Martial Peak

Chapter 5722: The Universe Furnace’s Self-Defence Mechanism

What puzzled Fu Guang greatly was why Yang Kai’s illusory phantom had appeared inside the Space within the Universe Furnace’s projection! [What did that brat do to cause such a bizarre phenomenon?]

Likewise, the Masters of both the Black Ink Clan and the Human Race on the various Great Territory Battlefields were absolutely perplexed by the situation.

Yang Kai’s illusory phantom had not just appeared in the Universe Furnace’s projection outside the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, but in all the locations where the Universe Furnace’s projection existed. The fact that his illusory phantom had appeared everywhere at the same time could be said to be a spectacular miracle!

The Black Ink Clan Army and the Human Race Army stood in formation outside the Universe Furnace’s projection in Twin Poles Territory, facing each other silently.

Both the Black Ink Clan and the Human Race had been recalling their forces during this period, so there had been no conflict between them for some time. The Universe Furnace was about to emerge in the world, and the situation was unclear; therefore, both parties were being extremely cautious to prevent the other from obtaining an opportunity.

Their current silent confrontation was in preparation for the upcoming fight over the control of the entrance to the Universe Furnace.

The Universe Furnace was a tremendous blessing and opportunity. The Human Race was planning to fight for this opportunity, and the Black Ink Clan could not allow them to obtain what they wanted. The present calm was simply a sign of the turbulent storm that was about to come.

Although there were many Universe Furnace projections, it was foreseeable that a war would inevitably break out between both parties once these projections transformed into entrances. When the time came, the party who had control over more entrances would be able to send more Masters inside.

At this moment, two Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters were standing side by side in Twin Poles Territory, monitoring the movements of the Territory Lords on the opposite side when Yang Kai’s illusory phantom suddenly appeared out of nowhere. While there were many other Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters like themselves among their ranks, the number of Territory Lords among the Black Ink Clan was not few either.

One of them suddenly called out in alarm, “Junior Brother Fang, it’s the Dao Lord! The Dao Lord!”

The only ones who would address Yang Kai as ‘Dao Lord’ were the disciples who originated from the Void Dao Temple. The person who spoke earlier was none other than the good friend whom Fang Tian Ci met in the Void Dao Temple all those years ago, Liu Jing Shan.

After leaving the Void Dao Temple, Liu Jing Shan advanced directly to the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm outside of the Star Boundary. He later went through thousands of years of cultivation and eventually reached the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm.

Even with his astounding achievements, he could not conceal his admiration and respect for the Dao Lord. In fact, almost all the cultivators from the Void Dao Temple held blind faith in their Dao Lord, Yang Kai. That sense of admiration in their hearts never faded or changed with the increase in their cultivation.

Needless to say, the person standing beside Liu Jing Shan was Fang Tian Ci, who nodded at those words, “But, it’s just an illusory phantom!”

When the Suppressing Black Ink Army was established, Yang Xiao’s Squad was formally transferred to the Suppressing Black Ink Army. However, Fang Tian Ci, who was originally a member of Yang Xiao’s Squad, had applied to stay behind instead. Needless to say, there was no reason for Mi Jing Lun, who was in charge of this matter, to make things difficult for him.

Over the years, Fang Tian Ci remained active in Twin Poles Territory and joined forces with Liu Jing Shan to defeat their enemies. As many of the Divine Abilities, he cultivated and his habits when dealing with enemies were somewhat similar to Yang Kai, he was often compared to the latter. He eventually gained the nickname ‘Little Yang Kai’ and became quite famous. The Black Ink Clan had since repeatedly tried to target him out of fear that he might grow to Yang Kai’s level. Fortunately, he had always managed to escape and survive their attempts; after all, his attainments in the Dao of Space were not low. It was difficult for the Black Ink Clan to succeed, regardless of their attempts to target him.

Fang Tian Ci frowned at the illusory phantom, feeling extremely puzzled… [Why would his image appear inside the space within the Universe Furnace’s projection?]

Thinking about it again, Yang Kai had always been unconstrained in his actions. He generally made unexpected moves that nobody else could even imagine, so… it did not seem too strange for his illusory phantom to appear here.

Fang Tian Ci smiled at the thought and did not think too deeply about the matter.

Meanwhile, Thunder Shadow, who was in Azure Sun Territory, had the same question as Fang Tian Ci.

When this Monster Race Master advanced to the Monster Emperor Realm in the Myriad Monsters World, he had only been a Fifth-Order Monster Emperor, which corresponded to the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm. Nevertheless, he attracted many congratulatory wishes from everyone at the time. Even the Human Race Masters overseeing the Myriad Monsters World had not dared to take him lightly. That was because Thunder Shadow was not a mere Monster Emperor, but also a Monster Race Great Emperor who the Myriad Monsters World’s Will recognized!

Thunder Shadow had spent most of his time cultivating hard in the Myriad Monsters World over the recent years, and thanks to the blessing of the World Tree Clone, his cultivation had advanced by leaps and bounds. He grew from the Fifth Order to the Seventh Order in just a short 2,000 years, and then 300 years ago, he became an Eighth-Order Monster Emperor after which he came out of retreat. He had brazenly caused a bloodbath in Azure Sun Territory by relying on his brutality and the innate might of the Monster Race. No less than five Territory Lords had died to his claws, which gave him an impressive reputation!

Most of the Monster Race who came from the Myriad Monsters World had been taken in by Human Masters as mounts. By relying on the protection of these Human Masters, Monster Emperors could often improve their cultivation at great speed. At the same time, they could tacitly increase their cooperation with the Human Race Masters to bring down their enemies more efficiently.

However, there was no Human Race Master who would even dare to think about taking Thunder Shadow as a mount. He was an individual who received the recognition of the Myriad Monsters World after all. As a Great Emperor who cultivated the Primal Art, Thunder Shadow naturally had great prospects for the future. Nearly 99% of the Human Race would not be able to match up to his strength. In that case, who would be qualified to subdue him?

However, it was rumoured that he had a very close relationship with a small Great Force known as Great Feather Pavilion. That was because he received great care from a Great Feather Pavilion disciple when he was young and weak.

At this moment, a Monster Leopard with lightning all over its body was quietly watching the projection in Azure Sun Territory. He did not take Human Form. It was not because he didn’t want to, but that he couldn’t.

The Monster Race who cultivated the Primal Art mainly focused on polishing their Monster Cores as their foundation. The stronger their Monster Core, the stronger their strength as a Monster Race member, and the harder it became for them to assume Human Form. That was especially true for a Monster Race Master like Thunder Shadow. It was practically impossible for him to assume Human Form at this point.

There was a man and a woman next to him. They were none other than Qin Xue and her husband who came from Great Feather Pavilion. The couple were both in the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm. Their cultivation was nothing special in Azure Sun Territory, but their safety was guaranteed thanks to the protection of Thunder Shadow. In fact, they often worked with Thunder Shadow to eliminate many powerful foes over the years.

“That’s the Master of the Star Boundary, right?” Qin Xue studied the illusory phantom for a moment and quickly recognised the identity of the figure.

Beside her, Hou Qing Hai nodded lightly, “There’s no doubt it’s him. I saw his statue in the square when I visited High Heaven Palace in the Star Boundary in the past.”

He thought back to the scene he witnessed back then. Seeing thousands of High Heaven Palace disciples showing such great reverence to their Palace Master had fascinated him greatly. Every time he thought about that scene, he couldn’t help thinking that that was how a real man should be. Unfortunately, both he and his Wife were limited by their aptitude. The Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm was their inherent limit, so it was difficult for them to make any further progress.

“A Hero indeed,” Qin Xue sighed, “It’s only thanks to him that the Human Race managed to persevere until now. But, why did his figure appear here?”

Hou Qing Hai shook his head to express his ignorance.

On the other hand, Thunder Shadow growled softly, “It’s probably related to the Universe Furnace’s projection!”

Qin Xue tilted her head to the side with a puzzled expression, but did not bother to think deeper into the matter. She simply asked in a worried voice, “Thunder Shadow, are you really going to enter the Universe Furnace?”

He did not respond.

Hou Qing Hai tried to persuade Thunder Shadow otherwise, “Thunder Shadow, you are part of Monster Race. Not to mention, you are a Great Emperor recognized by the Myriad Monsters World and cultivate the Primal Art. Even without entering the Universe Furnace, you have great prospects waiting for you in the future. Why must you put yourself in needless danger? I might not know the internal situation in the Universe Furnace, but I’m certain about something, there will be a horrific bloodbath when the time comes!”

Qin Xue nodded repeatedly in agreement and stared at Thunder Shadow expectantly, hoping that the latter would change his mind.

The couple could not understand the reason why Thunder Shadow, who was born as part of Monster Race and cultivated the Primal Art, would want to compete in the bloody battle to enter the Universe Furnace. There was no reason for him to go after all.

In response, Thunder Shadow simply said, “I have my reasons for going, so please stop trying to persuade me otherwise. The entrance to the Universe Furnace will soon open. Please be extremely cautious when I’m not around and don’t try to be brave or reckless. Qing Hai, please take good care of your Wife!”

Hou Qing Hai sighed heavily, “Please don’t worry about us.”

…

Everywhere outside the Universe Furnace’s projections at each location, the Masters of both the Human Race and the Black Ink Clan were communicating with each other through voice transmission. Every one of them had their own intentions, but there were no exceptions about one thing, they were confused by the image that suddenly appeared.

At the same time, Yang Kai’s gaze wandered around the Universe Furnace’s projection on the Black Ink Battlefield as though he could see across space.

He could see the astonished expressions of his Wives and several Disciples at the Suppressing Black Ink Fortress outside the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction. He also saw Fang Tian Ci in Twin Poles Territory. When their gazes met, they nodded lightly at each other. Everything was conveyed without any spoken words. Then, he saw Thunder Shadow, Qin Xue, and her Husband standing side by side in Azure Sun Territory. The tense atmosphere between the Human Race Army and the Black Ink Clan Army, as they stood in formation outside the Universe Furnace’s projections, did not escape his notice either…

The barriers of space suddenly became meaningless at this moment. With the help of the mysterious connection between him and the Universe Furnace’s true body, Yang Kai could see everything at all the locations where the Universe Furnace’s projection had appeared.

A realisation suddenly welled up in his heart, and he burst out cursing! He was starting to understand the reason behind this phenomenon. It was the defence mechanism of the Universe Furnace itself!

This Supreme Treasure had remained hidden beyond the bounds of this Universe for all time. Nobody had ever figured out its exact location, much less seen its true body before.

On the other hand, it was different for Yang Kai who was proficient in the Dao of Space. He had utilised the mysterious effects of his Cow Punch Secret Technique to trace the Universe Furnace’s aura back to its roots to determine its true location. At this point, he was only one step away from success.

Unfortunately, the Universe Furnace could not allow him to determine the location of its true body. That was why the connection that formed between him and the Universe Furnace had turned into an invisible rope, and an immense pulling force drew him in from the other end of the connection. The Universe Furnace was trying to pull him into itself so that he could not investigate its location any further!

Whenever the Universe Furnace emerged in the world, it had always been customary to wait for the entrance to appear in order to enter it. Be that as it may, Yang Kai had been given permission to enter the Universe Furnace early, and it was not an invitation that he could refuse.

It was also because of the connection between him and the Universe Furnace’s true body that his image appeared in all the projections. The strange Spaces scattered everywhere were originally projections of the Universe Furnace’s true body. Now that Yang Kai had a close connection with the Universe Furnace and was being drawn into it, his figure was also being projected everywhere.

A series of coincidences and opportunities had all led to this outcome. Yang Kai’s original intention was to trace the location of the Universe Furnace’s true body and simultaneously annihilate those surrounding him. He never expected his actions to cause such an unexpected turn of events; therefore, he couldn’t help feeling slightly panicked. Would he be refined by the Universe Furnace if he entered it? It would be a huge tragedy if that were the case! Instead of increasing his cultivation, he would end up as part of the legendary Innate Open Heaven Pills!