Martial Peak

Translator: Silavin & Tia

Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun

Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys

The ceremony only lasted for a day, but it wasn't until 3 days later that Luo Sha Sect sent away all the guests and finally quieted down again. For the past 3 days, Yang Kai had been mingling among the various Emperor Realm Masters. He had no other choice. Since he was now the High-Rank Guest Elder of Luo Sha Sect, he had to act as befitting his position, becoming a bridge to create many connections between Luo Sha Sect and the other Sects here to attend this ceremony.

These results made Tao Ying Ruo and the others beside themselves with joy. It could be said that things had already exceeded their reasons for hiring Yang Kai as a High-Rank Guest Elder in the first place. Nobody in the entire Southern Territory would ever dare to touch Luo Sha Sect again in the future. With Yang Kai as their golden signboard, Luo Sha Sect need only take its time to develop in a steady manner and would definitely get a chance to make its comeback in the future.

This was something Yang Kai no longer needed to consider. He had High Heaven Palace already and it was only because of Yu Zhuo that he offered protection to Luo Sha Sect, so it was impossible for him to stay here for long.

He originally planned to leave immediately after the ceremony. In any case, he had left a Cross-Territory Space Array here, so if Luo Sha Sect were to run into some sort of problem, Tao Ying Ruo could head to High Heaven Palace for help. However, he had to delay his departure a little longer because of the matter in the mountain valley of the Restricted Area. Yang Kai planned to wait until the next full moon to thoroughly study the phenomenon before leaving.

On the other hand, Tao Ying Ruo went to Luo Sha Peak with a few of her Junior Sisters in the Dao Source Realm. After Ran Yi Rou announced their arrival, Yang Kai received them in the guest hall. The five Dao Source Realm Masters lined up and bowed.

Then, Tao Ying Ruo said, "Elder Yang, Luo Sha Sect will never forget the great kindness you showed us. If you ever need anything in the future, Luo Sha Sect will never refuse your requests."

Yang Kai helped them up and waved his hand casually, "Acting Sect Master, you are being excessive. I am also a member of Luo Sha Sect now, this is just a part of my duties."

Tao Ying Ruo shook her head and gratefully exclaimed, "Luo Sha Sect is truly lucky to have you, Elder Yang." While speaking, she shot a glance at Qin Pei.

Qin Pei stepped forward and held out a Space Ring with both hands to Yang Kai.

"This is…" He took it and gave her a curious look.

Qin Pei replied, "These are the congratulatory gifts from all the guests at the ceremony. The disciples have made a record of the gifts on this jade slip so Elder Yang can browse through it to see if there is anything missing."

Luo Sha Sect was technically gifted these things, but Tao Ying Ruo and the others knew their place. Those people had not given these gifts out of respect for Luo Sha Sect but rather out of respect for Yang Kai, so they could not keep any of them and decided to hand everything over without keeping a single item.

"There really are quite a lot of good things in here," Yang Kai casually glanced through the items and smiled, not refusing the gifts and putting them into his Space Ring. This was an unimaginable wealth for Luo Sha Sect, but it was nothing much in his eyes. High Heaven Palace was now in charge of the entire Northern Territory and its annual income was beyond imagination, so what was this single ring in comparison?

He had no intention of sharing these gifts with Luo Sha Sect because he knew that even if he mentioned it, Tao Ying Ruo and the others would never agree to accept them. These women were not that brazen. Besides, as the saying went 'Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime'.

If Luo Sha Sect wanted to expand in the future and obtain sufficient cultivation resources, then they needed to have a stable long-term income source. Of course, Yang Kai had already planned for this and spoke up, "Acting Sect Master, you should take a trip to High Heaven Palace when you have the time and meet with my Head Manager there. Perhaps, you can discuss with her to find a way to benefit Luo Sha Sect. That way, you won't lack resources for your disciples' various cultivation needs in the future."

Tao Ying Ruo's eyes lit up when she heard those words, "Many thanks, Elder Yang. I will visit in a few days."

He nodded, "When you go there, please let her know that I will be staying here for another month and will return after."

"Good."

For Tao Ying Ruo and the others, it didn't matter how long Yang Kai wanted to remain in Luo Sha Sect; after all, they had already given him unfettered access to even the mountain valley of the Restricted Area. What else was there that they could not give to him? In fact, it was best if something could spark between him, Ran Yi Rou or Yu Ke Ran. It was a pity that this wish was never realized.

For the next twenty days, Yang Kai remained behind closed doors. Forget Tao Ying Ruo and the other Dao Source Realm Elders, even Ran Yi Rou and Yu Ke Ran did not see him at all.

In the blink of an eye, one month had passed and it was once again the night of the full moon.

Yang Kai arrived at the mountain valley of the Restricted Area early that evening, looked around, and couldn't help frowning. The last time he came here, the moon had been bright, and the skies were clear. Unfortunately, the weather was not good today and dark clouds covered the sky, making the whole world dark. There was no moonlight coming down at all.

Seeing this, Yang Kai couldn't help feeling a little worried. He did not know whether the changes in the weather would have any impact on the Restricted Area; however, if it was as he had guessed, then the weather wouldn't make much of a difference.

He waited quietly for night to fall, and soon that familiar feeling appeared again. Yang Kai's expression brightened as he became more and more certain that his previous conjecture was correct. This time around, he didn't pay any attention to the smooth cliff because there was nothing unusual about it since there was no moonlight tonight. Instead, he came directly to the place he noticed last time near the end of the phenomenon.

It didn't take long before another weak energy fluctuation appeared. This was the moment he had been waiting for. Thus, he widened his eyes and stared intently at the forming Void Crack in front of him, his heart filling with a sense of excitement. It turned out to be exactly as he had guessed! When the fluctuations appeared, an almost undetectable tear in space appeared at this location. It was just that this tear was so fleeting that the fluctuations ended abruptly and became unnoticeable as a result.

Yang Kai noticed this anomaly previously, but his mind had been immersed in the smooth wall cliff and it wasn't until the last moment that he shifted his focus. As a result, he had failed to track the source of those fluctuations.

There must be something hidden in the Void Crack here. That unknown existence would break through space on the nights of a full moon, causing a tear to appear in the mountain valley. Then, under the refraction of the moonlight, it would project some of what was happening inside the Void Crack onto the smooth cliff wall. In other words, the root cause of this phenomenon was not in the cliff wall but in the Void Crack.

Yang Kai couldn't help feeling excited as he was looking forward to discovering the mystery hidden in this Void Crack. Even if other people had noticed this anomaly, they probably couldn't do anything about it, but it was different for him, he was proficient in the Dao of Space. As long as he could trace the source of the phenomena, he could directly tear space open and enter the Void Crack to investigate.

Although he had also torn an opening in the space previously, the Void Crack was an unpredictable place and he could not follow the faint trail. Even if he tore open space in the same spot at another time, he still couldn't find the root cause of the phenomena.

After several more fluctuations, the fleeting space tear could finally be traced back to its source. It was as fine as a strand of hair, and if it had been anyone else, even a Third-Order Emperor Realm Master, they would not have noticed anything amiss if they came here.

Yang Kai no longer hesitated. Space Principles flared up and he inserted his hands into the tear and violently pried it open before slipping into the Void Crack.

Inside the Void Crack that was filled with chaos and nothingness, he was stunned for a moment as he stared blankly at something straight ahead and almost couldn't believe what he was seeing.

Many signs had led him to form a conjecture that there might be something hidden inside the Void Crack and his guess turned out to be correct. He did indeed discover something when he followed the trail and investigated the source; however, what was hidden in this place was not some unique treasure or mighty weapon that he had imagined. It turned out to be a person. Moreover, it was a woman! At least, she should be a woman… A man wouldn't wear such flowery robes.

This woman was sitting cross-legged in the Void. She was so emaciated that she was practically just skin and bones; her eye sockets were sunken inward; her hair was greyish white; and her eyes were dim and dull like those of a dead fish. Even the life aura coming from her body was so weak that it felt like she could die at any time.

Yang Kai was shocked, extremely shocked! [How can there be a woman in this place!?]

He knew well just how dangerous the Void Crack was as even someone like him might die if he lost his way, much less someone who knew nothing about the Dao of Space. Therefore, he never imagined that there would come a day when he would encounter a random woman in the Void Crack!

Judging by her appearance, she was probably one of those unlucky people who got lost in the Void, just like how it was depicted in the rumours. Who knows how long she had been lost in this place for her to become so thin? It must be said that a person who could enter a Void Crack should not be that weak, and since they were relatively powerful, they would naturally carry some Spirit Pills or Source Crystals for restorative purposes.

From the looks of this woman and the traces he could sense around him, Yang Kai hazarded a guess that she had been trapped in this place for more than ten thousand years. At the very least, it had been several thousand years. If not, her body would not have shrunk so badly. He could practically imagine what had happened to her with just a single glance. She had been trapped in the endless Void and over the years, every single resource inside her Space Ring had been consumed. With no other options, she could only rely on the vitality of her physical body to stay alive. Who knew how many years had passed since then? Almost all of her flesh and blood had been consumed as a result, leading to her current starved and emaciated appearance.

[Who is she? And, how did she get trapped in this place?] What shocked Yang Kai even more though was that she was still alive! The vitality coming from her body was weak indeed, like a candle in the wind that could get snuffed out at any moment, but she was certainly still alive. That was because when he looked at her, those dull eyes suddenly moved. The movements were very stiff, as though they had not moved in a very long time; nevertheless, they immediately fixed on him.

When their gazes met, those eyes shone with a desperate look of joy and disbelief. At the same time, a gurgling sound came from her throat. Under those circumstances, Yang Kai couldn't help feeling rather shaken by the situation.

The woman in front of him parted her lips that were as dry as tree bark several times, but no sound came out of her mouth. Even so, that slight movement caused her already weak vitality to be exhausted at an incredible pace. The light in her eyes instantly dimmed as a result. Yang Kai couldn't help breaking out in a cold sweat, scared that this woman might die just like that. After a moment of hesitation, he took out a Spirit Pill from his Space Ring, held it between his fingers, and walked over to her.

The woman's gaze was immediately attracted to the Spirit Pill in his fingers. She looked like a starving ghost that had spotted food and even her weak breathing became ragged.

Yang Kai secretly sighed to himself. Even though he could barely feel any power coming from this woman now, she had managed to persist in the Void for thousands of years. That indicated that her true strength must have been absolutely terrifying at its peak. Be that as it may, a mere Origin King Grade Spirit Pill could now make her show such a desperate look. She no longer had any form of elegance that came with being a powerful Master, which made him sigh in pity at the sight.