In the darkness, the sun was nowhere to be seen, and it was unknown how many days the three of them had been inside the bag. Suddenly, the skylight above their heads opened again, but it only took a moment for it to close again, so fast that the three of them didn’t even have time to react.
Yang Kai was surprised, “What is he doing?”
Ma Liu replied, “I don’t know, does Junior Brother feel anything wrong?”
Yang Kai shook his head, “No!”
“Where’s Old Jiang?” Ma Liu asked again, but received no response. After asking several times, he suddenly woke up and asked, “Old Jiang has disappeared.”
Yang Kai was also shocked and quickly moved to the side to find that Jiang Sheng had indeed disappeared. Combined with the abnormality just now, how could he not know that Jiang Sheng had been taken out by someone else?
Ma Liu couldn’t help feeling a little panicked, “What did he do to Old Jiang?”
“Senior Brother, there’s no need to be anxious. Since that Senior didn’t take our lives for the time being, I’m afraid he has some ulterior motive. When Senior Brother Jiang comes back, we’ll find out.” Although Yang Kai said this, he couldn’t help feeling a bit worried. It wasn’t difficult to infer from the middle-aged man’s words that he had a grudge with Seven Skillful Land. Now that the three of them had fallen into his hands, they couldn’t escape, couldn’t fight, and could only allow themselves to be crushed.
Ma Liu obviously thought of this as well and couldn’t help feeling somewhat pessimistic. Even though Yang Kai tried to comfort him, he couldn’t pull himself together and secretly regretted accepting this task. He had thought it would be a good opportunity for him to rise to prominence, but now he was trapped and his future was uncertain.
Without Jiang Sheng in the bag, the space was no longer as crowded. Ma Liu was filled with self-pity as he fell silent. Yang Kai’s Divine Sense wandered about, trying to find a flaw in this bag to see if he could escape, but unfortunately, he couldn’t find any clues.
A few days later, another ray of light appeared in the darkness. This time, the situation was exactly the same as the last few days. The bag’s opening was so fast that Yang Kai didn’t even have time to react.
When the darkness fell again, Yang Kai clearly felt that Ma Liu, who had been squeezing him, had disappeared. He understood that Ma Liu had also been taken out, and now he was the only one left in this bag.
Since Jiang Sheng hadn’t been released, it was likely that he had died. Now that even Ma Liu had been sent out, the chances of him returning weren’t high, causing Yang Kai to panic.
These past few days, Yang Kai had been quietly searching for a flaw in this artifact, but unfortunately, he hadn’t found anything. This artifact’s interior was an independent space that could contain living things, so it was obviously extraordinary. However, the size of the space inside was somewhat strange, seemingly capable of both large and small. It can hold one person, and three people is also no problem. However, whether it was one or three people, it was extremely crowded, as if there was a soft barrier surrounding this space.
Previously, Jiang Sheng and Ma Liu had tried to break free from the shackles of this bag, but unfortunately, they had failed. The two Open Heaven Stage masters had failed, so even if Yang Kai used his full strength, he might not be able to escape.
He just didn’t know if there was a limit to the space in this bag and if it would burst.
However, now that things had reached this point, he could only try his best. If he could break through, it would be for the best. If he couldn’t break through, it wouldn’t be too late to think of another way. It was better than being trapped here and waiting for death.
Thinking so, Yang Kai no longer hesitated and took a deep breath before shouting, “Dragon Transformation!”
A loud dragon roar rang out, and a golden light flashed in the darkness as the golden dragon head disappeared into Yang Kai’s body. With a series of crackling sounds, Yang Kai’s body suddenly expanded.
Ten zhang, thirty zhang, fifty zhang, one hundred zhang…
The soft barrier around him tightly bound Yang Kai’s massive body like invisible ropes, causing him to feel like he was about to vomit blood. He felt extremely uncomfortable, as if he was about to explode.
Enduring all kinds of discomfort, his hundred zhang tall body expanded again.
Kacha, kacha… All the bones in Yang Kai’s body made a sound as his nostrils flared with hot steam, the blood in his chest surging, and his throat filled with the smell of blood.
Even after reaching the limit of two hundred zhang, the cloth bag artifact showed no signs of breaking. Yang Kai knew that his attempt had failed.
Unwilling to give up, Yang Kai stretched out his hand and grasped the Azure Dragon Spear in his hand, causing his Space Laws to fluctuate wildly. As he thrust his spear forward, a giant black dot appeared at the tip of the spear.
Collapse…
A violent energy burst out, and in the sealed space, the scattered energy was unable to be released, transforming into attacks that bounced back towards Yang Kai.
Yang Kai, who was already being restrained by the surrounding force, couldn’t bear it any longer and spat out a mouthful of blood. Like a deflated balloon, his huge body rapidly shrank and his aura weakened.
Gritting his teeth, Yang Kai thought to himself, This really isn’t going to work. I don’t know what this cloth bag artifact is, I can’t figure out what to do with it. Perhaps it’s because my strength is too low. If I'm also an Open Heaven, I might be able to force my way out of here.
However, wanting to break through to Open Heaven was extremely difficult. First, he had to condense the Yin-Yang Five Elements in order to open the Heaven and Earth in his body. On his side, his luck was quite good. Previously, he had obtained the Eternal Tree and was lucky enough to refine it. Only then was he qualified to condense the Wood Element.
However, having a good start didn’t mean that one could reach the Open Heaven Stage of higher rank. If one wanted to accomplish their goal, they had to find high grade materials.
But how could high grade materials be so easy to find? Yang Kai didn’t know when he would be able to break through to the Open Heaven Stage, nor did he know when he would be able to find the World Tree and repair his broken Star Boundary.
After letting his imagination run wild for a while, Yang Kai’s chaotic aura gradually stabilized. Since he couldn’t escape, he could only wait and see. He secretly prayed that Jiang Sheng and Ma Liu were safe and sound while Yang Kai sat down cross-legged to meditate.
After a few more days, when the skylight above his head opened for the third time, Yang Kai was no longer surprised. An irresistible force had captured him, and by the time he came back to his senses, he was no longer in that small space, but in the cave he had been in before.
Standing in front of him was the middle-aged man. At this moment, this man’s face was as gloomy as sinking water. It was unknown what kind of unhappy situation he was in, but he didn’t seem to be in a good mood.
There was a strange smell in the air, one that was unclear and filled with the smell of blood. Yang Kai frowned and turned his head to look around, his eyes suddenly fixed on one side of the cave.
On the other side, there were two corpses, one fat and one thin, both wearing Seven Colored Garment. Although Yang Kai couldn’t see their faces clearly due to the angle, he could still tell at a glance that these two were Ma Liu and Jiang Sheng, who had been captured earlier. He didn’t know what had happened to these two, but although their corpses were intact, they had lost their vitality.
Yang Kai’s heart sank. Although he had long guessed that these two cheap Senior Brothers wouldn’t have a good ending, seeing this scene with his own eyes, he couldn’t help feeling somewhat sad.
“Boy, what’s your name?” The man suddenly asked.
Yang Kai didn’t want to say it, but he had no choice but to do so, so he had no choice but to declare himself. In fact, he had already said so before, so it was likely that the other party didn’t take it to heart.
The man sneered, “You’re much bolder than that fatty. I hope your luck is the same.”
Yang Kai sighed, “Senior, with your strength, if you wanted to kill us, it would be as easy as lifting your hand, why bother torturing my two Senior Brothers?” At this moment, he also noticed that Ma Liu and Jiang Sheng must have suffered some kind of inhumane torture before they died. The bloody smell in the cave was the blood from their seven orifices.
The man coldly snorted, “This King wasn’t the one who tortured them, but this King had a plan that required their cooperation. Unfortunately, they didn’t have the life to do so.”
Yang Kai looked up and asked, “May I ask what Senior’s plan is?”
The man looked at him strangely, “You want to try?”
“Can I refuse?” Yang Kai looked at him seriously.
The man shook his head, “You can’t refuse.”
“That’s fine. Since I can’t refuse, I can only cooperate, but before that, I hope Senior can explain how I should cooperate. Senior probably doesn’t want to see me meet the two Senior Brothers' end in the future. If that’s the case, you won’t be able to find any other Seven Skillful Land Disciples in a short time.”
The man nodded slightly, “You’re right, you’re quite interesting. I didn’t expect there to be someone like you in this world.”
Yang Kai took a deep breath and said, “Actually, I’m not really from the Seven Skillful Land. I’ve only been there for less than half a year.”
The man sneered, “Do you think this King will believe you?”
Yang Kai shrugged, “It’s the truth, it doesn’t matter if Senior believes it or not. Senior, please tell me about your plan. If possible, I will try my best to cooperate. After all, if I can survive, I don’t want to die.”
“Whether you die or not isn’t up to you to decide. It depends on whether you have the ability to survive.” Saying so, he reached out and flipped his hand, revealing an exquisite wooden box. The box was only the size of a palm and was sealed, but the aura of life coming from it clearly indicated that it was alive.
The man didn’t hesitate to open the box and handed it to Yang Kai, “Swallow it!”
Yang Kai looked at him suspiciously before taking the box and lowering his head to take a look. His scalp went numb as he saw a black centipede the size of a thumb lying inside the box. Although he didn’t know what this thing was, anyone could tell that it wasn’t anything good. If he really swallowed it, he didn’t know what the consequences would be.
At this moment, how could Yang Kai not know how Ma Liu and Jiang Sheng died? It was obviously because they swallowed this centipede and were tortured to death.
Yang Kai swallowed hard and looked up at the man, “Senior, what do you mean?”
The man said, “Swallow it. If you don’t die, your life and death will be under this king's control. When the time comes, this king will need you to do some things. If you die, there’s no need to say anything.”
TO BE CONTINUED...
Martial Peak