Martial Peak
chapter-4785

Yuan Du was dead. His death was not caused by anybody else but himself. He died by suicide.

It was just like what Shi Zheng had done in High Heaven Territory when faced with a situation of certain death. In the face of insurmountable odds, he did not show any resistance and simply chose to cut off his vitality. His actions were extremely decisive.

This was a completely unexpected situation. The dozen or so High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters didn’t even get the chance to take action. On the contrary, they were quite shaken to personally witness a Master, who was their equal in terms of status and identity, resolutely taking his own life in front of them.

Yang Kai frowned slightly at the sight. Staring at the spot where Yuan Du had died, he couldn’t help feeling extremely unsettled in his heart.

These Black Ink Disciples seemed to think nothing of their lives after being corrupted. This incident only made him more and more aware of the horrors of the Black Ink. The Black Ink Strength was a force capable of controlling one’s body and mind, which even a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master could not resist.

After watching the Senior Brother whom he had known for thousands of years dying in front of him, Li Yuan Wang’s gaze became very complicated. He stood frozen in place without saying anything for a long time.

Gao Ting stood by his side. Looking up into the horizon, he gave a soft whisper, “Sect Master!”

It was not until he heard his voice that he returned to his senses. He waved his hand and removed the Sealing Array around the Spirit Province.

Immediately after that, a figure sped through the sky towards them. It was Dong Peng. Landing in front of Li Yuan Wang, he bowed and cupped his fist, “Honoured Master, everything has been dealt with. There are no survivors.”

Li Yuan Wang nodded lightly.

When he invited Yuan Du over, he had also arranged for the others to deal with Gu Ling’er and the rest of the Black Ink Disciples at the same time. Even Jiang Yan, who left Lang Ya Paradise some time ago, had Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters tailing him. As soon as he approached High Heaven Territory, they would automatically get rid of them.

“Were there any casualties?” Li Yuan Wang asked.

Dong Peng shook his head, “There was some resistance, but no casualties.”

Li Yuan Wang nodded.

On the contrary, Yang Kai breathed out a sigh of relief when he heard those words. It was normal to have some resistance in the face of death. If all of the Black Ink Disciples had the same courage as Shi Zheng and Yuan Du to sacrifice themselves, then it would be too terrifying. Still, it seemed not everyone could disregard their lives so easily.

Although Lang Ya Paradise did not lose many people in this incident, the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master and the other Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters they lost were people who either held important positions in the Sect or had very high popularity. The disappearance of one or two of them could have been ignored, but all of them disappearing abruptly was bound to arouse the suspicions of the disciples.

Naturally, Lang Ya Paradise had already prepared the means to deal with the aftermath. It just so happened that many Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters who suffered defeat at Yang Kai’s hands had declared that they were going to enter retreat after the training ended. The disappearance of Gu Ling’er and the others could be explained away by claiming that they had gone into retreat. As for Yuan Du, the same would apply to him.

Over time, the waves would naturally subside.

“Many thanks to all of you for coming to help with this matter. Lang Ya Paradise is very eternally grateful,” Li Yuan Wang composed himself and turned to thank the many High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters gathered around him.

Even though they did not get the chance to make a move because Yuan Du had ultimately chosen to end his own life, Yuan Du might have resisted if they had not been watching the situation from nearby. There was no saying whether he would have fought Li Yuan Wang under the compulsion of the Black Ink Strength.

Yu Xiang Die nodded lightly, “Since ancient times, the Cave Heavens and Paradises have always been one family. You’re being too polite, Senior Brother Li.”

The affairs of Lang Ya Paradise could be considered to have been resolved; however, while they were hiding here, they remained unaware of the situation of their own respective Sects. Before rushing over to Lang Ya Paradise, they had already sent messages back to their respective Cave Heavens and Paradises to inform them about the reappearance of the Black Ink Strength.

If everything went as planned, then the Cave Heavens and Paradises had probably been checking themselves in the recent period. Judging from the current situation in Lang Ya Paradise, it was unlikely that the Black Ink Disciples existed in the other Cave Heavens and Paradises. Even so, there was always a possibility. If Lang Ya Paradise had a person like Yuan Du, then the other Cave Heavens and Paradises might have one too.

Li Yuan Wang said, “Now that Yuan Du is dead, the source has been cut off. It will not be easy for us to track down the Black Ink Clansman after this. Do you have any other ideas?”

Yuan Du was nothing more than a Black Ink Disciple. While he was a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master and one of the Vice Sect Masters of Lang Ya Paradise, he was insignificant compared to the actual Black Ink Clan member. Now that he had chosen to take his own life, the search for the true Black Ink Clansman became the top priority of the Cave Heavens and Paradises. As long as the Black Ink Clansman was not found, all of them would have trouble sleeping soundly at night.

Nobody spoke up. During the previous discussion, they had concluded that the Black Ink Clan was most likely hiding in the Shattered Heaven. That place was not only vast, but extremely dangerous and chaotic, so it was much easier to hide and cover one’s tracks there compared to any of the other Great Territories in the 3,000 Worlds. As such, it was not going to be easy to find the whereabouts of the Black Ink Clansman in the expansive Shattered Heaven.

Yang Kai stepped forward and said, “If you will allow me, Seniors, I would like to investigate Yuan Du’s Small Universe. I might be able to learn something there.”

Yu Chang Dao’s eyes lit up at those words, “The altar!”

The only means for Yuan Du to communicate with the hidden Black Ink Clansman and receive Black Ink Insects was through the power of the altar and the sacrificial offering ritual. Although he was dead, the altar that was connected with the Black Ink Clan might not necessarily have been destroyed. They might actually discover something by studying that altar.

None of them had considered this idea. It was not that they were dull-witted. Rather, the Black Ink Strength was so evil and invasive that they subconsciously assumed that the Small Universe left behind by Yuan Du was a forbidden zone.

On the other hand, Yang Kai not only had the World Spring, but also in-depth experience from entering Shi Zheng’s Small Universe once. It was only natural for him to view the situation from a different point of view.

“Are you confident?” Yu Xiang Die asked with concern.

Yang Kai shook his head, “I can only give it a try.”

How could he be certain about anything? Despite witnessing Yuan Du’s actions during the sacrificial offering ritual, he could not figure out how Yuan Du had gotten in touch with the Black Ink Clansman earlier. Even if he did manage to get in contact with the Black Ink Clansman, he was even more uncertain about whether they would discover that he was not part of the Black Ink Disciples.

Nevertheless, giving a dead horse medicine could not harm the horse any further. He could only do whatever he could in this situation. It would not make a difference if he learned nothing, but if he did learn something, then it would certainly be a pleasant surprise. It would be even better if he could determine the location of the Black Ink Clan member’s hiding place through this opportunity.

Li Yuan Wang did not give an immediate answer; instead, he activated his Divine Sense and communicated with the other High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters for a long time. Only then did he turn to look at Yang Kai, “Be careful!”

Those words indicated his agreement.

Yang Kai nodded. Stepping forward, he walked towards the spot where Yuan Du had died.

Yuan Du was a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, so the Small Universe in his body had been fully materialized. The situation of his death was similar to Shi Zheng where his Small Universe hadn’t shattered but had instead been exiled to the Void, leaving only an external portal behind. Even his body had been devoured by his vanished Small Universe.

At this moment, there was an extremely uncomfortable aura coming from the portal. It was the aura of the Black Ink Strength.

Thanks to his prior experience, Yang Kai could be considered traversing a familiar path. His figure flickered and he plunged into Yuan Du’s Small Universe.

Just like the scene he saw a few days ago, Yuan Du’s Small Universe was pitch-black. The dense Black Ink Strength writhed and surged tumultuously like ink that had been spilled on the ground.

Unfortunately, as Yuan Du had died by suicide, the Universe Paradise he left behind was now a chaotic mess. With the World Barriers cracked and the landscape turned upside down, it was now essentially a mass of shattered Spirit Provinces that were being loosely held together.

Yang Kai could only secretly pray that the altar had been preserved; otherwise, he would not have the opportunity to come across another one again.

Wandering around in Yuan Du’s Small Universe, he tried his best to compare his surroundings with the scenes in his memories to search for a sense of familiarity. It took several hours before he found the altar in the shape of a Nine Layer Pagoda on a Spirit Province that only had a radius of several dozen metres.

Using a Secret Technique, Yang Kai removed the altar completely and relocated it to a larger, stabler Spirit Province. He silently recalled Yuan Du’s various actions from before, then he reached out to retrieve a sharp longsword from his Space Ring and slashed at his arm. Having withdrawn his defensive abilities, the sword slash immediately caused his Golden Dragon Blood to spurt out and splatter across the altar.

Yang Kai allowed his blood to flow freely, but even so, his brow furrowed with worry. Yuan Du had used his own blood as the sacrificial offering and simultaneously muttered something under his breath back then. Unfortunately, Yang Kai did not know what Yuan Du had said at the time. He could imitate actions such as offering his own blood as a sacrificial offering, but how could he know what Yuan Du had been chanting at the time? It might have been some kind of irrelevant mantra or a crucial part of the ritual. He was not sure whether Yuan Du’s muttering would have any effect on the sacrificial offering, so all he could do right now was give his best attempt and leave the rest to fate.

Golden Blood continuously dripped onto the altar as Yang Kai suppressed his emotions and waited quietly. Yuan Du had also performed the sacrificial offering ritual for quite a long time. It seemed that the Black Ink Clansman only responded after a long wait, so Yang Kai was not in a hurry. Be that as it may, he never expected the altar to remain unresponsive even after three whole days had passed. The Dragon Blood he spilled was enough to fill a pond by then.

The situation gave him an inevitable sense of discouragement, and he wondered whether his method was wrong. If his method was wrong, then it didn’t matter how much blood he spilled or how long he waited. He would never get in touch with the hidden Black Ink Clansman. Therefore, Yang Kai decided to wait one more day, and if there was still no effect, he would immediately leave.

To his pleasant surprise, the altar reacted half a day later. Pure Black Ink Strength suddenly poured out like poisonous snakes sliding out from the shadows and quickly wrapped around him.

The Black Ink Strength pouring out of the altar was slightly different from the Black Ink Strength that Yuan Du owned. Although the Black Ink Strength could not be called dense, it was much purer in comparison.

Yang Kai couldn’t help feeling shocked! He had only done this on a whim, so it was surprising that his method actually worked!

In spite of his excitement, he remained extremely vigilant. He did not forget that a mighty Will had descended all of a sudden when he watched Yuan Du performing the sacrificial offering ritual. The horror of the Will demonstrated the strength of its owner. That power was not something he could resist.

Pure Black Ink Strength surged around Yang Kai as if trying to flood into his body. He pondered in silence for a moment but ultimately did not resist. The Black Ink Strength then quickly infiltrated his body and rushed into his Small Universe.

In the next moment, the majestic Will that he experienced previously descended again without warning! All of a sudden, his entire body was struck with an exceptionally peculiar feeling. It was cold, dark, and deathly silent. At the same time, an unstoppable restraining force came from all directions to envelope him in countless layers. He was unable to move a single muscle as a result.

This feeling made him panic, but he soon came to realise that this horrendous feeling did not belong to him. When the majestic Will descended and the Black Ink Strength poured into his body, he resonated with the Will to some extent. It would seem that this resonance allowed both parties to spy upon a fraction of each other’s inner feelings.