Since it was a new Black Ink Nest, there was nothing interesting inside it; however, Yang Kai was shocked upon hearing Zha Gu’s explanation. This Black Ink Nest would swallow just about anything that contained energy and use it as food.
This characteristic reminded him of the Heaven-Devouring Great Emperor, Wu Kuang.
That guy cultivated the Heaven Devouring Battle Law, and he claimed to be able to swallow anything in the world. Moreover, he possessed the Flawless Purifying Golden Lotus, which perfectly complemented the Heaven Devouring Battle Law.
Yang Kai couldn’t help but think about what would happen if Wu Kuang came to the Black Ink Battlefield. Would he be corrupted by Black Ink Strength? Would he be able to use Heaven Devouring Battle Law and turn Black Ink Strength into something he could utilise?
However, that guy couldn’t really show up in public now. He went missing after Yang Kai sent him to the Shattered Heaven previously, and it wasn’t certain whether he was dead or alive now.
Having said that, Yang Kai reckoned that Wu Kuang must be alive and kicking. It was said that good people didn’t live long while a scourge would never die.
After casting this strange idea away, Yang Kai slightly opened the portal of his Small Universe, whereupon his World Force streamed out of his body. The next moment, an anomaly took place.
Like a cat that had caught a whiff of a fishy smell, the flesh walls in the Black Ink Nest started drawing the World Force towards them and absorbing it.
An astounded Yang Kai instinctually wanted to close the portal of his Small Universe; after all, he would suffer a loss by letting the Black Ink Nest devour his World Force. However, before he could close the portal, he came into contact with a strange Will.
The reason this Will felt strange was that it gave off a stiff feeling, as though it didn’t have sentience of its own, or wasn’t fully conscious.
This revelation astonished Yang Kai as he gazed at Zha Gu.
Zha Gu only looked smilingly at him, as though he had already expected this.
Seeing that the other man didn’t have the intention of stopping him, Yang Kai set his mind at ease and started exploring this Will.
Just like what he initially felt, the Will wasn’t an illusion, it was just that it didn’t have a consciousness of its own. After some exploration, a surprised Yang Kai asked, “Brother Zha Gu, does this Black Ink Nest have its own consciousness?”
He came to realise that the source of the Will was the Black Ink Nest itself.
Zha Gu replied with a smile, “Of course, this Black Ink Nest has its own consciousness. In fact, all Black Ink Nests have their own consciousnesses, but this consciousness is just a medium. It won’t express any of its feelings.”
“A medium?” Yang Kai was puzzled, “What do you mean?”
Zha Gu said, “Since you’re able to connect to this Black Ink Nest’s consciousness, why don’t you just explore it to find the answers yourself?”
[Find the answers myself?]
There seemed to be an insinuation in Zha Gu’s words. He seemed to suggest that there was a secret behind the Black Ink Nest’s consciousness, so a curious Yang Kai began probing around.
This was the best chance for him to explore some of the Black Ink Clan’s secrets, so he didn’t want to miss it. Furthermore, Zha Gu needed him to refine more artifacts, so he probably wouldn’t harm him.
At the thought of this, Yang Kai became at ease.
Initially, when he detected the Will’s presence, he wanted to ward it off as he was worried that it would harm him in some way. Upon making sure that the Will didn’t have a consciousness or mind of its own, he was able to relax.
As he opened his portal, the power of his Small Universe was continuously swallowed by the Black Ink Nest. As his World Force left his body, Yang Kai realised that his mind was slowly connected to the Black Ink Nest’s consciousness.
This was a special experience. Yang Kai couldn’t help but think that he and the Black Ink Nest were going to merge. Nevertheless, he knew that it was just an illusion. He was being influenced by the fact that his mind and the Black Ink Nest’s consciousness were mingling.
Just a moment later, Yang Kai’s mind fully merged with the Black Ink Nest’s consciousness. This startled him as the merging process was incredibly smooth, as though the consciousness had been waiting to accept him.
Certainly, he knew this wasn’t the truth. The Black Ink Nest didn’t have any sentience, so he reckoned that as long as certain conditions were met, anyone’s mind could perfectly merge with the consciousness.
The moment he and the Black Ink Nest’s consciousness became one, Yang Kai seemed to have plunged into a different world.
There was no light or substance in this world; in fact, there wasn’t even any physical presence here. In this world, there were only consciousnesses that moved around and communicated with each other.
Yang Kai was flabbergasted.
He could feel that there were two consciousnesses in a similar state as his that were communicating with one another. They seemed to be talking about a business deal that involved a lot of rare resources and Black Ink Clan servants.
Then, he realised that he could also detect the communication between some other consciousnesses; however, some consciousnesses had blocked out the others as any eavesdropper would be met with hostility.
Yang Kai’s consciousness navigated through this amazing world and ‘saw’ the existence of different consciousnesses.
Some of these consciousnesses were wandering about just like him. Some of them remained on the same spot as they absorbed as much information as they could. There were also some that were communicating others.
Soon, Yang Kai realised something that concerned him.
All these consciousnesses seemed to be moving around in a huge medium, which itself was a consciousness that didn’t have a mind of its own. This mindless consciousness was much larger than the consciousness of Zha Gu’s Black Ink Nest.
“Oh, there’s a new aura here.” While Yang Kai was in his thoughts, a wandering consciousness detected his presence and approached him to ask, “Who are you? Why have I never met you before?”
Yang Kai was startled, not knowing how to respond to him. It wasn’t like he could tell him he was a Black Ink Disciple.
The disturbance soon attracted the attention of the nearby consciousnesses. Yang Kai realised that the Black Ink Nest’s consciousness that carried his mind was now being gazed upon by countless pairs of eyes.
He quickly retracted himself from this strange world and cut off his connection with the Black Ink Nest’s Will.
Zha Gu was just standing beside him and watching in silence. Upon seeing that Yang Kai started moving again, he asked with a smile, “Was it fun?”
With a solemn expression, Yang Kai asked, “Brother Zha Gu, the consciousnesses I came across…”
Knowing what the other man was trying to ask, Zha Gu cut him off by saying, “Just like me, they’re the Feudal Lords with their own Fiefs. Just like what you did earlier, they merged their minds with their Black Ink Nests’ consciousnesses and entered the domain of the Territory Lord’s Black Ink Nest.”
“The domain of the Territory Lord’s Black Ink Nest?” Yang Kai was stunned as he recalled the much larger consciousness that he came across earlier.
“En.” Zha Gu nodded, “The Black Ink Nests of the Feudal Lords are separated from Sir Territory Lord’s Black Ink Nest, so they’re the sub-nests of Sir Territory Lord’s Black Ink Nest. Regardless of the distance, as long as these sub-nests are not separated across Worlds, they can communicate with each other. Of course, this requires the support of the domain of the Territory Lord’s Black Ink Nest, so you can regard this domain as a platform for communication.”
Despite Zha Gu’s convoluted explanation, Yang Kai understood the abstrusity of it following his experience earlier.
To put it simply, the Territory Lord’s Black Ink Nest had its own consciousness that was without a mind. This consciousness could turn into a Domain and allow the consciousnesses of the sub-nests to enter. The Feudal Lords who had their own Fiefs could merge their minds with the consciousnesses of the sub-nests in order to enter this domain.
Yang Kai soon understood the crux of the matter. With a serious expression, he said, “In that case, a Territory Lord can find out what’s going on with the Feudal Lords who are working for him immediately. Similarly, the Feudal Lords can promptly inform the Territory Lord about anomalies taking place in their Fiefs.”
“Indeed. It’s one of the basic uses of the Black Ink Nests.”
Yang Kai fell silent.
It wasn’t until this moment that he obtained an answer to a question he had pondered for a long time.
When he pretended to be a Black Ink Disciple and stayed by Nu Yan’s side in the past, the Old Ancestor from Blue Sky Pass had led his subordinates to launch a raid on the Black Ink Clan’s territory. However, the Royal Lord reacted very swiftly to it, limiting the amount of damage that could be done.
Yang Kai had always been curious how the Royal Lord received the news and made a move so quickly given the vast distances between the Royal City and the outer borders of the Black Ink Clan’s territory. Moreover, all the Black Ink Clansmen in the entire Blue Sky Theatre were mobilised alongside him.
In fact, the Humans had never been able to figure it out. They speculated that the Black Ink Clan had a special method of communicating with each other. Perhaps something similar to a Space Array.
Now, it seemed that the method of communication between the Black Ink Clan was far more profound than mere Space Arrays.
The Black Ink Nests that were scattered around the void formed into a huge information network for the Black Ink Clan. Whenever anything happened in the areas occupied by these Black Ink Nests, the Black Ink Clan would instantly find out about it and spread it to others.
When the Humans invaded the Black Ink Clan’s territory back then, the news must have been spread around through the Black Ink Nests instantaneously. That was the reason that the Royal Lord could counterattack so swiftly by gathering all Black Ink Clansmen under his command together.
It was no wonder that the Black Ink Nests were touted as the foundation of the Black Ink Clan. This communication function alone was invaluable.
“So, the Black Ink Nest’s consciousness can carry a Human’s mind as well…” Zha Gu suddenly tutted. Apparently, he had no idea that Yang Kai could successfully enter the domain of the Territory Lord’s Black Ink Nest prior to that.
“I was just giving it a try. I hope I haven’t caused any damage to your Black Ink Nest, Brother Zha Gu,” Yang Kai came to his senses and apologised to him.
He just wanted to find out whether the World Force coming from his Small Universe would be absorbed by the Black Ink Nest; he hadn’t expected that he would easily come into contact with the Black Ink Nest’s mindless Will, which led to the discovery later. This was all just a coincidence.
Zha Gu replied with a smile, “It’s fine. The consciousness of any Black Ink Nest is just a medium, so no damage would be caused to it. In fact, most Feudal Lords have a lot of things to deal with, so they wouldn’t stay inside the domain of the Territory Lord’s Black Ink Nest all the time. The consciousnesses you came across are likely the trusted aides of those Feudal Lords. I’ll also get one of my subordinates to stay here to gather information eventually.”
“I see,” Yang Kai nodded lightly.
By pretending to be a Black Ink Disciple this time, Yang Kai managed to find out a lot of secrets about the Black Ink Nests. These secrets alone were worth his efforts; after all, these were the secrets that the Humans had been trying to uncover forever, but to no avail.
As for who would be appointed by Zha Gu to stay in this Black Ink Nest and gather information, Yang Kai couldn’t care less. Zha Gu had several dozen Black Ink Clansmen working for him, but they were generally weak. There were only a small number of High-Rank Black Ink Clansmen who were equivalent to Sixth-Order Humans.
The person responsible for gathering information would be one of those High-Rank Black Ink Clansmen.
“Let’s continue,” Zha Gu said, then led the way for Yang Kai.
Soon, they went further inside and arrived at a room that was so large that it occupied half of the Black Ink Nest’s internal space. Flesh walls were seen squirming around the room, and in the centre was something that looked like a pool. The diameter of the pool was several dozen metres across and it was filled with Black Ink Strength.
Zha Gu approached the pool as he stared at it while speaking solemnly, “The Black Ink Pool can be said to be the origin of life to all Black Ink Clansmen.”
[Black Ink Pool!]
Yang Kai arched his brow as he gazed at the pool and fell into a state of contemplation. He couldn’t figure out the abstrusity of this thing, nor could he understand what Zha Gu meant when the latter said it was the origin of life.
However, he soon realised what he meant.
Zha Gu suddenly fished out a lot of resources from his Space Ring and dumped them into the Black Ink Pool without hesitation. The resources were of varying Orders and were the same ones Human cultivators could use to increase the heritage of their Small Universes.
The moment the resources came into contact with the Black Ink Pool, the Black Ink Strength which was originally as calm as a still lake started roiling. It was like water being dropped into boiling oil.
Besides that, the entire Black Ink Pool seemed to have turned into a hideous beast as a series of chattering sounds were heard, like were invisible teeth that were crunching on those resources.
The various resources were crushed as their powers were absorbed.
Following that, beneath the ground around the Black Ink Pool, energies could be seen moving in all directions.
Yang Kai stared at those moving energies in shock. As they streamed into the flesh walls around the room, bulges started forming on those rough walls. They looked just like tumours.
Life auras were being nurtured in those tumours.
Yang Kai fell into a dazed state.
More and more tumours were formed, and within an hour, by the time Zha Gu finished throwing all the resources into the Black Ink Pool, there were several hundred tumours on the walls. Every tumour contained a new life aura.
Yang Kai felt a crawling sensation on his scalp, but he forced himself to calm down and asked, “Brother Zha Gu, these…”
Zha Gu replied with a smile, “In one or two months, they’ll become residents of my territory!”
[I knew it!] Despite knowing that Black Ink Clansmen were born in Black Ink Nests, Yang Kai was still shaken to the core when he saw it happen before his eyes.
That was how Black Ink Clansmen were born. The auras in those tumours were all new Black Ink Clansmen.
Zha Gu’s words suggested that it would only take one or two months for these Black Ink Clansmen to be born. The speed was truly horrifying.
Moreover, Zha Gu’s Black Ink Nest hadn’t fully grown yet. He said that he didn’t have enough resources with him now, for the resources were needed for other matters. When he had more resources in the future, he would continue growing the Black Ink Nest.
Although the Black Ink Nest wasn’t fully grown, it could still nurture several hundred Black Ink Clansmen at once. According to Yang Kai’s estimation, if the Feudal Lord’s Black Ink Nest was fully grown, and given enough resources, it could nurture more than 1,000 Black Ink Clansmen at a given time.
More than 1,000 Black Ink Clansmen being born every month or two would translate to 7,000 to 8,000 a year. Further down the road, there would be 70,000 to 80,000 new Black Ink Clansmen in 10 years and several hundred thousand in 100 years.
Certainly, a Feudal Lord wouldn’t have an infinite supply of resources to squander on such things, but despite that, it was still a terrifying figure.
It was no wonder that they were unable to kill all of the Black Ink Clansmen. The Humans from different Great Passes would always defeat the Black Ink Clan and kill many of them in every major battle; however, after resting for at most 100 years, the Black Ink Clan would strike again without any discernable decrease in number.
The way Black Ink Nests nurtured new Black Ink Clansmen was the fundamental reason behind this.
Upon that realisation, Yang Kai felt his heart sinking. He asked solemnly, “Brother Zha Gu, how powerful will these Black Ink Clansmen be after they’re born?”
Zha Gu replied, “New Black Ink Clansmen are naturally weak and useless. It will take them several dozen years to grow to be Low-Rank Black Ink Clansmen. 200 to 300 years after that, a small number of them will grow to be High-Rank Clansmen. As for how far they can go following that, it will depend on their own fates.”
Yang Kai nodded gently. It seemed that even though it would take a shorter time for the Black Ink Clansmen to grow up than the Humans, it wasn’t intolerable. It would take them several dozen years to grow to be Low-Rank Clansmen, which were equivalent to Low-Rank Open Heaven Masters. Such Black Ink Clansmen were essentially useless on the battlefield and would only serve as cannon fodder to deplete the Humans’ energy.
“A competent Feudal Lord should be able to enlist 3,000 Black Ink Clansmen who are able to fight when Sir Territory Lord goes to war. It’s still in the early phase for me, so it will be several hundred to 1,000 years before I can do that.”
Out of the 3,000 Black Ink Clansmen who were able to fight, at least half of them had to be High-Rank Black Ink Clansmen who were equivalent to the Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth-Order Humans; otherwise, they would only be giving the Humans free Military Merits.
According to the life cycle of the Black Ink Clansmen, it would indeed take Zha Gu several hundred to 1,000 years to meet this requirement; otherwise, there wouldn’t be enough time for his subordinates to grow.
Yang Kai made some calculations in silence. A Feudal Lord with a Fief could conscript 3,000 Black Ink Clansmen when war broke out. There were dozens of Feudal Lords working for Hei Yuan, but only a small number of them had their own Fiefs. In other words, Hei Yuan alone would be able to mobilise about 30,000 to 40,000 Black Ink Clansmen. That was the number of Black Ink Clansmen that a Territory Lord could use.
On the other hand, every Royal Lord had several dozen Territory Lords. Once a Royal Lord called for war, several hundred thousand to a million soldiers could be brought together in every Theatre before they would storm the Great Passes controlled by the Humans.
The Humans from different Great Passes had spent countless years fending off such a large number of Black Ink Clansmen.
The Black Ink Clan were at an advantage because of their larger numbers. On the other hand, the Humans heavily relied on Warships, which were their unique advantage. If this advantage was taken away by the Black Ink Clan, the Humans wouldn’t be able to defend the Great Passes.
At that instant, Yang Kai felt a hefty weight on his shoulders.
Upon learning the abstrusity of the Black Ink Nest’s consciousness and witnessing the process of breeding Black Ink Clansmen through the Black Ink Pool, Yang Kai finally understood the secrets behind the Black Ink Nests.
Next, Zha Gu led him to explore other places in the Black Ink Nest.
Half a day later, they left the together.
Zha Gu was still evidently excited; after all, his dream had finally come true, so it was expected that he was in a joyful mood. That was the reason he led Yang Kai to take a stroll around the Black Ink Nest. He wanted to share his joy with others, but Yang Kai was the only outsider by his side.
“By the way, you can continue refining artifacts over there, Brother Yang.” Zha Gu finally recalled what he was supposed to do. After all, the reason he was able to get this Fief had something to do with Yang Kai’s skills in Artifact Refining.
Upon finishing his words, he pointed in a particular direction.
Yang Kai looked in the same direction and saw a huge Star in the Void.
“It was originally a giant Sun Star, but it’s dead now. However, there still should be a great amount of heat beneath the surface, which will be useful to you when you make artifacts,” Zha Gu explained.
The reason he decided to hatch his Black Ink Nest in this Universe World was that this place was not far from the Sun Star, so he could move back and forth between the two places with ease.
“A Sun Star?” Yang Kai arched his brow. There was no doubt that a Sun Star, even a dead one, would contain the power of the Great Sun.
“En,” Zha Gu nodded, “I know nothing about Artifact Refining, so you can go over and look for a place that is suitable. I’ll not keep you company as the Black Ink Nest in this Fief has just been hatched, so I need to take care of it.”
“It’s fine. I’ll be fine on my own,” Yang Kai nodded.
“Take this. These are the materials for making artifacts provided by a customer. There’s also a list of demands he has come up with. You just have to follow the specifications. When I settle things here, I’ll look for you,” As Zha Gu spoke, he passed him a Space Ring.
After taking the ring, Yang Kai scanned it with his Divine Sense and realised that there were indeed materials for making artifacts inside it. The number of materials suggested that he would have to make more than one artifact, and there was also a jade slip that supposedly contained the customer’s demands.
After bidding Zha Gu farewell, he directly flew towards the Great Sun Star.
In just two hours, Yang Kai arrived at his destination.
When he arrived in the 3,000 Worlds for the first time, Yang Kai came across a dying Sun Star where he obtained the Golden Crow’s True Fire that would be used to condense his Fire Element in his Dao Seal. For that reason, he became tangled up with the Proprietress. All of those memories flashed through his head. Many years had passed in the blink of an eye.
At that time, the Sun Star he saw was dying, but the one before his eyes now died a long time ago.
Although the Great Sun had lost all its vitality, some heat could still be felt coming from the surface. The entire Star was filled with solidified magma, and a pungent smell permeated the place.
There was no doubt that this environment was hostile and the average person wouldn’t be able to survive here for long. With that said, Yang Kai was now a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, so he was able to put up with this kind of environment.
In fact, with the power of the Golden Crow’s True Fire in possession, he didn’t need to rely on any external forces when making artifacts. It was just that by using an external aid he would be able to achieve twice the result with half the effort; therefore, a lot of Artifact Refiners loved using great sources of fire when making artifacts. It was the same case for Alchemists.
After circling around the Great Sun for a bit, Yang Kai soon found a suitable location that looked like the caldera of a volcano that led to the depths beneath the ground. He directly plunged inside, but he was soon blocked by some solidified magma.
He summoned his Azure Dragon Spear and began digging deeper into the ground.
The further he went, the more scorching the air felt. Soon, he directly plunged into an ocean of burning magma.
It went to show that even though the Great Sun died a long time ago, its power still hadn’t fully dissipated.
This kind of power was suitable for refining artifacts.
After breaking through the magma, Yang Kai arrived at the Sun’s core. It was then he activated his power and formed an empty space.
This was the deepest part of the Great Sun where he could use its power with ease. Looking around, he was pleased with this place.
Over the following half a month, Yang Kai spent a fair amount of time setting up a simple array so that he could make use of the Great Sun’s power to craft artifacts. Additionally, the Array stabilized the space he had opened up at the centre of the Sun.
After he was done with all of that, he got some rest for a few days to restore his energy. It was only then that he started refining artifacts.
He fished out the jade slip given to him by Zha Gu and realised that he had to make two artifacts this time. One of them was offensive while the other one was defensive. He wondered who this Black Ink Clansman was.
Regardless, it was none of his business, he just had to craft the artifacts according to the demands.
With the help of the Great Sun’s power, he had indeed become more efficient in refining artifacts; furthermore, his skills in Artifact Refining had been improving day by day.
In just three months, he was done crafting these two artifacts.
There was already a Black Ink Clansman waiting for him outside of the Array he set up. In fact, this Black Ink Clansman had been there for half a month. Yang Kai was aware of this, but his focus was on refining the artifacts, so he decided to ignore him.
Now that he was done, Yang Kai opened up the restrictions and let this person in.
The Black Ink Clansman, who had never dared to disturb Yang Kai, instantly noticed and dashed forward before cupping his fist, “Sir Yang!”
Perhaps the only Black Ink Disciples who could be addressed as ‘Sirs’ by the Black Ink Clansmen were Artifact Refiners.
Yang Kai glanced at him and realised that this Black Ink Clansman was a High-Rank Black Ink Clansman who worked for Zha Gu. He had also followed Zha Gu to come all the way here to this Fief.
After a nod, Yang Kai asked, “Has Brother Zha Gu sent you here to tell me something?”
The High-Rank Black Ink Clansman stepped forward and held out a Space Ring, “Sir Zha Gu said this is the next artifact you have to make. The materials, demands, and payment are all inside. Additionally, he wants me to retrieve the artifacts you’ve refined.”
Yang Kai took the Space Ring and realised that just like what the Black Ink Clansman had said, there were a lot of materials for Artifact Refining, a jade slip with the specifications recorded in it, and 7,000 Black Ink Coins inside the ring.
Upon confirmation, Yang Kai passed him the two artifacts he had recently made and put on a bitter smile, “Your Sir doesn’t even give me some rest time.”
The High-Rank Black Ink Clansman put on a fawning smile, “Sir Zha Gu said that your skills in Artifact Refining are exceptional. Many Feudal Lords have heard about you, so they want you to make artifacts for them.”
“It’s fine. I’m earning Black Ink Coins to buy some cultivation resources anyway. Just tell your Sir that he can accept all the orders. I’m fine with it.”
“Yes,” the High-Rank Black Ink Clansman replied, then asked, “When should I come again?”
After giving it a thought, Yang Kai said, “For each artifact, you can come again after two months.”
He then watched the High-Rank Black Ink Clansman leave and reactivated the restriction. Instead of starting right away, Yang Kai fished out a set of Seventh-Order materials from his Small Universe and began refining them.
During this period of time, he had been busy refining artifacts for the Feudal Lords. In Zha Gu’s previous territory, it wasn’t convenient for him to refine Seventh-Order materials; after all, Zha Gu might come over at any moment. It would be hard for Yang Kai to explain himself if Zha Gu saw him refining such expensive materials.
Now that he was inside a Great Sun though, and with the Arrays he had set up, he didn’t have to worry about privacy.
On the other hand, since he had helped so many Feudal Lords craft artifacts, his skill in the Dao of Artifact Refining must be well known by now. That was exactly what he had hoped to see, and the High-Rank Black Ink Clansman’s statement just now proved this point.
Everything was going according to plan, and Yang Kai just had to wait for Hei Yuan to leave the Black Ink Nest.
The days went by slowly.
Zha Gu would send someone to pass Yang Kai materials for Artifact Refining and payment for his services every two months. Most of the time, it would be the same High-Rank Black Ink Clansman who looked for Yang Kai. Zha Gu had just obtained his own Fief, so he seemed to be swamped with work and would only visit Yang Kai sporadically.
Nevertheless, the High-Rank Clansman wouldn’t stay for a long time. After passing Yang Kai the Space Ring that contained the materials and money, he would take the artifact that had been made and leave.
Five years passed by in the blink of an eye.
Including the amount of time Yang Kai had spent in Zha Gu’s previous castle, he had now been refining artifacts for the Black Ink Feudal Lords for seven or eight years. During this period of time, he had produced dozens of artifacts that were all high-quality.
Given his near complete focus on Artifact Refining, Yang Kai’s comprehension of the Dao of Artifact Refining had improved significantly; however, he didn’t feel one bit pleased about it.
That was because he knew that every artifact he refined would be of great help to the Black Ink Clan on the battlefield. Those artifacts might injure or even kill Human soldiers.
He had thought about pulling some tricks by designing the artifacts in a way that they would collapse when the Black Ink Clansmen clashed with the Humans; however, even though he could be considered a Great Master when it came to his mastery of Artifact Refining, he was not able to do such a thing without anyone discovering it. If he really tried, the Feudal Lords would realise it very quickly and that would only destroy the reputation he had built up and derail his following plan.
Hence, he decided to give up on the idea.
Although Yang Kai had spent most of his time refining artifacts over the past few years, he would still take some time off to cultivate after crafting each item. As time passed, he managed to make up for some of the losses in his heritage due to the fact that he had sacrificed a part of his Small Universe in the past.
He had been waiting for Hei Yuan to summon him, but his wish was still not granted.
Supposedly, Hei Yuan should have left the Black Ink Nest by now; although he was badly injured, his speed of recovery shouldn’t be so slow with the help of the Black Ink Nest. Yang Kai wondered what was going on.
One day, Zha Gu came over as usual.
After getting the artifact from Yang Kai and passing him the next set of materials, Zha Gu thanked him and was preparing to leave.
“Wait a moment, Brother Zha Gu,” Yang Kai said.
Zha Gu turned around and asked with a smile, “What’s wrong, Brother Yang?”
Over the years, he had earned a huge fortune through Yang Kai’s skills in Artifact Refining. Gui Liao did indeed have wealthy friends who willingly paid 100,000 Black Ink Coins for a single artifact without blinking an eye. Besides that, those Feudal Lords were eager to get their hands on the artifacts made by Yang Kai. According to Gui Liao, there were still more than 10 Feudal Lords who were waiting to order their artifacts.
They would charge 100,000 coins for an artifact, and other than the 7,000 given to Yang Kai, Zha Gu and Gui Liao would respectively split the rest. Hence, Zha Gu gained 46,500 Black Ink Coins for every artifact.
100,000 was just the amount that Gui Liao told him though, and Zha Gu even suspected that Gui Liao would charge his customers a higher fee. Nevertheless, he wasn’t in any place to demand more.
Over the past five years, Yang Kai had produced more than 30 artifacts, so not only had Zha Gu paid back the Black Ink Coins he owed Gui Liao, but there was a lot of surplus. Now, he focused on managing his own Fief, so all the Black Ink Coins he earned would be used to build up his territory.
Now, his Fief was really beginning to take shape. Not only had Zha Gu nurtured several tens of thousands of Black Ink Clansmen through the Black Ink Nest, but he had also attracted many Black Ink Clansmen from other places to settle down in his territory.
It could be said that he owed his success to Yang Kai, so he was naturally quite friendly with him.
Without beating around the bush, Yang Kai asked, “Do you know what’s going on with Sir Territory Lord? Has he left the Black Ink Nest?”
Upon hearing that, Zha Gu shook his head, “I don’t think Sir Territory Lord has left the Black Ink Nest. I suppose he’s still recuperating.”
Yang Kai frowned, “Why is it taking Sir so long to recover? It’s been nearly eight years since he returned. Supposedly, he should’ve left the Black Ink Nest a long time ago.”
Zha Gu nodded, “Usually, it wouldn’t take Sir such a long time; three to four years at most. However, you’re also aware that Sir Territory Lord wasn’t the only one who entered the Black Ink Nest to recuperate. There were several other Territory Lords as well, and their injuries were even more severe than Sir Territory Lord’s. Although the Black Ink Nest can help Sir recuperate, there are several Territory Lords who need to share that power; hence, it’s not as effective as when he’s on his own. That’s the reason it’s taking him a longer time to recuperate.”
This was the information Zha Gu obtained from Gui Liao; after all, he and Gui Liao knew that once Hei Yuan left the Black Ink Nest, Yang Kai, as his Black Ink Disciple, would be summoned no matter what. By then, their business of selling artifacts would come to a halt. Certainly, Zha Gu wanted this business to last as long as possible.
Therefore, he asked Gui Liao about Hei Yuan’s condition. What he told Yang Kai just now was the information he had obtained from Gui Liao.
Upon hearing his explanation, Yang Kai replied, “I see. Do you know when Sir Territory Lord will leave the Black Ink Nest, then?”
“It will happen within a year or two,” as Zha Gu spoke, he patted the other man’s shoulder, “Don’t worry about it. Sir Territory Lord is powerful, so he’ll be fine; however, after he leaves the Black Ink Nest, you, as his Black Ink Disciple, will have to go back to him. You won’t stay here and keep making artifacts, so during this period of time, you have to work harder in order to earn more money to purchase cultivation resources.”
He thought that Yang Kai was worried about Hei Yuan, so he decided to placate him. Nevertheless, he still reminded Yang Kai to work harder to create more artifacts.
Yang Kai nodded gently, “You have a point, Brother Zha Gu.”
Upon learning that the reason Hei Yuan hadn’t left the Black Ink Nest after such a long time was that he was sharing its power with other Territory Lords, Yang Kai set his mind at ease.
He was most worried that an accident might have happened to Hei Yuan. If Hei Yuan lost his life due to his severe injuries, things would become complicated. Yang Kai definitely didn’t want to see that happen.
After seeing Zha Gu off, he continued refining artifacts.
Several months later, on the universe fragment belonging to Hei Yuan, the Black Ink Nest, which had remained shut since the return of Hei Yuan and the other Territory Lords, shook a little. Following that, a portal opened up at the bottom of the Black Ink Nest.
Several burly figures stepped out from the portal, all of their auras thick and intimidating.
The moment the Black Ink Clansmen, who were guarding the Black Ink Nest, saw these figures, they saluted them in a solemn manner. This couldn’t be helped, as they were all Territory Lords. The person at the front was none other than the owner of this place, Hei Yuan.
Of these Territory Lords, Hei Yuan looked perfectly healthy while the auras of the other Territory Lords were still a little unstable. It seemed that they hadn’t fully recovered.
That was indeed the case. After about eight years of recuperation, their injuries had mostly healed, but they were still some distance away from full recovery.
The only one who had fully recovered was Hei Yuan.
Even though he was indeed a little stronger than the others, that had nothing to do with the speed of recovery. The main reason was that he was the owner of this Black Ink Nest. By having full control over the Black Ink Nest, he could direct most of its power to heal his injuries while the rest would be shared among the other Territory Lords.
Hei Yuan would naturally recover much quicker than the other Territory Lords under such circumstances. It wasn’t that he wanted to suppress the other Territory Lords, just that anyone would’ve done the same thing if they were in his position.
In fact, if possible, Hei Yuan would rather have sent these Territory Lords back to their respective territories upon their return from the battlefield so that he wouldn’t have to share the power of his Black Ink Nest; however, those Territory Lords were horribly injured at that time as they had all fallen into a state of deep sleep, so he couldn’t possibly toss them out. Left with no other choice, he brought them back to his own Black Ink Nest and they recuperated together. That way, they could take care of each other.
Despite all this, the Territory Lords were still grateful to Hei Yuan and not dissatisfied one bit. It was true that they hadn’t fully recovered, but they were now able to protect themselves at the very least. They just had to return to their territories and get some more rest in their own Black Ink Nests so that they would recover as time passed.
The entire process would only take them a few more years.
After stepping out of the Black Ink Nest, the Territory Lords thanked Hei Yuan before shooting into the sky to leave in a hurry. This was Hei Yuan’s territory after all, so it wasn’t appropriate for them to linger here. They naturally had to go back to their territories.
Hei Yuan watched them leave.
Not long after the Territory Lords left, Gui Liao, who had received the news, led a group of Black Ink Clansmen and arrived at this place in a rush to welcome Hei Yuan.
Soon, they returned to the castle. After Hei Yuan was seated on his throne, Gui Liao stood in front of him and reported to him about what had happened in the territory over the years in a respectful manner.
Hei Yuan listened to him in silence.
No major events had taken place over the past few years. The Humans were recuperating, and there hadn’t been any serious conflicts between the two Races; hence, Gui Liao was done with his report soon.
Hei Yuan nodded and praised him by saying, “You’ve done a great job.”
Gui Liao replied humbly, “It is all thanks to Sir’s excellent management of the territory. I am just taking care of it on your behalf, so I wouldn’t dare to take the credit.”
Hei Yuan didn’t comment on it. Suddenly, he asked, “The new Black Ink Disciple named Yang Kai that I’ve taken on is an Artifact Refiner?”
There wasn’t a hint of surprise on Gui Liao’s face as he replied respectfully, “Yes, he has refined a lot of artifacts for the Feudal Lords over the years.”
Hei Yuan had been recuperating in the Black Ink Nest since his return, and he had never come into contact with anyone else. Despite that, he was still aware of all this information thanks to the Black Ink Nest.
The realm built on the Black Ink Nest’s consciousness was where the Feudal Lords would communicate with each other. Certainly, these exchanges couldn’t be hidden from the primary Black Ink Nest’s owner. In other words, as long as Hei Yuan wanted to, he could monitor all the conversations that took place within that domain while he was recuperating inside his Black Ink Nest.
Many Feudal Lords were aware that Yang Kai was an Artifact Refiner, so they would certainly talk about it. It was expected that Hei Yuan would become aware of this fact.
Furthermore, Gui Liao knew that this fact couldn’t be hidden from Hei Yuan, so he never attempted to do so.
“The Feudal Lords seem to be pleased with the artifacts he’s made. What do you think about his skills in Artifact Refining?” Hei Yuan asked.
Gui Liao replied, “I have no idea how the Humans classify the skills of an Artifact Refiner, but I think that he’s fairly talented in Artifact Refining. The artifacts made by him are just as good as the ones owned by the Humans. With those artifacts in possession, the Feudal Lords have enjoyed varying degrees of increase in their strengths. This will help them tremendously when they go to war.”
Hei Yuan nodded lightly, “Since you’ve said as much, it must mean he’s truly skilful in Artifact Refining.”
He couldn’t help but be surprised. It never crossed his mind that the Black Ink Disciple he had taken on was a valuable Artifact Refiner. The reason he decided to personally corrupt Yang Kai was that the latter had showcased exceptional combat strength back then.
Other than being powerful, Yang Kai was also an expert in Artifact Refining. It seemed that Hei Yuan had accidentally picked up a treasure.
A few years ago, he lost the resource harvesting area to the enemy, and many of his soldiers were killed during the war, so the Royal Lord would definitely punish him. As a Territory Lord, Hei Yuan wouldn’t be slapped with a serious punishment; a part of his territory would be taken from him at most. However, he wouldn’t want to see that happen.
Nevertheless, he could probably make up for the losses by presenting a skilled Artifact Refiner to the Royal Lord.
Certainly, he would feel heartbroken letting such a talented person go, but since Yang Kai was an Artifact Refiner, he would have to take part in that plan. Regardless of whether Hei Yuan wanted to make up for his losses or not, he couldn’t keep Yang Kai by his side; otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to bear the Royal Lord’s wrath.
“Where is he now?” Hei Yuan asked all of a sudden.
Gui Liao replied honestly, “He’s in Zha Gu’s place. There’s a dead Great Sun Star that is useful for him to refine artifacts with.”
“Tell him to come over and see me now.”
“Yes.”
Four hours later, Yang Kai, who was refining an artifact, realised that the restriction was touched, which caused him to frown. Over the years, Zha Gu’s subordinate would always wait outside of the restriction instead of triggering it, so this behaviour was a little unusual.
Moreover, he could sense that the person triggering the restriction was none other than Zha Gu himself.
Yang Kai initially decided to ignore him; after all, he was in the final stage of refining the artifact he was working on and it would be completed in just three to five days.
Zha Gu waited for a bit, but upon seeing that the restriction was not open, he directly broke it and entered.
The restriction Yang Kai had set up was a simple one, not something powerful, so it was easy for a Feudal Lord like Zha Gu to break it.
This caused Yang Kai to be disturbed and the artifact in his hands that was about to take shape became contorted.
After taking a glance at it, Zha Gu knew that the artifact must have been ruined because of what he had done; however, that was the least of his concerns now as he promptly said, “Sir Territory Lord has left the Black Ink Nest, Brother Yang. He wants to see you now.”
“Sir has left the Black Ink Nest?” Yang Kai was surprised. Previously, Zha Gu told him that it would only happen after a year or two, but only half a year had passed since then.
However, since Hei Yuan wanted to see him, there was no way Yang Kai could tarry; after all, he was technically Hei Yuan’s Black Ink Disciple.
“I’ll set off immediately then. What about this artifact?” Yang Kai turned to look at the warped artifact.
Zha Gu replied, “It’s fine. I’ll pay for the loss. Don’t worry about it.”
“Sorry for the trouble then, Brother Zha Gu.” Yang Kai cupped his fist, “Since I’m going back to Sir Territory Lord’s side, I guess I won’t have a chance to work with you and refine artifacts again. Please take care of yourself. We’ll definitely meet again if there’s a chance. Farewell!”
“I’ll see you off,” Zha Gu said.
A moment later, they dashed out of the Great Sun Star together. After flying alongside Yang Kai for a while, Zha Gu stopped in his tracks and fished out a Space Ring, “Many thanks for your hard work, Brother Yang. It’s been a pleasure cooperating with you over the years. Please take this little gift that I’ve prepared.”
“There’s no need for this…” Yang Kai was ready to turn him down.
Nevertheless, Zha Gu directly stuffed the ring into his hands, “I’ve earned quite a few Black Ink Coins over the years thanks to your skills. You’re the one who has been working hard, and there’s nothing much I can help you with. This is what you deserve, so don’t turn me down.”
“Since you’ve said so much, I’ll accept it. Many thanks.”
“Farewell,” Zha Gu waved his hand. It seemed that he wasn’t willing to part with him.
Yang Kai cupped his fist and left the place.
As Zha Gu watched him leave, he let out a long sigh. Over the years, he had earned about 1.5 million Black Ink Coins thanks to Yang Kai. That was the amount of money he made in less than 10 years. A Human Artifact Refiner like Yang Kai was simply a money tree to him.
Certainly, he wasn’t willing to let him go.
However, he wouldn’t dare to disobey the Territory Lord’s order. He probably would never have a chance to make easy money like this again.
It was expected that he was heartbroken and disappointed.
A long time after Yang Kai’s figure was out of sight, Zha Gu forced himself to turn around and return to his territory. Fortunately, his Fief was on the right track now, and the Black Ink Nest was fully hatched. He had the capital to gain a footing, which was unlike in the past when he had the title and power of a Feudal Lord, but not the wealth and influence to match it.
After leaving Zha Gu’s place, Yang Kai looked into the Space Ring given to him and realised that there were only 10,000 Black Ink Coins in it.
He couldn’t help but break into laughter, thinking that Zha Gu was truly stingy.
Although he wasn’t aware of the exact amount Zha Gu charged the other Feudal Lords as he had been focused on refining artifacts over the years, he at least knew that Zha Gu wasn’t being honest with him.
When he started refining artifacts for Zha Gu back then, the latter was broke, so how did Zha Gu get 500,000 Black Ink Coins to buy a sub-nest in just three years and even purchase a lot of resources to hatch it?
Yang Kai was clearly the one who helped him earn that money. In other words, the price Zha Gu told him was a bald-faced lie. He must have been charging far more than 10,000 Black Ink Coins per artifact.
Despite knowing all of that, Yang Kai didn’t intend to settle accounts with him. Black Ink Coins were useless to him. He just wanted to make himself known as a competent Artifact Refiner.
Fortunately, everything was going according to plan. Yang Kai was glad that after accepting this task in Blue Sky Pass back then, he spent the next 10 years studying the Dao of Artifact Refining; otherwise, he wouldn’t know where to start after arriving in the Black Ink Clan’s domain.
Since Hei Yuan had left the Black Ink Nest, Yang Kai couldn’t help feeling apprehensive as it was now the most critical moment.
One day later, Yang Kai arrived at the castle on the universe fragment and soon, he was granted an audience with Hei Yuan.
Inside the Grand Hall, Yang Kai finally saw Hei Yuan again after eight years.
After saluting him, Yang Kai stood respectfully in front of him. He could feel that Hei Yuan was examining him. On the other hand, Gui Liao was just standing beside Hei Yuan in a subservient manner, no longer displaying any haughtiness.
“Your Small Universe has fully healed?” Hei Yuan suddenly asked.
Gui Liao, who had been standing there in silence, suddenly lifted his gaze and glanced at Yang Kai. He had never expected this to be the first question Hei Yuan asked Yang Kai.
In fact, this matter had something to do with him. He could do whatever he wanted when Hei Yuan wasn’t around; however, since Hei Yuan was here, he was worried that Yang Kai would say something that would put him in an unfavourable position.
Yang Kai happened to look at him as well, and as their eyes met, Gui Liao felt his chest tightening.
He suddenly had a bad premonition!
Just as expected, Yang Kai grinned at him and cupped his fist, “Master, I asked Zha Gu to help me buy a Profound Yin Spirit Fruit previously. After acquiring it, I managed to heal my Small Universe.”
Upon hearing that, Hei Yuan frowned, “Why did you ask Zha Gu to help you buy a Profound Yin Spirit Fruit? Didn’t I tell Gui Liao to get you one before entering the Black Ink Nest?”
Yang Kai replied impassively, “You’ll have to ask Sir Gui Liao about that.”
Hei Yuan instantly turned to look at Gui Liao.
Gui Liao turned around and saluted Hei Yuan before explaining, “Sir, as you know, it is difficult to acquire Profound Yin Spirit Fruits. After you started recuperating, I did my best to look for one, but was regretfully unsuccessful in short order. Because of that, Yang Kai might have misunderstood my intentions. After asking for the Spirit Fruit several times but to no avail, he got into a conflict with my Black Ink Disciple, Liu Zi An. I punished them respectively. After that, Yang Kai became furious and left the castle. It wasn’t until you summoned him that he returned.”
“Is that the case?” Hei Yuan frowned.
Yang Kai replied dispassionately, “I’m not sure if Sir Gui Liao had done his best to look for the Spirit Fruit; however, after I went to Zha Gu’s place and promised that I would refine two artifacts for him, he obtained a Profound Yin Spirit Fruit for me within three days.”
Gui Liao explained, “That was when the Profound Yin Spirit Fruits became available in the territory. I seized the chance and bought one, thinking that I’d give it to you when you came back, but you didn’t seem to have the intention of returning.”
Upon finishing his words, he fished out a box from his Space Ring and opened it. There was a Profound Yin Spirit Fruit sitting inside it.
Yang Kai widened his eyes and secretly cursed at him, thinking that Gui Liao must have prepared it beforehand.
Gui Liao sighed, “You never showed up, and I didn’t know where you were. It wasn’t until a long time later that I found out you had been refining artifacts in Zha Gu’s place, and your Small Universe had fully recovered.”
At that instant, Yang Kai was lost for words despite feeling aggrieved. He initially wanted to expose Gui Liao to Hei Yuan, but he hadn’t expected that this guy had already come up with an immaculate explanation. Now, he was in a dilemma.
After pulling himself together, Yang Kai adjusted and said, “In that case, I must have misunderstood you, Sir Gui Liao. Please accept my apology.”
“It’s fine. You are Sir Territory Lord’s Black Ink Disciple. Since it was his order, I would definitely do my best to execute it.” Gui Liao emphasized his loyalty to Hei Yuan.
Hei Yuan wasn’t willing to waste his time dealing with such a minor issue, so he waved his hand and said, “Since it’s a misunderstanding, let’s end this matter here. Now that your Small Universe is complete, you won’t face any issues when cultivating.”
Gazing at Yang Kai, he changed the topic by saying, “You’re an expert in Artifact Refining?”
Yang Kai replied respectfully, “I wouldn’t dare to say that I’m an expert in Artifact Refining; I simply know a thing or two about it.”
Hei Yuan nodded lightly and extended his hand towards Gui Liao, who got the hint and hurriedly fished out a lance from his Space Ring before shuffling towards Yang.
“Did you make this artifact?” Hei Yuan asked.
After taking the lance, Yang Kai examined it and recognised that it was an artifact he made. Furthermore, if he wasn’t mistaken, it was the first artifact he crafted after he followed Zha Gu to his new Fief.
Although he had crafted quite a number of artifacts over the years, there wasn’t an overwhelming number of them; therefore, he could remember every piece distinctly. This lance was one of the artifacts he was tasked to refine at that time, together with an Artifact Armour that could cover the upper half of the body.
As he recalled the customer’s demands and the specifications of the Artifact Armour, Yang Kai instantly realised that Gui Liao was the patron who wanted him to make the lance and Artifact Armour.
It seemed that Gui Liao had already come into contact with Zha Gu at that point in time. The reason Zha Gu could obtain his new Fief might even have something to do with Gui Liao.
Yang Kai stopped pondering on it and nodded, “I was the one who made it.”
Upon hearing that, Hei Yuan became energised, “How long did it take you to make it?”
Yang Kai replied, “About two months.”
Hei Yuan’s eyes brightened, “It only took you two months to make such an artifact. It seems that you really are skilful in Artifact Refining.”
“Many thanks for your praise, Master. According to Human standards, I am barely qualified to be called a Great Master when it comes to my skills in Artifact Refining. This is already the best I can make.”
“It’s already incredible that you’re able to refine such artifacts. I’m sure you’re aware that due to the Black Ink Clan’s unique powers, we’re not proficient in Artifact Refining. Therefore, it’s difficult for us to get artifacts that suit us. That’s why Human Artifact Refiners are valued highly among the Black Ink Clan.”
To the side, Gui Liao smiled and nodded, “You’re right, Sir. Great Master Artifact Refiners like Yang Kai are even rarer. Given enough time to grow, he’ll be able to create even better artifacts.”
Hei Yuan looked fervently at Yang Kai, “If I want you to focus on crafting artifacts, how much do you think you can improve on your Artifact Refining skills?”
“Focus on crafting artifacts?” Yang Kai appeared bewildered, “Master, please understand that the Dao of Artifact Refining is just a hobby of mine. I hope that I can focus on Martial Dao so that I will be able to assist you out on the battlefield.”
A gratified Hei Yuan nodded, “That’s very thoughtful of you; however, what if I insist that you focus on the Dao of Artifact Refining?”
Without hesitation, Yang Kai replied, “Since it is your order, Master, I will definitely obey it. However…”
“Go on,” Hei Yuan said.
“I do not have an exceptional aptitude in the Dao of Artifact Refining. Regardless of how hard I try, at best I will become a Grandmaster in the future. There is no possibility I can become a Great Grandmaster.”
“You have a chance to become a Grandmaster?” Hei Yuan’s eyes lit up as he laughed, “Wonderful!”
A hesitant Yang Kai asked, “Do you need me to make any artifacts for you, Master? If that is the case, I shall do my best not to disappoint you.”
“I do need you to refine an artifact for me, but…” Hei Yuan caught himself and paused for a moment, “Go back and get some rest first. You will accompany me somewhere in a few days.”
Despite appearing puzzled, Yang Kai saluted him and left the hall.
After he was gone, Gui Liao asked, “Are you bringing him to the Royal City, Sir?”
An excited Hei Yuan nodded, “Yes. The Royal Lord has already given the order that whenever we find Human Artifact Refiners in our territories, we have to send them to the Royal City. I’ve told you the reason behind it, so I’m sure you still remember it.”
“Yes,” Gui Liao replied respectfully, “How is the Royal Lord’s plan progressing, Sir?”
At the mention of this, Hei Yuan appeared worried, “It’s not going well. Although some prototypes have been made, they’re weak and unreliable, totally incomparable to the Warships owned by the Humans. That’s why they desperately need skilled Artifact Refiners. Yang Kai is a Great Master now, and he might grow to become a Grandmaster one day. Perhaps he won’t be able to take charge of the plan, but he can surely help out in some important parts. Someone like him is exactly what the Royal Lord needs.”
Hei Yuan then let out a sigh, “It’s a shame. He was quite strong after all.”
The reason he personally corrupted Yang Kai back then was that the latter had showcased exceptional combat power; however, compared to Yang Kai’s strength, the Royal Lord’s plan was definitely more important. Hei Yuan had no choice but to let him go.
Yang Kai was told to wait for a few days before leaving with Hei Yuan. Although he pretended to be perplexed, he knew that his plans were progressing smoothly.
He reckoned that Hei Yuan was bringing him to see the Royal Lord.
This made him feel both excited and anxious. He was excited because everything was going according to plan. If nothing unexpected happened, he would soon figure out who were the Human Artifact Refiners were that made artifacts for the Black Ink Clan as well as their whereabouts.
On the other hand, he was anxious because it wasn’t easy to deal with a Royal Lord, who was as powerful as a Ninth-Order Old Ancestor. Faced with such a being, he wouldn’t dare to say that he wouldn’t be exposed.
When he was in the Royal City on his own, once his identity was exposed, he wouldn’t be able to bear the consequences.
Instead of idling in the castle, Yang Kai headed to the city.
Over the years, the main reason he worked with Zha Gu to refine artifacts was that he wanted to make himself known as an expert in Artifact Refining and attract Hei Yuan’s attention. At the same time, he had also accumulated quite a lot of Black Ink Coins.
For every artifact he made, he received 7,000 Black Ink Coins. Over the past seven to eight years, he had made about 50 artifacts and had thus earned more than 300,000 Black Ink Coins.
In fact, the purchasing power of Black Ink Coins was incredible. Based on the conversion rate, 300,000 Black Ink Coins would be equivalent to 3 billion Open Heaven Pills. Although Black Ink Coins were useless to Yang Kai, he could use them to purchase cultivation resources.
This was the first time he brought so much money with him and bought things in the city, so he was curious about everything. There were quite a number of Black Ink Disciples in the city, but they all followed behind their Masters. He was the only Black Ink Disciple who was on his own, which was why he caught the attention of many Black Ink Clansmen.
Although they were curious, they wouldn’t dare to do anything to him upon detecting his Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm cultivation.
The person who could corrupt a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master had to be a Territory Lord at the very least; furthermore, they heard that the ruling Territory Lord here had taken on a Seventh-Order Black Ink Disciple recently. Perhaps this Human was that Black Ink Disciple. Certainly, no one would dare to have their eyes on the Territory Lord’s Black Ink Disciple.
There were a lot of shops in the city, and after visiting several of them, Yang Kai realised that the Black Ink Clan possessed a truly massive amount of cultivation resources.
After giving it a thought though, he realised that this wasn’t surprising. The Black Ink Battlefield was vast, and the Black Ink Clan occupied most of it. There were countless Universe Worlds in those territories that could be mined; hence, they were not lacking cultivation resources.
This was starkly different from the situation that the Humans were in. They would only be able to snatch some resource-harvesting areas and extract the resources there for a short period of time after defeating the Black Ink Clan’s Army. After the Black Ink Clan was done recuperating, the Humans would have to give up those resource-harvesting areas.
This kind of cycle never ended.
With that said, the Black Ink Clan were unable to directly refine these resources to cultivate; instead, they had to throw them into the Black Ink Nests, which would produce Black Ink Strength. It was only then that the Black Ink Clansmen could make use of Black Ink Strength.
The resources that the Human cultivators yearned for couldn’t be directly used by the Black Ink Clansmen; therefore, these resources were surprisingly affordable in this Black Ink Clan city.
The 300,000 Black Ink Coins that Yang Kai had were worth 3 billion Open Heaven Pills. If he were in a city run by the Humans, he would use up all the money purchasing two or three sets of Seventh-Order materials.
Nevertheless, in this city, he managed to buy more than 10 sets of Seventh-Order materials with his Black Ink Coins. The difference between the purchasing powers of these two currencies was astonishing.
Yang Kai suddenly felt regretful, thinking that he should have gotten some Black Ink Coins from Zhong Liang and the others when he was in Blue Sky Pass back then.
The Humans from the various Great Passes had amassed a staggering amount of Black Ink Coins over the years, all of which were collected from the battlefield after they defeated the Black Ink Clan over the years.
They would pick up Black Ink Coins from the dead Black Ink Clansmen, but the money was useless to them, so they would just pile them up.
Over the years, Blue Sky Pass had probably amassed trillions of Black Ink Coins. If Yang Kai had brought those Black Ink Coins with him, he could’ve snapped up all the resources in Hei Yuan’s territory.
Certainly, it would cause a commotion if Yang Kai really did so. He just regretted that he hadn’t brought a few million Black Ink Coins with him; otherwise, he could’ve purchased a fair amount of resources without being noticed.
More than 10 sets of Seventh-Order material were nothing compared to his total wealth, but he could refine them without worrying about getting caught.
This was the reason he left the castle to purchase resources; otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to explain himself when Hei Yuan saw him refining resources.
Without staying for a long time, he used up his Black Ink Coins and returned to the castle to start cultivating.
A few days later, Hei Yuan finally summoned him.
Above an empty square in the middle of the castle, a large ship was hovering in mid-air. More than 100 Black Ink Clansmen were ready to board the ship with Hei Yuan, including Yang Kai.
This large ship wasn’t a Warship; it was just a flight-type artifact. Given Yang Kai’s mastery of Artifact Refining, it would only take him some time to craft a similar ship; however, it would take him a longer time and more energy to build one than make an ordinary artifact.
Over the years, none of the Feudal Lords that were his customers had asked him to make a flight-type artifact. To the Feudal Lords, artifacts that could save their lives or kill the enemies were far more important than flight-type artifacts. Furthermore, the materials used to build a flight-type artifact were more expensive than the ones used for making an ordinary artifact.
“I will return from the Royal City soon. After I’m gone, you will manage the affairs in the territory,” Hei Yuan said to Gui Liao.
“Don’t worry, Sir. I’ll handle everything well,” Gui Liao replied respectfully.
Hei Yuan went on to say, “When I come back, I’ll let you enter the Black Ink Nest so that you can become a Territory Lord. You’ve accumulated enough over the years to do so.”
In an instant, Gui Liao became agitated, “Many thanks, Sir Territory Lord! I’ll not disappoint you!”
Hei Yuan nodded lightly, then said to the Black Ink Clansman who was responsible for controlling the large ship, “Let’s go.”
Following his order, the ship hummed and rose into the sky. After turning in a different direction, it transformed into a ray of light and left the place at the speed of lightning.
On the deck, Hei Yuan stared out at the void and fell into his thoughts.
Yang Kai just stood silently behind him in a subservient manner.
“I rarely turn Humans. The last time I did so was 2,000 years ago. The Black Ink Disciple I corrupted at that time was just like you. He was strong,” Hei Yuan suddenly said.
Yang Kai had no idea what the other man was trying to say. Although it seemed like a small talk, he didn’t think a Territory Lord would waste his time in such a way. Hence, he decided to remain silent so that he wouldn’t say anything wrong.
“He had followed me for 1,000 years and made a lot of contributions. Unfortunately… he was killed on the battlefield in the end.” Hei Yuan sighed, “Theoretically, a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master is equivalent to a Feudal Lord; however, a Seventh-Order Human will always be stronger than ordinary Feudal Lords. The strongest ones are even able to wound newly promoted Territory Lords.”
Yang Kai explained, “The cultivation of Humans is all about accumulation. Even if two people are both in the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm, there might be a difference of several thousand years of cultivation between them; hence, there is a huge gap in power between them.”
Hei Yuan nodded, “It’s all about accumulation for the Humans, and it’s the same case for the Black Ink Clan; however, in general, it takes a shorter time for the Black Ink Clan to mature than the Humans. Moreover, all our ascensions rely on the Black Ink Nests. Perhaps that is the reason the individual power of the Black Ink Clan is weaker than that of the Humans.”
Upon hearing that, Yang Kai was startled, “I’ve never thought about it before.”
Without turning his head, Hei Yuan said with a smile, “The Humans rely on themselves to break through while the Black Ink Clan have to make use of external aids to do so. That’s the difference between us. However, Humans are not comparable to us when it comes to population. We have an infinite supply of soldiers while there’s only a limited number of Human cultivators in each Great Pass. Despite that, rarely has any Great Pass been conquered over the years. Sometimes, I can’t help but admire the Humans’ determination and perseverance.”
Yang Kai sensitively caught a piece of important information in Hei Yuan’s words, “Sir, you said rarely any Great Pass has been conquered before. Does that mean it has happened before?”
Hei Yuan turned to look at him and asked curiously, “Don’t you know about it?”
[It really happened before?] Yang Kai felt his heart sinking. While remaining calm, he shook his head, “I’ve never heard about it. In fact, it’s only been a short time since I arrived at this battlefield.”
Hei Yuan nodded gently, “It indeed happened a long time ago. The Humans must be ashamed of this incident, so they naturally wouldn’t spread it. Perhaps they’ve erased all records of it.”
“Which of the Great Passes had been conquered before?” Yang Kai knew that as a Black Ink Disciple, he shouldn’t have asked so many questions. Nevertheless, he couldn’t suppress his curiosity.
“It happened so long ago that I can no longer remember it. Let me think… I believe it was called the Great Evolution Pass. Yes, it was the Great Evolution Pass.”
[Great Evolution Pass… Great Evolution Paradise!]
Yang Kai was shaken to the core.
The Great Passes were basically named after the Cave Heavens and Paradises. At the mention of the Great Evolution Pass, Yang Kai could only think of Great Evolution Paradise.
That was the Paradise where Grandmaster Ma Fan came from. The Good Fortune Divine Furnace that could be used to derive higher-order materials from lower-order ones was one of Great Evolution Paradise’s core inheritances.
Back then, in order to fight for the right to use the Good Fortune Divine Furnace, the Cave Heavens and Paradises haggled with Yang Kai for quite some time.
Great Evolution Paradise was removed from the 72 Paradises, and Grandmaster Ma Fan was just a remnant of Great Evolution Paradise.
Yang Kai had always been curious about what kind of crisis such a Paradise faced to cause its downfall.
Now, it seemed that it had something to do with the fact that the Great Evolution Pass was conquered on the Black Ink Battlefield. However, other than the Old Ancestors, no one else seemed aware of what had happened in the past. Even Grandmaster Ma Fan himself seemed unaware of the details. After all, he had never come to the Black Ink Battlefield as he had always been living in the 3,000 Worlds.
“That is the only Great Pass we managed to conquer.” There was a hint of displeasure in Hei Yuan’s tone, “Although we had many chances of conquering other Great Passes in the past, we’d always fail in our attempts in the end. The resilience and persistence of the Humans is inconceivable. You are a Human as well as a Black Ink Disciple, so you surely understand Humans and the Black Ink Clan better than most. Do you know the strengths and weaknesses of the two Races?”
Yang Kai was caught off guard as he was suddenly asked such a question, but after giving it a thought, he replied, “Just like what Master has said, the Black Ink Clan have an unlimited supply of soldiers while there is a limited number of Human cultivators. That’s the advantage of the Black Ink Clan. Also, Black Ink Strength is a tricky problem for the Humans. In the past, once they were invaded by Black Ink Strength, they either had to sacrifice a part of their Small Universes or kill themselves on the spot; otherwise, they would be turned into Black Ink Disciples. However, since the Humans invented Purifying Black Ink Pills, the threat of Black Ink Strength has greatly diminished.”
“Indeed.” Hei Yuan snorted, “Purifying Black Ink Pills are being used by the Humans to suppress Black Ink Strength now. If we lose this advantage, it will be useless regardless of how many soldiers we have. The Humans also have Warships. That is their biggest advantage! A Warship is the greatest weapon for both offence and defence. With only a small number of Humans controlling the vessel, it can cause severe casualties on the battlefield. If the Humans never had Warships, they would’ve been destroyed by now.”
Yang Kai played along by saying, “If the Black Ink Clan also had Warships, the Humans wouldn’t be a match for us. Unfortunately, it’s extremely difficult to refine a Warship. Only Great Grandmasters are able to do that. Although I know a thing or two about Artifact Refining, I’ll never be able to make a Warship in my lifetime regardless of how hard I try.”
Hei Yuan turned to look at him and smiled, “While you can’t do it, that doesn’t mean no one else can make it.”
Yang Kai said curiously, “Master, you mean…”
Hei Yuan went on to say, “You’re not the only one who has thought of this idea. In fact, the Royal Lord has been working towards this goal for a long time now. The Black Ink Clan has been trying to create a Warship, and we’ve achieved some success so far.”
Yang Kai instantly appeared shocked, “There’s a Great Grandmaster Artifact Refiner in the Black Ink Clan?”
Hei Yuan shook his head, “I have no idea whether he’s a Great Grandmaster. Perhaps he’s still some distance away from that rank, but he’s certainly approaching it. As time passes, he’ll be able to refine a Warship. That’s the reason I’m bringing you to the Royal City.”
Upon learning his intentions, Yang Kai said, “Master, you want me to help create a Warship?”
Hei Yuan nodded, “You’re a Great Master in Artifact Refining, so you should be able to help out; after all, there are not a lot of Artifact Refiners as capable as you in the Black Ink Clan.”
Upon hearing that, Yang Kai said, “Since it is your order, this servant will do his utmost to comply.”
Hei Yuan was apparently pleased with his response, “Just do your best when you’re there, and don’t cause trouble. If other Territory Lords have their eyes on you, just tell them you’re my Black Ink Disciple. When you manage to make a name for yourself, you’ll be a great contributor to the Black Ink Clan. I’ll reward you handsomely when the time comes.”
“You flatter me, Master. I will do my best to help.”
While facing away from him, Hei Yuan waved his hand, “We’ll reach the Royal City in a few days. You don’t have to stay here. Go get some rest.”
“Then I will retire to my room,” Yang Kai cupped his fist and stepped backwards before turning around to leave.
After he entered the room assigned to him, Yang Kai sat down with his legs crossed and fished out a set of Seventh-Order materials to cultivate.
Although he already had a speculation about Hei Yuan’s intentions, he hadn’t expected the latter to make them so clear to him while they were on their way to the destination.
After giving it a thought though, he realised that Hei Yuan must have decided to inform him about it in advance so that he wouldn’t be perplexed when they arrived at the Royal City.
Nevertheless, it never crossed Hei Yuan’s mind that it was exactly Yang Kai’s intention to sneak into the core of the Black Ink Clan’s territory.
Everything was going well, and if nothing unexpected happened, after they arrived at the Royal City, Hei Yuan would recommend Yang Kai to take part in the Warship refining project. By then, it would be easy for Yang Kai to gather information.
Having said that, there was one thing that troubled him.
How was he going to relay the information he had gathered back to Yin-Yang Pass?
It wasn’t that those from Yin-Yang Pass had neglected this issue per se, but while he could pretend to be a Black Ink Disciple and sneak into this place, sending information back remained a difficult problem. Those from Yin-Yang Pass were simply unable to solve this problem. They only told Yang Kai to come up with a way to send the information to them.
Yang Kai had been racking his brain for a long time, but he still couldn’t come up with a solution, and it was now giving him a headache.
A few days later, Yang Kai was cultivating when he felt the large ship shaking a little and decelerating.
Following that, a Black Ink Clansman was heard shouting from the deck, “Get ready! We’re about to reach the Royal City!”
Yang Kai put away his resources and dashed towards the deck. As he looked in the direction where the large ship was headed, a gigantic universe fragment came into his sight.
Hei Yuan’s territory was also a large universe fragment, but it paled compared to the one before his eyes. The universe fragment where the Royal City was located was ten times larger than Hei Yuan’s territory.
At the sight of it, Yang Kai was astonished.
It had to be noted that a universe fragment was basically the result of a Universe World breaking apart. Just by looking at the size of this universe fragment, Yang Kai could imagine how colossal the Universe World must have been when it was whole.
This must have originally been a flourishing World, but now, there was only a universe fragment left, and it was engulfed in thick Black Ink Strength all year long.
As the large ship drew nearer, a massive Black Ink Nest came into view. Despite the fact that the universe fragment was covered in dense Black Ink Strength, it still couldn’t conceal the magnificent nest. Looking at the unimaginably large object, Yang Kai was flabbergasted.
Zha Gu had told him about the different ranks of Black Ink Nests, so he was aware that this was supposed to be the Royal Lord’s Black Ink Nest, which was a High-Rank Nest.
On the other hand, Zha Gu’s was just a Low-Rank Black Ink Nest. Despite being the lowest rank Black Ink Nest, it could produce more than 1,000 Black Ink Clansmen at any given time as long as enough resources were provided to it.
The Royal Lord’s Black Ink Nest in front of them was several dozen times larger than Zha Gu’s Black Ink Nest. Sitting on the universe fragment, the Black Ink Nest looked like an insurmountable mountain.
Given enough resources, such a Black Ink Nest would undoubtedly be able to produce several tens of thousands of Black Ink Clansmen at once.
Black Ink Nests were the foundation of the Black Ink Clan, and this one was also the centre of the entire Royal City.
With the Black Ink Nest as the centre, the vast area surrounding it made up the Royal City.
Before the large ship even got closer to the universe fragment where the Royal City was located, Yang Kai detected a powerful aura that examined them. The person was obviously a Territory Lord who was responsible for keeping the Royal City safe.
Hei Yuan was just standing on the bow as he revealed a bit of his aura.
Soon, the other aura retracted as the person verified Hei Yuan’s identity.
Without the need for any instructions, the large ship flew in a particular direction towards the Royal City. They soon arrived at a square where more than 100 ships of different sizes were anchored. All of them were much larger than the ships owned by the Humans.
Nevertheless, these large ships were apparently made by Human Artifact Refiners. Yang Kai was a fairly skilled Artifact Refiner now, so he could easily figure this out. These large ships were specifically made for the Black Ink Clan by the Human Artifact Refiners.
“All of you, stay here. I’ll see the Royal Lord now,” Hei Yuan said to his subordinates and left the ship.
While standing on the deck, Yang Kai fell into a dazed state.
He initially thought that Hei Yuan would bring him to see the Royal Lord, so he had been apprehensive all along; after all, he wasn’t sure if the Royal Lord had any special skills that would allow him to see through his deception. If that was the case, he would lose his life before achieving his goal.
However, Hei Yuan apparently didn’t have the intention of bringing him to see the Royal Lord. This allowed Yang Kai to feel relieved.
After giving it a thought, he realised that even though he could be considered a treasure as he was a Great Master Artifact Refiner, he still wasn’t important enough to see the Royal Lord directly. It was expected that Hei Yuan wouldn’t bring him along.
Since Yang Kai didn’t have to face the Royal Lord just yet, he set his mind at ease.
Hei Yuan headed towards the giant Black Ink Nest, and he was soon out of sight. Yang Kai looked around and realised that the Black Ink Clansmen who had tagged along all sported solemn expressions. While standing upright, they stared at the Black Ink Nest in a respectful manner.
Besides them, the Black Ink Clansmen staying on the other large ships were in a similar state.
It seemed that the Black Ink Clansmen especially revered the Royal Lord’s Black Ink Nest.
According to Zha Gu, the Black Ink Nest in the Royal City was the source of all Black Ink Nests in the Yin-Yang Theatre. All the Territory Lords’ Black Ink Nests were bred from this one, and the many Low-Rank Black Ink Nests were then bred from those Territory Lord Black Ink Nests.
Innumerable Black Ink Clansmen were born from the Black Ink Nests of different ranks. Basically, the Black Ink Nest in the Royal City was the source of their lives. That was why they revered this particular Black Ink Nest while they were here.
Yang Kai couldn’t help but fall into his thoughts, [Where is the source of the Royal Lord Black Ink Nests? It is not likely for them to have appeared out of thin air. I asked Zha Gu about it, but he was unable to answer my question.]
All Zha Gu knew was that a Royal Lord’s Black Ink Nest was the highest rank one; however, Yang Kai didn’t think that was true. Perhaps there were some secrets that even many of the Black Ink Clansmen were unaware of.
It wasn’t certain how long the meeting between Hei Yuan and the Royal Lord would last, and since Yang Kai was bored, he thought about taking a stroll around the Royal City. However, he wasn’t familiar with this place, so he was worried that he might invite some trouble; after all, his identity as a Human was conspicuous. Furthermore, he had used up all his Black Ink Coins. Even if he came across any good things, he wouldn’t have the money to buy them; therefore, he decided to give up on the idea.
He thus shuffled into the cabin and fished out his resources to continue cultivating.
This went on for a few days.
Finally, there came a moment when he felt Hei Yuan’s aura descending on the deck, so he hurriedly left the cabin.
Hei Yuan was indeed standing on the deck; however, though he was on his own when he left the ship, when he returned, he had another Black Ink Clansman with him.
The Black Ink Clansman was a Feudal Lord, but his aura was more ample than any Feudal Lord Yang Kai had seen before.
Yang Kai saluted Hei Yuan respectfully, “Master.”
“Him?” The unfamiliar Black Ink Clansman looked down at Yang Kai and examined him.
Hei Yuan replied, “Yes, it’s him.”
The Black Ink Clansman nodded, “I’ll take him from here, then. I hope he’s as skilful in Artifact Refining as you’ve described him to be, Sir Hei Yuan.”
Hei Yuan said, “Why would I lie to the Royal Lord?”
Then, he beckoned to Yang Kai, “Yang Kai!”
“Master,” Yang Kai stepped forward.
Like a Senior to him, Hei Yuan instructed, “You will follow him. Remember what I told you before? Don’t tarnish my reputation while you are here.”
Yang Kai cupped his fist, “Don’t worry, Master. I will do my utmost to serve you.”
A satisfied Hei Yuan nodded and turned to look at the Feudal Lord, “You can take him away now.”
The Black Ink Clansman then activated his Black Ink Strength and engulfed Yang Kai with it. After turning into a cloud of black fog, he shot into the sky. He didn’t even bid Hei Yuan farewell before he left.
Nevertheless, Hei Yuan didn’t mind it. Although he was a Territory Lord, the other person was a personal guard of the Royal Lord. There was no doubt that he was weaker than Hei Yuan now, but he would be on an equal footing in the future.
Everything was going well; initially, after he was defeated in the previous battle and lost the resource harvesting area to the Humans a few years ago, Hei Yuan was supposed to be punished. However, after he recommended Yang Kai to the Royal Lord, the latter didn’t even reprimand him, just like he had expected. The Royal Lord only gave him a warning and told the personal guard to come to this place with Hei Yuan and take Yang Kai away.
Since the matter had been settled, Hei Yuan decided to leave. He then told the person controlling the large ship to set off and return to his territory.
Meanwhile, Yang Kai was engulfed in thick Black Ink Strength and dragged along by the Black Ink Clansman at the speed of lightning.
As he was covered in the Black Ink Strength, it was hard for him to identify the exact direction they were travelling, though he had a general idea. As time passed, Yang Kai realised that they were actually moving further away from the universe fragment where the Royal City was located.
This astounded him.
They were trying to build a Warship, and this task couldn’t be carried out by only one person, so there must be a lot of Human Artifact Refiners that had been gathered together. Since this was an important matter, the Black Ink Clan must have set up a secure place to conduct research and experiments.
Yang Kai initially thought that such a place must be in the Royal City. That was the speculation of those from Yin-Yang Pass as well. That was why they decided to let him become Hei Yuan’s Black Ink Disciple so that he could move around the Royal City and gather information freely.
Now, it seemed that the place where the Warship was being developed wasn’t in the Royal City.
The revelation made Yang Kai feel elated.
Since the research centre wasn’t in the Royal City, it meant that he didn’t have to directly face the Royal Lord. This was good news to him; after all, the Royal Lord was too powerful.
While they were on the way to their destination, Yang Kai asked probingly, “Where are we going, Sir?”
The Black Ink Clansman apparently didn’t have the intention of answering his question and simply ordered impassively, “Shut up!”
Yang Kai directly kept his mouth shut.
It seemed that it was difficult to deal with this Feudal Lord, for even Hei Yuan had to be polite to him. It was apparent that his identity was special. If Yang Kai was oppressed by him, he wouldn’t have a way to get his revenge.
Just one hour later, the Feudal Lord suddenly stopped in his tracks and looked around, as though he was trying to find something.
Yang Kai scanned the surroundings and soon detected an anomaly somewhere in the Void.
Although that place didn’t look different from the area around it, there was a weak fluctuation of Space Principles. Yang Kai arched his brow; if he wasn’t mistaken, there was a portal over there.
He soon realised what was going on.
The place where the Warship was being developed wasn’t in the Royal City; instead, it was in a Sealed World that would take a person an hour to reach from the Royal City. This was indeed a good arrangement.
As expected, after looking around for a while, the Feudal Lord stared fixedly at the hidden portal. Following that, he fished out a token and infused his power into it before casting a light at that place.
A ripple spread across the void as the light penetrated a barrier and disappeared into another World.
Yang Kai felt his brow twitching. It was apparent to him that this was a Human’s creation. The people who set up a restriction around here and made this access token were definitely Human cultivators.
After the Feudal Lord was done with all that, he waited patiently.
A moment later, a ripple spread across the void as the portal to the Sealed World opened up. Supposedly, someone from the inside had opened it.
When the portal was large enough, the Feudal Lord grasped Yang Kai’s collar and dashed inside.
The view around Yang Kai changed and he realised that he was now inside a Sealed World.
Just like the Sealed Worlds that had been explored before, this one was full of greenery. It was beautiful and refreshing like a spring day.
The portal that led to the outside world was just behind him; however, he felt his skin tightening at that instant. This couldn’t be helped, as he realised that several dozen auras had locked onto him, one of them being particularly fierce.
Looking up, Yang Kai saw that there was a place that looked like a camp in front of him where several dozen Black Ink Clansmen were looking in their direction. The one standing at the front had two horns on his forehead and his burly figure made him look like some kind of two-legged Ox Demon.
Those several dozen auras apparently came from this group. Surprisingly, they were mostly Feudal Lords while the Black Ink Clansman who looked like an Ox Demon was a Territory Lord.
There were many powerful Black Ink Clansmen guarding the portal of this Sealed World, and their leader was a Territory Lord. It went to show how important the Black Ink Clan considered this place.
The Feudal Lord, who led Yang Kai to this place, gazed at the Territory Lord and cupped his fist, “Sir Mei Qiong.”
The Territory Lord named Mei Qiong nodded lightly. Just by taking a glance at Yang Kai, he figured out the latter’s identity, “Found a new Artifact Refiner?”
The Feudal Lord replied, “It was Sir Hei Yuan who found him.”
“Hei Yuan…” Mei Qiong snorted. Perhaps he had some grudges against Hei Yuan. Yang Kai could see a hint of disdain flashing through his face at the mention of Hei Yuan, “What’s his rank?”
The Feudal Lord replied, “According to Sir Hei Yuan, he’s a Great Master Artifact Refiner.”
“A Great Master? Hei Yuan is pretty lucky!” Mei Qiong was surprised; after all, since this plan had been started years ago, all the Black Ink Disciples who knew even a thing or two about Artifact Refining had been gathered here. It was hard to find a Great Master Artifact Refiner in the outside world.
Even in this place, there were only a small number of Great Masters.
“I’ll leave him to you, Sir Mei Qiong. I still have to go back and report the matter to the Royal Lord.”
Mei Qiong nodded, “Good. Just leave him here. You can go back now.”
The Feudal Lord went on to say, “The Royal Lord wants me to tell you and Sir Qing Lei to work harder and complete this task as soon as possible.”
In an instant, Mei Qiong appeared annoyed, “It’s not like Qing Lei and I can accelerate the process in any way. The Human Artifact Refiners are the ones developing it.”
The Feudal Lord asked impassively, “Do you want me to pass on your words to the Royal Lord, Sir?”
Mei Qiong felt his brow twitching. Feeling vexed, he uttered, “Qing Lei and I will work harder to supervise them. Tell the Royal Lord to rest assured.”
It was only then that the Feudal Lord bowed his head and flew towards the portal.
After the portal closed, Mei Qiong turned to look at Yang Kai and sneered, “You’re pretty bold. I hope your skills in Artifact Refining are just as great as your audacity.”
Yang Kai put on a fawning smile as he wouldn’t dare to say anything in front of this overbearing man.
Mei Qiong beckoned to a subordinate and ordered, “Bring him to see Qing Lei.”
“Yes,” Upon receiving the order, the Feudal Lord directly pushed his Black Ink Strength and engulfed Yang Kai with it before flying further into the Sealed World.
Just a moment later, they arrived at a huge valley where there was a Grand Hall in the middle of the mountain wall. There were a lot of Black Ink Clansmen moving around the Grand Hall. The Feudal Lord turned his head and ordered, “Come with me.”
He then shuffled into the Grand Hall; naturally, no one stopped him.
Yang Kai followed him closely.
Soon, they moved across the Grand Hall and arrived at an open-air platform on the other end. There was a well-built figure standing on the platform. Looking down from this position, one could watch over the entire valley.
The Feudal Lord, who led Yang Kai to this place, saluted the well-built figure, “Sir Qing Lei.”
Without turning his head, Qing Lei asked in a deep voice, “The portal of the Sealed World was opened just now?”
Although he was responsible for guarding this place, he was a Territory Lord after all. He certainly could detect that the portal was opened earlier.
The Feudal Lord replied respectfully, “An Artifact Refiner has been sent over from the Royal City.”
Qing Lei turned around and examined Yang Kai before nodding, “What’s his rank?”
“It’s said that he’s a Great Master Artifact Refiner.”
Qing Lei said impassively, “Not bad. Leave him to me.”
“Yes,” the Feudal Lord replied, then left the place respectfully.
Yang Kai stood there silently and waited for Qing Lei to speak to him; however, Qing Lei didn’t seem to have the intention of saying anything to Yang Kai as he remained unmoving.
Yang Kai had no idea what the other man was waiting for. Despite that, he had figured out some important information not long after he arrived in this Sealed World.
There was no doubt that Mu Guang Royal Lord treasured this Sealed World highly. Not only did it require a special token to open the portal, but there were also two Territory Lords guarding this place. One of them was Mei Qiong, who was responsible for guarding the portal, and the other was Qing Lei.
Yang Kai had no idea how many Feudal Lords there were in this place, but he was certain there were a lot of them.
The number of powerful Black Ink Clansmen here showed how cautious Mu Guang was. Although Yang Kai always knew this would be a difficult task, he still felt frustrated at this moment.
He could ignore the Feudal Lords, but it wasn’t easy to do anything without alerting the Territory Lords.
As Yang Kai followed Qing Lei’s gaze, he saw a huge Warship hovering in the middle of the mountain valley.
The size of this Warship was similar to the one he saw in Blue Sky Pass in the past. It was much larger than a typical Warship owned by a Human Squad, similar to the size of a Warship used by a Battalion. The appearance of the Warship was imposing.
Since Yang Kai was unable to get closer, he couldn’t ascertain the capabilities of this Warship; however, it had been 20 years since those from Yin-Yang Pass discovered the first prototype Black Ink Clan Warship, so the newer one must have been improved at least a little.
At this moment, there were a lot of Human Artifact Refiners that had gathered together in this mountain valley. Nevertheless, not every Artifact Refiner had the right to refine this kind of Warship. Most of the Artifact Refiners could be ignored. The most pressing issue for Yang Kai was to find out who was the Artifact Refiner that was in charge of developing the Warship. Only by doing so could he come up with a solution.
All of a sudden, a figure shot into the sky, which caught Yang Kai’s attention.
As he looked intently, he realised that the person was a Human, not a Black Ink Clansman.
The person was an elderly man who was in the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm; however, he appeared exhausted, as though he hadn’t taken a break from work for a long time.
The elderly man walked up to Qing Lei and saluted him, “What’s wrong, Sir Qing Lei?”
Qing Lei shot him a dispassionate glance, “Here’s a new Artifact Refiner. Help him settle in.”
It was then that the elderly man noticed Yang Kai, who was behind Qing Lei. Elated, and replied, “Understood!”
Upon finishing his words, he beckoned to Yang Kai, “Come with me.”
Yang Kai nodded and flew towards the mountain valley alongside the elderly man.
Before they landed, the elderly man turned to look at Yang Kai and asked, “What’s your name?”
Yang Kai cupped his fist, “Yang Kai.”
The elderly man nodded, “So it is Little Brother Yang. You’re already so strong at such a young age. You do have a promising future. By the way, I’m Wu Xing He.”
[Wu Xing He!]
Yang Kai turned serious the moment he heard this name.
Before he left Yin-Yang Pass, Tang Qiu had given him a list of a dozen people who had gone missing on the battlefield. Those from Yin-Yang Pass speculated that they had been corrupted by the Black Ink Clan and turned into Black Ink Disciples. These dozen people had studied Artifact Refining before and shown some talent for it. Of course, when they went missing, they could only be considered novices in Artifact Refining.
However, if they fell into the hands of the Black Ink Clan and started focusing on studying the Dao of Artifact Refining, they would have a chance to grow. Those from Yin-Yang Pass speculated that the person in charge of developing the Warship was one of those people.
Tang Qiu told Yang Kai to pay more attention to the information regarding the people on the list when the latter arrived in the Black Ink Clan’s domain.
Yang Kai had never expected that not long after he entered this Sealed World, he would meet one of the people on the list.
Could this person be the one who was in charge of developing the Warship? Yang Kai was uncertain about it. From the looks of it, even if Wu Xing He wasn’t the most important figure in this project, he wouldn’t be insignificant; otherwise, Qing Lei wouldn’t have told him to help Yang Kai settle in.
Suppressing the emotions in his heart, Yang Kai cupped his fist, “So, it is Senior Wu.”
Wu Xing He glanced at him and chuckled, “We’re both in the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm, so you don’t have to call me a Senior. Moreover, we’re in the Black Ink Clan now, so we don’t have to comply with the etiquette of the Humans.”
Yang Kai was already used to Human etiquette, and although he was a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, he could only be considered a rising Star compared to the other much older veteran Seventh-Order Masters.
Upon hearing Wu Xing He’s words though, Yang Kai stopped being overly polite and addressed the older man in a different way, saying, “Senior Brother Wu.”
Wu Xing He replied with a smile, “What’s your rank in Artifact Refining?”
Yang Kai replied honestly, “Great Master.”
“What field are you particularly well-versed in?”
“Personally, I’m good at refining offensive and defensive artifacts. I can build flight-type artifacts as well, but that will take a longer time.”
Upon hearing that, Wu Xing He nodded, “In that case, you shall work with me. I happen to need more people on my side.”
“I shall trouble you from now on then, Senior Brother Wu.”
“No worries.”
By the time they finished speaking, they arrived at the bottom of the mountain valley. Yang Kai looked down and saw many Artifact Refiners working on the Warship. There were also some Feudal Lords walking around that seemed to be supervising them.
Wu Xing He directly led Yang Kai to the edge of the mountain valley where there were a lot of houses. Wu Xing He pointed at those houses and said, “This is where we can get some rest and cultivate. The three houses on the left are empty, so you can choose one of them. Although Black Ink Disciples are considered lowly in the Black Ink Clan, Artifact Refiners like us are treated fairly well. If you need resources to cultivate, you can go over there and get some.”
Then, he pointed at the hall on the side, “Not only are there materials of different Orders, but there are also a lot of Spirit Pills. They’re for us to use.”
Yang Kai was astounded, “It seems that everything is provided for us.”
Wu Xing He replied with a smile, “They’ve prepared everything for us so that we can work harder. It requires a lot of energy to refine artifacts. If we can restore ourselves quickly, we can put more effort into making artifacts. The Black Ink Clan is aware of that.”
Yang Kai nodded to show that he understood what the other man was saying.
“The Black Ink Clan has a lot of resources that are hard to come by on the Humans’ side. In this place, you can get a set of Seventh-Order materials from the Black Ink Clan to cultivate with ease. Of course, you can only get one set at a time, and you can only get another set after refining the ones you have.”
“Since you’re a newcomer, you can get used to the environment first. Look for me tomorrow,” Wu Xing He said, then turned around to leave.
Yang Kai then watched him leave.
After the older man was gone, he shuffled towards the three houses on the left. Wu Xing He said that these three houses were vacant, so Yang Kai could choose one of them at random. He didn’t have any specific demands, so he just chose the one furthest away from him. Upon pushing the door open, he realised that the facilities were quite simple. There was only a table, chair, and bed.
There was also a token on the table. After picking it up, he realised that this was the token that could control the restriction around this house.
He spent some time refining the token, then activated the barrier. This restriction couldn’t be considered powerful as it could only prevent others from eavesdropping or disturbing the one getting some rest in the house. It should be the same for the other houses. Nonetheless, this was enough for the Artifact Refiners here.
Just like Wu Xing He had said, it required a lot of energy to refine artifacts. When they were exhausted, they needed such a place to restore their energy with peace of mind.
After Yang Kai was done with all that, he took a stroll around the mountain valley; then, he found the hall where he could get some resources and entered.
The Black Ink Clansman responsible for managing the resources was a Feudal Lord. Faced with Yang Kai’s request, he didn’t even question him. He directly fished out a set of Seventh-Order materials and passed them to him.
This made Yang Kai feel rueful. It had to be noted that in the Great Passes, it was rare for anyone to refine Seventh-Order materials to cultivate, for there was an acute shortage of resources on the Black Ink Battlefield. Most of the time, even the Eighth-Order Division Commanders couldn’t refine Seventh-Order materials to cultivate.
Of course, the shortage had been alleviated since the introduction of the Void Yin-Yang Mirrors.
Yang Kai had no idea about the circumstances in other Great Passes, but in Blue Sky Pass at least, the Human cultivators could use the best possible resources to cultivate now, provided that they had enough Military Merits.
The structures around the mountain valley were so simple that one could see everything clearly at a glance. Apart from the Warship in the middle of the mountain valley, Yang Kai didn’t find anything that was worth his attention.
After getting what he requested, he returned to his house and cultivated in silence.
He didn’t forget to keep track of the time of course, and the next day, he headed to the Warship following Wu Xing He’s order.
From afar, he could see many people working on the Warship. Fluctuations of energy were seen coming from every corner.
At least 100 people were trying to build this Warship, all of them Artifact Refiners.
Yang Kai had seen Artifact Refiners repairing Warships in Blue Sky Pass, and it was equally bustling at those times; therefore, he wasn’t surprised one bit.
However, that was in the Inner Sanctum, after all. It must have been difficult for the Black Ink Clan to have found so many Artifact Refiners.
Furthermore, there must be more Artifact Refiners who were currently not working on the Warship and were resting.
Upon Yang Kai’s arrival, some Artifact Refiners shot him curious glances, but they soon stopped paying attention to him. He soon found Wu Xing He, who was busy working on the Warship somewhere.
Wu Xing He was apparently refining an offensive artifact with full attention. A flame was seen flickering from his hands. The flame was scorching hot, and Yang Kai couldn’t immediately identify was it was.
All the artifacts on the Warship had to be custom-made and were quite different from the artifacts used by cultivators; after all, the Warship was huge, so the artifacts that had to be installed on the vessel wouldn’t be small. That way, when the artifact, as an Array Node of an offensive array, was activated, it would be powerful and lethal to the enemies on the battlefield.
Yang Kai appeared beside Wu Xing He and greeted him.
Wu Xing He was swamped with work as his forehead was beaded with sweat, so he just nodded and glanced to the side, “You came at the right time. Help me refine these materials. If there’s anything you don’t understand, you can ask Junior Brother Sun Jiu over there.”
Yang Kai turned his head and saw a lot of materials that had been piled up beside Wu Xing He. All of them were precious as they were the materials needed for refining the artifact.
It wasn’t difficult for Yang Kai to refine these materials; therefore, he could be considered Wu Xing He’s assistant now.
He knew that he still wasn’t skilful enough to be directly involved in developing the Warship despite being a Great Master, so it was appropriate that he became Wu Xing He’s assistant. This kind of task was not simple, but it wasn’t critical either. It suited his current rank in the Dao of Artifact Refining.
In fact, he wasn’t the only assistant of Wu Xing He. Before his arrival, there was already a young man who was doing this task. He should be the person named Sun Jiu that Wu Xing He had mentioned. Certainly, Yang Kai already noticed him.
The fluctuations of energy coming from Sun Jiu suggested that he was in the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm. It wasn’t certain which Cave Heaven or Paradise he was from.
Yang Kai cupped his fist at him, “Junior Brother Sun.”
Sun Jiu flashed a smile at him, “You must be Senior Brother Yang.” Apparently, he had heard about Yang Kai from Wu Xing He.
Yang Kai nodded.
While Sun Jiu never stopped working, he asked, “Have you ever taken part in developing a Warship before?”
Yang Kai shook his head, “No. In fact, Artifact Refining was just a hobby of mine and I rarely made any artifacts when I was on the Humans’ side.”
Upon hearing that, Sun Jiu nodded, “I see. Why don’t you refine this Seventh-Order Metal Element material first? This task is suitable for you given your cultivation. We’ll need it at a later time.”
Certainly, Yang Kai wouldn’t disagree. He then sat down with his legs crossed and picked up the Seventh-Order Metal Element material. Following that, he fished out his hammer and circulated his power before striking the material with his own technique.
Sun Jiu arched his brow with surprise, “Thousand Tempering Art! Are you from Divine Cauldron Cave Heaven?”
Yang Kai shook his head, “I’m from Yin-Yang Cave Heaven. I learned this Artifact Refining technique from a Senior Brother from Divine Cauldron Cave Heaven.”
Sun Jiu commented, “You’ve fully mastered this technique. That’s why I thought that you’re from Divine Cauldron Cave Heaven.”
“Many thanks for your compliment, but compared to you, I’m still not skilful enough,” Yang Kai replied humbly.
Sun Jiu shook his head with a smile, “I have simply practised a lot. I started focusing on refining artifacts since I came to the Black Ink Clan. It’s been several hundred years since then.”
Yang Kai was surprised. Sun Jiu’s words suggested that he started focusing on refining artifacts after he became a Black Ink Disciple, probably on the Black Ink Clan’s orders.
Therefore, it seemed that the Black Ink Clan had already started preparing to build a Warship several hundred years ago, or perhaps even longer. Otherwise, these Black Ink Disciples couldn’t have achieved so much.
Although Sun Jiu was one Order below Yang Kai, he was also a Great Master Artifact Refiner; furthermore, he was more skilful than him when it came to his mastery of Artifact Refining. This was proven from his way of refining these materials.
According to Yang Kai’s observation, Wu Xing He, who was focused on refining the offensive artifact now, was a Grandmaster Artifact Refiner.
An Artifact Refiner like Wu Xing He was already able to refine High-Rank artifacts. In fact, the one he was crafting was a kind of High-Rank artifact, though it wasn’t certain if he could successfully complete it; after all, it was more difficult to refine an artifact specifically for a Warship than an average High-Rank artifact. It took a talented and experienced Artifact Refiner to achieve this.
Therefore, even a Grandmaster Artifact Refiner might fail in his attempt to craft such an artifact.
Over the following days, Yang Kai continued to assist Wu Xing He, and nothing major happened. Sun Jiu, who worked with him, was a talkative person, so Yang Kai managed to gather a lot of useful information through his conversations with him.
According to Sun Jiu, there were about 300 Artifact Refiners that had gathered together in this mountain valley, with the three of them being Grandmasters.
There were two more Grandmasters apart from Wu Xing He, Wang Si Bo and Guan Ning. Below them, there were 30 Great Master Artifact Refiners. Although the rest of the Artifact Refiners were not talented in Artifact Refining, they were good enough to handle some miscellaneous tasks.
It was this large team that was building a Warship for the Black Ink Clan.
Just like Wu Xing He, Wang Si Bo and Guan Ning were on the list which was given to Yang Kai by Tang Qiu. They were the targets he had to investigate.
During this period of time, Yang Kai came to know more about the capabilities of this Warship.
Compared to the one he saw in Blue Sky Pass, the one before his eyes was indeed a significantly better version. It seemed that the Artifact Refiners here were working hard to improve their skills.
This was terrible news for the Humans.
Fortunately, even though the capabilities of this Warship had been enhanced, it still couldn’t meet the Black Ink Clan’s needs on the battlefield. In other words, this Warship was not good enough, and certainly not comparable to the Warships used by the Humans. Even if it was deployed on the battlefield, its usefulness would be quite limited.
The Warship had been greatly improved in just 20 years though, so if their progress went unhindered, a lot of Warships owned by the Black Ink Clan would appear on the battlefield in the near future. By then, the Humans would be doomed.
Now, Yang Kai had successfully snuck into this place, so he had to come up with a solution to settle the issue here.
In fact, it wasn’t hard to deal with this issue. He could simply kill all three Grandmaster Artifact Refiners like Wu Xing He.
Without these Grandmasters, the development of the Warship would come to a halt. Although the other Artifact Refiners still had room for growth, they couldn’t possibly become Grandmasters. Over the years, the Black Ink Clan had filtered a lot of Black Ink Disciples and only found 300 Artifact Refiners. Most of the Artifact Refiners were not gifted in this Dao, so even if they were allowed to grow, they wouldn’t become Grandmasters.
Killing Wu Xing He and the others could be said to be the simplest way to destroy their plan once and for all. By then, no one could be in charge of developing the Warship, and the threat facing the Humans would be resolved.
However, if Yang Kai did so, his identity would instantly be exposed. There were also two Territory Lords who were monitoring this place, so once he was exposed, he didn’t have the confidence to escape.
Furthermore, Grandmaster Artifact Refiners like Wu Xing He were extremely valuable assets to the Humans too. They only worked for the Black Ink Clan because they had been corrupted by Black Ink Strength. It would be much better to purify them and bring them back rather than kill them.
For the time being, Yang Kai couldn’t think of a perfect solution, nor did he have any idea how he could flee from this place once his identity was exposed; therefore, he could only wait patiently and play it by ear.
Fortunately, the Warship in this place was still not usable, so he had time to come up with a plan.
In the blink of an eye, three years had passed since Yang Kai arrived at this Sealed World.
During this period of time, the Warship was continuously improved. On the other hand, Yang Kai’s skills in Artifact Refining also grew day by day. When he was a newcomer back then, his skills in Artifact Refining were inferior to those of Sun Jiu; however, three years later, he was now a much better Artifact Refiner than the latter.
Although he still wasn’t a Grandmaster, he had grown to be a more accomplished Artifact Refiner than before.
Even though it had something to do with his aptitude and hard work, his conversations with the other Artifact Refiners had helped him grow rapidly as well.
Wu Xing He’s attentive guidance was especially important in this regard.
It should be noted that before Yang Kai left Blue Sky Pass, he had spent 10 years studying Artifact Refining, and his teacher was an Artifact Refining Grandmaster like Chai Hao. During that period of time, Chai Hao selflessly taught Yang Kai all of the Divine Cauldron Cave Heaven’s Secret Techniques in Artifact Refining.
Yang Kai’s knowledge of Artifact Refining was just as great as that of any Grandmaster, what he lacked were practice and experience.
After he arrived at the Black Ink Clan’s domain, he spent 8 years refining artifacts for Feudal Lords. As a result, his skills in Artifact Refining improved tremendously.
Now, he was sent to this Sealed World as he spent his days with a Grandmaster like Wu Xing He and a Great Master like Sun Jiu. It was expected that he would reach greater heights in the Dao of Artifact Refining.
Over the years, Wu Xing He realised Yang Kai’s talent in Artifact Refining and witnessed his growth, so he spent even more time giving him guidance. Even Wang Si Bo and Guan Ning now saw Yang Kai in a different light after observing his performance. Whenever Yang Kai had any questions regarding Artifact Refining, these two Grandmasters would teach him everything they knew.
As Yang Kai intentionally got closer to them, he formed a strong bond with these three Grandmasters over the past three years.
After three years of observation and planning, Yang Kai already had a vague plan in mind. If this plan could be carried out successfully, not only would he be able to crush the Black Ink Clan’s dream of building Warships, he could also escape unscathed.
However, it was difficult to execute this plan, for there were a lot of factors that were beyond his control. A slight problem could completely derail his plan; therefore, even though he already had a plan, he was still waiting for a suitable opportunity.
One day, Yang Kai, who was swamped with work, suddenly looked up and saw a figure flashing across the sky above the mountain valley. The figure was heading towards the Sealed World’s portal.
That figure was none other than Qing Lei, who was responsible for guarding this place.
There were a total of two Territory Lords and about 100 Feudal Lords here, with a large number of High-Rank Black Ink Clansmen accompanying them. One of the Territory Lords, Mei Qiong, was responsible for guarding the portal while Qing Lei was tasked with monitoring the Artifact Refiners who were developing the Warship in the mountain valley.
Basically, Mei Qiong would never leave the portal. On the other hand, even though Qing Lei stayed in the palace above the mountain valley most of the time, he would leave this Sealed World every six months.
Yang Kai had asked Wu Xing He about it, and according to the latter, Mu Guang regarded the development of the Warship extremely highly, so the Royal Lord wanted Qing Lei to head to the Royal City to make a progress report to her every six months.
Every time Qing Lei returned from the Royal City, he would take Wu Xing He and the other Grandmasters to task and urge them to finish perfecting the Warship as quickly as possible. He had probably been reprimanded by the Royal Lord, which led to him venting his anger on these Human Artifact Refiners.
Nevertheless, perfecting a Warship was highly dependent on their skills in Artifact Refining. Although Wu Xing He and the others were Artifact Refining Grandmasters, they were unable to create something as great as the Warships owned by the Humans; therefore, the same scene would repeat itself every six months.
The reason Qing Lei suddenly left his Grand Hall must be that he had to head to the Royal City to report on the progress as usual.
As expected, a moment later, Yang Kai felt a faint fluctuation of Space Principles coming from the portal which soon disappeared.
It must be the movement from opening and closing the portal. The duration was short, so the average Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters might not be able to detect it; however, to a Master in the Dao of Space like Yang Kai, he could easily sense such a fluctuation.
Yang Kai waited for a bit to make sure that Qing Lei was gone before he put down what was in his hands and said to Sun Jiu, “Junior Brother Sun, I’m exhausted. I’m going to rest for a bit.”
Looking up, Sun Jiu saw that Yang Kai’s face was pale, and his aura was weak; therefore, he nodded and replied, “Sure thing, Senior Brother Yang. Just leave it to me.”
Artifact Refiners were treated well in this place; nevertheless, it required a lot of energy to refine artifacts, so the Artifact Refiners would frequently use up their energy and need to rest. Yang Kai’s request wasn’t unusual, so Sun Jiu wasn’t surprised one bit.
“Many thanks, Junior Brother,” Yang Kai said, then leaped off the Warship and flew towards the place where the Artifact Refiners resided.
Instead of returning to his place though, he headed straight to a certain three-storey building.
This was where Wu Xing He resided. As one of the three Artifact Refining Grandmasters, the treatment he received was naturally better than the other Artifact Refiners.
Yang Kai visited this place frequently because he would ask Wu Xing He questions about Artifact Refining from time to time. Half a day ago, Wu Xing He had returned to his home to get some rest as he was exhausted. Now, he should be inside this building.
Despite seeing all this from afar, the Black Ink Clansmen, who were patrolling around the area, didn’t come over and question Yang Kai; instead, they just walked on by.
Yang Kai knocked on the restriction and called out, “Senior Brother Wu!”
Moments later, the restriction around the building was deactivated and Yang Kai pushed the door open and entered.
When he reached the second floor, he saw that Wu Xing He was seated with his legs crossed on his bed. There was a set of Seventh-Order materials around him and the energy fluctuations around him suggested that he was refining those resources.
“Senior Brother Wu!” Yang Kai cupped his fist at him.
Despite being disturbed while getting some rest, Wu Xing He was not annoyed; instead, he looked curiously at Yang Kai and asked, “What’s wrong, Junior Brother Yang?”
Yang Kai replied, “I faced a problem when I was refining a certain material earlier. I wanted to ask you about it.”
Wu Xing He asked, “What kind of problem did you face?”
“The thing is, when I was refining an Eighth-Order Fire Stone, I used the Landslide Technique that you taught me; however, I realised that it slightly damaged the integrity of the Fire Stone. Why is that?”
As he spoke, he shuffled towards Wu Xing He. Seeing that the older man was deep in thought, Yang Kai swiftly manipulated the local Space Principles.
In an instant, space was frozen solid.
Wu Xing He was pondering on Yang Kai’s question when the turn of events took place, so he hadn’t been able to react at all. When he looked up, he saw that Yang Kai had clapped his hands together as a dazzling light came right at him.
A dumbstruck Wu Xing He had never expected that Yang Kai would launch a sneak attack on him and instinctually wanted to resist.
However, he had been resting here because he was exhausted from artifact refining, so he didn’t have much energy to begin with. Furthermore, since he became a Black Ink Disciple, he had been focusing on improving his Artifact Refining skills following the Black Ink Clan’s orders and had not fought with anyone for the past 1,000 years. Therefore, despite being a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, he was unable to fully utilise his power.
On the other hand, Yang Kai was an experienced fighter whose strength significantly surpassed the other cultivators in the same Order; hence, it was expected that Wu Xing He was unable to counterattack or even resist.
Before Wu Xing He could even condense his World Force, his forehead was slapped by Yang Kai. A horrifying power penetrated his Small Universe and caused him to fall into a dazed state. Following that, the dazzling and pure light completely engulfed him.
A strange sound was then heard. While Wu Xing He was engulfed in the white light, something like a dark fog began leaking from his body and was purified into nothingness.
He appeared to be in pain, but his expression soon became tranquil.
A moment later, Yang Kai retracted his hands and vigilantly paid attention to the surroundings.
After letting Yang Kai in earlier, Wu Xing He reactivated the restriction to prevent anyone from disturbing them; however, Yang Kai was still worried that his actions would attract the Black Ink Clan’s attention.
That was the reason he had to wait for Qing Lei to leave before making a move. Qing Lei was a Territory Lord after all, so if he noticed the anomaly, Yang Kai wouldn’t be a match for him.
Fortunately, Yang Kai acted swiftly and decisively. Only a few breaths of time had passed since he activated Purifying Light; furthermore, he deliberately sealed the surrounding space and made sure that Wu Xing He was unable to resist. Hence, the restriction around the building was not triggered.
[Everything is going well!] Upon making sure that the Black Ink Clan were not alerted, Yang Kai let out a breath.
“Forgive my disrespect, Senior Brother Wu!” Yang Kai apologised to him and sat down cross-legged in front of him.
Presently, Wu Xing He’s face was pale; after all, Yang Kai’s palms did not only contain the Purifying Light, but also his own power, which penetrated Wu Xing He’s Small Universe and caused it to shake. That was how he suppressed Wu Xing He and made sure the latter couldn’t resist.
When Wu Xing He heard the other man’s voice, his vision refocused. While staring fixedly at his face, he said doubtfully, “You…”
With a solemn expression, Yang Kai said, “Senior Brother Wu, what I’m about to tell you might sound inconceivable, but you have to believe that what I’m going to say is true. We don’t have much time left, so I’ll be blunt; first of all, you should know that I was never corrupted by Black Ink Strength, nor am I a Black Ink Disciple. I’m simply pretending to be one.”
“I knew it!” Although Wu Xing He appeared shocked, he was also relieved.
The Black Ink Strength in his Small Universe had been rapidly purified, so the moment he regained his senses as a Human, he suspected that Yang Kai had never been corrupted by Black Ink Strength.
After all, Yang Kai was able to dispel the Black Ink Strength in his body, so there was no way he would be corrupted.
Now, it indeed seemed to be the case. Yang Kai had been pretending to be a Black Ink Disciple, and he had managed to fool the Black Ink Clan.
“What kind of technique was that?” Wu Xing He asked curiously.
“It’s called Purifying Light,” Yang Kai explained, “It could be said to be the nemesis of Black Ink Strength. It’s something that the Humans mastered a few dozen years ago.”
Upon hearing his explanation, Wu Xing He muttered, “It’s no wonder the Black Ink Clan have been talking about there being no new Black Ink Disciples recently. So, that’s the reason.” He paused for a moment and asked, “Can the Purifying Light prevent me from being corrupted again?”
Yang Kai shook his head, “No. If you come into contact with Black Ink Strength again, you’ll still be corrupted. Fortunately, there’s no Black Ink Nest in this Sealed World, nor is it filled with Black Ink Strength, so as long as you’re careful enough, you won’t be corrupted by Black Ink Strength.”