Martial Peak
chapter-4722

Returning to Void Land from the Shattered Heaven was a long journey that took an extensive amount of time. That was because it was Hong Hu’s first time leaving the Ancestral Land, so she had never left her Imprint in any of the Universe Temples located throughout the Great Territories before.

They had no choice but to travel through each Great Territory with their strength alone. As a result, the time spent on their journey was undoubtedly longer than Yang Kai’s initial trip.

Yang Kai did not return directly to Void Land either. Instead, he first took a trip to Great Evolution Territory. He had not forgotten about the palace artifact he previously commissioned Grandmaster Ma Fan to refine.

So many years had passed since then, so the palace artifact should have been refined by now. Ever since witnessing the wonders of Heavenly Sword Union’s Heavenly Sword Palace, he had been green with envy towards those with palace artifacts.

Although the Dragon Clan’s Crystal Palace could be said to be a palace artifact, and a supremely high-end one at that, it was related to the Dragon Clan’s cultivation and inheritance, so it was not something he could wield carelessly. That was why he left the Crystal Palace in Four Phoenix Pavilion before he departed from the Ancestral Land.

Inside Great Evolution Territory, Yang Kai found the portal of Great Evolution Paradise with ease. Cupping his fist, he shouted in a loud voice, “Grandmaster, this Junior is here per our agreement. Please open the way.”

Following that, the portal opened. Yang Kai and Hong Hu slipped inside and a figure came to greet them. It was a young and beautiful girl.

“Junior Sister Cen!” Yang Kai nodded. He recognised that person as one of the remnants of Great Evolution Paradise known as Cen Cen, who was in the Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm.

During his last visit here, he had gotten to know several Open Heaven Realm Masters of Great Evolution Paradise, and Cen Cen was one of them. There was also another person called Nalan Lu Shui, who was in the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm. At the moment, Nalan Lu Shui was nowhere to be seen. There was no saying where she had gone.

“Senior Brother Yang!” Cen Cen returned the greeting and shot a curious glance at Hong Hu, who was standing behind Yang Kai.

“Is the Grandmaster here?” Yang Kai asked.

She nodded, “He’s here. Old Ancestor has been waiting for you. What you asked for has been completed, but…”

“But what?” A feeling of panic gripped Yang Kai’s heart as he secretly wondered whether something had gone wrong with his palace artifact.

She whispered, “Old Ancestor has been in a terrible mood recently.”

Yang Kai failed to stifle his laughter as he asked, “Why?”

“A bunch of hateful people arrived.” Cen Cen pouted, “You’ll see for yourself once you’ve met Old Ancestor.”

While speaking, she took the lead and showed them the way.

Yang Kai couldn’t help feeling surprised. Not many people knew about the remnants of Great Evolution Paradise. He only knew about them from the Proprietress, so who would come here? Not to mention, with Grandmaster Ma Fan’s cultivation and status, who could put him in a terrible mood?

The pair followed behind Cen Cen and soon arrived at Grandmaster Ma Fan’s personal meditation area. Before they even got close though, Hong Hu whispered in Yang Kai’s ear, “Be careful, there are quite a few powerful little ones inside the room.”

Yang Kai raised his brow at those words. Hong Hu was on par with a top Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master in strength; therefore, people that she would consider powerful would not be just any stray cat or dog by the side of the road. They were definitely in the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm or above. What’s more, High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters could only be from the Cave Heavens and Paradises.

Cen Cen stopped in front of them and turned around to speak, “Old Ancestor is inside. Please enter on your own, Senior Brother.”

“Many thanks, Junior Sister Cen.”

She then darted her eyes back around a bit before saying, “If you really want to thank me, then please speak to Old Ancestor on my behalf. Bring me along when you return to the Star Boundary. It has been so long since I last met Senior Sister Lan. I miss her greatly.”

“I’ll do my best.” Yang Kai smiled.

Cen Cen pumped her fists and cheered for him, “I’m counting on you!”

After Cen Cen departed, Yang Kai finally took a step forward with Hong Hu. Many eyes instantly turned to look at him as soon as he entered the hall. Yang Kai looked up and couldn’t help revealing a look of surprise. Staring at one of the old men, he laughed, “Elder Yu?”

The old man was Yu Chang Dao of Free and Unfettered Paradise. He was also High Heaven Palace’s Supreme High-Rank Guest Elder on paper. Having taken a fancy to a baby with the Innate Dao Body back in the Star Boundary, Yu Chang Dao had wanted to take the child on as his Legacy Disciple.

However, the baby’s Mother had insisted that her deceased husband’s dying wish was for the child to join High Heaven Palace. No matter how he tried to persuade her, she had refused to change her mind.

In the end, Yang Kai came up with a brilliant solution to the problem. He invited Yu Chang Dao into High Heaven Palace to become the Supreme High-Rank Guest Elder. In this way, the child would remain as a High Heaven Palace disciple even though his Master was Yu Chang Dao. Not only would Yu Chang Dao get his wish, but High Heaven Palace would also receive an additional Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master as a Supreme High-Rank Guest Elder!

It could be said to be a win-win solution where everybody was happy!

After Yang Kai left the Star Boundary, the first thing he did was to study and repair several broken Universe Temples scattered across the 3,000 Worlds. Next, he went to the Black Prison to transport Ore Stars from its depths to its periphery. Then, he cultivated inside the Astral Wind Divine Ability in the Shattered Heaven. When he obtained the World Spring, he was pursued relentlessly and entered the Ancestral Land as a result. Inside the Ancestral Land, he unlocked the Demon Sealing Land and improved his Dragon Vein to become a Grand Dragon.

In the blink of an eye, several decades had passed!

Yang Kai never imagined that he would run into Yu Chang Dao here, and it was not just him either. The other people in the room were also very familiar to him. They were the foreign affairs envoys from the major Cave Heavens and Paradises who should be watching over the Star Boundary.

Leaving aside Yu Chang Dao of Free and Unfettered Paradise, there was also Hong Xiang Ling of Azure Void Cave Heaven, Duan Rui Shan of Clear Mind Cave Heaven, and Lu Zhen Yang of Azure Nether Paradise. Hong Xiang Ling had persistently tried to matchmake Yang Kai in the past, so Yang Kai had a deep impression of the old man as a result.

There were a total of four Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, and each of them was more or less the representatives of their respective Cave Heavens and Paradises. These four people were no strangers to Yang Kai either as they had all gone to the Star Boundary and met him before.

On the other hand, Grandmaster Ma Fan was nowhere to be seen.

“Sect Master!” Yu Chang Dao stood up. Although his cultivation was higher than Yang Kai’s, he still held the title of High Heaven Palace’s Supreme High-Rank Guest Elder. He could also be regarded as part of High Heaven Palace, so it was only natural for him to be a bit polite towards Yang Kai.

Hong Xiang Ling laughed heartily, “Yang Boy!”

“Senior Hong!” Yang Kai cupped his fist and asked curiously, “Why are you here?”

Hong Xiang Ling chuckled, “Why can’t we be here? What about you, kid? Why did you come here?”

Yang Kai replied, “I previously commissioned the Grandmaster to refine an artifact for me, so I am here to collect it as promised!”

Hong Xiang Ling nodded and exclaimed, “The World Tree sure is amazing! I can’t believe it actually made the Iron Rooster move! I was wondering why he brought a group of his disciples to the Star Boundary several dozen years ago. It turns out that you had already made a deal!”

“Who are you calling an Iron Rooster?” A dissatisfied voice rang out as Grandmaster Ma Fan walked out of the room in the back and glared at Hong Xiang Ling.

Hong Xiang Ling slapped his mouth lightly and shamelessly responded, “I was talking about myself!”

“Hmph!” Grandmaster Ma Fan coldly snorted. Only then did he turn to look in Yang Kai’s direction. It was just that he did not look at Yang Kai, but rather at Hong Hu who was standing behind him, asking in a solemn tone, “This is…”

Yu Chang Dao, Hong Xiang Ling, and the others had also been curious about Hong Hu’s identity. Despite being in the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm, they couldn’t help feeling a slight pressure from the woman in front of them even though the other party was not even exerting the slightest bit of strength.

Under these circumstances, it was only natural that they were concerned about her identity. It was just that Yang Kai did not take the initiative to introduce her, so they could not ask. Although they could not ask, Grandmaster Ma Fan was forced to. He was the Master of this place after all. Besides, he would not have revealed himself if he had not detected this woman’s unique aura.

Yang Kai quickly introduced Hong Hu, “This is Senior Hong Hu.”

Afterward, he introduced everybody else to Hong Hu, one by one.

Hong Hu smiled and nodded.

Yu Chang Dao raised a greying brow at those words, “I’ve heard that there are five Phoenixes. Red Phoenix, Azure Qing Luan, Yellow Yuan Chu, Purple Yue Zhuo, and White Hong Hu. Your aura seems… a little different.”

He only had this association after seeing that she was dressed in white.

She smiled and said, “I am the White Hong Hu you’re thinking of.”

Everybody turned pale without exception.

Yu Chang Dao said solemnly, “Forgive us for our disrespect!”

Meanwhile, Hong Xiang Ling asked seriously, “Why did the Phoenix Clan return?”

Hong Hu looked at him in confusion, “What?”

He frowned, “Didn’t you return from that place?”

“What place?” She queried, “I came from the Divine Spirit’s Ancestral Land in the Shattered Heaven.”

The High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters in the hall exchanged glances before Hong Xiang Ling quickly said, “I must have made a mistake. Please forgive me.”

Hong Hu gave Hong Xiang Ling a strange look and seemed pensive; likewise, Yang Kai looked confused.

When Hong Hu revealed her identity earlier, they had such a look of despair on their faces that one would have thought that the sky was falling. When Hong Hu explained that she was from the Ancestral Land in the Shattered Heaven though, they became extremely relieved instead.

[Where is this place that Hong Xiang Ling mentioned? What does it have to do with the Phoenix Clan?] Just as Yang Kai was pondering these questions, Grandmaster Ma Fan stretched out his hand and tossed out something. An object came flying towards Yang Kai.

Yang Kai instinctively caught the object, and when he looked down, he saw that it was a miniature palace countless times smaller than normal. His eyes immediately lit up at the sight and he exclaimed in delight, “Grandmaster, is this…”

“Purple Heaven Palace!” Grandmaster Ma Fan replied casually, “It can be said that it lives up to its name. Refining this item cost an arm and a leg; however, these materials were provided by High Heaven Palace and Void Land. As for the details of how many resources were used, you only need to ask your Head Manager for the details. I also integrated the Purple Heaven Divine Thunder that you left with me back then. You can slowly explore the specific effects after you finish refining it.”

Yang Kai played with the palace lovingly and said, “Many thanks, Grandmaster.”

The Crystal Palace could not be used carelessly, so it could be said that the Purple Heaven Palace was his first palace artifact. As for how much this palace artifact had cost, Yang Kai currently owned a First Class Star City and a large stake in a Super Star City. He also occupied the New Great Territory and the Black Territory, so how could he be troubled by something like cost? What’s more, Cheng Yang and Xia Lin Lang were currently exploring the five Universe Cave Heavens and Universe Paradises. Once these places had been fully explored, Yang Kai would gain yet another source of income.

The Void Land of today was no longer the same Void Land that used to worry about resources. There was an abundance in the storage and distribution of cultivation materials.

“Your skills are amazing indeed, Grandmaster,” Duan Rui Shan of Clear Mind Cave Heaven praised.

As one of the 36 Cave Heavens, it was a given that Clear Mind Cave Heaven had its own skilled artisans. It was not difficult for them to refine a palace artifact, but doing so as skillfully as Grandmaster Ma Fan was not easy. The palace artifact he refined was so small and exquisite that it could be held in one hand. That was the gap in their skills. Moreover, it was a gap that was absolutely impossible to overcome.

Yang Kai was happily playing with the palace artifact that Grandmaster Ma Fan had named the Purple Heaven Palace when he heard Grandmaster Ma Fan’s voice ringing throughout the room, “Allow me to be honest with you all. I am now High Heaven Palace’s Supreme High-Rank Guest Elder. I cannot make the final decision regarding your request. You should discuss it with the Sect Master instead.”

Yang Kai’s delighted expression turned to surprise as he instinctively felt as though he had been tricked. It was an ominous feeling indeed.