendously worried about her safety, a shy expression immediately appeared in her eyes. Even so, her heart felt incredibly warm.

[How many years has it been since he last looked so worried? The last time was probably during that incident when I was just a child where I snuck out to play and nearly got myself eaten by a Monster Beast…] Lost in her memories, Gao Xue Ting felt like time had reversed for a moment as bits and pieces of memories of their time together over hundreds of years flashed through her mind.

In the next moment, he pinched her cheek hard as though he wanted to pull her flesh off and with widened eyes he asked anxiously, "Does it hurt?"

Yang Kai, who had been watching the show from the side with great relish, palmed his forehead and couldn't bear to look straight at them anymore.

The blush receded from Gao Xue Ting's face and an icy cold light flashed from her eyes. Her leg came out from under her skirt and swiftly kicked Wen Zi Shan in the stomach, sending him flying with a loud bam. Her expression remained frosty as she coldly snorted, "Does it hurt?"

Wen Zi Shan doubled over in pain, his hand clutching at his abdomen. Even so, he was smiling happily, "It hurts! It hurts! It hurts to death!"

"What is wrong with you!?" She rubbed at her cheek and turned to look at Murong Xiao Xiao, "I'm fine. I'm sorry for worrying you."

Murong Xiao Xiao nodded repeatedly and vigorously like a chicken pecking at rice. A moment later, her expression darkened again, "Senior Brother Luo, he… he fell."

Yang Kai's expression shifted slightly, "Senior Brother Luo died?"

Murong Xiao Xiao nodded, tears flowing down her cheeks again. Although Yang Kai had suspected as much, he still couldn't help feeling a little forlorn when he heard the news. He and Luo Chen had not interacted much, but they were both from Azure Sun Temple after all. It was only natural to feel a little saddened by this news.

"What about Xiao Bai?" Yang Kai asked. Although he was sure that what he 'killed' before was just an illusion, he didn't know the specific details about how Xiao Bai Yi was faring.

Murong Xiao Xiao replied, "Senior Brother Xiao was slightly injured, but it's nothing serious."

At that moment, Wen Zi Shan regained his usual composure and sighed softly, "The Southern Territory… Has suffered heavy losses in this incident."

Yang Kai raised his gaze and looked at the people down below. Sweeping the surroundings with his Divine Sense, he got a vague grasp of the current situation. Great losses were certainly suffered. Approximately a third of the several hundred Emperor Realm Masters had lost their lives. Similarly, about half of the tens of thousands of elite disciples were dead too. The Southern Territory would need at least five hundred years to recover from such a catastrophe.

"What's the situation over there?" He suddenly pointed his finger at the mountain valley where the Martial Gathering was held and was currently wrapped in countless layers of vines. At a glance, the entire mountain valley looked like a ball made out of vines. Furthermore, a dreadful and terrifying pitch-black Demon Qi continued to churn within, even dying some of the vines black.

Hundreds of petite Wood Spirits were surrounding the mountain valley and seemed to be continuously using Secret Techniques while under the protection of the Stone Spirits.

Wen Zi Shan explained, "It's the doing of the Wood Spirits you brought with you. They seem to have a way to suppress the Demon Qi, so we placed all those that were demonified there." After saying that, he sighed, "But, that's not a solution. What they are doing doesn't solve the root of the problem. Those people will be completely corrupted by Demon Qi, sooner or later, and when that happens… There's nothing we can do for them anymore."

"I'll go and take a look," Yang Kai said before rushing in that direction.

Ma Qing and Xiao Yu Yang were guarding this area as well. Nobody knew how effective the Wood Spirits' methods were, so if those demonified cultivators went wild and began acting violent, somebody would need to be around to subdue them.

Those two had naturally noticed Yang Kai's return a long time ago, but they had a duty to fulfil; hence, they could not go over to ask about the situation. When Ma Qing saw Yang Kai coming over, he anxiously asked, "Is he really dead?"

"Lei Gu is definitely dead."

Both Ma Qing and Xiao Yu Yang's expressions brightened hearing those words and they both nodded, "Good!"

Who knows what would happen in the future if Lei Gu was allowed to escape? Since Lei Gu had been brought to justice, then this matter was more or less settled. The only issue left to deal with were these demonified cultivators. They were rather troubled by this issue. There were many such cultivators here, at least ten thousand of them. It was one thing to kill them off in battle; however, they had captured these tens of thousands of Demons that they could neither kill nor release. It was extremely troubling, to say the least. Besides, practically every Sect had disciples among these ten thousand. Who could harden their hearts and slaughter every one of them? While they were borrowing the power of the Wood Spirits to suppress the Demon Qi with mysterious methods, it was only a temporary solution rather than a permanent cure.

Xiao Yu Yang thoughtfully asked, "Elder Yang, do you have a way to awaken the consciousness of these Demons?" He had seen that Gao Xue Ting had returned safely and soundly, which served as the basis for his conjecture. Gao Xue Ting had previously been demonified, and yet she currently looked no different from normal. That could only mean that the Demon Qi in her body had been purged somehow. The only ones who could do something so mysterious were either Yang Kai or the three Divine Spirits. Having seen what Yang Kai was capable of, Xiao Yu Yang had higher expectations of him than the three Divine Spirits.

"I'll try," Yang Kai nodded. He would have done the same even without Xiao Yu Yang saying anything. Turning to look at Mu Na, who was standing not too far away, Yang Kai called out, "Matriarch, please withdraw your Secret Technique."

Mu Na nodded when she heard those words before coordinating with the other Wood Spirits. The vines that were wrapping around the mountain valley soon retracted and revealed the situation inside.

Ten thousand Demons stood there motionlessly as Yang Kai studied them for a moment. [If my guess is right… Not enough time has passed since they were demonified, so they don't have the ability to act independently for the time being. They can't move unless they are being controlled by a Demon Spirit. Good, that will make things a bit easier for me.]

With a slight shift of his body, Yang Kai stood in the sky above the centre of the mountain valley. He gave a wave of his hand and brought out several Demons in the Emperor Realm who had been suppressed in the Small Sealed World all this time. These Demons were the ones who attacked him on top of the mountain previously and subsequently got knocked out, captured, and suppressed inside the Small Sealed World by him. Now that he was about to exorcise the Demon Qi, it was only natural to bring them out so that he could treat them too.

When all the preparations were complete, Yang Kai took a light breath and simultaneously closed his eyes. In front of everyone's fixed gazes, his eyes jerked open and the aura around his body underwent an unbelievable change, becoming extremely ancient and desolate.

Xiao Yu Yang and Ma Qing both watched in amazement. Exchanging a glance, the two of them could both see the other was completely at a loss about what technique could be so peculiar.

When a difficult-sounding chant rang out, Yang Kai slowly lowered his fingers and pointed. A faint light bloomed at the tip of his fingers and a circle of light suddenly fluctuated and spread out, sweeping across the bodies of the ten thousand cultivators below.