Martial Peak

Translator: Silavin & Tia

Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun

Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys

A quarter-hour later, Yang Kai, who had been standing frozen in the middle of the jungle, gave a shudder all of a sudden. His complexion was as pale as a sheet and two streams of blood flowed out of his nostrils. His eyes that had been closed opened abruptly and a flash of fear flitted across them for a moment. The Soul battle just now had seemed silent to the outside world, but it had been far more dangerous than the fight between Yang Kai and Luo Ya. It had been a Soul Wisp of a Demon Saint after all. Moreover, the battlefield had been within Yang Kai's own Knowledge Sea. The slightest carelessness would have led to his death.

Even so, it was fortunate that the battle had occurred within his Knowledge Sea, giving him a decisive advantage. Combined with Xue Li's underestimation of his Soul cultivation and the Soul Warming Lotus' assistance on his side, Yang Kai finally managed to kill that Soul Wisp after paying a heavy price.

His physical body and his Soul had been severely damaged, yet the Grand Dao battle had only just begun, frustrating Yang Kai greatly. The injuries to his body were sustained during his fight with Luo Ya as he had used a method of fighting where both sides suffered losses to end things quickly. It would not have been difficult for him to win even without the Martial Truth constantly eroding away at Luo Ya's strength, but killing Luo Ya would have been a fool's dream.

That was something that could not be helped. A Half-Saint was not easy to kill after all. The Half-Saints who died at Yang Kai's hands so far started with Yin Si, who was already badly wounded in the first place. She had been in the process of healing at the time when he snuck into her territory and took the initiative to create havoc for her. Even so, it had taken him more than a month to recover from that incident.

Strictly speaking, the second had not died at Yang Kai's hands directly. It was truer to say that the Wind Lord had been killed by Yang Xiao and Yang Xue.

The third was the Stone Demon Half-Saint whom Yang Kai killed in Star Soul Palace previously. That was only possible thanks to the power of the Azure Dragon Spear and help from Lan Xun and the others.

Therefore, Luo Ya could be considered Yang Kai's first time killing a Half-Saint at the peak of their power on his own. Moreover, this Sand Demon Half-Saint was slightly stronger than Wind Lord. Seeing as he was only a High-Rank Demon King, how could Yang Kai not pay a price for this victory?

As for the injuries to his Soul; that was not something that could be helped either. Even though Xue Li's Soul Wisp had underestimated his Soul cultivation and he held the geographical advantage, a Demon Saint's Soul Wisp completely inherited the main body's experience and knowledge. It was difficult to say who would have won this battle in the end if not for the Soul Warming Lotus nourishing Yang Kai's damaged Soul at all times.

Considering that Luo Ya, whom Yang Kai had encountered at random, had a seal placed in his Knowledge Sea by a Demon Saint, it was conceivable that the other Half-Saints chosen to enter this place were under similar conditions.

[I have to get this information as soon as possible.]

Although everybody would become enemies to one another at the end of the Grand Dao battle, it would be best if the Pseudo-Great Emperors of the Star Boundary could work together until they managed to get rid of the forces of the Demon Race. It would be detrimental to the overall situation of the Star Boundary if they fell for the Demon Race's trickery. Moreover, if Yang Kai could think of retrieving information from Luo Ya's Soul, then the other Pseudo-Great Emperors might get the same idea too. This method was the fastest way to obtain information on the Profound Heavens Temple after all.

After a brief consideration, Yang Kai took a deep breath and murmured to himself, "There is a Demon Saint's Soul Wisp in their Knowledge Seas. How devious!"

A breeze blew past, causing the leaves to rustle in the wind. The air was filled with the stench of blood. Yang Kai held the Azure Dragon Spear and stood in place with his eyes lowered. He did not know how long passed before he suddenly lifted his gaze and stared in a certain direction, frowning slightly, "As expected, it's one of us…"

While fighting Luo Ya previously, he had noticed an aura hidden in the shadows. It was just that he had been at a critical point of the battle, so he could not afford the distraction to investigate the issue at the time. He didn't even know whether the hidden person had been a Human or Demon.

Be that as it may, the hidden person had remained motionless even when he nailed Luo Ya firmly to the ground; hence, the possibility of that individual being a Demon Race Half-Saint became minuscule. If it truly had been a Demon Race Half-Saint hiding nearby, they would not have watched the fight from the sidelines. They would have jumped out to join forces with Luo Ya instead.

Yang Kai had suffered injuries from killing Luo Ya and battling Xue Li's Soul Wisp in his Knowledge Sea; thus, he no longer had the strength to distinguish who it was hiding nearby. He couldn't even be sure whether that person who had been secretly following him in the shadows was still there. It wasn't until this moment when the feeling of being watched from the shadows vanished abruptly that he could confirm the actual situation. That person had always been there and only just left moments ago.

It was obvious that the words he deliberately uttered under his breath had been heard by the other party. Regardless of whether that person would pass the information on to other Pseudo-Great Emperors nearby, at the very least, that person now knew. That was also part of his intention.

But… It truly was the Grand Dao battle. There were enemies everywhere and nobody could be trusted. The situation was not looking too optimistic for the Human Race. There were already ten fewer Masters from the Star Boundary compared to the number of Half-Saints from the Demon Realm. Even so, this person simply watched passively from the sidelines as Yang Kai fought a desperate battle against a Half-Saint, which clearly indicated that he had the mindset of taking advantage of the situation.

Yang Kai laughed bitterly to himself. It was most likely related to the World's Will that he possessed. It might be that everybody firmly believed that the World's Will he possessed was highly beneficial for the final part of the Grand Dao battle. If Luo Ya had managed to kill Yang Kai just now, the person hiding in the shadows would definitely have taken action to kill Luo Ya and snatch the World's Will for themselves.

Seeing as how the World's Will had been transferred from Bright Moon Great Emperor to Yang Kai, it made sense that if Yang Kai died, then the World's Will would be transferred to the person who took his life.

But, when it came down to it, only Yang Kai himself knew that the invisible and intangible World's Will had not played any role whatsoever so far.

Regardless of the circumstances, the injuries he received during this battle were rather severe even though the benefits he reaped were great. As long as he could digest the various gains and losses from this battle, it would serve as a great boon for him.

[I need to hurry up and find a place to treat my wounds!]

After considering all this, Yang Kai hurriedly turned to look in the direction of Luo Ya's corpse. A Half-Saint's assets accumulated over the course of their life were a huge fortune. There was no reason to abandon the loot after paying such a high price to kill the other party, but contrary to his expectations, what Yang Kai found gave him a start.

Luo Ya, who had once been a burly man, had turned into a mummified corpse at some point; moreover, he shrivelled up and withered as though he had been exposed to the elements for thousands of years. In addition, all the essence in his body had vanished without a trace.

Yang Kai couldn't help feeling disturbed by the sight! Having noticed somebody spying on him from the shadows, he had deliberately set aside a part of his mind to remain vigilant of his surroundings even while fighting Xue Li's Soul Wisp in his Knowledge Sea. He did not want to give that person the opportunity to attack him. However, he completely failed to notice when Luo Ya's corpse ended up in this condition. This situation was somewhat similar to how it would look if the Embodiment had used the Heaven Devouring Battle Law to devour a person's essence.

What happened? Yang Kai simply could not make sense of the situation. The person watching from the shadows just now might have seen everything from the beginning to the end, but he didn't even know who it was, so how could he ask them about this incident?

There was still a Space Ring on Luo Ya's corpse, however, so Yang Kai used his spear to pick it up and put it away. Afterwards, his figure flickered and he headed in another direction.

Half a day later, Yang Kai sat down cross-legged in the medicine garden inside the Small Sealed World. Dense World Energy gathered around his body, causing his form to throb in response. His hideous wounds were squirming endlessly, growing new flesh continuously so that scabs and dried skin moulted and fell off in layers.

Two small Wood Spirits floated around him with solemn expressions, one in front and one behind him. They were forming seals with both hands in a serious manner, their two small pairs of hands glowing with an emerald light that enveloped Yang Kai. That emerald light was brimming with energy and vitality, accelerating the healing speed of his wounds.

Although his injuries from this battle were fairly severe, his foundation had not been damaged, so he could simply rely on his own powerful regenerative abilities combined with the Wood Spirit's healing to treat his wounds. It would not take long for him to recover. On the other hand, there was no need to bother about the injuries to his Soul as the Soul Warming Lotus would deal with that on its own.

It was just that the Grand Dao battle in the Profound Heavens Temple could not be delayed. For every day that he spent in the Small Sealed World, the Pseudo-Great Emperors on the outside would lose a bit of combat power.

…..

A piece of chaos existed somewhere in the depths of the Profound Heavens Temple. It was shrouded in endless darkness as if the world itself had yet to open. Inside that chaos, a square and boxy Giant Furnace spun slowly. The surface of the Giant Furnace was engraved with countless complicated patterns. At first glance, the patterns seemed incomprehensible. Even the Great Emperors and the Demon Saints would not be able to distinguish the specific lines of these patterns if they were here. Be that as it may, one would be able to make out the scenery of everything in the world from these patterns if they were to stare at them continuously for a while. The crisscrossed patterns seemed to depict the origins and essence of everything in the world, which was very profound and mysterious indeed. In addition, the Giant Furnace was emitting a kind of mysterious aura that could drive anybody insane from within its depths.

When the Demon Realm Half-Saint, Luo Ya, was killed by Yang Kai, his body had shrivelled at a speed visible to the naked eye. The Spiritual and Vital Essence in his body also disappeared without a trace, causing him to become a dry corpse in a blink of an eye.

At the same time, a hazy aura suddenly appeared in the Giant Furnace. That aura was so pure and clean that any living creature could absorb it into their bodies to enhance their strength. The moment this mass of pure aura appeared, the darkness that enveloped the deepest part of the Profound Heavens Temple seemed to become slightly thinner.

Meanwhile, the Giant Furnace continued spinning, as it had been since time immemorial and would continue to until the end of the world…

The Profound Heavens Temple was the Source Sealed World of the Star Boundary, a wondrous space that had existed since the beginning of the world. It was where the fate of trillions of creatures born into this world converged.

The world seemed to have accumulated everything that was good and pure in this place. Every part of the Sealed World contained beautiful and unforgettable scenery, as well as World Energy which was so dense it could be felt and touched. Even the World Principles were clear and distinguishable here, making it easier for a person to perceive the Dao.

It was just that every time this Source Sealed World was opened, it was accompanied by endless battle and slaughter. Hence, none of the participating Masters had the heart to enjoy this rare beautiful scenery that could not be found in the outside world.

…..

Somewhere in the dense forest, Sheng Yu Zhu's body moved agilely as she jumped about above the tree canopy like a fluttering butterfly. All of a sudden, her beautiful figure paused in her tracks and her clear voice sounded in the air, "Come out. What's the point of hiding? Is it fun?"

A layer of ripples spread out in the air and a figure wrapped in darkness suddenly appeared not far in front of her. Another skeleton-like figure followed closely with two orbs of Ghost Fire dancing about his eye sockets. One stood in front of her and the other stood behind her, blocking her path and preventing her from proceeding forward or retreating backwards.