Martial Peak
chapter-5328

If he could completely digest all the gains from this No-Return Pass trip, Yang Kai believed that his strength would improve by leaps and bounds.

It didn’t take much effort to familiarize himself with the power of his new Dragon Form, all he needed was slow and steady accumulation.

Yang Kai focused more on comprehending the Daos of Time and Space.

The rapid advancement of his two Grand Daos gave him a faint sense of enlightenment.

The Dao of Space was his main Grand Dao, and his achievements in the Dao of Time were perhaps due to his Bloodline. In the past, his mastery over the Dao of Space mainly affected his use of Space Principles, and the Dao of Time, his use of Time Principles; the two were not related to each other.

Even though he had once created the powerful Secret Technique, Sun and Moon Divine Wheel, that was mainly through chance and coincidence. So, he did not give it much deep thought.

But as his comprehension of the Grand Daos advanced, it became clear to him that Time and Space had always been closely related.

Space was unable to exist on its own, and so was Time.

From ancient times until now, the existence of the Universe was interwoven with both Time and Space.

The Sun and Moon Divine Wheel combined Time and Space Principles, but that was something Yang Kai achieved subconsciously. Now when he gave it another look, he noticed that his Sun and Moon Divine Wheel had many flaws and had a lot of room for improvement.

Faintly, Yang Kai was struck with a flash of inspiration. If one day, he was able to perfectly fuse Time Principles and Space Principles, his Sun and Moon Divine Wheel would definitely become much more powerful. It would become possible for him to kill Territory Lords using this Secret Technique even when he was only in the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm.

Be that as it may, it was extremely difficult to fuse these two. As Yang Kai tried, his strength fluctuated wildly, but he was unable to accomplish anything. He felt like something was missing.

The feeling of being unable to cross the hurdles to reach your goal when they were within sight and you clearly knew how to reach it was extremely frustrating. It could easily cause one’s mind to grow restless.

This was one of the reasons so many cultivators had suffered from cultivation dissonance while cultivating in retreat throughout history. If one mulled over something too deeply, it would form an obsession, causing their focus to narrow and form an endless cycle of frustration and failure. As a result, they would either lose all confidence or lose their minds, which in turn would cause their Grand Dao to collapse.

Having learned the lessons from history, Yang Kai didn’t want to suffer from cultivation dissonance because of this. So, every time his mood became restless, he would relax and focus on the changes brought about by the growth of his Dragon Form.

By varying his routine, he avoided unnecessary problems.

A few months later, Great Evolution Pass entered his sight.

Yang Kai collected his thoughts and reverted from his Dragon Form. When he saw the dense figures stationed on the walls of Great Evolution Pass, he couldn’t help but let out a sigh of relief.

He was really afraid that if he returned too late, he would miss the crusade.

From the looks of it, the crusade had yet to begin. After giving it another thought, he realized that it was not surprising. The round trip to the No-Return Pass cost him a year, and counting the time he had spent at the No-Return Pass, it should be just about five years since he left.

The Human Race Army should not be ready yet.

Space Principles fluctuated as he arrived in front of Great Evolution Pass in a few Instantaneous Movements.

The soldiers on duty had long noticed the strange movements, but after seeing Yang Kai’s face, they quickly let him pass.

When he returned to Great Evolution Pass, he saw soldiers bustling around inside the Pass, as if they were preparing for war.

Yang Kai had no idea about what the situation in the other Theatres was like, but if the crusade were to start right now, the Great Evolution Army would definitely be unstoppable. With the confidence gained from their previous victory over the Black Ink Clan and the addition of the Evil Purging Divine Spears to their arsenal, it shouldn’t be a problem for them to destroy the Royal City.

As for whether they could kill the Royal Lord or not, that would depend on the means of Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao and the other Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters.

Suddenly, a Divine Sense sweep surged from somewhere. Naturally, it belonged to none other than the Old Ancestor.

As soon as the Divine Sense came in contact with him, it withdrew.

Without any hesitation, Yang Kai flew away, following the source of the Divine Sense.

A short while later, he arrived at the Old Ancestor’s residence, where Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao was lazily lying on a chair inside her garden. She sized him up before asking, “How was your trip?”

Yang Kai replied respectfully, “It was quite worthwhile. I gained a lot.”

Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao slightly nodded as she teased him, “You didn’t leave your name in the Dragon Tome?”

Yang Kai was taken aback, “You know about the Dragon Tome?”

Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao pursed her lips, “It’s not like it’s some kind of secret, so why shouldn’t I know about it?”

In truth, the only reason she knew about it was because she was a Ninth-Order Old Ancestor. Ordinary Humans would have never have heard of the Dragon Tome. Even Yang Kai had only learned about it after visiting the No-Return Pass and completely purifying his Bloodline.

“The Dragon Clan wanted me to record my name in the Dragon Tome, but this Junior refused.”

“Mhm,” Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao casually nodded. If he really recorded his name in the Dragon Tome, it would be impossible for Yang Kai to return to Great Evolution Pass.

Yang Kai suddenly furrowed his brow and asked, “Were you injured recently?”

He had already noticed that Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao was a bit pale. He thought it was because her injuries had yet to heal, but after giving it a closer look, he noticed that something was off. Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao’s aura was clearly unstable.

This could not be due to old injuries acting up.

The only possibility was that Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao was injured recently.

“I’ve been going to the Royal City more frequently these days,” Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao casually replied.

Yang Kai was speechless, “Why fight with the Royal Lord? Isn’t harassing him enough?”

During the previous war, repeated battles had caused the Royal Lord’s injuries to pile up, while Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao’s frequent visits after the war ended prevented him from healing in peace. Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao didn’t need to fight with him, all she needed to do was disturb him from time to time, frustrating him, and eliminating any chance he had to recover.

Yang Kai could not understand why Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao had suddenly become so aggressive.

Saying so, he spread out his Small Universe.

Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao furrowed her brow at the sight, “It’s just some small wounds. I’ll be fine in a few days.”

Yang Kai shook his head and asserted, “You’re the Old Ancestor, so this matter concerns the entire Great Evolution Army. It’s more important for you to quickly recover.”

The Old Ancestor politely refused, “I know you’re doing this out of goodwill, but I’ve spent a lot of time healing in your Small Universe. My recovery comes at the cost of its Bustling World Essence, which will have some negative impact on you.”

Yang Kai requested once more, smiling, “This Junior understands, but such losses won’t affect me too much. You should focus on healing yourself.”

Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao glanced at him before sighing, no longer insisting.

Suddenly, her expression changed, “Your Small Universe…”

Yang Kai explained with a smile, “My Dragon Bloodline was purified and my mastery over the Dao of Time improved. Now, the flow of time in my Small Universe is faster than before.”

A faster flow of time made it easier for the Old Ancestor to heal her injuries.

Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao had lived there for hundreds of years inside of his Small Universe, so she naturally could sense the changes here.

The Old Ancestor’s injuries weren’t too serious, and she had completely recovered after staying a few months in Yang Kai’s Small Universe, while only a month had passed in the outside world.

After recovering from her wounds, the Old Ancestor suddenly stood up, “Don’t be in a hurry to leave, wait here for me.”

Saying so, she soared into the sky. Yang Kai quickly retracted his Small Universe as his face twitched slightly, staring in the direction the Old Ancestor had left.

After recovering from her injuries, the Old Ancestor had gone to cause trouble for the Royal Lord once more, so it was no wonder she told Yang Kai not to leave. Apparently, he would have to help her heal from her injuries after she returned.

As he had expected, the Old Ancestor returned in less than half a day later, but her condition greatly surprised Yang Kai.

Although he couldn’t find anything wrong with her appearance, Yang Kai could clearly feel that the Old Ancestor’s injuries were much more serious than last time.

Needless to say, he quickly spread his Small Universe and let the Old Ancestor enter to heal.

After a few more months, when the Old Ancestor had completely recovered, she left the Pass once more.

The Old Ancestor returned after half a day again, and this time her face was pale and there were traces of dried blood stains on her clothes.

…..

After repeating this process several times, each time, Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao was injured more severely. When the Old Ancestor returned from her fifth excursion, Yang Kai finally couldn’t bear it any longer and persuaded, “Old Ancestor, there’s no need to rush. The crusade is imminent. At that time, we’ll first cut his wings and then, with the cooperation of the Eighth-Order Division Commanders, we can slowly take care of the Royal Lord.”

Yang Kai really could not understand what the Old Ancestor was trying to achieve. Although he helped her mend her injuries and the Royal Lord was now even more heavily injured, the Royal Lord could rely on the power of the Black Ink Nest to empower himself. Fighting alone in the Royal City wasn’t beneficial to the Old Ancestor.

Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao gave him the feeling as if she wanted to quickly finish off the Royal Lord.

Hearing this, Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao bitterly smiled, “It’s not what you think. I have my reasons.”

Yang Kai was confused.

As if she felt a little apologetic, Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao explained with a smile, “I’m not trying to kill that Royal Lord. His injuries might be quite serious, but it would be quite difficult for me to kill him without the cooperation of the Army. I’ve been going over to visit him only because I want to get something back from him.”

“What is it?” Yang Kai was taken aback.

[Does the Royal have something that belongs to the Old Ancestor? Could it be that she had lost it while fighting with him last time?]

But that should be impossible. With the Old Ancestor’s cultivation, how could the Royal Lord have secretly snatched something from her?

Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao was silent for a moment, seemingly hesitating about whether or not to tell Yang Kai about this, but in the end, she still chose to give him the answer, “Every Great Pass is a huge Mobile Palace Artifact, you should know this.”

Yang Kai nodded his agreement.

This was something he had learned when he first laid eyes on Blue Sky Pass; however, despite being a type of Mobile Palace Artifact, the Great Passes were simply too large and difficult to control. Even the Old Ancestors overseeing each Great Pass were unable to control them freely despite their fearsome strength.

“Every Great Pass has its own Core, and with the help of that Core, the Ninth-Order Old Ancestors can control their respective Great Passes. With the assistance of others, a Mobile Palace Artifact like the Great Pass can also be used to attack the enemy.”

“The Core is similar to an Array Core of a Grand Array. The Great Pass is nothing without its Core, just a giant, immobile fortress. The Great Pass can’t be used for anything other than for defense in such a state, but if you have its Core, the Great Pass can really be used as a Mobile Palace Artifact. Unfortunately, the Core of the Great Evolution Pass… has been lost. If I’m right, it should have fallen into the hands of the Royal Lord, so I must retrieve it.”

Yang Kai was dumbfounded.

Judging by the Old Ancestor’s words, if they had the Core, Great Evolution Pass wouldn’t have to remain in place and could instead be brought to the Royal City at some cost. At that time, how could the Royal City possibly resist the powerful Great Evolution Pass? Even if all they did was charge right at the Royal City, the Great Pass would easily smash the Royal City.

However, the Core of Great Evolution Pass had been lost, and without it, Great Evolution Pass could not move.

After giving it another thought, Yang Kai did not find it strange. Great Evolution Pass was in the possession of the Black Ink Clan for 30,000 years. Although they had recovered it now, why would the Black Ink Clan leave behind such an important thing? It was very likely that it had been taken away long ago.

This was the reason why Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao had been frequently haunting the Royal Lord. With the crusade approaching, if Great Evolution Pass didn’t have its core, they wouldn’t be able to mobilize the Pass. This would make it impossible for them to coordinate with the other Great Passes.

So no matter what, she had to retrieve the Core of Great Evolution Pass.