Martial Peak

Translator: Silavin & Tia

Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun

Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys

If Yang Kai had to be honest, for a moment, he didn't know how to deal with this situation where he encountered a woman in the Void Crack. He didn't even know if she was good or evil. If this woman turned out to be a heinous and evil existence, then wouldn't he be helping a tyrant by rescuing her? But, if the other party had accidentally fallen into this place and was trapped as a result, then it would be too cruel to just sit and watch without doing anything.

For this woman in front of him, he was definitely her last chance for survival. If he decided to ignore her and walk away, she would die without a doubt; therefore, he decided to restore a little bit of her vitality first before anything else. It would not be too late for him to make his decision after learning more about her origins and temperament.

Walking over, he handed the Spirit Pill over to the woman. That woman that was all skin and bones, stared at the Spirit Pill desperately. She tried hard to swallow it but didn't even have the strength to open her mouth; thus, she could only look up at him beggingly.

Yang Kai didn't know whether to laugh or cry and suddenly felt that he was being overly cautious. It didn't matter even if the woman in front of him used to be incredibly wicked. In her current state, she wouldn't recover even if she spent hundreds of years recuperating. With no other choice, he stretched out his hand, pried her mouth open, and stuffed the Spirit Pill into it. Then, he used his Emperor Qi to help her swallow it. The woman's eyes flashed with gratitude before she closed them and adjusted her breathing.

Yang Kai didn't remain idle, pressing a hand against her shoulder and carefully pouring his Emperor Qi into her body to help her refine the medicinal efficacies of the Spirit Pill, regardless of her consent. At the same time, he immediately gained a full understanding of the condition her body was in. What he discovered was extremely shocking, to say the least. He did not know what kind of cultivation this woman had back in her heyday, but right now, her entire body was withered, and her meridians had almost completely atrophied. There were many parts that were obstructed, and he needed to focus so that he could carefully direct the flow of his Emperor Qi; otherwise, he could inadvertently cause her to explode and die.

Needless to say, a mere Origin King Grade Spirit Pill was not enough for this woman to recover fully. Even if he helped to refine all of its medical efficacies, it only allowed her to stabilize her wavering vitality. There were no changes whatsoever to her emaciated appearance, but her dead fish eyes brightened considerably.

Yang Kai suddenly felt rather emotional. It was said that even ants would fight desperately to survive; so what more needed to be said about a Human? Even so, he felt that it might be better to die if a person were to be trapped in such a place for thousands of years. At the very least, it would end things quickly. Being trapped in this place was simply an endless life of suffering, and yet, this woman had survived. What kind of indomitable will and determination would be needed for her to do so? This woman's mental strength must be unimaginably strong for her to persevere under such conditions.

When the Origin King Grade Spirit Pill was completely refined, the woman stared straight at him again with eyes that were full of longing. It was obvious that she was hoping he would give her more Spirit Pills, but Yang Kai pretended not to understand and simply stood there scratching his face.

Seeing that her pleading gaze was not going to yield any results, she did not pressure him further and simply closed her eyes again. After recuperating for some time, she opened her mouth and an unintelligible sound came from within. It was clear that it had been too long since she last spoke. Even with a Spirit Pill to help stabilize her vitality, she was still incapable of forming a full sentence and only after trying for a long time did she finally force out some broken words, "Ma… many… thanks!"

Even though it was only two simple words, they seemed to exhaust all her strength and she fell silent again after uttering them.

Yang Kai nodded and smilingly said, "It was nothing. May I know how I should address you?"

The woman was startled, and a confused look appeared in her eyes. Yang Kai observed her reactions and thought to himself, [It can't be that she has been trapped in this place for so long that she forgot her own name, right?]

Fortunately, she soon forced out a few words with great difficulty, "Sheng… Yu… Zhu!"

Something like a name was a brand that existed throughout a person's life. Even if it had been momentarily forgotten, the memory of it would always return with some thought. Yang Kai was taken aback by her name for a moment as it was somewhat peculiar to him. Thinking about it carefully though, none of the people that he had ever interacted with had this surname, nor had he heard of it before today.

"This Junior's name is Yang Kai," He cupped his fists and continued, "I currently serve as the High-Rank Guest Elder of Luo Sha Sect. By coincidence, I found something strange in the Restricted Area of the Sect and followed the traces to this place. I did not expect to meet you here. Is the abnormality in Luo Sha Sect's Restricted Area caused by you?"

Sheng Yu Zhu nodded in response. Yang Kai could not tell if she was a person of few words or if it was just difficult for her to speak at the moment.

"As I thought…" Yang Kai failed to stifle his laughter. Various instances in the Restricted Area had led him to guess that the root cause was within the Void Crack, and upon seeing Sheng Yu Zhu in this place, he immediately concluded that the anomaly had indeed been man-made. Trapped in this place, she had used some kind of powerful Divine Ability to send clues out of the Void Crack. If anybody were to come across these clues, they would surely become curious about it, and if they could trace them back to the Void Crack, then they would surely encounter her.

It was just that the only person in this world, aside from Yang Kai himself, that could notice such a subtle clue would have to be Li Wu Yi of Spirit Beast Island. That was because they were the only two proficient in the Dao of Space and were capable of perceiving such a tiny tear in space, much less enter the Void Crack.

If this weren't the case, Yu Luo Sha, the former Sect Master of Luo Sha Sect, would not have been oblivious for so long. She simply thought that the anomaly in the Restricted Area was a blessing from the Heavens that was bestowed upon her.

It could be said that whatever Yu Luo Sha learned from the smooth cliff wall was deliberately left behind by Sheng Yu Zhu. By all accounts, Yu Luo Sha could be considered Sheng Yu Zhu's unofficial disciple. In fact, all disciples of Luo Sha Sect could be considered Sheng Yu Zhu's disciples.

Looking at Sheng Yu Zhu's current condition, it was obvious that she no longer had the ability to execute such a plan, so Yang Kai was certain that this was something she had done thousands of years ago. It had been maintained through some mysterious means all this while, allowing it to appear whenever there was a full moon and cause inexplicable changes in the Restricted Area.

"How long have you been trapped in this place?" Yang Kai asked the question he was most curious about.

Sheng Yu Zhu slowly shook her head. "I can't… remember…"

That truly was a saddening answer and Yang Kai couldn't help sighing on her behalf. The fact that she no longer remembered how long she had been trapped in this place indicated that it had been a very, very long time.

"Do you understand Space Principles?" Something else came to mind suddenly. That space tear couldn't appear in the mountain valley of the Restricted Area for no reason. It could only be man-made.

Sheng Yu Zhu replied, "I was… trapped… for… too long… so… I could… only… think of… a solution… myself."

After a long pause, she continued strenuously, "I only… understand… a little."

Yang Kai nodded in understanding. The tear in space had been far too small, as fine as a strand of hair. Yu Luo Sha had been cultivating in the Restricted Area for several hundred years and still failed to notice it. If Yang Kai had not been proficient in the Dao of Space himself, it would have been impossible for him to discover it.

It was reasonable for Sheng Yu Zhu to claim that she only comprehended some small bits of the Dao of Space. If she had zero understanding of it, she could not have created that space tear, while on the other hand, she would have widened the tear enough so that she could escape from this place had she been more proficient in it. Yang Kai had the feeling that Sheng Yu Zhu only had the barest understanding of the Dao of Space and was far from grasping its essence.

"Little Brother…" Sheng Yu Zhu called out.

"Do you have something to say?" He looked at her.

She continued, "Since… you managed to come here… that means you… can tear open space. Can you… bring me out of here?" As she spoke, her ability to express herself gradually became smoother and her hoarse voice also became more and more fluid. It was just that she was still very weak. Nevertheless, her eyes were burning with hope when she asked that question. A person finally appeared in front of her after so many years of waiting; moreover, it was obvious at a glance that this person was proficient in the Dao of Space. If she wanted to get out of this place, she could only put her hopes in him, so how could she not grab hold of such a good opportunity?

When he heard her question, Yang Kai rubbed his chin with a troubled look, "But I don't know whether you are a good person or a bad person."

Sheng Yu Zhu blinked, "Will you believe me if I say that I'm a good person?"

Yang Kai shook his head and replied seriously, "Naturally not."

Sheng Yu Zhu replied, "If I were a bad person, I would not have been deceived back then nor exiled to this place to never see the sky ever again."

Yang Kai shook his head once more though, "You don't have any proof. What if you turned out to be a heinous villain? I can't let you out."

Sheng Yu Zhu sighed, "How can I prove whether I am good or evil? I don't even know how many years I have been trapped in here. The people I used to know are probably all dead by now. Even if they are still alive, you might not necessarily know who they are. Don't tell me you plan to go out and inquire about my origins?"

"Why not?" Yang Kai raised his brow, "May I know the names of the people you used to know? Uhh… If you think they couldn't have survived until now, then don't mention them. Just choose a few of the ones who seem like they are long-lived."

Sheng Yu Zhu let out a light laugh, "You certainly are being cautious."

Yang Kai could only solemnly reply, "Forgive me, but this is necessary."

After considering the question for some time, the first name that came out of Sheng Yu Zhu's mouth shocked Yang Kai to his core, "Is Wu Kuang still alive?"

Yang Kai's eyes bulged and a myriad of expressions flashed across his face, "Wu Kuang? Which Wu Kuang?"

She glanced at him pensively, "You seem to have heard his name before. Does that mean he succeeded?"

Yang Kai was drenched in cold sweat as he asked once more, "Which Wu Kuang are you referring to?"

Looking at him with a profound expression, she replied, "The one you're clearly thinking of, the one who cultivates the Heaven Devouring Battle Law."

Yang Kai was so shocked that his complexion paled and he couldn't help shouting, "Are you acquainted with Wu Kuang!?"

Sheng Yu Zhu chuckled in response, "Of course. It's all thanks to him that I am trapped in this place."

"What?" Yang Kai felt as though he had lost his ability to think. This woman in front of him, who was all skin and bones, was trapped in this Void Crack by Wu Kuang!? In other words, wouldn't that make her a person from the same generation as Wu Kuang!? For a while, Yang Kai couldn't help feeling a chill all over.

He had previously guessed that she had been trapped in this place for a very long time, at least a few thousand years, maybe even ten thousand years; however, ten thousand years was nowhere near long enough if she truly turned out to be from the same era as Wu Kuang. She would have been trapped in this place for several tens of thousands of years!

Just thinking about the possibility made him shudder in fear. How could a person not go mad after being trapped in this chaotic nothingness for tens of thousands of years? Moreover, she constantly tried to send out messages to the outside world in hopes of attracting a person to rescue her. This woman named Sheng Yu Zhu was definitely an extremely old monster!

All of a sudden though, Yang Kai felt something amiss about her words and sneered, "Do you think I'm easy to deceive just because I'm young?"

Sheng Yu Zhu was puzzled, "What do you mean?"

She did not understand the reason why Yang Kai seemed to have suddenly turned hostile to her.

Yang Kai scoffed, "Wu Kuang was known as the Heaven Devouring Great Emperor. He was the most powerful Master in the history of the Star Boundary, his cultivation unrivalled. How are you still alive if he really plotted against you? Are you going to tell me that you are also a Great Emperor?"