Martial Peak

After watching this scene for a while, Yang Kai suddenly asked, “Are there still people here?”

Among the buildings of War Spirit Temple, a small number of cultivators were wandering around, seemingly looking for something.

“Oh, those are the disciple of my Netherworld Sect along with some disciples originally from War Spirit Temple, they are searching for anything of value we may have missed,” Wu Jie explained with a smile.

Yang Kai nodded before pointing down, “I want this place. After Sect Master Wu goes back, inform your disciples and subordinates to pay attention not to destroy it.”

“Yes,” Wu Jie nodded. Although he didn’t know what Yang Kai wanted to do with this abandoned Sect, he knew well enough not to ask.

Speaking less and observing more was the reason Wu Jie better understood the reality of his situation than Zhang Ao and Cao Guan.

“Let’s head to Shattering Mystical Palace.” Since there was nothing special of note here, Yang Kai immediately decided to leave.

Wu Jie once again led the way.

A moment later, nearly three hundred kilometres away, the three came to Shattering Mystical Palace.

“This was Zhang Ao’s site,” Wu Jie pointed to the ground below, “It is a better location than both War Spirit Temple and my Netherworld Sect.”

Yang Kai observed calmly and discovered that this place was truly quite good. Although nothing compared to the Holy Land’s nine peaks, it was still a rare cultivation paradise.

Shattering Mystical Palace establishing itself here was understandable.

“Sir Holy Master, this Wu still has many things to attend to, so I will take my leave now,” Wu Jie suddenly said after a moment of silence.

“En, feel free, Sect Master Wu,” Yang Kai nodded.

Bidding farewell, Wu Jie quickly left.

Looking at his disappearing back, Li Rong grinned, “Although this fellow looks a bit gloomy and evil, he’s actually quite good. But why was he so anxious to leave? It almost looked like he was trying to escape.”

“Because he knows what I want to do next…” Yang Kai chuckled, “If he wants to avoid learning too many secrets, naturally he has to leave.”

Li Rong was stunned.

“Let’s go have a look!” Yang Kai said casually before flying down.

Shattering Mystical Palace was spread out across a large area. Yang Kai and Li Rong landed in a stone forest in a slightly remote corner of the grounds. There were many stone pillars here, some high, some low, all of them scattered about seemingly randomly.

“Li Rong, where is that Blood Essence Stone?” Yang Kai turned and asked.

“I have it here,” Li Rong quickly took out the Blood Essence Stone and handed it over.

Previously, the Blood Essence Stone had absorbed a large amount of fresh blood, converting it into a kind of Blood Qi, but after healing all of the severely injured Ancient Demon clansmen, this Blood Qi had been exhausted so the Blood Essence Stone was no longer giving off any discernible energy fluctuations.

Holding this Blood Essence Stone, Yang Kai began looking around.

“Master, what are you looking for?” Li Rong observed for a while as well before thoughtfully asking.

“I’m looking for the gateway to the Starry Sky!” Yang Kai replied seriously.

“The gateway to the Starry Sky?” Li Rong gawked for a moment before quickly recalling the words Zhang Ao had said a few months ago just before he died, immediately understanding, “Does Master mean to say, there is a gateway to the Starry Sky hidden here?”

“En,” Yang Kai nodded, “I managed to spy on a few of Zhang Ao’s memories. He found this Blood Essence Stone in this stone forest, but I don’t know specifically where. Help me search this place and see if there is anything out of the ordinary, pay special attention to anywhere exotic ores appears.”

“Does Master really believe it is possible to enter the Starry Sky? Isn’t it just a legend…?”

“What do you think?” Yang Kai chuckled.

“I don’t know,” Li Rong slowly shook her head, “I was born and have spent my entire life inside that Mysterious Small World and until a few months ago had never even seen the sun, moon, or stars, but even so, I’ve always thought that the Starry Sky’s existence was a bit unrealistic.”

“Oh? Why?” Yang Kai asked curiously.

“Because even the most powerful masters can only fly to around a height of fifty kilometres before an invisible force stops them from proceeding and pulls them back down towards the ground. Since no one can leave this realm, how would they get to the Starry Sky? Shouldn’t all the stories about travelling the Starry Sky just be legends?”

Yang Kai didn’t offer any objections to her argument, just grinning as he said, “Help me take a look. If we can find the door, I’ll take you to see that so-called legend.”

Li Rong’s eyes flashed, feeling like Yang Kai wasn’t cracking a joke and immediately nodded, “En!”

The two split up and began carefully combing through the stone forest.

This stone forest should have been regarded as a restricted area in Shattering Mystical Palace because Yang Kai was aware of many concealed arrays and barriers. These arrays were actually traps which, when triggered, would cause anyone caught in their radius a lot of trouble.

These Spirit Arrays should have all been arranged here by Zhang Ao.

However, with his extremely powerful Divine Sense, Yang Kai was easily able to find these hidden barriers, allowing him to move around unhindered.

After about the time it would take to burn a stick of incense, Yang Kai, who had so far not had any gains, knit his brow as he glanced around again; but just as he was coming to his wit’s end, he heard Li Rong call out from somewhere nearby.

His spirits arousing, Yang Kai quickly rushed over.

A moment later, he appeared next to Li Rong.

“Master, there’s something a bit strange about this place!” Li Rong pointed to a particularly large stone pillar which stood out from the rest, “I also found these things close by!”

Saying so, she handed over some loose gravel she was holding.

Yang Kai took these rocks and carefully observed them for a moment before smiling brightly and nodding, “It should be here.”

The gravel that Li Rong had found resembled something from the Starry Sky, and the shape and arrangement of the pillars in this place also looked somewhat similar to the blurry images Yang Kai had observed in Zhang Ao’s memory.

“However, there doesn’t seem to be anything special here,” Li Rong knit her brow in confusion.

“If it was so easy to see through, Zhang Ao wouldn’t have only inadvertently noticed the mystery here,” Yang Kai said as he walked up and began examining the largest stone pillar.

At first glance, aside from its larger size, this pillar looked no different from the others around it, but if one observed carefully, this particular stone pillar was much more solid than the ones in its surroundings. It was difficult to tell what material it was made of but it definitely not just ordinary stone.

After carefully recalling the scenes he had seen in Zhang Ao’s memory, Yang Kai reached out, placed his hand on the large stone pillar, and began pouring his True Qi into it.

Yang Kai’s True Qi disappeared as quickly as he poured it out, seemingly being swallowed up by the large stone pillar.

Yang Kai continued what he was doing for a while but the stone pillar remained unresponsive. Just as he was beginning to get impatient though, a faint humming sound rang out.

Yang Kai immediately leapt backwards and stood beside Li Rong, paying close attention to the scene in front of him.

*Weng weng weng…*

The large stone pillar trembled as if some invisible force was rocking it back and forth, soon causing the surrounding ground to rumble unstably.

A series of ripples visible to the naked eye began propagating across the surface of the large pillar.

These ripples intensified for and eventually concentrated at the centre of the large pillar, causing some unexpected changes to occur.

A glossy sheen which resembled a mirror began to spread out from the centre of the pillar as these ripples intensified.

When this mirror-like surface expanded to a certain limit, it shattered and a jet black hole, like the entrance to a deep cave, appeared in front of Yang Kai and Li Rong. It was like some giant beast had opened its maw, threatening to swallow them whole.

Li Rong couldn’t help feeling her hair stand on end.

Yang Kai, on the other hand, was very excited. He could feel the unique aura belonging to the Starry Sky from this cave!

“Let’s go!” Without hesitation, Yang Kai pulled Li Rong and leapt into the black portal.

In the next instant, a huge pressure like a surging tide appeared from every direction, causing Yang Kai’s bones to creak and his physique to tense up as he hastily resisted this destructive force.

Li Rong also exclaimed upon feeling the intensity of this pressure and immediately used her Demon God Transformation.

Demon Crests surfaced on her pretty face, giving her a kind of wild beauty.

“Don’t be anxious!” Yang Kai chuckled, comforting her.

Li Rong’s pretty face blushed red as she gradually relaxed, her beautiful eyes only now sweeping around her surroundings, a look of utter shock filling her face as she did so.

Around here, there was only a vast black emptiness illuminated by distant twinkling stars. Even when she looked down, there was no ground beneath her feet, and all she could see was the same starry scene.

It was obvious that she was no longer in Tong Xuan Realm.

“Is this the Starry Sky?” Li Rong exclaimed.

“En, wonderful, isn’t it?” Yang Kai nodded lightly, withstanding the oppressive power of the Starry Sky in an extremely relaxed manner.

“From your current look, Master, it seems you have been to the Starry Sky before, yes?”

“I have been here once before. It was in the Starry Sky that I broke through to the Transcendent Realm!”

Li Rong’s eyes couldn’t help widening.

From the words Yang Kai had just casually spoken, she realized something important.

When her Master had come here, he had only been a Peak Immortal Ascension Boundary cultivator, so how was he able to withstand this strange Starry Sky force?

Li Rong estimated that without using her Demon God Transformation, under the ambient pressure of this place, even she would have difficulty supporting herself, while an ordinary Peak Immortal Ascension cultivator would be instantly ground into dust.

“However, the place I came last time seems to not be here,” Yang Kai looked around and concluded.

The last time he came to the Starry Sky, beneath his feet was a small blue sphere that, according to Di Yao, was actually Tong Xuan Realm.

But this time there was no such sphere. Without it as a reference, Yang Kai couldn’t tell where the portal in the stone forest had sent them.

Looking back, the Void Corridor to the Stone Forest was still there and from the aura fluctuations Yang Kai felt from it, he estimated it should be able to remain for a few days.

Relaxing upon confirming this, Yang Kai waved to Li Rong, “Follow me!”

Li Rong quickly kept up while maintaining her Demon God Transformation, inspecting her surroundings.

The legendary Starry Sky was a place only a few could set foot on, so Li Rong was naturally very curious.

Both of them were constantly releasing their Divine Senses, investigating everything in the hundred-kilometre radius around them.

“What is it that Master is searching for?” Li Rong asked after following behind Yang Kai’s aimless for a while.

“I’m looking for some asteroids,” Yang Kai explained, “The asteroids in the Starry Sky sometimes contain precious and exotic minerals and ores. This is a rare opportunity, so I want to see if we can reap some unexpected gains. Perhaps we might even find something as precious as that Blood Essence Stone.”

“Oh!” After knowing the goal of this trip, Li Rong also became quite enthusiastic.