Martial Peak

Chapter 5940: Doubts

Xue Ji left in the form of a twisting blood mist that quickly vanished into the distance, accompanied by heart-wrenching screams.

Zuo Wu You watched the scene unfold and, while he didn’t know the exact details, he had a hunch about it; Yang Kai’s blood seemed to harbour a terrifying power that even an elite like Xue Ji, incredibly proficient in the Blood Dao, couldn’t withstand. 

That was why Xue Ji had such a peculiar reaction after devouring Yang Kai’s fresh blood.

“Is it alright to let her go like that?” Zuo Wu You looked at Yang Kai, “All the members of the Black Ink Cult are cunning and deceitful. Brother Yang, don’t let her fool you.”

“It doesn’t matter. She can’t deceive me even if she wanted to.”

Even if Xue Ji could break the Soul Imprint planted on her by Fang Tian Ci, which was frankly impossible, she was now obsessed and addicted to Yang Kai’s blood, so she would never betray him no matter what.

Seeing Yang Kai’s confident expression, Zuo Wu You stopped talking and looked down at the withered corpse on the ground. 

After being attacked by Xue Ji, Chu An He had only been barely breathing. With so much time passing without anyone attending to him, it was only natural that he died.

Zuo Wu You’s expression was somewhat desolate, and his tone conveyed a sense of confusion, “What exactly is going on?”

Chu An He had set up an Array in this small town ahead of time, and after drawing him and Yang Kai into it, his murderous intent was revealed. Despite constantly accusing Yang Kai of being a spy for the Black Ink Cult, Zuo Wu You was not stupid and could naturally sense something wrong with the situation.

Whether or not Yang Kai was a spy for the Black Ink Cult, Chu An He clearly intended to kill him and Yang Kai together.

But… why?

If Chu An He was a member of the Black Ink Cult, that didn’t make sense, especially since he was killed by Xue Ji.

“Brother Yang, I suspect that the message I sent earlier was intercepted by someone with ulterior motives,” Zuo Wu You suddenly spoke up.

“Why do you say that?” Yang Kai asked with interest.

“In the message I sent back, I explicitly stated that the Holy Son had emerged, and I was heading to Dawn City with him while being pursued by Black Ink Cult elites. I requested that the reinforcements from our side come to meet us. If this message had truly been delivered, the Spirit Religion would have taken it seriously and sent people to help us. In addition to that, they wouldn’t have just sent someone at Chu An He’s level; there would undoubtedly be Order Lords as well.”

Yang Kai spoke, “But according to Chu An He, your Holy Son emerged 10 years ago and was kept secret for some reason. Perhaps, due to this, the message you brought back was not taken seriously?”

“Even so, we should not have been targeted here. We should have been brought back to Spirit Religion for investigation!” Zuo Wu You said with his head lowered, his thoughts gradually becoming clear, “But in reality, Chu An He had already set up a Killing Array here, waiting for us to enter. If it weren’t for Xue Ji’s sudden appearance and the subsequent destruction of the Array, we would have been doomed here today.”

Yang Kai smiled and nodded, “En.”

The Array was indeed enough to deal with ordinary Masters, but not him. When Yang Kai opened the Demon Eye of Annihilation, he had already seen through the flaws in the Array. The reason he didn’t just break it then and there was because he saw Xue Ji’s figure and wanted to see how things played out.

He never expected that Xue Ji would kill Chu An He and others so decisively, saving him the trouble.

Zuo Wu You spoke again, “Although Chu An He is a high-ranking member of the Religion, with his identity, he is not qualified to act so boldly. There must be someone else instructing him.”

“Chu An He was an Immortal Ascension Master and already highly regarded within your Spirit Religion. There are probably not many people who can command him,” Yang Kai said.

Zuo Wu You’s forehead was sweating at this point as he said, “He belongs to the Earth Order and is under the direct command of the Order Lord of the Earth Order.”

Yang Kai nodded lightly, indicating that he understood.

“Chu An He said that the Holy Son of the Spirit Religion was already found 10 years ago and kept hidden ever since. If that’s true, then Brother Yang, you can’t be the Holy Son,” Zuo Wu You said.

“I never said I was your Holy Son…” Yang Kai was not interested in the identity of the Holy Son; all he wanted was to meet the Light Spirit Religion’s Saintess.

“If Brother Yang is not the Holy Son, then why do they have to kill so ruthlessly?” 

“What are you trying to say?”

Zuo Wu You clenched his fists, “Although Chu An He had ulterior motives, he wouldn’t lie about the Holy Son. So, the Holy Son of the Spirit Religion should have really been found 10 years ago and kept secret. But… I only believe what I’ve seen with my own eyes. I witnessed Brother Yang descend from the sky out of nowhere, fulfilling the prophecy that has been circulating in the Spirit Religion for many years. I also witnessed Brother Yang defeating many members of the Black Ink Cult, even Immortal Ascension Boundary Masters were no match for you. I don’t know what the ‘true’ Holy Son of the Spirit Religion looks like, but I think that the Holy Son who can lead Spirit Religion to defeat the Black Ink Cult must be someone like Brother Yang!”

With that, he solemnly bowed to Yang Kai, “So Brother Yang, please forgive my boldness. I want to invite you to come with me to Dawn City!”

Yang Kai smiled, “I intended to go there in the first place.”

Zuo Wu You suddenly realised, “Of course, you want to see the Saintess. But Brother Yang, let me remind you that the road ahead will not be peaceful.”

Yang Kai replied, “Since when has our journey been peaceful?”

Zuo Wu You took a deep breath, “I also have to ask Brother Yang to confront the Holy Son who has secretly emerged.”

“That is not a simple matter. If someone is truly obstructing us in secret, we cannot simply stand by and watch. Do you have a plan?” Yang Kai asked.

Zuo Wu You froze for a moment before slowly shaking his head. In the end, he was just filled with hot blood and wanted to get to the bottom of things, but he had no actual strategy to accomplish that.

Yang Kai turned his head and looked in the direction of Dawn City, “It’s more than a day’s journey from here to Dawn City. News of what happened here won’t reach there for a while. If we hurry, we might be able to enter the city before the person behind the scenes reacts.”

Zuo Wu You replied, “After we enter the city, we’ll act in secret. Brother Yang, I am under the Thunder Order. When the time comes, I will seek an opportunity to meet the Order Lords!”

Yang Kai looked at him and shook his head, “No, I have a better idea.”

Zuo Wu You immediately became interested, “Brother Yang, please say it.”

Yang Kai immediately explained his idea in detail, and Zuo Wu You nodded repeatedly after listening to it, “Brother Yang, you really have thought it through. Let’s do it that way.”

“Then, let’s go.”

The two set off right after.

There were no more twists and turns along the way, probably because the person behind Chu An He didn’t expect their thorough arrangements to fail to have any effect at all.

One day later, the two arrived at a mansion 30 kilometres outside of Dawn City.

The mansion should be the residence of a wealthy family, with a vast expanse of land and a small bridge over running water, nestled amidst lush greenery.

In a hidden chamber, people began to secretly arrive in small groups, until nearly 100 had gathered there.

Although not particularly strong, every single one was a member of the Light Spirit Religion and were also all subordinates of Zuo Wu You.

Despite Zuo Wu You reaching only the Peak True Element Boundary, he held some degree of status within the Spirit Religion and thus had access to a pool of useful subordinates.

He and Yang Kai appeared together, briefly explaining the situation and assigning various tasks to the gathered members.

As Zuo Wu You spoke, the others couldn’t help but stare in surprise at Yang Kai, their eyes filled with wonder.

The prophecy of the Holy Son had circulated throughout the Spirit Religion for many years, and they had been searching for the legendary Holy Son without any results all that time. Now, Zuo Wu You suddenly told them that the Holy Son was before their very eyes, and would be entering the city the next day, leaving everyone curious and eager for more information.

Fortunately, these people were well-trained, so they refrained from asking too many questions even though Zuo Wu You didn’t provide any specific details.

In the end, the others dispersed, leaving only Yang Kai and Zuo Wu You alone.

In the secret chamber, Yang Kai appeared calm and composed, while Zuo Wu You struggled with his emotions.

“Let’s go,” Yang Kai said, beckoning him.

Zuo Wu You asked, “Brother Yang, are you sure that one of the people I brought here is that person’s hidden pawn? I know every one of them, and they are all loyal to the Spirit Religion. There shouldn’t be any problems.”

“I don’t know if there are any hidden pawns among them, but it’s better to be safe than sorry. Even if there aren’t any, we will be waiting for death if we stay here. Besides… loyalty to the Spirit Religion doesn’t mean they don’t have their own motives. You knew Chu An He well, correct? Was he loyal to the Spirit Religion?”

Zuo Wu You thought for a moment before reluctantly nodding.

“Then that settles it,” Yang Kai said, patting his shoulder, “You can never be too cautious. Let’s go.”

With that, he activated Thunder Shadow’s Innate Divine Ability, and in an instant, the two of them vanished without a trace.

Although the suppression in this independent world was significant for both his physical body and Soul, Thunder Shadow’s Concealment Technique was Innate, and it could still be activated despite being affected to a certain extent.

Even the senses of the strongest Immortal Ascension Boundary Master in this independent world had no way to uncover his whereabouts.

Under the dim night sky, Yang Kai and Zuo Wu You hid on a small hill near the mansion, concealing their auras as they quietly observed from above. 

They stopped using Thunder Shadow’s Innate Divine Ability for the moment, primarily because activating it consumed a lot of energy. At present, Yang Kai was only in the True Element Boundary, making it difficult to maintain his power for an extended period.

This was something he hadn’t foreseen.

Under the moonlight, Yang Kai sat cross-legged and cultivated. Since this World had Immortal Ascension Boundary Masters, it didn’t make sense for his cultivation to be suppressed to the True Element Boundary. So, he wanted to test whether he could elevate his strength to the next realm.

Although he wasn’t afraid of any Immortal Ascension Masters with his current power, more strength was always beneficial.

Yang Kai initially thought that breaking through wouldn’t be a difficult task, but once he started cultivating, he discovered an invisible shackle in his body that restricted his cultivation and made it difficult to progress.

[There’s no way to break through this…] Yang Kai felt disheartened upon reaching this conclusion.

“Brother Yang!” Suddenly, Zuo Wu You’s anxious cry echoed in his ear, “Someone’s coming!”

Yang Kai immediately opened his eyes and looked towards the estate at the foot of the mountain, where he saw a dark figure silently hovering in mid-air.