Martial Peak
chapter-4554

“Those who mine Black Stone in the Black Prison become ore slaves. Due to the harsh environment of the Black Prison, Open Heaven Realm Masters do not have long lifespans there, so the demand for ore slaves has always been great for the Black Prison. Ore slaves come from many different channels. Some are Open Heaven Realm Masters who committed great sins and were then bought by Luan Bai Feng at high prices to become lifelong slaves. Others were malefactors captured by Luan Bai Feng, and there were even those who were simply seized. There are also losers of conflicts between two great forces.”

While speaking, Old Bai shot a glance at Hui Gu, “Senior Brother Hui Gu has been staying in Yin-Yang Cave Heaven’s Prison Star this whole time. In comparison to Black Prison, the Prison Star’s conditions are extremely hospitable. The Black Prison is many times harsher than what he knows.”

Cold sweat ran down Hui Gu’s head to hear that. Inwardly, he was feeling glad that Yin-Yang Cave Heaven did not have any agreements with Luan Bai Feng; otherwise, their convicts may have all been sold to the Black Prison, and they would become nothing more than withered bones.

Yang Kai descended into thought as he speculated, “If that is so, does that mean that Luan Bai Feng had other intentions in mind when she came along with Kong Feng’s Hundred Sects Alliance to Void Land?”

Old Bai nodded, “Kong Feng and Luan Bai Feng have had several business dealings in the past, so they are well-acquainted with each other. He personally invited Luan Bai Feng to crack the Nine Heavenly Layers Grand Array. Naturally, the most compelling reason for Luan Bai Feng to agree was the ore slaves she could obtain. If Void Land was defeated back then, then all of the Open Heaven Realm Masters would have been taken back to the Black prison where they would mine Black Stone for the rest of their lives.”

“Unfortunately for her, both she and Kong Feng did not expect the heritage of our Void Land to be so great. They tried to steal a chicken but failed and lost their rice, too.” Yang Kai stroked his chin, “In that case, this Black Prison is worth a trip! Luan Bai Feng has been running Black Prison for so many years, so she must have accumulated a good amount of resources by now. If we can bring her to our side, then the crisis that our Void Land is facing will be solved in no time.”

Old Bai shook his head, “I don’t suggest you find her directly in the Black Prison. I mentioned before that the Black Prison has countless Natural Arrays inside of it. Even if you are strong, you may not be able to find her even if you made it inside. And, if you do manage to find her, you may not be her opponent.”

Yang Kai looked at him, “Then, what do you think we should do instead?”

“To advance with stillness!” Old Bai explained concisely, “If there is anyone in this world most interested in the battle between great forces, then it has to be Luan Bai Feng. There is bound to be a loser in every battle, and any Open Heaven Realm Master defeated can become an ore slave she so needs, so she is happy to intervene in such fights, betting in advance the side she takes will win.”

Yang Kai’s eyes lit up, “Now that Zuo Quan Hui has engaged our Void Land in a head-on confrontation, we will not be able to hide the battle that took place here a few days ago from prying eyes. News will spread sooner or later, and Luan Bai Feng has caused trouble twice for our Void Land. No matter her original intentions, she has already formed a grudge with us. With so many Open Heaven Realm Masters here, we are definitely a huge temptation for her.”

Old Bai nodded, “If news reaches her ears, she will definitely come out to help Zuo Quan Hui.”

Yang Kai got up at once, “We must not delay things. I will go to the Black Prison now. If we are too late… I may not be able to intercept her!”

Yue He hurriedly spoke up, “Young Master, I will go with you.”

Yang Kai waved his hand, “This, I can do alone. Zuo Quan Hui may have left Void Territory, but he will definitely leave spies to monitor our every move. I may still be able to act quietly alone, but moving with more people will make it more difficult. In my absence, I will leave you all to take care of Void Territory. Zuo Quan Hui will most likely not raise his hand again on the lower Universe Worlds, so all you have to do is stay here and watch over the Sect, then everything will be fine. Do not fight him head-on before I return!”

Everyone cupped their fists, “Yes!”

Even though Yue He was worried, she knew that Yang Kai was right. With his attainments in the Dao of Space, Yang Kai could move freely and easily by himself. She would only be a burden if she went along with him, so she did not argue his decision.

Many days had already passed since the battle, and nobody knew when news of it would reach Luan Bai Feng’s ears. However, once Luan Bai Feng learned that Zuo Quan Hui was personally launching an attack on Void Land, she may not be able to resist the urge to get involved in the struggle. Time was of the essence, so Yang Kai did not dally for even a moment. As soon as he left orders for his subordinates, he set out.

Using Space Principles, Yang Kai could come and go secretly without fear of being discovered by anyone. While travelling, he continued recovering from the wounds he suffered in the previous battle, and in just a few days, he arrived at the local Territory Gate.

Divine Sense stirring, Yang Kai made sure that no eyes were watching him at the Territory Gate before diving in.

After passing through the Territory Gate and arriving at the adjacent Great Territory, Yang Kai concealed his aura as soon as possible. If Zuo Quan Hui left any eyes behind to monitor the situation, then they would most likely be near the Territory Gates which led to Void Land.

Yang Kai looked around for a moment but did not find anything to be concerned about.

Most likely, Zuo Quan Hui had not had enough time to leave any of his men here; after all, it had only been a few days, and he had the injuries incurred from the Sun and Moon Divine Wheel that required his full and immediate attention.

Since he found no eyes on him even after reaching this place, Yang Kai was able to breathe easy and began acting more boldly. The 3,000 Worlds were vast, and as a lone man, he was just like the water flowing in the sea. Nobody could even dream of catching his tracks.

Even though he had never been to the Black Prison before, Yang Kai was not worried about losing his way with his Universe Chart in hand.

Passing through one Great Territory after another, Yang Kai urged his Space Principles on and on, and in just one month, was able to reach the Great Territory neighbouring the Black Prison.

The Great Territory that the Black Prison was located in was marked as the Black Territory on the Universe Chart!

The Great Territory that Yang Kai was in at this moment was only separated from the Black Territory by a single Territory Gate. After passing through that gate, he would be able to reach the Black Territory without issue.

But before he could ascertain what the situation on the other side of the Territory Gate was like, Yang Kai did not dare to rush in headfirst. If he accidentally came across a Trapping Array, it was possible that he would reveal himself, which would force him into a direct confrontation with Luan Bai Feng. No matter what, fighting in someone else’s territory would always leave one at a disadvantage.

What was more, the greatest problem Yang Kai faced today was whether or not Luan Bai Feng was even in the Black Territory. If she were not here, then everything would have been for nought. Even if she were here, Yang Kai still could not guarantee that Luan Bai Feng would come out from the Territory Gate that he was in front of right now.

From the Universe Chart, Yang Kai could see that there were as many as five Territory Gates leading to the Black Territory that were connected to five different Great Territories. If Luan Bai Feng were to leave Black Prison, then there was only a 20% possibility of her coming out from this Territory Gate.

So, in Yang Kai’s opinion, the most important thing to do right now was to find out Luan Bai Feng’s whereabouts and lure her out of the Territory Gate that he was at.

Though, this was not going to be an easy task. It required patience and cunning.

For the next few days, Yang Kai rested in the area around the Territory Gate. He had decided to wait here for up to two months, and if nothing were to come out of this exercise, then he would take the risk of heading straight into the Black Prison to find out where Luan Bai Feng was.

Fortunately, a person’s aura suddenly appeared near the Territory Gate after just a dozen days. Yang Kai, who was sitting cross-legged cultivating nearby, looked over at the Territory Gate just in time to see a black-robed man leave from the Territory Gate.

Yang Kai’s eyes lit up. This man had obviously just come out from the Black Territory, and the fact that he could freely leave meant that he was one of Luan Bai Feng’s confidants. From the aura fluctuations coming off of this person, Yang Kai could also tell that he was in the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm.

After passing through the Territory Gate, the black-robed man gently shook his head to shake off the discomfort he was feeling. Then, after ascertaining the direction, he sped off into the void.

However, after going for just a short distance, something blurred in his vision and a figure blocked his way ahead.

The black-robed man was stunned and defensively shouted, “Who goes there? What do you want?”

The man ahead grinned at him, revealing a set of pearly white teeth. He suddenly reached out and grabbed him before chuckling, “Come over here, I have some questions that I’d like to ask you!”

A few moments later, the black-robed man stood respectfully before Yang Kai with a meek expression.

Yang Kai looked in satisfaction at the two characters on the eighth page of his Loyalty List, written in fresh blood, ‘Xin Peng’!

With Yang Kai’s current strength, dealing with a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master was a simple matter. This Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master called Xin Peng did not even have the opportunity to struggle before he was subdued by Yang Kai.

This man was also very sensible. Knowing that he was not his attacker’s opponent, he immediately begged for mercy. After asking him a few questions, Yang Kai had him leave his name on the Loyalty List.

There were nine pages in the Loyalty List, and eight had been used thus far. Only one page was left, and for this very last page, Yang Kai intended to leave it blank for Luan Bai Feng.

Xin Peng was in the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm, so it was reasonable to say that he was now not qualified to have his name placed on the Loyalty List. Yang Kai used to be weak, and did not have many subordinates that he could use, so he did not have the qualifications to pick and choose his followers. That was why he chose to accept Chen Tian Fei, Hei He, and Yun Xing Hua. Now, the Masters among his subordinates were as many as the clouds, so it really was a waste for a trivial Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master to take up space in his Loyalty List.

However, Luan Bai Feng was just barely worth the last slot he had!

Yang Kai carefully put the Loyalty List away before glancing over at Xin Peng, “Since you’ve already left your name on the Loyalty List, then you should be able to feel that your life or death is now in my hands. With just a thought, I can decide whether you live or die!”

Xin Peng’s sweat dripped down like rain as he quickly pleaded, “Mercy, Sir! Please be merciful! This subordinate will follow Sir’s lead and obey Sir’s orders!”

Yang Kai said indifferently, “Since I’ve taken you under my wing, then I naturally will not ask you to die.”

Xin Peng raised his eyes meekly at Yang Kai, “Then, is there anything that Sir needs this subordinate to do?”

“I have a question for you. You said that Luan Bai Feng was inside the Black Prison, did you not?”

Xin Peng quickly nodded, “Yes.”

“Can you be sure? Don’t lie to me.”

“It’s definitely the truth, Sir! This subordinate received orders from the Warden to purchase some things just a day or two ago.”

Yang Kai was happy to hear that answer and nodded, “Good.”

Obviously, there was no way that Xin Peng could lie under the effects of the Loyalty List, so Yang Kai was sure that Luan Bai Feng was currently inside the Black Prison. It seemed he had not made this trip for nothing, which made the ten or so days he spent waiting here worth it.

“How many Open Heaven Realm Masters are in the Black Prison?” Yang Kai asked.

Xin Peng thought about it for a moment before asking, “Including the ore slaves?”

“Including the ore slaves, and otherwise.”

Xin Peng gave a quick answer, “Including the ore slaves, there are almost 200. Otherwise, there are only a little over 30!”