Chapter 4530 – A Stick of Incense’s Time
Translator: Silavin & Tia
Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun
Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys
Before anybody could digest the shocking news, another person came running in with another shocking report. Yang Kai had already broken through the third line of defence and passed the Reception Palace. Moreover, he was currently heading straight for River Viewing Peak!
Rumbling explosions came from a couple dozen kilometres away, and everybody raised their heads to look in that direction. Although they were blocked by several mountains and could not see the situation over there clearly, they could see the never-ending flashing lights that illuminated half the sky in that direction. The situation beyond the mountains gave off the vague feeling that an Ancient Ominous Beast had escaped and was charging towards them in a bloody frenzy. They could sense the frighteningly vicious and hostile aura coming from that direction despite being so far apart.
A short while later, the commotion died down. River Viewing Peak had been defeated, and the two defence lines set up there had been completely destroyed!
Yu Bo Yang stared forward in a daze, “How is this possible? How is this possible!?”
Likewise, Baili Yun Sang was ashen-faced with disbelief!
What happened today was simply too shocking. Profound Pill Sect was one of the Ten Great Sects. Be that as it may, they failed to stop a single Alchemist who had only just advanced into the Spirit Realm even though they deployed their full strength against him! How could the power of a single person be so terrifying!?
Gao Xin Peng stared into the distance with a complicated gaze. Yang Kai’s words from before echoes in his mind, “I may be alone, but I’m strong enough to represent a thousand men!”
He had assumed that Yang Kai was merely spouting empty boasts in an effort to boost his morale. Contrary to his beliefs though, it would now seem that Yang Kai was perfectly capable of representing the strength of a thousand men. Of course, an ordinary army of a thousand men could not have broken through the defences of Profound Pill Sect.
A short while later, the two lines of defences on Flying Tooth Peak collapsed. Flying Tooth Peak had been defeated! The only thing that stood between Yang Kai and the higher ups of Profound Pill Sect at this point was Purple Sun Peak!
There was only one line of defence on Purple Sun Peak where a total of thirty Spirit Realm Masters from Profound Pill Sect had gathered together. Furthermore, their cultivations ranged from the lowest in the Third-Step Spirit Realm to the highest in the Eight-Step Spirit Realm. This was an extremely powerful line-up, enough to wipe out most Sects in the Divine Armament World. It was a line-up that only one of the Ten Great Sects could assemble.
When the higher ups of Profound Pill Sect looked in that direction from where they stood, their superb eyesight allowed them to see the large square on Purple Sun Peak where the thirty Spirit Realm Masters stood at the ready. Each of the thirty Spirit Realm Masters wielded a different Spirit Armament and additionally, they stood facing eight distinct directions, forming the Eight Directional Golden Lock Formation.
A figure stepped out from under the cover of numerous buildings and strolled over to the square. The sword in his hand was chipped in places along the length of the blade. Even an extraordinary Spirit Armament could not withstand the impacts of so many high-intensity battles in such a short period of time.
“He’s injured!” Yu Bo Yang shouted.
From where he stood, he could clearly see that Yang Kai’s clothes were tattered and he was covered in countless wounds with fresh blood trickling out. Everywhere he walked, he left behind an evident trail of bloody footprints.
Wu Feng Hua commented, “After fighting so many elites of Profound Pill Sect alone, injuries are inevitable. It would be weirder for him to remain unscathed. Besides, it looks like he won’t last much longer. Even the Spirit Armament in his hand is on the verge of being destroyed.”
Baili Yun Sang nodded lightly, “Let us hope so!”
Profound Pill Sect’s original intentions no longer mattered. Now that things had come this far, this battle could no longer be easily stopped. Things would only end when one party suffered complete defeat.
It was just that Baili Yun Sang himself never expected Yang Kai’s strength to be so terrifying. [Yang Kai only just broke through to the Spirit Realm. At this rate, won’t he be invincible if he advances to the Ninth-Step Spirit Realm!? No. With the strength he has displayed so far, it can already be said that he is invincible. Who in the Divine Armament World can be his opponent unless the Armament Masters themselves take action?]
During their brief conversation, an intense battle had broken out on Purple Sun Peak! Dozens of silhouettes weaved about, turbulent waves of Spirit Qi collided with each other, and deafening explosions rang out incessantly.
“Such a malevolent aura!” Lan Yin frowned slightly. Even though she was standing here, away from the battle, she could clearly detect the Evil Qi radiating from Yang Kai’s body. His aura was overflowing with brutality and destruction, which made her feel extremely uneasy.
“What kind of Movement Skill is that!?” Wu Feng Hua was staring at the battle in the distance, but despite being in the Spirit Realm himself, he could not follow Yang Kai’s movements at all. As far as he could tell, Yang Kai’s figure moved about in a ghostly and erratic manner, vanishing abruptly from one spot only to appear in a completely different place without any warning in the next instant. There were no traces of his movements whatsoever. Even the thirty or so Spirit Realm Masters on Purple Sun Peak could not do anything to him. On the contrary, the many Spirit Realm Masters of Profound Pill Sect were flustered by their first experience against an opponent like Yang Kai.
Meanwhile, Old Man Qi squinted at the fight in the distance. He could sense the Evil Qi surrounding Yang Kai becoming stronger, and an intense feeling of unease flooded his heart for some reason. That feeling of unease suddenly climbed to the peak when Yang Kai sliced off part of the neck of a Spirit Realm Master! That attack had nearly taken the life of that Spirit Realm Master.
“Sect Master, I want to investigate the current number of casualties among the cultivators in the Sect!” Old Man Qi hurriedly whispered in Baili Yun Sang’s ear.
Baili Yun Sang was completely focused on the fight in the distance, shocked by Yang Kai’s elusive Movement Skill, so he frowned when he heard those words and asked, “Why do you want to investigate that now?”
All the defence lines set up previously had been destroyed, so it was conceivable that many, if not all those cultivators had suffered tragic ends.
“It is related to the survival of the Sect! Please give me permission, Sect Master!” Old Man Qi looked extremely solemn.
Baili Yun Sang glanced at Old Man Qi and was startled by what he saw. Despite spending so many years with each other, he had never seen Old Man Qi looking so solemn before; thus, he nodded slightly, “Go!”
Old Man Qi nodded, and with a slight shift of his body, he flew directly towards the Reception Palace. As a Ninth-Step Spirit Realm Master, there was no question that his speed was incredible. It only took him several dozen breaths of time to hurry back. However, his expression was even more solemn than before he departed.
“What did you find?” Baili Yun Sang asked.
Old Man Qi replied, “No one has died! Everyone who participated in the battle was only wounded!”
Everyone was shocked by those words. Yu Bo Yang widened his eyes and asked, “Not a single person died!?”
Old Man Qi nodded slowly, “Not one.”
Everyone looked around at each other. Although several reports had come in earlier, they had only reported that the defences had been broken through. They had not mentioned a single thing about the casualties, and nobody bothered to ask either. That was because casualties were inevitable in a battle like this. That was why they subconsciously believed that Profound Pill Sect would suffer heavy losses today.
They were certain that Profound Pill Sect would take a great hit to its overall strength after this battle! Who could have imagined that not a single person had died? The brows of all the leaders in this place that were originally furrowed gloomily after hearing that the defence lines had been broken immediately relaxed considerably at the news. Regardless of the current circumstances, that was good news.
Baili Yun Sang sighed, “It looks like that boy has not forgotten his kinship with us, and held back enough to not kill anybody in the Sect!”
Wu Feng Hua stroked his beard, “He might be cautious about acting lest innocents be hurt; after all, the people of Void Spirit Sword Sect are in our hands.”
“Regardless of his reasons, this is a good thing for us!” Baili Yun Sang nodded.
Old Man Qi, however, shook his head and said, “You’re wrong, Sect Master. On the contrary, this is not a good thing for us at all.”
Baili Yun Sang looked over in puzzlement, “Why do you say that, Old Qi?”
Old Man Qi glanced at the battlefield in the distance and explained his reasoning, “When this Old Master went to investigate the defence lines earlier, I discovered that Yang Boy had extremely precise control over his strength at the beginning. Although everyone there was disabled, their injuries were not severe and they only need to recuperate for some time to recover fully; however, he seemed to be slowly losing control over his strength as time passed. The injuries he inflicted got progressively more severe as a result. If you look at the current situation, Sect Master...”
Baili Yun Sang looked over after hearing those words, just in time to see Yang Kai stabbing his sword into a cultivator’s chest. When Yang Kai drew his blade out, fresh blood splattered everywhere. The Spirit Realm Master quickly backed away with an absolute look of horror on his face.
Old Man Qi narrowed his eyes slightly, “Just now, he forcibly shifted his trajectory; otherwise, Rong Boy would be dead by now!”
The ‘Rong Boy’ Old Man Qi mentioned was referring to the Spirit Realm Master who had been run through.
Baili Yun Sang instantly understood, “He is suppressing his murderous intent, but he is quickly reaching his limits! That’s why his attacks are getting more and more brutal!”
Old Man Qi nodded solemnly, “That’s right! This Old Master experienced the same situation when I fought him in Heavenly Martial City previously. If this Old Master had continued to engage in battle with him at the time, he would have lost control and killed me!” He paused for a moment before continuing, “Do you remember the message Alchemist Gao brought back earlier, Sect Master?”
Baili Yun Sang frowned, “Which message?”
“Yang Kai said that he could only persist for a stick worth of incense!” Old Man Qi sighed, “We all thought he meant that he could fight for at most an incense stick worth of time, but it would now seem that the time limit he was referring to was how long he could retain his sanity. Once this time limit is up, he will most likely lose all sense of reason and massacre us!”
“What is the reason for all this?” Baili Yun Sang looked puzzled.
“This Old Master does not know, but this Old Master believes that it has something to do with the Secret Art he cultivated. That Evil Art has affected his heart! Sect Master, we can’t afford to continue this battle. At the rate things are going, Profound Pill Sect will suffer catastrophic losses even if we manage to kill him!” Seeing the hesitation in Baili Yun Sang’s eyes, Old Man Qi added, “Sect Master, don’t forget that he is also an Alchemist. He still has his Alchemy Flame!”
As soon as those words came out, a sudden thought occurred to Baili Yun Sang and he suddenly recalled the white Alchemy Flame. Even though his mental cultivation was very stable, he could barely resist the urge to curse out loud.
Yang Kai’s strength was so overwhelming that he could practically wipe out the entire Profound Pill Sect with his sword alone, which was why Baili Yun Sang had subconsciously forgotten Yang Kai’s identity as an Alchemist.
Alchemists might not engage in battle often, but that did not mean they could not fight at all. Generally speaking, their Alchemy Flame was their greatest strength when engaged in battle with others!
From the beginning until now, Yang Kai had not used the power of his white Alchemy Flame. It was obvious that he did not wish to increase the number of casualties; otherwise, the people he injured would not be alive right now. Not to mention, that white Alchemy Flame was the most mysterious and most powerful Alchemy Flame in the Divine Armament World! Other people might be unaware of the truth, but how could Baili Yun Sang be so ignorant?
At that thought, Baili Yun Sang did not dare to hesitate any longer and sighed softly, “Order them to retreat!”
Old Man Qi accepted the order and turned around to rush towards the battlefield.
“I’ll go.” Somebody spoke up suddenly and rushed towards the battlefield ahead of Old Man Qi.
Lan Yin immediately gave a startled cry; furthermore, her expression was filled with worry.
The battle was very fierce on Purple Sun Peak, and out of the thirty or so Spirit Realm Masters who made up its defence force, less than half of them were still able to move. All of them looked like they had seen a ghost, and their expressions were filled with abject terror. Although they could just manage to parry and block Yang Kai’s indiscriminate barrage of attacks, they had no solution against his elusive Movement Skill. It was only a matter of time before they were all defeated.