Martial Peak
chapter-4156-30041322

Chapter 4156 – Universe Tempering Art

There were many kinds of artifacts in the world, and Array Artifacts were one of them. As its name suggested, these artifacts were made for the various Grand Arrays.

Normally, any artifact could be used as an Array Artifact. As long as a Grand Array was correctly arranged and allowed the artifact to merge with it, its power could be magnified.

However, Array Artifacts had to be activated with the help of a Grand Array. That was because every Array Artifact was extremely energy-consuming when activated, and it was unbearable for any cultivator, so it required the help of a Grand Array.

In return, the power that could be derived from an Array Artifact was much greater than that of ordinary artifacts. Correspondingly, it also required more resources to forge an Array Artifact.

All of a sudden, Grandmaster Ma Fan shot a glance at the Proprietress, “You want to make Array Artifacts?”

She nodded.

“There’s no problem. As long as you can collect all the materials, I don’t mind making them for you; however, you helped me with three things in the past, and I promised to make three artifacts for you. You’ve already used two chances, leaving you with just one. Tell me what kind of artifact you want to make.”

With a smile, the Proprietress replied, “Old man, I want you to make a killing artifact and a defensive artifact.”

Grandmaster Ma Fan slowly shook his head, “Little girl, you know my rules. Don’t be too greedy.”

The Proprietress said, “Of course I know your rules, and every chance could only be traded for one artifact, but…” She suddenly fell silent and parted her lips to secretly speak to the elderly man.

Initially, Grandmaster Ma Fan’s expression was dispassionate, but he soon appeared shocked. Then, he swept a glance over Yang Kai with a hesitant expression.

A moment later, he nodded gently, “Alright. I’ll agree to it; however, boy, you have to remember that you owe this old man a favour now, and when I want you to do something for me in the future, you must not turn me down.”

Upon hearing that, Yang Kai knew that the Proprietress must have come to an agreement with the elderly man, and this agreement had something to do with him. Trusting the Proprietress though, he cupped his fists and replied, “Rest assured, Grandmaster, this Junior will remember and will not turn you down.”

“Heh heh.” Grandmaster Ma Fan chuckled, “I hope you won’t go back on your word then.”

Then, they moved forward and reached the Grand Hall in a short moment. A gigantic Refining Furnace that was 300 metres tall had been erected in the Grand Hall, and around it were various tools for refining artifacts. The variety of tools dazzled Yang Kai.

Standing at the bottom of the Refining Furnace, they looked just like three ants. A lot of abstruse patterns had been engraved on the surface of the Refining Furnace, seemingly resonating with the Grand Dao.

The Proprietress looked up and was amazed, “It’s not the first time I see it, but I still think that this Universe Furnace is extremely abstruse.”

“Universe Furnace?” Yang Kai was flabbergasted, “Is this the Universe Furnace?”

Smilingly, the Proprietress replied, “Of course, this is not the real Universe Furnace. Strictly speaking, this is a replica Universe Furnace. The Universe Furnace is an Innate creation, a Supreme Treasure which can nurture everything in this world. The ancestors of Grandmaster Ma Fan had a chance to see the real Universe Furnace, and using it as inspiration, they spent countless years and effort to build this replica Universe Furnace. Despite that, this replica Universe Furnace is far less profound and powerful than the real one.”

“It has about 1% of the capabilities as the true Universe Furnace.” Grandmaster Ma Fan snorted, “If it weren’t because the ancestors were putting all their time and energy into making this replica Universe Furnace, our enemy wouldn’t have had the chance to take advantage of us.”

He seemed to suggest that his Paradise had fallen because his ancestors were too focused on making this replica Universe Furnace, but that must have happened a long, long time ago.

“However, it was thanks to this replica Universe Furnace that they managed to save our foundation. This replica Universe Furnace has made but also broken our great force!”

Following that, Grandmaster Ma Fan tossed a jade slip at Yang Kai and said smugly, “We have 1,035 Array Artifacts in our great force. Let’s see which ones you’d like to obtain.”

After taking the jade slip, Yang Kai infused his Divine Sense into it and became amazed.

There were many kinds of Array Artifacts that were recorded in the jade slip, which dazzled him. The names, types, and uses of the Array Artifacts were all listed in detail.

This was indeed an abundant heritage. The information recorded in this jade slip alone was worth an unimaginable amount of wealth.

Yang Kai couldn’t help recalling Divine Cauldron Heaven. Of the Thirty-Six Cave-Heavens and Seventy-Two Paradises, Divine Cauldron Heaven was the most famous for refining artifacts. The Yuan Magnetic Divine Bottle Gourd in Yang Kai’s possession was made by the little fatty, Xu Zhen. He wondered whether the heritage of Divine Cauldron Heaven or this Paradise was greater.

It was extremely difficult to choose a killing artifact and a defensive artifact from over 1,000 Array Artifacts.

Yang Kai went over them and thought that many of them were terrific. At that instant, he was caught in a dilemma.

Without urging him, Grandmaster Ma Fan just waited patiently to the side. In the end, it was the Proprietress who couldn’t take it anymore as she snatched the jade slip and took a glance, whereupon she made a decision, “Let’s choose the Heavenly Net Umbrella and the Heavenly Executioner’s Sword.”

Yang Kai nodded, “We’ll choose these two, then.”

Grandmaster Ma Fan grinned meaningfully, “In order to make these two items, a lot of resources are required.”

Yang Kai cupped his fists, “Grandmaster, please give me a list of all the resources needed.”

After a grunt, Grandmaster Ma Fan fished out another jade slip and infused his Divine Sense into it. A moment later, he tossed it at Yang Kai.

Upon examining it, Yang Kai furrowed his brows. It wasn’t that too many resources were needed, but that he couldn’t recognise most of them. In fact, he wasn’t familiar with most of the items that he had amassed in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary.

This was embarrassing. In other words, even if he had some of the necessary resources, he wasn’t aware of it.

Helpless, he could only seek the Proprietress’ help, and following her guidance, he slowly fished out the required materials from his Small Sealed World.

In the beginning, Grandmaster Ma Fan remained nonchalant, but as Yang Kai took out more items, he gradually became stunned.

“You also have a lump of Radiant Black Platinum? It’s as big as a washbasin!”

“Tsk. Sealing Demon Iron is almost unobtainable anymore. I was unable to find it regardless of how hard I tried. Where did you get it?”

“Sovereign Grade Fantasy Dust! This is extremely rare. This one here must have been formed over the course of 10,000 years.”

Every time Yang Kai fished out an ore, Grandmaster Ma Fan could easily recognise what it was, which went to show that he was truly an erudite person. On the other hand, he was amazed by Yang Kai’s wealth. It never crossed his mind that an Emperor Realm Junior could possess so many precious items.

[Where is this brat from? Could he have inherited the wealth of a Divine Monarch?]

Low-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters could only call themselves True Monarchs, and Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters could use the title of Heavenly Monarch. On the other hand, Divine Monarch was a title exclusive to High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters.

Gazing at the young man before him, Grandmaster Ma Fan was both shocked and doubtful.

Certainly, the Proprietress wouldn’t explain anything to him as she remained on the side with a faint smile.

An hour later, a lot of materials had piled up in front of Yang Kai. Gazing at these things, Yang Kai scratched his head, “We still lack some things.”

He had gathered about 80% of the materials on the list, but there were 20% of them that he couldn’t find. Although he had obtained a lot of rewards in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, there were still things that he didn’t have, which made him feel helpless.

The Proprietress asked, “Old man, do you have these things?”

With a vigilant expression, Grandmaster Ma Fan narrowed his eyes, “What’s wrong? Do you want to get them from me?”

Sporting a smile, the Proprietress replied, “We won’t take them from you for free. As you can see, Yang Kai has many rare items that can be traded for your things. He doesn’t mind taking a small loss.”

As his gaze darted around, Grandmaster Ma Fan nodded his head, “Good.”

Then, they went on to exchange the items they had. The Proprietress assisted Yang Kai, bargaining back and forth with the elderly man. A few hours later, they managed to gather all the materials. All in all, Yang Kai had suffered a small loss, but that should be alright.

A furious Grandmaster Ma Fan said, “Little girl, how can you help him instead of this old man? Don’t even think about getting me to make any artifacts for you again!”

With her lips curving into a smile, the Proprietress replied, “Old man, don’t forget your age. Stop getting angry easily, or your life will be shortened.”

Upon hearing that, Grandmaster Ma Fan was infuriated.

On the side, Yang Kai was extremely nervous as he was worried that the elderly man would decide not to make the artifacts for him. Fortunately, even though he seemed furious, he didn’t go back on his word. After gathering all the materials, he started working on the artifacts.

As a jade rose in the air, the immense aura of a peak Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master spread out and Grandmaster Ma Fan bellowed, “Stand back!”

Without hesitation, the Proprietress wrapped her power around Yang Kai and retreated 1,000 kilometres.

Following a loud boom, the ground shook as the entire Star seemed to be trembling. Then, Yang Kai was shocked by what he saw. The ring around the Star started spinning around as though it had been propelled by a mysterious force.

Next, the same thing happened to the rings around the other Stars in the void.

Initially, the speed at which the rings rotated was slow, but as time passed, their speed increased. Awe-inspiring auras started pulsing from those Stars.

Looking up, Yang Kai realised that these Stars had formed into an array, and the middle of the array was the scorching Sun Star.

“Universe Tempering Art!” The Proprietress muttered, “This is a long-lost Secret Art. In this world, only this old man has grasped it. After he passes away, this Secret Art will be gone for good.”

“Universe Tempering Art?” Yang Kai was astonished.

Right then, a dazzling light shot out of the Sun Star and illuminated the World.

Drawn by the array, a ray of light beamed from the Sun Star and struck the Star where Yang Kai and the others were located.

Yang Kai was horrified. Even though he was 1,000 kilometres away, he could still feel how terrifying this force was. If the Star was struck by this ray of light, it would immediately explode.

Following a boom, the Star shook violently upon being struck, but unlike what Yang Kai had imagined, it didn’t break apart. That was because the ray of light had directly hurtled into the replica Universe Furnace.

At that instant, the runic patterns on the replica Universe Furnace lit up, and a raging flame was seen coming from the furnace.

A dumbfounded Yang Kai finally understood why Grandmaster Ma Fan’s Secret Art was called the Universe Tempering Art. The foundation on which he forged artifacts was that he had to draw the Sun’s fire which was stimulated by the power of the Universe itself. This kind of grand Secret Art was simply inconceivable to Yang Kai.