Martial Peak

Chapter 2224, Yuan Fei

No one knew what the nature of that force was, simply that when it arrived, the people trapped inside Misty Valley would find themselves outside of it.

Some speculated that a hidden expert was secluded inside Misty Valley, and that the dense fog over the mountain valley was this senior expert’s creation so as to not be disturbed by other people.

And, even though the cultivation level of this senior expert was beyond compare, he was a kind person and would help those who were trapped in Misty Valley instead of killing them.

Of course, this is only the speculation of those living nearby. As to what truly existed inside Misty Valley, no one could say.

There was a piece of land covering around one square kilometre at the centre of Misty Valley that was not covered by fog, however, and it was the only place inside Misty Valley like it.

Within this one square kilometre of land, there were twenty or so big and small burial mounds.

These mounds seemed to be scattered all around the land, each with a wooden marker erected at its head, engraved with a different name.

Judging from the technique and writing, it was clear that these ‘headstones’ stemmed from the same person.

Within this world, any living being would transform into pure Spiritual Energy after their death and dissipate into the air, so no bodies could be left behind. Naturally, these graves were empty. Still, a memorial was erected here, so obviously it was to pay tribute and remembrance to the fallen.

If one looked closely at the names on these headstones though, they would find that each of them was a well-known, legendary Master.

Of course, these names all belonged to the distant past.

Currently, these experts had long disappeared without a trace, and nobody knew whether they were alive or dead, but never would anyone have thought that they were all long gone from this world.

If the general populace were to learn that these experts were all gathered here, the news would surely shake the world.

It was quiet within Misty Valley, as if there was nothing else here other than the graves of the dead.

A simple wooden house was the only structure in this place, built about a hundred metres away from these graves. Inside this house, a man with a snow-white beard sat cross-legged on the floor. He looked quite old, but his complexion was bright, giving him an immortal temperament with extraordinary bearing.

On the surface, this old man didn’t seem to have a trace of cultivation, nor any energy fluctuations coming from his body. He was just like an ordinary old man. However, every time he breathed, it was as if the surrounding world breathed with him.

This person’s cultivation had obviously reached an extraordinary peak, allowing him to achieve a kind of unity with the world itself.

Suddenly, the old man opened his eyes which overflowed with divine light. Traces of the sun, moon, and stars could be seen within them, and the spirits of ten thousand beasts flitted past in a flash.

His body did not seem to move, but with a flash, he suddenly disappeared.

By the time he reappeared, the old man had already arrived at a certain spot in Misty Valley. He waved his sleeve and a gale blew up all of a sudden, blowing away the dense fog in front of him.

A bizarre and inexplicably formed black altar suddenly appeared before the old man.

Staring at the altar with an imposing look, the old man listened intently.

*Weng weng…*

A small, almost imperceptible sound suddenly emerged from inside the altar.

The old man’s face suddenly changed as a look of disbelief filled his expression. Quickly, he verified that what he heard was not his imagination, but to his dismay, the result was the same.

His face suddenly turned ugly, as a hint of sadness was concealed within it.

“It has been so many years… Have you awakened once more?” He suddenly murmured as he watched the altar, as if speaking to a familiar old friend.

“What power wakes you?” As the old man spoke, he turned his head to a certain direction, and after gazing there for a moment, his body flickered and disappeared.

A short while later, a stream of light broke through the sky out of Misty Valley, and headed towards the direction of Heavenly Monster Mountain.

…..

Deep inside Heavenly Monster Mountain, Yang Kai stood firmly in place, eyes glancing coldly from side to side.

He left the place where he fought Ban Qing and travelled deeper into the Heavenly Monster Mountains, hoping to find a safe place to hide.

Yet, he did not get what he wanted. It did not take long for someone to find him. These men may not be as strong as Ban Qing, and they posed no threat to Yang Kai who could clean them all up with his Soul Devouring Insects and Soul Splitting Saber, but this annoying situation still put him on full alert.

He thought he was being cautious enough, yet his tracks were still exposed, as if these people knew exactly where he was.

This made him wonder whether something on his body had been tampered with, and that was why they kept coming after him.

But when he checked, he found nothing.

What’s more, other than Ban Qing whom he had met first among these people who had this ability, the others couldn’t do this. If it really was Ban Qing’s doing, then when did he do it?

Thinking back, Yang Kai could only assume that Ban Qing had done something to him while they were fighting him.

And, whatever mark he left was somehow attracting these people.

With this in mind, Yang Kai no longer cared about the danger and went deeper into the Heavenly Monster Mountains.

Unexpectedly, half a day later, he was stopped by two Monster Beasts.

These two Monster Beasts were not ordinary, and upon releasing his Divine Sense, Yang Kai could tell that they were both Twelfth-Order. In other words, these two Monster Beasts had power equivalent to Emperor Realm cultivators!

One Ban Qing was enough to give him a lot of trouble, but now there were two Monster Beasts with power similar to him. Yang Kai could not help but groan.

Gao Xue Ting said that there were many existences in the Heavenly Monster Mountains that even she did not dare to provoke, and that statement was clearly no exaggeration. It was true that there really were many high-level existences in the Heavenly Monster Mountain, it was just that Yang Kai had not encountered them since he had been moving about near the outer periphery.

The two Monster Beasts were extraordinary in their own right. The one on the left was shaped like an ape with wide shoulders like an iron wall, extraordinarily long arms, and thick hair over its body like steel needles. Its glaring eyes were even larger than a man’s fist and as it stared at Yang Kai, it flared its nostrils and huffed out hot air, appearing quite hostile.

The one on the right had a flawless white body. A sacred deer that looked as if it was carved right out of white jade. Not a single trace of any other colour covered its body, it was an amazing sight. There was even a faint halo enveloping the surface of its body which gave its viewers a bedazzling feeling and two short antlers on its forehead, adding a beautiful finishing touch like dotting eyes on a dragon painting.

These two Monster Beasts were clearly of different species, yet they stood together peacefully. At once, they leapt in front of Yang Kai, blocking his way, as well as locking his retreat on the left and right. It was astonishing, yet similarly stressful for Yang Kai.

Being Twelfth-Order Monster Beasts, there was a high chance that these beasts had gained sentience. In other words, Monster Beasts who could arrive at this level could already control their primal instincts and were able to think and act just as humans do.

Of course, there also existed special Monster Beasts that were strong yet still maintain their beast-like instincts instead of gaining sentience.

Yang Kai had no idea whether these two were sentient, but he hoped they were, otherwise he could only look for an opportunity to escape.

When these two Monster Beasts appeared, the Purple Squirrel was terrified and scurried to hide behind Yang Kai’s back.

It was only a Ninth-Order Monster Beast, so when faced with strong existences like these Twelfth-Order Monster Beasts, it would naturally feel oppressed.

When confronted, the ape-like Monster Beast suddenly snorted from its nostrils, accompanied by a gust of hot air visible to the naked eye. In a short amount of time, within a radius of several dozen kilometres, the temperature rose sharply. Yang Kai’s heart dropped and he began circulating his strength on instinct.

“Had enough fun yet?” The ape suddenly spoke human words.

Yang Kai’s face changed slightly, immediately understanding that the Monster Beast in front of him had already gained sentience. Moreover… it was exceedingly intelligent.

With this, it meant he had the opportunity to try and negotiate with the other side.

Considering all this, he quickly cupped his fists and spoke, “This… Senior…”

The other party was a Monster Beast, so it seemed a little inappropriate to call it Senior; however, Yang Kai could not think of anything else to call it so he had to settle for that.

But before he could finish his sentence, the ape glared coldly at him and Emperor Realm level pressure pressed down on him as it snapped sharply, “Silence!”

“Ugh…” Yang Kai had no idea what to say, nor did he understand what it meant. What’s more, the question it had asked just now was also quite strange.

At this moment, the Sacred Deer on the right suddenly made a move.

A different, soft power emanated from the Sacred Deer, dispersing the pressure that the ape had put on Yang Kai.

At the same time, the body of the sacred Deer suddenly burst into a bright glow. After a brief moment, this mass of light transformed into a tall and beautiful woman with snow-white skin in a long white dress.

The woman the Sacred Deer transformed into looked to be in her early twenties, and her beauty was not enchanting, charming, nor decorous, but holy, as if she did not belong to the mortal world.

Free of earthly contaminations, not disrupted by the mundane, she was like an immortal fairy who descended from the sky.

“Be careful, Yuan Fei, what if you hurt the Young Master?” After transforming into her human form, the Sacred Deer glared at the ape and rebuked it.

“Hmph! If he gets hurt, he deserves it!” The Monster Beast ape called Yuan Fei grunted as he responded, his thick hair standing on end defensively.

A moment later, in another burst of light, the giant ape transformed into a middle-aged man that looked about forty, his face covered with a malevolent aura and his body covered in crude clothes.

Compared to the Sacred Deer, the human form he took lacked the slightest beauty, but there was no denying it was rugged and boasted great power, making it both a simple and practical form.

Yang Kai wasn’t too shocked when the two Monster Beasts assume human forms, rather, he could only glance at them suspiciously and ask, “Young Master?”

In the next instant though, he seemed to understand something.