Martial Peak

“However, too many years have passed, and the legacy of the Great Emperor has become more the stuff of myth and legend than fact. Not only do outsiders doubt how authentic the existence of the Great Emperor is, but even those from Star Emperor Mountain have begun to believe such ramblings. Those who do not wish to follow our traditions and seek to deny the legacy of the Great Emperor sought to dominate Shadowed Star! A hundred years ago, this Queen was plotted against and ultimately forced out of Star Emperor Mountain and into seclusion.”

“The one who forced you out was unwilling to remain unknown and wanted to reign as a true ruler, right?” Yang Kai sneered. Although Ye Xi Yun had not spoken too clearly, Yang Kai wasn’t a fool and soon understood the twists and turns of the story.

“En, and judging from the reactions of Heaven Battling Union and Thunder Typhoon Sect, that usurper had been planning this move for some time. He actually subdued Qu Zheng and Fang Peng secretly and made them serve him using some unknown promise of benefits!” Ye Xi Yun nodded lightly.

“Such things are inevitable.” Yang Kai frowned.

In truth, when Yang Kai first heard rumours about the Starry Sky Great Emperor, he hadn’t taken them too seriously; after all, there were always legends of ancient times and great cultivators, but most of them were simply made up by people who are idle and bored with no link to reality.

He used to think that the Great Emperor’s existence was one such made-up rumour.

However, as Yang Kai came into contact with more and more things in the Star Field and understood more and more about its history, he began to believe that the Great Emperor had indeed existed and was not just a fabricated legend, all the way up until Yang Yan began recovering her memories.

It wasn’t only Yang Kai who thought this way, countless people in the Star Field thought so as well.

Although Star Emperor Mountain was a branch of Supreme Profound Sect, the reason for its founding had lost most of its weight after ten thousand years of waiting.

Having the necessary strength to dominate Shadowed Star, but instead being forced to cultivate in seclusion, dying of old age with no one ever even knowing of one’s existence; such a fate may not have bothered Ye Xi Yun, but it surely tormented those with ambitions.

Nevertheless, Star Emperor Mountain had strict rules, and anyone who violated their ancestral precepts would be killed without pardon.

If one wanted to break these precepts, they first had to gain absolute control.

As a result, Ye Xi Yun was driven away, one day.

“I remember that you were poisoned a few years ago when Ge Qi brought that Star Emperor Token to Heavenly Fate City to trade for a detoxification pill…” Yang Kai looked at Ye Xi Yun thoughtfully.

“En, it was that person’s doing,” Ye Xi Yun nodded, “After all, his position was not earned righteously, so each day this Queen lived on, he would live in fear. It took him a hundred years to find the place where I had secluded myself after he secretly poisoned me. Fortunately, Sect Master possessed the perfect pill for my condition, otherwise, even if this Queen did not die, my cultivation definitely would have dropped. This time, this Queen should settle accounts with that man.”

“Every grudge has its revenge, just as it should be,” Yang Kai grinned.

Ye Xi Yun brushed her hair back and said leisurely, “Actually, it doesn’t matter to this Queen whether she holds the position of Sect Master or not, but that man abandoned the ancestral traditions of Star Emperor Mountain, which is akin to betraying the Great Emperor: An intolerable offence. This Queen must clean up the Sect on behalf of the fallen ancestors.”

When she declared so, Ye Xi Yun’s beautiful eyes filled with murderous intent.

Qian Tong and Fei Zhi Tu nearby couldn’t help shivering when they felt this aura.

“How many masters does Star Emperor Mountain have?” Yang Kai asked.

Ye Xi Yun laughed, “Actually, Star Emperor Mountain has always had very few members. Although it occupies the best cultivation land on Shadowed Star, the number of people in each generation never exceeds three hundred. When this Queen was in charge of Star Emperor Mountain, there were actually even fewer than that, only a trivial two hundred. The numbers there should be similar now.”

“Two hundred!?” Yang Kai, Qian Tong, and the others present were dumbfounded. Such a small number was unexpected. Everyone knew that there were not many members of Star Emperor Mountain, but no one thought there would be this few.

Could such a force really stand at the top of Shadowed Star’s power pyramid?

“Sect Master must not underestimate these two hundred people. Of these two hundred, at least eighty percent are Origin Returning Realm masters, with around forty or fifty having reached the Third-Order. Moreover, Star Emperor Mountain also has several Origin King Grade artifacts and even some Emperor Artifacts! This level of combat power cannot be belittled,” Ye Xi Yun urged in a deep voice.

“Emperor Artifacts…” Yang Kai narrowed his eyes, “Like that Annihilation Thunder Bead?”

“En, the Annihilation Thunder Bead is one of them, but while the Annihilation Thunder Bead is powerful, Sect Master has already managed to survive a strike from it, so it shouldn’t be difficult for you to face it again. If one can avoid this first strike, that Emperor Artifact is useless.”

“Alright, since the person using it isn’t strong enough, that Emperor Artifact really can’t play much of a role,” Yang Kai nodded.

He had suffered a great loss because he did not know anything about the Annihilation Thunder Bead last time, but if Yang Kai were to face it again now, he should be able to deal with it calmly.

Although he did not have to worry about himself, whether the Starship could block the Annihilation Thunder Bead’s blow was something Yang Kai was uncertain about.

“In addition to the Annihilation Thunder Bead, there are two other Origin King Grade artifacts that we need to be wary of. Star Emperor Mountain originally had three Origin King Grade artifacts, but the Bone Incinerating Flame Lamp was brought out by this Queen. As for the remaining two…”

A single great force controlling three Origin King Grade artifacts was astonishing on Shadowed Star. For example, Thunder Typhoon Sect and Heaven Battling Union both possessed one Origin King Grade artifact and treated their respective artifact as their Sect’s highest treasure, never daring to use it lightly.

But now, Heaven Battling Union’s Origin King Grade artifact had become one of Yang Kai’s trophies.

Next, Ye Xi Yun described the power and appearance of the two Origin King Grade artifacts that remained on Star Emperor Mountain in detail and about the various aspects Yang Kai needed to be careful of.

Yang Kai listened very seriously.

Frankly speaking, Star Emperor Mountain’s strength was far greater than Heaven Battling Union or Thunder Typhoon Sect. Although the total number of cultivators that belonged to Star Emperor Mountain was small, the proportion of high-level cultivators was completely unbalanced. With fifty Third-Order Origin Returning Realm masters alone, it would not be a problem for Star Emperor Mountain to dominate Shadowed Star and sweep away any Sect that opposed them.

Seeing his brow furrow, Ye Xi Yun smiled and said, “Sect Master does not need to worry too much. Although that usurper has been in charge of Star Emperor Mountain for a hundred years, his behaviour and beliefs are incompatible with the philosophy of Star Emperor Mountain, not to mention that he seized his position unjustly, so he likely hasn’t been able to subdue the other masters who reside there. Even if he has won some people over during these years, this Queen also has her own supporters!”

Yang Kai’s eyes lit up as he looked at her brightly.

“In the past, many received kindness from this Queen on Star Emperor Mountain, so they likely will not act against me. Moreover, for the past hundred years, they thought that this Queen was dead, which made it easier for them to accept that man’s rule, but now… In all honesty, Sect Master, since the day this Queen reappeared a few years ago, some people have secretly contacted this Queen and asked her to return to Star Emperor Mountain, but this Queen always refused.”

“Such a thing happened?” Yang Kai raised his brow.

“At this point, this Queen has no reason to hide anything,” Ye Xi Yun smiled lightly. “Ever since she was a child, this Queen’s Honoured Master instilled the idea into her that the Great Emperor was supreme. Now that this Queen can directly serve the Great Emperor, returning to Star Emperor Mountain just to seize back an empty title is pointless. However, since Sect Master now intends to attack Star Emperor Mountain, this Queen should naturally put in her best effort.”

“I understand,” Yang Kai was extremely pleased.

He had still been debating whether to use the Starship’s great power to conquer Star Emperor Mountain just as he had Heaven Battling Union, but without full assurance of success, he had been hesitating. Now that he heard what Ye Xi Yun said, he could not help but feel overjoyed.

“To that end, this Queen would like to request Sect Master give her a few days so I can visit Star Emperor Mountain in advance. Not everyone there is an enemy of Sect Master.”

“You can act as you see fit, I’ll just wait for good news,” Yang Kai agreed.

“Good, then this Queen will take one step ahead, I hope Sect Master can catch up slowly!” Ye Xi Yun was a decisive woman, so after she finished their discussions, she immediately prepared to depart for Emperor Mountain.

A short time later, a brilliant beam of light shot out from the Starship and flew straight towards the direction of Star Emperor Mountain.

After Ye Xi Yun left, the Starship slowed its pace considerably.

Since he had to wait for Ye Xi Yun to process things ahead of their arrival, Yang Kai did not plan to rush forward and instead decided to enter secluded cultivation.

Yang Kai had many things to attend to; he had yet to even digest all the benefits he obtained from the Emperor Garden last time. Whether it was studying the True Alchemy Enlightenment Scripture or perfecting his Golden Blood Thread Secret Technique, both required enormous time and effort.

Moreover, Yang Kai needed to spend some time refining the Revitalizing Jade Cream to purify all the blood in his body into pure Golden Blood.

The Five Elements Indestructible Sword Tempering Art also needed to be cultivated.

With so many things to do, Yang Kai always found himself lacking time, so now that some had suddenly been freed up, he was not willing to waste it.

On Fallen Emperor Mountain, because Yang Kai had absorbed such a large quantity of Pure Spirit Qi, his cultivation had reached the peak of the First-Order Origin Returning Realm and it was now possible for him to break through any time he wished.

Yang Kai didn’t dare to break through too quickly though, as that would cause his foundation to become unstable, so he kept suppressing this impulse and did not actively try to increase his Saint Qi capacity, instead choosing to focus on cultivating his various Secret Techniques and absorbing Alchemy knowledge.

This way, even without raising his realm, he could still enhance his strength.

Inside a cultivation room aboard the Starship, Yang Kai sat down cross-legged, took out the Sun’s True Essence and the other five elements supreme treasures, laid out a simple Spirit Array, then began absorbing the pure elemental energy within these treasures to temper his body following the Five Elements Indestructible Sword Tempering Art. At the same time, he used his Soul Avatar inside his Knowledge Sea to comprehend the True Alchemy Enlightenment Scripture.

Even focusing on two different tasks at once, Yang Kai did not feel troubled and greatly increased his efficiency instead.

Time passed slowly, and ten or so days passed by in what seemed like just a moment.

While Yang Kai was immersed in cultivating the Five Elements Indestructible Sword Tempering Art and studying the True Alchemy Enlightenment Scripture, he suddenly realized that someone was calling out to him with their Divine Sense.

His brow twitching slightly, Yang Kai returned his consciousness to his body and put away the five supreme treasures before exiting the cultivation room.

In a certain hall of the Starship, a group of powerhouses had gathered.

Ye Xi Yun had also returned, but the atmosphere inside the hall still felt a bit tense as not only was Qian Tong and the others present, but there were also some unfamiliar faces mixed in.

These strangers consisted of a solemn-looking middle-aged man, a dignified looking beauty, and a skinny old man whose eyes appeared particularly energetic.

All three of these new faces were peak level Third-Order Origin Returning Realm masters, and from the Saint Qi fluctuations emanating from them, it was clear they were a fair bit stronger than ordinary Origin Realm masters.

Even Qian Tong could not help showing some trepidation when facing these three.