Martial Peak

After Dai Yuan returned, she first went to Yang Yan to talk. A short time later, she obtained a token from Yang Yan and her mood instantly improved.

Yang Yan had not only deciphered the Natural Spirit Array outside Dai Yuan’s secluded home, but she had also improved its power by thirty percent, increased its functionality, and added a control mechanism. All of this made Dai Yuan extremely happy while at the same time she was shocked by Yang Yan’s prowess with Spirit Arrays. After this incident, her relationship with Yang Yan seemed to become extremely close, as if they were real sisters.

This confused Yang Kai greatly and made him realize that a woman’s thoughts would forever be beyond his understanding. On the road here, the two of them had been like old bottle gourds, not speaking a word to each other for an entire month, but now, because of a single Spirit Array, they were suddenly behaving in an incredibly friendly manner.

Men could not act this way.

After Dai Yuan returned, Yang Kai naturally began to ask her about she wanted his help with, but Dai Yuan still seemed to have some reservations, only asking Yang Kai to wait a few days while she made some preparations. After she finished getting everything ready, she would tell him everything.

Listening to her saying this, Yang Kai no longer forced the issue and waited quietly.

A few days later, Yang Kai was sitting in meditation, cultivating his Golden Blood Threads and using his Saint Qi in conjunction with the Artifact Refining Furnace and Scarlet Firebird in front of him to refine the dragon bone and Dragon Bead.

Although he knew refining the dragon bone and Dragon Bead required a long period of time, if Yang Kai had a spare moment, he would actively urge the power of the Artifact Refining Furnace to speed up the process.

He was very much looking forward to what the dragon bone and Dragon Bead would look like when the refining was finished.

As he was urging his Saint Qi, however, Yang Kai heard a knock at his door. Opening his eyes, Yang Kai slowly retracted his Saint Qi before taking a deep breath to calm his strength. A moment later, he reached out and took the Artifact Refining Furnace back into his body before standing up and walking over to open the stone room’s door.

Dai Yuan stood outside the room, and for some reason seemed to be fidgeting somewhat nervously.

When she felt a residual heat inside the room, she gave Yang Kai a surprised look, instinctively thinking that he was performing Alchemy, but there was no pill or medicinal fragrance in the air, making her somewhat confused.

Setting this puzzle aside, Dai Yuan asked softly, “Can I come in?”

Yang Kai nodded and stepped aside. After Dai Yuan walked in, he closed the door then sat down at the stone table across from Dai Yuan and asked, “Are your preparations complete?”

“En,” Dai Yuan bit her lower lip lightly and nodded.

“Then we should start,” Yang Kai smiled slightly, “But before that, isn’t it about time Sister Dai Yuan tells me what exactly she wants me to help her with?”

“I’ve come here this time to tell you that,” Dai Yuan glanced at him, her eyes exuding a clear and bright light but her cheeks blushing slightly.

This surprised Yang Kai somewhat, making him wonder just what kind of difficulties Dai Yuan wanted to discuss that would cause her to behave this way.

Dai Yuan sat on the edge of her seat, fidgeting nervously as her small hands clenched unconsciously. Only after a long silence did she git her teeth and say, “Actually, I asked Junior Brother Yang to come here to help perform a detoxification on me.”

“Detoxify?” Yang Kai raised his eyebrows, a look of surprise appeared on his face, “Is Sister Dai Yuan poisoned? I really could not tell. What kind of poison has Sister Dai Yuan been exposed to, please tell me, perhaps I will know how to refine the appropriate detoxifying pill?”

“There is no pill to detoxify the poison I am suffering from,” Dai Yuan hearing this, shook her head bitterly.

“Oh?” Yang Kai immediately became interested. When Dai Yuan asked him back in Dragon Cave Mountain, she did say that her request was related to Alchemy, and detoxification certainly fell into such a category; however, Dai Yuan had now said that there was no appropriate detoxifying pill for her condition, indicating that whatever poison she afflicted with was quite extraordinary. Naturally, this would raise Yang Kai’s curiosity.

Perhaps because he was an Alchemist, Yang Kai was always interested in learning more about herbs and pills.

“What I am suffering from is Thousand Illusion Coloured Glass Toxin!” Dai Yuan admitted with a completely solemn and serious look.

“Thousand Illusion Coloured Glass Toxin…” Yang Kai was stunned, “Isn’t Thousand Illusion Coloured Glass your noble Sect’s greatest treasure? I heard that is a profound Artifact Refining material, but I’ve never heard about it being toxic. How did you become poisoned by such a thing?”

Yang Kai was now very curious because what Dai Yuan had just told him was too incredible.

Although he did not know much about Thousand Illusion Coloured Glass, he was certain that this Artifact Refining material itself wasn’t toxic.

“Thousand Illusion Coloured Glass is indeed not toxic,” Dai Yuan smiled bitterly, brushing her hair behind her ear before continuing in a low voice, “But what if someone were to ingest it?”

Yang Kai’s face changed slightly as he stared straight at Dai Yuan, his eyes narrowing.

“Junior Brother Yang does not need to suspect; I have indeed swallowed unprocessed Thousand Illusion Coloured Glass for some time now. Ever since I reached the Saint Realm, I have been taking small amounts of it!” Dai Yuan smiled mirthlessly.

“How could that be?” Yang Kai gawked. This woman had been ingesting an Artifact Refining material for many years, how was that different from courting death? Why would anyone do such a thing? And over such a long period of time at that.

“Naturally there is a reason for this,” Dai Yuan seems to have anticipated Yang Kai would react like this so she didn’t show any surprise and simply continued to explain, “Because my Secret Art is the Thousand Illusion Coloured Glass Art. This cultivation technique was created by the Ancestral Founder of my Coloured Glass Sect explicitly because of the existence of Coloured Glass Mountain. In almost every generation of Coloured Glass Sect’s disciple, there will be someone who cultivates this Secret Art, and for the current generation, that disciple is me. In order to cultivate this Secret Art, one needs to regularly ingest Thousand Illusion Coloured Glass. “

“Heh, such a strange Secret Art, it doesn’t seem like a good thing,” Yang Kai smiled with a facade.

“En, but for the Sect, it is indispensable. Thousand Illusion Peak has always been used as the place where those who cultivate this Secret Art live, hence its name.”

“The last person who lived here also cultivated this Secret Art?” Yang Kai was surprised.

“Exactly. I grew up beside her since childhood, and this Secret Art was also taught to me by her. She should be regarded as my true master.”

“And her ending?” Yang Kai sneered, “I assume it wasn’t good, right?”

Seemingly because of Yang Kai’s question, Dai Yuan recalled something, and her expression immediately dimmed.

Realizing he had been insensitive, Yang Kai wanted to apologize, but just as he was thinking about how he should comfort her, Dai Yuan smiled and said, “That was her fate. Since she chose this path for herself, she should not have any complaints about It. However, before achieving at least the minor accomplishment stage of this Secret Art, no one can unleash its full power, and over time they will build up toxicity in their body. Eventually, it will reach a point where it can no longer be expelled and advancing further will become precarious. This is knowledge I have acquired from my predecessor and my own life experience. Now, if I want to break through to the Origin Returning Realm, I first need Junior Brother Yang’s help to resolve the Coloured Glass Toxin accumulated in my body over the years, otherwise, I will die!”

Yang Kai nodded lightly, somewhat understanding now why she had run millions of kilometres to Dragon Cave Mountain to ask for his help.

However, Dai Yuan had said that before achieving minor accomplishment in this Secret Art, no one could display its full might, something that made Yang Kai realize that the last time he saw Dai Yuan take action, she was not actually using her full strength.

As a number of thoughts flashed across his mind, Yang Kai suddenly seemed to realize something and turned a surprised gaze towards Dai Yuan, “Is your cultivation using this Thousand Illusion Coloured Glass Art related to the collection of Thousand Illusion Coloured Glass?”

Coloured Glass Sect requiring someone from every generation cultivate such a dangerous Secret Art must be for an exceptionally important reason, otherwise it would be too much of a waste.

As for what was most important for Coloured Glass Sect, Yang Kai could only think of collecting the Thousand Illusion Coloured Glass!

Hearing Yang Kai’s question, Dai Yuan’s complexion changed, and she quickly waved her hands, “Junior Brother Yang, such things cannot be discussed!”

“Ah, I’m right?” Yang Kai’s expression became strange.

Dai Yuan smiled bitterly but didn’t try to deny it again, nodding dispiritedly as she said, “En, I cultivate Thousand Illusion Coloured Glass Art precisely because it is a requirement to harvest Thousand Illusion Coloured Glass. I won’t lie to Junior Brother Yang, since the last Senior who lived here passed away, no one from Coloured Glass Sect has been capable of harvesting Thousand Illusion Coloured Glass, and only when I reach the Origin Returning Realm will I be able to. This is one of the Sect’s most closely guarded secrets. What we are discussing here absolutely cannot be said to another soul, otherwise the consequences will be dire.”

“I understand,” Yang Kai nodded hurriedly. His unintentional words had touched upon a great Sect’s core secrets, causing a little cold sweat to drip down his back.

But… Since Dai Yuan was so important to Coloured Glass Sect, why was she essentially ostracized? Shouldn’t she be given the best cultivation resources, cultivation environment, and guidance from the Sect’s Elders?

It seems that there was more to this that he did not know! Yang Kai secretly guessed.

“The last Senior who lived here was a Heaven defying genius. She collected and studied all the experiences and insights the many Seniors who cultivated the Thousand Illusion Coloured Glass Art before her and finally developed a safe way to expel the Coloured Glass Toxin. Once successful, one will not need to fear Coloured Glass Toxin anymore. Reaping the benefits of her efforts, I am extremely grateful to her. Unfortunately, by the time she developed this method, the poison had already permeated her body completely and she could no longer resolve it.

“And this solution, it requires someone like me?” Yang Kai asked.

“En, it must be performed by an Origin Grade Alchemist, and this Alchemist must also posses exquisite skills with the control and fusion of various medicinal efficacies. One of the reasons I looked for Junior Brother Yang was because the pills you refined were all incredibly high-quality products, with a number of them nearly forming Pill Veins. The requirement for skill is absolutely not a problem for you.”