Martial Peak

Translator: Silavin & Tia

Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun

Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys

Tong Xuan Realm, the second stop along Yang Kai's Martial Dao journey, was also an important springboard for him to reach a higher plane. Without his many opportunities and experiences in Tong Xuan Realm, he would never have achieved what he had today.

As his thoughts floated about, his memories rose up. He looked at the Star that he had left a long time ago with a deep and profound expression. Everything he had been worried about had become reality.

Looking at the entire Tong Xuan Realm from the Starry Sky, he could see that the situation there was much worse than that of the Green Mountains Star. The Star seemed to be suffering from some kind of serious illness and was now showing all sorts of sickly symptoms, like a dying old man that was walking towards his own grave.

The black spots scattered all across Tong Xuan Realm looked like someone had randomly splashed several gigantic drops of ink on it. Those spots were clearly visible even from where he stood hundreds of thousands of kilometres away in the Starry Sky. Furthermore, the surface of the Star was covered in faint Black Qi.

He studied those 'black ink stains', vaguely thinking that they were arranged like an Array because of the way they were connected and corresponding with each other from afar. They formed a large yet invisible net that sealed the entire Tong Xuan Realm within it.

This Grand Spirit Array might not be fully formed, but it was gradually demonstrating its extraordinary power. Even Yang Kai, who stood within the Starry Sky, could feel a smothering aura coming from it. So, how would the residents living on Tong Xuan Realm feel? They were trapped inside, and the aura of the Array must be greatly affecting them. This Array would annihilate all living beings within it and if it was fully triggered, the entire Tong Xuan Realm would definitely perish.

[I'm glad I made it in time.]

He might not know when the Spirit Array would be fully formed and activated, but it would not be completed within the next few days. With his current ability, a few days was enough for him to run around killing all the invading enemies in Tong Xuan Realm.

Logically speaking, Tong Xuan Realm had a Star Master guarding it, so it shouldn't have been so easy for the cultivators from Grand Desolation Star Field to invade. After all, the strength of a Star Master was extraordinary. In particular, a Star Master, who was on their own Cultivation Star and blessed by its Star Source, was practically an invincible existence.

However, Tong Xuan Realm's situation was different. Just as he had told Liu Yan, it had experienced a depletion of its World Energy, and although Xia Ning Chang later refined the Star Source and helped it recover, how much could be restored in just a few dozen years?

Therefore, Tong Xuan Realm's World Energy and Principles were much weaker compared to other Cultivation Stars. If not for that, the strongest cultivators on the Star would not have been limited to the Saint Realm. It was precisely because of the Star's World Energy and Principles that it could not nurture any cultivators more powerful than that. Meanwhile, other Stars in the same Star Field could give birth to cultivators in the Saint King Realm, the Origin Returning Realm, and even the Origin King Realm.

Tong Xuan Realm had, at most, restored some traces of vitality over the past several dozen years. Unfortunately, this small improvement had now been exhausted by the arrival of Grand Desolation Star Field's cultivators. If Xia Ning Chang wanted to resist the invasion of Grand Desolation Star Field, she would have to rely on the strength of the Star Source; however, it would cause a heavy burden on the Star if it was used too many times. For that reason, she could not keep the cultivators from Grand Desolation Star Field out for long, even though she was Tong Xuan Realm's Star Master. Their invasion into Tong Xuan Realm was inevitable.

Yang Kai had completed his analysis of Xia Ning Chang's current situation in almost an instant.

Pushing such thoughts aside for the moment, he focused on the task at hand. He currently had no idea where to find Xia Ning Chang and Xue Yue, and while Tong Xuan Realm was not particularly large, it wasn't small either… If the two of them were hiding somewhere, he would not be able to locate them any time soon. He might as well use that time to kill some of the cultivators from Grand Desolation Star Field and teach them what would happen to them if they offended somebody they should never have offended.

After observing the situation for a moment, Yang Kai's figure flickered as he rushed towards Tong Xuan Realm. He headed toward the largest 'black ink stain' on the Star, letting gravity pull him down. Meanwhile, Liu Yan followed closely behind him. Her movements were neither fast nor slow, yet did not hinder Yang Kai in any way.

It didn't take long for them to plunge into the atmosphere, and when they did, the aura coming from their surroundings made them frown. It was unpleasant, pungent, and sickening. Fortunately, the two of them were strong enough that they could ignore the discomfort this aura caused. If ordinary cultivators were enveloped in such an aura, it wouldn't take long for their minds to be affected and for them to turn into walking corpses.

Back when Yang Kai was observing the situation in the Starry Sky, he only felt that the situation in Tong Xuan Realm was not promising, but now that he plunged into the area covered by the large 'black ink stain', he discovered that the situation was worse than he had anticipated. He did not know what that 'black ink stain' was. However, it made the people trapped within it feel like they were in a living Hell.

A strong wind roared in his ears, his clothes whipped around his body noisily, and his black hair was blown about by the wind as Yang Kai allowed himself to plummet from the sky freely, penetrating through the atmosphere and falling towards the ground. The extreme speed caused his body to rub against the air, and the friction ignited a burst of flames around his form. If one were to look up from the ground, it would look as though a meteor was falling down, a spectacular sight to behold.

Narrowing his eyes slightly, Yang Kai raised his hand and spread out his fingers. Then, he bent his arm back before slowly pushing out his palm towards the ground. An incredibly large palmprint formed without warning. It was laid out horizontally and covered a vast swath of ground below Yang Kai, growing larger the further he fell, as if trying to encompass the entire world.

Inside the largest building in the middle of the 'black ink stain', an old man covered in Death Qi was cultivating in a cross-legged position. Judging from the way he was dressed, he was from the Netherworld Sect. His cultivation was strangely high. He was a Third-Order Origin King, which would at least make him an Elder of the Sect.

Initially, Netherworld Sect did not have so many Third-Order Origin King Masters among their ranks. The number of Masters in the Sect was similar to that of High Heaven Sect at its peak. In other words, there were only three or four of them, at most; however, invading Heng Luo Star Field had brought huge benefits to the entire Netherworld Sect. Whether they were refining Blood Sea Banners, Ten Thousand Soul Banners, or even Corpses, all of these techniques required living people as materials. The stronger the sacrifices used as cultivation materials, the greater the benefits.

Netherworld Sect achieved unification in Grand Desolation Star Field, and nobody dared to disobey their orders. There was no great force that could rival it in strength. Nevertheless, they could not act too recklessly when cultivating. At the most, they would find reasons to annihilate a few Sects and capture all the cultivators of those forces to become materials for their cultivation once in a while. It was impossible for them to act too unscrupulous as everything in the world had a limit, and Netherworld Sect had a firm understanding of what those limits were. That was how it managed to unify Grand Desolation Star Field without arousing public outrage from the entire Star Field.

Unfortunately, it was different when they came to Heng Luo Star Field. Their cruel nature, which had been previously repressed, was liberated. To them, all the cultivators in Heng Luo Star Field were free to be slaughtered! With the countless cultivators of Heng Luo Star Field as their cultivation resources, how could the strength of those in the Netherworld Sect not increase drastically?

It had only been slightly more than ten years since their invasion began, but all the cultivators from Netherworld Sect had experienced an increase in their cultivation by at least a Minor Realm. Meanwhile, the Elders, Protectors, and Deacons experienced even greater improvement in their cultivations. Those in the Origin Returning Realm broke through to the Origin King Realm; those in the First-Order Origin King Realm broke through to the Second-Order Origin King Realm, and those in the Second-Order Origin King Realm broke through to the Third-Order Origin King Realm!

It would have been fine if only one or two had experienced such growth, but the key point was that this growth applied to all the disciples in Netherworld Sect. This was an extremely horrifying situation. After ten years of wanton destruction and consumption, the Netherworld Sect had already surpassed the High Heaven Sect by leaps and bounds. They had more than ten Third-Order Origin King Masters alone. Moreover, more than half of them had broken through to this Realm after the invasion into Heng Luo Star Field. Similarly, First-Order and Second-Order Origin King Masters were emerging endlessly from among their ranks.

Upon tasting the sweetness of conquest, the Netherworld Sect became even more ruthless in their invasion of Heng Luo Star Field. It didn't matter where they went, nobody could put up a fight against them. Even Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce had fallen, not to mention the various other great forces. Only those Cultivation Stars guarded by Star Masters posed some threat to them.

Tong Xuan Realm was one such Star that made things a little difficult for the Netherworld Sect. Unfortunately… it was only at the level of being 'a little difficult'. The World Energy of this Star was weak, as were its World Principles. It could not give birth to anything extraordinary, and under normal circumstances, the Netherworld Sect might not even have bothered to expend the energy required to conquer it.

However, many powerful cultivators had gathered in this place! That was exactly what the Netherworld Sect was looking for. If they could turn those cultivators into their resources, their Sect would be able to produce another Third-Order Origin King Master, at the very least.

Whether it was simply to make an example of Tong Xuan Realm or for the sake of cultivation, this place had to be taken down at all costs. Any who opposed the invasion would be killed! That was the only way for the Netherworld Sect to announce to the world just who was in charge of this Star Field.

For that reason, five of Netherworld Sect's Third-Order Origin Kings had come to attack Tong Xuan Realm. Moreover, one of them was none other than the Vice-Sect Master of the Netherworld Sect, the one who had chased Xue Yue all the way to this place. The old man sitting cross-legged in the great hall was that very Vice-Sect Master, Xin Xuan Ming.

There was a Star Master in Tong Xuan Realm, and Xin Xuan Ming was aware that this Star Master was a woman in the Third-Order Origin King Realm. Nevertheless, he was not afraid.

It would have been different had it been a stronger Star. He might have needed more effort to deal with that; however, this Star seemed to be very weak. As long as he sapped the World Energy of this Star, it would be equivalent to destroying the Source of Tong Xuan Realm. When that happened, the Star Master would face a tragic ending without even needing him to do anything. Then, without the protection of the Star Master, those rats hiding in the shadows would become his playthings.

The Eight Desolation Binding Spirit Array had been arranged for that purpose. Once the Array took shape, the entire Tong Xuan Realm would be sealed within this Spirit Array. Consequently, this Cultivation Star would no longer be supplemented by the essence of the Starry Sky. It would be equivalent to a river without a source, or a tree without roots. That wasn't all; the Eight Desolation Binding Spirit Array could also be used to summon the Core of the Netherworld. Then, the power of the Netherworld would spread across this land. This place would turn into a paradise for Netherworld Sect and Hell for all the other cultivators.

Thinking back to several years ago, Xin Xuan Ming had led a group of people to pursue Xue Yue to this place. At the time, he had been intercepted by the Star Master outside the Star. More than ten Starships belonging to the Netherworld Sect had fired their Crystal Cannons all at the same time, but the ridiculous thing was that it only took a few barrages from the Crystal Cannons to break through the Star Master's blockade, after which they marched right in.

Over the next few years, the Netherworld Sect and the rest of the cultivators from Grand Desolation Star Field had covered the entire Tong Xuan Realm in their tracks, while the Star Master here had no power to resist whatsoever. She could only hide away to protect a small group of people within a tiny area.

[Since she wants to do things the hard way, she can only blame herself for not being strong enough. It will not take much longer. At most, another half a year before the Eight Desolation Binding Spirit Array is fully formed. When that time comes, that Star Master won't even be able to think about resisting!]