Martial Peak

Others only thought Yang Kai was eager to burn his money and had decided to buy this strange item to add to his collection, but Wu Yi and Yang Yan knew Yang Kai had not acted for such a shallow reason, because while waiting for the Treasure Trove Pavilion disciple to send the stone over, Yang Kai’s expression was clearly quite excited but also somewhat uncertain.

After a moment, a woman from Treasure Trove Pavilion brought the strange stone to private room C-13 and Yang Kai handed over the hundred and fifty thousand Saint Crystals.  Happily playing with the strange stone for a while, Yang Kai soon threw it into his Space Ring.

Yang Yan walked over and asked softly, “Do you know what that thing is?”

“I don’t,” Yang Kai shook his head.

“You don’t know what it is but you still bought it?”  Yang Yan was struck speechless and rolled her eyes.

“I don’t know what it is, but I know it’s useful to me,” Yang Kai said defiantly.  If he didn’t know it would be useful to him, how could he have spent a hundred and fifty thousand High-Rank Saint Crystals to buy it?  Even if that much money wasn’t much compared to his current worth, it wasn’t an amount he would simply waste either.

“It’s useful to you?”  Yang Yan frowned, leaning in further as she whispered, “Do you have some kind of Exotic Insects?”

“Exotic Insects?”  Yang Kai looked at her in confusion, his brow slowly rising as he asked, “Do you know what this stone is for?”

Yang Yan nodded.

This time it was Yang Kai’s turn to be amazed. Even the Grandmaster appraisers of Treasure Trove Pavilion didn’t know what this strange stone was, nor did any of the powerful masters in the auction hall, yet the seemingly incredibly young Yang Yan actually knew what it was.

On top of that, she was also an Origin Grade Artifact Refiner and a powerful Array Master.  This little girl was one big mystery.

Yang Kai had long suspected that Yang Yan had an incredible story behind her, but now it seemed it really was so.

“What is that stone?”  Yang Kai whispered while Wu Yi also leaned in to hear.

“A Profound Insect Stone!”  Yang Yan said confidently, “It has no effect on human cultivators and can only be used to cultivate some Exotic Insects.  It’s quite rare and contains a strange type of energy that is useless for Artefact Refining and cannot be absorbed by cultivators, but once Exotic Insects settle on it, they can grow rapidly, that’s why I asked if you have Exotic Insects.”

Hearing this explanation, Yang Kai suddenly understood why then Soul Devouring Insects that were living on the six coloured island floating in his Knowledge Sea suddenly became excited when this stone appeared.

The Soul Devouring Insects were Exotic Ancient Insects, which were naturally a type of Exotic Insects.  These Soul Devouring Insects were originally obtained by Yang Kai on Tong Xuan Realm and had been living on his Six Coloured Soul Warming Lotus ever since.

When he first acquired them, they weren’t very strong, only effective on cultivators below the Saint Realm, but if a cultivator at or below the Transcendent Realm had their Knowledge Sea infested with them, they would instantly die.

After a number of mutations and many years living on the Six Coloured Soul Warming Lotus though, Yang Kai’s Soul Devouring Insects had become much stronger, but they were still only able to cause harm to Saint Realm cultivators.  Saint Kings would easily be able to destroy them and with the growth of Yang Kai’s strength, these Soul Devouring Insects had gradually lost their usefulness.

Yang Kai, however, didn’t abandon them and simply allowed them to multiply and develop by themselves.

If it weren’t for the appearance of this Profound Insect Stone today, and the Soul Devouring Insects’ vivid response to it, Yang Kai might have even forgotten about their existence entirely.

It was because of the excitement of the Soul Devouring Insects that Yang Kai had not hesitated to buy this Profound Insect Stone.

Now listening to Yang Yan’s explanation, Yang Kai immediately knew that he had bought a real treasure.  Those hundred and fifty thousand Saint Crystals had not been spent in vain. If this Profound Insect Stone could allow his Soul Devouring Insects to evolve to the point where they could cause harm to Saint Kings or even Origin Realm masters, it would be a huge boost to his strength.

“What Exotic Insects do you have?” Yang Yan asked curiously.

“I’ll tell you after we return home,” Yang Kai smiled mysteriously.

Yang Yan looked at him strangely but didn’t press the issue.

“Look at that pair of twin daggers are up for auction!”  Wu Yi suddenly called out in excitement. She knew that she couldn’t reveal that these daggers were refined by Yang Yan, so she could only speak in a roundabout manner.

Yang Kai and Yang Yan both turned to look at the auction platform where they saw the twin daggers being brought out alongside a number of other Origin Grade artifacts.

A process of twelve women dressed in fine robes each holding a jade plate walked out onto the high stage.  Atop each jade plate was an Origin Grade Low-Rank artefact, all of them emitting a brilliant halo and rich aura that attracted everyone’s attention.

The beautiful female auctioneer smiled and said, “Everyone should know what is going to be auctioned this round.  Yes, these are exactly twelve Original Grade Low-Rank artefacts. I think everyone here also knows that it won’t be long until the Flowing Flame Sand Field, one of Shadowed Star’s Three Great Forbidden Zones, opens.  This is a great opportunity that can only be encountered once ever few hundred years. To enter the Flowing Flame Sand Field, one must have sufficient strength, but also excellent equipment. These twelve Original Grade Low-Rank artefacts were specially prepared by my Treasure Trove Pavilion for the upcoming opening of the Flowing Flame Sand Field and can add some life-saving strength to those who will be treasure hunting.  There are not many Origin Grade artefacts on Shadowed Star, so my Treasure Trove Pavilion had to exert great effort to collect these twelve artefacts, even suffering many casualties and injuries amongst our disciples…”

While the beautiful woman continued her high spirited introduction, Yang Kai frowned and turned to ask Wu Yi, “What are these Three Great Forbidden Zones?”

Wu Yi smiled, “You haven’t been on Shadowed Star for long, so it’s only natural to not have heard of them.  The Three Great Forbidden Zones are famous ominous places on Shadowed Star, everyone’s face will pale when thinking about them.  The first of these zones is as she said, the Flowing Flame Sand Field. No one knows how vast it truly is, but it is a place that is perennially covered in blazing heat.  Even the outermost region’s heat cannot be resisted by us cultivators. Once, an Origin Returning Realm master, relying on his great strength, tried to dive into the Flowing Flame Sand Field to treasure hunt, but even though his cultivation was truly high and he had made ample preparations, the moment he entered the Flowing Flame Sand Field, his body was incinerated and even his artefacts were melted away.”

“Seriously?” Yang Kai was startled.

“Yes, and that was just the heat in the outermost outskirts.  It is said that if one penetrates further inside, even an Origin King master wouldn’t be able to resist the blazing heat.  However, that’s just the rumour, there are no Origin Kings on Shadowed Star so no one knows it’s true or not,” Wu Yi smiled sweetly.

“Then why did that woman say the Flowing Flame Sand Field is about to open?”  Yang Kai frowned. If the Flowing Flame Sand Field really was a place that no one could enter without dying, who would be stupid enough to rush into it?  No one disliked their life being long.

“Because there is a period of time when the heat of the Flowing Flame Sand Field greatly reduces.  This time isn’t fixed and may occur after several dozen years or several hundred years. Once the heat weakens, cultivators can enter it.  From what I saw in the family records, the last time the Flowing Flame Sand Field opened was four hundred years ago; since then, no one has entered it.”

Yang Kai’s eyes brightened. If no one had entered that place for four hundred years, how many good things would have appeared?  No wonder the beautiful auctioneer had said it was a huge opportunity.

Yang Kai knew there were many precious treasures that only grew in extremely hot environments, and the hotter it got, the stronger these treasures would grow.  There may be many such treasures just waiting to be found in the Flowing Flame Sand Field.

However, it wasn’t the precious treasures which most attracted Yang Kai at the moment, but the high temperature itself.  This would be a perfect chance for him to refine the Profound Yin Sunflower Water.

Back on Rainfall Star, Zong Ao once said that if he wanted to refine the Profound Yin Sunflower Water, he first needed to find a place with extremely high heat.

Yang Kai had more than twenty drops of Profound Yin Sunflower Water on him and had collected all the required materials for refining it, so now all he needed was to find a suitable place to do so.  The Flowing Flame Sand Field undoubtedly met his requirements.

As long as he could refine even one drop, Yang Kai’s strength will definitely improve again.

Wu Yi continued, “The second Forbidden Zone is the Emperor Garden, which is said to have been the back garden of the Starry Sky Great Emperor.”

Yang Kai was startled, “The Starry Sky Great Emperor?”

“En, that legendary Senior!  It is said that many, many years ago, the entire Heng Luo Star Field was controlled by the Starry Sky Great Emperor.  Unfortunately, for some unknown reason, the Star Emperor one day disappeared and no one knows where he went.”

Yang Kai heart pounded.  He had heard rumors about the Star Emperor going back as far as the floating continent.  At that time, he hadn’t cared too much though as he thought this so-called Star Emperor was just a myth.  But now, it seemed that this person may really have existed at one point, because even on a remote, isolated Cultivation Star like Shadowed Star, he was still a legendary figure.  Such a widely known character couldn’t be just an empty rumour.”

The Star Emperor that ruled the entire Star Field, just how powerful would he have had to be?

Both forget about the Star Emperor, Yang Kai had yet to even meet a true Star Master.  All Yang Kai knew was that in order to become a Star Master, one had to at least reach the Origin King Realm, after which they needed to take a great risk to refine a Star Source.  If they failed though, that Origin King Realm master would die.

“The Flowing Flame Sand Field has always existed, but no one can enter it at will.  The Emperor Garden, on the other hand, is nowhere to be found. No one knows where it is, and only occasionally, for a fleeting moment, can some people enter it, but no one can return alive.  Only at certain special times will the Emperor Garden stabilize and become a massive opportunity!”

Yang Kai heard this with some excitement.  The back garden of the Star Emperor, anyone who heard of such a place would be able to imagine just how many priceless treasures it held.

“The third Forbidden Zone is Shadowed Soul Island, which is out at sea and also extremely dangerous.  If the Flowing Flame Sand Field has always existed, and the Emperor Garden has occasional appears, then Shadowed Soul Island is really nowhere to be found.  All those who have found it died before they could tell anyone of it,” Wu Yi said in a chilly voice, causing Yang Yan nearby to tremble in fright. Though, this trembling did not mean much because this little girls courage had always been a little too small.

“Since no one as seen it and lived to tell the tale, why is everyone sure this Shadowed Soul Island even exists?”  Yang Kai frowned, of the Three Great Forbidden Zones, he felt this last one was a little unrealistic.

Wu Yi smiled slightly, “It’s reasonable to say it exists.  Since everyone knows about Shadowed Soul Island, it must exist.”

Yang Kai didn’t try to dwell on the issue. On the other hand, with the Flowing Flame Sand Field about to open, he was actually quite excited.  There was definitely no better place for him to refine the Profound Yin Sunflower Water.

Zong Ao had said that when refining the Profound Yin Sunflower Water, as long as it was within one’s own tolerance range, the higher the temperature of the environment, the better, as the great heat would further stimulate the power of the Profound Yin Sunflower Water.

[I wonder how I can go in when the time is right?]  Yang Kai thought to himself.