Bai Yi was shocked, “I can’t believe that a World Tree’s clone has such amazing effects.”
“En,” Yang Kai let out a sigh, “When I planted the root back then, I just wanted to save my homeland from falling apart. I didn’t have any clue about the benefits it would bring, and that almost caused a crisis sometime later.”
The World Tree’s clone was immensely beneficial to the Star Boundary as all the living creatures there benefited from its presence; therefore, there were a lot of talented people who appeared in the Star Boundary over the years. Previously rare, Heaven-defying geniuses were now everywhere in the Star Boundary.
Since a clone was already so useful to a Universe World, what would happen if a cultivator planted one in their Small Universe? Fundamentally, a cultivator’s Small Universe could be considered a Universe World as well.
Many people had speculated that one would benefit greatly if he could do so.
The envoys from the Cave Heavens and Paradises who were stationed in the Star Boundary had tried to obtain roots from the World Tree’s clone and plant them inside their Small Universes.
Without fail though, none of these roots survived.
Therefore, the foreign affairs envoys speculated that only a root obtained from the Mother tree could be turned into a clone while the root hairs acquired from a clone could not survive.
Since the World Tree’s clone before their eyes was fully grown, it suggested that the Sealed World’s owner had previously obtained a root from the real World Tree, just like what Yang Kai had done.
However, while Yang Kai planted the root in the Star Boundary, this person planted it in their Small Universe.
Bai Yi looked up and muttered, “If this is the World Tree’s clone, could the fruits on its branches be World Fruits?”
It wasn’t certain how long this World Tree’s clone had lived, but it was full of fragrant Spirit Fruits. They could see that there were countless Spirit Fruits hanging on the branches.
It was just like what Yang Kai saw when he came across the real World Tree in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary.
The question of whether a World Tree’s clone could bear World Fruits had been troubling the Open Heaven Realm Masters of the Cave Heavens and Paradises. Many speculated that it could bear fruits, but they were not certain when it would happen.
Yang Kai had also been looking forward to the day when the World Tree in the Star Boundary would bear fruits; however, it had only been a short time since the World Tree was planted, so it hadn’t shown any signs of bearing fruits.
The one in the Sealed World had verified their speculations.
The clone could also bear World Fruits; a lot of them in fact.
“Yes, they’re World Fruits,” Yang Kai nodded, “But… they’re slightly different from real World Fruits.”
Bai Yi asked curiously, “What’s the difference?”
Yang Kai shook his head as he couldn’t really tell; however, he could see that the World Fruits hanging on this fruit tree were indeed different from the ones he saw in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary. The most glaring difference was that the World Fruits here were much smaller.
“This discovery is very important. Junior Sister, you stay here while I inform Division Commander Cha about it so that he can send more people to this place,” Yang Kai said.
“Understood,” Bai Yi nodded.
It was then that Yang Kai pushed his Space Principles and disappeared from the spot.
The next instant, he appeared before the Sealed World’s portal and dashed out of it.
Meanwhile, Cha Hu was standing on the deck of Dawning Light monitoring the surroundings to prevent any Black Ink Clansmen from attacking them. Fortunately, the Black Ink Clan seemed to have given up on this area after the last great battle here. Not even a single Black Ink Clansman had been spotted in this area for some time now.
The moment Yang Kai appeared, Cha Hu turned to look at him.
As the younger man got closer, Cha Hu asked with a frown, “What’s wrong?”
Seeing that Yang Kai had returned alone while Bai Yi was nowhere in sight, he thought that they had encountered some danger in the Sealed World.
“Sir,” Yang Kai cupped his fist, “Junior Sister Bai and I have discovered something critical in the Sealed World we were exploring,” He then recounted what he had seen.
Upon hearing that, Cha Hu became excited, “Are you sure it’s a World Tree’s clone?”
Yang Kai replied, “There’s one in my homeland, so I can recognise it. Additionally, there are a lot of rare Spirit Herbs in the medicine garden. I can’t even recognise some of them, so I don’t dare to rashly harvest them. You’ll have to head over and make a decision, Sir.”
Cha Hu nodded, “In that case, I definitely have to take a look.”
After that, he told two Squads who had just returned to follow him. There were a lot of herbs and a World Tree in an ancient medicine garden, so they would need a lot of time and manpower to harvest them. It was definitely better to bring more people with him.
They soon passed through the portal and streamed into the Sealed World.
Since there wasn’t a need to explore anything, they headed straight to the medicine garden, and an incense stick later they arrived.
Bai Yi stepped forward to salute him but Cha Hu waved his hand to stop her before his gaze fixed on the World Tree’s clone.
The members of the two Squads exclaimed as well. Although they had respectively explored a Sealed World each and acquired some treasures, they had never seen anything as magnificent as this.
The medicine garden was covered in Spirit Medicines, some they could identify, and some they could not, and in the middle of the garden stood a World Tree clone that was full of World Fruits.
They had all heard about the World Tree before, but none of them had ever seen it. All of them grew curious as they examined the World Fruits. This couldn’t be helped, as it was said that World Fruits could allow an Open Heaven Realm Master to directly ascend to the next Order and increase the natural limits of their aptitude.
It was expected that they drooled over such treasures. If an Open Heaven Realm Master, whose upper limit was the Seventh Order, could consume a High-Rank World Fruit, he would instantly make it to the Eighth Order. On the Black Ink Battlefield, an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master would be a Division Commander.
It had to be noted that there were over 20,000 soldiers in Blue Sky Pass, but there were only a few dozen Eighth-Order Division Commanders, and each one was immensely important to the Human race as a whole.
If an Open Heaven Realm Master, whose limit was the Eighth Order, could consume a High-Rank World fruit, they would become an Old Ancestor, a powerhouse that could tilt the entire direction of the war against the Black Ink Clans.
Even a powerful Master like Cha Hu felt his emotions undulating.
However, he soon pulled himself together and ordered the two Squads to begin harvesting the herbs in the medicine garden. They were ordered not to touch the ones they couldn’t recognise as he would find a way to deal with them later.
On the other hand, he led Yang Kai to approach the World Tree’s clone.
A moment later, he said, “I remember that when you arrived at Blue Sky Pass for the first time, you said that you had seen the World Tree in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary and even obtained some World Fruits.”
Yang Kai had indeed told the Eighth-Order Masters about his past experiences, so this wasn’t really a secret among the Army and Division Commanders in the Inner Sanctum.
“Indeed,” Yang Kai nodded, “Back then, I directly ascended to the Fifth Order, then made it to the Sixth Order after consuming a Mid-Rank World Fruit.”
Cha Hu asked, “Since you think this is a World Tree, could the fruits on the tree be World Fruits as well?”
Yang Kai nodded again, “There’s no doubt about it. However, this is not the Mother Tree; it’s just a clone. Although the fruits on this tree are indeed World Fruits, they’re different from the ones I’ve acquired.”
“How are they different?”
Yang Kai shook his head, “I can’t really tell, but I do have some Low-Rank World Fruits with me. Please take a look, Sir.”
Upon finishing his words, Yang Kai fished out a Low-Rank World Fruit and passed it to Cha Hu.
When he was in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary back then, he acquired 3 Mid-Rank and 13 Low-Rank World Fruits. He passed Lu Xue and Yue He a Mid-Rank World Fruit each, and he consumed the remaining one. It could be said that they had been put to good use.
On the other hand, he had given Guo Zi Yan a Low-Rank World Fruit so that the latter could ascend from the Second-Order to the Third-Order Open Heaven Realm directly. He didn’t give out any of the other Low-Rank Word Fruits as they were not really valuable.
That said, Yang Kai had consumed some Low-Rank World Fruits while fighting his enemies before. Although they were useless for raising his Order, they could replenish a large amount of a cultivator’s World Force in short order with no side effects. They were vastly superior to any kind of restorative Spirit Pill in that regard.
Yang Kai still had some Low-Rank World Fruits on him.
After taking the Low-Rank World Fruit, Cha Hu examined it and looked up at the fruits on the tree; then, he furrowed his brows.
The ones on the tree were indeed different as they were much smaller than the World Fruit passed to him by Yang Kai.
“So, do you think the fruits on this tree have the amazing effects that we’ve heard from the rumours?” Cha Hu suddenly asked.
After giving it a thought, Yang Kai shook his head, “I wouldn’t dare to make a speculation. After all, I haven’t consumed one before. Regardless, this is a clone, so the fruits are definitely not comparable to the ones hanging on the Mother Tree.”
Cha Hu nodded gently and passed the Low-Rank World Fruit back to Yang Kai, “Regardless, the fruits must be extremely valuable. We should pick them first and then let the people back in the Inner Sanctum study them.”
He then turned to Yang Kai and asked, “Is there anything I have to take note of when picking these fruits?”
After pondering on it for a moment, Yang Kai replied, “Back then, every time I picked a World Fruit in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, I had to go through a kind of reincarnation. In essence, each fruit contained an entire World with its own Principles; however, that was the case for the Mother tree, I’m not sure if it’s the same for this clone.”
Cha Hu chuckled, “Interesting. Well, we’ll know once we try.”
“Yes,” Yang Kai replied.
They then started picking the fruits.
Yang Kai was initially wary that he would have to go through a reincarnation again just like what happened in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary; however, when he picked the World Fruit nearest to him, he only fell into a dazed state while a mysterious World Force clashed with his Soul in an attempt to pull him in. He only resisted for a bit and became safe; he didn’t really fall into that World.
It seemed that the fruits on the clone tree had also inherited the characteristics of the fruits on the Mother tree, but they were not nearly as profound or abstruse as the ones on the latter.
Perhaps it also had something to do with the fact that Yang Kai had become stronger as well. In the past, he was only an Emperor Realm Master who had just condensed his Dao Seal when he was in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary. Now, he was a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master.
When he turned to look at Cha Hu, he realised that the latter wasn’t affected at all. The fruits just instantly disappeared from the tree wherever the older man went.
Yang Kai quickly pulled himself together and continued picking the fruits.
There were more than 1,000 fruits on the tree, but they were soon fully picked. Yang Kai didn’t intend to keep any of them and just passed all the fruits he had picked to Cha Hu.
All the World Fruits were collected within an hour.
Although there were no more fruits left, the World Tree’s clone before their eyes was extremely precious as well; hence, they wouldn’t want to miss it.
However, Cha Hu didn’t immediately put the World Fruits inside his Small Universe, and after giving it a thought, he said, “Yang Kai, take this World Tree.”
Upon hearing that, Yang Kai was astounded.
Cha Hu went on to say, “Although this King doesn’t know what benefits this thing will bring, I reckon that it wouldn’t cause any harm as it’s a World Tree clone that was planted in an ancient Great Expert’s Small Universe. Even though you’re just a Seventh-Order Master, we have to ensure your safety as you are of critical importance to us. It won’t matter if this thing brings no benefits; however, if there are any benefits, it should help you grow your strength more quickly so that you’ll be able to defend yourself on the Black Ink Battlefield.”
A grateful Yang Kai cupped his fist, “Many thanks, Sir.”
Cha Hu waved his hand, “You are the one who has discovered these 11 Sealed Worlds; without you, we wouldn’t have gained so many benefits in the first place, so you have the right to keep this thing. However, this King has to make one thing clear to you. Even though those from the Inner Sanctum wouldn’t object to it when they find out you’ve acquired this thing, you’ll have to exchange your Military Merits for it. As for how many Military Merits will be needed, that depends on how many benefits you’ll get from this treasure. When we return to the Inner Sanctum, the Army Commanders will ask you about it.”
Yang Kai nodded, “I understand.”
Although he was the one who had discovered the treasures in this Sealed World, the rules were that everything had to be handed in and then exchanged for Military Merits on the Black Ink Battlefield.
“Make a move now. I’ll head over there to have a look around,” Cha Hu said, then shuffled towards the medicine garden. Most of the Spirit Herbs in the medicine garden had been picked, but the unrecognisable ones still remained in place. They wouldn’t dare to pick them lest the medicinal efficacies were damaged.
Standing in front of the World Tree’s clone, Yang Kai activated his Divine Sense and as Space Principles undulated, the Void around him started contorting.
He initially thought that, given his current strength, it wouldn’t be difficult for him to transfer this World Tree clone inside his Small Universe.
Nevertheless, after some investigation, Yang Kai realised that he had been too naïve.
After Cha Hu finished picking the remaining Spirit Herbs in the medicine garden two hours later, he realised that Yang Kai had been standing in front of the World Tree clone without making a move. Besides that, his face was slightly pale, which suggested that he had consumed quite a lot of energy.
With a frown, Cha Hu appeared beside him and waited patiently.
Another two hours later, Yang Kai opened his eyes and let out a breath.
“What happened?” Cha Hu asked. Bai Yi was also looking at Yang Kai with curiosity.
Yang Kai put on a helpless smile, “Sir, this World Tree clone is closely connected to this Sealed World. They’re inseparable.”
Cha Hu was stunned, “Really?”
As he spoke, he released his Divine Sense into the surroundings. He was more powerful than Yang Kai, so it took him a shorter time to inspect everything. Just like what Yang Kai had said, the World Tree’s clone and this Sealed World were inseparable.
This truly surprised him. When he told Yang Kai to take the World Tree, he was doing it for the latter’s own good. Just like he had said, despite not knowing what benefits the World Tree would bring, it wouldn’t cause any harm to take it. If there were really any benefits, Yang Kai would benefit from them and be able to grow more quickly.
Although a Seventh-Order Master could be considered fairly strong, Yang Kai was still too weak to fight against a Territory Lord, and if he came across a Royal Lord, he wouldn’t even stand a chance to survive.
Cha Hu hoped that Yang Kai could quickly ascend to the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm so that the latter could make more contributions to the Human race; however, since this World Tree clone was closely connected to this Sealed World, even an Eighth-Order Division Commander like him wouldn’t be able to easily take it, let alone Yang Kai.
“What a shame!” Cha Hu let out a sigh.
Yang Kai frowned, “There’s still a way to collect the tree, but it will take some time.”
Cha Hu was puzzled for a moment, but he soon understood what the other man meant, “You can’t do that. Don’t even think about it.”
“You know what I’m talking about, Sir?”
Cha Hu snorted, “Since this thing and the Sealed World are closely connected, you just have to store the entire Sealed World inside your Small Universe in order to take this tree.”
“Exactly,” Yang Kai nodded, “There’s no other way around it.”
Cha Hu said grimly, “By doing so, the different kinds of Dao Essences in this Sealed World will merge with your Small Universe. It would be fine if those Dao Essences complement your Small Universe; they might even strengthen your power. However, if they clash with your Small Universe, they are no different from impurities to you, and they might even affect your foundation. You have to know that this method is what those wicked cultivators use to increase their power by forcefully refining the World Force of Universe Worlds.”
Fundamentally, this Sealed World was a Small Universe left behind by an ancient Great Expert that contained their accumulated cultivation before their death. The Dao Essences hidden in this Sealed World were not all beneficial to Yang Kai; instead, they were likely harmful to him. That was the reason Cha Hu objected to this idea. He wanted Yang Kai to take the World Tree’s clone because he wanted to help the latter grow. Hence, he wouldn’t want to see the younger man harming his foundation.
Yang Kai nodded, “Of course, I understand that. However, please don’t forget that I have a World Spring that can protect my Small Universe from any external influences. With it, it will only take me some time to expel the incompatible World Force and Dao Essences in this Sealed World. By then, this World Tree’s clone will be in my Small Universe.”
Yang Kai had a similar experience before. In the past, when he led the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters from Void Land to hunt Zuo Quan Hui down in the New Great Territory, the latter, who was about to be defeated, spread out his Small Universe in a final attempt to resist. To counterattack, Yang Kai also manifested his Small Universe. Although he eventually managed to kill Zuo Quan Hui, a lot of the latter’s power was deposited in his Small Universe following the clash between their Small Universes.
It took Yang Kai some effort to get rid of these impurities, but his foundation wasn’t affected one bit.
He didn’t have the World Spring at that time either, so now that he did, he wasn’t worried about anything.
Cha Hu was still hesitant, but Yang Kai struck while the iron was hot by saying, “Sir, even Black Ink Strength can’t invade my Small Universe, so why would I be afraid of this Sealed World’s power? It could be said that I’m the most suitable person to collect this treasure.”
Cha Hu was somewhat convinced after hearing that, “However, it will take you quite some time to get rid of all the impurities. Your efforts will go to waste if there are no benefits to be gained.”
Yang Kai replied with a smile, “It will only take some time to give it a try. Even if there are no benefits, I’ll have a World Tree clone in my Small Universe that might bear the World Fruits in the future. Moreover, it’s a clone of the World Tree, there’s no way there wouldn’t be any benefits.”
Cha Hu fell silent for a moment before nodding, “Alright, you can give it a try. This King will stand guard for you. If there’s any anomalies though, you must immediately give it up.”
“Many thanks, Sir.” Yang Kai cupped his fist.
Since it was decided that Yang Kai would put this Sealed World inside his Small Universe, there was no longer a need for any exploration. Cha Hu ordered everyone else to leave.
Soon, Yang Kai and Cha Hu were the only ones left in the Sealed World.
Yang Kai took a deep breath before activating his power to spread out his Small Universe.
The next instant, his Small Universe proliferated at the speed of lightning and engulfed everything.
Cha Hu was hovering in the void and looking around intently. Upon seeing the young man’s Small Universe though, he couldn’t help but arch his brow.
Supposedly, Yang Kai was a newly promoted Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, so his foundation shouldn’t be very stable; however, Cha Hu could see that instead of being unsteady, the heritage of Yang Kai’s Small Universe was rich and ample. As the Small Universe spread further, he could also see the living creatures within it. There was also a small spring that provided a steady yet refreshing aura to the entire Small Universe.
When he was shrouded in Yang Kai’s Small Universe, Cha Hu fell into a dazed state for a moment and, for an instant, he felt that his perception of time had been warped.
[Time Principles?] He raised his brow.
Everyone knew that Yang Kai was an expert in the Dao of Space, but no one was aware that he was also skilful in the Dao of Time.
Cha Hu was astounded, wondering how this brat managed to master both the Dao of Space and the Dao of Time at the same time. It had to be noted that it was extremely difficult to learn the basics of either of these Grand Daos, let alone master them. It would be immensely lucky for anyone to be proficient in one of the two esoteric Grand Daos, so it was inconceivable that someone was actually accomplished in both.
While Cha Hu’s emotions undulated, Yang Kai’s Small Universe had already engulfed the entire Sealed World. Seeing that the younger man didn’t feel any discomfort, Cha Hu set his mind at ease.
All of a sudden, Yang Kai turned to him and said, “Please move away from here, Sir.”
After a nod, Cha Hu turned into a ray of light and dashed towards the exit portal.
When Yang Kai was spreading out his Small Universe, there wasn’t a problem with Cha Hu being there; however, now that Yang Kai was about to retrieve his Small Universe, he had to leave. After all, Cha Hu was an Order above Yang Kai, so the capacity of the latter’s Small Universe wasn’t large enough to accommodate him.
After leaving the portal, Cha Hu turned around and felt a tremor coming from the Sealed World. A rumbling sound was heard from time to time, and the location of the portal contorted as though it would break apart at any moment.
This situation lasted for a few days until the portal finally disappeared altogether. The next instant, a figure appeared out of nowhere. It was none other than Yang Kai.
Nonetheless, his face was pale at this moment, and his aura was unstable, as though he had been badly injured.
Bai Yi instantly approached him, but Yang Kai waved his hand to indicate that he was fine.
He looked pale right now because he had forcefully put the Sealed World inside his Small Universe. The Sealed World was a Small Universe left behind by a Great Expert in ancient times. It was expected that Yang Kai would be greatly impacted after taking it in. However, he had no choice but to do so in order to acquire the World Tree.
An average Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master would have seen his Small Universe exploding if he tried to do this. Fortunately, Yang Kai had a World Spring to protect his Small Universe, so although the process was difficult, he wasn’t at risk of losing his life.
However, before Yang Kai could get rid of the impurities from the Sealed World, he wouldn’t be able to fight against anyone.
Fortunately, it had been peaceful in Blue Sky Pass recently. It would take the Black Ink Clan at least a few dozen years to recuperate from their previous losses, so there wasn’t a need for Yang Kai to battle against anyone.
All the Squads had returned from exploring the Sealed Worlds, and they had all obtained a lot of rewards. Following Cha Hu’s order, Dawning Light turned into a ray of light and flew towards Blue Sky Pass.
A few days later, Blue Sky Pass came into their sight.
They could see that there were a lot of Universe Worlds in the void outside of Blue Sky Pass. These Universe Worlds were moved back from the resource harvesting areas by the Masters from the Inner Sanctum in the last two years. Quite a number of cultivators could now be seen extracting resources in those Universe Worlds.
This was a difficult undertaking, and even though thousands of soldiers from the Inner Sanctum were working on it, it would take them at least 20 years before they could fully extract the resources in those Universe Worlds.
When that time came though, the reserve of resources in the Inner Sanctum would be tremendous. Even without any new resources from the 3,000 Worlds, Blue Sky Pass would be able to last for 1,000 years without needing to resupply.
It could be said that the Void Yin-Yang Mirrors that Yang Kai had brought had alleviated the lack of resources in Blue Sky Pass, and it was the same for the other Great Passes.
As they got closer to the Inner Sanctum, Yang Kai’s voice was heard coming from the cabin, “Sir, I’ll remain out here. Please help me find a safe place outside of the Inner Sanctum. I need to cultivate in seclusion for some time.”
Cha Hu instinctively wanted to reject his idea. Yang Kai was important to the Human race. Since he wanted to cultivate in seclusion, he had to do so in an absolutely safe place. His best choice would be entering the Inner Sanctum. Why would he want to cultivate in seclusion outside of it?
Nevertheless, after giving it a thought, he soon realised Yang Kai’s intentions. What Yang Kai was about to do would cause some inconvenience to the Inner Sanctum, so it really would be better for him to stay outside.
Cha Hu then nodded in agreement, “Good, this King will look for a safe place for you.”
He expanded his Divine Sense and soon found a suitable location. It was a Universe fragment that was left behind after a Universe World had been fully mined out.
There were many Universe Worlds that were being mined outside Blue Sky Pass, so it was expected that a lot of Universe fragments would be produced. They were rubbish to Blue Sky Pass that had to be cleaned up. Although some people would deal with it, they had to wait for the Universe fragments to accumulate to a certain scale first in order to be efficient.
This Universe fragment was only several hundred kilometres away from Blue Sky Pass, and its landmass was neither big nor small. Even if Yang Kai came across any danger while cultivating in this place, those from the Inner Sanctum could immediately come to assist. They wouldn’t have to worry about Yang Kai being harmed by the Black Ink Clan.
Dawning Light then flew towards the Universe fragment and landed on it.
A pale Yang Kai, whose aura was clearly unstable, stepped out of the cabin. His unsteady steps made him look as if he was drunk; however, those who were aware of Yang Kai’s condition knew that he wasn’t inebriated, it was just that his Small Universe was filled to bursting.
“Dawn Squad is to remain here and stand guard for their Squad Leader. This King will head back to the Inner Sanctum and tell some Array Masters to come over and set up another layer of protection. The other Squads can return to their own places,” Cha Hu commanded.
Upon receiving the order, these Squads left Dawning Light and flew towards Blue Sky Pass; Cha Hu also turned into a ray of light and disappeared.
Yang Kai directly sat down with his legs crossed on a flat area on the Universe fragment and started cultivating in silence.
He felt terrible after putting the entire Sealed World inside his Small Universe, and if not for the World Spring’s presence, his Small Universe would have been damaged by now.
This made him feel astounded as he was curious about the cultivation of the owner who left behind that Small Universe in ancient times. With that said, he was certain that the ancient Great Expert was more powerful than him. Perhaps he was in the Eighth-Order or even the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm. That was the reason Yang Kai had fallen into such a state even though the Sealed World he absorbed was clearly just a fragment of the original Small Universe.
Fortunately, it wasn’t difficult to resolve this problem. Yang Kai just had to get rid of the impurities that were useless to his Small Universe. By doing so, not only could he ensure his safety, but he could also keep the World Tree’s clone.
That was Yang Kai’s initial plan, but it would take a pretty long time to achieve it.
As he focused on examining his Small Universe, Yang Kai soon detected the presence of various abstruse Dao Essences which must have belonged to the ancient Great Expert.
When he and Bai Yi were exploring the Sealed World, they hadn’t felt anything special despite being inside it, but now that Yang Kai had gobbled up the entire Sealed World and it was sitting in his Small Universe, he started to clearly detect all the abstrusities hidden within.
He could easily sense the tremendous Alchemic Dao Essence in the Sealed World.
It proved that his speculation was right. The owner of this Sealed World was indeed a skilful Alchemist. That was the reason he spent the time and effort to build a medicine garden in his Small Universe.
Alchemy in ancient times must be different from now; however, the 3,000 Grand Daos had never changed one bit since time immemorial.
The Alchemic Dao Essence in this Sealed World was a pleasant surprise to Yang Kai. If he could refine this Dao Essence, his mastery over the Alchemic Dao would be improved.
These days, he no longer sought to improve his Alchemy skills. Nevertheless, some of the herbs they had collected this time were unknown to the Human race, so they might have some amazing medical efficacies. His effort would be worth it if he could seize this chance to figure out the medical efficacies of those new Spirit Herbs.
Yang Kai got to work as he broke the Sealed World into pieces in his Small Universe. He would refine the Alchemic Dao Essence while getting rid of the impurities lest his foundation be affected.
It wasn’t easy to refine someone else’s Dao Essence; after all, it didn’t belong to Yang Kai. Although it was beneficial to him, it couldn’t perfectly fit into his Small Universe.
Inevitably, some of the Dao Essence would be wasted. As Yang Kai refined the Alchemic Dao Essence in the Sealed World, only 10% of it could be kept.
This was the result considering the fact that he had a World Spring. If he didn’t have it, he wouldn’t have been able to achieve nearly this high an assimilation rate.
At this moment, he couldn’t help but recall Wu Kuang. That guy was a monstrous genius whose Heaven Devouring Battle Law could devour anything and everything in the world and convert it to his own power. If he was the one refining these Dao Essences, he would be able to do so with ease.
Yang Kai was fully aware of the advantages of Heaven Devouring Battle Law; nevertheless, due to various concerns, he wouldn’t dare to use it.
Wu Kuang possessed the Flawless Purifying Golden Lotus, so regardless of how he used the Heaven Devouring Battle Law to absorb external forces, his foundation wouldn’t be affected one bit. Yang Kai had no way to replicate this feat.
The two Supreme Lotuses were indeed Supreme Treasures of the Universe. Although both the Soul Warming Lotus and Flawless Purifying Golden Lotus were extremely rare, one of them was useful for the Soul while the other worked on the body. They had different purposes. While Yang Kai was unable to achieve things that Wu Kuang could, Wu Kuang also wouldn’t be able to accomplish things that were effortless for Yang Kai.
Cha Hu had sent a number of Array Masters to come over and set up a protective Grand Array around the Universe fragment so that Yang Kai wouldn’t be disturbed by any external forces.
Dawn was also stationed here and its members took turns to stand guard for Yang Kai.
Nearly 20,000 soldiers were still swamped with work outside Blue Sky Pass, but without the harassment from the Black Ink Clan, the Black Ink Battlefield seemed to be more serene and less dreadful.
The place where Yang Kai cultivated in seclusion was safe. Feng Ying and the others could detect that his aura was unstable, but he wasn’t at risk of losing his life.
Two months later, a Universe fragment suddenly appeared near the place where Yang Kai cultivated. The Universe fragment was filled with greenery and contained ample World Force.
However, the moment this Universe fragment appeared in the void, its World Force dissipated and disappeared. Without the nourishment of World Force, all the plants on it withered instantly.
Feng Ying, who was on duty, was flabbergasted as she thought that something bad had happened. Nonetheless, she soon realised that this Universe fragment was expelled by Yang Kai during the refinement process. It was a part of the Sealed World as proven by the greenery on it.
That was the reason Yang Kai insisted on cultivating in seclusion outside of Blue Sky Pass instead of staying inside.
It was expected that the Sealed World in his body would be cut into countless pieces and some of them would be purged. If he entered Blue Sky Pass, these Universe fragments that appeared out of nowhere would undoubtedly damage the buildings in the Inner Sanctum. However, it was different outside Blue Sky Pass as Yang Kai could simply toss them away without affecting anything.
Upon that realization, Feng Ying dashed forward and put the Universe fragment inside her Small Universe. Then, she moved to a faraway place and discarded it.
The Universe fragment was just a dead land as all the World Force was gone, so Feng Ying wouldn’t keep it.
After that, a Universe fragment of a random size would appear near Yang Kai every 10 to 15 days. They were obviously the Universe fragments that he had discarded.
The members of Dawn would immediately deal with these fragments so that Yang Kai wouldn’t be disturbed.
As time passed, more and more Universe fragments were disposed of and Yang Kai’s aura became increasingly more stable while he no longer appeared pale. It was apparent that things were going well.
This situation lasted for 6 years.
During this period of time, the members of Dawn had always stayed by Yang Kai’s side.
Over the last six years, he had discarded countless Universe fragments.
When the last Universe fragment was gotten rid of one day, there were no longer any impurities inside his Small Universe. The World Tree, which was originally fixed to the Sealed World, had been extracted and simply needed to be planted in his Small Universe.
The instant the gigantic tree landed, Yang Kai’s entire Small Universe trembled. Even the World Spring didn’t seem able to curb the anomaly.
At that moment, Yang Kai was overwhelmed by a sense of dizziness as he almost couldn’t keep himself upright.
An invisible force exuded from the World Tree’s clone. With the World Tree as the centre, countless invisible threads spread out in all directions.
Those indiscernible threads penetrated every corner of Yang Kai’s Small Universe, and within moments, the World Tree merged with the Small Universe and the two became inseparable.
At that instant, Yang Kai felt that his Small Universe had become closely knitted and impenetrable.
He already had a World Spring, one of the Four Universe Pillars, which protected his Small Universe from any external influences. When dealing with powerful enemies, his Small Universe wouldn’t be impacted one bit regardless of the difference between their strength unless the disparity was insurmountable. Now that he possessed the World Tree, his Small Universe became even firmer.
It surprised him to learn that the World Tree had the same effects as the Four Universe Pillars.
Such a notion never crossed his mind before. He had a feeling that even without the World Spring, he still wouldn’t be invaded by Black Ink Strength, for he now had the World Tree inside his Small Universe. This clone was also able to protect and stabilize his Small Universe, possibly to a greater extent than even the World Spring.
In that case, he could let someone else have the World Spring so that there would be one more powerful Master who wouldn’t need to fear Black Ink Strength. If one of the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters could acquire the World Spring, he wouldn’t have to worry about anything when dealing with the Black Ink Clan.
Besides that, Yang Kai soon realised another benefit of the World Tree.
The World Tree was now closely connected to every corner of his Small Universe. Like a living creature, every time the tree breathed, it would affect his Small Universe as his World Force would be refined. Although the effects wouldn’t be conspicuous in the short term, his World Force would undoubtedly become purer in the long term.
In other words, Yang Kai would be able to unleash more powerful attacks even though he would be using the same amount of World Force.
There were already innumerable living creatures inside his Small Universe to begin with and the flow of time was four times faster than the outside world. Even if Yang Kai never cultivated, the increase of his heritage would still be on par with any other cultivators; hence, he didn’t have to worry about increasing his heritage.
With the World Tree in his possession now, the quality of his heritage would also be improved.
Quality and quantity of World Force were what determined whether an Open Heaven Realm Master was strong or weak. If both measures of a person could surpass those of the cultivators of the same generation, the achievements he or she would make in the future would be unimaginable.
Other than the conspicuous benefits that Yang Kai would enjoy, the Humans inside his Small Universe would also benefit from the World Tree’s nourishment. In fact, the instant the World Tree became connected to his Small Universe, all the Emperor Realm Masters from the major Sects could feel that a great transformation had taken place in the Void Continent; however, they couldn’t tell what the transformation was despite instinctively looking in the World Tree’s direction.
With the World Tree’s nourishment, countless geniuses started appearing in the Star Boundary generation after generation. Certainly, the same thing would happen to the Humans living inside Yang Kai’s Small Universe. Due to the quicker flow of time, the effects would be seen in just several dozen years.
By then, Yang Kai could select talented people from his Small Universe and let them cultivate in Blue Sky Pass. Even if his Grand Daos were not suitable for these people, there were a lot of powerful Masters from the Cave Heavens and Paradises in Blue Sky Pass that could teach them. When these geniuses ascended to the Open Heaven Realm, they would be a considerable force when dealing with the Black Ink Clan.
In other words, his Small Universe had practically become the second Star Boundary as it was also an Open Heaven Realm Cradle now.
These were the benefits of the World Tree he was currently aware of. However, Yang Kai had a feeling that a wonderful treasure like a World Tree clone would have even more uses. He just hadn’t discovered the other benefits yet. Regardless, he could only take things slowly.
In a joyful mood, Yang Kai examined his Small Universe one more time, and upon making sure that there were no problems, he slowly opened his eyes.
Right then, he saw several burly figures staring at him in silence. They were none other than Zhong Liang and the other Army Commanders.
An astounded Yang Kai quickly got to his feet and saluted them, “Greetings, Sirs!”
He had no idea when they arrived at this place, but it was apparent that they hurriedly came over upon detecting some kind of anomaly.
Zhong Liang raised his hand to hint that there was no need for him to be overly polite with them. He then hurriedly asked, “How is it?”
Yang Kai replied respectfully, “Everything is fine. I’ve fully isolated the World Tree’s clone from the Sealed World and it is now closely integrated with my Small Universe.”
Ding Yao arched his brow, “Are there any benefits so far?”
After giving it a thought, Yang Kai replied, “I’ve detected three benefits so far. First of all, the World Tree’s clone has the same effects as the Four Universe Pillars. It might even be superior to them. With the clone around, my Small Universe has become completely impervious to outside influence.” At this point, he cupped his fist, “Sirs, since I have the World Tree’s clone with me, I no longer need the World Spring. I’m willing to let someone else have it for the greater good of the Human race.”
Upon hearing that, the Army Commanders exchanged glances as they were evidently surprised. They had never expected that the World Tree’s clone had the same effects as the Four Universe Pillars. They wouldn’t have found out about it if Yang Kai never told them.
With a frown, Zhong Liang said, “That’s very generous of you, but are you sure the clone can resist the Black Ink Strength after you lose the World Spring? If you can’t resist the influence of the Black Ink Strength after giving up your World Spring, you’ll never be able to leave Blue Sky Pass again.”
Yang Kai replied, “Although I’m unable to verify it, the clone can indeed protect my Small Universe from any external influences. Its protection feels even sturdier than the World Spring’s. Even if what you’ve said is true, I’ll just stay inside Blue Sky Pass, so that I won’t come into contact with the Black Ink Clan.”
Zhong Liang chuckled, “Good, don’t forget what you’ve said.” He would rather let Yang Kai stay in Blue Sky Pass forever to ensure his safety so that he wouldn’t have to worry about him whenever the latter left the Inner Sanctum.
“In any case, there’s no rush to handle this issue. Even though you’re willing to give up the World Spring, we’ll need to have a discussion on who will take it over. Moreover, after you lose the World Spring, your Small Universe will no longer be complete. By then, you’ll have to consume a Profound Yin Spirit Fruit to repair your Small Universe. All of that takes time.”
“I’ll leave the details up to you, Sirs.”
The issue of giving up the World Spring was set aside for now, so Liang Yu Long asked, “What is the second benefit?”
Yang Kai replied, “The second benefit is that the clone is able to refine my World Force. With the clone in possession, the World Force in my Small Universe will become increasingly pure.”
“That’s a wonderful benefit!” Ding Yao tutted. Given Yang Kai’s current strength, he was already peerless among the cultivators in the same Order. If the heritage in his Small Universe could be further refined, his strength would be significantly enhanced. In time, not only would he be more powerful than all other cultivators in the same Order, but he would also be able to fight against cultivators that were an Order above him.
After pondering on it for a moment, Zhong Liang said, “Even though the benefit is amazing, it won’t have any conspicuous effects in the short term.”
With that said, Open Heaven Realm Masters enjoyed a very long life. As a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, time was on Yang Kai’s side.
“The third benefit has nothing to do with me, but it is still significant. There are many Humans currently living in my Small Universe. With the World Tree’s nourishment, many rare talents and geniuses will start appearing within two or three generations.”
Upon hearing that, Liang Yu Long was surprised and confused, “What kind of talents and geniuses are you talking about?”
Yang Kai explained, “Sir may not be aware of it yet, but there is also a World Tree clone planted in my homeland, the Star Boundary. A few hundred years ago, I planted it there because my homeworld was at risk of collapsing after suffering too much damage in a great war. I only wanted to save my homeworld by planting the World Tree there, but to my surprise, several generations later, the average aptitude of the cultivators living in the Star Boundary had improved dramatically. The Cave Heavens and Paradises have all set up Dao Temples there to take on more disciples and raise some of their own from outside the Star Boundary. Before I came to the Black Ink Battlefield, there were already a lot of talented youths who had the aptitude to directly ascend to the Sixth-Order and even the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm.”
“Directly ascending to the Seventh Order?” All the Army Commanders were astonished.
If a person directly ascended to the Seventh Order, it meant that their upper limit would be the Ninth Order. If such a person wasn’t accidentally killed, they had a chance to become an Old Ancestor.
“And you say there are many such people?” Zhong Liang asked in a solemn tone.
Yang Kai nodded, “There are many who are able to directly ascend to the Sixth Order. Though only a small number of people can directly make it to the Seventh Order, I suppose every Cave Heaven and Paradise will have at least one to two such people every 1,000 years. In the past, there had been some commotion as the Cave Heavens and Paradises tried to take on disciples in my homeworld.”
Even though they were all in the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm, they couldn’t help but gasp upon hearing that.
A genius who could directly ascend to the Seventh Order was extremely rare and perhaps such a person would only appear every 1,000 years across the entire 3,000 Worlds. It wasn’t that there were no disciples in the Cave Heavens and Paradises who had directly ascended to the Seventh Order in the past as all the Old Ancestors had directly made it to the Seventh Order back then. However, such people were incredibly rare even in the Cave Heavens and Paradises. When such a talent appeared, it would cause a huge commotion, and they would be given all the support available.
Now, every Cave Heaven and Paradise had one to two such geniuses in Yang Kai’s homeland within the same time frame. That was truly inconceivable.
It would suggest that several thousand years later, there would be an additional 100 to 200 Old Ancestors.
When these powerful cultivators arrived on the Black Ink Battlefield, they would send a shockwave across the Black Ink Clan.
These Army Commanders were stunned as they could envision the bright future ahead of them. When the time came, with so many powerful Human cultivators around, they might be able to destroy the Black Ink Clan once and for all.
Yang Kai went on to say, “The population in my Small Universe is not comparable to my homeworld, so there wouldn’t be a lot of geniuses being born right away. With that said, there would still be quite a number of them. I plan to let them ascend to the Emperor Realm in my Small Universe first, then they can continue cultivating in the Inner Sanctum until they make it to the Open Heaven Realm.”
Zhong Liang and the others finally came to their senses and Ding Yao promptly said, “By then, you have to look for a young person with an outstanding aptitude for me. This King will personally teach them.”
Yang Kai replied with a smile, “That person will be extremely lucky to have Commander Yao’s personal guidance.”
Zhong Liang coughed, “I’ll reserve one as well.”
Liang Yu Long and Shen Tu Mo exchanged glances, and then expressed that Yang Kai must not be biased. They would have to take on their own Disciples as well.
Certainly, Yang Kai wouldn’t object to it.
All of a sudden, Zhong Liang said in a solemn voice, “Yang Kai, since this is a matter of those living inside your Small Universe, you have to address the issue of the small population. Since the World Tree’s nourishment can enhance the Humans’ aptitude, it’s certainly better to have more Humans inside your Small Universe so that there will be even more talents.”
Shen Tu Mo nodded repeatedly, “That’s right.”
Yang Kai was torn between tears and laughter, “How am I supposed to resolve the issue of a lack of population?”
Zhong Liang said, “Since those Humans are living in your Small Universe, you can just ensure that there’ll always be food on the table for them and that they won’t have to worry about anything when cultivating. Additionally, you can provide some incentives for giving birth. That way, you’ll be able to increase the population.”
Upon hearing that, Yang Kai nodded, “You have a point. I’ll come up with ways to go about it.”
In fact, the population of Humans living in his Small Universe had increased significantly over the years; after all, his Small Universe was abundant in resources, and there were no major conflicts. Even the commoners living in it wouldn’t have to worry about most basic needs.
Yang Kai had never been concerned about the number of people living in his Small Universe. Being born, growing old, falling ill, and passing away were all parts of the cycle of life, and it was this very cycle that continued to strengthen the heritage of his Small Universe.
Now that there was a World Tree clone in his Small Universe though, Yang Kai had to seriously consider how to increase the Human population.
“You’ve just obtained the World Tree, so it’s not certain whether there are any downsides. You shall stay in the Inner Sanctum for the time being and not go anywhere,” Zhong Liang ordered, “Moreover, it has been peaceful around Blue Sky Pass recently, and we aren’t anticipating any major conflicts for several decades to come. You should seize this chance to cultivate and increase your strength.”
“Yes,” Yang Kai replied, “Sir, I’d like to head to Pill Hall.”
Zhong Liang asked in puzzlement, “Pill Hall? Why are you going there?”
Yang Kai replied, “The owner of the Sealed World that I consumed was a Grandmaster Alchemist. I happened to study the basics of Alchemic Dao in the past and have refined a lot of that ancient Senior’s Alchemic Dao Essence after taking in his Sealed World. Therefore, it could be said that I’ve acquired some of his inheritance.”
Zhong Liang’s brow twitched, “You’re also well-versed in the Alchemic Dao?”
“I only studied a bit of it in the past. My achievements in it aren’t worth mentioning now,” Yang Kai replied humbly.
Ding Yao frowned, “Do you want to continue cultivating the Alchemic Dao? You’ll risk being a jack of all trades but a master of none. Only by focusing on what you’re best at would you have a bright future in the Martial Dao.”
Shen Tu Mo nodded in agreement, “There isn’t a lack of Alchemists on the Black Ink Battlefield. What we lack are ingredients to use in Alchemy. Don’t get distracted because of that.”
Yang Kai cupped his fist, “Sirs have misunderstood. I’m not planning to cultivate the Alchemic Dao. Other than acquiring a part of the Senior’s inheritance, I also discovered a handwritten record he’d left behind in the Sealed World. Although it is tattered and incomplete, some of the information is still useful. I just want to give something I found a test. If I succeed, it will result in pills that will be useful to those in the Inner Sanctum.”
“A handwritten record?” Ding Yao was surprised.
Yang Kai waved his hand and fished out something that was the size of a palm. It was neither made from gold or jade. This item appeared quite dated and was tattered with quite a number of cracks on it.
It was the handwritten record left behind by the Sealed World’s former owner.
If Yang Kai hadn’t swallowed the entire Sealed World, he wouldn’t have found this thing.
The Senior Alchemist passed away a long time ago, and the Small Universe he left behind had gone through a gradual transformation. The land was already different from the past.
The handwritten record was buried deep beneath the ground.
After transferring the Sealed World into his Small Universe, Yang Kai put in great effort to break up the Sealed World and remove the incompatible pieces from his Small Universe.
Doing so, he had practically rummaged through the entire Sealed World and dug up everything that was hidden within it.
This handwritten record was one of the rewards of that effort. Another reward was a number of rare herbs that hadn’t been picked in the Sealed World.
Yang Kai and Bai Yi hadn’t fully explored the Sealed World back then and had simply stopped doing so after discovering the medicine garden. Naturally, there were still a lot of herbs in the Sealed World which were all now transplanted to the medicine garden in his Small Universe.
The information in the handwritten record was messy; after all, this thing was both ancient and damaged. Nevertheless, Yang Kai was aware that this handwritten record contained the Senior’s insights on Alchemy as well as some strange pill recipes.
One of the relatively complete pill recipes especially caught his attention.
After taking the handwritten record from Yang Kai, Zhong Liang infused his Divine Sense into it and went through the information. A moment later, he asked with a frown, “You can understand this?”
As he examined it, he realised that there was indeed some information in the handwritten record; however, the words used were different from the modern language, so it was hard for him to comprehend it. There were also some strange words that were unrecognisable to him. They were apparently some ancient characters that had long ago ceased to be used.
Yang Kai replied honestly, “I can only understand some of it, so I need to verify some things through experimentation.”
After all, he had refined a lot of Alchemic Dao Essence from the Sealed World, so it could be said that he had acquired a part of the Alchemist’s inheritance. Yang Kai was probably the only one in the world who could understand the handwritten record.
After Ding Yao and the others went through the note, they all appeared puzzled. Just like Zhong Liang, they didn’t understand it.
Following a moment of deliberation, Zhong Liang nodded, “You can go to Pill Hall. I’ll inform them about it so that they’ll give you the assistance you need.”
“Many thanks, Sir.”
Zhong Liang waved his hand, “However, you must focus on cultivating and must not waste your time.”
“I’ll not forget your guidance, Sir.”
Zhong Liang and the others soon left the place.
It was then that Yang Kai returned to Dawning Light and met up with the members of Dawn. Dawning Light soon turned into a streak of light that flew towards the Inner Sanctum.
Upon entering Blue Sky Pass, Yang Kai directly headed to the Pill Hall.
The Pill Hall was a complex located in the Northwest sector of Blue Sky Pass. All the Alchemists in Blue Sky Pass gathered together in this place.
It had to be noted that there were over 20,000 soldiers in Blue Sky Pass, so the need for Spirit Pills was insatiable. They wouldn’t require expensive Spirit Pills to cultivate, but when war broke out, the rate at which healing pills and restorative pills were consumed would be astonishing.
Therefore, regardless of whether there was a war going on or not, those in the Pill Hall were always swamped with work. Every Alchemist there had to exert themselves to produce the Spirit Pills that were needed by the soldiers in the Inner Sanctum.
There was also a large medicine garden in the Pill Hall where a lot of rare Spirit Herbs were grown. Those from the Inner Sanctum couldn’t possibly always rely on the people in the 3,000 Worlds to send them herbs, so every Great Pass had its own medicine garden that was well taken care of.
In the medicine garden in Blue Sky Pass, there were actually hundreds of Profound Yin fruit trees.
These Profound Yin fruit trees were found by the Human soldiers in various Sealed Worlds over the years and were all transplanted to this place.
The need for Profound Yin Spirit Fruits was also insatiable. A lot of soldiers in the Inner Sanctum had given up parts of their Small Universe before, so they longed for these fruit trees to bear fruit.
Someone was already waiting for Yang Kai when he arrived at Pill Hall.
The person’s eyes brightened when he saw Yang Kai, and then he shuffled forward and cupped his fist, “You must be Senior Brother Yang.”
Yang Kai saluted him back, “It is this Yang.”
There was a hospitable smile on that person’s face, “I am Tang Qun. The Hall Master has told me to receive you here. He has ordered that any demand you have is to be met.”
“I’m sorry for troubling you, then,” Yang Kai replied gratefully.
“This way, please.” Tang Qun extended his hand.
Yang Kai thanked him again and followed him into the Pill Hall. The moment he stepped inside the main building, he felt a gush of hot air whisking across his face. The Alchemists inside were clearly busy at work.
Both sides of the main hall were lined with secret rooms. Most rooms were closed while only a small number of them were open and empty.
Yang Kai looked around and realised that there was an Alchemy Furnace in every room that was not closed. There was also a Grand Array inside every room that was used to produce a potent Alchemy Flame.
As Tang Qun moved forward, he explained, “There are three kinds of Pill Rooms in the Pill Hall, graded as Heaven, Earth, and Mortal. Every room is equipped with an Alchemy Furnace and a Grand Array that’s used to produce and regulate Alchemy Flames. In total, there are 200 Mortal Rank Pill Rooms, 50 Earth Rank Pill Rooms, and 8 Heaven Rank Pill Rooms. What kind of Spirit Pills are you going to refine and what Pill Room would you like to use, Senior Brother Yang?”
Upon hearing that, Yang Kai replied, “I’m not in a rush to make any pills. There’s something I need to ask you about, though.”
Tang Qun replied, “Go ahead. This Tang will tell you everything he can.”
Yang Kai then fished out a strand of Spirit Grass, “How much of this Spirit Grass do you have in the Pill Hall?”
After taking the Spirit Grass, Tang Qun examined it and said, “Obsidian Grass? We have some reserves of it in the Pill Hall, but there’s not a lot. It’s just a supplementary ingredient for refining the Heavenly Pearl Soul Soothing Pills, so there isn’t a huge demand for it. Although we have some of this grass in the medicine garden, it’s not a lot as we’ll only use it infrequently.”
“A medicine garden?” Yang Kai was astounded, “There’s a medicine garden in the Pill Hall?”
Tang Qun replied with a smile, “Of course we have a medicine garden in the Pill Hall. Many of the Spirit Herbs found in the Sealed Worlds have been moved back to this place; after all, a lot of herbs on the Black Ink Battlefield are different from those in the 3,000 Worlds. Sometimes, even the Master Alchemists can’t identify them. We still don’t know what the uses of some of the herbs in the medicine garden are. Regardless, we’ve transplanted them to this place.”
Yang Kai nodded, “I need some of this… Obsidian Grass.”
In the handwritten record left behind by the ancient Alchemist, this Spirit Grass was not a supplementary ingredient for producing Heavenly Pearl Soul Soothing Pills, but the main ingredient for refining another kind of Spirit Pill. In the handwritten record, this Spirit Grass was not named Obsidian Grass; however, since Blue Sky Pass had its own name for it, Yang Kai didn’t find it necessary to correct them.
He just wanted to try out a pill recipe recorded in the handwritten record. It would be fine if he failed; however, if he succeeded, it would be wonderful news for the Human Race.
Yang Kai then listed a few other herbs. Tang Qun took note of them and told some people to send these herbs over.
Then, Tang Qun asked, “Are you going to be refining pills now, Senior Brother? What kind of Pill Room do you want?”
After pondering on it for a moment, Yang Kai replied, “I’ll use a Heaven Rank Pill Room, then.”
Since the Pill Rooms were divided into Heaven, Earth, and Mortal Ranks, he reckoned that the highest Rank Pill Room would be the best. He was pretty skilful at Alchemy back then, but compared to his cultivation now, his mastery of Alchemy left much to be desired. His skills in Alchemy were no longer on par with his cultivation, so he reckoned that he could increase the chance of successfully producing the pill he was trying to by using a better room.
Tang Qun nodded, “There happens to be an empty Heaven Rank Pill Room. Please come with me, Senior Brother.”
Upon finishing his words, Tang Qun led the way.
Soon, Tang Qun led Yang Kai to a Heaven Rank Pill Room. There was an Alchemy Furnace that was as tall as a Human in the Pill Room and the abstruse patterns engraved on it suggested that it was no ordinary artifact.
The Alchemy Furnaces that were placed in these Heaven Rank Pill Rooms were the best of the best in Blue Sky Pass and were personally created by the Artifact Refining Grandmasters from Divine Cauldron Heaven.
Such a high-quality Alchemy Furnace wasn’t the only one in the Heaven Rank Pill Room of course; to the other side of the Pill Room were five other Alchemy Furnaces of different sizes. The smallest one was only the size of a baby’s head while the largest one was as tall as three Humans stacked on top of each other. The one Yang Kai caught sight of upon entering the room was only medium-sized in comparison.
It was apparent that these Alchemy Furnaces were refined with various different situations in mind when it came to refining Spirit Pills.
Tang Qun explained the uses of these Alchemy Furnaces and passed Yang Kai a token, “There is a Grand Array in this Pill Room that is used to produce an Alchemy Flame. You’ll be able to control the Alchemy Flame after refining this token.”
Basically, every Alchemist had their own Alchemy Flame, and using their own Alchemy Flame would allow them to be entirely in their element when refining Spirit Pills. However, refining certain special pills was a time and labour-intensive process, so it would be better to make use of the Alchemy Flames in the Pill Rooms to save some energy.
Yang Kai used his Conflagrated Knowledge Sea when he practised Alchemy in the past. It was the best Alchemy Flame in the Alchemic Dao at that time. Nevertheless, as his cultivation improved and his Divine Sense became more refined, his Conflagrated Knowledge Sea could no longer keep pace with his needs and the Alchemy Flame in the Pill Room would undoubtedly be the best help for him now.
Yang Kai gratefully accepted the token.
Tang Qun went on to say, “You refine this first, Senior Brother. I’ll urge them to hurry up and prepare the herbs you requested.”
“Many thanks,” Yang Kai expressed his gratitude, and after Tang Qun left, he sat down cross-legged and started refining the token.
The token was a simple item, so just an hour later, he was done refining it. With the help of this token, Yang Kai could control the Grand Array in this Pill Room to draw on its Alchemy Flame.
Soon, all the herbs he requested were sent to him by Tang Qun. After a quick examination, Yang Kai confirmed that these herbs were exactly what he needed, and they came in a large quantity too.
“This Tang will stop bothering you then, Senior Brother. Please feel free to call on anyone if you need assistance or other materials.” Tang Qun bid him farewell and took his leave.
After he was gone, Yang Kai selected a suitable Alchemy Furnace in the Pill Room and organised the herbs so that he could use them when needed.
He hadn’t practised Alchemy for a long time. The last time he did so was when he was refining Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pills in Void Land. His skills in Alchemy were somewhat rusty now.
Moreover, the pill recipe he obtained from the ancient Senior’s handwritten record was incomplete as the medium it was recorded on had aged and become tattered. There wasn’t a lot of useful information on it, and not a single pill recipe was complete.
In order to complete the pill recipe he was interested in, Yang Kai had to try out many different methods.
However, if his experiment turned out to be successful, the benefits it would bring to the Human Race would be immense. The prerequisite was that the Spirit Pills that were produced based on the pill recipe really had the effect described in the handwritten record.
Yang Kai then emptied his mind and started condensing the medicinal liquid. This step wasn’t difficult for him. With a high-quality Alchemy Furnace and a potent Alchemy Flame that he could make use of, he just had to be cautious. Experienced Alchemists usually wouldn’t make a mistake in this step. Only novices might fail at condensing medicinal liquid.
After he was done with condensing the necessary medicinal liquids, Yang Kai poured them into the Alchemy Furnace. He then focused on controlling the Alchemy Flame and meticulously refined the pills according to the process described in the handwritten record.
One hour later, a strange noise was heard coming from the Alchemy Furnace, then Yang Kai caught a whiff of something burnt. He froze for a bit, knowing that his attempt had failed this time.
With that said, he didn’t appear to be disappointed. He never expected to succeed in producing the pills on his first attempt; after all, the pill recipe was incomplete to begin with. He just wanted to familiarise himself with the medicinal efficacies and the process so that he could complete the pill recipe.
Only with a complete pill recipe would he stand a chance to refine useful pills.
Yang Kai cleaned up the Alchemy Furnace and threw the residue away. After taking a moment to rest and review, he began his second attempt.
As time passed, he became increasingly immersed in the process as he recalled the days when he used to practise Alchemy in the past.
He had not worked on improving his mastery of the Alchemic Dao for centuries, so his skills were indeed a bit rusty; however, he was taught Alchemy by the Heavenly Way itself back then. If he had persevered and moved forward in this Grand Dao, his mastery of Alchemy would have been just as great as the Alchemy Grandmasters in Blue Sky Pass.
Unfortunately, his time and energy were not infinite. The Martial Dao was the most important pursuit in his life, so he was willing to give up other things that would distract him from focusing on it.
As more and more herbs became burnt dregs, Yang Kai gained a better understanding of the pill recipe in the handwritten record. However, there was always a bottleneck he could not break through when trying to refine this pill.
Something essential was missing from the pill recipe in the handwritten record.
Yang Kai reckoned that this key component was some kind of Spirit Herb, though he didn’t know what it was. He could only try out different types of herbs to figure out what was missing. With that said, he wasn’t blindly carrying out experiments.
Since the handwritten record was found in the Senior Alchemist’s Small Universe, the herbs listed in this pill recipe were most likely grown in his medicine garden.
Therefore, the herbs Yang Kai had selected were the ones he could find in the medicine garden in the Sealed World with seemingly appropriate properties. He decided to experiment with all these herbs first, and if he still didn’t succeed, he would then come up with a new plan.
Those from the Pill Hall had given him their full support, so over the next month, Yang Kai had asked for more herbs from Tang Qun eight times. Every time, Tang Qun would always promptly send him what he requested.
However, Yang Qun was astounded at Yang Kai’s need for such a large amount of herbs as he wondered what kind of pills the latter was making. It had to be noted that Spirit Herbs on the Black Ink Battlefield were even more precious than cultivation resources. Although the Army Commanders had ordered them to fully support Yang Kai, they couldn’t possibly let him endlessly consume so many herbs without yielding any results.
One day, an energetic old man, whose hair and beard were grey with age, arrived at the Pill Hall. Wherever he went, the Alchemists would stop and call out, “Grandmaster Zhu Ge.”
This couldn’t be helped, as this old man was one of the top three Alchemy Grandmasters in Blue Sky Pass, Zhu Ge Ming. When it came to the Alchemic Dao, only the Hall Master and another Grandmaster were comparable to him in the entire Pill Hall. It could even be argued that he was the best Alchemist in Blue Sky Pass. Nevertheless, he was a whimsical man who didn’t know how to liaise with others. Otherwise, he would have become the Hall Master of the Pill Hall.
The current Hall Master had even declared that his skills in Alchemy were slightly inferior to those of Zhu Ge Ming.
When Zhu Ge Ming arrived at the Medicine Hall where herbs were managed, he knocked on the table and listed the herbs he needed.
The Deacon, who was in charge of the Medicine Hall, hurriedly invited him to have a seat before personally looking for the herbs the Grandmaster wanted.
A moment later, the Deacon came over and saluted Zhu Ge Ming, “Grandmaster Zhu Ge, the herbs you want are here; however, there’s a lack of Green Feather Rattan at the moment. I’ve asked someone to pick it from the medicine garden. I’m sure he’ll be back soon. Please bear with us.”
Zhu Ge Ming nodded and asked, “Has that old thing Zhou Fang been refining Universe Formulation Pills recently?”
Universe Formulation Pills were very high-grade Spirit Pills, while Zhou Fang was one of the top three Alchemy Grandmasters in the Pill Hall.
Other than the Hall Master, the two of them were the most important figures in the Pill Hall. However, they were considered rivals as they were experts in the same Dao. It had been thousands of years since they arrived at Blue Sky Pass, but they had never stopped competing against each other in the Alchemic Dao. Certainly, they had also never stopped arguing as neither of them was willing to make a concession.
Apart from the Hall Master, only Zhu Ge Ming and Zhou Fang were able to refine Universe Formulation Pills in the entire Blue Sky Pass. Green Feather Rattan was the main ingredient for refining Universe Formulation Pills, and it wasn’t needed for producing other pills. That was the reason Zhu Ge Ming had this speculation.
Upon hearing that, the Deacon shook his head, “Grandmaster Zhou didn’t take it. It was Junior Brother Tang Qun.”
Zhu Ge Ming frowned, “What does that brat Tang Qun need Green Feather Rattan for?”
There was a helpless smile on the Deacon’s face as he replied, “I have no idea. However, he said that it was Yang Kai who wanted those herbs. Moreover, the Army Commanders have ordered us to provide all the support he needs.”
“Yang Kai?” Zhu Ge Ming arched his brow, “That Yang Kai?”
Although the Grandmaster didn’t speak clearly, the Deacon understood him as he nodded, “Yes, that Yang Kai.”
Yang Kai had practically become a household name in the Blue Sky Pass. Even though those from the Pill Hall had not been on the front lines of the fight against the Black Ink Clan, they had all heard that Yang Kai as his arrival had brought a lot of good news to the soldiers in the Inner Sanctum. He had created a way that could help the Humans from the different Great Passes purify Black Ink Strength after all.
“He’s also well-versed in Alchemy?” Zhu Ge Ming was slightly surprised.
The Deacon looked around, and upon making sure that no one else was around, he said, “Perhaps he knows a little about Alchemy, but he’s definitely not an expert. Over the past month, he has used up many rare herbs. I’ve asked Junior Brother Tang Qun about it, but he said that Yang Kai hasn’t even produced a single Spirit Pill. I’m sure you’re aware that Green Feather Rattan is only used to refine Universe Formulation Pills, so we don’t have a lot of it in reserve. He has practically used up all of our stock over the past month, and I haven’t even included the other herbs.”
Upon hearing that, Zhu Ge Ming furrowed his brow, “Isn’t he just causing trouble, then?”
The Deacon nodded repeatedly, “I agree with you. The herbs in the Inner Sanctum are precious, and every herb wasted could have been used to save a soldier at a critical moment; however, since the Army Commanders have given the order, we can only oblige.”
Zhu Ge Ming’s face fell, “Where is Yang Kai?”
The Deacon replied, “Junior Brother Tang Qun has helped him settle down in Heaven Rank Pill Room 3.”
Zhu Ge Ming rose from the chair, “I’ll have a look.”
A shocked Deacon hurriedly dissuaded him from doing that, “Grandmaster, please do not make things difficult for Yang Kai. It was the Army Commanders’ order, after all.”
“So what if they’re the Army Commanders? If they’re so capable, they wouldn’t have to consume the Spirit Pills this Zhu refines when they’re injured,” After finishing his words, he left the place in a fury.
The Deacon was dumbfounded. He felt heartbroken that Yang Kai had wasted so many herbs, so he just wanted to whine about it in front of Zhu Ge Ming a little. It never crossed his mind that he would create such trouble.
He was fully aware of Zhu Ge Ming’s temperament. Things would get ugly if the Grandmaster got into a conflict with Yang Kai.
While the Deacon was anxious, he saw someone sauntering towards him.
Upon seeing the person, he quickly went over, “Grandmaster Zhou!”
The person was none other than one of the top three Alchemists in the Inner Sanctum, Zhou Fang, who was on bad terms with Zhu Ge Ming.
Zhou Fang grunted as he calmly placed his hands behind his back. With a dispassionate expression, he ordered, “Go get some Green Feather Rattan for me. This Old Master is ready to refine some Universe Formulation Pills. A lot of those pills were consumed in the previous war and there aren’t a lot in stock in the War Materials Hall now.”
Universe Formulation Pills could be considered strategic resources, so there would usually be some reserve of it in the War Materials Hall; however, all of those pills would be fully consumed after every major war. After all, there were only three people in the Inner Sanctum who could produce these pills.
Upon hearing this, the Deacon felt his head aching, for he was asked to get Green Feather Rattan again. Although the ingredient was fairly rare, there would usually be some reserve of it in the Medicine Hall as it was only used to make Universe Formulation Pills. However, he was unable to get his hands on it at the moment.
With a helpless smile, he replied, “Please give me a moment, Grandmaster Zhou. Just now, Grandmaster Zhu Ge came over and took all the Green Feather Rattan. I’ve asked someone to collect some from the medicine garden, but it will take some time.”
Zhou Fang frowned at that, “That old fart Zhu Ge took all the Green Feather Rattan? There was still a lot of it when I came here previously.”
The Deacon kept a helpless smile on his face, “There’s none left.”
Zhou Fang snapped, “That old fart Zhu Ge has gone too far! It’s not necessary for him to use such a dirty trick even if he doesn’t want to let me refine Universe Formulation Pills!”
Upon hearing that, the Deacon was flabbergasted, “You’ve got it wrong, Grandmaster Zhou. Grandmaster Zhu Ge only took a small amount of Green Feather Rattan.”
“Stop smoothing things over. Where’s the old fart now? I need to give him a piece of my mind!”
The Deacon was on the brink of breaking into tears as he tried to explain, “It really wasn’t Grandmaster Zhu Ge who used up all the Green Feather Rattan. Before he asked for it, someone else had been consuming the herbs.”
Zhou Fang was surprised, “Is there another person who can refine Universe Formulation Pills now?”
“No…” A helpless Deacon repeated what he had said to Zhu Ge Ming earlier.
A myriad of expressions came over Zhou Fang before he turned around and left, “That’s ridiculous. This Old Master is also going to have a look.”
The moment he arrived at Heaven Rank Pill Room 3, he saw Zhu Ge Ming standing outside. There was a young man who sported a servile smile in front of him and upon closer inspection, he realised that the young man was Tang Qun.
Tang Qun was heard saying, “Grandmaster Zhu Ge, you can’t disturb Senior Brother Yang while he’s in the middle of refining pills. You’re also an Alchemist, so you are surely aware of what will happen if an Alchemist is disturbed in the midst of Alchemy. If the Army Commanders find out about it, I won’t be able to bear the responsibility.”
Zhu Ge Ming glared at him, “No one is telling you to bear the responsibility. Regardless of what happens, I will take all the blame.”
After he finished speaking, he was ready to barge into the room. A terrified Tang Qun quickly stopped him.
Zhu Ge Ming growled, “Stinking brat, do not force me to make a move on you! Although I’m an Alchemist who knows nothing about fighting, I’m still an Eighth-Order Master! It’s not difficult for me to deal with you. That Yang Boy has indeed made some significant contributions to the Inner Sanctum and I’ve heard that he’s even killed a Territory Lord. However, Alchemy and fighting are two different things. All the herbs in the Inner Sanctum are precious, so none of them should be wasted. Why is he here trying to refine pills instead of killing more enemies on the battlefield? He’s just causing trouble for no good reason!”
With a bitter expression, Tang Qun nodded repeatedly, “You have a point, Grandmaster; however, Senior Brother Yang is in the middle of refining pills right now, so you can’t disturb him… Ah! You’re here as well, Grandmaster Zhou. Please help persuade Grandmaster Zhu Ge.”
Upon hearing that, Zhu Ge Ming turned his head. When he saw Zhou Fang ambling towards him, he snorted with disdain.
Zhou Fang stood in front of them and shot Zhu Ge Ming a dismissive look, “Can’t you just admit that you’re old? You’ve lost all your courage, and all you know is how to shout. Highly improper!”
Like a cat whose tail had been stamped upon, Zhu Ge Ming roared, “I’m indeed old, but you’re in no way younger than I am. You said I’ve lost all my courage, what courage do you have, then?”
Zhou Fang scoffed, “Of course I’m more courageous than you are!” Following that, he landed a slap on the back of Tang Qun’s head, “Scram you smelly brat!”
He was also an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, so although he rarely fought with anyone, his cultivation was not just for show. Upon impact, Tang Qun directly collapsed to the ground and fell into a dazed state. He wasn’t harmed at all as Zhou Fang only used a bit of force to move him aside.
Zhu Ge Ming was speechless at the sight.
“Open the door,” Zhou Fang snorted at Zhu Ge Ming.
Zhu Ge Ming pressed his lips together, “Why don’t you open the door?”
Zhou Fang replied, “I was in a rush when I left my place, so I didn’t bring my Vice Hall Master token with me.”
Every Pill Room had its exclusive access token and no one could open it without that token. This measure was implemented to protect the Alchemists so that they could focus on refining pills.
However, the tokens held by the Hall Master and the Vice Hall Masters could be used to open all Pill Rooms in case of an emergency. If an Alchemist fell into danger in a Pill Room, the Hall Master or a Vice Hall Master could use their tokens to open the barriers and look into them.
Both Zhu Ge Ming and Zhou Fang were Vice Hall Masters, so they had the right to do so.
Zhu Ge Ming sneered, “Seems like you’re just a coward who is afraid of bearing any responsibility!”
Despite what he had just said, he still fished out his Vice Hall Master token and performed a hand seal before casting a beam of light.
The Pill Room’s door slowly opened as a gush of hot air rushed at them.
Zhu Ge Ming and Zhou Fang stepped into the room at the same time and frowned. That was because this Pill Room was void of any pill fragrance. Instead, it was filled with a burnt, acrid smell.
It suggested that things were not going well in this room as the Alchemist must have failed more than once.
The two Alchemy Grandmasters felt heartbroken. Every failure meant that precious herbs had been wasted. They heard from the Medicine Hall that Yang Kai had stayed here for a month already and taken quite a number of herbs. He must have wasted a lot of good things in that amount of time.
They increasingly felt that Yang Kai was messing around.
Zhu Ge Ming had a straightforward temperament, but just when he was ready to openly chastise the young man, Zhou Fang suddenly stopped him and motioned for him to keep quiet.
Zhu Ge Ming narrowed his eyes before turning them forward.
There was a young man who was seated with his legs crossed in front of an Alchemy Furnace, using his power to control the Alchemy Flame. Although two Grandmasters had barged into the room, he didn’t seem perturbed one bit and remained completely focused.
Zhu Ge Ming’s expression turned milder as he was somewhat surprised. This performance suggested that Yang Kai was a calm and collected individual. An Alchemist was most wary of being distracted when making pills, so Yang Kai maintaining his calm even when intruded upon was a praiseworthy feat.
Upon closer look, Zhu Ge Ming realised that Yang Kai had only started this round of Alchemy as the latter was still condensing medicinal liquids. This was the first step of any pill refining process. Even though it was a simple step, an Alchemist’s foundation could be judged during this process.
As Zhu Ge Ming observed, his expression changed slightly, for he realised that the young man wasn’t just messing around like what he had imagined. It was apparent that the young man’s foundation was solid judging from the way he condensed medicinal liquid. Since he was able to condense different types of medicinal liquid at the same time, it also suggested that he wasn’t someone who knew nothing about the Alchemic Dao.
With that said, he could easily spot mistakes in the young man’s process. Despite that, he was still pleased with what he saw.
As he continued to observe it, he soon became puzzled though.
He could recognise every herb that Yang Kai threw into the Alchemy Furnace. He could also identify their medicinal age and instantly figure out what kinds of pills required these herbs. Additionally, he understood when would be the best time to add the medicinal liquids into the furnace.
Nevertheless, when all of these herbs were combined, he couldn’t figure out what pill was being made.
He thus turned his head and realised that Zhou Fang was also looking attentively with a perplexed expression.
Zhu Ge Ming couldn’t help but ask secretly, “What pill is he making?”
Zhou Fang frowned, “I don’t know. Can’t you tell?”
Zhu Ge Ming refuted, “Why would I have asked you if I could figure it out?”
Zhou Fang replied, “It looks like he’s trying to refine a new kind of Spirit Pill.”
Zhu Ge Ming was shocked, “Are there still any Spirit Pills in this world that we’re not aware of?”
It had been many thousands of years since they began cultivating the Alchemic Dao, and they were versed in essentially every pill recipe in existence. However, Yang Kai’s process puzzled them. There was no doubt that it was a new pill recipe, so they couldn’t help but wonder what Spirit Pill this young man was working on.
They initially wanted to reprimand Yang Kai and tell him to do what he was best at and leave refining pills to the experts. Since he was able to fight against the enemy, he should focus on doing that. However, neither was interested in chiding him anymore as they were absorbed in observing his process and waiting for the result.
Just an hour later, a pop was heard coming from the Alchemy Furnace.
Zhu Ge Ming and Zhou Fang felt their chests tightening as they thought it was such a shame.
The moment a burnt smell exuded from the Alchemy Furnace, Yang Kai let out a sigh and got to his feet.
Tang Qun, who was stunned by Zhou Fang’s slap earlier, had already come to his senses as he stood behind the Grandmasters. Seeing that the two Grandmasters were not disturbing Yang Kai, he naturally wouldn’t dare to say anything as well.
It wasn’t until this moment that he rushed over and said to Yang Kai, “Senior Brother Yang, these are the Vice Hall Masters of the Pill Hall. They’re also two of the best Alchemy Grandmasters here.”
He then introduced him to Zhu Ge Ming and Zhou Fang.
Yang Kai nodded and cupped his fist, “Junior Yang Kai greets Seniors.”
Tang Qun looked apologetically at Yang Kai, “Please forgive me, Senior Brother Yang. The Grandmasters insisted on coming over to have a look upon learning that you’re refining pills here. There’s nothing this Tang could do…”
Yang Kai understood him. Even though he was focused on his Alchemy just now, he was fully aware of what was going on around him. Nevertheless, he couldn’t afford to be distracted at that time, despite knowing that the expressions of Zhu Ge Ming and Zhou Fang at the time suggested that they did not simply want to have a look at what he was doing.
Before Tang Qun could finish his words, Yang Kai waved his hand, “I already intended to seek help from the Pill Hall to begin with. Even if the Grandmasters hadn’t come looking for me, I would still have requested to visit them.”
Yang Kai never expected that he could complete the pill recipe he found in the handwritten record on his own. He initially wanted to familiarise himself with the basics of the process and then seek help from the Pill Hall to complete this task; after all, he was the only one who could understand the handwritten record. Only when he was at least a bit familiar with it could he explain the details to the Alchemists in the Pill Hall.
Even if Zhu Ge Ming and Zhou Fang never looked for him, he would have asked Tang Qun to introduce him to the Alchemy Grandmasters in the Pill Hall soon. It could be said that Zhu Ge Ming and Zhou Fang had arrived at just the right time.
He reckoned that it would be best for the professionals to take over now.
Tang Qun had no idea whether Yang Kai was serious or just consoling him, but he was relieved that the latter showed no intent to blame him.
Zhu Ge Ming was never a patient man, so after waiting for a bit, he hurriedly asked, “Yang Kai, what Spirit Pill were you trying to make?”
Yang Kai replied respectfully, “Grandmaster Zhu Ge, the Spirit Pill I was trying to refine is called the Purifying Black Ink Pill.”
“What?” Zhou Fang raised his voice.
“Purifying Black Ink Pill,” Yang Kai enunciated every word.
Zhu Ge Ming and Zhou Fang exchanged glances. Most of the time, the uses of Spirit Pills would be obvious from their names, and the name of this Spirit Pill was quite thought-provoking indeed.
Zhu Ge Ming frowned, “Could the use of this Purifying Black Ink Pill be…”
Yang Kai nodded, “Grandmaster Zhu Ge, it is as you think, Purifying Black Ink Pills are used to purify Black Ink Strength that has invaded Humans.”
Upon hearing that, Zhu Ge Ming and Zhou Fang gasped at the same time. Tang Qun, who was standing beside them, widened his mouth and sported a look of disbelief.
Yang Kai explained slowly, “In ancient times, there were already Human Masters who fought against the Black Ink Clan on the Black Ink Battlefield. The Seniors of ancient times were truly ingenious and seemed to have developed these Purifying Black Ink Pills that could be used to resist Black Ink Strength. However, this pill recipe had been lost with the passage of time. Recently, I happened to find a tattered handwritten record left behind by a Senior Alchemist in a Sealed World. I found the pill recipe for the Purifying Black Ink Pill in that handwritten record. Unfortunately, the pill recipe is incomplete as the handwritten record was in poor condition. I’ve been trying to complete the pill recipe during this period of time, but I’ve yet to succeed.”
Zhu Ge Ming hurriedly said, “A handwritten record left behind by a Senior Alchemist? Where is it?”
Zhou Fang also looked fervently at Yang Kai.
Although they were already among the best Alchemy Grandmasters alive, there was no end to the pursuit of knowledge in this Grand Dao. They reckoned that the insights and knowledge of a Senior from ancient times could help them improve their skills; therefore, they were deathly curious about the handwritten record that Yang Kai had mentioned. It would be of great help to them if they could have a look at it.
Yang Kai didn’t intend to keep this treasure to himself, so he promptly fished out the record.
An agile Zhu Ge Ming took the handwritten record and infused his Divine Sense into it. Zhou Fang, who didn’t manage to get his hands on it, was clearly anxious and kept glaring at Zhu Ge Ming, as though he was trying to kill the latter with his gaze.
He initially thought that it would take Zhu Ge Ming a long time to read it, but just a moment later, the latter appeared speechless, “I don’t understand it at all.”
“Incapable and ignorant fool!” Zhou Fang snorted as he rudely took the tattered handwritten record from Zhu Ge Ming and infused his Divine Sense into it.
Zhu Ge Ming shot him a glance and snapped, “I’ll write my name backwards from now on if you can understand it!”
Zhou Fang sported a solemn expression as he focused on going through the handwritten record. A while later, he retracted his Divine Sense and appeared dejected, “This Senior’s intelligence is indeed unrivalled…”
Upon hearing that, Zhu Ge Ming snorted. Many of the characters found in this handwritten record were from ancient times and were completely unrecognisable. They could identify some of the words, but they couldn’t understand the meaning behind them when they tried to piece them together. Apparently, the language used in ancient times was different from the present.
Such a handwritten record was definitely invaluable; however, it wouldn’t be of much use if it couldn’t be comprehended.
Ignoring Zhu Ge Ming’s mockery, Zhou Fang turned to Yang Kai and asked, “You can understand it?”
Zhu Ge Ming became energised as well. When he observed Yang Kai practise Alchemy just now, he realised that the latter had made some excellent progress in the early steps, but failed as the process went on. It was obvious that Yang Kai had comprehended the first part of the pill recipe of these Purifying Black Ink Pills.
Yang Kai replied, “I can understand most of it.”
In fact, he was also unable to recognise most of the words in the handwritten record; however, after he refined the Alchemic Dao Essence left behind by the Senior Alchemist, he could intuit the meaning of those words despite not being able to identify them.
Zhu Ge Ming and Zhou Fang were elated upon hearing that with the former saying nervously, “Tell us about the Purifying Black Ink Pill’s recipe. Perhaps we’ll be able to help.”
Zhou Fang nodded repeatedly. The two of them had always been on bad terms as each believed that they were better than the other when it came to their skills in Alchemy. They rarely saw eye to eye, but in order to have a detailed explanation of the pill recipe of the Purifying Black Ink Pill now, they decided to put their grudges aside at least temporarily.
It had always been Yang Kai’s intention to seek help from the Grandmasters in the Pill Hall, so he wasn’t the least bit upset.
He then explained to them everything he knew about the pill recipe in detail while Zhu Ge Ming and Zhou Fang listened attentively.
It took Yang Kai an hour to finish explaining what he knew. After that, he let out a sigh, “The handwritten record has been in existence for far too long, which is why it’s so tattered. The most valuable information in it is the Purifying Black Ink Pill recipe; however, even that is incomplete. I’ve repeatedly tried different methods to complete it. Everything went well in the initial stage, but it wouldn’t be long after that I’d fail. I imagine that one or more key herbs were recorded in the missing part of the pill recipe. If we can figure out the missing part, the pill recipe will be complete once again.”
Zhu Ge Ming nodded, “Your speculation is likely correct; however, we have no idea about what’s missing from the pill recipe… Well, it’s not like we’re completely clueless. The first part and much of the latter section of the pill recipe are complete, we’re only missing a piece from the middle. We can figure out the missing part by making some deductions based on the first and last parts of the recipe.”
There was a solemn expression on Zhou Fang’s face, “Despite that, it won’t be an easy feat. Is it one herb or several herbs that are missing? What is the appropriate amount? When is the best time to add the herbs to the furnace? There are a lot of variables involved. A lot of herbs will be consumed if we want to complete this recipe.”
Zhu Ge Ming countered, “The Humans from all the Great Passes have spent countless herbs trying to create something like this Purifying Black Ink Pill over the years. Now that we already have a half-complete pill recipe though, we just have to figure out the missing part. Why would we shy away from this relatively easier task?”
Zhou Fang nodded, “You have a point.”
Upon hearing that, Yang Kai couldn’t help but ask, “The Humans from the different Great Passes have tried to refine a Purifying Black Ink Pill before?”
Zhu Ge Ming nodded, “Of course, we’ve all tried making such a pill before. The invasion of Black Ink Strength has been an unsolvable problem for millennia. Once a Human was invaded by Black Ink Strength on the battlefield, they had no choice but to give up a part of their Small Universe, thus putting an end to their Martial Dao. Therefore, Alchemists like us thought that perhaps we could create a kind of Spirit Pill that could resist or purify Black Ink Strength. Coincidentally, we also named such pills ‘Purifying Black Ink Pills’, though they were never successfully created.”
Zhou Fang said, “We spent countless years and resources on this project, but unfortunately, no progress was ever made. Even though a lot of strange pills had been created during the process, they were unable to resist the Black Ink Strength in the end. In fact, before your arrival in Blue Sky Pass, this old fart and I would study how to refine Purifying Black Ink Pills in our spare time. However, after you came to Blue Sky Pass and brought with you Purifying Light, we decided to give up on making such pills.”
Suddenly thinking of something, Zhou Fang said, “By the way, since there’s alright Purifying Light, would Purifying Black Ink Pills still be useful even if they’re created?”
Zhu Ge Ming quickly turned to Yang Kai as he also realised it.
Yang Kai replied solemnly, “They’ll still be useful. Even though Purifying Light is able to cleanse Black Ink Strength, casting it requires valuable resources. There will come a day when these unique resources are depleted. By then, without Purifying Light to rely on, we’ll have to make use of Purifying Black Ink Pills to ensure our safety. On top of that, Purifying Light is currently sealed within the Purifying Black Ink Battleship of each Human Army. On the battlefield, if a Human soldier is invaded by Black Ink Strength, they have to retreat to a Purifying Black Ink Battleship. That is fine if the Battleship is nearby, but what if the vessel is too far away for one to return promptly? In that case, Purifying Black Ink Pills will be more useful than Purifying Light.”
“You have a point.” Zhu Ge Ming nodded, then turned to Zhou Fang, “We’ll do our best, then. If we can really create working Purifying Black Ink Pills, perhaps our names will be remembered by the future generations.”
Zhou Fang was excited at that, “We’ll definitely do our best.”
“I’ll leave it to you then, Seniors.”
Yang Kai had explained most of the Purifying Black Ink Pill recipe to them and he also shared with them his failures during this period of time so that they wouldn’t make the same mistakes again.
Now, he wouldn’t have to worry about the rest of the matter. He would just let those from the Pill Hall figure out the complete pill recipe of the Purifying Black Ink Pills.
In fact, Yang Kai could have passed everything to the Pill Hall right from the start. The reason he had spent a month practising Alchemy was that he wanted to familiarise himself with the recipe and verify its feasibility first.
Even though it was proven that it was possible to create Purifying Black Ink Pills, and the pill recipe was only half-complete, it would still take them a long time to figure out the missing parts.
Before Yang Kai left, he said to Tang Qun, “You should tell those in the medicine garden to begin nurturing large quantities of Obsidian Grass and Green Feather Rattan. If the Grandmasters can really complete the pill recipe, those two ingredients will see a huge increase in demand.”
Tang Qun nodded, “Leave it to me.”
He had listened to the conversation between Yang Kai, Zhu Ge Ming, and Zhou Fang, so he was aware of the importance of this matter. The main ingredients for refining Purifying Black Ink Pills were Obsidian Grass and Green Feather Rattan. If the pills were successfully created, the amount currently grown in the medicine garden wouldn’t be anywhere near sufficient.
After leaving the Pill Hall, Yang Kai wasn’t in a rush to return home; instead, he headed to the War Materials Hall.
Now that it was somewhat peaceful in the Inner Sanctum, and that there was no harassment from the Black Ink Clan, it was the best chance for Yang Kai to get some rest and cultivate. When the Black Ink Clan struck again, he wouldn’t have any free time.
Strictly speaking, he was a new Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, so he needed a lot of time to strengthen his cultivation; after all, accumulation was key to the cultivation of an Open Heaven Realm Master.
The War Materials Hall was always bustling with noise as people were constantly coming and going.
Yang Kai stood in front of a counter and held out his Identity Token. Behind the counter was a beautiful woman who took the token. After looking into it, she gazed at Yang Kai in shock, “Are you Yang Kai?”
A lot of people in Blue Sky Pass had met Yang Kai before, but there were even more people who had never seen him. Most of them had only heard of his name, which was why this woman asked this question.
Yang Kai replied, “If there’s not another Yang Kai in the Inner Sanctum, I’m the one.”
The woman smiled, “It’s really you, Senior Brother Yang. Do you need anything?”
“Please help me check how many Military Merits I have,” Yang Kai requested.
“Please give me a moment, Senior Brother,” the woman replied.
The information in the War Materials Hall was shared with the Merit Hall. The transactions of the Military Merits of all Human soldiers were recorded in detail in the Merit Hall; after all, it wasn’t easy for Human soldiers to earn Military Merits on the Black Ink Battlefield, so no negligence could be tolerated.
Soon, the woman reported a figure.
Yang Kai was shocked upon hearing it and blurted out, “Why do I have so few?”
The woman was astounded and asked back, “You call that few?”
According to the information she had found, Yang Kai could be considered wealthy when it came to Military Merits. Most people only had a fraction of his savings.
However, Yang Kai was fully aware of how many contributions he had made recently. When he went to forward base 4 previously, he and the members of Dawn had killed a lot of Black Ink Clansmen. He even managed to save Bai Yi and worked with her to kill Zhu Feng. In the last battle, the two of them even assisted Cha Hu to execute a Territory Lord.
After occupying forward base 4, Yang Kai brought out the Void Yin-Yang Mirrors, which allowed those from Blue Sky Pass to move the Universe Worlds back from different resource harvesting areas. Following that, he opened up eleven portals to ancient Sealed Worlds. All those were contributions he had made.
Just the fact that he and Bai Yi had worked together to kill a Territory Lord would have earned him a lot of Military Merits.
According to his own estimation, he should have at least three times more Military Merits than the figure he had just heard.
“Do you want me to help you check the transactions of your Military Merits?” the woman asked.
“Is it alright for you to do so?” Yang Kai gazed at her.
The woman put on a faint smile, “Our information is shared with the Merit Hall. It’s certainly alright for me to do so.” After she finished speaking, she started looking into the matter.
A moment later, she sported a doubtful expression, “Senior Brother, from what I’ve gathered, you had a transaction last month that cost a lot of Military Merits; however, this piece of information is classified, so I’m unable to access it to find out what you traded for. Do you not know what you traded for?”
Yang Kai was stunned upon hearing that. He had just finished refining the World Tree a month ago, so he hadn’t traded his Military Merits for anything.
The next instant, he suddenly realised that his Military Merits must have been exchanged for the World Tree. Cha Hu had said that the World Tree’s clone could be given to him, and those from the Inner Sanctum wouldn’t object to it. However, Yang Kai would have to exchange his Military Merits for it.
No one could judge how valuable a World Tree clone truly was, for it was one of the rarest and most precious treasures in the universe.
The Army Commanders must have told the people in Merit Hall to deduct Yang Kai’s Military Merits. Although it was a large sum, the figure was nothing compared to the real value of the World Tree clone.
Yang Kai relaxed upon that realization.
On the other hand, the woman behind the counter examined Yang Kai with her alluring eyes as she wondered what he had traded for. This piece of information was so important that it was classified to the point even she couldn’t access it. This had never happened before.
“Is there anything else you need, Senior Brother? We’ve received a lot of good things in the War Materials Hall recently,” the woman asked.
Yang Kai initially intended to trade for some Spirit Pills to increase his cultivation speed, so his interest was piqued when he heard that. Recently, those from the Inner Sanctum had been mining many Universe Worlds, so it wasn’t surprising that some interesting stuff had been found.
“I’ll have a look first,” Yang Kai replied.
“All the tradable resources are here. Please take a look, Senior Brother.” As the woman spoke, she passed him a jade slip.
After taking the jade slip, Yang Kai infused his Divine Sense into it.
Just like what he had seen previously, the jade slip recorded all the purchasable resources. The number one item on the list was still Profound Yin Spirit Fruits, but they were currently out of stock. It was apparent that this item was always hard to come by.
Although they had found a lot of Profound Yin Spirit Fruits in the Sealed World left behind by the Senior Alchemist, the need for such fruits was insatiable in Blue Sky Pass. The moment the Spirit Fruits appeared in the War Materials Hall, they would be snapped up within a few hours.
To the Humans, there could never be enough Profound Yin Spirit Fruits. Only when all of the Open Heaven Realm Masters, who had given up parts of their Small Universes, fully repaired them would such Spirit Fruits lose their value.
As Yang Kai scrolled down, he was shocked by the second item on the list and he couldn’t help but gaze at the woman and ask, “There are World Fruits here?”
The words ‘World Fruit’ were written on the second row of the jade slip. There was a note behind it which said that they were Mid-Rank World Fruits picked from the World Tree’s clone.
World Fruits were also the third item on the list, but these were Low-Rank World Fruits.
Certainly, Yang Kai knew where the World Fruits came from, for he and Cha Hu had personally picked them from the World Tree clone. Nevertheless, he had never expected that they would be listed in the War Materials Hall for others to buy.
The woman nodded, “Yes, but there are only a small number of Mid-Rank World Fruits left. There are still a lot of Low-Rank World Fruits, though.”
Yang Kai was astonished, “There are still some Mid-Rank World Fruits?”
These items should have been snapped up by the soldiers in the Inner Sanctum by now; after all, the effects of World Fruits were simply too amazing. When Yang Kai consumed a World Fruit back then, he directly ascended to the Sixth Order from the Fifth Order. Not only did it help him save lots of cultivation time, but it also extended the limit of his Martial Dao.
It was inconceivable that there were still some of them left. The only reasonable explanation was that these World Fruits were different from the ones he had consumed in the past, so they were less valuable.
As expected, the woman explained, “En. You might not be aware of it yet, Senior Brother, but it is said that these World Fruits were picked from a World Tree’s clone, so they’re not as amazing as the ones in the legends. Even if a person consumes a Mid-Rank World Fruit, it will only help them increase the heritage of their Small Universe a little. It can’t help them directly ascend to the next Order. It also requires a lot of Military Merits to trade for these World Fruits, so most people would rather get more resources and just cultivate slowly.”
Upon hearing her explanation, Yang Kai finally realised the reason behind the current situation. It was expected that the World Fruits produced from the World Tree’s clone were not as incredible as the ones from the Mother tree.
The weakest soldiers in the Inner Sanctum were in the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm, so Mid-Rank World Fruits should supposedly be quite attractive to them. However, Military Merits were not easy to come by, so no one was willing to squander them.
“What about the Low-Rank World Fruits? What are their uses?”
Even the Low-Rank World Fruits grown on the Mother tree were not very valuable, let alone the ones from a mere clone. In the War Materials Hall, there was a stark difference between the Military Merits needed to trade for these two kinds of World Fruits.
The woman replied, “A Low-Rank World Fruit is able to help rapidly restore one’s World Force. It’s equivalent to a potent Spirit Pill.”
It was not different from what Yang Kai was aware of.
“Senior Brother, you’re in the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm, so these two kinds of World Fruits are useless to you. You’ll only restore your strength by consuming them. Do you still want to purchase them?”
Yang Kai waved his hand, “No. I was just curious.”
These Mid-Rank and Low-Rank World Fruits were useless to him since their effects were not so incredible. It wasn’t necessary to waste his Military Merits to purchase them.
As Yang Kai continued to scroll down, he realised that there were really a lot of wonderful things that he had never seen before. They must have been extracted from those Universe Worlds.
With that said, Yang Kai didn’t lack cultivation resources. Before he left the 3,000 Worlds to head to the Black Ink Battlefield, he had prepared enough resources to help him ascend to the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm.
In the end, he simply purchased some Spirit Pills that were used for cultivation and left the War Materials Hall.
To this day, Yang Kai had never had his own residence in Blue Sky Pass, so he just lived with Feng Ying. Fortunately, Feng Ying was a Battalion Commander in the past, so she was important enough to have her own courtyard with a lot of rooms.
He soon returned to his residence, and the moment he stepped into the courtyard, Feng Ying came over as she had heard some noises. Upon seeing that Yang Kai had returned, she was surprised and asked, “Are you done with everything?”
Yang Kai let out a sigh, “It’s not so easy. I’ve passed everything to the Pill Hall, so I no longer have to worry about it.”
Feng Ying nodded, “That’s good. You should focus on fortifying your cultivation instead of getting distracted.”
Yang Kai nodded, “I’m going to cultivate in seclusion now, so you have to pay attention to the affairs in the Inner Sanctum. Inform me if there’s any emergency.”
“Good.” Feng Ying nodded, then fished out a square wooden box, “This is for you.”
“What is it?” Yang Kai took it and asked in puzzlement.
Feng Ying shook her head, “Army Commander Zhong Liang told someone to send it here a few days ago. Supposedly it’s a reward for you. I don’t know what it is.”
Yang Kai measured the wooden box’s weight with his hand and realised that it wasn’t heavy. After he opened it, a red Spirit Fruit the size of a baby fist came into his sight. At the same time, he caught a whiff of a pleasant fragrance.
“A World Fruit?” Feng Ying arched her brow.
“A High-Rank World Fruit!” Yang Kai exclaimed.
He and Cha Hu had worked together to pick the World Fruits from the World Tree clone. Even though there were a lot of World Fruits, most of them were Low-Rank while some of them were Mid-Rank. As for High-Rank World Fruits, there had only been six of them.
Even if Cha Hu had also acquired some High-Rank World Fruits, there shouldn’t have been more than a dozen or so.
Mid-rank and Low-Rank World Fruits were placed in the War Materials Hall for the soldiers to get. Yang Kai initially wondered where the High-Rank World Fruits were. It never crossed his mind that he would see one here.
He was now a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, so Mid-Rank and Low-Rank World Fruits were useless to him. Only the High-Rank ones were useful to him.
“So, it’s a World Fruit.” Feng Ying wasn’t aware of what was inside the box before opening it. It wasn’t until this moment that she realised it was a World Fruit. Worried that Yang Kai might have some unrealistic expectations, she said, “The Army Commanders have told some people to study these World Fruits. They’ve found that the World Fruits grown on the clone are not as amazing as the ones in the legend. With that said, you can indeed increase the heritage of your Small Universe by consuming this thing, which saves you some cultivation time. It’s best for your current condition. However, it can’t help you directly ascend to the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm.”
“The Army Commanders are indeed thoughtful.” Yang Kai nodded and stored the wooden box, “I’ll start cultivating now, then. Please keep an eye on the affairs around here, Senior Sister. Call out to me in case of an emergency.”
“Alright.” Feng Ying waved her hand.
Yang Kai bowed his head and returned to his own room. Following that, he activated the restriction around the room and sat down with his legs crossed.
After emptying his mind, Yang Kai opened the wooden box and fished out the High-Rank World Fruit picked from the World Tree’s clone.
The fruit was fragrant and tasty.
In the past, he had consumed a Mid-Rank World Fruit that came from the Mother tree, which allowed him to directly ascend to the Sixth-Order from the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm. He could still clearly remember the sweet taste of that fruit.
After examining the baby-fist-sized fruit for a moment, he placed it into his mouth and bit down on it. The moment the peel broke, his mouth was filled with a refreshingly sweet taste.
A sense of warmth streamed into his stomach. The next instant, a gale blew across his entire Small Universe as a large amount of World Force appeared out of thin air. Even the World Tree in his Small Universe rustled lightly.
This new power was harmless and devoid of any impurities to Yang Kai. It was so indescribably pure that anyone could easily absorb it.
This was the abstrusity of the World Fruits.
Yang Kai quickly pulled himself together and started circulating his Secret Art. Every time his Small Universe undulated, his heritage would be strengthened a little, which allowed the World Force in his Small Universe to become more ample and solid.
The situation lasted for more than 10 days. It wasn’t until half a month later that Yang Kai felt that he had fully refined the medicinal efficacies of the World Fruit.
As he examined his Small Universe now, he couldn’t help feeling moved.
Although he already knew that a High-Rank World Fruit wouldn’t allow him to directly ascend to the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm and could only save him some cultivation time by strengthening his heritage, he was still pleasantly surprised at the outcome.
The heritage of his Small Universe had increased by 20%. One must not underestimate a 20% increase in heritage. If he were to cultivate in seclusion, it would have taken him 300 to 500 years to achieve the same result.
In other words, a High-Rank World Fruit from a World Tree’s clone had saved him 300 to 500 years of cultivation time.
This was indeed an incredible benefit.
300 to 500 years of cultivation would allow him to fully consolidate his Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm cultivation and increase his strength significantly.
Because it was very hard for an Open Heaven Realm Master to ascend to the next Order, often taking hundreds, thousands, or even tens of thousands of years, some people had proposed that every Order should be divided into early, middle, and late stages. That would allow them to quickly judge the power of an Open Heaven Realm Master.
According to this kind of classification, Yang Kai was still just in the early stage of the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm. Even though he was still in the early stage after consuming the World Fruit, his power had been significantly strengthened.
Nevertheless, this kind of classification was too complicated, so it was not universally accepted.
With that said, it explained why there could be such a huge gap in strength between two Open Heaven Realm Masters who were in the same Order.
A newly promoted Seventh-Order Master was only in the early stage while someone like Feng Ying was definitely in the late stage of Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm. The difference between them was several thousand years of accumulation, possibly even longer. The huge gap between their heritages meant that they wouldn’t be equally matched if they got into a fight.
A High-Rank World Fruit had saved Yang Kai several hundred years of cultivation time, so what if he consumed even more of the fruits?
He couldn’t help but let his thoughts run wild.
With that said, Yang Kai knew that it was unlikely to happen. There were only a dozen High-Rank World Fruits that were picked from the World Tree’s clone, and the reason he could get one was that he had made some significant contributions in the past. There were other High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters in Blue Sky Pass who must have also made great contributions and these High-Rank World Fruits should be given to them as rewards. Furthermore, even the Eighth-Order Division Commanders and Army Commanders would benefit from consuming these High-Rank World Fruits.
On top of that, the benefits gained from refining the same kind of treasure would always decrease with repeated consumption. One High-Rank World Fruit had saved Yang Kai 300 to 500 years of cultivation time, but the effects of a second would likely yield half that benefit at most. As for a third or fourth fruit, there might be no benefits at all.
It was a characteristic shared by essentially all precious treasures.
Regardless, Yang Kai was already pleased with the increase in strength after having one High-Rank World Fruit.
However, he now needed some time to adjust to the sharp increase in heritage and power.
It wasn’t until a month later that he let out a long breath. Although he still wasn’t fully adapted to his increased strength, it was at least manageable now. Even if he got into a fight with a formidable enemy, he would be able to fully utilize his power.
After getting some rest, he fished out a set of Seventh-Order materials and refined them.
In the past, he would always refine Sixth-Order materials when cultivating; however, since he was a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master now, he was able to refine Seventh-Order materials.
Refining materials equivalent to one’s own Order had always been the quickest and most desirable way for Open Heaven Realm Masters to steadily cultivate.
Still, High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters usually wouldn’t squander materials in such a way.
Seventh-Order Yin and Yang Element materials were extremely rare, and they were considered strategic resources in the Cave Heavens and Paradises. They wouldn’t use such resources unless it was absolutely necessary and no one would refine them just to cultivate.
However, Yang Kai was different. Yellow and Blue Crystals had been piled up like mountains in his Small Universe, so he would never be lacking Yin and Yang Element materials.
He had also prepared a lot of Five Element materials that were sufficient for his own cultivation. On the Black Ink Battlefield, he could only ensure his safety by increasing his strength and quickly ascending to the next Order; therefore, he didn’t mind refining Seventh-Order materials to increase his rate of cultivation.
In the past, an Open Heaven Realm Master, who apparently had nothing better to do, had carried out a certain experiment. He refined a set of Fourth-Order materials, then refined Open Heaven Pills equivalent to the cost of a Fourth-Order set of materials. Comparing the two, the increase in power from refining a set of Fourth-Order materials was only half that of the increase in power from refining Open Heaven Pills.
The person obtained the same result after experimenting with Fifth-Order materials.
In other words, the increase in power one would gain from refining a set of materials was only half of what one could gain by refining Open Heaven Pills of the same value.
Therefore, the average Open Heaven Realm Master wouldn’t want to squander their wealth by refining a set of materials.
The Open Heaven Realm Master who carried out the experiments never experimented with Sixth-Order and Seventh-Order materials because he wasn’t strong or wealthy enough; however, the results would most likely be the same. In short, it was a waste of resources to refine Sixth-Order and Seventh-Order materials.
What was wasted wasn’t the power of the materials of course, but the maximum value these materials could bring.
However, Yang Kai’s primary goal was to increase his strength as quickly as possible, and he wasn’t lacking materials, so he didn’t mind trading value for speed. Refining Open Heaven Pills was too slow compared to refining Seventh-Order materials.
As time passed, a set of Seventh-Order materials was absorbed and added to the heritage of his Small Universe.
Even though he was a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master now, it still took Yang Kai quite some time to refine a set of Seventh-Order materials.
It wasn’t until half a year later that the power of the Seventh-Order materials became depleted and they crumbled into dust.
Yang Kai opened his eyes as a light flashed across his gaze. His eyes were as bright as two Suns.
The heritage of his Small Universe had increased after he refined that set of Seventh-Order materials.
However, he felt that something was off during the process, but it wasn’t really a bad thing. It was just that the speed at which he refined materials was quicker than what he had expected.
It was the first time he refined a set of Seventh-Order materials, and he had never experienced such an anomaly before, so he wasn’t sure if there was really anything wrong. As such, he didn’t stop refining them.
As he recalled the entire refinement process, Yang Kai realised that such speed was actually outrageously quick. It had to be noted that it would take him roughly the same time to refine a set of Sixth-Order materials when he was in the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm in the past. Since he had ascended to the Seventh Order, it was expected that his refinement speed would increase as well, but this was still ridiculously fast. What he had refined was a set of Seventh-Order materials, which were starkly different from Sixth-Order materials.
A set of Sixth-Order materials was worth about 130 million to 150 million Open Heaven Pills. When Yang Kai was in the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm, he could refine more than 100,000 Open Heaven Pills every day. If he traded a set of Sixth-Order materials for Open Heaven Pills, it would thus take him 4 to 5 years to fully consume them.
Nonetheless, it would only take him half a year to refine a set of Sixth-Order materials.
He initially thought that it would take him a few years to refine a set of Seventh-Order materials which were worth approximately 10 times as much as a Sixth-Order set of materials, so he was truly surprised at the outcome.
After giving it a thought with a frown, he fished out a set of Sixth-Order materials and refined them in silence.
While he was refining the materials this time, Yang Kai also paid close attention to what was happening in his Small Universe.
In just one month, the set of Sixth-Order materials lost all its power and became valueless.
Upon opening his eyes, Yang Kai fell into his thoughts.
When he was a Sixth-Order Master, it would take him half a year to refine a set of Sixth-Order materials. Even though his strength had increased as he was now a Seventh-Order Master, it shouldn’t have been so quick and easy for him to refine these materials. He initially estimated it would take him three to four months.
The only explanation was that something was increasing his efficiency when refining the materials, and that assistance must have been provided by the World Tree clone that had merged with his Small Universe.
He had been paying close attention to the World Tree clone when refining the materials, and although there didn’t seem to be anything off about it, Yang Kai was certain his increased rate of refinement had something to do with the tree.
The only major difference between when he was a Sixth-Order Master and a Seventh-Order Master was the World Tree clone’s presence in his Small Universe.
It seemed that the clone was able to significantly increase his speed of refining resources, though he didn’t understand the reason behind it.
Despite that, it was a huge benefit to him as he could refine a set of materials much quicker now. In other words, as long as he was willing to spend time cultivating, Yang Kai would be able to increase his strength at a much faster rate than other cultivators. The effects wouldn’t be conspicuous in the short term; however, ascending to the Eighth Order from the Seventh Order was a long process of accumulation. The benefits of the World Tree clone would make a huge difference in the long term.
When he told the Army Commanders about the three benefits he was aware of after planting the World Tree’s clone in his Small Universe, Yang Kai felt that there might be more hidden benefits, and had said as much, but didn’t go into detail. It wasn’t that he wanted to hide it from them, it was just that he didn’t know them at the time. If he hadn’t decided to cultivate in seclusion this time, he wouldn’t have discovered this benefit at all.
This came as a pleasant surprise to him. It had cost him a lot of Military Merits to get this World Tree Clone; however, the merits were nothing compared to the benefits that this clone had brought him. The clone was as good as free.
Since he was in a jovial mood, Yang Kai even found joy in this kind of supposedly boring method of cultivation. He then fished out another set of Seventh-Order materials and refined them.
If others saw Yang Kai right now, they would surely curse him out as a wastrel for squandering so many materials away.