Martial Peak

A few hundred kilometers away from the nine peaks.

Inside a dense jungle, many cultivators had hidden themselves, none of them daring to even breathe loudly. The sun shining down through the canopy illuminated the gloomy expressions upon Zhang Ao and the other’s faces.

Since their defeat at the hands of the Monster Race, ten days had already passed.

During these ten days, Zhang Ao constantly thought back to the scenes that day, his heart filled with a deep sense of unwillingness each time. He had thought that as soon as he captured that little bastard he would be able to obtain the core inheritance of Nine Heavens Holy Land, but never had Zhang Ao imagined the Monster Race would actually intervene at the critical moment.

The Monster Race Great Senior had brought several dozen masters with him and had forced them to flee like beaten dogs.

All the forces Zhang Ao had gathered together to crusade against Nine Heavens Holy Land had long been scattered, leaving only Shattering Mystical Palace, War Spirit Temple, and Netherworld Sect.

With just the three Sects, they wouldn’t be able to beat the original Nine Heavens Holy Land, much less exact revenge upon the Monster Race.

Moreover, all three Sects had suffered heavy losses and the number of masters they had left who could still fight was not many.

It was undoubtedly the best choice to withdraw here, but Zhang Ao simply couldn’t resign himself to that. After manipulating so many forces and masters yet still failing to defeat Nine Heavens Holy Land, Zhang Ao could imagine how much of a laughing stock his Shattering Mystical Palace would become once word spread out.

His blood boiling, Zhang Ao’s expression became even darker and more sinister.

“That despicable little brat, actually daring to collude with those evil monsters, hateful!” Zhang Ao cursed as he gazed back in the direction of Nine Heavens Holy Land, sullen and helpless.

Cao Guan also grumbled indignantly, “He dares face universal condemnation, as soon as the news of this spreads, I think it’ll be impossible for him to stand tall anywhere in Tong Xuan Realm.”

Wu Jie simply cackled and said, “Nine Heavens Holy Land is actually quite interesting, I never expected they’d actually join forces with the Monster Race.”

“This isn’t necessarily the idea of ​​Xu Hui or the other Holy Land Elders. I’ve been dealing with Xu Hui for several decades so I have a fair understanding of his thinking; it’s highly unlikely he would propose such a thing. All of this is probably because of that little brat,” Zhang Ao coldly snorted, “The most important thing right now though is how to seize him from the Monster Race.”

“En, this is somewhat difficult to handle,” Cao Guan frowned deeply.

“You two still don’t want to give up?” Wu Jie stared at them with amazement and shook his head, “With that Monster Race Great Senior protecting him, what hope do you have to capture him with?”

“Can he not come out for a lifetime? I vow not to rest until I catch that little bastard!” Zhang Ao face filled with cruel madness.

“I as well! Why, what’s wrong? Does Brother Wu want to retreat now even after receiving so many benefits from us?” As he spoke, Zhang Ao shot a bad look towards Wu Jie.

Wu Jie quickly raised his hand and said, “Receiving wealth to disperse disaster has always been my Netherworld Sect’s objective. Now that I’ve received payment from you two, of course I’ll help you to the end.”

“That would be for the best,” Zhang Ao nodded with satisfaction.

As the three Sect leaders were talking, a cultivator who had gone to scout out the nine peaks situation returned and after respectfully bowing, reported, “The nine peaks have been completely occupied by the Monster Race, and there are no signs of any of Nine Heavens Holy Land’s disciples anywhere. There’s only traces of Monster Beast and Monster Race activity inside; they appear to be busy mining the Crystal Stone mineral lodes!”

Hearing this, Zhang Ao and Cao Guan’s brows both twitched in annoyance.

If it weren’t for the damn Monster Race, those rich mineral lodes would be theirs right now.

“Are you certain you didn’t see anyone from Nine Heavens Holy Land inside?” Zhang Ao frowned. This piece of information was something he was particularly concerned about. Before the war started, he hadn’t spotted any of the Holy Land’s disciples or even Elders which could possibly be explained by them hiding somewhere nearby, but them not appearing even now was a bit intriguing.

“Yes, this subordinate and several dozen others have been observing day and night, but no one has spotted a single disciple of Nine Heavens Holy Land since that day.”

“Nine Heavens Holy Land’s thousands of disciples couldn’t have simply vanished,” Cao Guan wore a puzzled expression, venturing a guess in the next moment, “Brother Zhang, could it be that the Monster Race…”

Hearing this, Zhang Ao was stunned for a moment before a sneer appeared on his face, “It’s possible. The Monster Race is by no means a trustworthy partner, perhaps that little brat thought he could collude with those beasts only to have them turn on him once they got what they wanted; if so, he really lifted a stone only to smash his own foot!”

“That little bastard got what he deserved!” Cao Guan’s mood improved noticeably, soon wondering though, “But if that’s the case, that little brat is likely now in the hands of that Monster Race Great Senior. How are we supposed to capture him?”

Zhang Ao frowned and sunk into contemplation, but even after thinking about it for half a day, no feasible plan came to mind.

…..

Inside a grand palace, Yang Kai sat face to face with the Monster Race Great Senior and portrayed several exquisite Spirit Arrays between them.

Yang Kai pushed down his impatience as he carefully taught the Great Senior.

Originally, he had already carved the entire series of Spirit Arrays related to the Beast Transformation Pond onto a fine jade slip; but after the Monster Race Great Senior examined it thoroughly and told Yang Kai he was unable to understand all of it, Yang Kai had no choice but to explain them himself.

Fortunately, the Great Senior’s perception wasn’t bad, so although he had never studied this subject before, after receiving ten days of Yang Kai’s dedicated lectures, he was finally able to grasp the key points of the Spirit Array diagrams.

All that was left for him to do now was to slowly comprehend it so that if any problems occurred when one of the Monster Race first tries to assume human form, the Great Senior could fix them himself without having to ask Yang Kai for help.

After Yang Kai finished explaining the Spirit Array diagrams, the Monster Race Great Senior let out a long breath, his face showing a look of shock as he muttered, “This Spirit Array diagram conforms greatly to the Heavenly Way and is of great use to those who cultivate the Martial Dao. Who was it that taught you these things?”

“No comment!” Yang Kai smiled.

“Good, I don’t intend to inquire about your secrets; it’s just that many of the mysteries hidden within these Spirit Array diagrams can’t be seen with your current cultivation and vision. Although my attainments in this field are much shallower than yours, my vision and experience far outstrip your own still. En, boy, treasure and study these Spirit Array diagrams well, one day you will discover that profundities hidden within them are far greater than you can imagine.”

Yang Kai’s brow wrinkled as a thoughtful look appeared on his face.

“Earlier you mentioned you were an Alchemist, right?” The Monster Race Great Senior suddenly asked.

“En,” Yang Kai nodded lightly.

“Since you’re an Alchemist, why not stay here and assist my clan? I think your Alchemy level should not be bad. My clan has collected a lot of rare materials over the years, things your Human Race would find difficult to ever acquire.”

“No thanks,” Yang Kai waved his hand, “I’m not interested.”

“Don’t say that, everything is open to discussion, let’s talk about it, what treatment you want, I can promise you,” The Monster Race Great Senior smiled widely.

Yang Kai slowly shook his head, “I’m afraid I’ll have to decline Great Senior’s kind intentions, I have others things to attend to so I can’t stay here for long, en, the Reflecting Moon Pond I told you about, I’ll have to ask you to help me look after it. Someone may come here later to examine it.”

“You want to leave?” Great Senior frowned.

“If I don’t leave now, I am afraid I never will,” Yang Kai stared straight into the Great Senior’s eyes, not showing any fear.

Great Senior grinned, hesitated for a moment, and then nodded, “Go, we’ll meet again.”

“Great Senior should take care, who knows, within a few years, I may be back to reclaim the nine peaks, so you’d best take advantage of the resources here while you can.”

Saying so, Yang Kai didn’t wait for the Great Senior to reply before flying off, quickly disappearing from the palace.

After Yang Kai left, the Great Senior’s expression turned into a sneer, “A few years? That boy looks down on people far too much.”

The Great Senior had brought his clansmen out from the Beast Sea Jungle in a grand fashion, risking a full scale conflict with the Human Race in order to help Yang Kai solve the Holy Land’s immediate crisis; how could he only occupy the nine peaks for a few years as payment?

“Great Senior, do you intend to just let him leave like that?” Cai Die appeared silently, a light frown upon her face, “He has precious knowledge about the Beast Transformation Pond’s hidden mysteries.”

“En, but he has also done a great favour for our Monster Race,” The Great Senior said with a complicated expression, “I know what you’re worried about, but you need not be, that little brat is trustworthy and will not easily leak the secrets of the Beast Transformation Pond. My Monster Race cannot stoop so low as to act like humans, repaying kindness with enmity. Cai Die, don’t get any crooked ideas, I know you want to put him under house arrest for safety’s sake; but do away with such thoughts.”

“Yes,” Cai Die respectfully replied, glancing off in the direction Yang Kai disappeared and suddenly chuckling, “But he certainly is crazy enough, claiming he will be able to stand on equal ground with Great Senior within twenty or thirty years and now saying he’ll be back to recover the nine peaks within a few years, I’d really like to know where he gets all his confidence from.”

“The young never lack confidence…” Great Senior mused, “However… I always feel like the things he said will come true. That boy is quite strange, so I don’t want to make a move against him. Instead, I’d like to see just how he plans to achieve those wild claims of his.”

“So that’s how it is,” Cai Die nodded, a smile appearing on her face.

“You should smile more, you look more attractive when you do,” Great Senior suddenly said.

Cai Die’s face blushed red before she directed a stern glare towards the Great Senior, “Why would Great Senior suddenly say something Kuang Shi would say?”

“Haha, beauty should naturally bloom more, what point is there in trying to hide it? What difference is there between that and how those deceitful humans act? One should be true to one’s nature and temperament. Regarding that, I really appreciate that little boy’s attitude; though his temperament is somewhat lawless, so he’s likely to suffer a big loss sooner or later!” Saying so, the Great Senior’s face showed a look of taking pleasure in others’ misfortune, as if he knew Yang Kai was about to suffer such a loss.

Cai Die couldn’t help pursing her lips and smiling, she never knew that her Great Senior actually had such a side to him.

Beyond the nine peaks, Yang Kai secretly wore a cold expression.

Working with the Monster Race was undoubtedly a double edged sword, the slightest carelessness would result in tragic consequences.

Although the Great Senior’s attitude towards him was quite good, Yang Kai still had to use an abundance of caution when dealing with such a powerhouse.

After all, Yang Kai never knew when this master would suddenly decide to act impulsively.

The gap in strength between them was still too great.

The Monster Race Great Senior sharing some friendship with the old Holy Master was naturally because the two of them stood at the same height. Although Yang Kai had inherited the old Holy Master’s titles and status, in the end he was still just a Second Order Transcendent Realm cultivator, a minor character in the eyes of the Great Senior.

Sweeping the area with his Divine Sense quickly and determining no one was pursuing him, Yang Kai finally breathed a sigh of relief.

He was certain that if he remained in the Holy Land for much longer, he would not be able to leave; the Great Senior would definitely ‘invite’ him to perform Alchemy for the Monster Race.

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