Martial Peak

A hundred kilometres outside the Blood Prison, atop a certain peak inside a certain stone pavilion, Luo Hai had his eyes closed tightly, as if he was silently sensing something.

The other Origin King Realm masters were all paying attention to his movements.

They couldn’t tell anything that was happening inside the Blood Prison, only Luo Hai, the Star Master, could somewhat probe the situation. Naturally, Luo Hai became the focus and centre of attention for everyone here.

After a long time, Luo Hai opened his eyes with a smile on his face.

“Sir Luo Hai, did you find something worthy of attention? Why do you seem so happy?” The old woman from Sword Union asked quickly.

“A fortuitous event has happened!” Luo Hai gently nodded.

“A fortuitous event?” The beautiful woman from Purple Star raised her brow and glanced at Luo Hai thoughtfully, showing a sudden look, “Does Brother Luo Hai mean…”

“Haha, yes. There is only one fortuitous event that happens inside the Blood Prison; it is exactly as you think,” Luo Hai gently nodded, quickly declaring. “The Domain Stone Mountain has appeared!”

“The Domain Stone Mountain has appeared?” Everyone was moved.

“En.”

“This truly is a fortuitous event!” The old woman’s wrinkled face smiled brightly, “Those little fellows who entered the Blood Prison this time are quite lucky it seems, at least more so than most.”

“Senior Sister Lei, why are you acting so envious? When you entered the Blood Prison two thousand years ago, didn’t you also encounter similar good fortune?” The beautiful woman pursed her lips and smiled.

“Hehe, en, two thousand years have passed in a flash,” A look of remembrance appeared on the old woman’s face. “If it hadn’t been for the Domain Stone Mountain back then, this old lady would probably not have been able to spy on the mysteries of Domain and break through to the Origin King Realm. It could be said that the Domain Stone Mountain is the foundation for this old lady’s current achievements!”

“Senior Sister Lei encountered the Domain Stone Mountain back then?” Many people showed a surprised expression, with some of them complaining, “Why didn’t I encounter such good fortune? When I entered the Blood Prison, the Domain Stone Mountain remained hidden behind such a powerful Domain field that it was impossible to even catch a glimpse of it.”

“This is all a matter of luck,” Luo Hai chuckled, “The Domain Stone Mountain is the treasure of the Blood Prison and is extremely strong. Even an Origin King may not necessarily be able to damage it at all. It’s also so massive that no one can take it away. It is the best place for Origin Realm Juniors to spy on the mysteries of Domain. Unfortunately, it is usually surrounded by chaotic Domains all year round that only weaken briefly at random intervals to reveal its true appearance. The Blood Prison only opens once every thousand years, and when it does, the Domain Stone Mountain does not always appear. It is normal for you to not have encountered it. But don’t envy Sister Lei’s luck, aren’t you all Origin Kings now?”

“That said, if I had encountered the Domain Stone Mountain back then, I would not have had to spend an additional three hundred years in cultivation to break through to my current realm.” The one who spoke earlier grumbled, sighing over how his luck was not as good as the old woman’s.

The old woman simply smiled and said, “Why are you sighing? This old lady’s luck was all used up at that moment. After encountering the Domain Stone Mountain and reaching the Origin King realm, this old lady has barely made any progress in her cultivation. I’m afraid that this old lady’s path will end here.”

“Senior Sister Lei need not belittle herself. Who can tell what will happen in one’s future cultivation? Perhaps Senior Sister Lei will receive a flash of enlightenment and breakthrough to the Second-Order Origin King Realm one day?” The beautiful woman comforted.

Although there was a lot of friction between the great forces in the Star Field, as Origin Kings who stood above the mundane, everyone here had some friendship between them, so offering some casual comfort was not difficult.

“I hope so,” The old woman smiled reluctantly before frowning again with a worried expression on her face. “But although the appearance of the Domain Stone Mountain is a fortuitous event, it also increases the difficulty of this trial greatly. Back then, when this old lady was fighting for a good position near the Domain Stone Mountain, she nearly died. This time, I’m afraid many will die in the competition.”

“It may be a blessing or a curse, it all depends on one’s own good fortune. In any case, it is useless for us to worry about it here,” The old man from Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce shook his head slowly.

“Fair enough. By the way, Sir Luo Hai, what’s the situation of that little Second-Order Origin Returning Realm boy like now? Is he still alive?” The old woman suddenly thought of Yang Kai and asked.

Everyone looked at Luo Hai intently, all of them seemingly very interested in Yang Kai.

Luo Hai smiled slightly and said, “He’s still alive, this King can feel his vitality.”

“Still alive?!” The old woman was overjoyed, “Amazing! This old lady was worried his luck would turn bad and he would be killed by someone. It seems that his luck is better than this old lady expected. En, I look forward to the day when he emerges from the Blood Prison. This old lady wants to see if he has three heads and six arms.”

“He certainly doesn’t have three heads and six arms, he’s just unusually bold. He…” Luo Hai was speaking when suddenly he paused, a frown forming on his face which was soon replaced by a look of surprise.

“Sir Luo Hai, has that boy encountered some kind of terrible trouble?” Purple Star’s beautiful representative asked nervously.

No one wanted to see Yang Kai encounter trouble or fall inside the Blood Prison as they all regarded him as a potential rising star for them to recruit. All of these masters were just waiting for him to leave the Blood Prison so they could offer him extremely generous terms to win him over.

“He hasn’t encountered any trouble, but this King thinks he’s looking for some!” Luo Hai said in a strange tone.

“What do you mean?” The old woman asked nervously.

“He’s actually travelling in the direction of the Domain Stone Mountain!” Luo Hai’s expression turned sour.

“Huh?” Everyone was shocked.

“Why would he go in the direction of Domain Stone Mountain?” The old woman ground her teeth in frustration. “This little brat is simply courting death! Is that a place he’s capable of going? If he were to be caught up in some kind of dispute…”

“En, this little boy really knows how to cause worry,” The beautiful woman from Purple Star sighed with a helpless expression.

Yang Kai was inside the Blood Prison, so they could not interfere, they could only watch as he tread into one dangerous situation after another.

Several of the Origin King Realm masters present wished they could break into the Blood Prison right now, fish out Yang Kai from there, and teach him a severe lesson.

“This is becoming more and more interesting; this little boy is truly bold.” Luo Hai smiled softly.

“Sir Luo Hai, please pay some attention to that little boy to see if he can…” The old woman asked anxiously.

“Of course. Although I can’t investigate too carefully, this King can still perceive whether that boy lives or dies. If there is any change in his status, this King will tell you,” Luo Hai nodded, not rejecting this simple request.

He too was quite interested in Yang Kai.

“Then I shall trouble you with this, Sir Luo Hai.”

….

Inside the Blood Prison, there was a hill at a certain location.

Although it was a hill, it was really quite small.

No more than a hundred metres high and a hundred or so metres across, this entire hill was glowing with a peculiar lustre and a subtle Domain pulsed from it to fill its immediate surrounding.

Domain Stone Mountain! The treasure of the Blood Prison!

This hill was actually one, massive Domain Stone. No one knew how it was formed, but since it came into existence, it had become a permanent feature of the Blood Prison.

Shrouded by a terrifying Domain all year round, no one could approach it to get a glimpse of what Domain Stone Mountain truly looked like.

The Domain around Domain Stone Mountain was recognized as the most powerful Domain in the Blood Prison. No Origin Returning Realm master cultivator dared to challenge it as anyone who did would die without doubt.

Although it was constantly shrouded by a powerful Domain, there were times when this Domain would weaken somewhat and Domain Stone Mountain would be exposed.

There was no rule to this weakening, but in the past, when the Blood Prison opened, the Domain Stone Mountain had revealed itself only a handful of times. During those times, all Origin Returning Realm masters who heard the news were like cats smelling fish, gathering from all directions towards Domain Stone Mountain to look for a suitable location to experience the Domain emanating from Domain Stone Mountain.

This was far safer and more effective than trying to wade into Domain Vortices as the profound aura which pulsed from Domain Stone Mountain could be easily studied by cultivators to spy on the mysteries of Domain.

Some cultivators who had never had an opportunity to break through to the Origin King Realm were able to break through because they encountered the Domain Stone Mountain.

The old woman surnamed Lei from Sword Union was one such case.

For over ten thousand years, although Domain Stone Mountain had only appeared a couple of times, that did not dampen enthusiasm cultivators had towards it.

At this moment, over a hundred Third-Order Origin Returning Realm masters had gathered around Domain Stone Mountain. These people came from all corners of the Star Field and were groups as small as three or four, to as big as seven or eight, each of them occupying different positions nearby.

These groups were all noticeably separated from each other.

Among these groups, the few with the largest number occupied the best positions and were currently releasing an imposing aura as they held their artifacts in their hands and stared around with cold eyes.

No one dared to provoke them, not only because of their large number but also because of their background.

The remaining groups, following their strength, also occupied different spots.

With nearly a hundred people, Domain Stone Mountain was almost entirely surrounded, and although there were still some open spaces, a steady stream of cultivators who had heard the news were still arriving.

It was conceivable that the open spaces would all eventually be occupied by cultivators.

The cultivators who came late and did not get a good position would often challenge weaker groups to seize their spots.

On one side of Domain Stone Mountain, in a spot that was neither good nor bad, three Third-Order Origin Returning Realm cultivators gathered.

Among these three, two were familiar with Yang Kai, Qian Tong and the beautiful woman Lin Yu Rao from Star Emperor Mountain, while the last was someone Yang Kai had never met before.

At this moment, all three of them are silently condensing their Saint Qi, holding their most powerful artifacts, and observing their surroundings vigilantly.

These three had arrived here quite early, so the position they occupied wasn’t bad; however, as the number of cultivators who came here continued to increase, some people were already looking at them unkindly, seemingly considering whether they could drive them away.

If the three of them did not show enough deterrence, they would definitely not be able to keep this spot.

However, continuing to remain so vigilant was also not an appropriate solution. Domain Stone Mountain had already appeared and the larger, more powerful groups had begun to comprehend the mysteries of Domain from it while the three of them could only continue to delay, resulting in them not gaining anything.

The three of them understood this clearly, but they didn’t dare relax their vigilance, frustrating them greatly.