Martial Peak

Yang Xiao was indeed hatched by Yang Kai, and he was accepted by the latter as an adoptive Son. Yang Kai had even named him 'Yang Xiao'; however, at the end of the day, Yang Xiao was the son of Fu Zhun and Zhu Yan, and the blood that ran in his veins belonged to the Dragon Clan.

When Yang Xiao was still inside a Dragon Egg, he couldn't be hatched due to some complications. According to the Dragon Clan's rules, he was supposed to be put inside Dragon Grave; however, due to Fu Zhun's love for her son, she secretly hid the egg on a deserted island, and Yang Kai happened to find it and hatch it.

Fu Zhun had always doted on Yang Xiao. If possible, she was willing to give him the sun and the moon. If it weren't because Yang Xiao had pretended to have an impure bloodline, she wouldn't have let him leave Dragon Island with Yang Kai at all.

Yang Kai had taken her son away, but he hadn't managed to take good care of him. Now that Yang Xiao had disappeared after going to the Four Seasons Realm, it could be expected that Fu Zhun was incensed. When she found out about it, she was even ready to storm into the Demon Realm to settle the score with Yang Kai.

Fortunately, Martial Beast Great Emperor Mo Huang managed to stop her; otherwise, she would really have done it. Despite the fact that she had failed in her attempt to head to the Demon Realm, she insisted that Yang Kai must be held responsible.

The reason Zhu Qing was in High Heaven Palace was that Fu Zhun had told her to stay here to pass on her word to Yang Kai as soon as possible.

Yang Kai felt that he had been put in a tight spot. It wasn't like he could go to Dragon Island and give her an explanation now. If he really did that, Fu Zhun would surely beat him into a pulp; after all, the Second Elder had never been a reasonable woman.

In any case, be it for the sake of Yang Xiao or Yang Xue, Yang Kai had to personally venture to the Four Seasons Realm; however, he wasn't confident of achieving his goal as Fu Zhun didn't manage to find a clue after searching for half a year. So, it was unlikely that he could find them either.

Nevertheless, in order to console his parents, he had to head there. Furthermore, he still had to pay a visit to Star Soul Palace, so the trip to the Southern Territory was bound to happen.

Before that, he had to first visit another place. It wasn't an excuse when he told Yao Si that he had a lot of matters to attend to, it was the simple truth.

Ten days after he returned to High Heaven Palace, and under the attendance of Su Yan and the others, Yang Kai stepped onto the Space Array again. As a thought flashed across his mind, a white light surrounded him.

After the light faded, he was nowhere to be seen. When he appeared again, he was already in a Tree Cave.

He was now in the Ancient Wild Lands in the Eastern Territory where the Stone Spirit Clan resided. It was still the same, small Tree Cave. Yang Kai had left a Space Array here in the past, which was why he appeared again here.

The area around him was completely silent, and after stepping out of the Tree Cave, he realised that there was no one around.

In order to resist the Demon armies, the Stone Spirit Clan and their symbiotic Wood Spirit Clan allies had gone to the battlefield in the Western Territory, so this place had become all but deserted over the past few years. However, the spirit fruits and spirit grasses that the Wood Spirit Clan members had planted had become ripe.

Yang Kai randomly picked a red fruit as he took a bite and leapt into the air.

Wherever he went, he realised that not many were in sight. The Ancient Wild Lands was located in a remote area, but since the Two Worlds' Great War broke out, most of those in the Monster Race had followed Luan Feng and the other Divine Venerables to the battlefield. Only the old, young, and frail were left behind.

Unlike the hustle and bustle when Yang Kai came to Ancient Wild Lands for the first time, this place had become eerily silent.

The place he was heading to was the Blood Gate, where the Divine Spirit Palace was located.

There hadn't been any news about Yang Xiao and Yang Xue since they ventured into the Four Seasons Realm, but the same was true for Zhang Ruo Xi and Xiao Xiao after they entered the Blood Gate. In comparison, Zhang Ruo Xi and Xiao Xiao had gone missing for a longer time, as it had been more than ten years since they entered the Blood Gate.

It was said that many Divine Spirit Sources had been sealed inside the Divine Spirit Palace. If Yang Kai could open it sooner, it would benefit many Monsters from the Ancient Wild Lands. The reason Xi Lei and the other Monster Kings were even willing to follow Yang Kai was that they wanted opportunities inside the Divine Spirit Palace.

Now that Yang Kai's power had surged, his speed had also improved. In just one hour, he reached the location of the Blood Gate. There was nothing else on the barren peak, however, and if Yang Kai hadn't known that the Blood Gate was located in this place, he wouldn't have paid any attention to it.

However, Zhang Ruo Xi and Xiao Xiao had indeed gone into the Divine Spirit Palace from this location. A war had also broken out in the valley nearby. Divine Spirit Shi Huo was killed by Zhang Ruo Xi with just one strike to end that battle, extracting his Divine Spirit Source and giving it to Yang Kai's Embodiment.

Yang Kai wasn't disappointed to see that the Blood Gate was nowhere in sight. If the Blood Gate had reopened, it wasn't impossible that no one in the Star Boundary hadn't noticed. The reason he came to this place was to have a look and make sure that it really hadn't reopened.

Just then, a hooting sound could be heard, which prompted Yang Kai to turn his head to have a look.

Over there, a person was seen hanging upside down below a tree branch. With his arms crossed, he wrapped one leg around the branch. It seemed that he was sound asleep.

Yang Kai had noticed him when he arrived at this place. The person was a Monster General, but Yang Kai didn't have the intention of speaking to him. The Monster General seemed to have exceptional perception, as he was able to sense Yang Kai's presence even while he was asleep. When he opened his eyes, he was met with Yang Kai's gaze.

As they stared at each other, the Monster General was startled for a moment before he let out a cry of surprise and accidentally dropped from the branch. After hurriedly getting to his feet, he skipped toward Yang Kai and said in a fawning manner, "Greetings, Senior Yang. May your life be long and prosperous. Hoohoo…"

Yang Kai gazed at him and realised that the Monster General had a square head with a pair of eyebrows that were as straight as swords. His nose was small, and his mouth was pointed, which looked like the beak of a bird. With a faint smile, Yang Kai asked, "You know me?"

The Monster General quickly bowed his head, "No one in the Ancient Lands doesn't recognise Senior Yang. I work under Master Ying Fei. It was right in this place in the past that I witnessed Senior Yang's awe-inspiring might. Hoohoo…"

"What species do you stem from?" Yang Kai asked curiously.

The Monster General replied, "This little one hails from the owl lineage and gained enlightenment after assuming Human Form many years ago. However, due to a minor cultivation dissonance in the past, my Human Form isn't perfect. It is quite an embarrassing story."

It was no wonder that he looked so strange. Normally, there wouldn't be any flaws after a Monster General assumed Human Form; however, the person before Yang Kai's eyes still had very conspicuous features of a Monster Beast. It seemed that he was really a simple owl who had evolved into a Monster Race after receiving enlightenment.

"What are you doing here?" Yang Kai asked.

The Monster General replied respectfully, "I've received Sir Monster King's order to keep watch on the Blood Gate. En, he told me that it was also the Divine Venerables' order."

"Are you the only one here?"

"Yes. Hoohoo…"

Yang Kai took a look at his lower body, "How did you get injured?"

The Monster General replied with a proud expression, "It was in battle against the Demons in the Western Territory. I managed to kill a certain Demon, but my leg was cut off by him as a result. My blood soaked the ground and I was in excruciating pain; however, I was lucky to have survived, hahaha. It was worth it to exchange one leg for his life. I wanted to keep fighting as I still have one good leg, which should be enough to trade for another Demon's life, but Sir Monster King told me to come back and keep watch on the Blood Gate instead, which is why I returned.''

Yang Kai widened his mouth as he didn't expect that there was such a story behind this fellow's missing leg. Nodding, he lifted his hand and clapped the Monster General's shoulder, "You've done a great job."

The Monster General immediately appeared to be overwhelmed by his emotions as he was lost for words. With his eyes turning bloodshot, it seemed that he would tear up at any moment.

With a solemn expression, Yang Kai said, "All those who can fight should take part in the war, but it is equally important to keep watch over the Blood Gate here. Just stay right here, and if anything happens, immediately inform your King or the Divine Venerables about it."

"Please rest assured, Sir, this one will stay right here and not go anywhere." The Monster General straightened up and thumped his own chest.

"Good. I just came here to have a look." Yang Kai nodded and turned around to leave. After he took two steps forward, his figure flickered and disappeared, which shocked the Monster General.

A moment later, the Monster General came to his senses and cupped his fists, "Farewell, Sir…"

Before he even finished his words, he realised that there was something in his hands. Spreading his palm, he saw that there was a new Space Ring in his grip.

He wasn't even aware that a Space Ring had suddenly appeared in his hand. With doubt, he swept the inside with his Divine Sense and was immediately stunned. That was because there were a few thousand Monster Cores inside the ring, and all of them appeared to be of extraordinary quality. Although there were no Monster Cores from Twelfth-Order Monster Beasts, they were exactly what he needed right now.

Knowing that it was a gift from Yang Kai, he immediately fell on his knees and repeatedly pressed his head against the ground in the direction Yang Kai had left. At the same time, he kept thanking him.

…

One hour later, Yang Kai arrived at Star Soul Palace in the Southern Territory.

Although he was dreading what was to come next, he still had to make an appearance. Bright Moon Great Emperor's corpse was brought back by Lei Hong, so the reason Yang Kai came today was to pay final respects to the Great Emperor and to apologise to Lan Xun.

Before coming to this place, he had told himself that he wouldn't resist even if Lan Xu scolded and beat him up; after all, he had indeed killed Bright Moon with his own hand. He had even imagined that those from Star Soul Palace wouldn't welcome him.

However, when Yang Kai stepped into Star Soul Palace, he was shocked to see that the Great Emperor's Sect, which was the cornerstone of the Southern Territory, seemed to be in a state of panic and upheaval.

Around the Space Array, there wasn't even a single disciple from Star Soul Palace standing guard. Besides that, five coloured light could be seen flowing outside the hall. Between Heaven and Earth, the World Energy was turbulent as a very dangerous aura wafted from deeper inside Star Soul Palace, one that seemed like it would shatter the world apart at any moment.

A flabbergasted Yang Kai flew out of the hall and looked over, his pupils contracting at what he saw.

It wasn't that Star Soul Palace was under attack. Although Bright Moon was dead, a Great Emperor's Sect was still a powerful existence, more than enough to fend off a half-hearted invasion. The change that had taken place must be because of Star Soul Palace's internal trouble.

At this moment, the gigantic Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda was hovering in mid-air, the pulses of light radiating from its surface.

The pagoda was the most important treasure in Star Soul Palace. In the past, Yang Kai had a chance to enter it to experience its mysteries. The Thousand Illusions Dreamworld in High Heaven Palace was obtained from the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda.

There were five floors in total inside the pagoda, and each one was an abstruse and seemingly infinite space. This was an ancient treasure that was simply invaluable. The reason Star Soul Palace had such a firm heritage had much to do with this pagoda.

Presently, the pagoda was trembling, and Yang Kai could see that the people around it were sporting grim expressions as they kept performing hand seals in an attempt to stabilize it.

Three Great Elders, Lei Hong, Xue Zheng Mao, and Xiao Yu Yang were all present, along with more than ten other Emperor Realm Masters. Countless Dao Source Realm cultivators had also surrounded the pagoda to provide support; however, all of them seemed to have pale faces and were drenched in sweat.