MARTIAL PEAK 5657

Now that the matter of the Ancestral Land had come to an end, there was no point in thinking any further. Yang Kai changed the subject and asked, “How are Senior Brother Xiang and the others?”

Many years ago, Xiang Shan had stopped showing his face and focused on his secluded cultivation in order to break through to the Ninth Order. The Black Ink Clan suspected that Xiang Shan and the other promising Eighth Order masters had secretly broken through to the Ninth Order, but that was not the case.

The Ninth Order was the peak of the Human Race’s Martial Dao, so breaking through to the Ninth Order was extremely difficult. Not to mention, there weren’t many people on the Human Race’s side who had the qualifications to break through.

One of them had indeed succeeded, but that was not Xiang Shan.

Hearing Yang Kai’s question, Mi Jinglun sighed and said, “It’s been a thousand years since we last heard any news. In fact, with Brother Xiang’s talent, if he hadn’t encountered an accident back then, he would have definitely reached the Ninth Order now.”

In the past, Xiang Shan’s cultivation had fallen to a lower grade. In the distant Blue Sky Pass, when Yang Kai had yet to set foot on the Ink Battlefield, Xiang Shan had become famous and countless Territory Lords had died at his hands. However, the tallest tree in the forest would be destroyed by the wind, and the Black Ink Clan’s targeted deployment had caused Xiang Shan to fall into a trap. After a bitter struggle, he had been accidentally eroded by the Ink Force and had no choice but to give up his Small Universe's territory to preserve his own heart.

After the territory is separated, his grade dropped from the Eighth Order to the Seventh Order. Although he had used the Profound Female Spirit Fruit to repair his damaged Small Universe, his cultivation still needed to slowly accumulate.

That was why Yang Kai had never heard of Xiang Shan’s name during his time in Blue Sky Pass because he had been cultivating in seclusion.

It wasn’t until the Human Race’s upper echelons decided to form the Great Evolution Army and conquer Great Evolution Pass that Xiang Shan appeared in front of everyone again.

Mi Jinglun had said that if it weren’t for that incident, Xiang Shan reaching Ninth Order now wouldn’t have been an exaggeration. In that era, the various Cave Heaven Paradise had produced many outstanding talents, but none of them had been able to conceal Xiang Shan’s name.

Unfortunately, cutting off the Small Universe’s territory had also affected his future, so it was far more difficult for him to break through to the Ninth Order now.

Currently, the situation between the Human Race and the Black Ink Clan was relatively stable. Although there was a fierce battle, it was still within the scope of their control, so there wouldn’t be a sudden war between the two races, so Xiang Shan took advantage of this opportunity to go into seclusion.

“However, Brother Xiang said that at that time, regardless of whether he advances or not, he will come out to face the enemy.”

Yang Kai nodded slightly and asked again, “What about the Withdrawing Black Ink Pavilion? How is it?”

The Withdrawing Black Ink Pavilion was a large-scale palace artifact that Yang Kai had specifically instructed the Head Office Division to build to deal with the Black Ink Clan masters. It was similar to the various mountain passes of the Human Race in the past, but it was naturally far inferior to the real ones.

Currently, the methods of the Human Race’s Artifact Refiners were more varied than in the recent ancient era, and their skills weren’t too different, but their resources were lacking.

The amount of resources required to forge a mountain pass type artifact was too great, and with the current situation of the Human Race, it was impossible for them to afford it. If they were to forcibly forge such a treasure, most of the Human Race’s resources would be consumed. At that time, what would the soldiers use to improve their strength?

As such, Yang Kai could only build a Withdrawing Black Ink Pavilion. This was also the reason why Yang Kai had specifically tell the Head Office Division when he came out of seclusion nearly a thousand years ago.

This artifact was extremely useful, but it wasn’t used in the various Great Domain Battlefields.

Hearing Yang Kai ask about the Withdrawing Black Ink Pavilion, Mi Jinglun said, “Three hundred years ago, there was news from the other side that the Withdrawing Black Ink Pavilion had been completed. Over the years, it has been equipped with all kinds of Spirit Arrays and Artifacts, so it should be almost complete.” Pausing for a moment, he asked, “Why don’t we go take a look?”

“Good!” Yang Kai nodded.

Immediately, the two of them left the Head Office and flew into the depths of the void.

The forging of the Withdrawing Black Ink Pavilion was a secret among the Human Race, and only a few participants and the Human Race’s upper echelons knew about it. The forging site was located in an extremely remote area of this Great Domain, and the surrounding void had long since been enveloped by a great array. There were also Human Race masters patrolling the area, no one was allowed to approach it.

The two of them flew forward one after another, and after an hour, they finally saw a Universe World.

Although the Universe World had been born countless years ago, the World Great Dao was not complete, so there was no vitality above the Universe World. Such Universe World was very common in the various Great Domains, and although it contained some precious cultivation resources, it was not suitable for living creatures, nor could it produce any vitality.

Several Divine Senses reached out and confirmed Mi Jinglun’s identity, but they did not stop him.

Under Mi Jinglun’s lead, Yang Kai flew around the Universe World for a while before finding a suitable angle and diving down. Passing through a thick layer of dark clouds, an unfamiliar Universe World aura rushed towards him.

A towering giant object immediately appeared before his eyes, like a giant steel beast.

This is the Withdrawing Black Ink Pavilion.

Compared to the Human Race’s mountain passes in the Ink Battlefield, the volume of the Withdrawing Black Ink Pavilion was undoubtedly much smaller, almost less than ten percent of those mountain passes.

Even so, it was still massive.

The entire Withdrawing Black Ink Pavilion looked like a small city with many buildings, towering walls, and towers.

At this moment, inside the Withdrawing Black Ink Pavilion, a number of figures were shuttling back and forth. On top of the city wall, Yang Kai saw a large number of artifacts arranged neatly. These were all newly refined artifacts and once activated, their power would definitely be extraordinary.

There were also many great arrays inside, but none of them had been activated yet, so he couldn’t see much.

Although the Human Race was currently in dire straits and had been forced to defend more than a dozen great domains by the Black Ink Clan, as the favored children of this era’s Heavens, even if they were in dire straits, they still had their own strengths.

In the past, the Human Race’s army had been defeated in the Heavenly Beginning Great Restriction and had fled back to the Spatial Territory.

The deaths of countless soldiers were indeed heartbreaking, but the loss of the mountain passes that had been passed down since the end of the Ancient Era was the greatest loss for the Human Race.

Many of the mountain passes had been destroyed, but there were also some that had been left behind.

It wasn’t that the Human Race didn’t want to take them away, but those mountain passes were simply too large. Even the Small Universe of a Ninth Order Open Heaven cultivator, couldn’t easily take them away, so they could only leave them behind.

Now, all of these mountain passes had become the Ink Nest's territory.

However, if the Human Race had a chance to defeat the Black Ink Clan and take back the mountain pass, there was still a chance they could take back the mountain pass.

When the two of them landed on the Withdrawing Black Ink Pavilion, a figure immediately came up to them.

Yang Kai was stunned, “Grandmaster Dongguo!”

This man was Dongguo An Ping, a Great Grandmaster Artifact Refiner who came from Divine Cauldron Heaven. The first Expelling Black Ink Battleship was forged by him, Yang Kai, and an Array Master.

However, after Yang Kai left Blue Sky Pass, they hadn’t seen each other for many years, mainly because Dongguo An Ping was in charge of Artifact Refining while Yang Kai’s mission was to kill enemies. Since the two of them were on different battlefields, it was naturally difficult to see each other.

“Yang Kai!” Dongguo An Ping also recognized Yang Kai and cupped his fists with a smile, “It’s time to call him Junior Brother Yang.”

Yang Kai returned the greeting, “Senior Brother Dongguo!”

His heart was filled with joy. He had met many people in the Ink Battlefield, but not many had survived. It was rare to see someone he knew here.

Dongguo An Ping also sighed slightly. When he first met Yang Kai, he was only a Sixth Order Open Heaven cultivator. He was not well-known, and since he brought the Light of Purification, he was highly regarded by the upper echelons of Blue Sky Pass. Now that they had met again, he had become a prestigious Regiment Commander of the Mysterious Nether Territory, a thorn in the side of the Black Ink Clan masters.

In just a few thousand years, he had grown so much!

Mi Jinglun smiled and said, “Senior Brother Dongguo is one of the high rank Artifact Refiners of the Withdrawing Black Ink Pavilion. If Junior Brother Yang wants to know more about the Withdrawing Black Ink Pavilion, you can ask Senior Brother Dongguo.”

“Thank you, Senior Brother.”

Dongguo An Ping said calmly, “Artifact Refining is this old master’s duty, it’s nothing much, but Junior Brother Yang, can you tell me where this Withdrawing Black Ink Pavilion is going to be used? The cost of refining this artifact is enormous, at least a thousand Artifact Refiners have been deployed for nearly a thousand years, but although this artifact’s power is great, it’s not suitable for the current situation. Even if the Human Race were to launch a counterattack one day, this Withdrawing Black Ink Pavilion wouldn’t have much significance. If it weren’t for the Head Office's special instructions, this old master wouldn’t have wasted so much time and resources of the Human Race’s army.”

It could be heard that Dongguo An Ping still had some feelings about refining the Withdrawing Black Ink Pavilion. Just as he had said, this thing wasn’t of much use to the current situation, and it wouldn’t be useful in the future unless he could refine more Withdrawing Black Ink Pavilion. Although this thing was a powerful weapon used to attack cities and uproot their strongholds, its drawbacks were also quite obvious. It would consume too much energy and take too long to refine, so if it couldn’t be used properly, it would simply be a waste.

“Senior Brother Mi didn’t explain the situation?” Yang Kai was stunned.

Mi Jinglun replied, “The fewer people who know about this matter, the better.”

Dongguo An Ping couldn’t help glaring at Mi Jinglun, “This guy is so mysterious, its only talking about secrets, what can this old master do?”

Yang Kai couldn’t help but laugh, but he quickly composed himself and sent a voice transmission to Dongguo An Ping.

Dongguo An Ping’s expression immediately became solemn, “As expected!”

From the looks of it, he had long since made a guess, but it was now confirmed by Yang Kai. After all, he is also an old man from Blue Sky Pass who had participated in all the battles in the Ink Battlefield.

If the Withdrawing Black Ink Pavilion was used in that place, it would complement each other.

“What are the chances of this happening?” Dongguo An Ping asked.

Yang Kai said seriously, “It will happen sooner or later.”

Dongguo An Ping rejoiced, “Fortunately, this old master didn’t skimp on the materials needed to refine the Withdrawing Black Ink Pavilion, otherwise, it would have been a big mistake.”

Yang Kai couldn’t help laughing as he said, “Please take us for a walk, Senior Brother.”

Dongguo An Ping’s spirits were immediately lifted. Although he had some feelings about forging the Withdrawing Black Ink Pavilion, strictly speaking, this object was his greatest achievement in life. Now that it had been successfully forged, he naturally couldn’t help showing off to others. Naturally, those who participated in the forging were not good targets, but now that Yang Kai and Mi Jinglun had arrived, he couldn’t help but lead the two of them around and explain.

TO BE CONTINUED...