If An Ling'er had begged him to stay when she found him, Yang Kai might have left without a second thought.
But she told him to go!
That was clearly for his sake. If An Ling'er was willing to consider his well-being, Yang Kai couldn't just walk away like that.
Something catastrophic must have happened in the Nine Heavens Holy Land!
Seeing Yang Kai voluntarily agree to stay, An Ling'er was visibly delighted. She hurriedly filled him in on everything that had happened since he entered the Holy Tomb.
Only then did Yang Kai learn that from the moment he'd entered the Holy Tomb until now, a full nine months had passed.
For the first half, everything had been peaceful.
But sometime after the six-month mark, the barrier formations erected around the nine peaks suddenly lost their power, catching all the elders and protectors of the Holy Land completely off guard.
No matter how hard they searched, they couldn't find the cause, let alone repair or reactivate the barriers and formations.
Just as everyone was at their wit's end, Nan Shenggu—who had sensed the disappearance of the barriers and formations—charged into the Holy Land.
The group banded together to resist. Though they succeeded in driving Nan Shenggu back, countless foundations of the Holy Land were destroyed, and numerous disciples caught in the crossfire were killed or wounded.
And as if that weren't enough, foreign enemies invaded at the same time.
"Foreign enemies?" Yang Kai asked, surprised.
"Mm. Our Holy Land has grown powerful over the years, but which faction doesn't have enemies? The old Holy Master could still keep them in check while he was alive, but he's been dead for almost two years now, and no new Holy Master has ascended to the throne. That gave them their chance. The nine peaks of our Holy Land are an excellent cultivation ground, and they've been coveting them for a long time."
"Isn't that just kicking someone when they're down?" Yang Kai let out a cold chuckle.
"It is." An Ling'er nodded, her expression somber. "Though it's not entirely their fault. When the old Holy Master was alive, his methods were rather harsh, and they harbored deep resentment…"
"That would be one thing on its own. A few trivial factions wouldn't normally be worth our Holy Land's attention. But…" Yu Ying took over the conversation. Her delicate brows knitted together, and she sighed bitterly. "Nan Shenggu has been rampaging outside, causing outrage everywhere. Those factions took the opportunity to gather a large number of experts and demand an explanation from our Holy Land. Those experts either suffered losses because of Nan Shenggu's actions, or had loved ones and friends killed by her. They all see our Holy Land as a thorn in their side."
"A leaky roof in a stormy night, a late boat running into a headwind!" Yang Kai furrowed his brow in thought, finally understanding why the entire Nine Heavens Holy Land looked so wretched.
However, the failure of the Holy Land's barriers and formations had happened about six months ago. That was right around the time he had obtained the Holy Master's Spirit Ring.
Could that be related? Yang Kai quietly speculated, though he couldn't be sure.
"Half a month ago, those people came again, hurling insults and demanding we hand over Shenggu. But after that battle six months ago, Nan Shenggu fled with serious injuries and her whereabouts have been unknown ever since. How could we possibly find her? The Grand Elder argued with them for a while, but it was completely useless. Those factions who've been coveting our nine peaks kept fanning the flames, and a fight broke out on the spot. Both sides suffered casualties. The grudge has only deepened, and now it seems there's no way to resolve it. Sigh…"
"What kind of factions came to cause trouble?" Yang Kai asked with a frown.
"The ones leading the charge are naturally the three nearby powers: Broken Mystery Manor, War Soul Hall, and Underworld Sect!" A look of disgust and hatred surfaced on Yu Ying's pretty face. "These three factions are the chief culprits. If it had been any one of them alone, even in our Holy Land's weakened state, we wouldn't have cared. But they rallied powerful figures from numerous other sects and clans, and after that battle, our Holy Land was essentially fighting half the world!"
"The situation is that dire?" Yang Kai was taken aback.
But thinking about what Nan Shenggu had been doing outside lately, it made sense.
Nan Shenggu killed wherever she went, leaving countless dead in her wake. Naturally, she had brought enormous trouble upon the Nine Heavens Holy Land. At the second level of the Entering Saint Realm, her strength was profound, her cultivation refined, and she possessed extraordinary powers. The only ones capable of dealing with her were powerhouses at the third level of the Entering Saint Realm—and in all the world, there weren't many of that caliber!
Yang Kai wasn't even sure if Chu Lingxiao of the Heavenly Firmament Sect had reached that level.
"Far worse than you imagine!" Yu Ying's expression turned cold and stern. "What these three factions covet isn't just the foundations of our nine peaks. What they want most is Ling'er!"
As she spoke, she gave An Ling'er a meaningful glance.
Yang Kai's eyes narrowed as he immediately caught on: "They want to arrange for their own sect's disciples to join with the Holy Daughter and obtain your Holy Master's inheritance, don't they?"
Once someone obtained the Holy Master's inheritance, they would soar to unimaginable heights—a treasure they could never earn even after decades or centuries of effort.
"Exactly!" Yu Ying nodded firmly. "Half a month ago, when they withdrew, they declared that we had one month to hand over Nan Shenggu, or they would raze the nine peaks to the ground! But that very night, the Grand Elder received a secret letter. It said that if we couldn't hand over the previous Holy Daughter, this generation's Holy Daughter would be an acceptable substitute!"
"What kind of logic is that…" Yang Kai clicked his tongue in amazement, genuinely surprised by their sheer audacity. He paused, then shot back: "So you're just going to sit here and wait for death?"