Martial Peak

Chapter 5477: Wind Mist Territory

Not daring to delay a single breath, Yang Kai set out. 

There was also a Universe Temple in Wind Mist Territory, but since Yang Kai had never been there before, he had not left his Imprint on it; otherwise, he would be able to save a lot of time by utilising the Universe Transference Law.

However, he could leave his Imprint at the Universe Temple now, which would save him time on his journey back.

A few days later, Yang Kai noticed a quaint Grand Hall floating in the void from afar and realised that he had arrived at the Universe Temple of the Great Territory.

Just as he wanted to rush into the Universe Temple though, he saw countless cultivators streaming out of it, frantically flying in all directions.

This sight made Yang Kai feel uneasy. 

The number of cultivators pouring out from the Universe Temple was so immense that he couldn’t help but suspect that all the cultivators in Wind Mist Territory who could traverse the void were gathered here; otherwise, it would be impossible to gather so many Open Heaven Realm Masters in a Great Territory like Wind Mist Territory on usual days.

Flashing forward, he grabbed a young man who had just stepped out of the Universe Temple and was about to depart, then questioned in a solemn voice, “What happened here?”

The cultivator was enraged that he was seized just as he was panicking fleeing for his life, so he tried to break free from Yang Kai but failed.

Fortunately, he was smart enough to realise that the other party was way stronger than him, so he restrained his rage and explained impatiently, “I don’t know what happened. All I heard was people saying the void had shattered and Wind Mist Territory was about to fall into a catastrophe. Everyone is fleeing, and so am I.”

“The void shattered?” Yang Kai muttered in a daze. 

Taking advantage of this, the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master struggled again, and finally successfully broke free from Yang Kai, fleeing in an instant. 

At that moment, Yang Kai heard the sound of conversation from numerous individuals, so he instantly turned to look. He noticed those individuals were two Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters and a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master talking to each other, and it appeared that they were the leaders of some Great Forces. 

Yang Kai stepped forward, and learning from his prior experience, he deliberately released his Eighth-Order undulations. 

The presence of an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master among a group of Fifth and Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters undoubtedly gained everyone’s attention. The three Masters, who were conversing, fell into silence immediately and looked over at Yang Kai.

Striding over in an instant, he cupped his fist, “Star Boundary’s Yang Kai would like to inquire about what happened here.” 

The eyes of the three people brightened, and the oldest-looking Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master hesitated before asking, “Is Senior… the Lord of the Star Boundary?”

They were all aware of the mighty reputation of the Star Boundary. Previously, these three had intended to send their talented disciples there to train in order to experience the nourishing benefits of the World Tree clone, but unfortunately, they lacked the means to do so.

They also knew that the Star Boundary had several Great Emperors recognized by it, one of whom was Yang Kai who bore the title ‘Void Great Emperor’. 

It was just that according to rumours, this person had been in retreat for 1,000 years and had not been seen for that long.

They had never imagined that they would be able to meet an individual who claimed to be Yang Kai of the Star Boundary. 

“It is this Yang!” Yang Kai nodded.  

These three were equally delighted and shocked by his response. After many years of being unable to form a connection with anybody from the Star Boundary, they were ecstatic to meet the Lord of the Star Boundary in Wind Mist Territory’s moment of danger. What shocked them even more was the fact that Yang Kai was an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master already! 

As far as they knew, the Lord of the Star Boundary was only a Sixth-Order Master when he disappeared from the public eye some 1,000 years ago. While 1,000 years sounded like a lot, for those in the Open Heaven Realm, it could not be considered a long time, especially to cross two Orders.  

[Are the Word Tree clone’s benefits that astonishing?]

They assumed that Yang Kai’s rapid advancement in cultivation was a result of the World Tree clone; however, this was not just a case of them being ignorant and uninformed. The World Tree clone was largely aggrandized by many and so the general public were unaware of its secrets since they had never visited the Star Boundary.

Additionally, the information made public by High Heaven Palace, the representative Sect of the Star Boundary, was the reason they believed Yang Kai had been in retreat for 1,000 of years. Though many individuals in the Cave Heavens and Paradises were aware of Yang Kai true location on the Black Ink Battlefield, it was unwise to inform the public about it, so they only announced that Yang Kai had been in retreat. 

The three Masters exchanged greetings right away once they realised the man in front of them was indeed the Lord of the Star Boundary. These three were Sect Masters of the strongest three Sects in Wind Mist Territory. The oldest Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master among them was the Wind Mist Sect Master, Zhao Long Ji, and the other two were subordinates of his.

Facing an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, who was also the Lord of the Star Boundary, they dared not act nonchalantly, so Zhao Long Ji immediately explained the situation from start to finish.

Some time ago, a disciple of Wind Mist Sect discovered something strange in the void while he was outside travelling. Since his cultivation wasn’t high, he dared not conduct a hasty investigation and instead quickly went back to his Master Sect to report the issue. In turn, one of the Vice Sect Masters led a team to investigate. 

This Vice Sect Master was soon startled by what he saw. 

It only took less than 10 days from when the disciple discovered the anomaly to when the Vice Sect Master led people to investigate, but in that time, the void, which was initially only slightly warped, seemed to have broken apart and a hole had appeared in it. From that hole, something that looked like the blackest gas imaginable had flowed out, filling the surrounding space.

Being a cautious person, the Vice Sect Master ordered a disciple to enter deeper to investigate the matter, but how could he have expected that as soon as that disciple entered that black gas, it would latch onto him and cause a kind of mutation which he struggled hard to resist.

Fortunately, the Vice Sect Master was strong enough to subdue him.

But what was shocking was that the disciple became perfectly normal after being subdued. Only after the Vice Sect Master carefully examined this disciple and determined that there was nothing amiss did he release him. 

After several investigations, he realised that any disciples who came into contact with that black substance would struggle hard at first and then be perfectly fine as soon as it dissipated. 

The Vice Sect Master was baffled and had no idea what in the world this black substance was.

The Cave Heavens and Paradises had recruited many Fifth-Order and Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters to join the battle in the Barren Territory, yet they still did not disclose any news about Black Ink Strength to the outside world. So, the Masters from Wind Mist Territory were all not aware of the existence and characteristics of Black Ink Strength. 

When Yang Kai heard this, he knew something was wrong.

This was unmistakably a case of being corrupted by Black Ink Strength.

A cultivator would instinctively struggle while being corrupted, but after they were completely overcome by Black Ink Strength, it would be impossible to see anything wrong with them unless their Small Universe was checked. 

It was just that it was unthinkable for someone to want to inspect another’s Small Universe; after all, in the 3,000 Worlds, this was one of the greatest taboos. Many store their greatest secrets and valuables in their Small Universes; thus, it would be highly offensive to ask to see another’s Small Universe, 

[Did the portal that connects Wind Mist Territory to the Barren Territory expand enough for Black Ink Strength to begin leaking out already?]

This was not a good sign. The Black Ink Giant Spirit God had yet to arrive, but if this situation persisted, the Territory Gate might be completely opened all on its own.

“What about those disciples who are contaminated with that black substance?” Yang Kai asked anxiously.

Zhao Long Ji sighed, “They’re dead. Something went wrong with them which caused them to suddenly assault Vice Sect Master Liu, who later put them to death on the spot. Unfortunately, Vice Sect Master Liu was also stained by that substance despite him escaping. He somehow managed to retain his senses and hurried back to the Sect to deliver a warning. Before the black substance completely changed him as well, he understood what fate awaited him and so he pleaded with this Zhao to spare him from it. It was a duty that this Zhao carried out with great reluctance.”

Vice Sect Master Liu was also a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, and a Master like him was rare among Sects such as the Wind Mist Sect. Zhao Long Ji was devastated that had to be killed in this manner.

Suddenly, Yang Kai looked at him seriously and reached out to grab him. That startled Zhao Long Ji who originally wanted to fight back but was instantly seized by Yang Kai, completely immobilising him.

Immediately afterwards, he sensed an overwhelming force intruding into himself, examining his body inside and out.

Only then did he realise what Yang Kai was doing, so he instantly said, “Senior Yang, rest assured. After Vice Sect Master Liu, this Zhao found out about the peculiarities of the black substance and did not allow it to infect anyone else.”

When Yang Kai confirmed that Zao Long Ji was clean, he nodded and replied, “It seems you do understand the dangers of Black Ink Strength now. Anyone that is corrupted by it will become a Black Ink Disciple, who appears no different on the outside. The only way to determine the truth is to investigate their Small Universe. Forgive me for the offence.” 

“Black Ink Strength?”

“Black Ink Disciple?”

The few of them looked at each other. This was the first time they heard such terms.

Then, Yang Kai sighed, “Have you all received the conscription order from Cave Heavens and Paradises?”

All three of them nodded upon his words. Some Masters of their Sects also received the order to gather at the Shattered Heaven.

“The Black Ink Clan is our Human Race’s greatest enemy while Black Ink Strength is the power they hold. It is extremely corruptive; once stained by it, it cannot be dispersed. Just like your Vice Sect Master and the few disciples, they will end up as Black Ink Disciples and lose their original selves. The Cave Heavens and Paradises have been fighting against the Black Ink Clan on a distant battlefield for countless years, preventing them from invading the 3,000 Worlds.”

Zhao Long Ji and others turned pale in shock, “We never knew about this!”

“The Cave Heavens and Paradises purposefully concealed this matter to avoid causing panic,” Yang Kai shook his head and said, “But now that the situation has taken a turn for the worse, we need assistance from even Second Class Sects like yours.”

The three came to a sudden realization.

They previously wondered why the Cave Heavens and Paradises suddenly sent out orders to recruit so many Fifth-Order and Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters. Not only Wind Mist Territory, they also heard that all other Great Territories were the same. 

They had guessed that the Cave Heavens and Paradises had encountered some kind of powerful enemy, but they never knew that this enemy had actually been fought against for such a long time.

Zhao Long Ji responded, “If this is the case, is the opening in the Great Territory caused by the invasion of the Black Ink Clan?”

“Indeed! What is the situation of the opening now?”

Zhao Long Ji replied worriedly, “It is expanding rapidly. The same goes for that thing you call Black Ink Strength. We had no choice but to send orders to everyone to evacuate Wind Mist Territory. As for what measures we should take next, we were discussing that just now.”

Many individuals objected to Zhao Long Ji’s decisions at first; after all, Wind Mist Sect had laid down its foundation in this Great Territory more than 10,000 years ago, making them reluctant to simply abandon it.  

However, after witnessing what happened to their disciples and Vice Sect Master, and seeing the rapid expansion of the darkness, Zhao Long Ji overruled all objections and ordered a general evacuation of Wind Mist Territory.

Several other Sects immediately followed suit once word had spread, but the majority of the forces here stayed behind. To those smaller Sects, they would be the largest Sects after Wind Mist Sect and other Second Class Great Forces left, so they would now have an opportunity to rise.