The Universe Furnace produced many Ordinary Grade Open Heaven Pills, but only nine Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pills were created.
Yang Kai had left a mark on all nine Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pills in advance, and by using his Great Sun and Moon Marks, he could sense where these pills were once they were within a certain distance from him.
Thus, he figured that as long as he was not completely down on his luck, he should be able to make this a fruitful trip, though he could not be certain how many Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pills he would ultimately get.
Nevertheless, he did not expect it to be this easy for him to get the first Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pill. All he had done was tail a Territory Lord in secret, and not only did he get one of the pills, but he even reunited with his Monster Self.
All he needed now was to reunite with his Human Self as well. Once all three of them were together, they would even have a fighting chance against a Pseudo-Royal Lord.
Inside the Universe Furnace, the only ones who posed a threat to Yang Kai were the Pseudo-Royal Lords and the Chaos Spirit Kings. The latter was more powerful than the former as their strength was equivalent to that of a true Royal Lord or Ninth-Order Masters.
However, the Humans did not know for certain whether Chaos Spirit Kings existed as the information they had came from Blood Crow, and it was only a guess of his.
Either way, Yang Kai now had two goals to accomplish inside the Universe Furnace. The first was to carry on searching for Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pills, and the second was to find his Human Self.
He next quietened down and studied the item in his hand.
The Spirit Pill had an extraordinary appearance. The multi-coloured light glowed freely but the Dao Currents were subdued. [It’s a valuable treasure, alright. It deserves its reputation as the most precious opportunity.]
Even though Yang Kai had witnessed the birth of the Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pills, he could not move at the time and could not use his powers freely either, so he did not know much about these pills. They had scattered into the distance the moment they were created, and Yang Kai’s hopes of getting an early advantage had been dashed.
Thunder Shadow was also studying it carefully out of curiosity. Yang Kai’s thoughtful expression was reflected in Thunder Shadow’s amber eyes, and the latter reminded worriedly, “This isn’t something to be eaten. It needs to be absorbed into the Small Universe and refined.”
He was afraid that Yang Kai did not know how it worked, and it would be hugely ironic if Yang Kai ended up swallowing the Spirit Pill just like that.
According to information provided by Blood Crow, the Open Heaven Pills created inside the Universe Furnace differed from the ones Humans made. The latter was created to mimic the former as the Humans had studied the medicinal efficacies and found a way to create Open Heaven Pills after countless years of trials and experimentations. However, at the end of the day, the Open Heaven Pills created by the Human Race were still completely different from the ones created by the Universe Furnace.
The Open Heaven Pills made by the Humans were consumed and refined. It would then provide a boost to the heritage of an Open Heaven Realm Master’s Small Universe. That was not the case for the ones from the Universe Furnace.
Those needed to be absorbed into the Small Universe and the cultivators would need to rely on the strength of their Small Universe to refine them.
Yang Kai was now at the peak of his Martial Dao and his Small Universe was wrapped inside an invisible layer of shackles that made it impossible to grow any bigger.
However, with the help of the Spirit Pill in his hand right now, those shackles would disappear and his Small Universe could continue expanding again.
As one’s Small Universe grew larger, one’s heritage would also increase. This was the right way to use the Innate Open Heaven Pills from the Universe Furnace, and this was why the pill could help an Open Heaven Realm Master break through their natural limits.
Yang Kai had already read about these things from the jade slip Liao Zheng had given him earlier, so he knew better than to make a reckless attempt.
“Then again, does it work on you?” Thunder Shadow asked.
Yang Kai sighed, “I don’t think so.”
Although he had not refined the Open Heaven Pill, he had a feeling that it would not do him any good. Even if he did absorb it into his Small Universe, it would not be able to help him reach the Ninth Order.
Despite holding this Open Heaven Pill in his hand, the barrier around his Small Universe did not react at all. If the Spirit Pill did work on him, then this invisible layer would show some kind of reaction in response to the Spirit Pill’s aura.
Perhaps this had something to do with the disadvantages of the Open Heaven Realm Method and the Three Selves Source Reconstitution Art that Wu Kuang gave him.
The Open Heaven Realm Method was flawed, but the Martial Ancestors were not to blame for this. They had relied on the World Tree to gain enlightenment about the Open Heaven Realm Method before teaching it to the rest of the Human Race, which allowed the Humans to have a fighting chance against the Monster Race and the Black Ink Clan all those years ago. The Humans of today would not exist in the same way if it had not been for Cang and the other Martial Ancestors.
Nevertheless, the Martial Ancestors failed to achieve full enlightenment of the Martial Dao as there was one part that was hidden inside the Universe Furnace from then, making it impossible to comprehend outside.
A Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pill was able to make up for the imperfections of the Open Heaven Realm Method and complete one’s Martial Dao, which allowed a cultivator to break through their limits.
However, the Three Selves Source Reconstitution Art that Wu Kuang taught Yang Kai was a result of Shi’s many years of hard work and effort in his attempts to comprehend the limitations of the Open Heaven Realm Method. Out of the ten Martial Ancestors, Shi’s ability to formulate Secret Arts and Techniques was the best. If it had not been for that, the sinister, heaven-defying ability of Heaven Devouring Battle Law would not exist.
He was the one who came up with the Three Selves Source Reconstitution Art to deal with the imperfections of the Open Heaven Realm Method; thus, once Yang Kai chose this path of cultivation, his Martial Dao had been set and it differed from those that cultivated strictly using the Open Heaven Realm Method.
Thus, the Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pill, which was able to complete the Martial Dao of the Open Heaven Realm Method, was meaningless to him.
Once Yang Kai realised this, he did not know whether to laugh or cry. He wondered if this meant that Wu Kuang had screwed him over.
If Yang Kai had not cultivated the Three Selves Source Reconstitution Art and created his Human Self and Monster Self, then he would have been able to become a Ninth-Order Master by simply looking for a safe place to absorb and refine this Spirit Pill he had with him now. Once that happened, his heritage would be enough for him to march through the Universe Furnace World without a care in the world. Neither Pseudo-Royal Lords nor Chaos Spirit Kings would pose any threat to him.
Yet now, despite having such a treasure with him, he could not do anything with it.
That being said, Yang Kai knew he had chosen this path himself. At the time, this path was fraught with risks as no one had ever walked it before, but it still represented hope, so he had unhesitantly stepped onto it.
No one knew when the Universe Furnace would surface again and the Human Race greatly needed Ninth-Order Masters to secure their future. Yang Kai was stuck at the peak of the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm and could not break through his limits. Since there was a possible solution, he had to try it.
Wu Kuang had meant well.
No one could be blamed for this situation. It was simply one of life’s cruel jokes. Who would have thought that the Universe Furnace would show up at such a crucial point in time and that Yang Kai would obtain a Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pill so easily?
Yang Kai sighed and took out an exquisite wooden box. He stored the Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pill inside and placed several restrictions to keep it sealed up before carefully putting the box away.
After taking a look around and seeing the swarm of jellyfish-like Chaos Entities who seemed to be floating along unconsciously, Yang Kai used Space Principles to gather them.
Thunder Shadow quietly took this all in as it wondered who the unlucky person would be.
He had also gotten a taste of these jellyfish-like Chaos Entities’ strange attack, and although it was not life-threatening, anyone who touched them would suffer a shock to their Soul.
Most importantly, it was impossible to detect them when they took on an invisible state. This made them an excellent weapon to use in stealth attacks or ambushes.
Yang Kai had already been tempted to take the grey fog that contained a sea of stars inside it when he ran into it earlier, but he could not accomplish that. Now that he ran into these jellyfish-like Chaos Entities, he was not going to hesitate.
While collecting them, he began chatting with Thunder Shadow.
Although Thunder Shadow was Yang Kai’s Monster Self, due to the uniqueness of the Three Selves Source Reconstitution Art, Thunder Shadow was also an independent living being. After all, he had been born and had grown up just like any ordinary living being. He possessed all the same qualities as an independent existence had.
However, as Thunder Shadow’s strength grew, the seal that Yang Kai had placed on the various pieces of information inside Thunder Shadow’s Soul slowly lifted, so he knew who he was and what his mission in life was.
This was the same with Fang Tian Ci who had long since become an Eighth-Order Master, which meant that he knew everything he had to know.
Right now, Fang Tian Ci was most likely searching for the whereabouts of Yang Kai and Thunder Shadow.
In all honesty, Yang Kai did find it a little strange to be chatting with his Monster Self, but if he treated Thunder Shadow as an independent entity, then it no longer seemed odd.
After becoming a Great Emperor, Thunder Shadow spent a long time cultivating inside the Myriad Monsters World. That was because it was the only place that allowed it to use his Great Emperor status to rapidly grow stronger.
This continued until nearly 1,000 years ago when his strength hit a ceiling. That was when he came out and joined the battlefield to hunt down enemies. Thunder Shadow spoke mostly of Qin Xue as he undoubtedly cared a lot about the Seventh-Order Master who took care of him when he first started out. He was constantly worried that something bad might happen to her during the imminent battle ahead of them.
All of a sudden, Thunder Shadow asked, “Will the Three Selves Source Reconstitution Art really allow you to become a Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master?”
Yang Kai continued gathering the jellyfish-like Chaos Entities as he said, “No one has ever tried before, so there’s no way of knowing whether it will work. However, since it’s something that Shi derived back then, it should work.”
“Wu Kuang’s no saint…” Thunder Shadow scoffed.
Yang Kai chuckled, “My trust isn’t in Wu Kuang or Shi, but in myself! Even though the three Selves have not reunited yet, I can sense that once that happens, it will indeed help me break through my limits.”
“When the time comes, your Human Self and I will disappear for good.”
“You are me. I am you. Combining as one doesn’t mean you will disappear.”
“You’re wrong. You’re you, your Human Self is you, and I am you, but you are not us. There’s a difference.”
Yang Kai frowned.
Thunder Shadow licked his paw, “What’s the matter? Is this topic too heavy for you? Relax. The Human Self and I both understand our purpose. When the time comes, neither one of us will hesitate.”
“That’s not it…” Yang Kai sighed and closed the portal to his Small Universe, “These jellyfish-like Chaos Entities are polluting my Small Universe. I can’t keep too many of them.”
He had been too simplistic in his thinking. After entering his Small Universe, the jellyfish-like Chaos Entities kept giving off that strange energy to attack his Soul.
Yang Kai had the Soul Warming Lotus for protection so he was not afraid of that; however, these Chaos Entities were made up of chaotic Shattered Dao Essence, and to Yang Kai, that was like the harshest of impurities that could contaminate his Small Universe. If he took in too many of these Chaos Entities, it would affect his Small Universe’s stability.
He had been thinking about taking in all of the jellyfish-like Chaos Entities here, but from the looks of it now, he had to reluctantly abandon that idea. Yang Kai thus only kept the small number that he was still able to suppress as it would be hard for him to carry on doing so if he took in any more of them.
Yang Kai made his way through the void with a tiny, feline Monster Race Master sitting on his shoulder. It was his Monster Self, Thunder Shadow.
Alas, Yang Kai found it lamentable that he could not take too many of the jellyfish-like Chaos Entities with him and left the place with Thunder Shadow in tow. Initially, he wanted Thunder Shadow to give him a ride as he wanted to experience what it was like to have a mount, but Thunder Shadow refused. Instead, he shrunk down and took a seat on Yang Kai’s shoulder.
Yang Kai could not do anything about it. Since Thunder Shadow did not want to do it, Yang Kai was not going to force him.
At this moment, Yang Kai looked somewhat hesitant as he held a miniature Black Ink Nest in his hand.
This was one of his spoils after killing all those Territory Lords. After inspecting it up close, he confirmed that it was a Low-Rank Black Ink Nest; however, since it could be used to communicate inside the Universe Furnace, it meant that there had to be a Mid-Rank Black Ink Nest somewhere inside this space to use as a hub for the Black Ink Clan’s communications.
Otherwise, the Black Ink Clan would not have been able to use the Black Ink Nest Space to communicate.
Now that Yang Kai had this small Black Ink Nest with him, he could use it to spy on the Black Ink Clan and glean some useful information.
The only thing he had to worry about was if the Black Ink Clan realised something and sealed the Black Ink Nest Space with him inside.
If that happened, his Soul would also be trapped and he would not be able to escape. He had experienced this once before, but fortunately for him, he had been protected by the Soul Warming Lotus. At that time, he managed to kill and injure quite a number of Territory Lords and Black Ink Disciples with Soul Rending Thorns. That was what eventually forced the Black Ink Clan to undo the seal, which allowed him to escape.
At the time, Yang Kai was still part of the Great Evolution Army, so the situation was not quite the same.
He was inside the Universe Furnace now, and if his Soul did get sealed up, it would hinder him from accomplishing his goals in this place.
After mulling it over for a short while, Yang Kai sighed and crushed the miniature Black Ink Nest. He was certain that the Black Ink Clan would have their guard up against the possibility of someone spying on them. If he did enter the Black Ink Nest with his Soul, he might end up falling into their trap.
Just to be safe, it was better for him to avoid stirring up any possible trouble.
Just then, the void began to rumble and shake. Yang Kai immediately halted and took in the surroundings with his senses.
Thunder Shadow, who was sitting on Yang Kai’s shoulder, also turned solemn as he said quietly, “The first evolution is happening!”
‘Evolution’ was the word used to describe the change that would happen with the chaotic Shattered Dao Essence inside the Universe Furnace. Such changes would happen a total of nine times, and once all nine were complete, the environment inside the Universe Furnace would become vastly different. It was also the signal that the search for opportunities inside the Universe Furnace was about to come to an end.
Blood Crow was the one who provided the Humans with this information. He had firsthand experience from the previous time the Universe Furnace emerged, and although he did not get a Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pill and was not a part of any major fights back then, he did manage to come back out of the Universe Furnace alive. Furthermore, thanks to what he found, he easily broke through and reached the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm.
The jade slip that Liao Zheng gave Yang Kai not only mentioned the different Grades of Open Heaven Pills and the existence of the Chaos Entities, but it also included information about the changes and evolutions that happened within the Universe Furnace.
The Universe Furnace was filled with Shattered Dao Essences, and anyone who entered would immediately sense that.
Due to the effects of these Shattered Dao Essences, the environment inside the Universe Furnace was similarly chaotic and disorganised. Even Time and Space were both less defined in this space, allowing for a large number of Chaos Entities to be born.
It was possible that an environment like this would not affect the Black Ink Clan much. Their bodies were made up of Mo’s Creation Force and they did not cultivate the Grand Dao; however, the environment did affect the Human Race Masters greatly, especially concerning their Dao Strengths.
In the outside world, Dao Strengths filled every single corner of the Universe. Open Heaven Realm Masters could harness their own Dao Strengths to resonate with the Universe’s Grand Dao, which allowed them to channel part of that strength.
However, inside the Universe Furnace, the Grand Dao was shattered and Dao Essence was chaotic, so there was nothing they could use to enhance their own attacks.
Only the Humans’ physical strength and the World Force inside their Small Universes were not affected.
Yang Kai’s body, with his Dragon Vein, was not affected by him being inside the Universe Furnace, and his ability to use the World Force from his Small Universe was not affected either; however, when trying to manipulate local Space Principles or Time Principles, their effects would be weaker here.
That being said, this did not affect the Human Masters too much as they relied mainly on their own power when engaged in battle. Nevertheless, they were still weakened to a certain extent.
However, the environment inside the Universe Furnace was not static.
Each time the Universe Furnace showed up, the World inside would undergo nine rounds of Grand Dao evolution. Blood Crow had no clue as to why this happened or why nine times instead of eight or seven, but either way, that was what happened.
As a result of each evolution, the Shattered Dao Essence that filled the Universe Furnace would slowly become more refined, and after all nine times, the Shattered Dao Essence would have changed into a complete and structured Dao Essence.
This change had a direct and significant impact on the Universe Furnace World.
Upon entering the Universe Furnace, everyone felt that the World inside was vast and boundless, but that was mainly due to the haziness in the dimensions of Time and Space. If one was unable to define the structure they were inside, it was impossible to determine its size or scope.
However, as the Shattered Dao Essence gradually became more and more refined, the space would also become more clearly defined.
When it came to this Space, the disorder of the Universe Furnace before would slowly morph into one that could be defined and measured through the continuous rounds of evolution.
And, this was only the shallowest of the changes that happened.
Blood Crow said that during his last foray into the Universe Furnace, after nine rounds of evolution, the Universe Furnace started feeling as if it was a real Great Territory, and countless Universe Worlds popped up inside at some point. Every one of the Universe Worlds had been filled with the aura of new life.
He could not figure out where those Universe Worlds came from and could only speculate that they were a result of the rounds of evolution.
This was how the environment inside the Universe Furnace was changed by the evolution of the Grand Dao.
For both the Humans and the Black Ink Clan who came in, this change greatly affected them.
The Universe Furnace World was currently boundless and never-ending. Even though many Masters from the two Races had entered, it was not that easy to encounter anyone else, be it an ally or an enemy. Most of the time, they would brush past others without even knowing about it despite being fairly near to each other.
However, with each round of evolution, the Shattered Dao Essence slowly became more refined, and the environment inside the Universe Furnace World would grow clearer.
Blood Crow even suspected that the Universe Furnace World that emerged after all nine rounds of evolution was the true nature of the Universe Furnace World, and everything that had been visible before that could simply be an illusion. It was as if the real environment had been shrouded by a layer of fog.
Both the Human Race and the Black Ink Clan sent many of their Masters into the Universe Furnace, with some 7 million or so Black Ink Clansmen entering from the entrance in the Barren Territory alone.
With so many living beings inside a single Great Territory, the chances of running into each other increased manifold.
Thus, inside the Universe Furnace, it was rare to have a major fight break out during the early evolutions. Most of the time, it would simply be one-on-one fights, or perhaps skirmishes between small groups.
However, as the evolutions continued, the Space inside the Universe Furnace World slowly became more defined and the seemingly boundless area would become a lot more crowded.
There was no way of discerning the pattern of evolution. No one knew when the next evolution would happen, but whenever it did, there were clear signs.
Right now, Yang Kai was standing still as he took in the changes to the environment and found that the information had been accurate. The Shattered Dao Essence that made up the Universe Furnace World had become ever so slightly more refined. It was not a significant change, but it had indeed changed.
[Why would there be an evolution of Dao Essence inside the Universe Furnace?] Yang Kai had pondered this question when he first received the information from Liao Zheng, but he could not think of a reason why, so he decided to wait until he experienced the evolution for himself to see whether he could learn anything from it.
Alas, he was just as clueless as before…
In just a few moments, the rumbling stopped. The evolution had started abruptly, and it stopped just as quickly.
Yang Kai tried to use his Divine Sense to scout around him and realised that it was a little better now. He could inspect a greater radius around him, though it was still far less than the maximum he could perceive outside.
The Shattered Dao Essence inside the Universe Furnace was still a great hindrance to his ability to search and inspect from a distance.
“I sense murderous intent!” Thunder Shadow suddenly growled. He crouched defensively on Yang Kai’s shoulder as lightning began to spark across his skin.
Yang Kai was startled. He nearly wondered whether Thunder Shadow had made a mistake when he abruptly sensed a powerful aura approaching him from behind.
Just as Yang Kai noticed the newcomer, the latter noticed him as well and sent his aura forward. Upon realising that it was Yang Kai, the newcomer was shocked and elated as he roared, “Hand over the Open Heaven Pill, Yang Kai!”
As soon as Yang Kai heard what was said, he figured out what was going on. It was clear that the Territory Lords who were fighting against Thunder Shadow had called for reinforcements, but this one had arrived too late. The Territory Lords were dead and Yang Kai had the Open Heaven Pill.
Thus, this Master from the Black Ink Clan followed the traces left behind and chased Yang Kai and Thunder Shadow down.
Yang Kai did waste some time collecting the jellyfish-like Chaos Entities after all.
The newcomer was a Pseudo-Royal Lord; otherwise, he would not have been as overbearing as he was when he realised it was Yang Kai. The moment the Pseudo-Royal Lord’s aura shot towards Yang Kai, the latter was able to figure out how strong his opponent was.
After swiftly gauging both their powers, Yang Kai immediately came to a conclusion. He could not defeat this one!
Yang Kai had crossed paths with Pseudo-Royal Lords many times. Even though he managed to slaughter Di Wu in the Divine Spirit Ancestral Land, he only did so thanks to many favourable conditions and advantages of the terrain they fought on, so it was hard for him to repeat that feat.
Previously, when he was outside the No-Return Pass, Mo Na Ye had managed to hunt him down until he had nowhere to hide. Thus, Yang Kai knew full well the power differential between him and a Pseudo-Royal Lord.
He did have Thunder Shadow with him now, but he knew a fight would only result in unnecessary loss.
Therefore, Yang Kai swiftly decided to flee as he began manipulating Space Principles.
While the Shattered Dao Essence around him did affect his use of Space Principles, it also interfered with Divine Sense, so he did not need to travel nearly as far to escape the perception of a Pseudo-Royal Lord. In this way, the suppression from the environment affected all of them equally.
Yang Kai even felt leisurely enough to still be in awe at his Monster Self, Thunder Shadow. He knew that in terms of strength, he was a lot stronger than his Monster Self, but Thunder Shadow had sensed the murderous intent before Yang Kai noticed the Pseudo-Royal Lord’s presence. [Is it because of how innately sensitive those from Monster Race are?]
Since the birth of the vast Universe, there have been three important eras in history. The Primordial Era where the Divine Spirits ruled over everything under the Heavens, the Early Ancient Era where the Monster Race trod the lands freely, and the Late Ancient Era where the Human Race rose to dominance. Each era had thousands upon thousands of wonderful chapters, and each one represented the favourite of the Heavenly Way at the time.
As a Race that represented an era, each of them had their unique characteristics. For the Monster Race, their biggest advantage was their strong physical bodies, keen perception, and diverse clans.
Thunder Shadow was the Monster Self created by Yang Kai using the Three Selves Source Reconstitution Art, but since birth, he had been living in Myriad Monster World, filled with ancient aura. He grew up in an environment where they obeyed the law of the jungle. Furthermore, he cultivated the Monster Race’s Primal Art, which could be said to be no different from the Great Monsters of the Early Ancient Era. The only difference was the era they lived in.
Thunder Shadow was actually very strong; otherwise, he would not be able to fight against so many Territory Lords alone. Only, Yang Kai’s true body was just so strong that his light covered the sharpness of his claws.
It was only through innate keen perception that Thunder Shadow was able to alert Yang Kai before the latter noticed anything unusual.
A Pseudo-Royal Lord was chasing them, and since the two of them were not his opponent, they had no choice but to leave first.
However, just as Yang Kai was about to make his escape using his Space Principles, he suddenly changed his mind, though he still activated his Space Principles, shifting the Void slightly around him…
Seeing this, the Pseudo-Royal Lord who was chasing after him panicked and slammed a palm out at Yang Kai’s location from afar, not caring whether or not he could even stop the latter with this blow.
There was no way for him to not panic; after all, he received news from several Territory Lords telling him that they had discovered an Open Heaven Pill, but a Monster Race leopard was keeping them at bay, making it difficult for them to get their hands on it. The leopard was strong, and he also heard that it seemed to be one of Monster Race’s Great Emperors from the Myriad Monster World called Thunder Shadow.
This was not because the Black Ink Clan had a strong intelligence network, but mainly because Thunder Shadow had been baring his fangs too fiercely since descending the mountain and had even killed several Territory Lords. Thus, his existence was recorded by the top members of the Black Ink Clan.
The Pseudo-Royal Lord was always looking over the No-Return Pass, and even though he was usually engrossed with fighting against Mo Na Ye for power, for many years, he had not made much progress. As he could not gain the Royal Lord’s attention, he could only check for more information around the place and return to report.
Coincidentally, this Pseudo-Royal Lord was the third Pseudo-Royal Lord of the Black Ink Clan, Meng Que!
The first Pseudo-Royal Lord to be created by the Black ink Clan was Di Wu, who was killed by Yang Kai at the Divine Spirit Ancestral Land. The second was Mo Na Ye, and Meng Que was the third.
Compared with Di Wu’s vigour and Mo Na Ye’s intellect, the third Pseudo-Royal Lord remained obscure. Without even mentioning the Humans, even the Black Ink Clan knew very little about his existence despite him being active for over 1,000 years, which made him depressed.
That was the reason why Meng Que had been wanting to do something big, something to promote himself and to establish his position. The best he could hope for was to trample Mo Na Ye under his foot…
Unfortunately, the Royal Lord never gave him a chance, and before he even had the time to show his strengths, the Universe Furnace came into existence.
Due to the large outpour of Innate Territory Lords from the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, who brought many High-Rank Black Ink Nests with them, the Black Ink Clan now had more than enough resources to create more Pseudo-Royal Lords. Thus, the Royal Lord decisively gathered all the veteran Innate Territory Lords who were in good condition to create a large batch of Pseudo-Royal Lords.
Originally, Meng Que and Mo Na Ye were the only Pseudo-Royal Lords, so he only needed to focus on Mo Na Ye in their battle of wits and courage. Even if he was largely unknown, Meng Que was still the left or right arm of the Royal Lord, but with the increase in their Pseudo-Royal Lords, his presence became insignificant.
So, when he received a message from several Territory Lords that an Open Heaven Pill was discovered, he rushed over without delay.
That Open Heaven Pill was the greatest opportunity for the Humans. As long as he could get it and destroy it, then he could prevent the Humans from gaining another Ninth-Order Master. Such a great feat would be enough to make him stand out among all of the Pseudo-Royal Lords.
However, when Meng Que arrived, he discovered that the Territory Lords had all been killed; all that was left behind was a large amount of Black Ink Strength from their deaths. Furthermore, the rumoured Open Heaven Pill was nowhere to be found.
Following the faint traces left behind, Meng Que pursued the culprits until he happened upon Yang Kai!
There was also a small black leopard crouching on Yang Kai’s shoulder…
Instantly, Meng Que realized that Yang Kai must undoubtedly be the one who killed those Territory Lords, and the missing Open Heaven Pill must have fallen into his hands.
Meng Que was overjoyed. Snatching an Open Heaven Pill was a great enough achievement as it was, but if he could take advantage of this situation to cull Yang Kai, then his position in the Black Ink Clan would definitely rise beyond Mo Na Ye’s. When that time came, he would stand under Mo alone and above all his other clansmen.
After all, Mo Na Ye had been fighting with Yang Kai for so many years but still failed to deal with him; instead, the Black Ink Clan suffered a lot from that struggle. They had lost not only resources but also many Masters along the way.
If Meng Que could kill Yang Kai, then would that not be proof enough that he was superior to Mo Na Ye?
But soon, Meng Que remembered that killing Yang Kai was no easy task. This Human was indeed not as strong as he was, but he was proficient in the Dao of Space and unparalleled when it came to escaping. Even a Royal Lord could do nothing to Yang Kai if the latter was determined to flee. If he were to run away here, then where was he supposed to go to look for him?
In a panic, Meng Que threw out a palm from afar.
Space Principles surged, turning the local space upside down, but the instant when Yang Kai’s body was about to disappear, the palm came down just in time. Yang Kai sprayed out a mist of blood from his mouth and turned over to glare at Meng Que, who had attacked him from behind with hatred in his eyes. Space Principles surged once more, with his figure blurred.
Meng Que shouted anxiously, “Coward! Don’t run!”
But it was to no avail, he could only watch as Yang Kai disappeared without a trace. He instantly felt chagrined beyond words, realizing he had acted too hastily. If he had known this would happen, he would have snuck over quietly and taken Yang Kai down in one swoop instead of announcing his presence.
However, for a Pseudo-Royal Lord like him who had to rely on the Black Ink Clan’s Source Fusion Technique, it was impossible to perfectly control his own power, meaning his aura could not be hidden and stealth was not an option.
The auras of Pseudo-Royal Lords like him were always on in a striking display wherever they went, just like fireflies in the night…
He searched everywhere by instinct to try and find Yang Kai, but soon, Meng Que was taken aback for a moment before rushing in a certain direction.
He was actually able to find Yang Kai’s location! This time, his target’s Instantaneous Movement did not take him too far away. Meng Que had no idea whether it was due to the hit he managed to land earlier or because of this special environment, but no matter what the reason was, this situation was favourable to him.
In that direction, Yang Kai wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and focused on flying forward.
On his shoulder, Thunder Shadow watched him with narrowed eyes and curiously asked, “You’re not this pathetic, are you? What are you trying to do?”
He had clearly caught on to some clues. If Yang Kai truly intended to leave just now, then there was no way he would have allowed Meng Que’s palm to hit him. In other words, the current situation was all part of Yang Kai’s plans.
“You and I are of one mind, so why don’t you give it a guess?” Yang Kai laughed.
Thunder Shadow curled its lips, “I can’t be bothered. What’s more, you should understand that though I am born from a part of your Soul, reborn as your Monster Self, my living environment and experiences since young have been very different from yours, so my character and temperament are different from yours, the true body.”
Yang Kai nodded lightly, “Naturally, I know that, but fundamentally, you still originated from me, so you should be able to guess what I’m thinking. Don’t be lazy to use your head just because you’re born a Monster.”
Thunder Shadow snorted and said after a moment, “Are you baiting him?”
Yang Kai nodded and his expression turned serious, “To compete with the Humans for the Universe Furnace’s opportunity, the Black Ink Clan have created many Pseudo-Royal Lords. We would be safe even if we were to face a Pseudo-Royal Lord, but if we shook him off, he would surely go find others instead, and they may not be able to deal with him. So, if I can lead him around, it will at least stop him from starting trouble with someone else instead.”
Thunder Shadow nodded, “The Black Ink Clan have indeed spent a lot of their resources. Currently, the Innate Territory Lords outside have all been re-called to the No-Return Pass, most likely for the creation of Pseudo-Royal Lords.”
Yang Kai sighed, “Many Innate Territory Lords have also come out from the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, which gives the Black Ink Clan the confidence to make such a gamble. Those Innate Territory Lords are all injured and would not be of great use to them for the time being, but as long as they recuperate for 100 to 200 years, then they should be back to peak condition.”
After a pause, Yang Kai turned his head to look at the Pseudo-Royal Lord who was chasing after him, “This guy should not be a newly created Pseudo-Royal Lord. If I’m not mistaken, he should be the one who was hiding in the No-Return Pass all this time.”
Even though a Pseudo-Royal Lord was unable to exert the full power of a Royal Lord, as long as they lived for long enough, they could slowly gain more control over their strength, allowing them to display more of it.
The palm from just now was very close in strength to what Mo Na Ye could display, so this was clearly not a new Pseudo-Royal Lord.
Combine that with the warning signs he felt outside of the No-Return Pass, it was not surprising for Yang Kai to have such a guess.
On his shoulder, Thunder Shadow intertwined his aura closely with Yang Kai’s so that he could help the latter save some energy as he used Space Principles to move.
It was only because Thunder Shadow was Yang Kai’s Monster Self that they could act in concert in such a way. Anyone else would not be able to achieve such a seamless blending of auras.
Behind them, Meng Que was chasing after the pair without pause, constantly closing the distance with Yang Kai using his superior strength and speed. However, every time he reached a certain limit, Yang Kai would disappear with Instantaneous Movement, appearing at the edge of Meng Que’s perception, and the loop would continue.
If Mo Na Ye was here, with his intelligence, he would surely have noticed something by now, but Meng Que was far worse in comparison to Mo Na Ye when it came to wits, so not only was he not alerted to Yang Kai’s plans, he became enraged instead and was even more determined to kill Yang Kai.
Though one could say that Meng Que could not best Mo Na Ye in terms of wisdom, one could also say that his understanding of Yang Kai was far inferior. Thus, Meng Que was consumed by his emotions so the feeling of closing the distance repeatedly only to see Yang Kai slip away was extremely irritating.
The pair continued their chase through the void with Yang Kai probing around in all directions at every moment.
For him, his intentions were not only to keep this Pseudo-Royal Lord on his tail to prevent him causing trouble to his allies. His true goal was to find someone who could help him turn the situation around so he could kill his pursuer.
Facing such a Pseudo-Royal Lord, Yang Kai and Thunder Shadow were not his opponents even if they combined their strength, but as long as they could find three more Eighth-Order Masters to form a Five Elements Formation, then it would be enough to contend with Meng Que.
The Universe Furnace World had just experienced its first evolution, but the chaotic and disorderly Shattered Dao Essence had only slightly improved. This place was still vast and boundless, so wanting to find a helping hand in this sort of environment was going to be difficult.
The other worry was that Yang Kai might even attract other enemies before finding the help he needed.
Based on the information he obtained from Liao Zheng and the others, as many as 20 Pseudo-Royal Lords had appeared on the various battlefields, and there could be more of them.
If he were to draw in another Pseudo-Royal Lord, then even Yang Kai would have trouble dealing with them.
There was no helping it, however. He could only keep going with his plan.
As he fled, Yang Kai silently opened the portal of his Small Universe and quickly closed it again, his figure sweeping quickly away without any pause.
He seemed to have done nothing, but Thunder Shadow, who was resting on his shoulder, was keenly aware of the moment his Small Universe’s portal was opened. He even saw Yang Kai release a jellyfish Chaos Entity that he had brought in earlier.
The moment the Chaos Entity was released, it just happened to be in an illusory state and was imperceptible to one’s eyes or Divine Sense, which was within Yang Kai’s calculations.
Naturally, Thunder Shadow understood what Yang Kai was trying to do and he could not help but divert some of his attention to the rear alongside Yang Kai.
The next moment, when Meng Que crossed the point where the trap was set, the Chaos Entity revealed itself and as its body bloomed with multi-coloured light. Meng Que naturally hit the jellyfish straight on.
This was a great shock to Meng Que. Even though he believed himself to be far stronger than Yang Kai, he did not dare to be careless in the face of this powerful enemy who had been causing endless troubles for the Black Ink Clan for thousands of years. During the chase, he was constantly on guard to avoid being taken by surprise.
Yet, he never thought that he would still fall for Yang Kai’s trickery.
The jellyfish-like Chaos Entity was one that Meng Que had previously discovered at the place where the Territory Lords died. Back then, he did not examine them carefully, but now that he touched one, he could sense a shapeless chaotic energy emanating from it that attacked his Soul.
Meng Que was taken aback for a moment and threw his palm out by instinct, slapping away the Chaos Entity in his face…
Up ahead, Thunder Shadow, who had seen everything clearly, licked its paws leisurely and commented, “Useful, but not very much so!”
Yang Kai nodded.
This jellyfish Chaos Entity emitted a very special type of energy that disrupted one’s Soul, and this shock was clearly powerful enough to affect the Pseudo-Royal Lord behind them; unfortunately, the disturbance the jellyfish caused was minimal. It was very different compared to the Territory Lords before, who fell into a complete daze after being hit by these Chaos Entities.
This wasn’t too much of a surprise though as the enemy was a Pseudo-Royal Lord. In terms of cultivation alone, Meng Que was no different from a Ninth-Order Master or true Royal Lord; thus, he had great resistance towards such attacks.
As such, Yang Kai’s plan to use his collected jellyfish Chaos Entities in the fight against this Pseudo-Royal Lord fell apart. At the very most, these Chaos Entities could only hinder a Pseudo-Royal Lord a little rather than become a key to attaining victory.
In fact, regarding this Pseudo-Royal Lord, Yang Kai had at least two ways to deal with him on his own; however, the price he would have to pay was too great and not considered cost-effective in this situation.
He would be better off trying to seek help instead!
Going round and round in this Universe Furnace World where Time and Space were extremely blurred, three figures swiftly moved, one chasing and two fleeing, though only one of the latter was actually exerting any effort. It was not known just how much distance they had traversed or how long it had been.
As long as Yang Kai wanted to run, then Meng Que would not be able to catch him, but he also could not bear to give up on a big fish like Yang Kai, so he had no choice but to soldier on.
After such an extended chase, Meng Que had also garnered some clues from his enemy’s actions. He may not be as smart as Mo Na Ye, but he was still a Pseudo-Royal Lord who had a lot of information about Yang Kai and knew his habits and thoughts well. How could he not understand that Yang Kai was purposefully leading him on after so long?
Even though Meng Que knew his enemy’s intentions, he could not understand what Yang Kai’s ultimate plan was, or if he had a hidden plot beneath the chase, which made him feel slightly uneasy.
As the chase continued, the void suddenly shook. The second evolution was emerging. Just like the first evolution, it came fast and left just as quickly, but after this evolution, the Shattered Dao Essence became a little bit more perfect.
For Yang Kai, who had great proficiency in the Dao of Time and Dao of Space, he had a greater intuition for such details compared to others.
However, the helpers he needed were still nowhere to be found.
Until a certain moment, Yang Kai suddenly sensed the fallout of a fierce battle up ahead. Instantly, he had a bad premonition and focused his senses.
Then, his brow furrowed.
After the second evolution, the interference he experienced during his search was less than before, and very soon, Yang Kai realized that the fight up ahead was between Masters from the Black Ink Clan and the Human Race.
About 4 or 5 different auras were coming from the Humans’ side, all of them in the Eighth Order. To be able to converge in one place so quickly was obviously thanks to physical contact they must have shared while entering the Universe Furnace.
However, the Black Ink Clansman opposing had one particularly powerful aura among them. Though it contained the strength of a Royal Lord, it was clearly a Pseudo-Royal Lord.
The worst situation Yang Kai expected had happened.
What Yang Kai hoped most to encounter along this chase was a group of at least three Eighth-Order Masters travelling together. That way, alongside him and Thunder Shadow, they could easily form the Five Elements Formation and teach the Pseudo-Royal Lord behind him some proper respect.
With a Five Elements Formation, ordinary Eighth-Order Masters could just about put up an even fight against a Pseudo-Royal Lord, but with Yang Kai serving as the Core, the chances of defeating a Pseudo-Royal Lord were relatively high. As for killing such an opponent… that would be a bit difficult.
If they were to encounter 1 or 2 straggling Eighth-Orders, Yang Kai could accept that too.
However, this was what he feared most, where there were enough Eighth-Order Masters to fight a Pseudo-Royal Lord, but they were already encumbered…
Seeing this and understanding the situation, Yang Kai swiftly turned away, hoping to lure his pursuer away with him.
The pursuing Pseudo-Royal Lord’s Divine Sense was not the least bit weaker than Yang Kai’s, so if Yang Kai could detect the movements there, then Meng Que who was chasing him should have felt them too.
However, Meng Que only hesitated for a moment before turning around and continuing to chase Yang Kai.
Yang Kai breathed a sigh of relief when he noticed this. This Pseudo-Royal Lord… did not seem very smart. If it were Mo Na Ye, he would not be coming after him.
While thinking so, Meng Que suddenly paused. Clearly, he had also realized something before shouting at Yang Kai from afar, “I’ll go kill those Humans first before coming back to deal with you!”
After venting his anger, Meng Que immediately turned around and swept towards where the battle was taking place earlier.
However, before he could get far, the space in front of him rippled and a figure emerged from within, holding a long spear that he immediately thrust out.
Meng Que seemed to have anticipated that this would happen and let out a hearty laugh before swinging his fist out to meet Yang Kai in battle.
The spear shadow was smashed and Yang Kai was sent flying back while Meng Que only staggered slightly, clearly showing the disparity in their strengths.
In the void, ripples were constantly forming at Yang Kai’s back. He had activated Space Principles to try and defuse the force of the counterattack and was soon able to stabilize himself with a sigh.
Even though this Pseudo-Royal Lord was not very bright, he was not a complete fool either if he knew to threaten him with the lives of Eighth-Order Masters.
If Yang Kai let him leave and join together with that other Pseudo-Royal Lord up ahead, then the Eighth-Order Masters there would certainly be in danger. So, as soon as Meng Que said those words, the chase was over, and the initiative also fell into Meng Que’s hands.
This was the reason why Yang Kai was worried about encountering this situation, because once he did, he would be forced to fight with this Pseudo-Royal Lord.
This was not the outcome he wanted.
Meng Que was extremely pleased that he had successfully forced Yang Kai to face him head on and even felt that his idea was simply a stroke of genius.
He studied Yang Kai carefully and his eyes shone as if he were looking at his own war trophy.
He had seen Yang Kai before, but even though he had been stationed in the No-Return Pass all along, both times that Yang Kai caused a stir, Meng Que had been an Innate Territory Lord, so having to face a killing star like Yang Kai was not something he had confidence in back then.
The number of Innate Territory Lords who fell to Yang Kai’s spear was in the hundreds.
However, Meng Que was now a Pseudo-Royal Lord and naturally in a different state of mind.
Despite having taken the initiative, Meng Que did not let down his guard and turned to look around him, “Where is that leopard? Tell it to come out. I won’t be accused of bullying you.”
Meng Que did not see any trace of the leopard that was sitting on Yang Kai’s shoulder previously, which made him suspicious. He had no idea what Yang Kai was planning by hiding it away.
Even though he was a Pseudo-Royal Lord, it would not be very pleasant for him if he were attacked from behind by a Monster Race Master during a critical moment.
Yang Kai curled his lip and kept silent. He just raised his spear in front of him and silently gathered his strength. Dealing with this Pseudo-Royal Lord could mean losing his life at any moment, so he could not be sloppy.
Meng Que lost patience and sneered, “Good. No matter what plans you try to use, this will be your burial ground today. Remember, the one who killed you is the Black Ink Clan’s Meng Que!”
As soon as those words were said, he turned into a stream of dark light and lunged at Yang Kai.
The next instant, two figures clashed with each other, and in the moment after that, a figure was sent flying out, Golden Blood pouring out of his mouth. It was Yang Kai.
Even though he had fought with two Pseudo-Royal Lords before and even killed Di Wu, it was Yang Kai’s first time fighting a Pseudo-Royal Lord head-on at full strength.
During his fight with Di Wu, the latter had been suppressed by the Divine Spirit Ancestral Land. Yang Kai had favourable conditions and an advantageous position, so that fight did not count for much.
As for the fight against Mo Na Ye… Most of it was just Yang Kai running away from him. During that time, Yang Kai was not in peak condition since he had fought against many Innate Territory Lords earlier, so he no longer had the capital to battle Mo Na Ye.
This was Yang Kai’s first real clash with a Pseudo-Royal Lord without either side having a distinct advantage.
Meng Que was very strong, and even though he could not exert his full strength, he was still not an enemy Yang Kai could fight against freely. Still, Yang Kai steadied himself and went all out.
Compared to Yang Kai’s cautious seriousness, Meng Que was sighing in his heart.
The killing star whose name resounded through the Humans and Black Ink Clan was truly not comparable to ordinary Eighth-Order Masters.
Before meeting Yang Kai, Meng Que had met three other Eighth-Order Masters. One of them was alone, whereas the other two moved in a pair; however, faced with a Pseudo-Royal Lord like him, it did not matter whether they were one or two, there was simply no way for them to fight back and they died swiftly under his palm.
However, Yang Kai was able to block his blow head-on…
Rather than find this ridiculous, Meng Que felt it was only right for Yang Kai to be this strong. If he wasn’t, it would have been impossible for Yang Kai to make the Black Ink Clan suffer so many losses.
Two auras were clashing incessantly in the void, their fierce battle unceasing. Yang Kai was dripping blood with every step, his condition relatively miserable. Ultimately, he was not the opponent of a Pseudo-Royal Lord in a head-on fight, especially with this one called Meng Que who was a veteran Pseudo-Royal Lord. Meng Que was not one of those who had just become a Pseudo-Royal Lord and had yet to familiarize themselves with their own strength.
The strength that he was able to exert in battle was almost the same as Mo Na Ye.
Every collision resulted in Yang Kai being suppressed, forced to back away again and again, his body drifting like a lone wooden boat on a stormy ocean, in danger of capsizing at any moment.
Both Time Principles and Space Principles were pushed to the extreme, and Dao Strengths wrapped around his spear as it danced freely. Yang Kai anticipated the enemy’s moves through Time Principles while moving his body with Space Principles, but he was still just barely able to hold on.
The illusory phantom of a Golden Dragon coiled around Yang Kai’s body as fine Dragon Scales could be seen appearing on the surface of his skin. Against such a powerful enemy that he had no hopes of contending with, the Dragon Scales could offset a lot of the damage. The Dragon coiling around his body was not used to counter Meng Que’s attacks, but rather to circulate the power of Yang Kai’s Dragon Vein in order to defend himself and heal his injuries.
Even Yang Kai’s Towering Evergreen Divine Manifestation, which had been unused for years, was brought out. The giant tree dropped its branches, enveloping Yang Kai’s figure as strong vitality pulsed around it.
This Divine Manifestation combined the two effects of defence and healing, but the protection it could offer to Yang Kai was limited under the bombardment of a Pseudo-Royal Lord.
Fortunately, the Divine Manifestation powered by the Immortal Tree’s Essence was really effective in healing wounds, no less so than his Dragon Vein.
Meng Qie soon realized that even though he had no idea what sort of Secret Technique Yang Kai was using, the injuries he was inflicting on this Human were recovering at a rate visible to the naked eye.
This caused Meng Que to frown. He was surprised by Yang Kai’s tricky resilience and despite their crushing difference in their strength, he was still unable to deal with him within a short amount of time. This made Meng Que attack with even greater ferocity.
He also had to divert some of his attention to probe for the leopard’s whereabouts. According to the information he received from the various Great Territory Battlefields, this leopard was very strong and had some hidden Innate Divine Abilities from its origins as one of Monster Race, making it almost invisible under the premise it did not attack. If it suddenly launched an ambush, its power was not to be underestimated.
This was also Yang Kai’s intention. He had Thunder Shadow hide himself from the start just to distract Meng Que.
Even though Thunder Shadow was strong, he was yet to go far beyond the realm of surpassing ordinary Eighth-Order Masters like Yang Kai, and against such a Pseudo-Royal Lord, even if he did attack, it would not have too much of an effect while coming with great risks. Rather than take such a gamble, it was better to just hide itself instead.
Only a hidden card could keep an enemy on their toes.
Meng Que took it for granted that Thunder Shadow was hiding on the sidelines in order to put in a sneak attack; but in fact, Thunder Shadow had silently gone far away when Yang Kai resolutely engaged Meng Que in battle.
Meng Que’s threats made it so that Yang Kai had no choice but to fight him head on. It seemed to put him in a passive position, but Yang Kai had already anticipated this possibility and had a plan ready to deal with it.
There were always two sides to every situation. Even though the fight going on on the other side was the capital Meng Que had to issue threats, why could it not be used to Yang Kai’s benefit as well?
On his own, Yang Kai was no match for Meng Que, but with the help of the other Eighth-Order Masters, Meng Que would become no issue.
To achieve this, he had to first help the Eighth-Order Masters out of their situation.
So, Thunder Shadow had gone over to the other side.
Concealing his aura with his Innate Divine Ability, Thunder Shadow moved urgently, but silently towards the other battlefield.
From a distance, Thunder Shadow could feel the stirring of World Force clashing with the surging Black Ink Strength.
As he moved closer, Thunder Shadow saw four Eighth-Order Masters linked together in a Four Symbols Formation as they fought against a Pseudo-Royal Lord.
The tide was turning against the Humans’ side.
Against a Pseudo-Royal Lord, the Eighth-Order Masters would have to form a Five Elements Formation to compete evenly. The Four Symbols Formation was still lacking.
When Thunder Shadow arrived, the four Eighth-Order Masters were working in perfect tandem with each other and the Battle Formation was functioning flawlessly, but they were still at a disadvantage against their enemy.
Remnants of Black Ink Clansmen’s corpses were still littered around the battlefield. They were apparently from nearby Black Ink Clan soldiers, who had sensed the commotion and had come to support the Pseudo-Royal Lord, only to be killed for their efforts.
Even though the situation was somewhat unfavourable, the four Eighth-Orders were not in danger of dying for the moment. They were not just soft persimmons to be pinched at will. All of them had been through countless life or death struggles, so they knew what needed to be done in situations like these.
The four of them fought with great vigor as they put their lives on the line. Their attacks were sharp and ruthless against the Pseudo-Royal Lord, which left their opponent somewhat constrained.
If he could be determined enough to put his own life at risk, the Pseudo-Royal Lord might be able to finish off these four Eighth-Order Masters at a heavy cost. At the very least, he was sure to sustain serious wounds.
In the Universe Furnace World however, a Pseudo-Royal Lord who was badly wounded but unable to rest and heal would not be able to survive another encounter with a Human Race Master.
This Pseudo-Royal Lord had narrowly escaped death during the Source Fusion, so there was no way he would put himself in such danger so easily.
It was with this in mind that the four Eighth-Orders took such a strong stance. In terms of healing, it was much more troublesome for the Black Ink Clan than the Human Race. In a situation where both sides traded injuries, it was the Human Race that ultimately came out on top even if they suffered fatalities.
Sure enough, the Pseudo-Royal Lord seemed disgruntled by the fight after a while. Seeing that he could not easily finish off these Eighth-Order Masters, he was prepared to retreat.
The Eighth-Order Masters, too, were aware of this. With the Battle Formation joined, they were of one mind and tacitly slowed down their attacks.
No one was willing to meaninglessly sacrifice themselves if the possibility of survival was present. If the Pseudo-Royal Lord wanted to leave, they were happy to let him.
In the next instant, a Black Ink Cloud spread out, enveloping the surrounding space. The Pseudo-Royal Lord feigned an attack before pulling back and jumping out of the four Eighth-Order Battle Formation’s range in an instant.
With a frown on his brow, he was just about to speak a few lines before making his exit, but something suddenly appeared behind him. The Pseudo-Royal Lord’s face looked horrified as he turned around in a hurry, raising his hand to throw out a palm.
But his palm struck at nothing. The only thing that came into view at the corner of his vision was a black leopard that had appeared behind him at some point in time, as well as a flash of pure white light that covered his vision
Purifying Light… Evil Purging Divine Spear!
From the information provided by the Black Ink Disciples, the Black Ink Clan was naturally aware of the Evil Purging Divine Spears, and after fighting with the Humans for so many years, this was a common weapon used on the various battlefields that had given them a big headache.
So, the moment he saw the dazzling white light, the Pseudo-Royal Lord knew that the black leopard, which had snuck over silently, had unleashed an Evil Purging Divine Spear at him.
From its might, it seemed to be the kind of Evil Purging Divine Spear that was used against Territory Lords!
His mind turned sharply and he hurriedly circulated his Black Ink Strength to guard his body. Under the envelopment of the white light, the dense Black Ink Strength was purified and disappeared. Bathed in the pure white light, even a Pseudo-Royal Lord as strong as him felt uncomfortable, and a burning sensation spread over the surface of his skin.
It was fortunate that he had detected the sneak attack in time and did not take the full brunt of it undefended; otherwise, he would have gotten seriously injured, especially if such a powerful weapon were to pierce him and explode inside his body.
All of a sudden, a powerful Battle Formation circled him again. Four auras locked him firmly in place, instantly intensifying the anger welling up in the Pseudo-Royal Lord. Then, the four Eighth-Order Masters launched a barrage of attacks.
Despite his anger, he did not dare to continue this fight. With this silent black leopard joining the Humans, the upper hand he had was lost. Continuing to fight would only be bringing shame upon himself.
Moreover, he was not sure whether or not there were more Human Race Masters lurking nearby.
So, he made a quick decision and his body split into a dozen Black Ink Clouds that shot out in all directions.
By the time the four Eighth-Order Masters reacted, they were only able to block half of the Black Ink Clouds, but none of them hid the Pseudo-Royal Lord. With that delay, how could they still catch the escaped Pseudo-Royal Lord? They could only stop there and sigh at their misfortune.
Among the four Eighth-Order Masters in formation, the one acting as the Core was a brave and heroic man with red hair like fire while the three others surrounded him.
If Yang Kai had been here, he would have instantly recognised Ou Yang Lie.
Ou Yang Lie had originally been deployed to the depths of the Black Ink Battlefield to guard the resource mining teams, but he was sent back to the Supreme Headquarters by Yang Kai when the Territory Lords were found escaping the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction to report the situation.
That was how he gained access to the Universe Furnace; otherwise, Ou Yang Lie would surely still be leading the tens of thousands of Humans, moving around in secret while mining for materials.
Of the four Eighth-Order Masters here, Ou Yang Lie was the only veteran while the other three were rising stars who had just advanced recently over the last few thousand years.
It was for that reason that he served as the Core of the Four Symbols Formation.
The old commander naturally had his own role to play.
The three younger Eighth-Order Masters were still eager to give chase, but Ou Yang Lie shook his head, “A hard-pressed enemy should not be pursued too far.”
Even if they did go after him, they would not be able to do much to him in their current state.
All four were wounded in the fight with the Pseudo-Royal Lord, and if the Pseudo-Royal Lord had not decided to retreat for his own safety, they would likely not have come out of this in one piece.
Pseudo-Royal Lords were truly powerful! Despite being in a Battle Formation, the four of them were still suppressed and beaten. Only Yang Kai had ever fought a Master of this calibre alone in all these years, and before the Universe Furnace came into existence, no one else had ever even encountered a Pseudo-Royal Lord before.
The more this was, the more Ou Yang Lie realised how difficult it must have been for Yang Kai.
The Black Ink Clan had cultivated Pseudo-Royal Lords long ago, and if it were not for Yang Kai’s efforts in keeping them in check at the No-Return Pass, there would have been many more casualties on the Human Race’s side.
The Human Race was nothing more than a name, but the weight it carried was extraordinary. It was an inheritance passed down from ancient times, but now, a significant portion of the burdens were resting on one person’s shoulders. How terrible must that pressure be!
Ou Yang Lie’s goal in coming to the Universe Furnace wasn’t to look for any opportunities for himself.
He was thinking that, if possible, he would like to obtain a Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pill and give it to Yang Kai so that he could break through to the Ninth Order! Due to the suppression of the Cave Heavens and Paradises back then, Yang Kai was forced to ascend to the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm; but now, he was being relied upon to carry the heavy burden of helping the Human Race survive.
This was what the Cave Heavens and Paradises owed him, so he should find a way to make it up to him.
Moreover, Yang Kai himself was far more powerful than his peers as it was, so to have him advance to the Ninth Order would give them an even greater advantage and even greater benefits.
Of course, these were the thoughts and considerations of Ou Yang Lie alone, so things may not necessarily go as he wished. As the number of Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pills was very small, and with the Humans, Black Ink Clan, and the native Chaos Race Masters scouring the Universe Furnace, obtaining a Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pill was not going to be easy.
Putting his thoughts away, Ou Yang Lie turned his head in the direction of Monster Race leopard and recognised it as the Myriad Monsters World’s first Great Emperor who had risen to fame in the last millennium. He was just about to thank him when Thunder Shadow’s voice sounded in his ears, “Yang Kai is facing a Pseudo-Royal Lord alone and may not be able to hold out much longer. Please quickly come and support him!”
Ou Yang Lie’s face turned serious at once, “Where is he now?”
Thunder Shadow turned into a black shadow and shrouded the four Eighth-Order Masters, his voice reaching their ears as well, “Enter my Divine Ability and I will bring you there!”
As the black shadow flickered, the four figures disappeared. Using his Innate Divine Ability, Thunder Shadow swept silently towards the battlefield where Yang Kai and Meng Que were.
Yang Kai’s condition was steadily deteriorating on that battlefield. There was a dent on his chest and half of the fine Dragon Scales were cracked. He was clearly in a precarious situation.
Even Yang Kai was struggling to keep up with this reckless Pseudo-Royal Lord. He should be able to last for an hour at the very most, and by then, he would be too wounded to fight back. Before then, he would have to use his trump card if he wanted to stay alive.
He could only hope that everything was going smoothly on Thunder Shadow’s side.
This bastard, Meng Que, just had to keep rambling despite having the upper hand, shouting that if Yang Kai dared to run away, he would immediately go and kill those Eighth-Orders Masters…
Hearing that irritated Yang Kai, but he was indeed not Meng Que’s opponent. He also had to rely on the jellyfish Chaos Entities he had collected over and over to save himself from danger, but the Chaos Entities had a limited effect on a Pseudo-Royal Lord. Every time Yang Kai released a Chaos Entity, it would immediately be swept away by Meng Que, causing Yang Kai to nearly exhaust the supply he gathered in just a short period of time.
In contrast, Meng Que was undoubtedly feeling extremely smug at the moment. The Black Ink Clan’s attempts at stopping Yang Kai have all ended in failure so far. Furthermore, Mo Na Ye had once said to the Royal Lord that one should not target him rashly without a Heaven Sealing Earth Locking Array to restrain Yang Kai’s Space Secret Techniques, lest they be subjected to his retaliation later.
The Royal Lord was also convinced of that back then. Yang Kai had brought endless shame and incalculable damage to the Clan, but his greatest strength was not the power he had which surpassed his peers, his greatest strength was his ability to escape just like a slippery ghost.
Without being able to restrain him, any plan would be meaningless.
That was why the clan had Black Ink Disciple develop the Four Gates Eight Palaces Great Pagoda Array and refined many Array Plates and Banners so that they could set it up anywhere Yang Kai appeared.
But now, Meng Que had pinned Yang Kai in place all by himself without the Four Gates Eight Palaces Great Pagoda Array or any helpers. All he had to do was threaten him with a few words.
How could Mo Na Ye compare with such efficiency?
If he could kill Yang Kai here, it would definitely be a huge achievement, not to mention the fact that Yang Kai had an Open Heaven Pill on him.
Once he returned to the No-Return Pass with this success, the Royal Lord would definitely praise him greatly, and the trivial Mo Na Ye would be trampled under his feet sooner or later.
Meng Que was filled with anticipation for that future, but he did not forget about the threat of the Monster Race leopard. He was still a Pseudo-Royal Lord, after all, so he would not be so careless.
It was at that moment that Meng Que suddenly sensed something and slightly restrained his attacks towards Yang Kai. Instead, he threw a fierce punch at the void behind him with a cold smile curling his lips.
There was an unusual movement in that direction. Clearly, the leopard finally could not resist making its move.
At first, Meng Que thought that even if he could not take it down with this blow, it would definitely be enough to force the leopard to show itself; however, what greeted him was a powerful blow, like a mountain overturning the sea, one that vastly exceeded what that leopard could produce.
The sneer on Meng Que’s face turned to shock, and the Black Ink Strength that covered his body was dissipated by the blow. He could not even stop himself from stumbling under the impact.
An invisible force spread out like ripples as Thunder Shadow’s Innate Divine Ability was broken, and one by one, figures appeared in Meng Que’s eyes.
Meng Que was stunned at first, not understanding how several Eighth-Order Masters had suddenly appeared, but he quickly reacted to the situation.
[It was that leopard…]
He had thought that Monster Race leopard was hiding nearby and waiting for an opportunity to attack, but instead, he had gone to the other battlefield and joined forces with four Eighth-Order Masters to repel his fellow Pseudo-Royal Lord before rushing them over to help.
Meng Que could not help but curse in his heart.
He had no idea who that Pseudo-Royal Lord was, but he had to curse him for being such a waste, to have been forced back in such a short amount of time.
Meng Que also cursed himself for his poor decision-making. He thought that he would win the battle against Yang Kai by mere threats and was already on the road to victory when, in fact, his opponent already had a plan to deal with the situation.
Rather than bothering with Yang Kai, he should have joined forces with the unknown Pseudo-Royal Lord in his fight against the four Eighth-Order Masters, then Yang Kai surely would not just stand by and watch.
If Meng Que had done so, then it would have been two Pseudo-Royal Lords against Yang Kai and Monster Race leopard, as well as the four Eighth-Order Masters, which would give them a much bigger advantage!
One mistake led to another and quickly piled like an avalanche. Meng Que learned for the first time just how difficult it must have been for Mo Na Ye to deal with a cunning bastard like Yang Kai. Sure enough, one must not be the least bit careless or assume anything until this slippery Human was dead!
Meng Que comforted himself that it was not his fault, just that Yang Kai was too tempting a target to let off. Any other Pseudo-Royal Lord would not give up on a large catch like Yang Kai so easily to chase after a different target.
However, it was too late to consider such things. When the leopard brought over the four Human Masters, Meng Que knew that his plan to kill Yang Kai today had failed. Right now, he had to consider whether he was going to fight to the death or immediately turn tail and run.
The power of Yang Kai’s Dragon Vein burned and the Towering Evergreen Divine Manifestation that had been enveloping him shone brilliantly, pouring green light into his body. At a rate visible to the naked eye, the injuries over his body could be seen healing. Even his chest, which had been caved in, was pushed back into place.
Yang Kai turned his head and spat out a mouthful of blood before pointing his Spear at Meng Que, a stern look on his face as he sneered, “Ready for round two?”
Not since he was chased by the Royal Lord outside of the Primordial Heaven Source Grand Restriction had Yang Kai suffered such a big loss.
It was not that the Black Ink Clan did not have anyone who was stronger than him, but the only one that had beaten him so badly was this Pseudo-Royal Lord called Meng Que in front of him.
This naturally built up a huge grudge in Yang Kai’s heart.
While he was speaking, Yang Kai had already connected his aura to Ou Yang Lie and the others. In an instant, a new Battle Formation was formed.
Originally, the Battle Formation that Ou Yang Lie and the three other Eighth-Order Masters formed was only the Four Symbols Formation. With Thunder Shadow’s inclusion, it became the Five Elements Formation. Now, with Yang Kai joining the formation, it became the Six Paths Formation.
Ou Yang Lie was originally the Core of the Formation, but he had willingly retrieved his aura and transferred this position. In the next moment, Yang Kai, who had now become the Core of the Formation, swelled with power, seemingly surpassing the Eighth Order.
The void trembled and Meng Que’s expression became grave.
He naturally recognised the Six Paths Formation, a Battle Formation of the Human Race. The Black Ink Clan had also studied this Formation. Back then, in the No-Return Pass, Mo Na Ye had made many Territory Lords attempt to form this Formation, but they never got the essence of it.
The many Territory Lords were only able to form up to the Four Symbols Formation, with a select few being capable of barely forming the Five Elements Formation. As for the Six Paths Formation, none of them had ever successfully performed it.
The reason for that was because the Formation required the concerted efforts of all involved, which not only required close coordination but also a tacit understanding of each other. Most importantly, unconditional trust towards the person presiding over the Formation as its Core was essential.
In other words, once a Battle Formation was created, the participants would become parts of a whole, surrendering their Will and strength to a single leader. They had to hand their life and all their power over to the one that stood as the Core of the Formation.
Naturally, the Human Race could more easily form higher ranking Battle Formations due to the oppression of death they faced, formed along with a close camaraderie among those that fought together since long ago. However, that was different for the Black Ink Clan.
Which of them would not have their own plans? The Territory Lords were basically the peak of the Black Ink Clan, so it would be a tough demand to ask them to hand their lives over to another Territory Lord.
Black Ink Clan aside, though there were precedents of the Six Paths and Seven Stars Formation being used by the Human Race, the Eight Desolations Formation and the Nine Palaces Formation was still difficult even for the Human Race. This was no longer a question of trust, but rather the difficulty of the Core withstanding and coordinating the pressure of the immense power gathering at that level. Thus, the Formation’s difficulty increased with numbers.
Right now, Ou Yang Lie and the other three Eighth-Order Masters were willing to entrust Yang Kai with their lives. After so many years of hard work, Yang Kai’s name had become a mainstay in the Human Race. He was the pillar that held back the Black Ink Clan. Which rising star would not have heard of Yang Kai’s illustrious name on their Martial Dao? One could practically say that most of them have grown up with Yang Kai as their goal in life.
With Yang Kai present on the scene, how could they hesitate? There was no need to even mention Ou Yang Lie and Thunder Shadow. The former was a close personal friend, and the latter was his own Monster Self.
Trust was not an issue.
The key to forming a Battle Formation was to have strong trust and the willingness to place one’s life in the hands of another. The Human Race Masters have never lacked this, while that was something that those of the Black Ink Clan had never truly possessed.
Moreover, since Thunder Shadow was Yang Kai’s Monster Self, even though he was part of the Formation’s six members, Yang Kai, as the Core, only needed to coordinate the powers of Ou Yang Lie and the other three Eighth-Order Masters. There was no need for him to pay attention to his Monster Self. As such, the difficulty of presiding over this Formation was just like presiding over a Five Elements Formation. Despite never having worked with each other before, when Ou Yang Lie and the others appeared, and when Yang Kai integrated his aura into the Formation, the Core position immediately shifted to him. In an instant, the Battle Formation was formed as if it had been practised countless times.
Sensing the strength and power of the Battle Formation, Meng Que knew that his troubles were going to be great.
As the thought flashed through his mind, the surrounding space was already rippling. An alarm was set off in Meng Que’s heart when a long spear shadow suddenly stabbed towards his face.
This spear was thrust with the combined powers of Yang Kai, four Eighth-Order Masters, and a Monster Race Great Emperor, so its might could practically shatter the space inside this Universe Furnace World. Even the chaotic Shattered Dao Essence that filled this place was swept away.
This spear, which was covered in the rich Dao Strengths from both the Dao of Time and the Dao of Space, seemed to have come from some point in the past towards a moment in the future.
It was endlessly changing and felt completely unpredictable.
Meng Que’s face paled and he quickly gathered his strength to defend himself. Rich Black Ink Strength poured out into a barrier, but the spear pierced through all the obstacles unhindered, drawing a spray of black blood.
Meng Que gritted his teeth and backed away as quickly as possible!
However, Yang Kai followed him like a shadow and his spear transformed into a rain of shadows, moving fast at times and slow at others. Various Dao Strengths condensed, with the Dao of Time and the Dao of Space forming a core, creating infinite subtleties.
The four Eighth-Order Masters and Thunder Shadow who were in the Formation with Yang Kai followed closely behind, emptying their minds and bodies and channelling all their power into Yang Kai through the Battle Formation.
The situation on the battlefield was instantly flipped upside down. Yang Kai, who had been suppressed until he barely had strength to remain panting, had now gained the upper hand and overpowered Meng Que to the point where he could barely counterattack.
In terms of their might alone, Yang Kai and the others should be at a similar strength to Meng Que after forming the Battle Formation; however, the Dao Strengths that Yang Kai wielded were extremely profound. As he wielded the Dao Strengths while drawing power from Ou Yang Lie and the others, Yang Kai’s attacks became much sharper and completely unpredictable.
While others may not be able to feel it much, Meng Que, who was currently fighting against Yang Kai, could clearly understand the difference.
There were many attacks that Meng Que was confident that he could block, but though he should have deflected or resisted them, the result ended up astonishing him instead.
Each spear thrust seemed to have a clear attack pattern, but they would always fall out of his predictions at some point, causing him to make a misjudgment and causing a disadvantage in his defences.
It was as if Yang Kai’s attacks were not aimed at the current him, but rather at him from some point in the past or the future…
Dealing with such a situation was unusually difficult for Meng Que. Through the support of the Battle Formation, Yang Kai was currently no lesser to him both in terms of momentum and power. If that alone were the case, then a fight like this would probably end up in a situation where neither could do anything to their opponent.
However, the methods that this Human was using were too bizarre…
What Meng Que could not understand was how this Human could actually endure this level of exertion.
Meng Que had also practised the Four Symbols Formation with other Territory Lords before and knew the difficulty of holding a Formation together. It required not only the trust and cooperation of the others, but also the ability to bear a heavy load as the Core.
Serving as the Core of the Formation was equivalent to gathering everyone’s energy into their own body. If the power was too great, then it would be difficult for one’s body to handle it.
Yang Kai had already been battered by Meng Que previously, and now that he was presiding over the Six Paths Formation, he was basically gathering the strengths of the five other Masters into his own body, and the pressure alone was enough to crush any Eighth-Order Master, yet he was taking it as if nothing was wrong.
Meng Que seemed to remember then that this guy was not actually a pure Human, but rather part of the Dragon Clan…
Dragons were famed for their thick skin and strong flesh to begin with, so it seemed reasonable for Yang Kai to be able to withstand such pressure in this case thanks to the sturdiness of his body.
These thoughts made Meng Que furious. He was clearly one step away from success, yet he failed to achieve his goal at the very end, which left a bitter taste in his mouth.
Killing Yang Kai and obtaining the Open Heaven Pill, were both great feats. Why should he have to stay under that bastard Mo Na Ye’s feet forever?
Because Mo Na Ye had more brains than he did?
Because Mo Na Ye had become a Pseudo-Royal Lord before he did?
Anger burned inside Meng Que. Black Ink Strength surged alongside World Force. The Universe Furnace World began to show cobweb-like cracks where their battle was held, but they quickly reverted to their original states.
A Pseudo-Royal Lord was not to be trifled with when they decided to lay everything aside to put up a desperate fight. As each powerful Divine Ability or Secret Technique was released by Meng Que, Black Ink Strength that emanated from him could practically cloud over the entire void.
It was not because Meng Que was willing to fight so desperately, but because he had no other choice. Now that Yang Kai had formed a Battle Formation with the other Masters, it was impossible for them to just let Meng Que go like that. No matter what happened, a full-blown fight was going to break out.
Meng Que was initially confused by Yang Kai’s sudden surge of power, but now that he had gained his bearings, his situation was no longer as miserable as before.
He was not a complete fool, so he would not insist on fighting Yang Kai to the death. Instead, he focused less on dealing damage to Yang Kai and more on killing Ou Yang Lie and the others in the Battle Formation. There was no need to kill too many, just one would be enough to break the Formation, then the initiative would fall back into his hands.
However, even though Meng Que could trouble Yang Kai a little bit, it did not lead to any substantial progress. His intentions were obvious, and Yang Kai would never give him the chance to achieve them. Everyone had entrusted their lives to him, so he would naturally not disappoint them.
This battle was a fierce one that sent trembles through the void from the aftershocks.
At one point, Yang Kai slowed down his attacks. The miserably battered Meng Que, covered in black blood, finally saw an opportunity to dodge out of the Formation’s attack range. As his body shook, he turned into over 100 Black Ink Clouds that flew off in all directions.
Yang Kai had no intention of pursuing him, but there was a slight look of regret in his eyes.
Without delay, he maintained the momentum of the Six Paths Formation and forcibly enveloped Ou Yang Lie and the others with Space Principles before moving far away.
A while later, once they had left that battlefield, Yang Kai and the others emerged at a mountain range formed by the chaotic Shattered Dao Essence.
With one thought, the Battle Formation that they kept up all this while finally dissipated.
In the next moment, everyone grunted, and each one spat out fresh blood from their mouths, even Yang Kai and Thunder Shadow did the same. Yang Kai’s body was swaying and his face was as pale as a sheet of paper. Holding on with the Azure Dragon Spear to support him, he declared, “I will stand guard for everyone, so heal up first.”
Ou Yang Lie and the other Eighth-Order Masters had mixed expressions on their faces, but they did not say anything more. They all nodded and sat down cross-legged, each taking out Spirit Pills and stuffing them into their mouths.
Yang Kai stood while holding his spear and silently circulated the power of his Dragon Vein to heal the injuries on his body; he did not stop surveying their surroundings so that they were not taken advantage of by other enemies.
Fortunately, there were no Chaos Spirits here, only some Chaos Entities, which as long as they were not provoked, would not come over to bother them.
Thinking back to the battle earlier, Yang Kai still felt a little bit of regret; after all, he did not get to cut down that Pseudo-Royal Lord called Meng Que. It was not that Yang Kai wanted to let him off, but that he had no other choice.
He had already been injured by Meng Que before Ou Yang Lie and the others came to support him, and the others had also been fighting another Pseudo-Royal Lord before, so they more or less had their share of injuries.
It was fair to say that everyone but Thunder Shadow was injured before they formed the Six Paths Formation.
After getting into the Formation and engaging in a bloody battle with Meng Que, the powers of Ou Yang Lie and the others constantly converged on Yang Kai, while each of Meng Que’s attacks were also distributed to everyone.
Everyone came out of the battle more wounded than before. It was already getting difficult for them to hold on.
If Meng Que had not fled then, Yang Kai would have been forced to use devastating moves with the help of the Battle Formation that though it might have killed the enemy, would likely result in Ou Yang Lie and the others dying as well. As for himself, Yang Kai was confident that he could survive thanks to the toughness of his body, but it was difficult to say how badly he would be injured.
Even now, the wounds that Yang Kai had sustained were extremely serious. Half of them were from fighting with Meng Que alone, while the others were from the subsequent fight in the Formation.
However, he did gain some insight from this fight. His previous guesses were correct that, if he were to act as the Core of a Five Elements Formation, then that was enough for him to compete with a Pseudo-Royal Lord.
This time, Yang Kai was not able to gain much of an advantage even with a Six Paths Formation because none of them were at their peak strength.
As time passed, when everyone was still healing, the void’s Grand Dao shook.
The Universe Furnace’s third evolution had arrived.
Everyone was startled, but they were relieved to know that it was not an attack.
Seeing that Yang Kai was still standing guard for them nearby, Ou Yang Lie stood up, “Junior Brother, you should heal up too. Let me stand guard instead.”
Yang Kai shook his head, “I recover quickly, so don’t worry, Senior Brother.”
Ou Yang Lie looked him up and down and realized that indeed, his rate of recovery was much faster than the rest of them despite not actively cultivating, so he did not continue insisting and sat back down instead.
However, even if Yang Kai had a powerful Dragon Vein, it was still Thunder Shadow who recovered first.
The main reason for that was because Thunder Shadow was unharmed before they formed the Formation, so his injuries were the least severe. With his Monster Self to stand guard, Yang Kai could finally focus on healing.
After an unknown period of time, everyone who was healing opened their eyes one by one. Even though they could not say that they had fully recovered, they were at least fine now.
Ou Yang Lie sighed, “It is a shame that we let that Pseudo-Royal Lord go.”
Yang Kai laughed, “There’s no shame in that. Unlike us, the Black Ink Clan have no place to rest or heal in the Universe Furnace World. He came out of that fight badly injured, so he likely only has 50% of his strength left. He won’t be able to do much from now on.”
It was because of such considerations that Yang Kai did not insist on fighting Meng Que to the death; otherwise, the threat of letting a Pseudo-Royal Lord like him go would be too great for the other Eighth-Order Masters, in which case, Yang Kai would have tried much harder to kill him instead of just trading wounds.
A Pseudo-Royal Lord with only 50% of his power left may not have the guts to make a move even if he were to encounter other Eighth-Order Human Masters. Even though Meng Que did not die, his threat in the Universe Furnace had already been greatly reduced.
Ou Yang Lie could not help but raise his brow at that, “So, that means it wasn’t a loss for us?”
“No, of course not,” Yang Kai shook his head.
The worst-case scenario he originally envisioned was that he would be forced to join hands with Thunder Shadow to fight Meng Que alone. Of course, just his true body and his Monster Self were no match for a Pseudo-Royal Lord, but as long as they dared to put their lives on the line, then they would not let Meng Que off easily no matter what. As long as Meng Que realized that continuing the fight with him was going to cost him greatly, he would naturally withdraw by himself.
Fortunately, that did not happen, and he was able to borrow the strength of Ou Yang Lie and the others to form the Six Paths Formation.
When the other Eighth-Order Masters heard Yang Kai’s words, they were greatly relieved. They had fought against two Pseudo-Royal Lord’s in a row, and the intensity of the fights, especially against Meng Que, was far greater than anything they had ever experienced before. It was also a great benefit to their understanding of their own Grand Daos.
The cultivators who had emerged over the millennia had grown through life-or-death struggles in battle, and the experience of fighting two such Pseudo-Royal Lords could be an invaluable asset to them.
The situation prior was so urgent that they had no time to exchange pleasantries, but now that they had some free time, the other three Eighth-Order Masters introduced themselves and respectfully greeted Yang Kai as Senior Brother Yang.
The three Eighth-Order Masters were two men and one woman. One among the men was Zhan Tian He, a man of proper origins. He was a disciple of a certain Cave Heaven, but he was sent to the Star Boundary to cultivate long ago and was fed by the power of the Star Boundary’s World Tree clone. He advanced directly to the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm then.
Zhan Tian He was born with delicate features. With red lips and white teeth, he looked like a young man in his early twenties, obviously achieved by a high enough aptitude and a fast enough cultivation speed to achieve great strength at a young age, which allowed his youthful appearance to persist.
The other man was much more rugged with a waist like a bear’s and a back like a tiger’s. He was also unusually tall, resembling a steel pagoda when he stood up.
This burly fellow called Xiong Ji was also from a Cave Heaven, Bright King Cave Heaven, to be exact. The cultivators of Bright King Heaven were extremely powerful and robust as they mainly cultivated Body Tempering. Yang Kai had encountered many of Bright King Cave Heaven’s Masters before, but a man of Xiong Ji’s stature was still rare.
The woman, Liu Fei Fei, was not from a Cave Heaven or Paradise, but from a small Great Force. Though it was called a ‘small’ Great Force, it was in fact comparable to the Cave Heavens and Paradises now. That Great Force had also once dominated a Great Territory in the early days. It was similar to that of the Void Land back then, which made it a Second Class Great Force. However, no High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters had ever come out from there.
After the great evacuation of the Human Race, this Great Force also moved to High Heaven Territory, and Liu Fei Fei, as a young elite disciple of the Sect, was sent to the Star Boundary to cultivate in order to achieve her present success.
The Sect where Liu Fei Fei came from had now moved to the Myriad Monsters World, where there was no shortage of rising stars. In the future, there would definitely be a lot of good seedlings who could make her Sect shine.
The greetings were all exchanged. Originally, the three rising stars felt more or less restrained when faced with a legendary character like Yang Kai. They had all grown and cultivated in the Star Boundary, so naturally, they had long heard of Yang Kai’s reputation and achievements, so they were all honoured to join forces with a legend such as he.
However, after a short conversation, they realised that the legend was not as imposing as they had imagined. Instead, he was very approachable, and with the friendship gained through their previous battle, a sense of affinity had grown between them.
Yang Kai asked Ou Yang Lie and the others about their situation and learnt that it was by chance that the four of them had come together.
Ou Yang Lie had originally come from Azure Sun Territory alone. As he wandered through the Universe Furnace World, he happened to sense a fight and rushed over to take a look to discover that Zhan Tian He and the others had formed a Three Fortunes Formation and were fighting against a Pseudo-Royal Lord. Ou Yang Lie immediately came to their aid, leading to the scene that Thunder Shadow saw after that.
If Ou Yang Lie had come any later, then Zhan Tian He and the others would likely have been in mortal danger. A Three Fortunes Formation would most likely have been unable to defend against a Pseudo-Royal Lord. As long as the Pseudo-Royal Lord was determined to pay the price to forcibly cut one of them down, the Three Fortunes Formation would easily be broken.
Though Zhan Tian He and the two others were of different origins, they had similarly grown up in the Star Boundary and had fought together with each other many times on the Great Territory Battlefields. So, they had grown to know each other well and formed a deep friendship. This time, the group had also entered through one of the Universe Furnace’s entrances together.
Ou Yang Lie was worried that Yang Kai would not know of the Universe Furnace’s oddities, so he was in a hurry to bring him all the information gathered by the Humans so far. When he found out that Yang Kai had already met up with other Eighth-Order Masters and was informed of all the intricacies, only then did he rest.
He then said with excitement, “With Junior Brother Yang and Thunder Shadow joining us, we can now explore the Universe Furnace World freely with the Six Paths Formation.”
There was sense to his words. They were all injured previously and also fought off Meng Que, but now that they were mostly recovered from their injuries, with the Six Paths Formation, they no longer had to fear any Pseudo-Royal Lords. The only existence likely to be able to be any threat to them in the Universe Furnace World now would be the as of yet unconfirmed Chaos Spirit Kings.
Zhan Tian He and the others were also excited. Originally, the three of them were cautious and uneasy, worried that they would accidentally come across a Pseudo-Royal Lord, and they did end up bumping into one in the end. It was fortunate that they were able to turn a dangerous situation into a beneficial one. With a stronger Formation, there was no longer any need for them to worry about anything.
Ou Yang Lie stood up eagerly, “Junior Brother Yang, shall we get going?”
His wounds had yet to fully heal, but he was well enough to go searching for opportunities while recovering on the way.
Namely, he was eager to go off and search for a Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pill.
“There’s no rush.” Yang Kai smiled, “Senior Brother Ou Yang, I have something to give you.”
Ou Yang Lie was surprised, “What is it?”
What would Yang Kai have for him at such a time?
Yang Kai did not explain and just took out a wooden box, tossing it to Ou Yang Lie, who casually caught it and smiled, “Anything that comes from Junior Brother’s hands surely won’t be ordinary. Let me take a look.”
Saying so, he released the many seals on the box as Zhan Tian He and the others looked on curiously.
In the next instant, a dense multi-coloured light suddenly entered their eyes, accompanied by an indescribable fragrance. Ou Yang Lie’s smile froze on his face, but he was only taken aback for a moment before quickly closing the wooden box and sealing it again. He raised his head and narrowed his eyes at Yang Kai while putting on the airs of an Elder, “Stinking Brat, how can you casually throw such a thing around? Hurry up and put it away!”
He quickly walked up to Yang Kai and grabbed his hand, pressing the box heavily onto his palm as he glared solemnly at him.
He tried to take his hand away, but failed to do so. Yang Kai had caught his hand, causing Ou Yang Lie’s face to become even more serious as he scolded, “Damn Brat! You’re still not going to let go? Tugging and pulling at someone’s hand like this is highly improper!”
Ou Yang Lie really never expected that Yang Kai would actually give him “that’’ when he offered to give him something!
Despite having never seen it before, he knew the instant he opened the box and saw the dense multi-coloured light surrounding the object.
It was the greatest opportunity to help cultivators break through their limits, as well as the cause that triggered this great tide of competition between the Human Race and the Black Ink Clan.
A Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pill!
Ou Yang Lie had to sigh in admiration at this twist of fate. He had been planning to give Yang Kai a Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pill if he ever came by the opportunity to obtain one so that the latter could advance to the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm, and so that he could better lead the Human Race to victory and lift the darkness enveloping the 3,000 Worlds.
However, despite his search, Ou Yang Lie never caught a glimpse of a Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pill’s shadow, only finding a few Ordinary Grade Open Heaven Pills.
He never thought that Yang Kai would actually want to give him one instead.
[What is this boy thinking?]
The moment he saw the Open Heaven Pill, Ou Yang Lie felt a mix of emotions inside of him. He felt touched, but also annoyed at the same time.
He was touched that Yang Kai would so simply part with such a precious item as a gift to him, which was not something that could be done casually. In the end, he and Yang Kai merely knew each other well and shared some friendship as war comrades, but they were not at the level that warranted him being given a Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pill so simply.
Ou Yang Lie had the idea of giving Yang Kai a Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pill for the greater good of the Human Race, not to mention the fact that it was still a question as to whether he would get a Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pill to begin with.
But what was Yang Kai thinking when doing this?
Ou Yang Lie was annoyed at why this brat would give the pill to him when he himself needed it as well. How could he accept such a gift? This Stinking Brat could not be thinking that the pressure on him was too much, and so was thinking of shirking his responsibilities, was he?
Otherwise, why would he not take the Spirit Pill himself after obtaining it?
That would certainly not do. Yang Kai was not just a name, but the spiritual pillar of the entire Human Race. If he were to quit here, then it would greatly impact the morale of everyone.
While such thoughts were running through Ou Yang Lie’s mind, Zhan Tian He and the others were all stunned after seeing the Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pill. Even though they were not as old as Ou Yang Lie and had not seen as much as he had, it was still easy to recognise something like the Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pill.
Excitement, shock, thrill, admiration… They all instantly went through a tangle of emotions.
Since the three of them entered the Universe Furnace World Together, other than meeting the Pseudo-Royal Lord, their trip had been smooth so far. However, they had not seen a trace of a Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pill along the way.
Yet, Senior Brother Yang had already gotten his hands on one! As expected of the legendary figure that they had been hearing about from their Elders since they were young! They were truly impressed by the speed at which he was able to find and acquire such a treasure.
The presence of this Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pill was a direct correlation to the birth of another Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master in the Human Race, which would definitely have a huge impact on the struggle between the Human Race and Black Ink Clan in the Universe Furnace World.
A Ninth-Order Master could provide great help to the Humans.
Of course, they were also Masters who were in need of this Spirit Pill; otherwise, they would not have come into the Universe Furnace World. Though they came spurred on by the situation of the Human Race, they also came because of their own needs.
Now that the opportunity was right in front of their eyes, who would not feel their heart race?
Cultivators spend so many years striving hard on cultivating, was their goal not so they could reach greater heights in the Martial Dao?
It could be said that no Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master could stay indifferent in the face of a Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pill; this was merely Human nature, not greed or selfishness.
However, Zhan Tian He and the others quickly put away their thoughts for they knew that with Yang Kai and Ou Yang Lie present, this Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pill would not be for them to refine no matter what.
After all, the pill did not belong to them.
Yang Kai had guessed that Ou Yang Lie would reject the pill; only, he never thought that his Senior Brother would reject it so resolutely.
This reinforced Yang Kai’s idea that it was right of him to offer up the Open Heaven Pill. Not just anyone could muster the same determination to reject it when they were able to recognize what the pill was.
Patting the back of Ou Yang Lie’s hand, Yang Kai said, “Senior Brother, please listen…”
Ou Yang Lie shook his head like a rattle drum, “I’m not listening. Take and refine this thing right now. We will stand guard for you. Once you break through to the Ninth Order, go and wipe out all those Black Ink Clan bastards. Wouldn’t all the good stuff that’s left be ours without the Black Ink Clan creating a disturbance here?”
Zhan Tian He and the others nodded in agreement, “Senior Brother Ou Yang has a point.”
Yang Kai didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, “If this was useful to me, I would have found a place to refine it long ago and not keep it until now.”
Ou Yang Lie was stunned as he did not quite understand, “What do you mean? This thing is useless to you? Could I be mistaken about what this is?” He did not think he was wrong. It should be a Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pill, no doubt about it, but could he have been mistaken?
Yang Kai explained, “Yes, it is what Senior Brother is thinking of, but unfortunately, it really is useless for me.”
Ou Yang Lie frowned, “If it really is that thing, then how could it be useless to you? Don’t try to fool me. I won’t believe a thing you say.”
Yang Kai had no idea what to say to that as he too felt helpless, “That’s why, please let me finish. Senior Brother…” Speaking up to this point, he changed to Divine Sense transmission and began relaying the story about how he obtained the Three Selves Source Reconstitution Art from Wu Kuang. Ou Yang Lie listened with changing expressions, his eyes going back and forth between Yang Kai and Thunder Shadow.
[This Thunder Shadow Great Emperor who was born in the Myriad Monsters World is made of part of Yang Kai’s Soul, created with the help of a Secret Technique? That aside, there is still a Human Self, and only when three Selves unite can he break his limits and overcome the shortcomings of the Open Heaven Realm Method to step into the Ninth Order?]
The story sounded bizarre yet Yang Kai looked so serious when he told it to him. Ou Yang Lie did not even know whether he should believe him or not.
However, he did not see any trace of Yang Kai in Thunder Shadow. Could that still be considered part of him?
A moment later, Yang Kai continued, “Senior Brother, I know the situation of the Human Race better than anyone. If I could have broken through to the Ninth Order with this pill, then I naturally wouldn’t hesitate. If you would excuse me for shamelessly boasting, if I were to make a breakthrough to the Ninth Order, then it would be much more valuable than any other Eighth-Order Master. If I had such an opportunity, I would never give it up; however, this pill really is of no use to me. Everything else aside, does Senior Brother feel something unusual in the barrier of your Small Universe when you see this pill?”
Ou Yang Lie gently nodded.
The barrier around his Small Universe, which had been shackling him for so many years did in fact show signs of loosening the moment the multi-coloured light spread out, and it was because of that that he was able to conclude that it was a Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pill.
Only Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pills could have such a miraculous effect in this world.
Yang Kai said, “I don’t feel anything. That is why this pill is of no use to me.”
Ou Yang Lie’s expression turned complex at that, and he was silent for a long time before saying, “You’re not lying to me, right?”
Yang Kai chuckled, “I have already spoken up to this point, how could I deceive Senior Brother? If I may ask, please refine this pill as soon as possible and break through to the Ninth Order, Senior Brother. Then we can strengthen our people’s position and eliminate more powerful opponents.”
As Yang Kai said, if this pill was truly useful to him, then whether it be for personal reasons or the greater good of the Human Race, he would not give it away to anyone else.
However, facts proved that it was of no use to him.
The way the two of them kept pushing the pill to and fro made Zhan Tian He and the others gape in awe.
Even though they had no idea what Yang Kai said to Ou Yang Lie earlier, it did not matter. That was still a Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pill, and no Eighth-Order Master could possibly remain unmoved in front of it.
The opportunity to climb up to the Ninth Order was right in front of them, but these two were showing humility to each other, causing Zhan Tian He and the others to praise the nobility of these two Senior Brothers…
Ou Yang Lie held the wooden box containing the Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pill in his hand. Though it was a small thing, it felt unusually heavy.
There was a moment of silence before he said, “Junior Brother, I don’t know whether or not I can make a breakthrough with this pill. You should be familiar with my condition. After fighting for so many years and accumulating so many dark injuries, my Small Universe is a mess. If I refine it and do not make it to the Ninth Order, would that not be a shame?”
Yang Kai quickly said, “This pill was conceived by the Universe Furnace and created by the Heavens and Earth. Its wonders are beyond our comprehension. It’s worth a try, Senior Brother!”
Ou Yang Lie shook his head, “It’s still risky. This is an opportunity for someone to become a Ninth-Order Master. I don’t want it to go to waste, no matter how small the possibility.”
Saying so, he handed the wooden box to Zhan Tian He on the side, “Tian He, you do it!”
Zhan Tian He was flabbergasted, “M-Me?”
He was just watching from the side. How could such a good thing suddenly fall on his head? Did the Universe suddenly flip upside down? This was a Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pill! The goal of all those who came here! Why was everyone refusing to refine it!?
Ou Yang Lie was solemn, “You do it. I don’t have complete confidence in succeeding, while Xiong Ji is from Bright King Cave Heaven. Even if he succeeds, he would still just be a meathead. What he can offer to the Human Race is limited. As for Junior Sister Liu, her heritage is still lacking. You’re the best candidate, so you take it!”
Watching from the sidelines, Liu Fei Fei nodded lightly. Out of the three of them, she had broken through to the Eighth Order last, so it was true that she was still lacking in comprehension and heritage. She was not in as urgent a need for the Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pill.
Even though Xiong Ji was called a meathead by Ou Yang Lie, he just scratched his head and laughed embarrassedly as he could not deny it.
“Senior Brother, you… I…” Zhan Tian He was at a loss for a moment.
“Don’t go stuttering on me,” Ou Yang Lie slapped the box down on Zhan Tian He’s hand, “Hurry and refined it. We will stand guard for you.”
Zhan Tian He’s body froze as if he had been put under a spell. He had not been at such a loss even when he was facing the Pseudo-Royal Lord earlier.
Opening the wooden box by instinct, the multi-coloured light poured out once more. His heart throbbed and the barrier that stopped his Small Universe from expanding was shaking faintly from the pill’s fragrance.
The greatest opportunity was now in his hands. As long as he took it into his Small Universe, refining and absorbing it, then the walls would be broken through and he would advance to the Ninth Order!
However, Zhan Tian He remained still for a long time…
“Still not refining it? What are you waiting for? Are you waiting for the Black Ink Clan to come and attack us?” Ou Yang Lie could not resist the urge to reprimand him.
The look of struggle on Zhan Tian He’s face gradually eased up. Seemingly having made up his mind, he let out a bitter chuckle and shut the wooden box, handing it back to Ou Yang Lie.
Ou Yang Lie couldn’t help but narrow his eyes at him, “What are you doing?”
Zhan Tian He chuckled bitterly, “Senior Brother, please don’t make things difficult for me.”
Ou Yang Lie shouted, “Make things difficult for you? I’m giving you an opportunity and you say I’m making things difficult for you?”
Zhan Tian He took a step back and bowed respectfully to Ou Yang Lei, “Please forgive me, Senior Brother, but I can’t accept this, nor do I have the right to! Please refine it yourself, Senior Brother.”
Next to them, Yang Kai who was silent the whole time, raised his brow a little. He handed the Spirit Pill to Ou Yang Lie, but the latter did not have the confidence to refine it successfully and was worried about disappointing his expectations, so he turned around and gave it to Zhan Tian He instead. It was not because Ou Yang Lie lacked commitment, but because of how severe the matter was. Right now, having one more or one less Ninth-Order Master could make all the difference in their situation.
If he left it to Zhan Tian He, then a new Ninth-Order Master would definitely be born.
That was why Yang Kai did not stop Ou Yang Lie from doing so. For the greater good, Yang Kai had planned to find an Eighth-Order Master to have them refine the Spirit Pill after he discovered it was useless to him. Before that decision was even made, he never thought that he would end up bumping into Ou Yang Lie.
However, there was bound to be a little bit of selfishness in everyone. Compared to the rising star Eighth-Order Masters like Zhan Tian He, whom he just met, Yang Kai more or less shared a friendly relationship with Ou Yang Lie and would rather have him take the Spirit Pill. This was naturally why Ou Yang Lie became his first choice as a recipient.
As for whether or not it would give Zhan Tian He and the others any ideas, Yang Kai did not care. The Spirit Pill belonged to him so it was his own freedom to choose who to give it to. Nobody had the right to make that decision for him.
However, he truly never thought that Zhan Tian He would be able to resist such a great opportunity when it was brought before him. His virtue was praiseworthy indeed.
Yang Kai suddenly had the feeling that it was worth fighting for the Human Race for all these years.
Zhan Tian He’s quiet voice entered his ears, “Since this Junior Brother entered a Sect and began cultivating, the Elders have been telling us of our Senior Brothers and Sisters honoured names. The fact that the Human Race can occupy a place in the 3,000 Worlds and continue to survive under the oppression of the Black Ink Clan is all thanks to you Seniors. We, the next generation, have been able to grow and cultivate in the Star Boundary without lack of resources or mentors, all thanks to our Seniors and Ancestors, who sacrificed their lives, fighting on the frontlines.”
“It can be said that everything we have now is a result of the life offered and blood spilled by those who came before us. This time, we entered this Universe Furnace World to seek treasures and opportunities to make a breakthrough, but even that chance is thanks to the millennia of effort the Seniors and Elders have dedicated to the cause. If we gained something on our own, then the opportunity belongs to us. In that case, this Tian He would not stand on ceremony in seizing that opportunity. We as cultivators should be determined when forging ahead; if we are to act so timidly in front of opportunities, then what are we cultivating for? However, this was something brought here by Senior Brother Yang. Compared to what you two Senior Brothers have given to the Human Race, we are not qualified to receive it, nor do we dare to.”
While saying that, he gave a deep bow, “Tian He gives many thanks to Senior Brother Ou Yang for his kindness, however… Senior Brother Ou Yang, you have fought the Black Ink Clan for the sake of the Human Race for more years than any of us, then continued to do so on the Great Territory Battlefields of today. Isn’t this the reason why those dark injuries have accumulated all over your body? We, the younger generation, have no way of doing anything for you, but at the very least… I cannot rob you of your opportunity; otherwise, it would make me feel guilty. If that happened, how could I possibly hold my head high again?”
Zhan Tian He spoke so earnestly that Ou Yang Lie had to sigh upon hearing his words.
At this point, if he kept insisting to have Zhan Tian He refine the Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pill, he would just be troubling him. All of a sudden, Ou Yang Lie felt strange inside. With such a great opportunity in his hands, everyone should be fighting him for it, yet why did it suddenly become something to trouble others with?
Liu Fei Fei advised him from the side, “Senior Brother Ou Yang, you should refine the pill yourself.”
Ou Yang Lie grabbed the wooden box and turned to look at Yang Kai, making a gentle suggestion, “Why don’t… we leave it for Big Head Xiang? Big Head Xiang came in as well…”
“Senior Brother Ou Yang!” Yang Kai interrupted him without letting him finish, looking serious, “You are a Senior of our Human Race and have fought for so many years against the Black Ink Clan, killing countless enemies, never backing down in the face of death. You were separated from the Human Race Army back at the No-Return Pass yet you did not give up. Now, you are just refining a Spirit Pill, why are you being so sentimental about it? Please bring out some of your guts as a Senior. Don’t make us, your Junior Brothers and Junior Sisters, look down on you.”
Liu Fei Fei could not help but glance at Yang Kai. She was a woman after all, so she was slightly more sensitive. She could not help but feel worried that Yang Kai had overstepped.
Ou Yang Lie stared down at the wooden box, face serious but not speaking.
Yang Kai went on, “Senior Brother, both the Black Ink Clan and the Human Race Masters have gathered in this Universe Furnace World, and we also have the native Chaos Spirit Clan to be wary of. We cannot see what happens in the future, we can only strive for the best that we can do now. One more Ninth-Order Master in our ranks would mean a lot to the Human Race!”
Ou Yang Lie heaved a long sigh, “You think I don’t understand that? Forget it. Since you insist on pushing me, then there’s no need to say anything more or that would make me look stingy.”
Suddenly, he grabbed the wooden box and calmed his breathing, shouting, “Junior Brothers and Sisters, Senior Brother will refine this pill today and advance to the Ninth Order. I will trouble you all to stand guard for my sake!”
Yang Kai beamed, “Good!”
Zhan Tian He and the others cupped their fists with dignity, “Please refine the pill with ease, Senior Brother Ou Yang.”
After making up his mind, Ou Yang Lie no longer delayed the situation and immediately opened the wooden box, taking out the Spirit Pill that was glowing with a multi-coloured light from within, opening the portal of his Small Universe, and casting it inside.
The moment the portal opened, what Yang Kai was able to glimpse inside left him in disbelief.
A veteran Eighth-Order Master like Ou Yang Lie had been fighting against the Black Ink Clan for many years and had survived who knows how many bouts with death. Though he survived, the injuries continued to pile on in places unseen, something which Yang Kai had already known.
The Eighth-Order Masters who guarded those collecting resources in the depths of the Black Ink Battlefield were all such senior Eighth-Order Masters.
The hidden injuries in their bodies did not matter too much, but what troubled these veteran Masters were the problems appearing in their Small Universes.
For example, in the split moment that Ou Yang Lie’s portal was opened, Yang Kai could clearly see the abnormal situation within his Small Universe.
It was not that there were any defects to his Small Universe or its foundation was unstable, it was just different from a normal Small Universe. The energy that was coming out from inside of it was also not too stable.
It was not just a pretence when Ou Yang Lie said that he was not fully confident; otherwise, how would he think about having Zhan Tian He refine the Spirit Pill instead?
They watched him cast the pill into his Small Universe, but whether he could successfully break through his limit and advance to the Ninth Order was yet to be known.
However, since Ou Yang Lie had the determination and the qualifications to strive for it, it was worth it to take the gamble.
All Yang Kai and the others had to do was to stand guard for him.
However, standing guard in a place like this was not exactly easy either. Advancing to the Ninth Order should surely cause quite the commotion and might draw in some strong enemies, especially Meng Que, who escaped previously. He would surely spread the word about his encounter, and there were likely already Masters from the Black Ink Clan searching everywhere for them.
If possible, Yang Kai wanted to just seal off this area to stop the commotion Ou Yang Lie would be causing from spreading out, but that was an unrealistic thought. Despite his proficiency in the Dao of Space, it was still impossible for him to seal off too large of an area in this place filled with chaotic Shattered Dao Essence.
After a brief discussion between the four Humans and one Monster, they spread out, each guarding a separate position.
The simplest plan was no plan.
Many forefathers of the Human Race had reached the Ninth Order in the Universe Furnace, so if their Ancestors could do it, then they, the younger generation, could too.
Ou Yang Lie did not cause too much of a commotion at first; but soon, Yang Kai, who was stationed nearby, sensed a mysterious movement from the former’s direction. Obviously, this was a direct result of him refining the Spirit Pill. The burgeoning aura was so profound that even Yang Kai, who had cultivated the Three Selves Source Reconstitution Art Secret Technique, could sense the mysteries within it, accompanied by an urge to focus his mind and enlighten himself through its mysteries.
If even he was reacting this way to it, then it should be true even more so for Zhan Tian He and the others. Fortunately, they were tactfully aware of the severity of the situation and fought back the urge to sit down and cultivate, keeping their Divine Senses focused on their surroundings instead.
It did not take long for trouble to arrive, but it was within Yang Kai’s expectations.
Though, while he expected the enemies to come while Ou Yang Lie was making a breakthrough to the Ninth Order here, he never would have thought that the first ones to react would actually be the Chaos Entities that lacked intelligence!
The place that they were hiding in was a mountain range formed by condensed Shattered Dao Essence and was no different from the real mountains in the outside world, but intrinsically, they were completely different.
Chaos Entities existed in this place, which Yang Kai had noticed previously. Only, based on what Liao Zheng told him, the Chaos Entities should not react much as long as they did not take the initiative to provoke them. This was unless they were part of the Chaos Spirit Clan that had defined physical bodies and were strongly hostile against all outsiders. In that case, anyone who entered their territory would have to face their retaliation.
The Chaos Entities had not been on their minds before; thus, they never expected that countless Chaos Entities would be attracted by the disturbance and would swarm towards Ou Yang Lie from all directions.
Yang Kai reacted immediately to the situation and realised that the Chaos Entities must have been attracted by the fluctuations coming from the Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pill.
The Chaos Entities had an instinctive yearning towards the Open Heaven Pills that were formed in the Universe Furnace. By refining an Ordinary Grade Open Heaven Pill, one of them could form their own physical body and turn into a member of the Chaos Spirit Clan. Now that Ou Yang Lie was refining a Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pill, the fluctuations were so pervasive that there was no way the Chaos Entities could sit still.
It was just like a pack of wolves who had been starving for years had suddenly caught onto the scent of meat.
Yang Kai and the others acted immediately, circulating their Dao Strengths to stop and eliminate the Chaos Entities that were drawn over.
Dao Strengths dealt a great deal of damage to the Chaos Entities and many of them could not even withstand a single blow before they disintegrated back into disorderly Shattered Dao Essence.
However, there were far too many of them, and they were piling in from all directions. They had no idea where these Chaos Entities came from, but there seemed to be no end to them.
Yang Kai felt that he had made a mistake. He should not have asked Ou Yang Lie to make his breakthrough in a place like this; however, Liao Zheng never mentioned any of this in his report, so Yang Kai could not have expected this to happen. The reason they stopped here to begin with was because they were trying to hide themselves in the terrain so that they could recover from their injuries.
Ou Yang Lie refining the Open Heaven Pill here was just a logical progression.
Who knew that such a thing would happen when that decision was made?
Similar to what Yang Kai was encountering, in the desert where Yang Xiao and Yang Xue were, the two of them had obtained a Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pill, which Yang Xue had taken into her Small Universe and was in the midst of refining. It did not take long before an endless stream of Chaos Entities popped out from the sea of sand, lunging in for the kill.
Fortunately, the two of them were staying in the Flowing Time Temple all the while. At the moment, Yang Xiao was standing right in front of the Flowing Time Temple and was working its protective powers by channelling all his might into it. At the same time, he used his own Time Dao Strength to kill the approaching Chaos Entities. He slaughtered with reckless abandon, his Dragon Vein throbbing intensely. His Little Aunt was about to advance to the Ninth Order, so how could he allow these mindless Chaos Entities to spoil her efforts?
On Yang Kai’s side, the four Humans and one Monster were originally scattered in all directions with Ou Yang Lie at the centre, but in just a few moments, they had all gathered closer around Ou Yang Lie, each guarding a different direction and stopping all the incoming Chaos Entities. Things were going better on Yang Kai’s side since his attainments in his Grand Daos were exceptionally high, so it was no problem for him to deal with his share of the Chaos Entities.
Thunder Shadow’s side was slightly sloppy, but he was still managing to hold his position.
In contrast, Zhan Tian He and the others paled in comparison, especially Liu Fei Fei. She was not considered weak by any means, but one could clearly tell that her command over her Grand Dao was lacking compared to Zhan Tian He and Xiong Ji. She did not last for long before becoming overwhelmed and almost let a few Chaos Entities slip past her guard.
It was thanks to Yang Kai’s timely help that they were able to avoid a disaster
Of course, this was also related to the fact that they were unable to use their full power. Ou Yang Lie was refining the Open Heaven Pill just behind them, so that he could break through into the Ninth Order. If they were to use their full power here, they might end up disturbing him…
“Big Brother, the Chaos Entities outside have been drawn over as well!”
Thunder Shadow suddenly warned amid the heated battle.
Yang Kai almost choked when he heard himself being called ‘Big Brother’; still, he spared a glance and sure enough, the Chaos Entities wandering the void had also been drawn in, which instantly made their less-than-optimal situation all the more dire.
He had to think of a plan!
If this went on, then Ou Yang Lie’s breakthrough attempt would fail prematurely. If he failed here, it would be a huge loss for the entire Human Race.
If he could turn the power of his Dao Strengths into a protective barrier and envelop the entire area around Ou Yang Lie with it, they should be able to solve this situation, but Dao Strength was formless, so how could Yang Kai achieve something like that?
[Wait…]
While in the midst of battle, Yang Kai suddenly realised something.
[Shapeless power? If Dao Strength is formless, then how were these mountains formed? How could the Infinite River exist? And these Chaos Entities, too, as well as the Chaos Spirit Clan, how could they be explained?]
In an instant, ideas poured into Yang Kai’s head and made him think. While pushing down the emotion of having a sudden epiphany, Yang Kai had the feeling that he had vaguely touched upon something.
[The Grand Dao is not formless, it is perceptible!]