Martial Peak

Translator: Silavin & PewPewLaserGun

Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain

Because of the preciousness of Fire Crystal Stones, many of the disciples sent into the Flowing Flame Sand Field by the various great forces would specifically hut Fire Spirit Beasts. Some other cultivators from small families and small forces also entered with similar thoughts, planning to reap great profits from selling Fire Crystal Stones. This kind of treasure was only available inside the Flowing Flame Sand Field and was greatly sought after by Alchemists and Artifact Refiners alike.

“If Brother Yang comes across a fully manifested Fire Spirit Beast, don’t fight against it. A completely solid Fire Spirit Beast is almost equivalent to a Ninth-Order Monster Beast, not something easy to handle,” Wei Gu Chang warned seriously.

Ninth-Order Monster Beasts were equivalent to human race Origin Returning Realm masters, Saint King naturally wouldn’t be their opponent and one accident may result in being killed.

After saying so though, Wei Gu Chang grinned and said, “But that kind of Fire Spirit Beast is incredibly rare, basically impossible to encounter.”

(Silavin: Seriously? A flag here?)

Yang Kai gently nodded and asked, “I understand about Fire Spirit Beasts now, but what was that Flowing Flame Flying Fire you mentioned?”

Wei Gu Chang’s expression immediately became serious again as he solemnly said, “Flowing Flame Flying Fires are far more dangerous than Fire Spirit Beasts. Fortunately, there are very few of them compared to the number of Fire Spirit Beast. Flowing Flame Flying Fires are extremely rare, and most people who enter the Flowing Flame Sand Field will never even encounter one and those who do, normally just catch a glimpse of one from a distance. But Brother Yang should not underestimate Flowing Flame Flying Fires. This strange thing is extremely fast, even faster than the speed one can spread their Divine Sense, making it extremely difficult to detect. It’s even possible for one to fly past you and you do not even notice it.”

Yang Kai couldn’t help wearing a stern expression upon hear this. Something that could move faster than one could spread their Divine Sense was worthy of attention.

“The danger isn’t just related to its incredible speed though, but rather the damage it can do! If one isn’t prepared or their strength is insufficient, once they are hit by a Flowing Flame Flying Fire their Soul will be immediately incinerated. Elder Qian told me that every time the Flowing Flame Sand Field opens, some unlucky fellows are killed by Flowing Flame Flying Fires.”

“Isn’t that simply an unavoidable disaster?” Yang Kai asked in surprise.

Wei Gu Chang laughed, “Brother Yang is right, it’s truly a misfortune impossible to guard against, but those who dare to enter the Flowing Flame Sand Field all must be psychologically prepared to bear a certain amount of risk, so if one is hit by a Flowing Flame Flying Fire and dies, they can only blame themselves.”

Suddenly, Dong Xuan’er pursed her lips and laughed, “Senior Brother, you’ve only been talking about the dangers of the Flowing Flame Flying Fire, but you’ve yet to tell Senior Brother Yang about its benefits.”

Yang Kai glanced at her in surprise, wondering what kind of benefits this Flowing Flame Flying Fire could possibly have.

Wei Gu Chang laughed and nodded, “I was just about to explain that part. Flowing Flame Flying Fires are truly frightening existences, but they are also extremely precious treasures. Brother Yang should know that some people possess Spiritual Energy with different attributes, yes?”

“Brother Wei means, cultivators with Mutated Knowledge Seas?” Yang Kai expression changed.

“Precisely. Some cultivators possess special Knowledge Seas that are filled with peculiar properties, such as the Conflagrated Knowledge Sea, the Toxic Knowledge Sea, and Frost Knowledge Sea. These Mutated Knowledge Seas differ greatly from the Knowledge Seas of ordinary cultivators and every one of them grants its possessor extraordinary powers. Needless to say, the Conflagrated Knowledge Sea is the most sought after Mutated Knowledge Sea for Alchemist and Artifact Refiners while Frost and Toxic Knowledge Seas are able to unleash incredibly potent Divine Sense attacks. Of course, Mutated Knowledge Seas are extremely rare. Some people innately posses them while others are able to acquire them by cultivating specific Secret Arts. Such Secret Arts are incredibly rare though, even my Shadow Moon Hall does not possess such a Secret Art. There are also some who are able to obtain a Mutated Knowledge Sea through some kind of fortuitous encounter.”

Yang Kai understood this point well as his own Conflagrated Knowledge Sea was obtained by accident. At that time, he had simply wanted to refine the Jade True Spirit which had been born inside a large piece of Yang Crystal Jade to enhance his strength, but through a series of coincidences he wound up with a Mutated Knowledge Sea.

Yang Kai was more aware of the wonders of a Conflagrated Knowledge Sea than anyone.

“The Flowing Flame Flying Fire is considered a precious treasure because by refining it there is a chance one can obtain a Mutated Knowledge Sea, specifically a Conflagrated Knowledge Sea,” Wei Gu Chang eyes lit up, “Brother Yang, you should know that all Alchemists and Artifact Refiners dream about obtaining a Conflagrated Knowledge Sea, so if you can capture a Flowing Flame Flying Fire, those Artifact Refiners and Alchemists would be willing to pay any price to obtain it,” Saying so, Wei Gu Chang observed Yang Kai stealthily.

Because of Qian Tong, Wei Gu Chang believed there was an Origin Grade Artifact Refiner behind Yang Kai. Since his master was a Grandmaster Artifact Refiner, there was no reason for him to not desire a Flowing Flame Flying Fire and as a disciple, Yang Kai should naturally be thinking about obtaining one to present to his master.

To his disappointment though, Yang Kai’s expression remained unchanged, as if he didn’t care about this in the slightest.

Wei Gu Chang quickly added, “Of course, trying to obtain a Mutated Knowledge Sea is not without risks. It is very likely that before one’s Knowledge Sea can mutate it will instead be burnt to ash by the Flowing Flame Flying Fire. In any case, Brother Yang should simply keep this information in the back of his head, it’s essentially impossible to encounter a Flowing Flame Flying Fire in the first place, but if you do, avoiding it should be your first priority.”

Yang Kai nodded, his face showing nothing but calm, but actually thinking to himself that if he encountered one of these things, he should try to snatch it.

A Flowing Flame Flying Fire could allow an ordinary cultivator’s Knowledge Sea to mutate into a Conflagrated Knowledge Sea but might also incinerate their Soul; however, since he already had a Conflagrated Knowledge Sea, Yang Kai probably didn’t need to worry about such negative possibilities.

“That about covers the essential information about the Flame Area. In addition to resisting the heat, one only needs to pay attention to the Fire Spirit Beasts and Flowing Flame Flying Fires. Also, the heat at the very perimeter of the Flame Area is not the same as the deeper regions. As one walks further, the heat grows more intense and more difficult to resist. However, if one can pass through the outermost Flame Area and enter the second layer, they’ll arrive at a true paradise.”

“Why do you say that?” Yang Kai suddenly became interested.

“Because the second layer is a Treasure Area, devoid of the blistering heat of the Flame Area and instead filled with precious treasures and Monster Beasts. After entering second layer, as long as one can protecting themselves from other cultivators and the few powerful Monster Beasts, they will be able to obtain a rich harvest!”

Yang Kai’s eyes lit up, “There’s also such an area?”

“Of course, otherwise the Flowing Flame Sand Field would not have such great appeal. Although there are some types of treasures which can only be found in high-temperature regions, there aren’t many of them. Without the Treasure Area, the appeal of the Flowing Flame Sand Field would be reduced by at least half,” Wei Gu Chang looked at Yang Kai with a smile, very satisfied with Yang Kai’s excited expression.

“We Senior Brother and Junior Sister pair are aiming for the Treasure Area this time, there are others from the Sect who are tasked with hunting Fire Spirit Beasts this time so there’s no need for us to spend time on that.”

Wei Gu Chang and Dong Xuan’er had extremely high status in Shadow Moon Hall, so they naturally would not be assigned these mundane hunting and killing tasks. While their Junior Brothers and Junior Sisters took care of that, the two of them were responsible for obtaining as much as possible from the Treasure Area.

This was the case not only in Shadow Moon Hall, but also among the other great forces. Disciples from these Sects would split up with more than half assigned to hunt Fire Spirit Beasts in the Flame Area for Flame Crystal Stones while the elites would head for the Treasure Area to look for precious treasures and search for their own opportunities.

“So the Flowing Flame Sand Field is divided into two layers?” Yang Kai was surprised by this news.

“More than two actually,” Wei Gu Chang shook his head, “If one continued deeper into the Treasure Area, they will come across a second Flame Area. The second Flame Area is far more dangerous than the outermost Flame Area though and Elder Qian has strictly prohibited us from entering it.”

“Since there is a second Flame Area, is there a second Treasure Area?” Yang Kai expression changed.

“That’s not clear as no one from my Shadow Moon Hall has ever made it through the second Flame Area, many elite disciple have tried but all of them died; even other great forces like Heaven Battling Union, Thunder Typhoon Sect, and Star Emperor Sect probably don’t know what the situation inside is like.”

“So that means everyone is concentrated in the two outermost layers?”

“You could say that, but Brother Yang does not need to worry, that damned place is enormous and without using some special communication methods, it’s even possible to not encounter anyone the half a year period.”

“Why half a year?”

“Right, I forgot to tell Brother Yang that each time the Flowing Flame Sand Field will only open for half a year. Once the half-year deadline is reached, everyone will be sent out, no one can stay inside any longer. In addition, it’s impossible to use Star Shuttles or even fly inside. If we want to move around, we have to depend on our respective movement skills to increase our speed, this is actually the most frustrating point,” Wei Gu Chang shook his head and said, looking slightly dissatisfied.

If it weren’t for the inexplicable power which made it impossible to fly, those who entered the Flowing Flame Sand Field would be able to reap many more times the benefits.

Hearing this though, Yang Kai was secretly pleased.

He didn’t know about what methods others had to boost their speed, but he actually had his Wind and Thunder Wings. Although the Wind and Thunder Wings were mainly used for flying, they would dramatically increase his speed even if he was simply running.

The only question now was whether he would be able to use his Wind and Thunder Wings inside. It wasn’t a flight type artefact so its use shouldn’t be restricted, but Yang Kai would have to wait until he entered to test them out.

“Also, Brother Yang should know that although we will enter the Flowing Flame Sand Field from the same entrance, the place we will be sent to is somewhat random, which is why each of us must bring a special communication artefact if we wish to find one another inside.”

When Wei Gu Chang said these words, Dong Xuan’er immediately took out a communication artefact from her Space Ring and handed it to Yang Kai.

Communication artefacts were refined in sets and generally speaking, there would only be seven or eight such artefacts in a set. Of course, there was no upper limit, but why would any Artifact Refiner go through the trouble of making so many copies?

Each communication artefact could only pass messages to another communication artefact of the same set, so there was no need to worry about an outsider secretly eavesdropping on one’s communications.

Qian Tong had given Yang Kai a communication artefact last time, but that was only useful for sending messages between the two of them. The one Dong Xuan’er had just handed him was different. Yang Kai also had a communication artefact he could use to contact Wu Yi and Yang Yan. There were several such artefacts in Yang Kai’s Space Ring.

Although Yang Kai had no intention to act together with Wei Gu Chang and the others, he still accepted the communication artefact and stuffed it into his Space Ring.

“Junior Sister, did I miss anything?” Wei Gu Chang asked Dong Xuan’er, worried he might have overlooked something that would cause Yang Kai to run into danger inside.

“I don’t believe so,” Dong Xuan’er shook her head lightly.

“Then that’s that for now. If Brother Yang thinks up anything else to ask, don’t hesitate to,” Wei Gu Chang smiled.

“Of course.”