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Translator: Silavin & Sara
Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun
Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys
Even someone like Feng Ying, an elite among the Humans who had been in countless battles on the Black Ink Battlefield, had to spend over two centuries cultivating in seclusion before she could go from Seventh-Order to Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm, so what more need be said about others?
Most Masters would encounter a bottleneck of their own unless they were extremely fortunate or had exceedingly solid foundations, though the difficulty of breaking through the bottleneck always varied.
Once they reached the bottleneck, they could break through it within a century or two if they were lucky, but the unlucky ones might even take up to a few millennia if they ever succeeded at all.
The best thing to do was to let these Seventh-Order Masters look for the Ordinary Grade Open Heaven Pills inside the Universe Furnace. If they could gain some of these opportunities, then the Humans would have more Eighth-Order Masters around, which would be a huge boost in future battles against the Black Ink Clan or the Chaos Spirit Clan.
Compared to the Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pills, it was far easier to find Ordinary Grade Open Heaven Pills. Apart from the ones Yang Kai seized when the Universe Furnace emerged, he had also found two of them at the mountain range earlier.
Based on his earlier observations, there were quite a lot of Ordinary Grade Open Heaven Pills. The Human Masters would surely be able to find some unless they were extremely unlucky.
This meant that quite a number of the Seventh-Order Masters who came in would soon become Eighth-Order Masters!
“You mentioned Senior Brother Xiang earlier. Has he become a Ninth-Order Master?” Yang Kai asked.
Liao Zheng shook his head, “No, so Senior Brother Xiang came in this time too.”
[Xiang Shan didn’t break through to the Ninth Order?] Yang Kai was a little startled. He thought it would have been fairly easy for Xiang Shan to do so, but from the looks of it now, he was still heavily affected by the previous regression in his Order thanks to sacrificing a large chunk of his Small Universe. Otherwise, with his aptitude and talent, it was unlikely for him to fail to have a breakthrough after so many years of retreat.
The Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pills might just be his only hope.
[Would Ordinary Grade Open Heaven Pills be useful for this situation?]
Xiang Shan had the aptitude to become a Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. He was different from the others like Ou Yang Lie and Mi Jing Lun who started off in the Sixth-Order. He was now stuck at the peak of the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm and could not go beyond this, so it could be considered a bottleneck. [Theoretically speaking, an Ordinary Grade Open Heaven Pill would probably… be useful in his situation?]
In that case, the Humans would soon have a new Ninth-Order Master inside the Universe Furnace.
This was thrilling news for the Humans and a catastrophe for the Black Ink Clan.
Yang Kai was caught up in these thoughts of his. Meanwhile, in a different part of the Universe Furnace World, there was a terrain that appeared to be a dense forest.
At a glance, the dense forest was just like a regular one outside with towering trees and a variety of plants, but it did not have the sounds of nature and life.
Upon closer inspection, it became clear that this seemingly ordinary forest was entirely made up of Shattered Dao Essence, just like the Infinite River and the mountain range that Yang Kai found.
There were a lot of strange sights inside the Universe Furnace. It had everything that could be found in the outside world, but it also had things that could not be found anywhere else.
There was no denying that the space inside the Universe Furnace was exceedingly mysterious.
…..
At this very moment, a heroic-looking figure was sitting cross-legged under a large tree. This Human wore a deep red robe that was quite eye-catching. He did not hide his aura, which was that of an Eighth-Order Master at the peak of his realm. He readily allowed his aura to spread in all directions. Anyone who was nearby would instantly sense it.
He was none other than Xiang Shan!
Usually, Xiang Shang kept a pretty low profile, but he was now purposely announcing his presence because he wanted to attract the Black Ink Clan’s attention, as well as allow the Humans to locate him quickly.
He did not keep a high profile because he was full of himself. Instead, it was because he was confident.
After cultivating in seclusion for over 1,000 years and failing to break through his bottleneck, Xiang Shan realised that he could not rely on his own efforts alone to become a Ninth-Order Master. That was why he entered the Universe Furnace as well.
The Open Heaven Pills could aid him in his efforts to break through into the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm, and he was not doing so for his own greed. If he became a Ninth-Order Master, the Humans would gain an even more powerful warrior who could deter the enemy.
Xiang Shan had already partaken in a fight earlier and his victory was seen in the form of the scattered remains of a Chaos Entity nearby who was destroyed by his Dao Strength.
As it was, he was fairly lucky. He ended up here when he entered the Universe Furnace and ran into a Chaos Entity who had consumed an Ordinary Grade Open Heaven Pill right away. Naturally, Xiang Shan wasted no time and effort in killing the Chaos Entity and taking the Ordinary Grade Open Heaven Pill for himself.
He consumed it at once and began refining it!
Moments later, Xiang Shan stood up and held his hands behind his back before letting out a weak sigh.
The Ordinary Grade Open Heaven Pill could not help him with his present condition. Even though he figured as much already, he was still disappointed that he had been proven correct.
The real reason why he could not become a Ninth-Order Master was the drawbacks left behind when his Order fell in the past.
No one else knew about this, but he knew full well that his Small Universe never regained perfection after what happened back then.
If he wanted to resolve this, he would have to get a Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pill!
However, there were only a handful of Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pills and it would not be easy to find one. Either way, all he could do was try, the rest was up to the Heavens.
With that thought in mind, Xiang Shan turned into a streak of red light and shot out of the dense forest. As he headed off into his distance, his formidable aura spread across the void and became even more prominent.
…..
Xiang Shan thought of the Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pills as something rare and almost ethereal. He did not know where to look for one, but somehow, there would always be lucky ones who would find what they wanted even without specifically looking for it.
An intense battle had just ended in another part of the void. The chaotic Shattered Dao Essence was disrupted by the aftershocks of the battle and space became strange and unpredictable.
Two figures stood together. One was a young man dressed in white. He had white hair and bright eyes. The other was a slender woman with delicate features.
As the two of them stood together, they gave off the feeling of a well-matched couple.
The young man and woman were Yang Xiao and Yang Xue from the Suppressing Black Ink Army.
When the Universe Furnace projection fully manifested at the Suppressing Black Ink Fortress, the Black Ink Clan Army charged through the opening in the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction in an attempt to keep the Suppressing Black Ink Army occupied, but after a frenzied battle, the Black Ink Clan suffered devastating losses. Even the two Royal Lords who took the risk to come out had been severely injured by Fu Guang with the help of his Dragon Bead. One of them nearly died on the spot.
The Black Ink Clan had no choice but to retreat, and the 50 Eighth-Order Masters from the Suppressing Black Ink Army who had been chosen to enter the Universe Furnace managed to do so at the very last breath.
Ever since the Suppressing Black Ink Army took up the responsibility of standing guard at the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, they did not have any means of contacting the Supreme Headquarters directly. The distance between them was too great, so it was only Yang Kai who could travel back and forth freely, and he had already visited them once due to the Innate Territory Lords sneaking out of the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction.
Due to this, Yang Xiao and Yang Xue did not know much about the Universe Furnace; hence, they had no idea that everyone would be separated once they entered.
That being said, despite not knowing about this, Yang Xiao did grab Yang Xue’s hand before they entered. He was not a naive young boy anymore. After all the years of fighting against the Black Ink Clan, he was no longer the mischievous child he once was. Now, he was able to stand alone and shoulder heavy responsibilities.
As a man, he was constantly protective of Yang Xue who was with him all the time; thus, he instinctively grabbed Yang Xue’s hand before entering the Universe Furnace.
This was how they were able to stay together upon entering.
Unfortunately, they had not been inside long before they ran into a Territory Lord.
The Territory Lords who entered the Universe Furnace were Acquired Territory Lords as basically all the Innate Territory Lords who were well and whole had taken part in the plan to create Pseudo-Royal Lords. The only Innate Territory Lords the Black Ink Clan had now were the ones who snuck out from the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction or the ones with heavy wounds from battle.
These Innate Territory Lords were severely weakened, so they could not enter the Universe Furnace.
Even in a one-on-one fight, both Yang Xiao and Yang Xue could easily go up against an Acquired Territory Lord, so what more when they were up against one together?
The Territory Lord did not even have the chance to escape as the two of them joined forces and harnessed Time Principles, which turned the Territory Lord into dust.
The two of them came out of the fight completely unscathed!
However, Yang Xiao started frowning as he turned and stared into the distance.
Yang Xue noticed this and was a little anxious, “Are you hurt?”
Yang Xiao shook his head, “No, but… Little Aunt, I think there’s something over there.”
“What is it?” They were in the middle of an endless void, and after hearing what Yang Xiao said, Yang Xue was on edge. She felt as if someone was hiding somewhere and spying on them in secret.
“I don’t know,” Yang Xiao could not explain it either. He raised his hands and channeled the power of his Great Sun and Moon Marks, “When I used Purifying Light earlier, I sensed a vague connection to something over there. These two Marks are something that Adoptive Father gave me!”
Yang Kai had obtained 10 sets of Great Sun and Moon Marks, along with a large amount of Yellow and Blue Crystals from Chaotic Dead Territory. He gave them to 10 Divine Spirits which enabled them to supply the dozen or so Great Territory Battlefields with Purifying Light even when he was not present. This eased the awkwardness and pressure Yang Kai felt from being exhausted and stretched too thin.
This was why Yang Xiao had the Great Sun and Moon Marks from the Burning Light and Serene Glimmer.
Earlier on, when he was working together with Yang Xue to kill the Territory Lord, Yang Xiao used Purifying Light to attack the enemy, and it was this action that led to the two Marks on his hands sensing something.
[But, what could possibly interact with the Great Sun and Moon Marks inside the Universe Furnace?] Yang Xiao could not figure it out.
Yang Kai would not have thought that Yang Xiao would be the first to reap the rewards of him marking nine Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pills. It could only be chalked up to a person’s luck, which was not something that could be calculated.
Yang Xue’s eyes brightened at once, “Could it be Big Brother?”
She made this guess because Yang Kai also had the Great Sun and Moon Marks, and if both were used, it was normal to sense a Mark from the same source.
Yang Xiao was shocked as well, “It could be. Come. Let’s go and take a look.”
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