Martial Peak

Translator: Silavin & Raikov

Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun

Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys

Yang Kai encountered many similar situations in the Thousand Illusions Dreamworld. In the war between the two races, even if a Demon were to be killed, leaving behind only its Demon Spirit, they would still retain their ability to transform the Barbarian Race into Demons, forcing them to change sides. The aura and Remnant Soul of the Demon Race both had strong corrosive power.

"What should we do now?" Fang Zhuo also asked.

Before Yang Kai had time to speak, the roaring Gong Yue suddenly turned quiet. His head jerked up, revealing a pair of terrifyingly dark eyes without any whites.

"Old… Old Patriarch Gong!" Chen Bing Ru shouted in a trembling voice as if hoping to confirm the identity of the person before her.

But Gong Yue ignored her calls, cocked his head to the side, and observed Yang Kai, showing both a look of bewilderment and curiosity as if he had just woken up from a long dream, not understanding where he was or what he was doing.

Yang Kai held his breath and stayed on guard.

But Gong Yue did not strike him; instead, he just made an odd noise from his throat and began stumbling outside.

Chen Bing Ru, Fang Zhuo, and Hua Yu Lu quickly made way. They didn't have a shred of fighting strength left in them right now and simply did not dare to obstruct his path.

Gong Yue's mind had clearly been corroded by the Demon Spirit because he was behaving very differently from before. It was as if a new Soul had seized his body but had yet to fully integrate with it. Even the way it walked was not quite normal.

In the silence, Gong Yue's footsteps sounded incomparably harsh as he gradually moved away.

After his footsteps could no longer be heard, Hua Yu Lu and the others let out a sigh of relief, as if they'd been saved from a disaster. After watching Gong Yue's transformation with their own eyes, they no longer had any doubts about what Yang Kai told them earlier about Demon Spirits.

"Has Old Patriarch Gong been possessed?" Fang Zhuo turned to Yang Kai and asked.

If that really were the case, then that would be a big problem. After all, Gong Yue was the former Patriarch of the Gong Family, and he even had a Second-Order Emperor Realm cultivation. If someone like that was allowed to roam freely, there was no saying what sorts of danger he could bring to the Southern Territory.

"I have no idea, but it may be even more serious than that!" Yang Kai looked grim. The only thing he could be sure of now was that Gong Yue had gone through demonification, but there was one thing he couldn't understand. Even if Gong Yue's mind was disturbed, he shouldn't have been invaded so easily by the Demon Spirit. How could he have failed to even temporarily resist it?

Yang Kai couldn't find a reasonable explanation for what he saw just now with his own eyes.

But then a thought suddenly struck Yang Kai and he shouted, "The Demon Character!"

"What?" Hua Yu Lu turned to look at him.

"That Demon Character!" With a grave expression, Yang Kai looked at the group, "How much of it did you all see?"

Hua Yu Lu frowned slightly before replying, "If you are referring to the Secret Technique that Yang Tai performed earlier, I didn't see it very clearly."

Yang Kai looked at the three others and quickly said, "Regardless of how much you saw, you'd best find a way to erase it from your memory. Yang Tai's demonification and Gong Yue's corrosion may be related to it."

"What do you mean?" Fang Zhuo asked curiously. He had deliberately observed Yang Tai when he performed that Secret Technique, so he saw a little more than Hua Yu Lu, so with how serious Yang Kai was putting the matter, he didn't dare to take it lightly.

Chen Bing Ru also cast a curious gaze at him.

Yang Kai explained, "Yang Tai had already gone through demonification when we came here despite having never had the chance to make contact with that Demon Spirit. There's a good possibility that this is related to the Ancient Demon Character that he learned. In order to convince Gong Yue, he must have also presented the power of that character to him, and Gong Yue may have studied it during that time. So… Some Demon Essence should also have formed inside of him. That is the reason why he was willing to risk everything to work with Yang Tai to entrap us. Yes, that must be it. Otherwise, how could Gong Yue, as the former Patriarch of the Gong Family, make such a foolish and reckless decision? He must have already been subtly influenced by the Demon Essence hidden inside his body and was no longer thinking rationally. The reason why the Demon Spirit invaded his mind so easily was not because Gong Yue's protection was ineffective, but because the Demon Essence inside of him was attracting the Demon Spirit, forcing him to give up his resistance unwittingly!"

Half of what Yang Kai said was merely speculation, but the more he spoke, the more that he felt that his guess was correct.

The root of everything was that Ancient Demon Character.

Half a year ago, Hua Yu Lu, Yang Tai, and Wu Kuang Yi discovered this Ancient Cave Mansion. All three of them gained different benefits, but the Ancient Demon Character that Yang Tai learned had been a trap all along. It was a piece of bait set up to entice him into opening the seal and releasing the Demon Spirits behind it.

Anyone who learned that Ancient Demon Character would have made the same choice as Yang Tai.

It was through the true meaning of that Demon Character that Yang Tai was able to establish an inexplicable connection with the Demon Spirit behind that door, and that was how he found out what was inside, and why opening the seal had become his sole mission in life!

Hua Yu Lu's face turned more and more pale as she listened, her tender body shivering somewhat uncontrollably.

She felt lucky that she had only gotten the Small Flower Drum last time. If she had also studied that Ancient Demon Character like Yang Tai, she would likely have met the same fate as him.

Chen Bing Ru asked uneasily, "Is it possible that we'll also go through demonification like Yang Tai?"

She also saw the Ancient Demon Character after all.

Yang Kai shook his head, "The true meaning of that Demon Character isn't so easy to grasp. Yang Tai must have studied it for quite some time to become influenced by it. It shouldn't matter if you only saw a glimpse of it, but I would advise you to forget about it completely. Nobody knows what sort of dangerous effects that Demon Character may have."

Everyone else nodded; then, after exchanging glances, they sent their Soul Avatars into their Knowledge Seas, found the memories regarding the Demon Character, and destroyed them.

This way, they would forget what that character looked like, and only remember its existence. Destroying such memories themselves would cause some damage to their Soul, but compared to the risk of going through demonification, it was an acceptable injury.

Meanwhile, Yang Kai was contemplating what to do next.

Only after everyone opened their eyes weakly did Yang Kai say, "There should be more than one Demon Spirit behind this door, perhaps many more. Right now, there are two matters we need to see to!"

Hearing Yang Kai say that there may be more Demon Spirits behind that door, everyone jumped in fright, but thinking about it carefully, it really did seem possible.

That was because the seal of the giant blood-coloured door was not fully broken. Yang Tai's blood sacrifice was only able to open it by a crack, allowing a single Demon Spirit to escape. This seal was laid down by great Masters from ancient times, and since it was able to close itself again, it meant that there were still other hidden dangers inside.

"What two matters?" Fang Zhuo asked. After the mess that just happened, Yang Kai had unconsciously become the leader of the group, and they had no objection to his decisions.

"The first thing we have to do is to find someone to secure the sealing Spirit Array here just in case someone else accidentally stumbles in and tries to break it again." Yang Kai raised a finger, "This is a matter concerning the entire Southern Territory, and possibly even the entire Star Boundary. For that reason, we must inform the top Sects and get them to collaborate to find a solution for this problem. En, the Gong Family should also make up for their mistakes. They are good candidates for this job as well."

Gong Yue made a grave mistake, and he was the one who broke the seal. Repairing the seal should be the Heavenly River Valley's Gong Family's responsibility. Not to mention that even without what Gong Yue had done, the Gong Family was still the best choice for this job. In the Southern Territory, other than the Array Grandmasters of the top Sects, they were the ones who knew the most about Spirit Arrays.

Fang Zhuo and the others all nodded in agreement at Yang Kai's words. Even though exploring the Ancient Cave Mansion was their business, the consequences that came out of it were beyond their ability to bear alone.

Even Gong Yue, who was a Second-Order Emperor, couldn't resist the Demon Spirit's encroachment. Chaos was bound to break out in the Southern Territory if things were left as they were, and when that time came, they may become the greatest sinners in history.

"That's why I need someone to go to the Heavenly River Valley's Gong Family. Tell them what happened here, and make sure they have their guard up against Gong Yue. If Gong Yue returns to Heavenly River Valley… He may not be that foolish, but it's still better to take precautions."

"I'll go." Hua Yu Lu volunteered.

Even though her cultivation wasn't very high, she was at the very least the Palace Master of Hundred Flowers Palace, so her words would surely carry some weight. If she was the one who went to inform the Gong Family, then the Gong Family was sure to take it seriously.

"The three of you should go together!" Yang Kai said seriously.

After some thought, the three of them nodded in unison.

They had no idea where Gong Yue was right now, and there was no saying that he was not outside, waiting for them to throw themselves into his net. If the three of them joined hands though, then they would at least have some power to protect themselves.

"Then who will inform the top Sects?" Fang Zhuo asked. Without the help of those hegemons, nothing was going to happen. Even if they managed to get the Gong Family to come, they may try to cover up this matter, so they had to find a way to contact the Masters of those great forces.

Yang Kai paused for a moment before he spoke, "Allow me to introduce myself again!"

As he said that, he reached up to wipe his face, revealing his original appearance. His face was as pale as a sheet of paper with hardly any rosiness.

"My name is Yang Kai!"

"Yang Kai!" Chen Bing Ru furrowed her brow as she asked with some surprise and suspicion, "I heard that Azure Sun Temple recently conferred a new High-Rank Guest Elder title…"

"It was this Yang," Yang Kai nodded.

Chen Bing Ru and Fang Zhuo were immediately awed and cupped their fists respectfully, "So it is Elder Yang. We have truly been impolite."

It was only at this moment that they no longer dared to underestimate Yang Kai. For someone who could become an Elder of a top Sect in the Southern Territory, even if he was 'just' a High-Rank Guest Elder, he definitely wasn't someone who would stand around waiting for things to get done. What's more, there were rumors going around that Yang Kai had exchanged blows with one of Star Soul Palace's Elders during that Grand Canonization Ceremony.

Star Soul Palace Elders were peak Masters in the Third-Order Emperor Realm, not an opponent one could casually challenge.

It was only at this point that they realized why Yang Kai's performance had been so astonishing despite his aura feeling so weak. It turns out he was an Elder of the Azure Sun Temple.

"I will inform the top Sects. I have my own methods of contacting the temple, and they will naturally spread the word to the other Sects once the news reaches them."

Naturally, the three of them had no objections after hearing this.

"What about the second issue?" Hua Yu Lu asked.

"As for the second issue… Let's wait until everything is settled here before we work on that. Until then, I will stay here to watch over the seal, just in case Gong Yue decides to come back."

"Brother Yang's plans are well made," Fang Zhuo agreed.