Martial Peak
chapter-4248

Chapter 4248 – No Turning Back

Just like when they set foot on the first island, three round platforms that were covered by a light barrier immediately appeared in front of the two of them out of nowhere. Three Monster Cores lay quietly on the round platforms. After their previous experience, how could they not know that this was their reward for reaching the second island?

Qu Hua Shang was still comparing the three Monster Cores, feeling hesitant and uncertain about which Monster Core to pick. On the other hand, Yang Kai had already stretched out his hand to the round platform in the middle. There was nothing to compare. He could not tell which Monster Core was better, so he simply decided to leave it up to luck.

He easily passed through the light barrier sealing the Monster Core, took out the Monster Core in the round platform, and glanced at the Monster Core. It was a Fifth-Order Wood Element!

Turning to look at Qu Hua Shang, he saw that she had made her decision and took out a Monster Core. The power fluctuation coming from the Monster Core indicated that it was also in the Fifth-Order, but it was a Fire Element Monster Core.

The reward from the first island were Monster Cores ranging from the Third-Order to the Fifth-Order. Third-Order and Fourth-Order Monster Cores were common, while Fifth-Order Monster Cores were very rare. Upon arriving on the second island, both of them had obtained a Fifth-Order Monster Core each. The reward had clearly increased by a whole Order.

[Based on this conjecture, won’t the reward for the next island be in the Sixth-Order? In that case, there will definitely be Seventh-Order Monster Cores in the palace in the middle of the lake!] Yang Kai’s heart blazed with flames of excitement. He was becoming more and more determined to check out the palace in the middle of the lake. Although he could ignore Blood Monster Divine Monarch’s Dao of Blood inheritance, he could not let the opportunity slip him by when there was a high possibility that the resources he needed were in that place.

Closely following behind them, a steady stream of people was beginning to arrive on the second island. When they received their rewards, Yang Kai secretly paid attention to them. He discovered that only those with terrible luck would receive Fourth-Order Monster Cores. Most of them received Fifth-Order Monster Cores, but nobody received any Sixth-Order Monster Cores.

After getting a taste of sweet rewards, the cultivators that arrived on the island became more and more motivated. They quickly found a place to sit down and began to comprehend the Blood Light Scripture on the stele. The stele by the shore had contained the Blood Light Scripture’s first chapter and the one on the first island had contained the second chapter. Hence, the second island probably contained the third chapter.

Yang Kai and Qu Hua Shang each found a spot to sit down. They immersed their minds in the stele and discovered that it really contained the third chapter; thus, they concentrated on their cultivation.

Compared to the first two chapters, the third chapter was much more profound and mysterious. Be that as it may, the aptitudes of the cultivators who could reach the second island would not be poor. It should not be a problem for them to comprehend the mysteries of this Secret Art. The hard part was circulating and maintaining the Blood Light Scripture.

Yang Kai had failed to notice anything when he was learning this Secret Art earlier, and it was not until he reached the second island that he suddenly realised something. Those with more robust vitality had a greater advantage among those who cultivated the Blood Light Scripture. It was not hard to understand why. The Blood Light Scripture was a Secret Art related to the Dao of Blood, so it would naturally require a strong and robust vitality, and thus a strong Blood Qi.

After noticing this point, Yang Kai failed to stifle his laughter. He previously assumed that the Great Thousand Blood Land disciple would have a larger advantage when comprehending the Blood Light Scripture due to his foundation in the Dao of Blood; however, it would now seem that he had the greatest blessing of them all!

Due to the Dragon Source in his body, nearly pure Dragon Blood flowed through his veins. He could transform into a 3,000-metre-tall Half-Dragon Form when he used his Dragon Transformation Secret Art. In a contest of the most robust Blood Qi, there was nobody among his peers who could compare with him. Even the Great Thousand Blood Land disciple who took the lead could only look up at him from behind.

All of a sudden, realisation struck Yang Kai. Back on the first island, he and Qu Hua Shang had started comprehending the Blood Light Scripture at the same time; however, he finished comprehending the Secret Art much earlier than her.

As one of Yin-Yang Cave Heaven’s Core Disciples, it was a given that Qu Hua Shang’s aptitude and comprehension abilities were among the best of the best in the entire 3,000 Worlds; otherwise, she would not have the success she enjoyed right now. Even so, the reality was that he was much faster than her when it came to comprehending the Blood Light Scripture.

He had not given much thought to this matter before, but it would now seem that it was not because his aptitude and comprehension abilities were much better than hers. Rather, it was the abundant vitality in his body that gave him a natural advantage in comprehending the Blood Light Scripture.

It was not just Qu Hua Shang. The same went for Pei Wen Xuan from Myriad Demons Heaven. His speed of progress was similar to hers. Although he was slightly slower than her, it was by no more than a cup of tea worth of time. He also departed not long after they departed from the first island. Similarly, he also arrived on the second island not long after they arrived.

Just as Yang Kai’s thoughts were wandering, he suddenly felt an unusual power fluctuation coming from the side. He hurriedly jerked his eyes open and looked in the direction. Not far away, steam was coming out of a cultivator’s head as though he was a cooked bun that just came out of the oven. His exposed skin was blood-red and the veins in his neck throbbed wildly. It was a truly horrifying sight. That in itself was bad enough; unfortunately, the main point was that a dense blood mist was oozing out of the pores on his skin. He was completely enveloped in a blood-red mist in the blink of an eye.

“He’s experiencing cultivation dissonance!” Somebody exclaimed in horror, quickly standing up and distancing himself from that person.

Yang Kai’s expression stiffened. He knew that the person who spoke was correct. This cultivator was experiencing dissonance in his cultivation while cultivating the Blood Light Scripture. Things would end disastrously for that cultivator if he did not figure out a way to resolve this crisis. But, who could afford to take care of others at this time?

It happened right in front of everybody, and in less than three breaths, a cry of agony rang out from within the dense blood mist. The blood mist exploded to reveal that cultivator’s miserable figure.

“Save… Save me!” That cultivator reached out a hand and begged for help. His complexion was haggard and his body had become incredibly thin. Those words had only just left his mouth when blood lines spurted out of his body like tens of thousands of fine red strands. The blood shot out in all directions. Immediately after that, his head drooped and all the aura in his body disappeared.

Everybody on the island stared at the sight in horror. After this person suffered from cultivation dissonance, all the essence in his body swiftly dissipated and he became a corpse that was nothing more than a skeleton wrapped in dry skin. It went to show how horrifying the Grand Evolution Immortal Blood Light Scripture was. This was the first time somebody experienced cultivation dissonance while cultivating the Blood Light Scripture; moreover, most had never seen such a miserable and tragic way of dying before. Thus, they couldn’t help feeling worried.

“Ah!” Another miserable cry rang out.

Everybody turned to look in the direction of the sound. There was another person experiencing dissonance in his cultivation. All the Blood Qi in his body gushed out. His plump body quickly dried out and withered away. The essence of his body turned into a blood mist that covered him completely. A moment later, the blood mist exploded. Countless blood spouts shot out of his pores and turned him into a mummified corpse.

In just a short span of time, two people had suffered from cultivation dissonance and lost their lives as a result. It deeply drove home the realization that the Blood Light Scripture was not something that could be cultivated by just anybody, and the slightest negligence would result in death.

Nobody had suffered from cultivation dissonance back at the lakeshore or on the first island. That was because they had not cultivated critical parts of the Secret Art yet. It was not until the second island that the power of the Blood Light Scripture began to show.

Some of the cultivators scowled fiercely and the thought of withdrawing came to mind. The two who died might not be well-known, but since they could reach this point, it went to show that they were undoubtedly elite disciples of some powerful great force out there. Even a person like that had suffered such a terrible fate. If the others continued to comprehend the Secret Art, there was no saying who would follow in their footsteps.

“I’m not doing this anymore.” Somebody decided that he could not withstand the pressure. He knew the extent of his own aptitude and comprehension abilities. Things would not end well for him if he continued to comprehend this Secret Art so he shouted, “Screw the Dao of Blood inheritance! I don’t need it!”

Up to this point, he had received two rewards for managing to arrive on the second island. It was not as if he was leaving empty-handed if he turned back at this point. Besides, staying here would only take up more time. He might as well use this time to explore other places. Who could say whether he might obtain even better gains than staying here? Thus, he moved decisively. He went back along the way he came while speaking. Activating the Blood Light Scripture, he used the blood mist to protect his body as he headed towards the first island.

Contrary to expectations though, he had only just stepped onto the blood lake when the blood mist enveloping his body suddenly seemed to be drawn by something else and was immediately absorbed by the blood lake. There was no way for him to defend against the pulling force of the blood lake without the blood mist protecting him, so he sank into the lake before he even realised what was going on and without the slightest splash.

Everybody was dumbfounded! That person had arrived on the second island safely, which went to show that he was a rather capable individual. He had already comprehended the mysteries of the Blood Light Scripture’s second chapter. Nevertheless, he met his death on the way back; it came out of nowhere and seemingly for no reason.

More importantly, everybody clearly noticed that the blood mist did not disappear on its own. It had been absorbed by the blood lake. They did not encounter this phenomenon when they were coming here. It was almost as if the blood lake did not allow him to turn back.

“Blood Monster Divine Monarch was not a benevolent man. How could he allow you to come and go as you please at the place where he prepared his inheritance?” A cold sneer rang out. It came from Pei Wen Xuan of Myriad Demons Heaven.

Somebody politely cupped his fists, “Senior Brother, are you saying that… those who turn back will die?”

Pei Wen Xuan coldly snorted, “I didn’t say that, but anybody who wishes to return can go ahead and try. Even I would like to know for sure whether only death awaits us if we try to turn back. Who can satisfy my curiosity? I can thank him for his efforts.”

[Thanks!? What good will that do!? We may even lose our lives in the process!] With the previous example right in front of them, who would dare to make an attempt lightly? Although there was no way to confirm the truth, what Pei Wen Xuan mentioned was not without reason. This place was where Blood Monster Divine Monarch’s Dao of Blood inheritance was located. It was impossible for people to come and go as they pleased.

A woman turned pale as she asked, “Does that mean we can only keep moving forward?”

If she had known that the path would be so dangerous, she would not have waded into these muddy waters. She initially planned to leave after obtaining enough benefits from this place, but it would seem that she no longer had the option of leaving even if she wanted to.

Looking at the current situation, it would seem that the rewards on the island were simply bait. The rewards were used to incite countless cultivators to penetrate deeper into the blood lake and force them to proceed forward in order to check out the palace in the middle of the lake.

Yang Kai’s expression was gloomy. He had also been lured into this place by the rewards; however, what attracted him was not the Dao of Blood inheritance but the Monster Cores provided as rewards.

“You can also choose to remain here!” Pei Wen Xuan grinned meaningfully. Without saying anything else, he continued to comprehend the Blood Light Scripture.

Everybody knew that what he said was unreasonable. Choosing to remain here was a dead-end option; they would be trapped here until they died. They couldn’t just stay here for the rest of their lives, right? At the very least, they might have a chance of survival if they continued to press forward. It could be said that their retreat was cut off the moment they set foot on the first island. The crisis of life and death gave them no choice but to continue.

What was obvious now was that Blood Monster Divine Monarch was an extremely insidious man. It was not difficult to reach the first island, so 80% of the cultivators present could succeed, which allowed them to obtain a reward with little effort. For that reason, everybody racked their brains to arrive on the island and fell into this trap as a result.