Martial Peak
chapter-4960

“Whether or not the Purifying Light will be lost, we will know once we test it out.”

Now that things had come to this, they had to explore every single possibility that came to mind.

Fan Xun and others got to work again tinkering with the Grand Array. Another two days passed before they finally completed their preparations.

As before, Yang Kai walked into the Grand Array and Fan Xun formed a hand seal to activate the Sealing Array. After that, Yang Kai cast Purifying Light.

Looking at the pure white, flawless light, Fan Xun and the others couldn’t help feeling a deep sense of pain and remorse. Over the past few months, their experiments had failed over and over again, resulting in them wasting quite a lot of the Purifying Light. These incidents had been eating away at their confidence, and they were starting to harbour great doubts about the craft they had honed over all these years.

Both the Space Arrays had been inspected before the Sealing Array was activated, and it was confirmed that they were in working order.

Now that the Grand Array had been activated, Yang Kai stood on the Space Array and tried to activate it, but sure enough, his attempt failed. It was just as Fan Xun claimed. They had poured massive effort into preparing the Sealing Array to isolate the inside from the outside. In other words, the space inside the Sealing Array could not connect with the outside world. Forget the two Space Arrays, even if Yang Kai wanted to perform Instantaneous Movement on his own, he could not escape from the confines of the Spirit Array without destroying the Grand Array first.

“Yang Kai, are you ready!?” Fan Xun shouted.

Yang Kai replied, “Yes! Martial Uncle Fan, please begin!”

Fan Xun nodded lightly and changed his hand seal. With a slight wave of the Array Banner, the Grand Array underwent some subtle changes.

Outside the Grand Array, everybody watched intently without even blinking. In the next moment, obvious fluctuations of Space Principles came from within the Grand Array, emanating from Yang Kai. Everyone quickly turned to look to the side. Sure enough, Yang Kai’s figure suddenly appeared on the other Space Array. Unfortunately, some of the pure white light emerged along with him. The light lingered around his body and quickly dissipated into the surroundings.

There was no doubt that the white light was the Purifying Light that was originally sealed inside the Grand Array. When the two Space Arrays connected with each other, Yang Kai was not the only thing to be transported out of the Grand Array. The Purifying Light had also escaped along the passage established by the Space Array.

Fan Xun frowned deeply. This outcome was both unexpected and expected; therefore, he couldn’t help feeling extremely helpless.

On the other hand, Yang Kai sighed softly. Even the Space Array could not solve their current conundrum. At this rate, he truly did not know how to solve this problem anymore. The failure this time had also affected him to a certain degree. That was because this matter was highly related to him. If they were unable to resolve this issue, the wastage of the Purifying Light was a secondary problem. More importantly, his future prospects would not be bright either. He was just about to console Fan Xun and the others so that they could think of other solutions when he heard Feng Ying’s voice, “Martial Uncle Dong Guo!”

Everybody quickly turned to look in Feng Ying’s direction only to see her bowing in a certain direction in the sky. They followed her gaze and saw a burly middle-aged man suspended in mid-air. He was quietly looking down at the situation below him.

Fan Xun and others hurriedly bowed in greeting, and Yang Kai followed suit.

Yang Kai did not recognise the person who came. Although he had met most of the Eighth-Order Masters in Blue Sky Pass back at the Main Conference Hall, a few of them had not shown up for that meeting. Feng Ying had explained that it was impossible for Zhong Liang to summon all the Eighth-Order Masters to the Main Conference Hall at once; after all, somebody needed to oversee the battlefield. Martial Uncle Dong Guo was clearly one of those people.

Having said that, Yang Kai had seen this person passing by several times recently even though he did not recognise him. Every single time, Martial Uncle Dong Guo would fly overhead with a group of people following behind him. He was always in a rush and seemed to constantly be busy.

Yang Kai had noticed him looking down curiously on several occasions, but he was most likely in too much of a hurry to come over and investigate the situation. It would seem that he had some time on his hands today. There was no saying how long he had been watching the situation; after all, everybody had been so focused on testing the effects of the Space Array that they did not notice his arrival.

Martial Uncle Dong Guo walked over as though there were invisible steps leading downward under his feet. He turned to look at the Sealing Array, then he turned to glance at Yang Kai. After a brief scan, he smiled and nodded at Yang Kai.

Even though Yang Kai did not know him, he knew about Yang Kai. He knew that there was a person who could purify and dispel Black Ink Strength in the Central Square. That person had helped countless resolve their crisis over the past few months. Many people he knew had also benefited from this person. That was why he had always paid attention to the situation every time he passed by this place.

Feng Ying knew that Yang Kai was not familiar with Blue Sky Pass and did not recognize the person in front of them, so she took the initiative to explain, “This is Martial Uncle Dong Guo An Ping of Divine Cauldron Cave Heaven.”

[Divine Cauldron Cave Heaven…] Yang Kai raised his brow at the name and recalled the little fatty, Xu Zhen.

Speaking of which, he had not seen the little fatty again after they parted at the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary. Xu Zhen was a Core Disciple of Divine Cauldron Cave Heaven after all. Not to mention, he had received the favour of a Divine Spirit while he was training in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary and grew tremendously as a result. It was rumoured that Xu Zhen had successfully advanced into the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm a long time ago.

“Greetings, Martial Uncle Dong Guo.” Yang Kai bowed once more.

Dong Guo An Ping nodded and said, “No need to be so polite. I’ve heard about you for some time now. Although I’ve passed by a few times, I’ve always been busy with work and could not make the time to come down. It so happened that I had some free time when I passed by today, so I came to take a look.”

Feng Ying explained, “Every time the Black Ink Clan attacks, the people from Divine Cauldron Cave Heaven are the busiest. If the warships on the battlefield are damaged, they will require many Artifact Refiners to repair and replace them. The Fellow Brothers of Divine Cauldron Heaven are proficient in the Dao of Artifact Refining, so this task is naturally entrusted to them.”

Yang Kai was stunned when he heard those words. It was not until this moment that he understood the reason why he kept seeing Martial Uncle running around recently. It turned out that Dong Guo An Ping had been going around repairing the damaged warships. Since Divine Cauldron Heaven was famous for Artifact Refining, it was only natural that they were also capable of this.

It could even be said that most of the warships at the great passes were produced by Divine Cauldron Heaven disciples. They were considered extremely precious talents, similar to Array Masters like Fan Xun. Such talented individuals would never be allowed to carelessly set foot on the battlefield, lest they were killed or corrupted by Black Ink Strength and became Black Ink Disciples. On the contrary, they gave those at the front strong support from the rear.

“What are you doing here?” Dong Guo An Ping asked with a glance at the Sealing Array. Having passed by this place on several occasions, he had a vague idea about what they were up to, but he was not sure if the situation was the same as what he was thinking. It was precisely because he had some speculations on the matter that he deliberately took the time to stop and watch for a while today.

Feng Ying quickly explained what they had been working on for the past few months and the challenges that they were facing at the moment. The person in front of her was not just an Eighth-Order Master, but also a Division Commander. Even if he would not easily set foot on the battlefield, Dong Guo An Ping had the qualifications to intervene in such matters. Besides, she did not wish to conceal anything from him.

Dong Guo An Ping nodded after listening to her explanation, “So that’s how it is.” Then, he suddenly suggested something, “Since the Dao of Spirit Arrays is unable to perfectly prevent the wastage of the Purifying Light, have you considered using the Dao of Artifact Refining?”

Fan Xun was taken aback, “The Dao of Artifact Refining?”

They were all Spirit Array Grandmasters, so when encountering problems, it was only natural that they tried to solve them from the perspective of Spirit Arrays. Why would they consider using the Dao of Artifact Refining?

“The Dao of Artifact Refining…” Yang Kai murmured. His eyes lit up a moment later, and he rubbed his palms together, “Right… How could I have forgotten about that?”

There were times when one might not see the light at the end of the tunnel. On the contrary, the road ahead might end in a steep hanging cliff. He had been working together with Fan Xun and others throughout this period of time, so he had been influenced by them and only considered the problem from the perspective of the Dao of Spirit Arrays. He had totally forgotten about the Dao of Artifact Refining.

Back in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, the little fatty, Xu Zhen, had helped him to refine the Yuan Magnetic Divine Bottle Gourd which sealed and contained a large amount of Yuan Magnetic Divine Light! In the past, Yang Kai had borrowed the strength of the Yuan Magnetic Divine Bottle Gourd to repel many powerful enemies.

Strictly speaking, the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light and the Purifying Light were essentially the same. Both were a kind of energy. Although they had different effects, there was no denying that both were a form of light! If the Yuan Magnetic Divine Bottle Gourd could seal the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light, then it could also seal the Purifying Light.

In his excitement, Yang Kai took out the empty Yuan Magnetic Divine Bottle Gourd and handed the object to Dong Guo An Ping, “Senior, please take a look at this.”

Dong Guo An Ping took the Yuan Magnetic Divine Bottle Gourd and immediately raised his eyebrows in surprise, “This object contains traces of Divine Cauldron Heaven’s techniques, but… which lousy brat has such poor skills to refine something like this?”

Yang Kai was instantly ashamed.

When the Yuan Magnetic Divine Bottle Gourd was first refined, Xu Zhen had yet to advance to the Open Heaven Realm; in fact, he had only just condensed his Dao Seal. Xu Zheng had been in the process of accumulation, so his cultivation was not that high. Although he had received instruction from Divine Cauldron Heaven, in the eyes of Artifact Refining Grandmasters like Dong Guo An Ping, Xu Zhen’s methods were indeed clumsy and crude.

The Yuan Magnetic Divine Bottle Gourd no longer contained Yuan Magnetic Divine Light. Back then, Void Land had been in desperate need of cultivation materials, and the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light was a Metal Element material. Moreover, it was a Sixth-Order material. For that reason, Yang Kai had used the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light as a cultivation material for the disciples to refine.

“This bottle gourd is interesting at least,” Dong Guo An Ping carefully examined the bottle gourd, “This gourd is born of the world, right?”

Yang Kai revealed a look of admiration, “Senior certainly has sharp eyes.”

Dong Guo An Ping asked thoughtfully, “Do you want me to refine something similar to seal the Purifying Light? In that way, even without you, others will be able to help dispel and purify Black Ink Strength.”

Yang Kai shook his head, “That’s not the case. Although doing so is feasible, that will only increase the wastage of the Purifying Light. Senior, this Junior was hoping to ask you to create an artifact that can satisfy the effect of sealing the Purifying Light, avoid any wastage, and even facilitate the entry and exit of personnel. Can that be done?”

Dong Guo An Ping held the Yuan Magnetic Divine Bottle Gourd and furrowed his brow in thought. Everybody else watched him intently. A long while passed before he finally nodded and said, “It can be done.”

Yang Kai was overjoyed, “Are you serious!?” As soon as the words left his mouth, he realised that his words were inappropriate and quickly explained, “Please forgive me, Senior. It’s not that this Junior is not willing to believe you, it’s just that this matter is extremely important, so we have to be extra careful.”

Dong Guo An Ping smiled and said, “It’s fine. I understand your feelings. But, since this Old Master said that it can be done, then it can be done. Hm… The war is raging fiercely recently, so I might be quite busy. Let’s do this; I will make some time to refine this artifact for you. The shortest will take one month while the longest will take three months to complete.”

While saying that, he tossed the Yuan Magnetic Divine Bottle Gourd back to Yang Kai.

Yang Kai exhaled slowly and cupped his fist, “Many thanks, Martial Uncle!”

Dong Guo An Ping waved his hand dismissively, “It’s all for the sake of our people. We are just doing our respective duties.” Then, he glanced at Fan Xun and the others, “Come with me. The Sealing Array will be needed. When that time comes, I will need your help.”

Naturally, there was no reason for Fan Xun and the others to object.