Martial Peak
chapter-4288

Chapter 4288

Chapter 4288 – The Way Out

“What do you want me to do, Senior? This Junior’s cultivation is low and may not be able to help you.” Although Yang Kai felt sorry for what this man had experienced, he did not dare to talk too much. The main reason was his meeting with Black Crow Divine Monarch previously. All these Old Monsters who lived for countless years were not easy to deal with. He could fall into their trap at the slightest negligence.

The Soul replied, “Rest assured. It’s nothing too difficult for you. I just want you to kill me.”

Yang Kai fell silent. He had seen this person suffering a life worse than death due to the Soul Extraction and Refinement, so he was not surprised by the request. Rather than being stuck in this state, it was certainly better to die.

“Little Friend, are you still there?” The Soul asked tentatively when Yang Kai did not answer for a long time.

“I’m still here.” Yang Kai breathed out lightly, “What must I do, Senior?”

The Soul replied, “My Soul has completely integrated with this Soul Flame. As long as the Soul Flame exists, my Soul will not die. If you wish to kill me, you need to extinguish this fire. I’m sure you’ve condensed a Water Element Power, right? You only need to use it.”

Yang Kai nodded, “Please wait a moment, Senior. I will send you off!”

The Soul, who had been tortured and trapped in pain for such a long time, suddenly seemed to calm, “Many thanks, Little Friend.”

Yang Kai did not say anything else. Activating the Water Element Power in his Dao Seal, he reached out his hand towards the Soul Flame.

His Water Element Power was Seventh-Order, condensed from the Moon Essence back in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary. Although it was technically of the Water Element, it leaned more heavily towards the Icy Attribute; thus, a bone-chilling cold aura permeated the air when Yang Kai drew upon it, seemingly holding a hazy ball of moonlight in the palm of his hand...

Among the Five Elements, the Water extinguished Fire. Using the Water Element Power to destroy the Soul Flame was akin to using the right tool for the right situation. If anybody else were to come here, they might not succeed even if they knew the correct method because the Order of this Soul Flame was not low. Fortunately, Yang Kai’s Water Element Power was more than enough to deal with it.

A chill spread out, wrapping around the Soul Flame. In response, the Soul Flame began to shrink at a rate visible to the naked eye.

The Soul was completely integrated with the Soul Flame, so he immediately noticed the changes, his voice calling out in a somewhat conflicted tone, “I’m finally free!”

Yang Kai asked while working, “Senior, do you have any last wishes?”

The Soul, who was sitting cross-legged within the Soul Flame, quietly waiting for death to come, laughed when he heard the question, “I don’t even remember who I am anymore. How can I still have any last wishes... Oh, that’s right! I think I used to have a Sect. What was the Sect called...” After pondering for some time, he could not remember anything; thus, he could only sigh in resignation, “Forget it. So many years have passed. I’m sure the Sect is gone by now. There’s nothing for me to worry about.”

In that short time, Yang Kai had worn the Soul Flame down with his Water Element Power until it became extremely dim. Even the Soul inside became hazy and indistinct, almost as though he was about to be completely extinguished.

Another short while passed. Be it the Soul Flame or the Soul integrated with the Soul Flame, only a faint shadow of them remained. With a crisp sound coming from the depths of the Soul, the Soul Flame disintegrated and the Soul was extinguished. The last vestiges of the Soul’s voice entered Yang Kai’s ears, “This place is the Nothingness Array set up by that Old Dog. It operates on the principle of the Five Elements mutually reinforcing each other. If you want to find the exit, you must first reverse the flow. Perhaps, you might still have a chance to survive!”

Looking at the spot where the Soul and the Soul Flame had vanished, Yang Kai couldn’t help sighing in regret. He was certain that this Soul was not inferior to Black Crow Divine Monarch. [I wonder what he did to offend Blood Monster Divine Monarch so terribly that he was subjected to the Soul Extraction and Refinement torture, unable to die even after being tormented for so many years.]

It could be seen that Blood Monster Divine Monarch was by no means a kind man. How could such a cruel and ruthless person be so kind as to leave his inheritance behind for others? Without Black Crow Divine Monarch, the Blood Monster Divine Palace would never have been found, much less opened.

Nevertheless, the words that Soul left behind before his death had given Yang Kai great inspiration. He probably wanted to reciprocate the favour. Since Yang Kai gave him eternal relief, he wanted to return the kindness in full.

It truly was as the saying went, ‘When one door closed, a window would open’.

Yang Kai immediately sat down cross-legged. [The Nothingness Array operates on the principle of the Five Elements mutually reinforcing each other. If I reverse the surrounding flow, then the Five Elements would mutually oppose each other.]

He cautiously perceived his surroundings and sure enough, it didn’t take long before Yang Kai detected the pure Five Element Powers in this vast white world. He had failed to perceive this phenomenon previously for two reasons. The first was that he had not investigated this place calmly and the second was that he had been too anxious searching for an exit. It was not until the Remnant Soul gave him a hint that he discovered this phenomenon.

At present, Yang Kai had condensed four out of the Five Elements; Wood, Fire, Earth, and Water Element. As he had yet to come across a suitable Metal Element treasure, he had not condensed his Metal Element Power. Be that as it may, he had the Yuan Magnetic Divine Bottle Gourd which contained the Sixth-Order Yuan Magnetic Divine Light, so he could use that as a replacement.

After coming to a decision, Yang Kai didn’t hesitate. [Regardless of the circumstances, there’s no harm in trying. It will be great if I can find the exit. In any case, it’s not too late to figure out another solution if I fail to locate one!]

Taking out the Yuan Magnetic Divine Bottle Gourd, he opened the lid and focused his mind. He then quietly drew on the four Powers in his Dao Seal and guided the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light out of the Yuan Magnetic Divine Bottle Gourd. Following that, he activated them in a sequence where the Five Elements mutually suppressed each other. In an instant, the energy in his surroundings surged violently and bursts of crackling sounds kept ringing out.

When Yang Kai activated the Wood Element Power, he suddenly remembered the Wood Element Divine Ability that he had the fortune to comprehend earlier. The situation had been too urgent back then, so he had no time to study it further. It would now seem that the Wood Element Divine Ability contained more than mere defensive abilities. There were even more aspects to it that he had yet to discover. Unfortunately, the current situation was not the right time to ponder about this Wood Element Divine Ability either. [I have to find a time to research this Divine Ability properly once I leave the Blood Monster Cave Heaven.]

The Power of the Five Elements circulated endlessly, mutually suppressing each other.

Yang Kai separated a thread of his consciousness to monitor the changes in his surroundings; however, nothing happened even after waiting for a long time.

This situation made his heart sink. He did not suspect the Soul of lying to him as generally speaking, the words of a dying man tend to be the truth. The Soul had been tortured by Blood Monster Divine Monarch for so many years so it was highly unlikely for him to leave behind lies when Yang Kai was the one to relieve him of his suffering. There could only be two reasons for this outcome. Either Yang Kai’s strength was insufficient or the Soul was so confused that he remembered wrongly. The Soul had been tortured for so many years that he forgot his own name, so it was possible that his memory was flawed.

An idea came to Yang Kai the moment that thought crossed his mind. He reversed the Power of the Five Elements once more, instantly transforming the cycle so that the Five Elements mutually reinforced each other!

As soon as he completed the change, he suddenly noticed the faint outline of a step appearing in front of him! Yang Kai’s expression bloomed in excitement, but before he could take a closer look, the step vanished out of sight again.

[I’m confident that what I saw just now is not an illusion. It’s a real staircase, even if it’s only one step...] Stopping the movements of his hands, Yang Kai considered for a brief moment. Then, he repeated his previous action. Sure enough, the step appeared before him again. It was just that the step vanished out of sight once more when he blanked out in astonishment. Soon however, a light flashed through Yang Kai’s eyes and seemed to have understood something.

He breathed out softly and stood up. Activating his Dao Seal and the power of the Yuan Magnetic Divine Bottle Gourd, he drew on the Five Elements and the step appeared before him again.

This time around, he did not hesitate. Simultaneously climbing the step, he repeated his previous action once more and the second step appeared...

Yang Kai did not hesitate and stepped forward. The Power of the Five Elements surged around him, mutually suppressing then mutually reinforcing one another in a cycle. The third step appeared under his feet.

At the beginning, Yang Kai moved fast but cautiously. It was not until he verified the conjectures in his heart that he no longer held back. Every time he put his foot down, the next step would appear beneath his feet at a suitable time. The higher he walked, the further he went. His footsteps were steady, almost as though he wanted to walk above the clouds and slip through the barriers of the sky.

He did not know how long had passed, but it felt like he had climbed at least a thousand steps. At one point, he lifted his foot and realised that there were no further steps in front of him. His first reaction was shock. He originally thought that he had made a mistake somewhere and caused something to go wrong as a result, but when he looked ahead, he discovered that he had somehow appeared in a Grand Hall.

Looking back, there was no sign of a staircase and even the world of white was gone.

[I’m out!] Yang Kai felt a mixture of astonishment and joy. The Soul had not remembered the method to break the Grand Array wrongly, it was just that what he recalled was incomplete. It was fortunate that Yang Kai had a flexible mind; otherwise, he might not have been able to escape that strange Grand Array.

There was a whirring noise coming from the side, similar to the pumping of an old and broken bellows. Yang Kai turned to look and immediately became horrified. Taking a large step backward, he retreated into the distance and shouted through gritted teeth, “Hei Ya!”

[I can’t believe I’m meeting Black Crow Divine Monarch here!] At this point, how could he not realise that this old bastard had tricked everybody?

Earlier, Black Crow Divine Monarch had to borrow everybody’s power to break the barrier around the Blood Monster Divine Palace and distract the Seventh-Order Monster Beast guarding it. For that reason, he had given a lot of sweet promises to the others. He even went so far as to swear a blood oath on his Dao Seal, claiming that he would not attack anybody once they entered the Blood Monster Divine Palace as long as they did not provoke him first!

His attitude had been extremely sincere, which was why everybody willingly cooperated with him; after all, the Blood Monster Divine Palace would surely contain many treasures. It was not easy for them to arrive this far, so who would not want to go in and take a look around?

Even Yang Kai had been extremely tempted, but after his experience just now, how could he not understand that everybody had fallen for Black Crow Divine Monarch’s schemes?

Black Crow Divine Monarch clearly knew about the white world. He also knew that anybody who tried to enter the Blood Monster Divine Palace would fall into that Nothingness Array. However, he alone knew the way out. If everybody else was trapped inside the Grand Array and he alone could escape, then wouldn’t that mean that the entire Blood Monster Divine Palace would belong to him?

If Yang Kai had not received guidance from that Remnant Soul, he would not have been able to escape this quickly either. What he did not expect was that he would come face to face with Black Crow Divine Monarch as soon as he entered the Grand Hall.

Similarly, Black Crow Divine Monarch was as shocked as Yang Kai. His eyes widened as large as eggs and he breathed rapidly as though he had seen a ghost, blurting out incredulously, “Brat, why are you here!?”