Martial Peak

In an instant, the sound of scraping metal rang out from the Purple Shield as a terrifying invisible force constantly grated against Yang Kai’s defensive artifact.

The purple light curtain covering his body faded at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Yang Kai’s face sank seeing this and he quickly took back his Purple Shield.

Although this defensive artifact was Origin Grade High-Rank and was incredibly strong, it wasn’t sufficient to compete with the Domain here. If this Domain were allowed to destroy the light curtain, the Purple Shield’s spirituality would suffer a massive loss.

Yang Kai was forced to push his Saint Qi with all his strength to resist the invisible and terrifying pressure around him as he was stuck in place struggling against the tide.

“Only Second-Order Origin Realm…” Xu Ding Yang stared dumbfounded at Yang Kai, a look of astonishment on his face.

As soon as Yang Kai pushed his Saint Qi, Xu Ding Yang naturally perceived Yang Kai’s true cultivation and was inevitably disappointed.

Although the Second and Third-Order were only one Minor Realm apart, the gap in strength between the two was immense. Moreover, this was the Blood Prison, where normally only Third-Order Origin Realm cultivators entered to seek opportunities.

Xu Ding Yang felt that with Yang Kai’s strength, forget about saving him, even preserving his own life would be impossible.

“Friend, forgive me!” Xu Ding Yang worked hard to resist while kindly warning Yang Kai, “This Xu didn’t know you were only a Second-Order Origin Realm cultivator, otherwise he wouldn’t have asked for help. Friend has not yet entered too far, so you should hurry up and withdraw before it’s too late and you no longer can.”

Yang Kai ignored him however and simply continued to strengthen the output of his Saint Qi, probing the mysteries of the Domain Vortex.

What shocked Yang Kai, however, was that this Domain Vortex seemed completely unaffected by his efforts. No matter how hard Yang Kai tried, the suppression he felt remained the same, making it difficult to even move a single step.

Several strange and mysterious powers wrapped around his body, making it impossible for Yang Kai to comprehend anything.

[So this is the power of Domain! Worthy of the unique power possessed by Origin King Realm masters.]

“Friend, use your Shi to resist it, you can’t rely on brute force to deal with Domain, otherwise you’ll only get pulled deeper and deeper into it!” Seeing Yang Kai’s difficult situation, Xu Ding Yang quickly warned.

Yang Kai’s expression changed and he quickly released his Shi as suggested.

In an instant, he noticed that the solidified space around him seemed to loosen somewhat as his Shi cut into the Domain Vortex like an invisible blade, allowing him to resist its influence.

“Many thanks for the advice!” Yang Kai raised his head, glanced over at Xu Ding Yang, and said his thanks.

“A minor matter!” Xu Ding Yang squeezed out an ugly smile as sweat dripped from his forehead and the Saint Qi glow around his body faded even more rapidly.

After talking to Yang Kai for a moment, Xu Ding Yang’s situation became even more unbearable and he immediately focused all of his attention on resisting the terrifying pressure of the Domain Vortex.

Yang Kai’s demeanor also became solemn as he tried his best to expand his Shi.

With him as the centre, a circle with a ten metre radius began to form where space slowly distorted and faint, almost invisible Void Cracks appeared and disappeared.

Once this zone was established, the pressure Yang Kai felt suddenly eased greatly.

The Domain of an Origin King Realm master was an evolved form of Shi, a mysterious power a level higher than Shi.

As such, using Shi to resist Domain was naturally effective.

If this Domain was being displayed by a living Origin King Realm master, Yang Kai’s Shi wouldn’t be able to put up any resistance even if he had cultivated it to the grand accomplishment stage, but this Domain Vortex was simply a remnant from over ten thousand years ago, so even if it had strengthened and condensed over a long span of time, it wasn’t nearly as dangerous without anyone controlling it.

Yang Kai was barely able to deal with it.

It was no wonder so many Third-Order Origin Returning Realm masters flocked to the Blood Prison despite it being extremely dangerous, the benefits here were simply that attractive to Third-Order masters.

The Domain Vortices that existed here were simply the best auxiliary aide for Third-Order Origin Realm masters to condense their Shi.

A cultivator could condense their Shi here, enhancing their control over it, while at the same time comprehend the mysteries of Domain, so once they cultivated their Shi to the grand accomplishment stage, they would have the capital necessary to attempt a breakthrough to the Origin King Realm!

This was a height that most Third-Order Origin Returning Realm masters would never be able to reach.

Yang Kai wholeheartedly used his Shi to resist the surrounding invisible Domain while some faint, stray thoughts inexplicably poured into his mind. Sometimes he frowned and thought while sometimes his face was filled with joy, his expression constantly changing.

Unconsciously, he began stepping forward, and although his speed was extremely slow, Yang Kai was undoubtedly moving towards the centre of Domain Vortex, seeking more powerful mysteries of Domain.

Yang Kai’s control over his Shi also became more flexible and the original ten metre radius around himself began to expand at a subtle speed. Although this change wasn’t conspicuous, it was definite and steady.

Yang Kai was completely immersed in his comprehension, unable to extricate himself.

The man named Xu Ding Yang was in a dire situation, but he still made some time to observe Yang Kai’s movements.

When he saw Yang Kai walking towards him step by step, resisting the terrifying Domain power with only a Second-Order Origin Returning Realm cultivation, Xu Ding Yang was completely shocked.

He knew better than anyone the intensity of this Domain Vortex and had figured that, with Yang Kai weak cultivation, he would definitely be forced to withdraw immediately, otherwise he would undoubtedly die.

However, this young man who he had never met before not only didn’t withdraw, he instead began steadily moving towards the centre of the Domain Vortex.

[The world must be going crazy,] Xu Ding Yang thought as he could hardly believe his eyes.

Any cultivator who reached the Third-Order Origin Returning Realm was a master that had both extreme pride and superb methods to back it up. Xu Ding Yang was also the Sect master of a small Sect who had been cultivated diligently since childhood as a genius.

But compared to this young man in front of him, Xu Ding Yang couldn’t help feeling ashamed!

He felt his self-confidence take a hard hit.

Just as he momentarily lost focus, a sharp noise suddenly rang in his ears.

Xu Ding Yang’s expression changed and he quickly looked towards the source of this sound, his face turning pale in the next moment.

The defensive artifact that was protecting his body had finally reached its limit and the water curtain-like halo began to rapidly crack apart.

“Friend! This Xu is afraid that disaster is now inevitable. If it is convenient, please visit Scarlet Wave Star’s Blue Feather Sect and inform the Sect Elders that this Xu fell here. You may take everything in this Xu’s Space Ring as a thank you gift!” Xu Ding Yang shouted anxiously.

Hearing his shout, Yang Kai awoke from his comprehension and turned his eyes towards Xu Ding Yang.

Yang Kai’s eyes opened just in time to see the water curtain surrounding Xu Ding Yang’s body crumble into dust and the little Saint Qi which he had left erupt from his body as he desperately rushed outwards with all his strength.

Although he had told Yang Kai he could not escape this disaster, Xu Ding Yang obviously didn’t want to just sit and wait for the end; he was determined to put up a final struggle.

The rays of light surrounding his body alternated between light and dark as a fierce expression filled his face and a roar similar to that of an angry beast escaped from this throat.

A crackling sound rang out in the next instant as the invisible Domain crashed towards Xu Ding Yang from all directions.

After making it less than three steps, Xu Ding Yang suddenly shivered and stopped in place, his skin becoming red as blood leaked out from all his pores.

*Peng…*

With a dull thud, Xu Ding Yang’s whole body burst apart, his physique being shredded until not even his bones remained.

Yang Kai’s eyes shrunk slightly as his face filled with shock.

A master at the Third-Order Origin Returning Realm had died so tragically in front of him, making him deeply understand the horrors of this Domain Vortex. At the same time, he couldn’t help feeling some inexplicable sadness at this untimely death.

But soon, Yang Kai dispelled these distracting thoughts and closed his eyes once more to continue his slow trek towards the centre of the Domain Vortex step by step.

He and Xu Ding Yang were complete strangers, so Yang Kai wasn’t deeply affected by the latter’s death.

The Domain Vortex which had consigned Xu Ding Yang to his doom would not do the same to him! Yang Kai was completely confident of this.

Yang Kai’s Shi shuttled back and forth in the surrounding space, allowing Yang Kai to sense the mysterious power that flooded this place, absorb it, remove what was useless to him and turn what was useful to him into nutrients for his own growth.

The killing power surrounding Yang Kai could not stop him from continuing his exploration as he slowly but surely advanced further.

Without using any kind of defensive artifact, and only circulating his Saint Qi to the minimum required level, Yang Kai used his flesh and blood body as well as his Shi to resist this Domain Vortex, allowing him to feel its mysteries in the most unobstructed manner possible.

As he continued to gain from this experience, Yang Kai gradually became immersed in it.

The benefits of Yang Kai’s intrepid physique manifested once again. Perhaps no other Origin Returning Realm master dared do this, only able to use their Shi to resist the Domain here to gain benefits.

This indirect method was vastly inferior to Yang Kai’s reckless method.

Yang Kai not only used his Shi, but also his own flesh and blood.

He was able to gain benefits at a much more rapid rate than other Origin Realm cultivators this way.

As time passed, at a certain moment, Yang Kai suddenly opened his eyes, his body shivered, and his Shi suddenly expanded outward.

The Domain Vortex, which made it difficult for any who entered it to even walk, didn’t put up the slightest resistance and Yang Kai was able to take large strides forward and arrive at its centre in short order.

This was the spot where the Domain Vortex’s pressure was most intense, as well as the spot where Xu Ding Yang had died. There were still residual bits of hashed meat from what was once Xu Ding Yang’s corpse as well as a thick smell of blood lingering in the air.

Yang Kai stood there, silently, gradually retracting his Shi, allowing the surrounding Domain to press down on him.

The terrifying power in this location caused Yang Kai’s bones to creak, as if they were about to snap. The power of the Domain Vortex at this point seemed to want to grind him into dust.

Five-coloured light suddenly burst from Yang Kai’s figure as his Five Elements Indestructible Sword Qi filled every muscle in his body, augmenting his physical strength enormously, allowing him to compete with the power of this Domain.

Yang Kai’s face flushed and his blood boiled, as if he would explode and die at any moment.

However, his harvest grew even bigger at this moment.

From this extreme experience, Yang Kai was able to deeply realize the mysteries of Domain and his understanding of Shi simultaneously became far more profound.

Unsatisfied with just this, after confirming that his life was in no danger, Yang Kai fell into a deeper level of meditative cultivation.

Yang Kai had a premonition that participating in this Blood Prison Trial would grant him unimaginable growth.