Martial Peak

Chapter 5710: It has appeared!

These Territory Lords had snuck out from the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction. After travelling for 10 years and avoiding being hunted by Yang Kai along the way, they finally arrived at the No-Return Pass. Before they could heal from their wounds and recover their strength though, they were used as pawns to besiege Yang Kai under Mo Na Ye’s order.

Many of their clansmen had died in the previous battle, and those who survived initially thought that they would finally be rewarded for all their hardships. Who could have known that such a strange phenomenon would occur? For some reason, they were trapped in the void now with no means of escape.

For a time, many were filled with an inexplicable sense of grief and indignation. How could the outside world be so dangerous? Although life in the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction had been boring and monotonous, it had at least been safe. Hence, they were starting to miss the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction.

The region where the Territory Lords were located was not the only place where the peculiar illusory phantom appeared. Many illusory phantoms also emerged out of thin air on the battlefields across the various Great Territories where both the Human Race and the Black Ink Clan were fighting. The phenomenon even occurred in the deserted Barren Territory and at the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction.

The illusory phantoms might be scattered across the Universe, but they had the same shape. It was as though a mysterious existence had projected its image at all these different locations. The illusory phantoms loomed over the vast void; however, only the unlucky Innate Territory Lords on the Black Ink Battlefield were trapped within its range. No other living being had been trapped within the illusory phantom; after all, the illusory phantom had emerged very slowly and those with the slightest sense of vigilance had fled at the first sign of its appearance.

The Black Ink Clan was completely bewildered by the phenomenon, but some of the veteran Human Race Masters rejoiced. Some even cheered and praised the Heavens for blessing the Human Race, acting as though the appearance of the illusory phantom was a great blessing to them.

The news quickly spread to the Supreme Headquarters as soon as the illusory phantom manifested in the void, where Mi Jing Lun quickly realized what was happening and also cheered, [What opportune timing!]

For this phenomenon to appear at this point in time… The delicate balance between the Human Race and the Black Ink Clan that had been carefully maintained for the past few thousand years was surely about to be broken! The tidal wave, which was destined to sweep across the Universe after accumulating for so many years, was about to come!

Numerous orders were quickly issued and relayed to various parties. Like a sophisticated Grand Array, the entire Human Race began to operate with the Supreme Headquarters as the Core. At the same time, Mi Jing Lun also ordered many different types of ancient books that had been collected by the Cave Heavens and Paradises over the years to be brought to the Supreme Headquarters.

A stream of light soon arrived from the outside and landed in front of the Supreme Headquarters. When the soldiers on duty saw the appearance of the visitor, they immediately allowed him to enter without hindrance.

Mi Jing Lun, who was reviewing the information at the time, looked up with a slight glint of sadness in his eyes. Although he knew that it was unlikely for Xiang Shan to advance to the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm, he couldn’t help feeling disappointed when the outcome was blatantly displayed in front of him.

Xiang Shan walked straight to the table and glanced at the information in front of Mi Jing Lun; then, he raised his brow and asked, “Is it really the Universe Furnace?”

Mi Jing Lun nodded, “I’m sure you’ve sensed it too.”

Xiang Shan agreed, “I was in retreat when my mind became restless and the turbulence struck my Small Universe. It was rumoured that those at the peak of the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm would experience a resonance when the Universe Furnace appeared. I guess the rumours were true.” After a pause, he added, “Where is it located?”

Mi Jing Lun massaged his temples with a troubled look, “There seems to be more than one location!”

“What do you mean?” Xiang Shan was stunned.

“Take a look for yourself.” Mi Jing Lun pushed a jade slip towards Xiang Shan.

Xiang Shan took the jade slip and checked the contents; then, he exclaimed in astonishment, “How can this be?”

According to the intelligence received by the Supreme Headquarters, the illusory phantom of the Universe Furnace had appeared on a number of the Great Territory Battlefields. Moreover, these were only the ones detected by the Human Race. There was no saying whether anything had slipped through their investigations.

Mi Jing Lun elaborated, “According to the records in the ancient books of the Cave Heavens and Paradises, it is possible for there to be more than one location when the Universe Furnace emerges. At most there were three locations in the past. There has never been a precedent where there were more than 10 locations at once.”

Xiang Shan reminisced with a fond look on his face, “A long time ago, I heard my Honoured Master talking about the Universe Furnace. The Ancestors speculated that the Universe Furnace always remained hidden beyond our Universe. Nobody has ever seen the true Universe Furnace before. On the contrary, what we see is nothing more than its projection. Although the projection is illusory, it is closely related to the body of the Universe Furnace. More than that, the projection is the entrance to the Universe Furnace.”

Mi Jing Lun nodded, “I’ve heard the Seniors discussing this idea in the past. Moreover, the number of projections seems to be related to the number of deaths and the strength of the deceased in a particular area. According to the records, more projections will appear when more strong beings lose their lives.”

Xiang Shan immediately understood, “Is that why there are projections on every Great Territory Battlefield?” 

“That’s probably the reason. Both the Human Race and the Black Ink Clan suffered countless casualties on the Great Territory Battlefields, and many of these casualties were Open Heaven Realm Masters. Therefore, it is not surprising for the projection of the Universe Furnace to appear on these Great Territory Battlefields.”

“By that logic, projections should also appear in the Barren Territory and at the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction.”

Countless beings had died in the wars at both the Barren Territory and the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction. In particular, the Ninth-Order Old Ancestors and Royal Lords had practically annihilated each other in these two locations. There was a high possibility that the projections of the Universe Furnace had appeared at those two locations.

The location of the projection was the location of the entrance to the Universe Furnace. In other words, there were more options for a person if they wanted to seize the opportunity to enter the Universe Furnace; however, this was not good news for the Human Race.

If there were only one or two entrances, then the Human Race would definitely go all out to seize control of these locations and prevent the Black Ink Clan from entering. Unfortunately, it was a fool’s dream to hope that they could control all the entrances under these circumstances. The Black Ink Clan would also have the opportunity to enter the Universe Furnace, which would be extremely disadvantageous to the Human Race. The current situation would inevitably lead to a bloody battle that would in turn destroy the current balance.

“When was the last time the Universe Furnace appeared?” Xiang Shan asked.

Mi Jing Lun replied, “Around 200,000 years ago.”

Xiang Shan frowned. Too much time had passed since the last appearance. Even if the ancient books of the Cave Heavens and Paradises contained any records, they would likely not be complete or comprehensive.

Mi Jing Lun was currently reading through the ancient books to find some useful information, so the Human Race Masters were not completely blind when they entered the Universe Furnace.

“Every time the Universe Furnace appeared in the past, the projections mostly only appeared on the Black Ink Battlefield. The projections would occasionally appear in the 3,000 Worlds, but those occurrences were rare; therefore, the records left behind in the 3,000 Worlds do not contain much useful information.”

The number and location of projected entrances to the Universe Furnace was closely linked to the number of powerful living beings who died nearby, that much was certain. There had always been various conflicts in the 3,000 Worlds, but large-scale wars were basically non-existent, so the projections rarely appeared in the 3,000 Worlds. The projections generally only appeared on the Black Ink Battlefield.

Among the Old Ancestors, a number had advanced to the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm thanks to the opportunities they obtained in the Universe Furnace. For that reason, the Ninth-Order Old Ancestors should have some knowledge regarding the Universe Furnace. Unfortunately, most of the Ninth-Order Old Ancestors lost their lives during the battles at the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction and the Barren Territory. Xiao Xiao and Wu Qing were the only two Ninth-Order Old Ancestors who survived.

The problem was that these two were considered rising stars among the Ninth-Order Old Ancestors. Only a few thousand years had passed since Wu Qing advanced to the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm, and though Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao advanced earlier, it was still just 20,000 years ago. There was a high possibility that she had not experienced the last appearance of the Universe Furnace.

At present, it was an extravagant hope to acquire information regarding the Universe Furnace from the Masters of the previous generation. Even so, Mi Jing Lun immediately sent men to Xiao Xiao and Wu Qing to inquire about the Universe Furnace. After all, these two were still older than the rest and they might have some useful information.

“What about the Divine Spirits?” Xiang Shan asked, “Some of them have probably lived long enough. Shouldn’t they know something about the Universe Furnace?”

Mi Jing Lun replied, “I have sent messengers to the Elders of the Dragon and Phoenix Clans, but we shouldn’t expect too much. The Divine Spirits generally remained at the No-Return Pass without leaving their position. Although they have lived long enough, they did not participate even when the Universe Furnace appeared in the past; hence, they probably do not know much about the Universe Furnace either.” He continued after a pause, “I also sent messages to some of the Elders from the Cave Heavens and Paradises. We’ll see what information we can obtain.”

The Elders from the Cave Heavens and Paradises might not be very strong, but they had lived for a long time. Even if they did not experience the Universe Furnace in person, they might have heard something from their Seniors.

It was quite a sad situation. Although the Universe Furnace was undoubtedly the biggest opportunity for the Human Race, the interval between each appearance was so long that the Human Race did not know much about it. At this moment, their most urgent task was to collect as much information as possible.

“Will there be enough time?” Xiang Shan asked slightly anxiously.

“There is nothing to worry about on that front,” Mi Jing Lun reassured, “According to the records in these ancient books, the appearance of the Universe Furnace’s projections is just the beginning. The entrance will only open once the projections have solidified completely. This process can take a long time, ranging from a few months to five years.”

Xiang Shan nodded lightly, then he suddenly looked at Mi Jing Lun with an apologetic expression, “I want to enter the Universe Furnace!”

Although he had the qualifications to advance to the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm, he had determined that he could not do so with his own strength alone after cultivating in retreat for the past 1,000 or so years. The damage he suffered when his cultivation regressed might have seemed harmless at the time, but apparently, there had been a profound impact on his foundation after all.

Mi Jing Lun smiled and said, “Brother Xiang, of course, you should be able to enter the Universe Furnace. There’s no need to feel awkward; after all, your advancement to the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm will bring greater pressure to the Black Ink Clan.”

Aside from Xiang Shan, the only other person in the Human Race who qualified to coordinate the overall situation and strategize the logistics was Mi Jing Lun. During the years that Xiang Shan had been cultivating in retreat, Mi Jing Lun had basically taken charge of the entire Supreme Headquarters and managed the whole Human Race in an orderly manner.

The Universe Furnace was a great opportunity for both of them, but unfortunately, both of them couldn’t enter it together. One of them had to stay behind to lead the Human Race; otherwise, chaos would surely erupt. In other words, if Xiang Shan were to enter the Universe Furnace, then Mi Jing Lun had to stay behind. That was one of the reasons why Xiang Shan felt slightly guilty.

However, Xiang Shan was not acting solely out of personal interests. It was just as Mi Jing Lun said. Although they were both at the peak of the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm, Xiang Shan was superior in terms of combat power; hence, it would be better for him to enter the Universe Furnace in search of an opportunity to break through.

In this regard, Mi Jing Lun was very understanding. Even if Xiang Shan had not said anything, he would have made the same arrangements.