Martial Peak
chapter-4783

Faced with the request of such a gentle woman like Gu Ling’er, especially under the ardent gaze of her watery eyes, there was probably no man in the world who would refuse her; however, Yang Kai shook his head and said, “Maybe next time. I wish to go to the Ancestral Land as soon as possible to confirm the life or death of the Giant Spirit God. This matter is related to the rise of the Black Ink Clan, so it cannot be delayed.”

Since he brought up the Black Ink as an excuse, she could not refute anything he said; thus, she could only nod in response, “I hope you have a smooth journey, Junior Brother.”

“Senior Sister, take care! I’ll be taking my leave now!” He cupped his fist, then soared into the air and departed in the blink of an eye.

An hour later, many people witnessed the Sect Master’s Legacy Disciple Dong Peng giving Yang Kai a send-off from Lang Ya Paradise.

Inside a secret room, many High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters were gathered together. There were at least fifty or sixty of them altogether. It was conceivable how fifty or sixty Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters gathered together would be an extremely terrifying force.

Aside from the Cave Heavens and Paradises, there were no other great forces that could bring out such a line-up. Nevertheless, the High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters gathered here were not from the same Cave Heaven or Paradise. They each represented one of the great forces that stood at the top of the 3,000 Worlds.

More than a month had passed since they arrived at Lang Ya Territory, but they had remained hidden inside this secret room throughout this period. With the exception of Sect Master Li Yuan Wang, Vice Sect Master Gao Ting, several Supreme Elders, Gu Pan, and Dong Peng, no one else in Lang Ya Paradise was aware of their arrival.

At this moment, they were all waiting for something. Although there were so many of them, the secret room was totally silent. For Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, such patience was nothing. Only Li Yuan Wang, who sat in the highest seat, seemed very uneasy and subconsciously rubbed his fingers together lightly.

All of a sudden, a weak energy fluctuation appeared, followed by the sound of footsteps. Everybody became alert and turned to look in the direction of the sound.

A short while later, Yang Kai stepped into the secret room under Dong Peng’s guidance. Although he had departed Lang Ya Paradise earlier, his actions were only to fool the Black Ink Disciples. He later secretly returned to Lang Ya Paradise with the help of Dong Peng. It was thanks to his proficiency in the Dao of Space that his quick trip was unknown to all the other people in Lang Ya Paradise, apart from Dong Peng whom he had made arrangements with in advance.

“Greetings, Seniors!” Yang Kai bowed in greeting.

“Sit!” Li Yuan Wang gestured with his hand.

Yang Kai murmured his thanks and took a seat.

Several dozen pairs of eyes stared fixedly at him as Li Yuan Wang asked, “What did you learn?”

Gu Ling’er previously gathered Zong Yu Quan and the others under the pretext of inviting Yang Kai over for an exchange of pointers. As the Sect Master, he was naturally aware of the circumstances. In particular, those people had already been identified as Black Ink Disciples by Yang Kai. That alone was a great cause of concern for him.

Yang Kai had immediately taken his leave after departing from Gu Ling’er’s place, so Li Yuan Wang had not had the time to ask anything.

“There’s good news and bad news. Sect Master Li, which would you like to hear first?” Yang Kai asked while looking at Li Yuan Wang.

Li Yuan Wang reluctantly replied, “Let’s hear the good news first.”

Yang Kai said, “The good news is that, apart from the few people who I’ve already identified as Black Ink Disciples, there are only two other fish who slipped through the net. One of them is a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master named Gong Wen Shan!”

“Gong Wen Shan…” When Li Yuan Wang heard the name, he turned to look at Gao Ting.

Gao Ting looked sad, “Wen Shan has also been corrupted by the Black Ink?”

Judging by his tone and expression, he probably had high hopes for Gong Wen Shan. Unfortunately, it was meaningless no matter how much he favoured him now that he had been corrupted by the Black Ink. Although the appearance of a person corrupted by the Black Ink would not look any different from usual, they were no longer the same person as before inside.

Li Yuan Wang murmured, “When that child Wen Shan first advanced into the Open Heaven Realm, it had only been to the Fourth Order. The Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm was his limit. It was only thanks to many years of intense cultivation that he was able to obtain his current achievements. Therefore, it was inevitable for him to succumb to the temptations of the Black Ink Strength. I’m afraid that’s probably one of the reasons the mastermind chose him.”

Yang Kai exclaimed, “As expected, you know about some of the mysteries of the Black Ink Strength.”

Judging from the meaning behind Li Yuan Wang’s words, it could be seen that he knew about the ability of the Black Ink Disciples corrupted by the Black Ink to break the shackles of the Open Heaven Realm and advance without limitations.

“It looks like you’ve heard of it too!” Li Yuan Wang glanced at Yang Kai.

Yang Kai nodded, “As long as those who have been corrupted by the Black Ink have enough resources, they can continue to advance in their cultivation without limitations. That is indeed a huge temptation. It’s no wonder that the Cave Heavens and Paradises have always kept the information regarding the Black Ink a secret since ancient times.”

“That’s right. People’s hearts are unpredictable. If this information were spread to the public, who can guarantee that those with ulterior motives or misanthropy will not take the initiative to seek out the Black Ink Strength? Although it is basically impossible for the Black Ink Clan to exist in the 3,000 Worlds, there is always an exception to everything. Lang Ya Paradise’s current situation is that exception.” Li Yuan Wang sighed deeply.

Gao Ting looked at Yang Kai and asked, “You mentioned that there are two fish who slipped through the net. If one of them is Gong Wen Shan, then who is the other one?”

Yang Kai’s expression became solemn, “That’s related to the bad news I have for you. The last person is Yuan Du!”

“What!?” Li Yuan Wang was shocked and even Gao Ting had a look of disbelief on his face.

That was Yuan Du! One of the three Vice Sect Masters in Lang Ya Paradise!

It was obvious that the other Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters present in the room were also aware of Yuan Du’s identity, so their expressions at this moment were extremely serious.

One of the three Vice Sect Masters in Lang Ya Paradise turned out to be corrupted by the Black Ink. If this news were spread to the public, they would be subjected to endless ridicule.

Li Yuan Wang could barely believe what he heard, “Martial Nephew, are you certain that person is Yuan Du?”

Yang Kai replied, “I saw him myself. How can it be anything but the truth?”

“Are you acquainted with Yuan Du?” Li Yuan Wang asked persistently. It was not that he did not believe in Yang Kai’s words, it was just that the truth was simply too difficult for him to accept.

“When I first came to Lang Ya Paradise and went to visit you with Junior Sister Gu, I met Yuan Du along the way. Junior Sister Gu explained his identity to me at the time,” Yang Kai explained.

Li Yuan Wang thought back for a moment before he nodded in response, “That’s right. Before you arrived, I was discussing some matters with Yuan Du. You arrived right after he departed.”

In that case, it could be confirmed that Yang Kai was speaking the truth. The identity of the final person corrupted by the Black Ink could also be confirmed. It turned out to be one of the three Vice Sect Masters in Lang Ya Paradise! Even if Li Yuan Wang had strong mental fortitude, he was shocked by the news and lost his composure.

The news that Yang Kai brought certainly consisted of good news and bad news.

The good news was that Lang Ya Paradise’s situation was not as dire as they initially predicted.

When Shi Zheng’s identity as a Black Ink Disciple was first exposed, many foreign affairs envoys from the various Cave Heavens and Paradises had been extremely worried about the situation in Lang Ya Paradise. Nobody knew how many Black Ink Disciples were hidden after all. That was also why they immediately dispatched several dozen High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters with the intention of helping Lang Ya Paradise and containing the situation.

It was only at this moment that they discovered that the situation was not too terrible or unbearable. There were only a few people who had been corrupted by the Black Ink Strength. In this way, the situation could be controlled to a certain extent. There was no need to worry about the information being leaked to the outside and causing a panic.

On the other hand, one of the three Vice Sect Masters of Lang Ya Paradise turned out to be a person corrupted by the Black Ink. There could not be any worse news for Lang Ya Paradise.

Yu Xiang Die of Yin-Yang Cave Heaven said, “Tell us about all the events and people that you encountered in detail. Let’s take a look at the situation together!”

“En!” Yang Kai responded before he continued, “During the training, I confirmed the identities of several Black Ink Disciples. By the way, the people who are corrupted by the Black Ink and eroded by the power of the Black Ink Clan call themselves Black Ink Disciples!”

Everybody nodded lightly. That was something none of them had known beforehand. It couldn’t be helped since nobody had ever infiltrated the Black Ink Disciples to gather more information.

Yang Kai continued, “Gu Ling’er is one of them. After the training, I received an invitation from her. She invited me to her Spirit Province for an exchange meeting. When I arrived, I saw that the other Black Ink Disciples in the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm were already there. In the beginning, the conversation was very ordinary. It was no different from the gatherings with the other Fellow Brothers. Then, Yuan Du came…”

Yang Kai described everything he encountered and heard in Gu Ling’er’s Spirit Province to them in great detail. The main reason was that he was worried about missing out on any useful information. There was no denying that the High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters present in this place knew more about the Black Ink Clan than he did. There was no denying that if Shi Zheng had not tried to drag him into the matter, he would not have known about the existence of something as evil as the Black Ink Clan even now.

When he told them about how Yuan Du had repeatedly tried to sound him out, everybody couldn’t help feeling very nervous even though they knew he must have resolved the issues without any danger; after all, he would not be sitting here safe and sound otherwise.

Upon hearing about the altar and Yuan Du’s sacrificial offering ritual, they furrowed their brows slightly in response. Then, when they heard about the Black Ink Giant Spirit God in the Divine Spirit’s Ancestral Land, they finally turned pale in fear.

Yu Xiang Die asked in shock, “Did you make up that story to deceive Yuan Du, or is that story the truth?”

Yang Kai responded sternly, “The Black Ink Giant Spirit God does exist. He still sits within the Ancestral Land. However, I did not tell Yuan Du the whole truth. At the time, several Divine Spirits headed by the Phoenix Clan and the Kun Clan went deep into the Giant Spirit God’s body to investigate the situation. They confirmed that he had been dead for many aeons. Besides, when I first obtained the Dragon Clan’s Crystal Palace, I also witnessed various scenes from the ancient war with its help. During that ancient war, the Dragon Clan’s Dragon Emperor and the Phoenix Clan’s Phoenix Empress burned all their Blood Essence and used the Sacred Treasures of all the Divine Spirit Clans as a foundation to split the Ancestral Land into two. Using that as a basis, they managed to suppress and seal the Giant Spirit God.”

Although he witnessed various scenes from the ancient war back then, he had not known about the actual situation at the time, much less understood why a Giant Spirit God was in conflict with the Divine Spirits in the Ancestral Land. It was not until later when he came across the Black Ink Disciples that he suddenly understood the entire situation. The Demon Sealing Land passed down by word of mouth between the Divine Spirits should actually be known as the Black Ink Sealing Land!

Upon hearing Yang Kai’s response, everybody breathed out a sigh of relief. It was fortunate that the Giant Spirit God was dead! The Giant Spirit God Clan was an extremely terrifying Race after all. If he was not dead, even the Divine Spirits in the Ancestral Land would not be able to stop him if he were released from captivity. At that time, rivers of blood would surely flow in the 3,000 Worlds.

Gao Ting said, “In other words, Yuan Du’s current goal is to free the Giant Spirit God!”

“That’s right!” Yang Kai nodded, “But, his efforts are bound to be in vain.”

He nodded lightly, “The situation is still within control.”

Yuan Du had no reason to deceive Yang Kai at the time, so his words back then were probably the truth.

The Black Ink Insects were extremely rare. For that reason, he only managed to corrupt a few people in Lang Ya Paradise over the years. Among them, with the exception of the dead Shi Zheng, the rest were in the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm.