Martial Peak

Translator: Silavin & PewPewLaserGun

Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain

What made Dai Yuan feel relieved was that before she could even ask, Yang Kai took the initiative to return, allowing her to secretly breathe a sigh of relief. She thought that this person’s friendship with Wei Gu Chang must be quite close, otherwise, how could he be willing to take such a great risk to save their lives?

Not long after, the remaining three people were brought ashore.

Strangely enough, after everyone had left the lava lake, the originally roiling lava that had been bubbling and erupting just a moment ago actually began sinking into the ground. Ten breathes later, the lava lake which had trapped Wei Gu Chang and the others for over a month completely disappeared.

All that remained was cracked earth and the roasted red tortoiseshell. The lava had been replaced by the same generic red ground that could be found everywhere, as if everything they had experienced and all the suffering they had gone through had all been an illusion.

This ancient Spirit Array stunned even Yang Kai and he understood now why Wei Gu Chang and the others would have fallen into this inescapable trap. If it had been him, he would certainly have fallen into it as well.

However, Yang Kai was also certain he wouldn’t have been trapped here for long. In terms of Saint Qi density and purity, Wei Gu Chang and the other Shadow Moon Hall disciples here couldn’t match him, and he could have used his Grand Heavenly Shields as supports to escape from the lava lake.

The Saint Qi of Wei Gu Chang and the others weren’t capable of replicating this.

After the lava lake disappeared, the force which had been holding the tortoiseshell in place disappeared and Dai Yuan easily dragged it over to them.

This tortoiseshell was of great interest to Yang Kai. He was profoundly aware of how lethal the lava had been yet this tortoiseshell, which seemed plain and ordinary, was actually able to float atop that same lava for so long. It definitely wasn’t ordinary.

While Wei Gu Chang and the others were adjusting their breathing, Yang Kai studied the tortoiseshell.

The tortoiseshell was full of crisscrossing marks and at first glance, it was obviously something very old. This turtle was definitely a long-lived Monster Beast and should have had a life at least thousands of years old. This tortoiseshell was filled with marks of age.

“This is the tortoiseshell of the Tenth-Order Monster Beast, the Black Water Turtle,” While Yang Kai was studying it, a pleasant voice suddenly called out from beside him. Without needing to turn back, he knew it was Dai Yuan.

“You know about it?” Yang Kai glanced over at her curiously.

“En, I saw records of it in some ancient books,” Dai Yuan squatted down and reached out her jade hand to stroke the patterns on the tortoise shell’s surface, a hint of sadness flashing across her face, “I don’t know why it was killed, but its tortoiseshell had some simple refining done to it. If not for that, Little Sister Xuan’er and them wouldn’t have been able to use their own strength to activate its protective water barrier. I really can’t believe that even a Tenth-Order Monster Beast would appear in this place. It seems we’ll need to be extra cautious in the future.”

A Tenth-Order Monster Beast was equivalent to an Origin King Realm master! Forget about Tenth-Order, even Ninth-Order Monster Beasts were rare existences on Shadowed Star. If a Tenth-Order Monster Beast existed outside, it would definitely be an invincible existence in this world and would bring great calamity to the entire Shadowed Star.

“There probably aren’t any Tenth-Order Monster Beasts here, or rather they were here long ago but are now long gone,” Yang Kai spoke thoughtfully.

“How can you be so sure?” Dai Yuan looked at him strangely.

“Just a hunch,” Yang Kai chuckled without explaining.

He had obtained some Soul Cleansing Divine Water in the Flowing Flame Sand Field, so he knew that an Origin King had died here at some point. Since an Origin King Realm master had died here, it wasn’t that unusual for a Tenth-Order Monster Beast to have died here as well.

After experiencing so many things here, Yang Kai faintly felt that there was more to this Flowing Flame Sand Field that me the eye. At the very least, it was no ordinary Forbidden Zone. It must be hiding some great secrets. This time, the danger of the third layer had been greatly weakened, allowing many elites to enter, but it was a mystery as to what had precipitated this change.

Seeing Yang Kai’s unwillingness to say any more, Dai Yuan didn’t continue to ask, instead just smiling and saying to Yang Kai, “Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Dai Yuan, a disciple of Coloured Glass Sect!”

“Coloured Glass Sect?” Yang Kai was taken aback, “Who is Yin Su Die to you?”

Listening to Yang Kai mention Yin Su Die, Dai Yuan’s eyes flashed a faint light of dislike but soon returned to normal as she replied lightly, “She’s my Junior Sister.”

Why her tone had suddenly become desolate was probably because Yang Kai’s first reaction to hearing the name Coloured Glass Sect was to ask about Yin Su Die.

This couldn’t be blamed on Yang Kai though, as the only thing he knew about Coloured Glass Sect was that Yin Su Die came from it. He hadn’t been on Shadowed Star for a long time and wasn’t a native of this place, so how was he supposed to know anything else about Coloured Glass Sect?

“That woman is actually your Junior Sister?” Yang Kai seemed to want to re-examine Dai Yuan, sweeping his eyes up and down her quickly, a strange look upon his face.

Towards Yin Su Die, Yang Kai didn’t have any favourable impression, but he also didn’t have any particularly negative opinion either. All Yang Kai felt was that she was a woman who was innately charming and seemed to be on par with Fang Tian Zhong, Qu Chang Feng, and Wei Gu Chang.

Yang Kai didn’t know what her true strength was like, but her beauty definitely added a lot to her fame.

Now, when he heard Dai Yuan say Yin Su Die was actually her Junior Sister, Yang Kai couldn’t help feeling surprised.

Dai Yuan seemed like a genuinely good person and behaved very low-key, quite different from Yin Su Die who seemed to want to be the centre of attention wherever she went. Their appearances were also worlds apart. Two such women being Senior and Junior Sisters naturally felt strange.

After a moment of surprise, Yang Kai quickly realized his gaff and smiled lightly, “No wonder you are so fierce, you’re actually from Coloured Glass Sect.”

“You are also quite good,” Dai Yuan’s beautiful eyes stared at Yang Kai, as if she was trying to look into the depths of his soul. This young First-Order Saint King’s performance during their brief time together had constantly surprised her.

“What’s wrong, did Brother Yang not know Junior Sister Dai Yuan was from Coloured Glass Sect?” Wei Gu Chang came over hand in hand with Dong Xuan’er, the two of them seemingly having recovered quite a bit. This was also thanks to the pills Yang Kai had given them. Those restorative pills were refined by Yang Kai himself and had far better effects than what could be bought in this world.

“I naturally didn’t know, the two of us just met by chance and happened to receive your message then rushed over together,” Yang Kai stood up and smiled at Wei Gu Chang.

“This Wei cannot thank Junior Brother and Junior Sister enough for coming to our rescue!” Wei Gu Chang and Dong Xuan’er both approached and bowed deeply and sincerely.

Yang Kai quickly lifted them up but before he could say anything, Wei Gu Chang said straightly, “Brother Yang, if not for you and Junior Sister Dai Yuan arriving so promptly, even if you were a quarter of an hour late, Xuan’er and I would have already set off to the next life together. Regardless of what happens from now on, if you ever have a need for this Wei’s assistance in the future, just say the word and no matter what great danger or difficulties it may involve, this Wei will not hesitate to help.”

It seemed like now, Wei Gu Chang truly wanted to befriend Yang Kai. In the past, the main reasons he had been associating with Yang Kai was because of Qian Tong’s instructions and because he appreciated Yang Kai’s demeanour.

However, after experiencing this life-saving grace, Wei Gu Chang willingly lowered his head in gratitude. If it was only related to his life, it wouldn’t have been enough for him to humble himself, but Yang Kai had also rescued Dong Xuan’er, and she was someone Wei Gu Chang considered more important than his life!

This favour was extremely heavy.

Staring at him for a moment, Yang Kai nodded slightly.

Wei Gu Chang then turned to Dai Yuan again and said, “As for Junior Sister Dai Yuan… Haha, I’ll come together with Xuan’er to visit Coloured Glass Sect in the near future to thank you, I hope at that time Junior Sister Dai Yuan won’t shut me out.”

Dai Yuan scoffed lightly but didn’t make a reply either way, simply taking Dong Xuan’er’s hand and pulling her over to the side to chat.

Wei Gu Chang shook his head with a bitter smile before glancing back at his Junior Brothers and Junior Sister. Seeing them still restoring themselves, he didn’t go to disturb them and instead started a conversation with Yang Kai.

Through his narration, Yang Kai learned about the ordeal the Shadow Moon Hall disciples had endured.

To sum everything up, they were just unlucky!

A total of more than seventy disciples had come from Shadow Moon Hall this time, of which nearly fifty had remained in the first layer Flame Area while the remaining twenty entered the second layer Treasure Area. All of them had split up into smaller squads and begun searching for spirit grasses and spirit medicines, contacting each other via their communication artefacts at regular intervals to ensure they remained safe.

When news of the third layer’s heat and danger weakened came out, Wei Gu Chang immediately gathered together the seven most elite disciples and rushed into the third layer Flame Area. However, not long after they entered the third layer, the group of seven were surrounded by a horde of Fire Spirit Beasts, and after a protracted battle, two of them had fallen. After that, with Wei Gu Chang bringing up the rear, the rest of them managed to escape.

Before they could even recover from the blow of losing their companions though, the remaining five had stepped into the ancient lava lake Spirit Array.

They had been trapped there for more than a month and it wasn’t until just now that they had escaped.

As Wei Gu Chang explained about all this, his face filled with annoyance. Although there was an element of bad luck to it, the unfavourable situation was also a result of insufficient strength. Even if it was an Origin Returning Realm master who had been here, it was likely they would have been unable to detect this ancient Spirit Array and would have fallen into its trap.

However, losing to that horde of Fire Spirit Beasts was due to their lack of strength, resulting in two of their companions dying.

Compared to their encounters, Yang Kai could only describe his luck as astonishing.

The massive Fire Crystal Stone, Brilliant Fire Crystal Essence, ancient map fragment, Soul Cleansing Divine Water, Nine Branch Jade Crystal Tree, possible dragon bone and dragon bead, Saint Crystal lode, various spirit grasses, spirit fruits, and spirit medicines, the strange solidified space…

Along the path Yang Kai walked, the gains he made were unimaginable.

If he were to explain his story to Wei Gu Chang, Yang Kai expected the former would be so upset he would cough up blood.

In short, since entering the third layer, Wei Gu Chang and his group had gained nothing but a few Fire Crystal Stones after wasting an entire month.

Fortunately, they hadn’t suffered any further losses either. If the five of them had been buried here, it would have been a disaster. If Shadow Moon Hall lost so many elite disciples at once, it would create a huge crack in their younger generation. In the short term, it wouldn’t be too much of a problem, but as time passed and Shadowed Star’s current Saint Kings began to mature, Shadow Moon Hall’s comprehensive strength would undoubtedly weaken, threatening its status as a great Sect.

This was a result no Sect was willing to bear.

Silavin: Honestly, it doesn’t make sense for the Sect to send only their youngest over to these kinds of dangerous places at the start. However, if you take into consideration competition, then I guess it can be justified.