Martial Peak
chapter-5711

Xiang Shan said nothing more and changed the topic, “Where is Yang Kai?”

Mi Jing Lun answered solemnly, “We had some problems at the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction…”

Mi Jing Lun then gave Xiang Shan a rundown regarding the news that Ou Yang Lie brought back and Yang Kai’s warning. Upon hearing the situation, Xiang Shan frowned deeply and instantly understood the gravity of the problem.

A flaw had appeared in the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, and an unknown number of Innate Territory Lords had escaped from inside. The strength of the Black Ink Clan at the No-Return Pass was bound to have increased significantly as a result. With an increase in the number of Innate Territory Lords, the Black Ink Clan would have more flexibility and manoeuvrability in making future decisions and arrangements.

Leaving aside everything else, just the creation of more Pseudo-Royal Lords alone was a huge concern to the Human Race!

In the past, the Black Ink Clan was extremely reluctant to produce Pseudo-Royal Lords because the price was simply too high. More importantly, the birth of a single Pseudo-Royal Lord had little impact on the overall situation between the Black Ink Clan and the Human Race compared to the immense sacrifice required. However, there were many more Innate Territory Lords now. Those Innate Territory Lords also brought many High-Rank Black Ink Nests with them when they escaped from the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction.

At this rate, the Black Ink Clan no longer had any reason to hold back when it came to creating more Pseudo-Royal Lords. Coupled with the fact that the Universe Furnace was about to appear, the Black Ink Clan was bound to obstruct the Human Race in every possible way to prevent them from obtaining new opportunities.

A storm was coming!

A catastrophe would soon loom over the world with the emergence of the Universe Furnace as its herald. It was both an opportunity and a crisis for the Human Race.

In any case, such a huge event would not escape Yang Kai’s perception. Regardless of where he was now, he was bound to enter the Universe Furnace when the entrances were fully formed. The situation might not turn out too badly if he joined forces with Xiang Shan inside the Universe Furnace.

“Profound Nether Army’s Blood Crow requests to meet Supreme Commander Mi!” A roar suddenly came from outside the Grand Hall.

Xiang Shan and Mi Jing Lun exchanged a glance of astonishment.

Xiang Shan had a vague impression of the name ‘Blood Crow’. Not only was Blood Crow’s background somewhat special, but he also used to be a member of Yang Kai’s Dawn Squad. Xiang Shan had paid much attention to Yang Kai’s Dawn Squad back in the Great Evolution Army, so it was only natural for him to know about Blood Crow.

On the other hand, Mi Jing Lun seemed stunned for a moment; then, his eyes lit up in excitement, “I can’t believe I forgot about him!”

While saying so, he jumped to his feet and went to meet Blood Crow without any delay.

A short while later, Mi Jing Lun and Blood Crow entered the Grand Hall together. One person had a peaceful air around them while the other had an extremely flamboyant aura. The Blood Qi around Blood Crow was so thick that it was practically solid, lingering around him to form a layer of crimson Blood Mist that was visible to the naked eye.

Xiang Shan frowned upon seeing this…

Blood Crow’s cultivation gave Xiang Shan a strange feeling. He seemed to be in the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm, but also the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm. Regardless of whether he was in the Seventh Order or the Eighth Order though, he should be able to properly control his cultivation realm aura. However, his appearance seemed to indicate that he could not control his own strength. He was not deliberately being flamboyant with his aura; rather, it was because his power was slightly out of his control.

If Xiang Shan remembered correctly, Blood Crow cultivated a Secret Art known as Grand Evolution Immortal Blood Light Scripture, which was an Evil Technique. Blood Crow had caused great chaos in the Shattered Heaven some millennia ago and many disciples from the Cave Heavens and Paradises had died tragically in his hands during that period. In the end, though, he was captured alive by a Master from Bright King Heaven and thrown into the Black Ink Battlefield to redeem himself.

All kinds of information about Blood Crow quickly flashed through Xiang Shan’s mind, and he eventually labelled Blood Crow as a heretic. He did not have a favourable opinion of this person, and if not for the ongoing struggle between the Black Ink Clan and the Human Race, he would have taken matters into his own hands to ‘deal’ with this problem individual

At this moment though, Mi Jing Lun was enthusiastically welcoming Blood Crow inside.

Seeing Xiang Shan, Blood Crow generously cupped his fists in greeting, “Greetings, Brother Xiang.”

Blood Crow did not address Xiang Shan as ‘Senior Brother’ or by any other respectful title. Fortunately, Xiang Shan was not bothered by such formalities and simply nodded his head lightly to return the greeting. After all, he could not be called ‘Senior Brother’ by Blood Crow if they went strictly by seniority.

After asking Blood Crow to take a seat, Mi Jing Lun finally asked the important question, “Why did you come looking for me today?”

Although he had some speculations in his heart, he couldn’t help feeling overjoyed to hear the actual sentence coming from Blood Crow himself. Then, he heard Blood Crow’s indifferent voice, “I’ve been to the Universe Furnace before!”

…

In the Suppressing Black Ink Fortress outside the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, the Suppressing Black Ink Army of 6,000 had finally gained the absolute upper hand in their 1,000-year confrontation against the Black Ink Clan. Moreover, they suffered very few casualties.

In the end, the only purpose of the Black Ink Clan in the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction in attacking the Suppressing Black Ink Army was to keep the Humans and Wu Kuang distracted while they searched for another way to escape, a venture they eventually succeeded in, at least temporarily.

At this moment, the void was deathly quiet. The gap in the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction remained, but the Black Ink Clan was no longer rushing out to their deaths.

The flaw in the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction that the Black Ink Clan opened with great difficulty had been exposed and patched by Wu Kuang. Now that there was no means for the Black Ink Clan to sneak out of the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction and the enemy was on guard against such attempts, they no longer had a reason to waste their resources by confronting the Humans outside.

Wu Kuang did not bother to close the gap either. Since it had already been opened, he would most likely cause further impact to the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction if he tried to close it again. It was better to simply maintain the current state without making any changes.

As a result, the Suppressing Black Ink Army couldn’t help feeling bored now that they had nothing to do. It was fortunate that they could still focus on their own cultivation.

Just as Xiang Shan and Mi Jing Lun guessed, when the projections of the Universe Furnace appeared everywhere in the Universe, one also appeared outside the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction.

All the cultivators whose cultivation had reached the peak of the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm were startled by a sense of resonance that welled up at the sight of the phenomenon. Looking at the projection gave them a sense of desire and yearning.

There were several veteran Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters in the Suppressing Black Ink Army, so they immediately guessed the situation when they saw the projection.

As news that the Universe Furnace would be emerging soon spread throughout the entire Suppressing Black Ink Army, many Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters were shaken by the news.

There were a total of 400 Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters in the Suppressing Black Ink Army to begin with, and several others had broken through to that realm over the last 1,000 years. However, less than 10% of them had the qualifications to advance to the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm. Even Yu Ru Meng, Su Yan, and the others had only advanced directly to the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm, so their limit was the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm.

On the contrary, rising stars like Zhao Ye Bai, Zhao Ya, and Xu Yi had ascended to the Seventh Order directly and were expected to reach the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm in the future.

As cultivators, it did not matter whether they were men or women, they all desired to seek greater heights in the Martial Dao. It was their greatest wish to climb beyond the peak in hopes of seeing an even broader and exciting scenery. For that reason, the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters of the Suppressing Black Ink Army were riled up when news of the upcoming emergence of the Universe Furnace spread.

Be that as it may, neither the veteran Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters nor the rising stars in the same realm knew much about the Universe Furnace. All they knew was that it produced Innate Open Heaven Pills that could help cultivators break through their natural limits. As for what these Innate Open Heaven Pills looked like or how to obtain them, everything was a complete mystery.

Fortunately, there was a Divine Dragon amongst them. In terms of age and seniority, Fu Guang was undoubtedly leagues above everyone else here. He was well-informed and knowledgeable, so he might know something about the Universe Furnace.

Yang Xiao immediately turned to Fu Guang, who was standing nearby and staring at the projection of the Universe Furnace with a solemn expression, “Senior, is that how the Universe Furnace looks?”

Fu Guang smiled faintly, “How else should it look, if not this?”

Yang Xiao laughed dryly, “I don’t know. In any case, it is different from what I imagined.” After a brief pause, he added another question, “Senior, since the Universe Furnace appeared before us, does that mean we have the advantage of being the closest?”

Fu Guang glanced sideways at Yang Xiao, “You think too much. This is nothing more than a projection of the Universe Furnace. Its true body has always been hidden somewhere beyond the known Universe. Nobody has ever seen it before in history.”

“A projection?” Yang Xiao was stunned. He was not the only one; many of the rising star Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters around him were also stunned.

One of the veteran Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters explained, “It is rumoured that the Universe Furnace will reveal a projection of itself in the vast expanse of the Universe before it appears. Once it completely solidifies, it will transform into an entrance for us to enter the Universe Furnace in search of opportunities.”

Yang Xiao was even more confused by the explanation, “Enter the Universe Furnace in search of opportunities? Does that mean there is a Sealed World inside the Universe Furnace?”

The veteran Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master shook his head, “I don’t know the exact details either. These are just what I heard from my Elders when I was younger.”

Another person stepped up, “There’s a possibility that the projection appeared at more than one location. The appearance of the projection is apparently related to the number of powerful Masters who died in a specific place. Too many living beings have lost their lives in the wars here, so it’s not surprising for a projection to appear here.”

“Are you saying there are projections elsewhere?” Somebody asked curiously.

“Yes, I believe so. There are so many Great Territory Battlefields nowadays, and countless living creatures lost their lives in battle on every one of them. I believe there are projections on most, if not all the various Great Territory Battlefields too.”

“Doesn’t that mean we’re not the only ones with access to the Universe Furnace?”

“Of course. Anywhere with a projection would be connected to the Universe Furnace once they solidify into entrances.”

The veteran Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters reported all the information they knew.

Meanwhile, Yang Xiao listened curiously from the side. Scratching his ears thoughtfully, he leaned over to Yang Xue and murmured, “It’s different from what I imagined.”

Yang Xue nodded in agreement, “En, it’s different from what I imagined too.”

They had always heard that the Universe Furnace contained Innate Open Heaven Pills that could allow a person to break through their shackles. Now that the Universe Furnace was in front of them, they wrongly assumed that they would only need to wait quietly for the mysterious Innate Open Heaven Pills to fly out when the time was right. When that moment came, they would then compete for the Open Heaven Pills.

It was not until this moment that they learned that the Universe Furnace in front of them was nothing more than a projection. Even when the time was right, no Open Heaven Pills would fly out of the Universe Furnace. On the contrary, they would need to enter the Universe Furnace to seek these treasures out.

They held a whispered conversation between themselves for a short time; then, Yang Xiao turned to look at Fu Guang again, “Senior, do you know a lot about the Universe Furnace?”

All the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters abruptly stopped talking and looked at Fu Guang with expectant expressions. They clearly hoped to gain more information from him.

Contrary to expectations, however, Fu Guang just shook his head, “The Divine Spirits do not participate when the Universe Furnace manifests in the world, so all I know is hearsay. However… the Universe Furnace does indeed contain a Sealed World of its own. If you enter the Universe Furnace, you can search for opportunities. If you can obtain one of the legendary Innate Open Heaven Pills, it would not be impossible for you to break through your shackles.”

With just a few words, all the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters were beside themselves with excitement.

On the other hand, Yang Xiao could barely stop himself from rushing forward at this very moment, [I might not require one of these Innate Open Heaven Pills since I’m part of the Dragon Clan, but Adoptive Father definitely needs them! He is already so strong; he shouldn’t be stuck in the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm. That’s right! Adoptive Father will definitely enter the Universe Furnace in search of opportunities. I’m no longer the little White Dragon who could only take shelter under his wings! It’s only right that I enter the Universe Furnace to help him!]

Seeing Yang Xiao’s eagerness, Zhao Ye Bai immediately stopped him, “Senior Brother, please don’t be rash. The projection might look ordinary, but the space around it is actually highly distorted. I can’t tell how many folds there are. You will definitely be trapped within if you rush in recklessly.”