Martial Peak
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chapter-4864
On his previous visit to Black Territory, Yang Kai personally refined an incredible artifact called the Void Yin-Yang Mirrors. With this Hallowed Treasure, he was able to move some 30-plus Ore Stars from the Inner Region to the periphery so that Luan Bai Feng’s subordinates could easily extract the materials inside them.
300 years had passed since that time.
The changes in Black Territory started taking place after he left.
Just like Luan Bai Feng had said, they were not aware of the changes going on in Black Territory because the cultivators here had been focused on mining the Ore Stars that had been moved to the periphery.
It took them about 100 to fully mine out those 30 or so Ore Stars.Luan Bai Feng then headed to the Star Boundary to look for Yang Kai as she wanted him to visit Black Territory again and use the Void Yin-Yang Mirrors to move more Ore Stars out.
Unfortunately, Yang Kai was being pursued by Bright Sun Divine Monarch’s in the Shattered Heaven at that time. Then, he arrived at the Ancestral Land, and there had not been any news about him since then.
Since Yang Kai was nowhere to be found, Luan Bai Feng’s subordinates had nothing else to do. She was not a kind-hearted person, so she ordered her subordinates to go further into Black Territory to begin mining Ore Stars. She would never allow them to stay idle.
Although the ore slaves and captives were displeased, they could only obey her order.
It wasn’t until they began venturing into the Inner Region that the changes in Black Territory became known to Luan Bai Feng. The originally dangerous places had become safe, and the area initially engulfed in the strange strength was now unimpeded. When they were staying there, the heritage of their Small Universes wouldn’t leave their bodies.
This discovery astounded Luan Bai Feng while the ore slaves and captives were ecstatic; after all, no one was willing to work in a dangerous place. It was good news to them that Black Territory had become safe.
“Initially, the safe area in Black Territory wasn’t so big, but it became increasingly wider as time passed. More Ore Stars were free from the strange strength’s influence, and I didn’t have enough people to extract the materials, so I came up with a solution.”“You spread the news and attracted outsiders to come over by promising to give them some benefits?”
Luan Bai Feng nodded, “Yes. Even though we’ll suffer some losses, it wouldn’t matter to pay a small price as long as we could have control over the valuable materials. That’s what I thought at least. If you think this is a bad idea, I’ll chase all of them out now.”
Yang Kai shook his head, “Since the news has been spread, others will have a bad impression of us if we go back on our word now. Moreover, you have a point. As long as we can keep the valuable materials, it’s fine to pay a small price. The rules you’ve set are sufficient.”
Luan Bai Feng hung her head low, “Many thanks, Sect Master.”
“You may continue handling the affairs in Black Territory; however, if you come across something like this again, you must not make any rash decisions. If you can’t find me, you can consult Head Manager and Second Manager.”
“Yes,” Luan Bai Feng replied respectfully. Then, she parted her lips as though she was trying to say something.
Yang Kai shot her a glance, “Speak.”
Luan Bai Feng said, “Sect Master, an interesting thing was found on one of the Ore Stars some time ago.”
“What is it?” Yang Kai asked with an arched brow.
Luan Bai Feng looked around and replied hesitantly, “This thing is a little strange, so it cannot be shown to everyone. I’m not sure how to describe it, but you’ll know what it is at first glance. Please come with me.”
After giving it a thought, Yang Kai said, “Very well.”
“This way please,” Luan Bai Feng extended her hand.
Yang Kai rose from the chair and followed her into the cabin. Soon, they entered a room, after which Luan Bai Feng performed different hand seals and activated the barrier in the room to bar anyone from entering.
Her actions made Yang Kai feel curious as he wondered what it was that they had found. Luan Bai Feng was so careful that she even asked him to enter a private room just to have a look.
Just as his curiosity was piqued, Luan Bai Feng suddenly fished out a wooden box from her Space ring and held it out to him with both hands, “Sect Master, it’s this thing.”
Yang Kai stared fixedly at the wooden box and narrowed his eyes.
That was because he found the wooden box familiar. A couple hundred years ago, someone had fished out a very similar wooden box and presented it to him as a Hallowed Treasure.
In the end, it turned out to be a plot.
All these years later, the same thing happened again right before his eyes!
Yang Kai couldn’t help feeling forlorn. Even though there were a lot of Open Heaven Realm Masters in Void Land and High Heaven Palace, there were only a small number of Sixth-Order Masters. Despite the fact that he had subdued Luan Bai Feng using the Loyalty List, she was of great help to him, not to mention that she was extremely talented in the Dao of Spirit Arrays.
In fact, Yang Kai regarded her highly and had decided to help her ascend to the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm when the time came.
Now, it seemed that there would be no need for that.
He suddenly realised why the names of Luan Bai Feng and Xin Peng had disappeared from the Loyalty List. Initially, he thought that they had passed away, but it turned out that they were still alive and kicking.
Nevertheless, they were no longer the Luan Bai Feng and Xin Peng that he knew.
They had turned into entirely different people, so they were no longer loyal to Yang Kai; instead, they were loyal to someone else.
That was the reason their names had disappeared from the Loyalty List.
After taking the wooden box, Yang Kai didn’t immediately open it; instead, he said, “Elder Luan, we haven’t met in years, and it seems that you’re being overly polite to me now.”
With her head hung low, Luan Bai Feng replied, “You’ve become more powerful now, and I wouldn’t dare to be impudent in front of you.”
Yang Kai nodded, “Do you know what’s inside this wooden box?”
Luan Bai Feng replied, “It’s a very interesting thing, but I don’t know how to deal with it. You’ll have to make a decision, Sect Master.”
“Good,” Yang Kai said, then opened the wooden box as a nervous Luan Bai Feng watched him.
The next instant, a black light dashed out of the wooden box and came right at Yang Kai’s face at the speed of lightning.
At the same time, Luan Bai Feng took a few steps back to widen her gap with Yang Kai, then performed different hand seals as a Grand Array completely sealed off this room.
She was an expert in the Dao of Spirit Arrays, and she had personally set up the Spirit Arrays in this room and on this ship. In this area, she could temporarily exert the power of a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master.
It seemed that Yang Kai was about to dodge the black light, but under the influence of the Spirit Array, he froze for a moment.
This moment of delay allowed the black light to penetrate his body.
While he started shuddering, an elated Luan Bai Feng gazed at him with a faint smile on her face.
A stream of Black Qi billowed from Yang Kai’s body and engulfed him. He gritted his teeth and roared as his eyes slowly darkened.
Just then, Luan Bai Feng parted her lips and started murmuring to him in a charming manner, “Obey the Black Ink Clan, Sect Master. When our Master ascends to his throne, we shall rule over the world together!”
Yang Kai soon stopped resisting as the Black Qi around him thickened.
A moment later, the Black Qi contracted and revealed Yang Kai’s face; however, his eyes had turned completely black.
An ecstatic Luan Bai Feng pressed one hand against her chest and nodded at Yang Kai, “Black Ink Eternal!”
With a solemn expression, Yang Kai saluted her, “Black Ink Eternal!”
Since they were companions now, Luan Bai Feng stopped acting polite. She took a seat on the chair and picked up a cup of tea as she wanted to give Yang Kai some time to get used to his new reality.
Standing on the same spot, Yang Kai examined his Small Universe.
There was some Black Ink Strength that had been suppressed in a particular spot in his Small Universe. The Black Ink Strength was even richer than what he had collected from Shi Zheng previously, but this wasn’t surprising as it was formed from a dead Black Ink Insect, so it was extremely pure. Although it was now suppressed in Yang Kai’s Small Universe, it was still squirming as though it was trying to kick up a storm.
The black light from the wooden box was a Black Ink Insect. Yang Kai still had a Black Ink Insect with him now, so he could instantly figure out what was inside the box when he saw it.
After that, he only put on a pretence in front of Luan Bai Feng.
It wasn’t easy to fool her, for the Black Ink Strength inside his Small Universe was already destroyed by Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan in the Chaotic Dead Territory. He was no longer able to pretend to be a Black Ink Disciple using Black Ink Strength.
Fortunately, the Black Ink Insect that had penetrated his body gave him a chance. Although a Black Ink Insect was threatening, it was frail. Any Open Heaven Realm cultivator could easily kill it if they were prepared.
Just now, Yang Kai directly killed the Black Ink Insect, and after it exploded, a pure Black Ink Strength streamed out of it.
He had previously used a similar method to fool the many Black Ink Disciples in Lang Ya Paradise, so it wasn’t hard to do the same with Luan Bai Feng.
The Cave Heavens and Paradises had done their best to stop any news about the Black Ink Clan from spreading.
Be it the suicide of Shi Zheng or the many Black Ink Disciples in Lang Ya Paradise, only the Inner Elders and Ancestors of the Cave Heavens and Paradises were aware of the incident. None of the disciples knew anything about it, let alone Luan Bai Feng, who was far away in Black Territory.
If she knew what Yang Kai had experienced, she wouldn’t have used a Black Ink Insect to deal with him and even thought that he was her companion and wouldn’t have his guard up against her.
She could never have expected that Yang Kai had a World Spring in his Small Universe either.
They hadn’t met for hundreds of years, so when Yang Kai obtained the World Spring, Luan Bai Feng was still monitoring her subordinates to extract materials in the Black Prison. It wasn’t until this day that they reunited, and she had no way of knowing Yang Kai’s current situation.
With the World Spring’s protection, his Small Universe was impervious to outside influences. Even Black Ink Insects couldn’t harm him one bit.
Both Luan Bai Feng and Xin Peng were now Black Ink Disciples. Perhaps many Open Heaven Realm Masters, who were mining ores in Black Territory, had also been corrupted by the Black Ink Strength as well.
Yang Kai already had this speculation when he saw two groups of Black Ink Disciples killing themselves in the centre of Black Territory. Now, his speculations were verified.
Only in a Black Ink Clansman’s hiding place would there be so many Black Ink Disciples.
The leaders of the Cave Heavens and Paradises thought that the true Black Ink Clansman was hiding somewhere in the Shattered Heaven, but no one could have expected that they were really hiding in Black Territory instead.
It was then Yang Kai realised what the other kind of strength was besides the strange strength when he arrived at the depths of Black Territory.
It was the Black Ink Clansman’s power, but it was obscured by the strange draining strength, which was why he couldn’t sense it clearly.