Martial Peak

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Chapter 2017, Gong Sun Mu

Yang Kai didn’t expect such a thing to happen at all. If he were outside, this little snake might have actually escaped.

But this was the Small Sealed World of the Sealed World Bead after all.

So, Yang Kai just froze for a moment before stretching out his hand and grabbing towards it.

The World Energy in the Small Sealed World moved according to his will and the tiny figure, now about ten metres away, was instantly held in place by an invisible power. Even so, this little snake was still struggling restlessly and soon released a loud roar.

Only now was Yang Kai able to see clearly what it was.

It was like a Dragon that had been shrunk down countless times, a red Fire Dragon covered in flames!

Yang Kai was taken aback and muttered in amazement, “A baby dragon?”

But soon, he discovered that this was not the case as the ‘baby dragon’ transformed into a single red drop about the size of a fingernail. However, this small drop was like boiling magma, giving off a scorching heat Yang Kai could clearly feel even from ten metres away.

Yang Kai’s complexion changed as he quickly seemed to think of something, calling out in alarm, “Dragon blood! A drop of true Dragon blood!”

What was inside the jade bottle was not a baby dragon, but a drop of true Dragon blood.

Judging from the previous scene, this was a drop of Fire Dragon blood! If a cultivator who cultivated a Fire Attribute Secret Art could obtain this drop, they would definitely receive enormous benefits.

However, that did not mean it didn’t have significant value to Yang Kai.

Although Yang Kai did not primarily cultivate the Fire Attribute, he could still use his Monster Transformation Secret Art to fuse other Dragon artifacts into his body, like the Dragon Scale he had integrated into his physique that was now covering his heart.

Yang Kai had been planning to integrate his Dragon Bone Sword into his body for some time now as well.

His Dragon Bone Sword was refined from an authentic Dragon’s bone and bead. Previously, he had only roughly refined it into an artifact but not fundamentally damaged or transformed it, so there would be no problem fusing with it.

Fusing with the Dragon Scale had given Yang Kai huge benefits, and he had never once forgotten about doing the same with his Dragon Bone Sword, but suffering from insufficient strength, he had been unable to carry out his plans. Later, his strength had improved dramatically but he had not had enough time to carry out this plan.

At this moment though, he obtained a drop of true Dragon blood.

If he could integrate it properly, he might be able to exert a portion of a Dragon’s power! After all, he had a Golden Divine Dragon Source in his body already.

Yang Kai’s expression beamed as he felt a great sensation of surprise and happiness.

He had not realized until this moment that the plain-looking jade bottle that had held this drop of Dragon blood was actually covered in dense seals and Spirit Arrays and contained an extremely cold aura. This kind of cold was extremely peculiar, as Yang Kai could not feel it on his hand, but when he tried to probe it with his Divine Sense, his Spiritual Energy quickly froze.

Only this kind of unique storage container could hold a drop of dragon blood.

Wearing a solemn expression on his face, Yang Kai did not immediately try to fuse with this drop of blood.

In the past, using his Monster Transformation Secret Art to fuse with the Dragon Scales had caused him to suffer greatly, so Yang Kai planned to make appropriate preparations first before proceeding. After making up his mind, he carefully put away the drop of dragon blood before his figure flickered and he left the Sealed World Bead.

Over the next few days, Yang Kai wandered around all the major shops in Maplewood City, and even went to the black market a few times.

The Monster Beast parts he obtained from the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda were sold out for Source Crystals, and after spending many of those Source Crystals on a variety of ancient books, Yang Kai returned to his secluded home to do some reading.

His experiences since entering the Star Boundary made him realize how limited his knowledge was, so although these books were somewhat haphazardly collected, they were precisely what he needed right now.

Among these books were introductions to the Star Boundary’s major Sects, forces, geography, famous landforms, and alchemy.

Such widely-known information was not difficult to find or complicated to comprehend, so after Yang Kai spent a few days reading them, he finally gained a basic understanding of the Star Boundary.

Yang Kai also obtained some ancient books that recorded a variety of secret information, but whether the contents of these books were true or not, Yang Kai had no way of knowing. Unfortunately, he did not find many records about the Dragon Clan, only that the Star Boundary had a place called Dragon Island, on which many authentic Dragons seemed to live.

He did find some information about fusing Dragon artifacts into his body, though.

Most of these records said that a certain special Secret Art was required to begin the process, and that the fusion process was different from person to person. There were even some accounts of people succeeding in the initial fusion, but because their physique was not powerful enough, they were ultimately killed by backlash afterwards.

Nonetheless, Yang Kai felt that he should be fine.

Regarding special Secret Arts, he had his Monster Transformation. In terms of physique, he felt his was more than strong enough. His biggest advantage though, was his Golden Divine Dragon Source, giving him a unique edge when it came to fusing with these Dragon artifacts.

Ultimately, this was not a matter to be rushed. His top priority at the moment was to break through to the Dao Source Realm!

The advancement to a new Great Realm would bring about a dramatic increase in his strength.

Time flew by, and soon, half a month had passed.

Yang Kai walked out of his secluded home and came to Spirit Pill Plaza to fulfil his previous agreement with Kang Si Ran.

Ten days later, when Yang Kai had refined enough Spirit Pills and exited his Alchemy retreat. Kang Si Ran was already standing outside the Pill Room waiting with a smile on his face.

“Shopkeeper Kang,” Yang Kai greeted and cupped his fists slightly.

“Alchemist Yang, many thanks for your efforts this time,” Kang Si Ran seemed to be in a good mood and smiled through his wrinkled old face.

“I simply fulfilled my obligations, Shopkeeper Kang doesn’t need to be so polite,” Yang Kai smiled and said. “Judging from Shopkeeper Kang’s look, could there perhaps be some kind of happy event happening?”

“Not at all, however… the two Alchemists sent from the headquarters arrived five days ago.”

“So, that’s how it is,” Yang Kai knew that Kang Si Ran had been worrying about the pill supply problem of Spirit Pill Plaza for some time now. Previously, all the Alchemists of Spirit Pill Plaza had been poached by his nemesis, and if not for Yang Kai suddenly appearing, Spirit Pill Plaza would have been forced to close down long ago. Now that the Alchemists dispatched from Violet Source Chamber of Commerce’s headquarters had finally arrived, Kang Si Ran could put down his labour shortage worries.

“Congratulations to Shopkeeper Kang, then,” Yang Kai smiled.

Kang Si Ran chuckled, “If Alchemist Yang would be willing to remain in the employ of Spirit Pill Plaza, this old master…”

Yang Kai waved his hand and said, “Shopkeeper Kang, I’m afraid this will not work. I told you before that I do not pursue Alchemy as my primary profession. The reason I agreed to assist you last time was because I needed pill recipes. Now, since your chamber of commerce has sent two Alchemists to alleviate your situation, I will not be offering my Alchemy services again in the future.”

Kang Si Ran heard this and sighed, “It’s a pity. In fact, with Alchemist Yang’s ability, if you were to focus on Alchemy, your future achievements will probably be no worse than Grandmaster Huang Fu at the headquarters.”

Yang Kai smiled lightly.

“Since Alchemist Yang has no intention of pursuing the Alchemic Dao though, this old master will not try to persuade you anymore. The number of Spirit Pills Alchemist Yang refined during this time is quite large, but this old master has carefully calculated the appropriate remuneration and will have the Source Crystals delivered to your secluded home shortly.”

“Many thanks,” Yang Kai nodded, “Then I shall take my leave.”

Kang Si Ran nodded and walked out together with Yang Kai.

As they were returning to the surface, Kang Si Ran suddenly spoke, “Alchemist Yang, this old master will take the liberty to ask, do you require more pill recipes?”

“Oh, does Shopkeeper Kang have a way for me to acquire more?” Yang Kai’s eyes lit up, “If Shopkeeper Kang has additional pill recipes that I do not currently know, I can purchase them for a satisfactory price.”

Kang Si Ran smiled, “Alchemist Yang has done a great benevolence for this old master. If this old master really had more pill recipes, he would have handed them over long ago for free.”

“So, Shopkeeper Kang does not have additional pill recipes?” Yang Kai looked confused.

Kang Si Ran smiled mysteriously, “Although this old master does not have them, this old master knows where some might be found. What’s more, in that place, not only would there be a number of pill recipes, perhaps… There will be a complete inheritance of an Alchemy Grandmaster!”

“What do you mean?” Yang Kai raised his brow.

“Come with me, I will explain carefully,” Kang Si Ran thought for a moment before leading Yang Kai to a secluded room.

After a short while, the two entered the room, and Kang Si Ran asked one of the shop-hands to prepare tea before he began.

After listening for a long time, Yang Kai realized that Kang Si Ran had knowledge of a cave mansion that was likely the secluded home of an Alchemy Grandmaster.

As for how he obtained this information, it seemed that he had learned of it many years ago, but due to the limits of his strength, he was unable to explore it. However, after much research and inquiry, he had basically confirmed what this cave mansion was.

“Are you certain it’s the cave mansion of a fallen Alchemy Grandmaster?” Yang Kai became quite eager and asked urgently, “Do you happen to know which Grandmaster it belonged to?”

“Gong Sun Mu! I wonder if Alchemist Yang has heard of this man,” Kang Si Ran replied slowly.

“Gong Sun Mu?” Yang Kai frowned as he began recalling the records, he had just reviewed a few days prior. He vaguely seemed to recall coming across such a name but could not remember in detail.

Seeing his expression, Kang Si Ran smiled slightly and said, “Even if Alchemist Yang has never heard of Gong Sun Mu, he must certainly know that among the Ten Great Emperors, there is one that excels in the Alchemic Dao.”

“The Wondrous Pill Great Emperor?” Yang Kai raised his brow.

“Indeed, among the Ten Great Emperors, only Wondrous Pill Great Emperor reached his supreme status by relying on his talent and accomplishments in the Alchemic Dao.”

“So, what Shopkeeper Kang means to say is that there is some kind of relationship between Gong Sun Mu and Wondrous Pill Great Emperor?” Yang Kai asked thoughtfully.

“Gong Sun Mu was Wondrous Pill Great Emperor’s Third Disciple!” Kang Si Ran smiled slightly.

Yang Kai could not help gasping.

“Originally, this old master was not qualified to know such secrets, but I have been inquiring about that cave mansion for many years, so I have learned more than is generally known to the public. Gong Sun Mu was Wondrous Pill Great’s Third Disciple and was quite favoured by the Great Emperor, but… for some reason I have yet to uncover, Gong Sun Mu seems to have offended Wonderous Pill Great Emperor and was expelled as a disciple three thousand years ago. Later, Gong Sun Mu settled in seclusion in the Southern Territory, ultimately losing his life in this foreign land, a truly sad fate.”

“Gong Sun Mu has such astonishing origins, so how did Shopkeeper Kang determine this cave mansion belonged to him?” Although Yang Kai was shocked, he still asked cautiously.

Kang Si Ran smiled and said, “Naturally, this old master has a reason for his confidence. Let’s put it this way, when Gong Sun Mu was expelled by Wondrous Pill Great Emperor, he brought a servant with him, and that servant was only responsible for tending to his daily life, but was later driven away by Gong Sun Mu, whose temperament underwent a dramatic change at some point. This information was obtained by this old master from a descendant of that servant.”