Martial Peak

A long time later, all three of them lay on the cold floor in the hall as they stroked their own bellies with contented expressions on their faces. The black pot was empty, with not even a single drop of soup remaining.

Jiu Feng suddenly said, "Brat, the Great Emperors had already expected you to bring back Senior Bright Moon's corpse when they told you to go to the Demon Realm. Senior Heavens Revelations had also predicted that Senior Bright Moon would lose his life in the Demon Realm, so you don't have to blame yourself. He's already dead, and you've inherited his will, so you should hold your head high and push forward. Only by doing so will you not disappoint his sacrifice."

"Junior will take Senior's teachings to heart."

Jiu Feng laughed and rebuked, "What teachings? It's up to you whether you'll get over his death. Since you've obtained the opportunity, you mustn't waste it; otherwise, you're only letting yourself down."

Yang Kai nodded gently and asked, "How is Junior Sister Xiao Qi now?'

Jiu Feng replied, "The world has descended into chaos, and Senior Martial Beast doesn't want her to wander around, so he's told her to cultivate in seclusion on Spirit Beast Island. Her aptitude is pretty remarkable, but she just can't sit still and always wants to run around and play. If she's able to finish this secluded retreat though, her power will increase significantly. You have to work harder. Otherwise, Xiao Qi might even surpass you."

Yang Kai chuckled, "I will."

Upon finishing his words, he got to his feet and stretched his back as his bones cracked. His eyes appeared to be bright.

Lin Yun'er stood up as well and batted her eyes as she stared at Yang Kai, who patted her head and said, "Thanks, Yun'er."

His terrible mood became better after all the eating. The fog before his eyes seemed to have dispersed, and the road ahead of him became clearer.

Lin Yun'er shook her head as she had done nothing apart from treating him to a meal.

"Take care of yourself," Yang Kai said to her, then he turned to Jiu Feng. "Senior, thanks for your consolation. I'll take my leave now."

Jiu Feng had her eyes half-closed. She didn't move a muscle, as though she ignored him.

Yang Kai turned around and shuffled towards the door. After opening it, he realised that someone was waiting for him outside.

A shocked Yang Kai quickly cupped his fists, "Senior."

Li Wu Yi flashed a smile at him and took his wrist before stuffing something into his hand.

Upon seeing that, Yang Kai raised his brow, "Senior, this…"

"It's not for you. It's the first treasure I've spent twenty years refining, so I will never give it away. I'll lend it to you for a while, so remember to return it to me when you're done with it. Moreover, you already have the Sealed World Bead, so you probably have no interest in this thing." Li Wu Yi put on a smile, "I've erased all the barriers, so you just have to refine it a little to use it."

The thing given by Li Wu Yi was Floating Mountain. If it were something else, Yang Kai wouldn't have paid attention to it, but he was really interested in this tiny mountain range. Without being overly polite, he took it and thanked him.

Li Wu Yi nodded and then gave Yang Kai a jade slip. Before Yang Kai could say anything, he waved his hand and said, "I'm busy with work, so I cannot keep chatting with you. You've just returned to the Star Boundary, so I'm sure you have many things to attend to. Go on and attend to your own matters."

Upon finishing his words, he took a step forward and disappeared.

Yang Kai gripped the jade slip and probed it with his Divine Sense. Then, he appeared elated as this was something he really needed right now. Li Wu Yi must have seen through his mind; otherwise, he wouldn't have come all the way here to pass him these two items.

After carefully storing the jade slip and Floating Mountain, Yang Kai grinned in silence. Then, as he looked up at the magnificence of the seven-coloured lights, filled with happiness as he thought that the Star Boundary was truly a wonderful place!

In this world, there were his beloved friends and amiable Seniors. There were also his family members and Sect members who missed him.

At the thought of his family, Yang Kai couldn't wait to return to High Heaven Palace. At that instant, he activated his Space Secret Technique and connected it to the Space Beacon closest to Su Yan.

However, he realised that he couldn't do this as the connection had been cut off.

Jiu Feng got to her feet and languidly leaned against the door frame before staring at him with a dismissive look on her face, "Are you a fool or what? High Heaven Palace has been sealed off for years, and they have opened their array to isolate the space around the Sect. How would a Space Beacon be useful at all?"

An embarrassed Yang Kai finally understood the reason his attempt just now failed. With the Sect Defending Array to seal off space, he couldn't go home using a Space Beacon. Thus, he cupped his fists and said, "Senior, can you tell me where the nearest Space Array is?"

"There's one in Seven Mists Sea. It's over there." Upon finishing her words, Jiu Feng pointed in a direction and then tossed something to Yang Kai.

Yang Kai took it and realised that it was a dark token with the character 'You' on it. Although he had no idea what the character represented, he could guess that it must be a proof of identity; after all, Space Arrays were normally heavily guarded. Without this proof of identity, he couldn't even go near it.

After storing the token, he followed the direction Jiu Feng pointed and flew over.

At that moment, he couldn't wait to go home any longer. He had only spent a few years in the Demon Realm, so it was considered a short time. In the past, he had even left home for more than a few decades on several occasions, but he had never felt as eager to return home as this time.

That was because it was peaceful in the Star Boundary in the past, but now, the two Great Worlds were at war.

Despite knowing that High Heaven Palace had sealed off its gates for a long time, and that they had never participated in the Two Worlds' Great War, Yang Kai was still worried. Finally, he was able to go home!

Seven Mists Sea was expansive, but Yang Kai's speed was incredible. After scanning the area with his Divine Sense, he soon located the Space Array. As expected, it was heavily guarded. There were more than ten Emperor Realm Masters, and Yang Kai could sense that there was a Pseudo-Great Emperor nearby.

As soon as he reached a spot that was a thousand metres away from the Space Array, several dozen auras targeted him.

Nevertheless, with the token given by Jiu Feng, no one made things difficult for him. Standing in front of the array, Yang Kai passed the token to someone to have his identity verified, then he was allowed to go.

As a glint flashed across the Space Array, Yang Kai disappeared from the spot. A flash of light later, Yang Kai could feel a very familiar aura and scent. Inside High Heaven Palace in the Northern Territory, he abruptly appeared.

Seeing that, the Disciples, who were meditating around the area, quickly moved forward. Just when they wanted to ask who the visitor was, they saw Yang Kai's face and fell into a dazed state.

A woman among them even exclaimed, "Palace Master?"

Yang Kai turned his head to grin at her and revealed his white teeth, "Oh, it's Little Ye."

The woman was Ye Jing Han, daughter of Ye Hen, the former Sect Master of Thousand Leaves Sect in the Eastern Territory. After Thousand Leaves Sect merged with High Heaven Palace, their hundreds of disciples had also joined the latter. Ye Jing Han was familiar with Yang Kai, so she could immediately recognise him.

At that instant, the hall broke into a commotion as the disciples became agitated and surrounded him. Then, they cupped their fists and bowed, "Greetings, Palace Master!"

Although they were saluting him, they were staring at him with gazes that were filled with pleasant surprise. That was because he had returned abruptly, so no one could have expected that.

As Yang Kai scanned the young faces that he might or might not be familiar with, he put on a heartfelt smile and lifted his hand, "We're all one family, so you don't have to be overly polite to me."

All of them straightened up, but the next moment, Ye Jing Han, whose face had reddened because she was agitated, had her expression change as she turned around and said to the other disciples, "The fact that Palace Master has returned is a top secret. If anyone dares to reveal this, he will be considered a traitor to High Heaven Palace. I do not dare to speak on behalf of the others, but I'll never let the traitor off, no matter where he may flee."

Yang Kai was still considered a renegade, a traitor to the Star Boundary. A few years ago, he had sided with the Demon Realm after an intense battle with Iron Blood Great Emperor in Tiger Roar City. Fortunately, he managed to escape from death's door. Then, he was hunted down by Li Wu Yi until ultimately he fled to the Demon Realm. If word got out that he had returned to the palace, countless cultivators would come over to kill him.

Understanding the severity of the matter, the disciples nodded solemnly and swore to her by saying, "We shall take this secret to our graves."

"It's nothing so serious," Yang Kai burst into laughter before he took a deep breath and shouted. "I am back!"

His voice wasn't particularly loud, but it was able to reach every corner of High Heaven Palace, like he was speaking directly into everyone's ears.

A myriad of expressions came over Ye Jing Han as she almost teared up, "Palace Master, there are outsiders in the palace!"

It would be fine if there were only their own disciples in the palace. Ninety-nine percent of the disciples of High Heaven Palace were brought over from the Lower Star Field by Yang Kai. There were also disciples from Thousand Leaves Sect and the Qin and Zhang Families of Maplewood City. They were closely related to Yang Kai, so despite the fact that he had gone through demonification, they would never betray him, or do anything to harm High Heaven Palace.

However, High Heaven Palace was now the logistics centre for the entire Star Boundary. Every single day, there were a large number of pills and artifacts produced here and then sent to the frontline. Many Alchemists, Artifact Refiners, and assistants from all four territories had gathered together here.

Presently, there were more than twenty-thousand outsiders at the very least.

After Yang Kai shouted, there was no way the fact that he had returned could be concealed. Soon, everyone would find out about it, and he would be in trouble.

While Ye Jing Han was flustered, Yang Kai remained calm and collected. Tilting his head, he said with a smile, "Listen."

[Listen? To what?] She couldn't hear anything.

In fact, there were still some noises in High Heaven Palace earlier, but after Yang Kai shouted, the entire palace fell into silence. The next moment, everyone in the palace became agitated.

In a secret room on High Heaven Peak, a woman, who was clad in all-white clothes, opened her alluring eyes that were filled with excitement. Jumping up, she flung open the doors to her room. Before the door even completely opened, she shot out of the room.

Right after she left High Heaven Peak, she bumped into a woman with a curvy figure and fiery red hair. The two ladies stopped in mid-air and traded glances before Zhu Qing asked, "Was that… his voice?"

Her own voice was slightly shaking, as though she couldn't believe it.

Su Yan nodded gently and flashed a smile at her. She was a lady that was as cold as ice, but at this moment, her smile seemed to have made all the colours of the world fade, leaving only the smile on her face to remain bright, "He's back."