Martial Peak
chapter-3149

Chapter 3149, Nine Heavens Holy Land

After a while, the ground was scattered with dead bodies. It was a large area, but Yang Kai and Liu Yan were the only two people alive.

In the end, not everybody was unshakeable. Although the surviving Origin King Realm Masters had joined forces at the last moment, their efforts were no different from ants trying to shake a tree. They watched Yang Kai’s deadly and savage attitude as he killed them. Eventually, one of them broke down from the pressure and told Yang Kai the answer he wanted to know. He didn’t manage to escape death, but his death was quick and painless.

“Nine Heavens Holy Land?” Yang Kai turned his head and looked in a certain direction. [What a familiar name.]

He had been the Holy Master of Nine Heavens Holy Land during his time in Tong Xuan Realm. Later, he brought a group of subordinates from Nine Heavens Holy Land to Shadowed Star with him; however, he had not seen hide nor hair of them on Shadowed Star so far.

They must have returned to this land with Xia Ning Chang; after all, this was their homeland. They couldn’t watch their homeland being invaded by foreign enemies and do nothing. Besides, Xia Ning Chang had chosen Nine Heavens Holy Land as her base due to a sense of nostalgia toward him.

“Let’s go!” Yang Kai beckoned to Liu Yan.

Liu Yan darted to his side and flew towards Nine Heavens Holy Land with him.

Just after Xin Xuan Ming was killed and the Eight Desolation Binding Spirit Array was broken, one of the old men in the Third-Order Origin King Realm located at another ‘black ink stain’ on Tong Xuan Realm suddenly shuddered. He came out of his mediation and opened his eyes with a fearful expression. He had vaguely sensed something at that moment. It felt as though a crisis was looming just next to them. Frowning, he took out an Array Jade and used his Saint Qi to appraise it for a bit. All of a sudden, his expression changed.

The Array Jade he held was a controller for part of the Eight Desolation Binding Spirit Array. Due to the special traits of the Eight Desolation Binding Spirit Array, this Array Jade could communicate with the other seven Spirit Jades and they could perceive each other through them.

The old man could tell through this Array Jade that six places were safe; however, there was no response from the Eight Desolation Binding Spirit Array Core.

He seemed to have lost contact with it.

For an instant, an incredulous thought popped into his mind and he did not dare to neglect this matter. Thus, he stood up and quickly entered a secret room. That secret room was filled with the writings of various Runes and Spirit Arrays of mysterious purpose.

He activated a certain Spirit Array, and the entire secret room flashed bright and dark intermittently. A short while later, a blurry figure suddenly appeared in front of him. That figure only contained the outline of a person and there were no facial features visible on him. Rather, its appearance was like a stream of water, changing constantly. That figure spoke as soon as it appeared, “Third Elder, I was just about to contact you. A commotion broke out at the place where Vice Sect Master Xin was at, so I contacted him to ask about the situation; however, I did not receive any response and now, the connections between the Array Jades have disappeared. Third Elder, do you know if anything has happened to Vice Sect Master Xin?”

When the Third Elder heard those words, the uneasy feeling in his heart grew stronger. If his Array Jade was the only one that lost its connection with the Array Core, then it might have been nothing more than a minor technical issue that could be resolved shortly.

Unfortunately, it seemed as though this person was facing the same issue. Combined with the fact that this person, who was the closest to the Array Core, had sensed a commotion, it would seem that this was turning into a huge problem.

The Third Elder replied, “I also called you because of the issue with my Array Jade. I’m not sure about the details. It’s just that Vice Sect Master Xin isn’t responding. Let’s wait and see how the others are doing.”

While the two of them were speaking, several illusory figures appeared one after another inside this secret room. Even though they were physically far apart from each other, they could still gather together and communicate as if they were face to face. It was all thanks to the help of the Spirit Array within the secret room, which made things very convenient for them.

Including the Third Elder, there were seven figures inside the secret room. They were none other than the top Masters of Grand Desolation Star Field who were guarding the seven parts of the Eight Desolation Binding Spirit Array in seven different locations.

After a brief exchange, they discovered a shocking fact: They had completely lost contact with the Array Core. Moreover, there was no news from Vice Sect Master Xin. Silence fell over the room for a moment. Then, somebody exclaimed in horror, “It can’t be that…”

“Impossible!” Somebody else shot it down immediately, “Vice Sect Master Xin is a Third-Order Origin King! None of us were his equal, and now he is in control of the Eight Desolation Binding Spirit Array Core! Who can stand a chance against him now?! It’s impossible for anything to happen to Vice Sect Master Xin.”

“Third Brother You, you are the closest to the Array Core. Tell us what you saw just now.” Everyone cast their gaze at the figure that was the first to appear.

Third Brother You spoke in a low voice, “A stream of light fell from the sky, followed by a huge earthquake that shook the land. Then, there was no more contact from the Array Core.”

The silence in the secret room became heavier.

He continued, “Although I can’t believe it, judging by the current situation… I’m afraid that Vice Sect Master Xin might be…” While speaking, he shuddered from the chill running down his back. If that was truly the case, then Netherworld Sect had truly provoked an incredible enemy. Still… who could be so shockingly powerful?

“Third Elder, what should we do now?”

The Third Elder’s expression was grim as he pondered in silence for a moment before breathing out slowly. It seemed like he had made a difficult decision, “We have to cut off the lizard’s tail!”

Everyone was shocked and somebody immediately said, “Third Elder, I don’t think that’s appropriate. We have been operating in this place for several years and only need to wait for another half a year to achieve success. If we act hastily, then all our previous efforts would have been in vain!”

“That’s right. It’s not too late for us to decide once we’ve confirmed the situation with Vice Sect Master Xin.”

“Fools!” He scoffed coldly, “I know you are unwilling to accept reality, but with the facts placed in front of you, how can you still continue to deny it? Would Vice Sect Master Xin not contact us if he was safe? Why can’t we detect the Eight Desolation Binding Spirit Array Core? I’m afraid the situation on the other side is… disastrous. Regardless of who attacked us, that person or group is extremely strong. We don’t have the means to defend against them.”

[If our opponent is someone who can kill Vice Sect Master Xin despite the support he had from the Array Core, then that person or people are perfectly capable of barging into our locations and taking our lives as well.]

“It takes courage for a strong man to cut off his hand to save his life. Besides, our efforts will not be wasted.”

“Third Elder, what do you mean…”

The Third Elder sneered, “It’s time to bait the snake out of the hole. It’s also time for that secret chess piece to be of use. As long as we can subdue that Star Master, it won’t matter whether we have the Eight Desolation Binding Spirit Array or not. If we can take control of the Star Master’s power, I don’t see why we can’t defeat this new, powerful enemy.”

When the others heard those words, they fell into deep thought and understood what he was planning to do. Third Brother You was the first to agree, “I agree with the Third Elder’s decision.”

The main reason was that staying in their respective areas would give them no sense of security anyway, so they might as well take a leap of faith. At least, there was a glimmer of hope with that option.

Everybody here was in the Origin King Realm, and having lived for hundreds of years, they quickly understood the pros and cons of the decision before them. Hence, nobody raised any other opposition and simply nodded in agreement.

“Now that it’s decided, let’s go and prepare ourselves. We’ll begin in a quarter-hour. I’m sure it will catch them by surprise!”

Everybody agreed, and the figures dissipated like flowing water. Soon, only the Third Elder was left in the secret room. He stood motionlessly, frowning deeply. The unease in his heart had not gone away. Rather, it had gotten stronger after the decision he made. Gritting his teeth, he pushed aside the irrelevant thoughts in his head before turning to leave the secret room. At this point, he had no better solution.

…

Yang Kai’s brow was wrinkled throughout the entire journey toward Nine Heavens Holy Land. Looking down at the land below him, his expression was very gloomy. Tong Xuan Realm’s current situation was highly precarious. The World Energy was even weaker than when he was last here. The mountains and rivers had lost the so-called charm they used to have, and the entire Star seemed to be suffering from a serious illness.

If this situation were to continue, it wouldn’t take more than 100 years for the World Energy to disappear completely, even if Netherworld Sect and the Grand Desolation Star Field cultivators stopped actively ravaging the Star. It would be impossible to raise new cultivators in such a situation. Moreover, the lives of the ordinary people would become more and more difficult with time. Once the World Energy was completely exhausted, the Star Source would collapse, and Tong Xuan Realm would turn into a Dead Star that could no longer support any living creatures.

There were countless Dead Stars in the Star Field and many of them had undergone this very transformation, step by step, in this manner. Perhaps tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of years ago, those Stars had been thriving and filled with life. Unfortunately, even the Stars would slowly die as the years went by, regardless of how brightly they used to burn. Humans go through the cycle of birth and death, and the Stars were not an exception to that cycle either.

The world that cultivators lived in had been greatly affected; of course, ordinary mortals would have it worse. Disasters would occur endlessly as the end approached, causing countless people to lose their homes and lives. There would be tragedies everywhere.

Even if Yang Kai drove the cultivators of Grand Desolation Star Field away, the situation on Tong Xuan Realm would not improve without outside assistance.

Although he had not returned to Tong Xuan Realm for many years, he was the Holy Master of Nine Heavens Holy Land and he was very familiar with this piece of land. Thinking that he would meet Xia Ning Chang and Xue Yue soon, his mood lightened significantly. [Let’s meet up with them first before cleaning out the rats from Grand Desolation Star Field.]

The Nine Peaks were as beautiful and refreshing as a spring day. They were rich with World Energy and thousands of cultivators had gathered here, but many of them looked anxious and forlorn. This was the last piece of pure land in the entirety of Tong Xuan Realm. Xia Ning Chang might not have been able to prevent the invasion of the cultivators from Grand Desolation Star Field or stop them from arranging the Eight Desolation Binding Spirit Array, which poisoned Tong Xuan Realm’s World Energy; however, she was still capable of sheltering Nine Heavens Holy Land from those two threats. With her here, the enemy would never be able to set foot into the Nine Peaks.

At this moment, many silhouettes could be seen inside the great hall. These figures consisted of Old Demon and Meng Wu Ya who were the leaders of this group; the Saintess of Nine Heavens Holy Land, An Ling’er; Elder Xu Hui; Li Rong and Han Fei of the Ancient Demon Clan; Hu Jiao’er and Hu Mei’er, the sisters of Twin Spirit Pavilion; the Palace Master of Dragon Phoenix Palace; Wu Jie… All these people in the great hall were Yang Kai’s old acquaintances. There were approximately 30 of them here, and besides a few that he had met back in the Great Han Dynasty, the rest were people that he had met in Tong Xuan Realm.

Aside from them though, there was also another familiar figure amongst this group, the Young Union Master of Sword Union and the son of Gu Cang Yun, Gu Jian Xin. This person had a Special Constitution known as the Universe Sword Body. He was born with an extraordinary talent for swordsmanship, and despite not seeing each other for many years, he remained as suave as before. His Sword Servants, Ling Yue and An Xing, stood at attention by his sides.

Years of training had made him more and more unyielding. He no longer had the imposing Sword Intent he used to have. Instead, he gave off the feeling of a sword hidden in its scabbard. There were no sharp edges exposed on the outside, but instead a sense of calm majesty and hidden ferocity that would only be unleashed when he drew his sword.

At this moment, Gu Cang Yun was talking to another person in a low voice. The other party was none other than Zi Wu Ji, the Sect Master of one of Heng Luo Star Field’s top forces, Purple Star.