Martial Peak
chapter-4177-30041322

Chapter 4177 – Demon Realm in Crisis

A few days later, Yang Kai’s trio had already crossed billions of kilometres and he could feel that he was getting closer to the Demon Realm.

All of a sudden, Lu Xue exclaimed, “Sir, there’s something going on over there!”

She was more powerful than Yang Kai, so her eyesight and perception were also stronger than his. That was how she could discover things before he could.

Yang Kai turned to look at her and asked, “What’s going on?”

“There’s a ship chasing after a… Universe World?” Lu Xue sounded uncertain.

Having an idea, Yang Kai asked with a frown, “What kind of Universe World?”

With an awkward expression, Lu Xue illustrated, “It looks like a big fish with a rounded tummy… That’s strange. Why is this Universe World able to move? It’s as if it has its own sentience.”

Yang Kai’s face sank.

A Universe World that looked like a fat fish could only be the new Demon Realm.

When he separated the Demon Realm from the Small Sealed World in the past, the new Demon Realm took the form of Gun-Gun. That was because Gun-Gun was born as the Embodiment used the Heaven Devouring Battle Law through the Small Sealed World. Therefore, the Demon Realm retained the shape of Gun-Gun, and it was for of this reason that the Embodiment had to be in charge of this place. The relationship between the Embodiment and the Demon Realm was identical to that between Yang Kai and the Small Sealed World.

It wasn’t easy for other Universe Worlds to move around, but it was a different case for the new Demon Realm. With Embodiment taking charge, he could move Gun-Gun in any direction as he pleased.

However, where did that ship come from?

“Can you find out more about the ship?” Yang Kai asked in a grim voice.

Lu Xue shook her head, “It’s too far away. I can only faintly see it.”

This couldn’t be helped. The fact that she could discover the ship in her current location was already the best she could do. If she wanted to find out more about the ship, she would have to get closer.

After giving it a thought, Yang Kai summoned his Shadowless Veil and covered the three of them. Then, they stealthily moved forward.

Although the Demon Realm was moving, its speed wasn’t high. The ship behind the Demon Realm was slowly following it. In just one day, Yang Kai’s group reached a spot that was about a thousand kilometres away from the ship.

In order to not expose themselves, Yang Kai didn’t dare to get any closer. Even though Shadowless Veil was not bad, it had its limits. Before finding out whether there were any Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master on the ship, he had to be careful.

They were still pretty far apart as there was a distance of a thousand kilometres, but the view was completely unobscured in the void, so they could clearly see what was going on in front of them.

After observing it for a moment, Lu Xue said in a solemn voice, “Sir, I’m worried that there’s at least one Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master aboard that ship.”

“Why do you say so?” Yang Kai asked.

Lu Xue explained, “This is a pretty extraordinary ship. Even if a Low-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master could drive it, it would be a huge burden, one they couldn’t shoulder for long. Only a Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master could operate such a ship with ease.”

Yang Kai’s heart sank. The people in the ship must be ill-intentioned to be chasing after the Demon Realm. Now, it seemed there was at least one Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master inside the ship. It wouldn’t matter if he was in the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm or below as Lu Xue was now a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master as well, so she could deal with him. But what if that person was a Sixth-Order Master?

In that case, even if they summoned Hei He over, they wouldn’t be able to defeat the other party. Yang Kai wasn’t even sure why the ship was pursuing the Demon Realm.

While he was puzzled, Gun-Gun’s gigantic figure shuddered, whereupon a crack appeared on its back. A person soaked in blood shot out through the crack as a Universe World’s illusory phantom flashed across his back.

Yang Kai’s expression turned gloomy.

That person was apparently an Open Heaven Realm Master, but judging from his Small Universe’s illusory phantom, he was just a Low-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master. Other than that, the only thing that was certain was that he wasn’t from the Demon Realm.

In other words, the people in the ship were attacking the Demon Realm. Now, the barrier of the Demon Realm had broken, and a Low-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master had passed through it and left.

“Demon Qi…” Lu Xue’s expression turned serious as she could see that the person soaked in blood was engulfed in Demon Qi, “Is he from Grand Demon Heaven?”

Hearing that, Yang Kai was astounded.

Grand Demon Heaven was one of the Thirty-Six Cave-Heavens and it was highly likely that Mo Sheng was from Grand Demon Heaven. If the people in the ship were really from that great force, things would be thorny.

As they spoke, the person soaked in blood had already returned to the ship. The next instant, two figures dashed out of the ship and moved through the crack in Demon Realm before disappearing.

“I see.” It appeared that Lu Xue had realised something, then she said in a hushed voice, “Sir, I guess they’re trying to devour the Principles and World Force of that Universe World to strengthen their own Small Universes.”

“What do you mean?” Yang Kai was flabbergasted.

Lu Xue explained, “Sir, you’re still an Emperor Realm cultivator, so you’re not aware of it, but after one becomes an Open Heaven Realm Master, he or she has to ascend to the next Order if he wants to become stronger. However, it’s extremely difficult to do that. That will take hundreds, if not thousands, of years of accumulation under normal circumstances. Take this Mistress as an example. I ascended to the Fourth-Order 600 years ago and have been taking Open Heaven Pills regularly since then. Nonetheless, there were no signs that I’d achieve a breakthrough. I estimated that it would still take me a hundred years before I could reach the Fifth-Order.”

“Such a long time!” Yang Kai already knew that it wasn’t easy for an Open Heaven Realm Master to reach the next Order, but the time it took was longer than he had expected. Lu Xue’s aptitude must be excellent; otherwise, she couldn’t have ascended directly to the Fourth-Order. Hence, it would also take others roughly the same time.

Lu Xue went on to say, “Besides swallowing Open Heaven pills, there are other ways to strengthen one’s Small Universe. To an Open Heaven Realm Master, the richer the heritage of their Small Universe, the greater a force they can wield.”

Yang Kai nodded as it wasn’t difficult to understand. An Open Heaven Realm Master had to make use of the World Force, the foundation of which lay in their Small Universe. The stronger their Small Universe, the greater the power that they could use.

“Therefore, after a cultivator ascends to the Open Heaven Realm, the most important thing for them is to continuously increase the heritage of their Small Universe. Consuming Open Heaven Pills is the most common way, and even though it’s slow, it’s pretty safe. Apart from that, there’s also a more extreme method, which is to devour the Principles and World Force of a compatible Universe World and refine them.”

Yang Kai narrowed his eyes, “Is it just like what we’re seeing?”

“Good.” Lu Xue nodded her head, “However, there’s a downside to this method. That’s because the Principles of every Universe World are different. If a person rashly consumes and refines them, it might have different degrees of impact on their Small Universe. It won’t matter if the impact is negligible, but if the impact is large, it might even decrease a cultivator’s power. Therefore, rarely anyone would use this method to increase their strength as it’s too risky.”

“But that doesn’t mean no one will do it.”

“Sir is correct. If a person can find a Universe World that perfectly matches his or her own heritage, there won’t be any problems. For example, after you ascend to the Open Heaven Realm, then the best Universe World for you to consume is the world you’re from. That’s because your foundation was built in that world, so that world’s Principles perfectly match your heritage. Of course, if you really do that, the Principles of the world you’re from will be broken. The more you swallow, the more unstable that world will become. As time passes, it’ll become a dead Universe World.”

A shocked Yang Kai questioned, “Has anyone done that before?”

With a solemn expression, Lu Xue nodded, “Yes, such a thing happened frequently in ancient times. However, it’s pretty rare now. One of the reasons is that as long as one isn’t an extremely wicked person, they won’t do such a thing. After all, even if swallowing the Principles of the world they are from helps them grow strong, the amount isn’t too significant. Secondly, Universe Worlds typically have their own Great Emperors. Although the Great Emperors are weak by Outer Universe standards, they have obtained the World’s Will of their respective Universe World and are able to make use of its World Force. Therefore, they’re like Low-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters in their own Universe World. So, it isn’t easy to devour the Principles of such a world. Lastly, in the 3,000 Worlds, most of the Universe Worlds are protected by great forces. If a person rashly swallows the Principles of a world, it will cause a war.”

Upon that realization, Yang Kai said, “So, a Universe World without the protection of a great force is always at risk.”

The Great Territory that the Star Boundary was in was pretty remote, and there weren’t any great forces around, so this area was not managed by anyone, which was why it was attractive to some ill-intentioned people.

Lu Xue nodded her head, “If I’m not mistaken, the Principles of that Universe World must match well with the Small Universe of the ship’s owner, which is why he’s been relentlessly sending his subordinates to invade the Universe World. He wants to take control of it.”

“Since he’s a Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master, why doesn’t he personally make a move?” Yang Kai was puzzled.

The most powerful people in the Demon Realm were Embodiment, Chang Tian, and Bei Li Mo. Two of them had received the blessings of the World’s Will in the Demon Realm and the other could display similar power, so they were only as strong as Low-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters while their enemy was a Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master. If the ship’s owner made a move, those in the Demon Realm wouldn’t be able to resist.

Lu Xue explained, “If he makes a move, he’s bound to be involved in a desperate battle. By then, the Principles of the Universe World might be broken, which won’t benefit him.”

She paused for a moment, then asked, “Sir, what does this Universe World have to do with you?”

It was apparent that Yang Kai had come all the way here to look for this Universe World. She wasn’t a fool, so she had somewhat figured it out.

Yang Kai replied bluntly, “That Universe World is mine.”

A glint flashed through Lu Xue’s eyes, “In that case, we can’t sit back and do nothing. Now, we have to find out how powerful the ship’s owner is.”

That was a difficult task. Unless they proactively revealed their whereabouts, they couldn’t find out the true power of the ship’s owner.

Guo Zi Yan asked, “Sir, do you want to summon Hei He?”

Faced with a formidable enemy, it was better to have two Fifth-Order cultivators than only one.

“It’s too late.” Yang Kai shook his head. It wasn’t certain how long this battle had lasted, and the Demon Realm was in a perilous situation. Even if they summoned Hei He, it would take him ten days to arrive.

“I’ll go over,” Lu Xue suggested.

Yang Kai shook his head, “No. What if the ship’s owner is a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master? If that is the case, you’re basically courting death. Judging from what he’s been doing here, whoever this ship’s owner is must be a vicious person, one who won’t be easy to deal with.”

Lu Xue however replied with a smile, “He’s focused on that Universe World now, so even if he’s a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, he won’t be willing to be held up by me. Furthermore, even if I can’t defeat him, I can still run. Sir, you gave me a World Fruit, which saved me hundreds of years of cultivation and gave me hope of experiencing the wonders of the High-Rank Open Heaven Realm in my lifetime. The favour I owe you is too great to ever be repaid. Now that you’re facing a problem, this Mistress is willing to do whatever she can to help.”