Martial Peak

Chapter 2207, Divine Ascension Mirror

At the same time, Yang Kai mysteriously appeared in a secluded room on Myriad Saints Peak.

Yang Kai regained control over his own body and immediately took a defensive posture as he looked around him.

However, he quickly saw Wen Zi Shan sitting lazily nearby, smiling while looking at him.

“Ah… Greetings, Temple Master Wen!” Yang Kai wore a serious expression and cupped his fists.

Wen Zi Shan nodded and replied, “No need for pleasantries.”

He then stood up and slowly walked over to the table, picked up a wine bottle, then poured himself a glass.

The room instantly filled with a fragrant aroma.

He took a small sip and made an expression as if he really enjoyed it.

The corner of Yang Kai’s mouth twitched slightly when he saw Wen Zi Shan acting like this, but he simply remained silent and waited instead of interrupting.

After a long while, it seemed as if Wen Zi Shan finally regained his senses from that pleasant sensation of his drink as he spoke up with an expression of satisfaction, “You should know why I called you here, yes?”

Yang Kai remained silent for a moment before he nodded, “I heard some guesses from Brother Xia.”

“Haha,” Wen Zi Shan chuckled, “You’re such a cautious little brat! En… indeed, I called you over to give you a reward. Although you made a request of this King some days ago, that request isn’t enough to balance the contribution you made to the temple. However, you’re also not a disciple of my temple, making you technically an outsider, so what reward to offer you took this King quite some time to think of …”

“Junior doesn’t want much,” Yang Kai smiled slightly.

Wen Zi Shan replied, “Then what reward would you like? I might as well ask you. If it is possible, this King will satisfy your request!”

He handed the right to choose over to Yang Kai.

This sounded really generous, but Yang Kai knew quite well what was actually happening.

It was because he was merely a First-Order Dao Source Realm cultivator, while Wen Zi Shan was Third-Order Emperor Realm as well as a Sect Master!

Thus, anything that seemed precious and rare to Yang Kai would likely be quite ordinary in Wen Zi Shan’s eyes. It was highly likely that Wen Zi Shan would be able to easily give Yang Kai anything that he would dare to request.

Yang Kai would never make the foolish mistake of letting this rare opportunity pass him by.

He simply stated, “What reward can Temple Master Wen give this Junior?”

Hearing this, Wen Zi Shan wore an expression of praise as the two of them exchanged glances, understanding each other’s motives.

After a moment of silence, Wen Zi Shan spoke up, “When considering the number of Star Seals that you gave, this King can take responsibility and open the temple’s Treasury and allow you to choose any three items from within to keep!”

Yang Kai’s eyes lit up instantly.

Wen Zi Shan was talking about Azure Sun Temple’s Treasury, rather than his personal one. Azure Sun Temple was one of the top Sects in the Southern Territory, so its Treasury would be filled with countless rare items. If Yang Kai really was allowed to enter and take any three items he pleased, it was likely that his power level would improve by leaps and bounds.

But just as he was feeling moved, Wen Zi Shan added more as if trying to incite him, “There are countless artifacts within the vault, and there are even two Emperor Artifacts, but as for what the Emperor Artifacts are, and where they’re located, you must find them for yourself, I won’t be telling you. Apart from those, there are also rare elixirs that are impossible to find in the outside world, Secret Arts and Secret Books that are never shown to outsiders, and so on. With your current cultivation, obtaining any one of these treasures will be a great opportunity for you. Additionally, there are also records left behind by many Emperors of their cultivation experiences you could learn from…”

Yang Kai’s breathing gradually became faster as he never expected that Wen Zi Shan would be so generous to him.

No matter what, Yang Kai was still an outsider, yet Wen Zi Shan was actually willing to open up the Sect’s Treasury to him. Just this alone was more than enough to make Yang Kai incredibly grateful.

However… Although the items Wen Zi Shan mentioned were indeed precious and hard to obtain, Yang Kai was still unable to immediately make up his mind. He didn’t care about Emperor Artifacts, and he was capable of refining his own Spirit Pills, so he didn’t need those. As for Secret Arts and Secret Books, he could also ignore those since even if he took them, he wouldn’t have that much time to cultivate them. Yang Kai was instead slightly tempted by the Emperor Realm Masters’ written cultivation experiences.

Those books might help him save a lot of time by avoiding wrong paths in his cultivation.

Wen Zi Shan was rather surprised to see the changes in Yang Kai’s expression as he asked, “What’s wrong? Are none of these of interest to you?”

Yang Kai took a deep breath and replied, “Please forgive me, Temple Master Wen, I just… don’t know how to decide.”

Wen Zi Shan smiled and said, “This King understands. En, if you don’t like any of these things, how about this King personally teaches you a Secret Technique?”

Yang Kai raised his head and glanced at him while quickly saying, “Temple Master Wen, can I ask what reward Brother Xia and the others obtained this time? Are they also able to enter your noble temple’s Treasury and choose three items as they like?”

At this moment, Wen Zi Shan’s smile seemed to become more meaningful as he pointed at Yang Kai and exclaimed, “Kid, you really understand well.”

“It seems that… Brother Xia and the others were able to receive a reward that was different from mine.” Yang Kai understood.

“En, their reward is indeed different, since they are Disciples of the temple while you aren’t,” Wen Zi Shan directly admitted. He wasn’t worried that Yang Kai would be displeased since it was an obvious fact that people would always favour their own more.

“However…” Wen Zi Shan changed the topic and said, “You also have a chance to obtain the same reward as them, although it will depend on if you’re willing or not.”

“I’m willing to hear the details!” Yang Kai adopted a serious expression.

Although he didn’t know what reward Xia Sheng and the others were able to receive, since Wen Zi Shan openly admitted that the reward was different, this meant that Xia Sheng and the others were receiving a better reward.

Since there was an opportunity, Yang Kai would naturally want to try for himself.

Still, he was quite curious just what reward was actually better than choosing any three items from the Sect’s vault.

This time, Wen Zi Shan didn’t answer him immediately and instead asked, “Do you know why this King created Azure Sun Temple here?”

Yang Kai thought to himself that the temple’s founding was several hundred or even several thousand years ago, so how was he supposed to know? Although he thought this in his mind, he acted as if he really wanted to learn as he answered, “I do not know.”

“Of course it is because there’s something special here!” Wen Zi Shan replied, a trace of nostalgia flashing across his eyes as he spoke, “Eight hundred years ago, this King happened to pass by Azure Sun Mountain Range and discovered an item with miraculous uses and mysterious abilities. At that time, this King was already a Third-Order Emperor Realm and wanted to obtain that item, but unfortunately, he didn’t succeed. This King could only temporarily put down roots here, and as time passed, this place gradually started resembling a Sect, so this King decided he might as well found Azure Sun Temple.”

“Azure Sun Temple has a shorter inheritance compared to the other top-level Sects in the Southern Territory, yet why do we have the ability to compete with them on even ground?”

Yang Kai’s brow rose as he guessed. “Could it be due to that item?”

Wen Zi Shan immediately wore an appreciative expression as he nodded to Yang Kai, “That’s right. Although this King is a Third-Order Emperor Realm, and my power isn’t any weaker than other Sect Masters or Temple Masters, a Sect’s strength or weakness isn’t about just one person. A Sect requires many reliable pillars to hold its form, and it was thanks to that item that Azure Sun Temple was able to develop to today’s extent.”

“May I ask… just what that item is?” Yang Kai also became quite curious as he listened, really wondering just what kind of item would be able to make a Sect flourish to such a degree.

Wen Zi Shan glanced at Yang Kai with a serious expression as he explained, “The Divine Ascension Mirror! It is a mystical object that has existed since the birth of the Heavens and Earth. Inside of it is a self-contained world, but one that is very different from the one we live in. As for how it is different, this King won’t explain to you, since you’ll naturally learn for yourself if you have the opportunity to enter it. Any cultivator who enters it to train will be able to greatly increase their strength though. Back in the day, this King explored the inside of this mirror but was still unable to figure out all its mysteries. For the past several hundred years, most of the elite disciples of the temple have entered this mirror, and all who managed to leave it alive became much stronger.”

“Star Soul Palace has the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda, Orthodoxy Temple has the Outer Astral Wind, and Heavenly Martial Holy Land has its Martial Intent Temple. These are the foundations of their respective Sects, and the reason why these Sects have stood the test of time,” Wen Zi Shan had a proud expression as he added, “Meanwhile, my Azure Sun Temple has the Divine Ascension Mirror! As long as the Divine Ascension Mirror isn’t broken, my temple can continue passing on its inheritance and remain standing!”

“Can Junior enter as well?” Yang Kai asked with fervour.

Wen Zi Shan smiled, “Originally, this King would have found it impossible to allow an outsider like you to enter it; after all, the Divine Ascension Mirror is a secret of my temple that only those who have entered know about. Ordinary disciples have never even heard of it, so of course, the other Sects naturally know nothing about it. However… this time, you contributed a great deal to the temple, so it would be wrong for this King to refuse you entry. But even so, allowing you to enter would be breaking the Sect rules…”

Upon hearing this, Yang Kai suddenly spoke up, “Temple Master Wen, do you recall that you said if I won the fight against Xue Yi, you would agree to one of my requests as long as it wasn’t excessive?”

Wen Zi Shan paused momentarily in surprise as he looked at Yang Kai and asked, “Why? Do you want to use that request here?”

“Of course!” Yang Kai nodded, “Plus, since I’ve contributed six Star Seals to the temple as a major achievement, there should be no problem now?”

“Aye, there are no problems…” Wen Zi Shan thought for a moment, “You’re already saying so much, but are you certain that you want to do this? You don’t even know what the Divine Ascension Mirror can do for you…”

Yang Kai smiled and said, “Since Brother Xia and the others obtained this reward, that means it is the best reward possible, and since it’s the best reward, why should I hesitate?”

“Good!” Wen Zi Shan declared in a serious voice, “Since that’s the case, then this King shall permit you to enter. However, you must swear an oath that you will never expose the secret of the Divine Ascension Mirror to anyone else, otherwise…”

“Junior understands!” Yang Kai nodded and immediately swore a solemn oath in front of Wen Zi Shan.

Silavin, Divine Ascension Mirror – Debated on this term for a bit since it was technically a term we use for the Realm. However, in this case, it really takes on the literal meaning so we just stuck to it.

Those that understand can already make an educated guess of what the mirror improves upon.