Martial Peak

Translator: Silavin & Raikov

Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun

Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys

"Heavenly Music Treasure Box," Yang Kai reached out and tapped on the box. Immediately, the Heavenly Music Treasure Box released a tinkling sound, like a mountain spring or an empty spirit valley, and listening to the tune was enough to make one feel refreshed.

The gentle tone continued to play, and the box rose up step by step, gradually turning into the shape of a pagoda. There were nine layers in total, and each layer rotated either to the left or to the right at a differing speed, transmitting different sounds that came together in beautiful harmony.

Not only that, but a light blue mist started being released from the Heavenly Music Treasure Box as its floors spun, spreading out in all directions and filling a large space. The pale blue mist was like a starry sky, free of all impurities. The appearance of the stars made one feel as if they were truly standing in the midst of the starry sky, a beautiful scene to behold.

"A good treasure!" Nanmen Da Jun's eyes lit up at the sight. Even though he did not think this Heavenly Music Treasure Box was too useful for him, its mysterious melody would surely be of great help to any cultivator below the Emperor Realm during cultivation as it would make it easier for them to clear their mind and enter a meditative state. Surely, cultivating in such a state would allow one to achieve twice the result with half the effort.

"You should be able to understand its use and maximize its potential application," Yang Kai smiled at him.

Nanmen Da Jun's eyes glowed brightly as his mind was already thinking of using this Heavenly Music Treasure Box as the core of a Spirit Array. With the supplementation of several other artifacts, he could set up a Heavenly Tone Treasure Palace.

This was not a difficult thing for him to do, and once his arrangements were successful, the entire Heavenly Tone Treasure Palace would be filled with the sound of the Heavenly Music Treasure Box, which would be of great benefit to the disciples who entered retreat inside to cultivate.

Yang Kai was right. Only in the hands of an Emperor Array Master like Nanmen Da Jun would this Heavenly Music Treasure Box be able to display all its effects. With the augmentation of a Spirit Array, the Heavenly Music Treasure Box would definitely become another foundation for High Heaven Palace, and a great boon for the disciples below the Emperor Realm.

"Leave it to me." Nanmen Da Jun put away the Heavenly Music Treasure Box with care before turning to Yang Kai and asking with some concern, "Are you alright, Palace Master?"

He noticed just now that Yang Kai wasn't in good shape with his face unnaturally pale.

He knew deeply how strong Yang Kai was. He was strong enough that even the Sect Masters of the top Sects in the Northern Territory, Sect Masters Mi Qi and Li Jiao, were unable to even lift their heads in front of him. Even the three great Monster Kings were loyal to his every word. For a Master like Yang Kai to be pale-faced, the only explanation must be that he had sustained a very serious injury.

Nanmen Da Jun could not think of anyone in this world who would be able to cause such injuries to Yang Kai, and it was naturally impossible that he would imagine Yang Kai's experiences in the Thousand Illusions Dreamworld.

Yang Kai simply shook his head.

Nanmen Da Jun asked, "Do you need me to come along? Though I know not what Palace Master is going to do, it is obviously related to that Spirit Array. If I go with you, I may be of some help in deciphering it."

"No need," Yang Kai waved his hand, "I'm fine. What's more, it's not convenient for me to bring you along."

He had accepted Xia Sheng's request to explore an Ancient Cave Mansion as Hua Yu Lu's assistant, and Hua Yu Lu also said that she could only bring one helper, so bringing along someone else may cause some conflict.

Since Yang Kai refused, Nanmen Da Jun didn't insist on following either. He just reported to Yang Kai about the development of High Heaven Palace during this period of time before returning to the Northern Territory through the Cross-Territory Space Array.

Yang Kai did not hurry to leave, however, and instead sat down cross-legged and took out some Spirit Pills to first patch up his Soul. Only then did he begin refining the Flower Clouds Shuttle.

He realized that he had underestimated the impact his Soul received during his experience in the Thousand Illusions Dreamworld. He thought that with the Seven Coloured Soul Warming Lotus, his Soul should be able to restore itself in half a month no matter how severely damaged it was.

But facts showed that after more than ten days his Soul still showed hardly any signs of improvement.

Yang Kai guessed that this was due to a large overconsumption of his Spiritual Energy rather than just injuries he sustained inside the Thousand Illusions Dreamworld. There was also the time distortion. Living two years in just five days undoubtedly put an immense load on his Soul. It was equivalent to Yang Kai consuming two years worth of his Spiritual Energy in just five days, so it would take more than just half a month to be replenished again.

Emperor Grade artifacts were not easy to refine, especially now since Yang Kai's Spiritual Energy was lacking.

But he still spent a few days making a simple mark on the Flower Clouds Shuttle, which would be enough for him to get the Flower Clouds Shuttle to fly, but not enough for him to release its full power.

This was already enough as Yang Kai's greatest use for the Flower Clouds Shuttle was transportation.

He set off once more, and only remembered the location of his destination after some careful thought. After what he encountered in the Thousand Illusions Dreamworld, his memories of the past often became fuzzy.

The Southern Swamp was a dangerous place in the Southern Territory, and even though it was not as deadly as the Northern Territory's Frozen Earth, many Masters still lost their lives there each year. What attracted cultivators to enter the swamp was the abundance of precious treasures and the various hidden cave mansions in its unexplored corners.

Rumour had it that long ago, the Southern Swamp was a place where cultivation flourished in the Southern Territory. Countless Sects and great forces established themselves there and developed into regional overlords. But a cataclysm turned this prosperous region into a swamp, and the Southern Territory's cultivators eventually gave up on this treasure land.

During the disaster, countless Sects were destroyed, and many cave mansions became buried. Cultivators often risked their lives to come here in hopes of discovering ruins of ancient Sects and the inheritances of old Masters, thus allowing them to soar to great heights.

The Southern Swamp also produced many special spirit flowers and exotic herbs which could not be found anywhere else in the entire Star Boundary, any one of them worth an enormous price on the market.

In the face of such benefits, even the dangers could not stop cultivators from exploring the Southern Swamp. A few thousand years ago, the swamp used to be a lively place, but as more and more of its treasures were discovered, it had become far quieter. Still, there were always some cultivators who did not fear death who would come every now and again to explore.

Yang Kai had heard of the Southern Swamp in the past, but this was his first time entering it. He was now a Master who did not need to fear anything though, so even though his Soul was not yet fully recovered, he still wasn't a soft persimmon that just anyone could easily pinch.

It was half a month later when Yang Kai arrived at the Southern Swamp.

Just as the rumours said, he discovered that there were indeed marshes and muddy rivers everywhere, as well as extremely dangerous auras that occasionally lurked beneath them, like predators waiting for their prey to throw themselves into their nets, ready to pounce out at any moment to land the fatal blow. The Southern Swamp was filled with poisonous obstructions, and when viewed from high up in the sky, these obstructions would reflect the sunlight and form a colourful spectacle. But hidden beneath that bright appearance was murderous intent at every step.

The existence of these poisonous obstructions alone had stopped the advance of cultivators below the Dao Source Realm. Only Dao Source Realm and Emperor Realm cultivators could resist the poison and explore the Southern Swamp safely.

Of course, the strength of the poison differed depending on one's location, and some pockets were powerful enough that even Emperor Realm Masters could not resist it easily. Once these toxins infiltrated the body, even an Emperor Realm Master may lose their life.

Yang Kai took out a communication artifact and sent a message to Hua Yu Lu.

A while later, he received a response.

After focusing his mind and searching his surroundings, Yang Kai turned and flew off.

Four hours later, Yang Kai distantly sensed the presence of several auras, one of which belonged to Hua Yu Lu, so he quickly sped up.

The people on that side had clearly also sensed Yang Kai's approach and released their Divine Senses to investigate. In the next moment, they all revealed looks of surprise.

The reason was that they sensed the presence of the Flower Clouds Shuttle.

The Flower Clouds Shuttle was a Flight Type Emperor Artifact, and its value was immeasurable. Such an Emperor Artifact was rare to find even among Emperors. If Yang Kai didn't have Hou Yu refine it for him, then he would not have been able to own such an artifact.

A short while later, the Flower Clouds Shuttle arrived before the crowd, and after a flash of light, Yang Kai's figure was revealed.

Hua Yu Lu looked over at him with a look of joy, but then became stunned.

The reason for that was because she was greeted by an extremely unfamiliar face that did not belong to Yang Kai at all.

But very soon, she realized that Yang Kai was wearing some sort of disguising artifact to change his appearance.

This Camouflage Artifact was something that Yang Kai obtained back in the Solitary Void Sealed World. It wasn't very useful as it was basically impossible to hide the signs of camouflage in front of an Emperor, so any Master could tell that he was wearing a Camouflage Artifact, but it was at least able to hide his weakened appearance.

Without this artifact, Yang Kai wouldn't be able to hide his pale demeanour.

Hua Yu Lu did not dwell on why Yang Kai would do this, but since he wanted to hide his identity, she went along with it as a matter of course.

"Senior Brother Yang!" Hua Yu Lu greeted him.

"Palace Master Hua!" Yang Kai gave her a gentle nod, "I apologize for being late."

Besides Hua Yu Lu, there were four others gathered here. It was quite apparent that everyone had already arrived. Hua Yu Lu said that she discovered the Ancient Cave Mansion with two others, and even though they managed to break through some of the barriers inside, and each of them already had some gains, they were obstructed by the final barrier and unable to advance.

As such, the three of them agreed to seek out one helper each at or below the Second-Order Emperor Realm and, six months later, reunite here to explore the cave mansion again.

The person that Hua Yu Lu found was Xia Sheng, but unfortunately, Xia Sheng had to remain at Spirit Lake Palace and was unable to leave, so he could only ask for Yang Kai's help. Since Xia Sheng asked for his help, Yang Kai couldn't refuse him either. What's more, he was also quite interested in this Ancient Cave Mansion.

That was because Hua Yu Lu got her hands on the Little Flower Drum. Like the Mountains and Rivers Bell, this drum was also an Ancient Exotic Artifact, though it wasn't as powerful.

According to Hua Yu Lu, one of the other two experienced a great rise in their cultivation. Originally, that person was the weakest among them, but when they left, he had the strongest aura. Meanwhile, the other person was able to learn a Secret Technique, though Hua Yu Lu had no idea how powerful it was.

Cultivation was not just done behind closed doors, all kinds of experiences and opportunities were necessary parts of growth. Often, these experiences and opportunities would make it easier for one to increase in strength compared to meditative cultivation.

Only, the timing of this trip to explore the Ancient Cave Mansion was a little unfortunate. Yang Kai had just gone through an intense experience in the Thousand Illusions Dreamworld and was in need of rest, but since he had already made an agreement with someone else, he could only grit his teeth and trudge on.

Yang Kai made up his mind that he would focus on safety this time. As long as he could bring Hua Yu Lu back in one piece, then he would not have failed Xia Sheng's trust.