Martial Peak

Listening to Yang Kai say this, Cheng Peng Xuan’s smiling face immediately darkened. As long as one wasn’t blind and deaf they could tell Yang Kai was simply being perfunctory; if Cheng Peng Xuan really left like this, he could forget about ever seeing this Jade Token again.

Cheng Peng Xuan felt livid but managed to maintain a look of calm on his face.

He held the position of Great Elder in Thunder Typhoon Sect, giving him a lofty and respected status, so he would not allow his emotions to get the better of him for something like this.

“Brother Cheng, Brother Mo, why bother speaking with this little brat? Since he doesn’t put any of us in his eyes, all we need to do is snatch that token,” Jin Shi coldly snorted, “A trivial Saint King Junior actually daring to lay claim to a rare treasure in front of us is utter nonsense!”

In any case, he and Dragon Cave Mountain had already completely fallen out so there was no need for him to speak politely. In fact, Jin Shi couldn’t wait to drag Cheng Peng Xuan and Mo Xiao Sheng into these muddy waters to help him deal with Dragon Cave Mountain. Although he feared the strength of the woman surnamed Ye, if all the masters here teamed up, even she would definitely not be their opponent.

As long as they killed Yang Kai, not only could they take that Jade Token, Jin Shi would also have a chance to obtain that piece of Profound Gold; how could he let this opportunity pass?

There were many people present who had the same thoughts as Jin Shi, but no one openly agreed with him except Old Woman Feng of Myriad Beast Mountain. Old Woman Feng had always been short-tempered and straightforward, so she did not hesitate to tap her dragon-head cane against the ground and declared coldly, “Old Ghost Jin’s proposal is sound, this old woman agrees with him. What does everyone else think?”

Although they could guess what Jin Shi and Old Woman Feng were scheming, whether it was Mo Xiao Sheng, Cheng Peng Xuan, or the masters from the other great forces, they couldn’t help wanting to agree.

With everything that had transpired already, there was no way this situation could be resolved peacefully, so since they all wanted this strange treasure, their only option was to snatch it.

Mo Xiao Sheng and Cheng Peng Xuan looked at each other and instantly understood the other’s intentions.

“Anyone who dares to act will become this Queen’s lifelong enemy!” The woman surnamed Ye looked around coldly and shouted.

Many people avoided her gaze as they felt a sudden headache.

But Jin Shi just smiled at her sarcastically, “Sister Ye, did you lose your sense of reason after spending so long in the mountains? You really think that all by yourself you can disregard so many of us, not putting us in your eyes? Sister Ye, this old master will only remind you once, get too close to the flame and you will burn yourself. It would be best if you quickly retreat!”

This light threat was clearly made in an attempt to force everyone here into two camps, increasing his number of enemies this woman would need to confront.

“If any of you want to die, this Queen will gladly fulfil your request!” The woman surnamed Ye glared at Jin Shi as she once again summoned her Bone Incinerating Flame Lamp, suspending it above her head in preparation to attack.

Jin Shi’s expression dimmed once more. Although his tone was incredibly rampant, the moment he saw this Origin King Grade artifact, he couldn’t help his heart from clenching up. Nevertheless, he couldn’t flinch if he wanted that Jade Token and the Profound Gold.

Fortunately, Old Woman Feng also stood with him at the critical moment, wearing a dignified look on her old face as she shouted, “Sister Ye, although your means are exceedingly profound, you’re still just a Third-Order Origin Realm cultivator. You’re not someone who doesn’t understand advance and retreat, so why do you insist on interfering in these turbid waters? Why not take a step back here? If you can withdraw, after we process this matter, we will personally visit you to show our appreciation!”

These words were neither humble nor overbearing, giving the woman surnamed Ye the face her status and strength deserved. As long as the other party still had any thoughts of compromising, it shouldn’t be difficult for her to make the right choice.

Listening to Old Woman Feng say this, Mo Xiao Sheng, Cheng Peng Xuan, and many others nodded together, doing their best to persuade this woman surnamed Ye in hopes she would do the sensible thing and back down.

Unfortunately for them, they were destined to be disappointed. This woman left her seclusion solely to meet Yang Yan, so now that the Dragon Cave Mountain where Yang Yan lived was facing trouble, how could she let the matter drop?

“Enough nonsense, if you want to act then make your move, that is, if you can withstand this Queen’s anger and revenge! This Queen is now just a lone cultivator, you’d all best consider if you can protect your Sect and its industries from this Queen!” The woman surnamed Ye’s attitude and position were extremely firm.

“Excellent! Shamelessly rejecting a face-saving offer!” Jin Shi’s expression became stern, “Since that’s the case, Sister Ye should not blame us for being ruthless!”

Saying so, a malevolent aura suddenly emerged from his body as a golden cicada phantom suddenly appeared behind him. Jin Shi waved his hand and countless jet-black insects condensed from his Saint Qi appeared, releasing a terrifying buzzing sound as they swarmed towards the woman surnamed Ye.

This was Jin Shi’s Golden Cicada Extreme Demon Art, a technique he obtained from an ancient Demon Race ruin, one that was extremely profound and powerful.

Old Woman Feng also tossed out her dragon-head cane as she poured her Saint Qi into it. A moment later, this cane transformed into a scale-armoured Flood Dragon several dozen metres in length that opened its great maw and bit towards the woman surnamed Ye.

Since things had reached this point, there was naturally nothing more to say, they either withdrew or went all out. The masters present were all decisive people, and they knew that if this woman surnamed Ye managed to escape today, they would definitely face her revenge in the future, so when they took action they did so with the intent to kill.

The moment Jin Shi and Old Woman Feng began, Cheng Peng Xuan and Mo Xiao Sheng also acted without hesitation, the former’s giant seal and the latter’s short staff artifacts both radiating intense energy fluctuations as they struck towards the woman surnamed Ye.

This battle was completely different from the one earlier. A moment ago, everyone had only wanted to escape the entanglement of this woman surnamed Ye, so they had not acted fully, but now they were fighting with the intent to kill this woman surnamed Ye, so they displayed their complete strength.

With four Third-Order Origin Returning Realm masters attacking this woman surnamed Ye, even though she possessed an Origin King Grade artifact like the Bone Incinerating Flame Lamp, she immediately found herself at a disadvantage.

However, worthy of her status as the former Sect Master of Star Emperor Mountain, a character famed for her strength for hundreds of years, she was not one to be underestimated even if she was being pressured. The blue flames from her Bone Incinerating Flame Lamp flew out and counterattacked her four attackers, throwing them into disarray and even causing them some slight panic.

From this initial confrontation, it was apparent that the battle between these five top masters would not be settled any time soon.

However, the goal of Jin Shi and the others had already been achieved. Now that they had completely tied down this woman surnamed Ye, the rest of Dragon Cave Mountain’s defenders were just fish on a chopping board.

The conclusion of this conflict was clear to everyone.

Seeing the woman surnamed Ye completely entangled, the remaining masters were naturally unwilling to stand idly by and immediately attacked Chang Qi and the others.

At this moment, there were just over a hundred Origin Returning Realm masters on Dragon Cave Mountain, many of whom had reached the Second or Third-Order. Chang Qi, Hao An, and Ning Xiang Chen were all just First-Order Origin Realm cultivators, so they were immediately surrounded by peril. Fortunately, the artifacts they were using were all refined personally by Yang Yan and had immense power, so they didn’t have to worry about dying for a short time.

Moreover, at this critical moment, Qian Tong and Fei Zhi Tu also joined the fray. They couldn’t just sit back and watch as Dragon Cave Mountain was besieged by so many enemies. Without even mentioning the good relationship they shared with Yang Kai, as a force within its territory, Dragon Cave Mountain was technically under Shadow Moon Hall’s protection. Therefore, with so many masters using their strength to bully them, these two had more than enough reason to intervene.

However, the two of them could only entangle a few enemies and soon found themselves beset with difficulties, causing them to grow anxious.

Almost everyone instantly became involved in this fight, but just as their attention had been attracted, Yang Yan formed a set of profound seals with her hands and suddenly disappeared, no one able to detect where she had gone.

With the help of the barriers and Spirit Arrays here, Yang Yan easily managed to escape.

On the other hand, Yang Kai was facing the greatest danger. The women surnamed Ye, Chang Qi, and all the others were now entangled, even Qian Tong and Fei Zhi Tu were having trouble taking care of themselves and had no time to attend to him, allowing a dozen or so Origin Realm masters to target Yang Kai.

The dozen masters who were eyeing Yang Kai had faces filled with greed as they rushed forward, hoping to be the first to kill this boy and snatch his Space Ring.

As long as they could grab this Space Ring, they won!

“Brother Yang, quickly leave! Xuan’er and I will delay them!” At the last moment, Wei Gu Chang and Dong Xuan’er stood before Yang Kai and shielded him.

With no time to say anything, Yang Kai simply cast them a grateful look.

He did not need to worry about Wei Gu Chang or Dong Xuan’er’s safety; after all, these two were the young rising stars of Shadow Moon Hall, famous characters among Shadowed Star’s younger generation. Now that they had broken through to the Origin Returning Realm, they had enough strength to protect themselves.

More importantly, however, these enemies likely didn’t have the courage to really kill Wei Gu Chang and Dong Xuan’er, for if they did, Shadow Moon Hall would definitely not let the matter drop.

In an instant, Wei Gu Chang and Dong Xuan’er joined forces and engaged the approaching enemies, pushing their Saint Qi and releasing their Secret Techniques to tie down four enemy masters, making it impossible for them to pursue Yang Kai, earning him some breathing space.

In this situation, quickly leaving was undoubtedly the best option, but how could Yang Kai just ignore his friends and allies and flee on his own? Standing on the spot with an icy look on his face, Yang Kai’s Divine Sense surged as he summoned out his Artifact Refining Furnace.

The Origin King Grade Artifact Refining Furnace leapt into the sky and in an instant expanded to over a dozen metres in size before a giant Firebird soared out of it with a piercing cry. Spreading its wings out, the Firebird released a wave of flames to swiftly engulf several enemies.

The Firebird Artifact Spirit combat power wasn’t inferior to an ordinary Third-Order Origin Returning Realm master, so it had no problem dealing with these enemies.

But Yang Kai was not finished and with a sneer reached into the Artifact Refining Furnace, grabbed onto something, and began pulling it out with great effort.

A wave of earth-shattering energy emanated from the Artifact Refining Furnace, one so powerful it caused many of the remaining enemy masters to pale.

Although they didn’t know what Yang Kai was trying to take out from this Artifact Refining Furnace, they weren’t about to just sit back and wait for him to succeed. One by one, these masters summoned their artifacts or used their Secret Techniques to attack Yang Kai.

Yang Kai’s brow furrowed as he waved his free hand, summoned his Purple Shield, and activated its sandstorm ability to protect himself.