Martial Peak
chapter-2799

Chapter 2799, Ah Niu

It was as difficult as ascending to the Heavens for ordinary people to find a Sealed World. Most cultivators would never receive an opportunity to enter a Sealed World to hunt for treasures throughout their entire lives; however, countless Sealed Worlds were waiting to be explored in Star Soul Palace.

[Do all the Great Emperor Sects have such terrifying foundations?]

Lan Xun smiled slightly and asked, “Senior Brother Yang, do you still remember the Golden Armor Heavenly Book?”

He burst out laughing, “Of course! I haven’t gone senile yet.”

She had only taken that artifact away from him a few months ago, so how could he have forgotten already? It was also because Lan Xuan had taken the Golden Armor Heavenly Book back that Yang Kai had received the opportunity to enter the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda this time.

[Even so, for her to bring up the Golden Armor Heavenly Book at this time… She obviously did not mention it for no reason. Rather…] Yang Kai’s expression changed as he asked, “Could the Golden Armor Heavenly Book be related to the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda?”

Lan Xun nodded, “That’s right. Martial Uncle Tan… En, Tan Jun Hao brought the Golden Armor Heavenly Book out from a Sealed World in the fifth layer of the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda. Not only was it a powerful Emperor Rank Artifact, but it is also the key to unlocking that particular Sealed World for us to enter!”

Yang Kai was astonished by those words and asked, “In other words, that Sealed World was originally located in the fifth layer of the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda; but now, the disciples of Star Soul Palace do not need to pass through the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda to enter that Sealed World to cultivate because Tan Jun Hao brought out the Golden Armor Heavenly Book which was its key?”

“Exactly!” Lan Xun nodded in affirmation, “That Sealed World was originally located in the fifth layer of the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda. Under normal circumstances, one would have to pass through the fourth layer to enter it, and doing so was a matter of pure luck; however, our disciples can now enter that Sealed World freely ever since Tan Jun Hao brought out the Golden Armor Heavenly Book.”

“Tan Jun Hao certainly had great luck!” He clicked his tongue in wonder.

To which Lan Xun smiled faintly, “According to Father’s speculation, there are probably many Sealed Worlds in the fifth layer that have their own keys, just like that Sealed World! As long as we can obtain those keys, we can open the entrances of those Sealed Worlds at any time and in any place to allow our disciples to enter for cultivation.”

Taken aback, Yang Kai exclaimed in astonishment, “I can’t believe something like that is possible!”

All of a sudden, Xiao Chen’s expression changed as he quietly spoke next to Lan Xun, “Your Highness, you have divulged too much.”

This matter was one of Star Soul Palace’s secrets. Although it was not a core secret, it was still something that shouldn’t be disclosed to others so casually. Fortunately, nobody could criticize her for her words because of her status.

Lan Xun shook her head in response, “It’s fine. It’s not like a key can be found so easily anyway. Star Soul Palace has been searching for them for so many years, but we have only found one in all that time.”

Yang Kai seriously pondered those words for a while before cupping his fists and saying, “Many thanks for enlightening me.”

Pursing her lips, Lan Xun smilingly said, “Having said so much, a lot of time has passed. Senior Brother Yang, let’s advance to the fifth layer.”

He nodded, “En. Please go ahead, Junior Sister Lan!”

All of a sudden, her expression turned solemn as she warned, “There’s one more thing you need to know, Senior Brother Yang. Anything can happen in the Sealed Worlds found in the fifth layer, so please be very careful. Don’t be shaken nor influenced by external factors!”

“I understand,” Yang Kai nodded.

While they were speaking, the three of them had arrived at the end of the corridor. Yang Kai glanced forward and saw a rotating vortex that seemed mysterious and unpredictable. Moreover, a strange aura that gave off an uncomfortable vibe oozed out from it.

“Senior Brother Yang, I’ll be going first. Take care and let us meet again outside.” Lan Xun leapt forward after saying that to Yang Kai, jumping into the vortex and vanishing from sight.

Xiao Chen stood motionlessly and sighed, seeming to be a little depressed. It had not been easy for him to locate Princess Lan Xun in the fourth layer during their time here and he had wanted to accompany her to the end. But to his surprise, she wanted to enter the fifth layer no matter what, forcing them to be separated again. After shooting a faint glance at Yang Kai, he too jumped into the vortex, seemingly having no interest in making small talk.

Yang Kai was soon the only one left in this place, and as time was running out, he naturally did not hesitate either. Besides, both Lan Xun and Xiao Chen had entered, so it was only natural for him to follow them in.

The moment Yang Kai stepped into the vortex, he immediately pushed his Space Principles to see if he could enter the intermediate space just like in the fourth layer. If he was able to, it would grant him the ability to control what experiences he would have to a certain extent.

Unfortunately, Yang Kai was disappointed this time around. Despite shielding himself with his Space Principles, there was no reaction whatsoever, and when his vision returned, he heard an anxious cry sounding in his ears, “Ah Niu, wake up! Wake up! The Beast Tide is coming! Hurry and wake up! Why are you daydreaming?!”

At the same time, a large hand grabbed his shoulder and shook him vigorously. Yang Kai was shocked as he did not know what was going on at all. His expression darkened in response, and he simultaneously reached out to grab the other person’s large hand.

Contrary to his expectations though, the other party’s reaction was unimaginably swift. Before Yang Kai could touch the other party’s hand, his own wrist was grabbed tightly. An unimaginably violent force came from the other party’s hand, instantly suppressing him. Yang Kai couldn’t move a single muscle, causing his expression to change drastically once more. While feeling shocked by the other party’s strength, he tried to circulate his Emperor Qi to free himself only to discover that nothing happened!

[My body is empty! Not a single shred of Emperor Qi exists inside of me!] In a flash, Yang Kai felt so shocked that his complexion turned deathly pale. He nearly lost his soul due to this unexpected situation.

Before entering the Sealed World of the fifth layer, Yang Kai had been confident he would achieve great things as he had complete faith in his skills. After all, his true strength was not to be underestimated. Numerous Third-Order Emperor Realm Masters had been defeated at his hands already. Furthermore, he had no reason to fear since even Lan Xun, Xiao Chen, and Lei Ting dared to enter the Sealed Worlds of the fifth layer.

Yang Kai believed that his life would not be threatened regardless of what dangers he might face. In the worst-case scenario, he had his Spatial Abilities and could always run away if he couldn’t win. Unfortunately, this unexpected turn of events left him at a loss for what to do.

[Why is my Emperor Qi gone? Am I still an Emperor Realm Master without my Emperor Qi? Doesn’t that make me no different from a cultivator that just started cultivating?! What is going on?!]

Amidst his shock, Lan Xun’s words echoed in his ears, “Anything can happen in the Sealed Worlds found in the fifth layer. Please be very careful, Senior Brother Yang. Don’t be shaken nor influenced by external factors!”

Gathering his thoughts, Yang Kai instantly calmed down. [Don’t panic. Don’t panic! First, I need to figure out what is happening. Perhaps, this Sealed World has its own World Principles that suppress my true strength and that’s why I can’t sense a single shred of Emperor Qi in me. Besides, the owner of the hand grabbing my wrist may be strong, but I don’t sense any hostility or malicious intent from them. They probably don’t mean any harm.]

Yang Kai lifted his head and saw a pair of bloodshot, scarlet eyes right in front of his face. Then, his vision expanded and the image of a face covered in a shaggy beard imprinted itself in his eyes.

It was a young man, one about the same age as Yang Kai. However, his appearance was very rough, and his figure was so burly that he didn’t seem human. Moreover… He really had a different kind of appearance to the humans Yang Kai was familiar with, like he had some kind of special or unique bloodline. This young man was dressed very simply with only animal skins wrapped around his body to cover up his important bits while the rest of his body was left exposed. In addition, he had muscles as firm as metal. One glance was enough to tell that his body contained explosive strength.

Then, Yang Kai glanced down at himself. His arms and legs were thin and slender. The contrast was like night and day compared to the young man in front of him! Having said that, he was still considerably fit even though he was not burly. It was just that the other party was too muscular.

[But… Why did a living person appear? Is this a dream? Or, an illusion created by the Sealed World? It can’t be a dream, yet it’s too realistic to be an illusion.] Yang Kai couldn’t feel any falsities from the bearded young man in front of him. As far as he could tell, this young man was a living, breathing person with actual flesh and bones! Besides, the environment around him was very simple yet completely tangible. They seemed to be inside a shabby log house, which barely had any furnishings inside of it. There was a simple bench made from a tree stump; a wooden table cobbled together from pieces of boards; some pots and pans stacked to the side; several slabs of unknown animal meat hung on the wall, blackened by smoke, some wild vegetables piled in a wooden basket, and some leftovers in a stone bowl…

[What is this place?] Just as Yang Kai was pondering the question, the bearded young man yelled at him, “Have you gone stupid!? I told you that the Beast Tide is here! Did you not hear me?!”

The young man’s voice was filled with anxiety, and the volume was deafening. In response, Yang Kai nodded woodenly, “I heard you!”

“If you heard me then hurry up and help out! The village is short of manpower, and the defences are about to be broken!” While speaking, the bearded young man gripped Yang Kai’s wrist tightly and ran outside with swift steps.

Yang Kai took the opportunity to ask, “Who are you…”

The bearded young man froze in his tracks for a moment and looked back at Yang Kai, the beast-like scarlet eyes causing a chill to run down his back. After a long while, the young man sighed, “Are you being stupid again? I’m Ah Hu!”

The corners of Yang Kai’s mouth twitched slightly as he asked, “Did you say that my name is Ah Niu?”

[Ah Niu?! What the hell?! I’m called Ah Niu?! What is with this damned Sealed World?! Moreover, the other party is called Ah Hu? Can the names get any simpler?]

“I don’t have the time to explain all of this to you. Hurry up and help out! I’ll answer anything you want after the Beast Tide is over!” Ah Hu hurriedly dragged Yang Kai along as he ran.

Not far from the log house, Yang Kai heard shouting and screaming, as well as beastly roars coming from not far away. The sounds resounded through the sky, and even the ground seemed to shake from them.

He glanced about his surroundings, feeling rather astonished. All the people running around the place were like Ah Hu. They were burly and built like iron towers, each of them seemingly incredibly powerful. In addition, some of the women were also tall, strong and incredibly well built.

A robust woman ran by like lightning while carrying a huge boulder spanning a diameter of six metres as if it was as light as a feather. Yang Kai could not sense any Qi fluctuations from her. In other words, she was carrying the stone with the strength of her body alone. There were also some obviously under-aged children that looked no more than ten years old. They were also holding weapons in their hands, and their baby faces were filled with a bitter hatred for their enemy while lacking any kind of fear towards death.

Meanwhile, as Yang Kai was still having trouble believing what he was seeing, everyone was hurrying over towards a certain spot. All of them were wrapped in several pieces of animal skin while not even the simplest clothes could be found here. Lowering his head, Yang Kai saw that he too was dressed in the same fashion! His exposed skin was as white as snow, forming a sharp contrast with Ah Hu’s dark and tanned skin.

[Forget it. Forget it. It’s just a minor detail…] He comforted himself in his heart.