Martial Peak
chapter-5171

Wu Jiang’s death was a huge blow to Hong Hu, which led to him losing focus while still under the combined assault of the five Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters.

How could Ding Yao and the others miss this opportunity? Their figures flickered as they instantly closed the distance between Hong Hu and them.

The distance between both sides had shortened to only a few hundred metres. They were now so close that it was almost as if they were face to face.

The connected auras of the five Eighth-Order Masters formed a Battle Formation which acted to suppress the enemy in the centre. The closer the five of them got, the stronger this suppression became.

With the Formation shrunk to this extent, Hong Hu found it difficult to even move. His Black Ink Strength was not flowing smoothly, and his strength had decreased by nearly 50%. When the five Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters closed the Battle Formation even further, Hong Hu was completely rooted to the spot. Although he struggled with all his might, trying to escape, his movements were countless times slower now. At this moment, let alone five Eighth-Order Masters, even a Seventh-Order Human could easily kill him.

Knowing that he could not escape this disaster, Hong Hu laughed in anguish before completely giving up struggling. He stared at Ding Yao, and asked, “What do you want to do?”

Ding Yao simply ignored him altogether and took out a strange box from his Space Ring. The box was a perfect cube and made of some unidentifiable material.

The moment this box appeared, not just Ding Yao, but even the other four Eighth-Order Masters looked cautious and solemn with a slight trace of fear visible on their faces. Obviously, the contents of this box were something extraordinary and could even pose a threat to Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters like them.

In fact, that was indeed the case; after all, it was meant to be used to deal with Territory Lords. Something that posed no threat to Eighth-Order Masters would naturally be useless against a Territory Lord.

Their attitude made Hong Hu feel even more uneasy. Under nervous gazes, Ding Yao formed a hand seal and opened the box before gathering World Energy in his mouth and gently blowing into it.

Immediately after, a white mist-like object flew out from the box and enveloped Hong Hu.

The next moment, Hong Hu’s entire body was covered in frost, which quickly spread outward and enveloped him, turning him into a giant block of ice.

The block of ice was crystal clear. Even looking from afar, Yang Kai and the others found the frozen Hong Hu looked alive. He still maintained the state before he was frozen, even the fear in his eyes was clearly visible.

But this wasn’t the end. Ding Yao raised his hand and took out something resembling a coffin; however, it was massive and obviously not something made for humans, but rather was specially made for the Black Ink Clan.

Ding Yao formed hand seals and the frozen Hong Hu was sent into the giant coffin under his guidance before the lid closed. Ding Yao then formed another set of hand seals as dazzling streaks of light shot straight towards the coffin.

Soon, the coffin’s lid was spotted with faintly glowing runes. The runes formed a chain, wrapping around the giant coffin before slowly disappearing.

Success!

Ding Yao and the others glanced at each other before slightly nodding.

It was the first time the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters attempted to capture a Territory Lord alive; fortunately, everything went smoothly and there were no major mistakes.

With a Territory Lord in their hands, the weapon to deal with the Black Ink Clan would be developed even faster.

“Good job.”

Just as Yang Kai and the others were watching everything with rapt attention, a voice suddenly rang in their ears.

Everyone turned their heads and saw Xiang Shan wearing a green robe, calmly floating over. Everyone might have been exhausted after the battle, but the fact that Xiang Shan was able to approach them without anyone noticing was still a great testament to his strength.

“Greetings, Senior Xiang!” Everyone respectfully bowed and cupped their fists.

Xiang Shan waved his hand as Yang Kai and the others involuntarily straightened up.

“Hong Hu isn’t the strongest amongst all the Territory Lords, only somewhere around the middle of the ranks, but in terms of caution, he is second to none. Your efforts lowered his guard and successfully lured him out. Although I could have advanced to the Eighth Order at any time, the timing of my initial attack had to be perfect. If I acted too early, it would only alert the enemy, and if he sensed that something wasn’t right, he would have immediately fled. So, when I made my move, I had to ensure that I could pin him down.”

Breeze Squad Leader Wan Zheng Xin pursed his lips and nodded, “Junior understands!”

He knew that the reason why Xiang Shan had come and explained himself to them, Seventh-Order Masters, was because when the Breeze Squad’s Warship had been attacked by Hong Hu, Xiang Shan had not taken action to save it. If Xiang Shan had taken action at that time, their Warship would definitely have remained safe, and they wouldn’t have more than a dozen seriously injured and three dead.

But that was not the best time for Xiang Shan to act.

There was no need for him to explain himself in the first place. Wan Zheng Xin was a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Master and a Squad Leader, he understood that the situation called for Xiang Shan to not make any move. Nonetheless, Xiang Shan still explained it to them.

“When my Junior Brothers stepped onto this Black Ink Battlefield, they all resolved to sacrifice themselves for the sake of the Human Race if need be. It is our greatest honour to lay down our lives on the battlefield.”

Xiang Shan slightly nodded his acknowledgement, “Now that this matter has been settled, you can accompany me here and rest for a while.”

“Yes!” Everyone nodded their agreement.

It was true that they needed to recuperate. The five Special Operations Squads had consumed a great deal of strength in this battle, and every Squad had suffered injuries of varying degrees. The Warships of Old Turtle and Breeze Squads were also severely damaged.

Xiang Shan also needed to rest after just recovering his Eighth-Order cultivation. Although there was no problem with his cultivation, he still needed some time to consolidate it. What’s more, the five Special Operations Squads here needed someone to look after them as they recuperated, and Xiang Shan was the best candidate.

While they were talking, Ding Yao and the others had already finished making arrangements.

After a brief communication, the five Eighth-Order Masters surrounding Hong Hu each activated the Universe Transference Law and returned to Blue Sky Pass. Meanwhile, the other three Eighth-Order Masters led by Lu An were responsible for escorting the giant coffin to the forward base and quickly disappeared from everyone’s sight.

Xiang Shan and the five Special Operations Squads were left behind to rest.

The Special Operations Squads flew towards the asteroid to find a place to recuperate, while the Purifying Black Ink Battleship that had been summoned was retrieved by Xiang Shan.

In fact, when they had planned to use this Purifying Black Ink Battleship, the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters had already been mentally prepared for it to be destroyed by the Territory Lords, but Hong Hu was too skittish, so after discovering that Xiang Shan had returned to the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm, he immediately made a run for it, completely ignoring the giant Warship.

Of course, even if he really did attack the Purifying Black Ink Battleship, Xiang Shan would not let him succeed so easily.

After putting away the Purifying Black Ink Battleship, Xiang Shan headed straight towards the place where Dawn was recuperating.

Seeing him arrive, Yang Kai swiftly got up, but was just as quickly made to sit back down by Xiang Shan.

Xiang Shan sat cross-legged across from him, looking at him with a smile, “I heard that the Purifying Black Ink Battleship was built by you?”

Yang Kai blushed with shame and stated, “Junior simply provided the idea. The one who really refined it was someone else.”

He found it a bit strange. It had been over a century since he had arrived on the Black Ink Battlefield, and a lot of time had passed since the Purifying Black Ink Battleships entered service, so why was Xiang Shan acting like he didn’t know about it?

As if he could see through what was going on in Yang Kai’s mind, Xiang Shan explained, “I’ve been in a retreat for the last three centuries. When I came out, everything had changed quite a bit.”

Yang Kai understood. Since Xiang Shan had been in seclusion for three hundred years, it was natural for him to be unaware of the existence of the Purifying Black Ink Battleships. How could ordinary people have the privilege to be in a retreat for so long? Only someone like Xiang Shan, who had once been an Eighth-Order Master, would be permitted to enter seclusion for several hundred years.

“It’s good to have some changes. I’d be more concerned if nothing had changed during that time,” Xiang Shan stared into the depths of the void, his gaze deep and profound, “Too much time has passed, yet we Humans haven’t made any progress on the Black Ink Battlefield. Generation after generation of sacrifices have only brought about a temporary peace, but how long can this status quo last? So, Humans need to change. Some of the new things you’ve brought with you will be of great advantage to us.”

Changing the topic, Xiang Shan asked, “Judging by your previous fight with Hong Hu, it seems you still have some trump cards you haven’t used?”

Yang Kai agreed, nodding, “Indeed, but their strength is limited. Even if I used them, it may not have made much difference.”

Attacking with his Dragon Bead and the Purifying Light were Yang Kai’s last two trump cards, but if he were to really use his Dragon Bead, it might crack again. In the worst-case scenario, it might even be destroyed. Then, it would take him uncountable years to recover.

As for Purifying Light, it was definitely a powerful weapon against the Black Ink Clan, but if Yang Kai used it, at most he would be able to catch Hong Hu off guard and injure him, but it wouldn’t be able to achieve a decisive effect.

At that time, the secret of the Purifying Light would also be exposed. Aside from the fact that he might attract the attention of the Black Ink Clan, even Grandmaster Ma Fan’s research would be threatened.

As such, Yang Kai had been holding himself back from using these two trump cards. Fortunately, Xiang Shan had taken action at the right time, so there was no need to play those cards.

“Among the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, I’ve seen many elites and geniuses, but you are the only one I know of who dares to challenge Territory Lords alone and yet is able to escape unscathed.”

Yang Kai stated, embarrassed, “Junior is seriously injured and my entire body is in excruciating pain.”

Xiang Shan smiled, “At the very least, you’re still alive. Surviving is the most important. If you survive, you can break through to the Eighth Order. And when you’ve become stronger, you’ll be able to suppress those Territory Lords!”

Just like when he was the invincible Western Army Commander, no one was his match!

Xiang Shan had seen too many elites fall on the Black Ink Battlefield in his life. All of them would have become pillars for the Human Race in the future. Even he himself had almost died in the great battle back then, but now, most of these pillars had fallen, with few surviving till today.

Therefore, no matter what, only by surviving could one have hope.

“Senior, was this a plan to capture a Territory Lord alive?” Yang Kai asked.

Xiang Shan replied, shaking his head, “The plan here is just a smokescreen, the real plan is being carried out at the forward base.”

“The forward base?” Yang Kai asked in surprise, “Has a fight broken out?”

The two races had been confronting each other on the front lines for decades now, engaging in small skirmishes over a wide range, but there had been no major battles. When Dawn left the forward base, there were no signs of a war breaking out, but judging from Xiang Shan’s words, something was happening there now.

Xiang Shan coldly snorted, “The Black Ink Clan wanted to stop me from breaking through to the Eighth Order, so they couldn’t allow the forward base to send reinforcements. The best way to do so was to start a war and restrain the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters there. So, a large-scale conflict should have broken out over there.”