Martial Peak
chapter-4951

Thanks to Feng Ying’s secret introductions earlier, Yang Kai had memorised the identity of this Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Ancestor. This person was Yin-Yang Cave Heaven’s Lu An. Yang Kai had originally planned to visit this person when he had the time. Now that the situation had come to this, he could only reveal his identity in advance.

Lu An raised his brow, looking extremely surprised. He had not expected Yang Kai to be part of Yin-Yang Cave Heaven. Even if Yang Kai was not born in Yin-Yang Cave Heaven, the fact that he could marry two Yin-Yang Cave Heaven disciples indicated that he was not an ordinary person; otherwise, the Sect would not have allowed the two disciples to marry him.

Everybody else was also extremely flabbergasted. It turned out that the little brat standing in front of them was not from any of the Cave Heavens or Paradises!

Not only was he not from any of the Cave Heavens or Paradises, but he was also only in the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm. How did he come to the Black Ink Battlefield!? Even if he was a Yin-Yang Cave Heaven Son-in-Law, there was no such precedent throughout history.

In the Black Ink Battlefield, all the cultivators in the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm and below were the elite disciples of the Cave Heavens and Paradises exclusively. Only a few of the High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters were from outside Sects. They had been forcefully dispatched to the Black Ink Battlefield by the Cave Heavens and Paradises.

Knowing that Yang Kai was part of Yin-Yang Cave Heaven, Lu An’s expression immediately became much friendlier. He nodded lightly and asked, “Whose disciple did you marry?”

He was not asking out of simple curiosity. Words were useless without proof. There was a need to verify the truth in case Yang Kai turned out to be lying. If he believed those lies blindly and something were to happen in the future, it was Yin-Yang Cave Heaven’s reputation that would suffer a heavy blow.

Yang Kai replied, “The disciples that this Junior married are the Legacy Disciple under Xu Ling Gong and the Legacy Disciple under Chen Xiu.”

Lu An murmured, “So it was Xu and Chen Boy…”

If Yang Kai had mentioned the names of Qu Hua Shang and Tao Ling Wan, there was a possibility that he would not have recognised them; after all, it had been a long time since Lu An came to the Black Ink Battlefield. The two women might not have even been born yet when he left the Sect.

However, Lu An recalled the names of Xu Ling Gong and Chen Xiu to some extent. That was especially true for the person called Xu Ling Gong. Although Xu Ling Gong was nothing more than a rising star in the Sect who had yet to advance into the Open Heaven Realm when Lu An left the Sect, he was already being trained and nurtured as a Core Disciple at the time.

Furthermore, Lu An heard that Xu Ling Gong joined the Black Ink Battlefield several decades ago. It was just that Xu Ling Gong did not come to Blue Sky Pass. Nevertheless, it would not be difficult for him to verify these facts.

Listening to the conversation between those two, the others could basically confirm that Yang Kai was indeed part of Yin-Yang Cave Heaven. Somebody immediately cupped his fist at Lu An and said, “What a blessing, Brother Lu!”

“Congratulations, Brother Lu!”

…

Despite the congratulatory words, Lu An did not seem happy. He simply smiled bitterly while shaking his head and waving away their congratulatory wishes. On the other hand, the frown on Zhong Liang’s face deepened.

“Yang Kai, was it?” Among the congratulatory wishes, somebody spoke up suddenly.

Yang Kai looked in the direction of the voice and discovered that the voice belonged to Tian Xiu Zhu. He immediately cupped his fist and bowed, “Yes!”

“What Order were you when you first advanced into the Open Heaven Realm?” Tian Xiu Zhu asked.

Yang Kai answered, “The Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm!”

“Fifth-Order…” Tian Xiu Zhu nodded lightly, “You must be wondering why we are offering our congratulatory wishes. In truth, this is something related to you.”

Yang Kai looked puzzled. Just why would this be related to him? Besides, he was certainly curious as to why the others were congratulating Lu An.

Lu An raised a hand to interrupt, “Brother Tian, let’s talk about this later.”

There was a hint of reluctance and guilt in his expression.

Tian Xiu Zhu looked at Lu An, “The Black Ink Clan is currently besieging Blue Sky Pass. This is the time when we need to strengthen the might of our forces the most! Therefore, this matter cannot be delayed any longer. Since all the Eighth-Order Masters have basically been gathered here, it’s a good opportunity to speak openly about this matter. Brother Lu, I’m sure you understand that this Tian has no selfish intentions. This is all for the greater good of the Human Race!”

Lu An sighed softly.” Of course, I know that you are not being selfish, Brother Lu. But…”

Tian Xiu Zhu said, “This matter concerns the entire Human Race, not just Yin-Yang Cave Heaven. Brother Lu, you may remain silent if you feel guilty.”

Lu An sighed again and said no more.

Afterward, Tian Xiu Zhu turned to look at Yang Kai, “You not only possess one of the Four Universe Pillars, but have also suppressed and sealed Black Ink Strength in your body. So, you should know how the Four Universe Pillars hold up against the Black Ink Strength.”

Yang Kai nodded, “This Junior naturally understands.”

It was thanks to the World Spring that his Small Universe remained flawless.

Back when he was in the Black Prison, even the Secret Technique of the Black Ink Royal Lord had no effect on him at all. It could be said that he would never need to worry about the corrosion of the Black Ink Strength as long as he had the World Spring. In fact, as long as he was strong enough, he could charge right into the middle of the Black Ink Clan army without any worries.

Tian Xiu Zhu bluntly got to the point, “The Four Universe Pillars are very useful to the Human Race, but they are very rare and hard to find. That is why, if any of the Four Universe Pillars appear in the 3,000 Worlds, the Cave Heavens and Paradises will spare no effort to obtain and deliver it to the Black Ink Battlefield. The Four Universe Pillars would then be refined by an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master and used to fight the Black Ink Clan.

“The Old Ancestors are strong enough that they have no need to fear becoming corrupted by Black Ink Strength. Unfortunately, there have been precedents where Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters were corrupted. The Four Universe Pillars can protect an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master on the battlefield, which will allow them to fight the Black Ink Clan freely and without fear of becoming corrupted. This matter is something that holds great significance to the Human Race!

“On the Black Ink Battlefield, only Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters are eligible to possess a Four Universe Pillar. That is because only Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters can protect such a treasure. You are only in the Sixth-Order at the moment. If you enter the battlefield, there is no guarantee that nothing will happen to you. More importantly, if anything were to happen to you, the Human Race would not only lose you as an individual but also an extremely rare and precious treasure.

“In addition, the Black Ink Clan will surely target you if they learn that you possess one of the Four Universe Pillars. It would be very detrimental for you; after all, the Black Ink Clan is extremely repulsed by the Four Universe Pillars. If given the chance, they will never allow any Human cultivator with a Four Universe Pillar to walk free. As you are now, you are not strong enough to protect the Four Universe Pillars.

“Do you understand what I am trying to say?” Tian Xiu Zhu looked at Yang Kai solemnly.

At first, Yang Kai had not quite grasped the situation, but Tian Xiu Zhu had spoken so clearly that it was impossible for him not to understand now. He immediately nodded in response, “If I have heard you correctly, Senior, you are asking me to offer up my World Spring.”

Tian Xiu Zhu nodded, “Good steel should be used to forge excellent blades. This Old Master’s words may be somewhat cruel, but I do not have any selfish intentions. I am speaking for the sake of the entire Human Race. Of course, please do not worry. This Old Master does not covet the World Spring in your possession. Since you come from Yin-Yang Cave Heaven, the World Spring will be taken over by Brother Lu instead.”

Yang Kai immediately understood. It now made sense as to why they asked him which Cave Heaven or Paradise he came from earlier; they had been preparing for this moment. Depending on which Cave Heaven or Paradise he came from, an Ancestor of that particular Cave Heaven or Paradise would naturally be the one to take possession of the World Spring.

“If you had the potential to advance into the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm, this Old Master would not have had to play the part of the villain. Unfortunately, you only advanced into the fifth order as a starting point, making your limit the seventh order. Even if you became a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, you would still lack the necessary strength required to protect the World Spring!” Tian Xiu Zhu exhaled softly and looked at Yang Kai sternly, “So, Little Friend, this Old Master asks that you offer up the World Spring in contribution to the entire Human Race!”

Yang Kai remained silent and said nothing. He certainly did not expect to encounter this situation after coming to the Black Ink Battlefield. Although he heard Feng Ying mention that all the Four Universe Pillars belonging to the Human Race were in the hands of the Eighth-Order Masters, he had not thought much about her statement at the time. It would seem that it was not because the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters had amazing opportunities, but that the situation had resulted from intentional distribution of resources.

In the past, people who were not in the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm might also have obtained one of the Four Universe Pillars, but they had always voluntarily offered up these treasures so that the Ancestors of their respective Sects could make best use of them instead.

The Black Ink Clan must also be privy to this information, which was why they did not bother to perform a thorough check on cultivators below the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm after converting them with Black Ink Strength. If not for that, the Black Ink Clan Territory Lord would not have departed with such peace of mind after he corrupted Feng Ying.

If this were any other place, Yang Kai would definitely have suspected Tian Xiu Zhu of malicious intentions for bringing up this topic; however, this was the Black Ink Battlefield. There might be some friction and conflicts among the various Cave Heavens and Paradises, but they were of one mind and one will when it came to the war between the Human Race and the Black Ink Clan.

It was just like how Chen Xiu had schemed for his own Disciple to suffer from cultivation dissonance in front of Yang Kai in order to protect Yin-Yang Cave Heaven’s face. He had no malicious intentions towards Yang Kai at the time and was simply acting in the best interests of Yin-Yang Cave Heaven.

Likewise, Tian Xiu Zhu held no malicious intentions towards Yang Kai. Yang Kai himself could perceive that fact; after all, even if he offered up the World Spring, his actions would not benefit Tian Xiu Zhu in any way. The World Spring would only be handed over to the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Ancestor of Yin-Yang Cave Heaven, Lu An.

It was just as Tian Xiu Zhu had said, this was all for the sake of the greater good of the Human Race.

When Yang Kai remained silent, the atmosphere in the hall turned colder. Everybody knew that this situation was very unfair to Yang Kai, but it was not as if they had never encountered similar situations in the past. They had always handled such situations in this manner. There was no reason for them to make an exception for this case.

Tian Xiu Zhu continued, “Please rest assured. Giving up the World Spring will indeed damage the integrity of your Small Universe; however, the Inner Sanctum will prepare a Profound Yin Spirit Fruit for you. We will help you repair your Small Universe so that your cultivation will not be affected in the future. In any case, there is no hurry. You are only in the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm at the moment. Even if you wanted to offer up the World Spring right now, you don’t have the necessary ability to do so. We will only ask this of you when you advance into the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm and your Small Universe transforms from immaterial to material.”

When Yang Kai first obtained the World Spring, he had been placed in captivity by Xia Lin Lang in the Shattered Heaven for some time. That incident had occurred for this very reason.

She had also wanted to obtain the World Spring, but she had to consider Yang Kai’s inadequate cultivation. She believed that his Small Universe was still immaterial and that he could not cut off a part of his Small Universe for her. Therefore, she had provided him with various cultivation materials to help him advance into the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm as soon as possible. Unbeknownst to her, his Small Universe had transformed from immaterial to material a long time ago. He could have separated the World Spring from his body at any time if he wanted.

Needless to say, there was another method available. That method was much easier, which was to kill him. Once Yang Kai died, there was a chance the World Spring would emerge when his Small Universe collapsed.

However, even for the Human Race, forcibly asking a Junior to give up the World Spring was already very cruel, so how could they outright kill him? Nobody would agree to carry out such a heinous act.

Zhong Liang stood silently by the side. There were two reasons why he had previously inquired about Yang Kai’s initial Order when advancing into the Open Heaven Realm. The first reason was that he had been confused as to whether Yang Kai was part of the Human Race or the Dragon Clan. The second reason was that he wanted to know the limits of Yang Kai’s future cultivation.

As soon as he learned that Yang Kai had initially advanced into the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm, he immediately decided to ensure that the news regarding Yang Kai’s possession of the World Spring would never be leaked to others. That was because he knew that they would face this issue once the information was exposed to the public.

If anybody else had possessed one of the Four Universe Pillars instead, Zhong Liang would have wholeheartedly agreed that they should offer up the World Spring. But, Yang Kai was different. The ability to cast Purifying Light would be instrumental for the Human Race; hence, it would not be beneficial for the Human Race to incur his wrath and resentment at such a time.

Secretly glancing at Yang Kai, Zhong Liang discovered that Yang Kai looked calm and indifferent. There was no sign of anger or resentment at all; thus, he couldn’t help feeling impressed.