Martial Peak

Chapter 5584: Fang Family

The present Seven Stars Sect was very different from the one Yang Kai had seen in the past. The Sect now occupied countless mountains and rivers, while on the various Spirit Peaks, houses and pavilions could faintly be seen as rare beasts roamed around freely. There was no denying it was now a powerful Sect.

After several tens of thousands of years of accumulation, this Sect, which had migrated from its original location back then, had a very ample heritage now.

Yang Kai hadn’t paid attention to his Small Universe for a long time, so as he looked around Seven Stars Sect, he felt that everything had changed drastically.

There was no doubt he still had some emotional attachment to Seven Stars Sect; after all, his Soul Avatar had stayed in this place for quite some time, and he had even taken his three Disciples from here.

Although he hadn’t found anything useful this time around, he wasn’t disappointed and simply went on to inspect other places.

A few years later, when Yang Kai scanned his Small Universe with his Divine Sense again, something in the Seven Stars Sect caught his attention. His brow twitched as he couldn’t help thinking that he indeed had some predestined fate with Seven Stars Sect.

Other than the fact that he had taken on his three Disciples in the Seven Stars Sect, he had also found his Human Self here.

In fact, he had encountered some suitable options over the past few years, but none were really up to his standards. This was a matter closely related to his future, after all; therefore, he wouldn’t dare to be negligent as he wanted everything to be perfect.

The opportunity he had come across this time was satisfactory.

After some inspection, he stopped hesitating as he began executing the Three Selves Source Reconstitution Art. At that instant, his Soul was torn apart and his aura plunged.

When he used Soul Rending Thorns to kill Innate Territory Lords, Yang Kai also tore his Soul apart. By powering the Soul Rending Thorns with a portion of his Soul Essence, he not only destroyed the enemy, but also harmed himself.

However, that feeling of being torn apart was quite different from the present one. As he activated the Three Selves Source Reconstitution Art now, Yang Kai felt as if he was slicing himself in half. If not for the fact that he had activated Soul Rending Thorns many times before, this kind of extreme pain would’ve made him pass out directly.

The method that Shi had come up with was ‘intriguing’ to say the least. It would be worth it if it was useful, but if it turned out to be useless, all this pain and suffering would be for nothing.

As his Soul was ripped apart, Yang Kai not only became frail, but he also realised that he had become listless and dazed. His forehead felt scorching, as though he had come down with fever.

Now, he couldn’t even use half of his full strength. If he were to fight an Innate Territory Lord in such a condition, he would undoubtedly die.

He tried to pull himself together as he used the Secret Technique to wrap his Soul Fission with layers of seals. This was a Soul Fission from a powerful Eighth-Order Master, after all, so the average carrier couldn’t possibly bear it. As such, he had to seal it.

When he was done sealing the Soul Fission, Yang Kai let out a long breath. As a thought flashed across his mind, the Soul Fission traversed the Small Universe and descended in a particular direction.

Seven Stars Sect was the strongest Sect in Void World with several tens of thousands of years worth of inheritance. Not only was the inside of the Sect magnificent, but the lands under its jurisdiction were also prosperous.

Several cities surrounded Seven Stars Sect as countless cultivators streamed along the streets.

The Fang Family Village was located some 200 kilometres outside one of these major cities. One of the Fang Family’s Ancestors was a Seven Stars Sect’s disciple; however, his aptitude was weak as he had only managed to make it to the Dao Source Realm. 

He passed away 1,000 years ago.

Over the past 1,000 years, the Fang Family had some members who had aptitude for cultivation, but none of them were very talented. As such, they couldn’t restore their family’s former glory.

Now, most people on the Void Continent aspired to be cultivators, and there were a lot who had outstanding aptitudes. Nevertheless, rarely would anyone be considered a prodigy.

Fortunately, the present cultivation environment was much better than it used to be several tens of thousands of years ago. As long as one wasn’t completely crippled, they would have some cultivation talent in them. Having said that, while talent was important, one’s own hard work and will to improve were still the key to achieving success.

The Patriarch of the Fang Family, Fang Yu Bai, was not such a person. His cultivation was weak as he was only in the True Element Boundary. This kind of cultivation was unremarkable on the Void Continent.

All the same, he wasn’t an ambitious person. As time passed, he was no longer as hot-blooded as when he was younger, and more than 10 years ago, he married a woman, and had been living off the heritage he inherited from his ancestors ever since.

His Wife, Zhong Yu Xiu, was even weaker than him as she was only in the Separation and Reunion Boundary. With that said, she was a wise and demure woman.

The married couple lived a harmonious life far away from any kind of conflict. There was no doubt they were happy and carefree.

That was also how most people on the Void Continent lived. Those Heaven-defying geniuses and Masters who could fly through the sky were far removed from most people’s lives.

Nevertheless, Fang Yu Bai had been in a terrible mood recently.

There had never been a lot of offspring in the Fang Family, and for some reason, instead of getting better with time, things had only gotten worse in Fang Yu Bai’s generation.

It had been more than 10 years since he married, and during this period, Fang Yu Bai had never neglected his wife’s needs. To his dismay, however, his wife never became pregnant over the years. As his wife grew older, he couldn’t help feeling dejected, wondering if one of them had some kind of health problem.

Fortunately, they seemed to have the blessing of the Fang Family’s ancestors and six months ago, his Wife was suddenly overwhelmed with a sense of discomfort. She felt dizzy in the morning and would frequently retch after eating anything. Upon closer inspection, the couple was surprised to learn that she was pregnant.

Fang Yu Bai then reported to his ancestors about this piece of wonderful news.

Since then, he had been taking extra care of his Wife as he was worried that she would become ill or injured. He had also stopped her from practising her sword, which was a long-time habit of hers. He wanted her to get more rest so that the child wouldn’t be affected.

Zhong Yu Xiu certainly wouldn’t object to this. In fact, now that she was finally pregnant, she felt quite relieved.

Unfortunately, life wasn’t always so kind.

Half a month ago, Zhong Yu Xiu suddenly realised that there were no longer any movements from her child. She was in the Separation and Reunion Boundary, after all. As such, she was aware of what was going on inside her body.

The realisation horrified the couple and they quickly hired a senior expert to examine her.

The result turned out to be terrible for them. The child in Zhong Yu Xiu’s belly didn’t seem to have enough vitality. As such, it was uncertain if she could even give birth to her child. Now, she could only get enough rest, and leave the rest up to the Heavens.

After seeing the senior expert off, a dejected Fang Yu Bai became even more attentive to his Wife; however, both of them could clearly feel that the vitality of their child was weakening by the day.

Fang Yu Bai was downcast as he wondered why their family was so unlucky. It was extremely difficult for his Wife to get pregnant, and now they were at risk of losing their child.

If the child was gone, there would no longer be any offspring in the Fang Family’s main line. At the thought of this, Fang Yu Bai felt too ashamed to face his ancestors.

On the other hand, Zhong Yu Xiu wept every day. Despite knowing that her emotions would affect her child, she still couldn’t help feeling sorrowful.

It was the sorrow of a Mother who knew she might not be able to keep her child.

One day, Fang Yu Bai was leading his subordinates to inspect the Spirit Farm in the village. Seven Stars Sect had many disciples, and as such, they needed a lot of Spirit Pills to cultivate. Outside Seven Stars Sect, those in the villages like the Fang Family Village would nurture some Spirit Farms where they planted a lot of simple Spirit Herbs to make a living.

In fact, there were many similar villages around Seven Stars Sect. It was thanks to the Spirit Herbs grown in these villages that the cultivation needs of those grassroots disciples were met.

In the Spirit Farm, the Spirit Herbs were growing well. Despite that, Fang Yu Bai was disconsolate as he was worried about his Wife and their child.

Just then, a maidservant rushed over and exclaimed, “Patriarch! Madam said that her belly is in pain, so she wants you to return at once!”

Hearing that, Fang Yu Bai was no longer in the mood to inspect the Spirit Farm and used all his strength to run back to his home.

Upon his arrival, he heard his Wife’s muffled moaning. He dashed into the room and shoved the maidservants and midwives away, only to see Zhong Yu Xiu lying on the bed, her face as pale as a white sheet.

He sat down beside the bed and asked anxiously, “How are you feeling, my Wife?”

Zhong Yu Xiu’s forehead was beaded with sweat, and her clothes were all soaked. It was apparent that she was going through some unbearable pain. When she saw her husband, she was deluged with grievances and pain as she cried, “My belly hurts, my Husband. The child…”

“What happened to the child?” Fang Yu Bai’s face turned ashen.

“There hasn’t been any movement from the child for half a day…” Zhong Yu Xiu wailed.

A six-month-old fetus should have been very active in Mother’s belly, and although the child didn’t have enough vitality, it would still occasionally make some movements and kick his Mother. Now that there hadn’t been any movement for half a day though, it was apparent that things had taken a turn for the worse.

As if struck by lightning, Fang Yu Bai was rooted to the spot. He couldn’t help but lament that their family didn’t have the Heavens’ blessings. His wife was finally pregnant with a child, but she didn’t have a chance to give birth to it. Fang Yu Bai had been working hard all his life, and although he couldn’t be considered a philanthropist, he had never done anything wicked. He wondered why he was so unlucky.

All of a sudden, a maidservant yelped, “Ah! Blood!”

Fang Yu Bai looked down and saw that blood was indeed streaming out of his wife’s lower body. The bed had been dyed red.

“Madam has passed out!” The maidservant exclaimed again.

A terrified Fang Yu Bai called out, “My wife!”

The room descended into a mess. The turn of events caught Fang Yu Bai off guard as he had no idea what to do.

*Kacha…*

A sudden loud clap of thunder shocked everyone in the room. The thunder was different from the ones they had heard in the past as it continued for a long time. The instant the thunder was heard, the entire sky lit up. A bolt of lightning streaked across the sky as though trying to tear it apart.

“Thunder on a clear day!” One of the midwives muttered under her breath. One had to know that the weather was lovely today with not a cloud in sight. It was obviously not normal for a clap of thunder to sound all of a sudden.

Fang Yu Bai almost went mad. The Fang Family members had been good people for generations; however, he couldn’t even produce a single heir, which was downright miserable. He wondered if the Heavens were also mourning for him.

Presently, he was at a loss as he had no idea what he should do if the child was indeed dead; after all, he had never experienced such an incident before, so it was only natural that he didn’t know how to deal with it.

The maidservants and the midwives were also flustered and uncertain about what they should do.

While they were despondent, a thud was heard all of a sudden. Initially, Fang Yu Bai didn’t pay attention to it as he only wailed in sorrow.

However, when he heard the same kind of thud for the second time, he realised something was off. He quickly kept quiet and glanced at his Wife’s belly in shock.