Martial Peak

Chapter 2159, Flowing Time Fruit

With so many forks in the road, some would obviously be safe while others would be dangerous, but Yang Kai didn’t know how to determine which was which, so he simply chose one at random and dove in.

At the same time he disappeared, Lan Xun and Xiao Chen also escaped from the Illusion Array just in time to see Yang Kai’s back disappear.

“Huh…” Lan Xun showed a surprised expression, “Someone was faster than me?”

“What?” Xiao Chen was a step behind Lan Xun and did not manage to see anything about the situation ahead.

“It’s nothing,” Lan Xun shook her head before turning back to see that they were only about ten paces from the previous entrance. The surrounding area was empty and there was no trace of anyone else. She knew how powerful the Illusion Array was, but she also didn’t need to worry about the others who were trapped inside and simply said to Xiao Chen, “Let’s go.”

Shortly after, the two arrived at the same forked path where Lan Xun deliberately chose a different path from the one Yang Kai entered.

Although these passages were somewhat gloomy, they weren’t completely dark as luminous stones were fitted into the walls at certain intervals, emitting a soft light.

Yang Kai constantly scanned a twenty-metre radius around himself with his Divine Sense, staying on alert for any possible dangers as he explored.

Yang Kai hadn’t walked far before he suddenly showed a strange look. Perking up his ears, he was able to vaguely hear the sounds of fighting and could even smell a faint bloody aura in the air.

Shocked, he quickly retracted his Divine Sense, concealed his aura, and walked forward slowly.

Soon, Yang Kai arrived outside an empty hall that, while incomparable to the main entrance hall he had come from, was still not small.

The situation inside this hall was clear at a glance. There wasn’t anything strange in it not except for a pool in the middle of the room which looked a few meters in diameter and depth. Right now though, this pool was empty.

On the left side of the hall, there was a long table with two spirit fruits placed atop it.

It was impossible to tell how long these spirit fruits had been placed here, but despite it obviously having been a long time, they still looked fresh and even exuded a strong fragrance. These spirit fruits weren’t very big, about the size of a fist, and their appearance resembled ripe peaches, causing one to salivate at their mere sight.

“Those are… Flowing Time Fruits?” Yang Kai’s eyes lit up as he immediately recognized what these spirit fruits were.

He had previously obtained a jade slip leftover from the Wondrous Pill Great Emperor’s Third Disciple, Gong Sun Mu, from below Yuan Furnace Mountain. That jade slip had detailed innumerable types of rare spirit grasses and medicines of the Star Boundary, as well as the methods to store and refine them.

Yang Kai had already memorized the contents of the jade slip, so there was no reason for him to not recognize these fruits!

“So, Flowing Time Fruits are a product of the Flowing Time Temple!” At that moment, Yang Kai suddenly understood.

Although he knew about Flowing Time Fruits before, Yang Kai hadn’t connected them with the Flowing Time Temple; but now, after seeing the Flowing Time Fruits here, he understood.

Flowing Time Fruits had a very peculiar effect that did not do much for a cultivator’s cultivation.

But even so, that did not decrease their rarity or preciousness.

It was recorded in the jade slip left by Gong Sun Mu that Flowing Time Fruits grew in pairs and each one had a diametrically opposite effect. One was able to rejuvenate people, turning an elderly person youthful in a short period of time, while the other was like a time poison that could turn a young man into an old man in the blink of an eye.

If one didn’t know how to distinguish between the different Flowing Time Fruits, no one would dare to swallow them rashly.

Without mentioning whether the second fruit’s effect was useful or not, just the first effect was definitely enough to make countless cultivators go crazy over, especially female cultivators. What woman didn’t want to remain youthful forever? But no matter how high one’s cultivation was, and no matter how astonishing their beauty was, the ruthless carving knife known as time would still leave some marks on them.

As time passed, these marks would only grow more and more obvious.

But if one had a Flowing Time Fruit that could rejuvenate one’s vitality, it was a different story. Even an old woman could regain her lost beauty in the blink of an eye.

Of course, that was not to say that the Flowing Time Fruit was only useful for women. For those cultivators who were approaching the limits of their lifespans and had no hope of breaking through, a Flowing Time Fruit was undoubtedly among the best medicines to increase one’s lifespan. It could return a cultivator’s body to a state dozens, or even hundreds of years prior to when they swallowed it, which was equivalent to adding dozens or hundreds of years to their lifespan.

To a certain extent, this was even more precious than an Emperor Artifact.

After Yang Kai recognized the Flowing Time Fruit, he immediately became energetic.

If this kind of spirit fruit landed in someone else’s hands, they wouldn’t be able to do much with it, but in Yang Kai’s hands, it could produce amazing effects, because he was an Alchemist and could use the Flowing Time Fruit as the main ingredient to refine a furnace of Flowing Time Pills.

This was an all but extinct Spirit Pill which could be sold for an immense amount of wealth!

Yang Kai gulped hard, trying to hold back his drool, as his eyes began focusing on the ruckus at the centre of the hall.

There, one person and one creature were fighting.

They were also the source of the sounds of battle Yang Kai had heard before.

Impressively, the one who was fighting was Kong Qi of Seven Glories Chamber of Commerce! As for his opponent, it was a blood-red monster that seemed like a giant mass of putrid blood.

This blood monster had a humanoid upper body, a round head, two arms and a flowing amorphous lower body. As it rushed around the hall, whippings its strange appendages about, it released a thick bloody stench into the air.

The light of Source Qi bloomed from Kong Qi’s body as he wore a solemn expression. Kong Qi was mostly dodging while using sharp attacks to hit the blood monster from time to time, seemingly probing it for weaknesses.

Kong Qi seemed to be a cautious person that, after encountering a strong enemy, would not make any aggressive moves unless he was certain they would be effective.

Before Yang Kai arrived, Kong Qi had been dealing with this blood monster in a similar way for quite some time. At this moment, he had basically figured out the opponent’s routines and methods and was now looking for an opportunity to deliver a fatal blow.

“How could I have picked the exact same path as this guy?” Yang Kai hid in the dark and frowned as he mumbled to himself. Just now, there were a dozen or so paths he could have chosen from, but unexpectedly he had picked one someone else had already gone through.

But it was also fortunate that Kong Qi had advanced ahead of him, otherwise, Yang Kai would be the one dealing with the blood monster at this moment.

After scanning the battlefield. Yang Kai turned his gaze to the two Flowing Time Fruits on the long table again and a wicked thought came to his mind, one he could not dismiss after having it, [While that guy has attracted the attention of the blood monster, secretly taking the Flowing Time Fruit away… wouldn’t be too much, right?]

Before now, Yang Kai had no dealings with Kong Qi, so there was no gratitude or grudge between them. As such, when this idea came up, Yang Kai had no qualms about implementing it.

Thinking so, he immediately used his Nihility Secret Technique to conceal his aura completely and began to sneak forward cautiously.

After Nihility was used, Yang Kai merged with the Void and completely isolated his own aura, to the point where others could not spy on his existence with their Divine Sense unless it was powerful enough to probe the Void.

The only weakness of this Secret Technique was that it only blurred his figure, so others could still see him with their eyes!

The hall wasn’t too big, and if Yang Kai moved too hastily, he would reveal his whereabouts; however, Yang Kai had always been a cautious individual, so he only moved swiftly through Kong Qi and the blood monster’s blind spots.

Because there was no need to worry about being detected by their Divine Senses, Yang Kai’s was able to act unscrupulously as long as he wasn’t spotted.

In the blink of an eye, Yang Kai rushed up to the long table and grabbed towards the two Flowing Time Fruits, wanting to stuff them into his Space Ring.

Unexpectedly though, at that moment, a barrier of light appeared around the table when Yang Kai’s hand approached it, blocking him from seizing the fruits.

“Damn it!” Yang Kai cursed as he knew that this movement would expose him.

And sure enough, when the light curtain flickered, Kong Qi and the blood monster, who were busy fighting one another, both noticed and turned their gazes towards him.

Kong Qi stared at Yang Kai with a stunned expression, his eyes bulging as he never expected someone would try to snatch his prize while he was busy dealing with this blood monster!

He couldn’t help but tease, “Friend, your cultivation may not be high, but your courage definitely is!”

“You’re too kind!” Yang Kai answered flippantly as he pushed his Source Qi and punched the light curtain protecting the table.

Now that he had been found out, he could just steal the fruits openly.

This barrier was quite extraordinary, seeing how it was still functional after countless years, but after taking a punch from Yang Kai, it finally broke.

Yang Kai’s hands moved quickly as he snatched up the Flowing Time Fruits and threw them directly into his Space Ring.

“You…” Kong Qi became angered, as anyone would in such a situation.

After he arrived at this hall, he had found the two Flowing Time Fruits, but before he could obtain them, the strange pool of blood in the hall surged up and condensed into a giant blood monster, forcing him into a battle. Faced with such an enemy, Kong Qi could only focus on defeating it as quickly as possible and then gather his spoils after.

Never had he expected that Yang Kai would suddenly appear and snatch what was rightfully his right before his eyes.

*Huo…*

After the Flowing Time Fruit was taken away by Yang Kai, the blood monster, which already seemed like a mass of hostility, roared furiously and rushed over to him, throwing out a huge, bloody fist.

“This blow…” Kong Qi narrowed his eyes as he showed a little amazement.

He had been dealing with this blood monster for quite some time now and had thought he had figured out its strength, but now it was apparent it had not been using its full strength. From the attack the blood monster threw at Yang Kai, Kong Qi realized that it was definitely not as easy to deal with as he had originally thought.

Turning his eyes back to Yang Kai, Kong Qi sneered and muttered to himself, “A First-Order Dao Source Realm… will he be killed instantly?”

According to Kong Qi’s estimates, even if he wanted to defend against this blow, it would not be easy, so wouldn’t a trivial First-Order Dao Source Realm cultivator like Yang Kai be pounded into blood mist in the blink of an eye?