Martial Peak

Chapter 2235, Entanglement

“Heh heh heh…” Yang Kai struggled to stand and pointed his Soul Splitting Saber at the woman, the corners of his lips raising subtly, “Junior is honoured to receive such praise from Grandma!”

The woman’s face changed slightly upon hearing this and she called out in a cold voice, “What did you say?”

Looking smug, Yang Kai said with a derisive look on his face, “Still playing dumb even now? Does this Junior have to point out your identity… Grandma You!”

Once the words ‘Grandma You’ came out, the woman’s expression suddenly turned as cold as ice.

Yang Kai continued, “This Junior was also puzzled at first, finding your appearance somewhat familiar, but unable to figure out just where he had met you…”

“Then when did you realize it?” The woman did not seem to deny Yang Kai’s speculation and instead asked with interest, even ignoring the Soul Devouring Insects gathered around her body’s barrier.

“Things just fell into place,” Yang Kai grinned. “Of all the people imprisoned in the Divine Prison, why did you only pick out the cultivators from Azure Sun Temple? There was clearly some special reason. You either knew all of them or there was something different about the cultivators themselves. Since everyone here is only a Soul Avatar, there should naturally not be any differences between foreigners and natives. In other words, the reason you chose to see us was only because you knew we weren’t from this world, and you were probably trying to find something on us… En, as for what you are looking for, it was most likely the Soul Warming Lotus.”

“Earlier you also mentioned Temple Master Wen’s name and even put on a look of absolute irreconcilable hatred. The hideous look you wore at that moment…” Yang Kai smiled, “Was quite distinctive.”

It was only when he heard Wen Zi Shan’s name through his hazy consciousness that Yang Kai suddenly understood.

The woman in front of him was Grandma You, who was guarding the Divine Ascension Mirror. That was why he felt a bit of familiarity when he first saw her. Since Grandma You guarded the Divine Ascension Mirror year-round, she could naturally freely enter and exit it.

It’s just that Grandma You was supposed to be old and decrepit, while the woman in front of him was young and beautiful, so Yang Kai did not initially associate the two of them together.

“And so you recognized this Queen?”

Yang Kai jeered, “An old granny coming here and putting on the appearance of a beautiful woman is one thing, but you even have the nerve to call yourself ‘this Queen’?”

Grandma You laughed coldly, “Are you trying to provoke me? If so, your tactics are too childish.”

Yang Kai couldn’t help smiling wryly when he realized his intentions were seen through.

Yang Kai knew very well that when facing a Master like Grandma You, there was no hope of winning or even escaping unless he could somehow enrage her and cause her to expose some fatal flaw. While he might have some hope in the outside world, in the Divine Ascension World, Grandma You’s strength was at its peak. As such, he jeered and taunted her, but he did not expect her to see through his plan so easily.

“Little brat, you’re quite sinister,” Grandma You nodded lightly at Yang Kai, praising him. “If my guess is correct, you used these Soul Devouring Insects to break the seal, correct?”

“So what if I did?” Yang Kai’s attitude suddenly became aggressive, waving his Soul Splitting Saber at Grandma You as he snapped, “You’d better choose wisely, Grandma. If you recognize these Soul Devouring Insects, then you should know how powerful they are. You’d best be sensible and let me out. Otherwise, I’ll definitely order them to devour you until even your bones are gone!”

The way he said it really sounded as if he was going to kill Grandma You right here.

“Hmph, if they had another hundred years to grow, perhaps this Queen would really have to worry, but now?” Grandma You sneered. With a wave of her hand, she shook off all the Soul Devouring Insects surrounding her.

Many of the Soul Devouring Insects were dazed from being shaken off like this and buzzed around like headless flies, but they soon recovered and wrapped around Grandma You again.

“Since we’ve come to this, then this Queen will get straight to the point,” Grandma You ignored the Soul Devouring Insects on her body and said to Yang Kai, “Be a good boy and erase your mark on the Soul Warming Lotus, give it to this Queen, and this Queen will surely not treat you badly.”

“Why should I?” Yang Kai snorted.

“What do you think?” Grandma You sneered.

Yang Kai looked helpless and dawdled for a long time before saying, “Let’s put that aside for now. Before that, I want to ask something.”

“What?”

“Grandma, how did you know I had the Soul Warming Lotus? It’s something I hid very well, something nobody has ever discovered before.”

Grandma You frowned, “It won’t hurt to tell you that this Queen has been guarding the Divine Ascension Mirror for more than two thousand years. Even though I am unable to make this treasure recognize this Queen as its Master, this Queen has still studied it greatly. When your Soul Avatar passed through the Divine Ascension Mirror into this world, this Queen was able to get a glimpse of the situation inside your body, and it was during that glimpse that this Queen discovered…”

“But you couldn’t confirm it, right? So, you didn’t even know if what you saw was real or not, much less whose body the Soul Warming Lotus was in. You did, however, know that after we entered the Divine Ascension Mirror, we would head into Heavenly Monster Mountain to train, so you ordered Zhou Dian to bring his men there and capture the so-called Stars of Calamity! And, after catching and bringing us here, you checked us one by one…” Yang Kai read out his speculations.

“That’s right! But this Queen thought that the Soul Warming Lotus would be on that brat Xia Sheng’s body, or at the very least, Xiao Bai Yi. I never expected it to be in the hands of you, the least powerful one. That was unexpected.”

Yang Kai nodded, expressing his understanding.

He understood why Xia Sheng and the others were the only ones brought out of the prison despite so many people being locked in there, and what Grandma You meant by him being ‘the last one’.

After checking Xia Sheng and the others and finding no traces of what she was looking for, he was no doubt ‘the last one’ to be searched.

“One more question,” Yang Kai suddenly said.

“Brat, you better not reach out for a yard after taking an inch!” Grandma You’s face went cold.

Yang Kai grinned meaningfully, “Grandma, if you don’t want to see me destroying the Soul Warming Lotus, then you better not speak to me like that. Also… You’re getting old, so it’ll do you well not to rage so much, it’s bad for the body!”

He put on a very concerned look which sent Grandma You’s anger soaring, but she couldn’t do anything about it.

Glaring at Yang Kai, Grandma You said grimly, “You better know your place, boy!”

“I know it very well!” Yang Kai gritted his teeth. “I hope Grandma can cooperate with me too, or I’ll really destroy it. In any case, my life will certainly be miserable if it falls into your hands, so I might as well make you suffer as well!”

With his constant threats, Grandma You really didn’t dare to do anything to him.

The Soul Warming Lotus was an extremely precious treasure that would only appear maybe once every hundred thousand years, and even then it would only come by chance to a very lucky person.

If the owner of the Soul Warming Lotus died, the Soul Warming Lotus would not disappear either and would instead absorb all the Spiritual Energy of its owner, remaining in the world and awaiting the next lucky person.

When Yang Kai received the Soul Warming Lotus, it was only in its five-coloured form and it had retained the Spiritual Energy of its previous owner, which benefited Yang Kai greatly.

Even though the Soul Warming Lotus would not disappear because of the demise of its owner, using special means like Soul Self-Explosion, a cultivator could destroy their Soul and wipe it from existence.

Grandma You’s strength far surpassed Yang Kai, even with the Soul Splitting Saber and the help of the Soul Devouring Insects, so how could Yang Kai escape if Grandma You really intended to capture him?

The reason why she did not make a move was that she was worried Yang Kai would self-destruct and take the Soul Warming Lotus with him out of desperation.

Previously, Yang Kai’s power had been sealed and his Soul had suffered a shock from her technique. He was defenceless then and could only let her do what she wanted; however, Yang Kai had now regained his freedom and had the opportunity to self-destruct.

Grandma You stared deeply at Yang Kai for a while before she closed her eyes, taking a deep breath to calm herself, then reopening them.

“This is the last question, little brat. You better know your limits.”

“Of course!” Yang Kai grinned. “If Grandma cooperates with me, then this Junior will certainly not mess around.”

“That’s for the best!” Grandma You nodded.

Yang Kai suddenly looked grave as he solemnly asked, “Grandma… What are you planning to do with the Soul Warming Lotus?”

Hearing this, Grandma You frowned, face cold as frost, silently glaring.

Yang Kai said, “Surely it’s not just so you can nurture your Soul. From what Grandma said earlier, it seems you would be able to do something about Temple Master Wen if you had the Soul Warming Lotus, but how? Junior will put it another way…” In that instant, Yang Kai’s eyes became sharp, staring straight into Grandma You’s eyes as he muttered, “What is this so-called ‘Mirror Soul’? Why do you need the Soul Warming Lotus to refine it?”

The moment these words came out, a ferocious look immediately emerged from Grandma You’s pretty face as murderous intent faintly diffused.

“Grandma, we had a deal, are you going back on your word? If you’re going to do this, then Junior will also go back on his word. You can’t blame me for being unjust. Don’t cry after I destroy the Soul Warming Lotus!” Seeing her remain silent for such a long time, Yang Kai immediately pressed her.

Grandma You cackled in rage, “Do you really dare to? You can try it if you dare, this Queen will stand by and watch!”

She suddenly put on a look as if she was there to watch a good show. Yang Kai couldn’t help but scratch his nose and shook his head, “In any case, you shouldn’t force me, Grandma. I’ll really destroy it if I’m left with no choice!”

“Hmph! Puny little brat!” Grandma You cursed at him, upset.

Naturally, she wasn’t in a good mood as a Master being threatened by Yang Kai in such a way.

After a moment of silence, she gritted her teeth and said, “Little brat, you should know that between this Heaven and Earth, some artifacts can only appear by pure coincidence. Through days and years, they will form their own consciousness, eventually evolving into Artifact Spirits!”

Hearing her explanation, Yang Kai immediately perked up and listened intently, nodding, “I know about this.”

Liu Yan was one of those Artifact Spirits, so Yang Kai was familiar with this theory.