Martial Peak
chapter-4724

Grandmaster Ma Fan just smiled meaningfully and asked, “Can you guarantee that every fourteen units of the same type of material will be exchanged for one of a higher Order? As I said just now; my luck today is relatively good. If your luck is bad, you might not get one in return even if you used dozens or even hundreds of materials. Luck is the most difficult element to predict out of everything.”

Yang Kai clenched the Sixth-Order Wood Element material in his hand and quickly said, “But, if I had to choose, I would rather consume several dozen Fifth-Order Yin or Yang Element materials in exchange for a single Sixth-Order counterpart.”

Fifth-Order Yin and Yang Element materials might be difficult to find, but they were much easier compared to those of the Sixth-Order. It had to be said that Sixth-Order Yin and Yang Element materials were categorised as strategic reserves that could not be used easily, even among the Cave Heavens and Paradises.

Back when Void Land was being besieged by Heavenly Sword Union and Zuo Quan Hui, the Great Emperors had required countless materials to advance into the Open Heaven Realm. If Yang Kai had not gone to the Black Prison, robbed Luan Bai Feng, and mined an Ore Star from the Black Territory’s depths, he would not have been able to get his hands on the necessary materials. The Great Emperors might still be stuck at the Emperor Realm even now if that had been the case.

Grandmaster Ma Fan nodded, “That’s why they are here! The World Tree is infinitely mysterious. Even though the World Tree of the Star Boundary is just a clone, the feedback from it is so powerful that one can barely believe it. The Cave Heavens and Paradises have taken in quite a number of disciples from the Star Boundary and even dispatched many of their own disciples to be raised there. Over the past few years, many excellent and talented individuals with extraordinary aptitude have appeared in the Star Boundary. It can even be said that there have been more geniuses emerging from the Star Boundary in the past few decades than in the entire 3,000 Worlds over the past few thousand years. Not much time has passed, so these little ones have not fully grown and developed; even so, it is enough to see that there are many among them who are eligible to advance directly into the Fifth and Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm. Some of them might even be able to advance directly into the Seventh Order!”

The Star Boundary was Yang Kai’s homeland, so he couldn’t help feeling proud after listening to Grandmaster Ma Fan’s words. It was foreseeable that the Star Boundary would surely present a grand and prosperous scene in just a few hundred years!

Grandmaster Ma Fan thus sighed, “We’re talking about advancing directly into the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm! Since the establishment of the 36 Cave Heavens and 72 Paradises, how many people have been able to advance directly into the Seventh Order? Not only does it require extraordinary aptitude but also incredible luck and fortune! In any case, one will require Seventh-Order materials in order to advance directly into the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm. The materials for the Five Elements will not pose too much of a problem for now as it is given that the Cave Heavens and Paradises will have some reserves, so they will not lack them. The High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters need these same materials for cultivation, as well, but even if they have some Seventh-Order Yin and Yang Element materials in their reserves, there certainly won’t be enough. It is only natural that they will have to plan ahead.”

Yang Kai immediately understood the situation, “Is that why they want to borrow the Good Fortune Divine Furnace? They want to create enough Seventh-Order Yin and Yang Element materials to prevent their reserves from being stretched too thin when the time comes.”

Grandmaster Ma Fan nodded.

Yang Kai exhaled a long breath. Putting himself in their shoes, he would have made the same choice if he was someone from the Cave Heavens and Paradises.

“In that case, you could have negotiated with them yourself, Grandmaster. Why are you pushing such a highly beneficial deal on me?” Yang Kai was puzzled.

If they wanted to borrow the Good Fortune Divine Furnace, then they would surely need to pay a price. This was a good thing for Great Evolution Paradise. They could make a lot of money just by imposing any random condition. It was a highly beneficial deal that all but fell from the sky into their lap. There was no reason to pass up something like that to somebody else.

Be that as it may, Grandmaster Ma Fan had done just that. He even went so far as to proclaim himself as High Heaven Palace’s High-Rank Guest Elder. In doing so, he placed the full authority over the Good Fortune Divine Furnace in Yang Kai’s hands.

Grandmaster Ma Fan explained, “You may only see four people here today, but those four aren’t just representing their four Cave Heavens and Paradises. They are also representing all the other Cave Heavens and Paradises. They are here to test the waters. Great Evolution Paradise has long gone into decline. At present, this old man is the only one supporting this Sect. Do you think Great Evolution Paradise has the qualifications to negotiate with the Cave Heavens and Paradises? At the most, we can ask for some resources as compensation, but Great Evolution Paradise does not lack resources. This old man only needs to offer up a few Artifact Refining chances to earn more than enough resources for all of us.”

Yang Kai frowned slightly, “Grandmaster, are you saying that they will choose to use force instead if you refuse their request?”

Grandmaster Ma Fan affirmed lightly, “That’s the most likely outcome!”

Yang Kai was secretly surprised. According to Grandmaster Ma Fan, the Cave Heavens and Paradises were scrambling to prepare Seventh-Order Yin and Yang Element materials in advance. The more they could procure, the better it would be for them. That was why they needed to use the Good Fortune Divine Furnace.

Even though they had always known about the existence of the Good Fortune Divine Furnace, they had never bothered to set their sights on it, mainly because the uncertainty when using this strange innate treasure was too high. They might invest tens or even hundreds of materials only to come up empty-handed. Which Sect could possibly afford such losses?

In any case, each Sect was bound to have some reserves of Seventh-Order Yin and Yang Element materials. The numbers might be small, but they were enough. It was just that the situation was different now. The current supply could no longer meet the demand, so they had to come up with different solutions.

Although they might suffer heavy losses from using the Good Fortune Divine Furnace, all their losses would be worth it if they succeeded in producing a disciple who advanced directly to the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm. After all, if one were to advance directly into the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm, then their future limit would be the Ninth-Order!

Leaving aside the Seventh-Order materials for now, even the supply of Sixth-Order Yin and Yang Element materials was insufficient for the near future. The Cave Heavens and Paradises would surely have a much greater demand for such materials in short order.

“At present, Void Land is the only Sect in the entire 3,000 Worlds that has the qualifications to negotiate with all the Cave Heavens and Paradises,” Grandmaster Ma Fan turned to look at Yang Kai.

The World Tree was the best example.

The Star Boundary was Yang Kai’s homeland, and the World Tree was growing in the Star Boundary. Regardless of his cultivation, he had more than enough right to speak on the matter. His status as a Great Emperor of the Star Boundary was enough for him to speak on equal terms with the Cave Heavens and Paradises at least in this situation.

Yang Kai’s eyes flashed, “What are your conditions, Grandmaster?”

Grandmaster Ma Fan laughed, “It’s easy to talk to smart people.”

Great Evolution Paradise was in a steady decline, so how could they negotiate with the Cave Heavens and Paradises on equal footing? Under such circumstances, there was nothing they could do to stop the Cave Heavens and Paradises from simply taking control of the Good Fortune Divine Furnace.

As a last resort, Grandmaster Ma Fan could only dump the risks on Yang Kai instead. Nevertheless, his actions would result in Yang Kai taking quite a large share of the profits from Great Evolution Paradise. It was only natural that he would refuse to take part in such a loss-making business.

“Regardless of the conditions you eventually agree upon with the Cave Heavens and Paradises, Great Evolution Paradise will receive half of the proceeds!” Grandmaster Ma Fan declared bluntly.

Even if it was only half the amount, it would still be far more than the amount Great Evolution Paradise would receive if they tried to negotiate on their own.

Yang Kai nodded without hesitation, “Fine!”

This deal was the equivalent of pie falling into his outstretched hand for nothing. There was no reason for him to be dissatisfied with receiving half of the benefits when he didn’t need to do anything to obtain them in the first place.

“Also, Great Evolution Paradise’s Dao Temple in the Star Boundary will need to be doubled in size. This old man wishes to send more disciples to cultivate at the Star Boundary!”

“That’s not a problem either.”

“That’s enough,” Grandmaster Ma Fan nodded.

“Is that all?” Yang Kai was extremely astonished.

“What else should I ask for?” Grandmaster Ma Fan looked at Yang Kai flatly.

Yang Kai burst into laughter, “You’re truly an unselfish man, Grandmaster.”

Grandmaster Ma Fan snorted, “It won’t seem sincere if I tried to take the lion’s share. Well, in any case, this old man is planning to come out of retirement.”

“Come out of retirement?” Yang Kai was curious.

“The little ones will surely experience rapid growth after being sent to the Star Boundary. They will need many resources for their cultivation once they advance into the Open Heaven Realm in the future. Great Evolution Paradise is not wealthy, so this old man will need to find a way to make more money. Seeing as this old man has no other skills, I can only perform Artifact Refining for others.”

Yang Kai’s eyes lit up when he heard those words, “Are you planning to help others perform Artifact Refining to earn resources, Grandmaster?”

“Do you have an idea?”

“Yes, I do! I have a great idea!” Yang Kai nodded repeatedly, “If you don’t mind, Grandmaster, I can hire you as Void Land’s Chief Artifact Refiner. For every artifact that you refine, I will pay you a certain amount according to the value of the artifact. What do you think?”

Grandmaster Ma Fan fell silent. It was obvious that he did not wish to be restrained in such a manner.

Yang Kai continued, “In addition, I can also send some disciples over to help you, Grandmaster. Whenever you are in a good mood, you can teach them something. If you are in a terrible mood, you can feel free to beat and scold them. Of course, the disciples will remain respectful and filial to you.”

Grandmaster Ma Fan glanced sideways at Yang Kai with an expression that seemed to say, “Brat, you are untrustworthy after all.”

Yang Kai struck while the iron was hot, “Grandmaster, you’ve already proclaimed to be High Heaven Palace’s Supreme High-Rank Guest Elder in front of Elder Yu and the others. Would it make a difference if you receive an additional title as Void Land’s Chief Artifact Refiner?”

After hesitating for a long while, Grandmaster Ma Fan finally let out a long sigh, “I never imagined that this old man would have such a day!”

He had no choice but to rip his heart out for the sake of his disciples.

“In that case, do we have a deal, Grandmaster?” Yang Kai was ecstatic.

Grandmaster Ma Fan nodded sullenly.

Yang Kai burst into hearty laughter, “Don’t worry, Grandmaster. The disciples I send to work under you will not add to your worries.”

Grandmaster Ma Fan snorted, “They won’t be able to learn anything from me without the necessary talent and skill.”

Yang Kai turned to look back at the Good Fortune Divine Furnace again, his gaze burning hot.

Grandmaster Ma Fan added, “What I showed you just now was the situation after putting in various materials of the same Element. As long as the amount is sufficient, the Good Fortune Divine Furnace will return a material of a higher Order; however, there’s another method as well.”

Yang Kai asked, “What method?”

Grandmaster Ma Fan said, “Take out a set of materials of the same Order and throw them in. You will know after you give it a try.”

Upon hearing those words, Yang Kai took out a complete set of Fifth-Order materials harvested from the Gourd Vine from his Space Ring. If there was any resource that Void Land did not lack, it was undoubtedly Fifth-Order materials. Ever since obtaining the Gourd Vine, Void Land could harvest a complete set of Fifth-Order Yin, Yang and Five Elements materials every month from it.

Yang Kai brought a lot of materials along with him when he first departed the Star Boundary. Now that several dozen years had passed, he was certain that Void Land had accumulated even more such materials by now.

After throwing the complete set of seven into the Good Fortune Divine Furnace, the grey fog wriggled like a living creature and greedily swallowed them up in the blink of an eye. A short while later, the grey fog suddenly turned crimson red and an object was spat out from the depths of the furnace.

Yang Kai caught the object, took a look, and exclaimed with raised eyebrows, “A Sixth-Order Water Element!”

Grandmaster Ma Fan explained, “Compared to only investing materials of the same Element, the chances of the Good Fortune Divine Furnace giving back a material of a higher Order increases up to 70 or 80% if you invest a complete set of materials in one go. It can almost be said that the chances of failure are minimal. However, this method has a drawback in that it is impossible to determine the Element of the material you will receive back from the Good Fortune Divine Furnace. You received a Water Element material this time, but it might be a Fire Element or Yin Element instead next time!”

Yang Kai sighed, “It really is amazing!”

There were two methods, both with their respective pros and cons. The first method might result in great losses, but one would receive a material of the same Element as the Element originally invested. On the other hand, although one would experience much less losses with the second method, there were a multitude of uncertainties that came with the results.

Yang Kai had the sudden urge to take all the materials that Void Land had been accumulating from the Gourd Vine over the years and throw them into the Good Fortune Divine Furnace right now. No matter how uncertain the results, he would eventually obtain some Sixth-Order Yin and Yang Element materials if he threw in hundreds or thousands of sets, right?