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Translator: Silavin & Tia
Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun
Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys
Gu Pan moved extremely fast. After using a Secret Technique to shackle Yang Kai in place, she quickly soared into the sky without the slightest hesitation. Although both of them were in the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm, she had witnessed his ability with her own eyes.
During Yin-Yang Cave Heaven’s Dao Theory Assembly, Zhao Xing of Thousand Birds Paradise had also been in the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm; even so, he had been killed by Yang Kai almost immediately in their confrontation on the Prison Star. Not only was he a Core Disciple of Thousand Birds Paradise, but he had also advanced into the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm some decades earlier than them.
Gu Pan was a Core Disciple of Lang Ya Paradise; nevertheless, she had to admit that she was not very different from Zhao Xing in terms of strength even after 100 or so years of accumulation.
Seeing as Yang Kai had already been capable of killing Zhao Xing easily at that time, the current Yang Kai was definitely not somebody she could fight against. That was why she immediately tried to flee after using a Secret Technique to bind and imprison him. If it were anybody else in their generation, she would have taken the opportunity to try to deal a lethal blow; unfortunately, her opponent was Yang Kai, she knew she wasn’t capable enough, so she chose to escape instead.
Suddenly, Gu Pan felt a large hand grab her ankle. When she turned around to look, her expression became shocked. That was because Yang Kai had broken free of the multiple layers of restraint that bound his body in an instant.
He remained seated in his original position, but his outstretched hand gripped her as firmly as iron shackles. She was flooded with despair! Even though she knew that he was much stronger than her, she never expected him to be so powerful.
“Get down!” Yang Kai shouted, and with a yank of his hand, Gu Pan was unceremoniously dragged downward and slammed into the table with a loud bang. The wooden table shattered and dust flew everywhere.
World Force fluctuated, and the paintbrush in Gu Pan’s hand emitted a bright light, but before she could act, Yang Kai had already placed a palm on her forehead and a heavy power fluctuated out like a sharp weapon.
Pursing her lips, she lay quietly in front of him. Her entire body was stiff, and her clear eyes glared at him fixedly.
Yang Kai grinned, “Junior Sister, why did you attack me so suddenly?”
She calmly replied, “Don’t you know why I attacked you?”
“Please enlighten me, Junior Sister!”
Sorrow flashed across Gu Pan’s eyes as she shook her head, “You are no longer the Senior Brother Yang I know.”
“Who am I, if not me?” Yang Kai bent down and stared at her intently with a sharp gaze, looking as though he was going to eat her.
Gu Pan turned her head to the side and declared, “There’s no point talking. Just kill me!”
He laughed, “Kill you? Won’t that be going too easy on you?”
While saying so, he suddenly reached out his hand and took out a wooden box from his Space Ring. He waved his hand, and World Force fluctuated. It was only after he placed a barrier in all directions that he opened the wooden box. The Black Ink Insect immediately rushed out of the wooden box, only to be caught by him.
Gu Pan had been indifferent even when facing death, but her expression immediately twitched at the sight of the Black Ink Insect as she muttered, “I knew it. You’ve been corrupted by the Black Ink after all. To think that you even have something like the Black Ink Insect.”
“Oh?” Yang Kai looked at her in surprise, “You can actually recognise the Black Ink Insect, Junior Sister. In that case, this will be much easier to explain. Junior Sister, why don’t I show you the true path?”
Closing her eyes, Gu Pan she spoke quietly, “I may not be your opponent, but it is not difficult for me to destroy my own Small Universe.”
Yang Kai simply nodded in appreciation, “I couldn’t have known from your appearance! Unlike your stature, it turns out that your courage is not small, Junior Sister! But, it doesn’t matter. I like those with courage, it makes breaking your bones one by one all the more pleasant! You’re not allowed to cry, Junior Sister!”
Widening her eyes, Gu Pan glared at him, “Go ahead and kill me! If you are planning to corrupt me with the Black Ink, I advise you to give up on the idea. I will kill myself immediately if you dare to release the Black Ink Insect!”
Yang Kai stared at her coldly, his murderous intent surging. Nevertheless, she stared straight back at him without any fear. It was only a long while later that he suddenly released her and placed the Black Ink Insect back into the wooden box. Gu Pan immediately leaped up in response and distanced herself from Yang Kai as much as possible, staring at him suspiciously.
On the other hand, Yang Kai stood up calmly and cupped his fist, “I’m sorry, Junior Sister Gu, I had no choice but to test you just now. Please forgive my discourtesy!”
Gu Pan stared at him warily and asked, “What are you plotting here? If you don’t kill me, I will expose your identity as somebody who has been corrupted by the Black Ink to the entire Lang Ya Paradise. At that time, you will have nowhere to escape!”
Yang Kai grinned, “If I die, won’t Senior Sister Qu become a widow? Are you really willing to do that?”
“Senior Brother Yang is dead already. You are not him!”
Yang Kai knew that it was useless to explain, as no matter how hard he tried, anybody who had some understanding of the Black Ink Clan would no doubt believe that he had already been corrupted when they saw him holding the Black Ink Insect in his hand. Therefore, he simply pushed his World Force to open the portal to his Small Universe and said, “You will understand the truth if you take a look for yourself, Junior Sister. I will explain everything to you once you have confirmed it for yourself.”
Gu Pan looked at Yang Kai suspiciously. His expression looked very sincere, and he did not look like somebody who had been corrupted by the Black Ink. More importantly, if he had really been corrupted by the Black Ink, then his actions just now did not make sense. He could have released the Black Ink Insect into her Small Universe so that she would also be corrupted as well. However, he had not done that!
Bewildered, she poured her Divine Sense into his Small Universe and carefully examined the situation. To her surprise, she was greeted by the sight of tens of millions of living beings thriving in his Small Universe. She saw the ant-like Small Stone Race, the World Spring, and the billowing Black Ink Smoke that had been suppressed and sealed in a certain corner of his Small Universe…
A long while later, Gu Pan finally withdrew her Divine Sense. The hostility on her face had melted away and she looked at him in surprise, “Senior Brother, you…”
He smiled at her, “You believe me now, right?”
“Senior Brother, your Small Universe has already fully materialized!?”
Yang Kai’s face twitched at those words and he snapped, “Is that all you saw?” [You’re focusing on the wrong thing, Junior Sister!]
Gu Pan then asked, “Those billowing clouds that resemble thick, black ink… Is that the Black Ink Smoke?”
He nodded.
She could not understand, “How did you suppress and seal the Black Ink Smoke? As far as I know, that thing is extremely corrosive. If it invades the Small Universe of a cultivator, it will quickly spread out and contaminate them. Eventually, the owner of the Small Universe becomes corrupted by the Black Ink. The only solution to this problem is to sever the contaminated land in the Small Universe as soon as possible. The slightest hesitation will result in dire consequences.”
Yang Kai simply smiled and asked, “Did you see the spring?”
Gu Pan nodded, and in the next moment, realisation suddenly struck her, “One of the Four Universe Pillars, the World Spring!?”
She was not ignorant about the World Spring. In truth, as a Core Disciple, she had already heard about some of the secrets in the 3,000 Worlds that other people did not know from her Honoured Master after she advanced into the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm. Among those secrets included the existence of the Black Ink Clan.
When her Honoured Master told her about these matters, he also mentioned the Four Universe Pillars. That was because the Four Universe Pillars could be said to be the nemesis of the Black Ink Clan. It was just that she had only heard of such things before and this was her first time seeing the actual thing in person, so it had taken her a while to react.
After understanding this point, her entire body relaxed and she breathed out in relief. She spoke in a relieved voice, “In other words, you have not been corrupted by the Black Ink, Senior Brother!”
Yang Kai smiled, “How could I lie to you about something like that?”
Gu Pan was bewildered, however, and asked, “If you’re not corrupted by the Black Ink, Senior Brother, then why did you try to test me earlier?”
The smile on his face gradually faded, and he looked at her solemnly, “Junior Sister, the things that I’m going to tell you may be a little hard to accept. Please mentally prepare yourself.”
Those words made her stiffen in surprise for a moment, then she sighed, “Somebody in Lang Ya Paradise has been corrupted by the Black Ink, right?”
He nodded.
“Is it Elder Shi Zheng?” Gu Pan asked.
Yang Kai was surprised, “How did you know, Junior Sister?”
She responded sadly, “After my advancement into the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm, my Honoured Master told me about the Black Ink Clan. At the time, he also mentioned the Black Ink Insect and the Black Ink Smoke. Honoured Master said that these two things came from the same source. Moreover, the Black Ink Smoke would only appear following the death of somebody who had been corrupted by the Black Ink. Seeing as you have suppressed and sealed the Black Ink Smoke in your Small Universe, that can only mean that you killed somebody who had been corrupted by the Black Ink. In addition, you came all the way to Lang Ya Paradise and deliberately tested me after meeting me. That can only mean that this matter is related to Lang Ya Paradise. At present, the only person in Lang Ya Paradise who is in contact with you, Senior Brother, is Elder Shi Zheng who was stationed at the Star Boundary!”
“Junior Sister is beautiful and intelligent indeed!” Yang Kai nodded, “It was indeed Elder Shi Zheng who was corrupted by the Black Ink. If that were all, I would not have tried to test you as soon as I met you, but the truth is…”
All of a sudden, Gu Pan raised a hand to interrupt him, “Senior Brother, before that, please check my Small Universe and verify my identity.”
Yang Kai couldn’t stifle his laughter as he waved his hand, “No need. I’ve seen your reaction just now, Junior Sister. To be honest, I already knew when I saw you trying to run away. The reason why I continued to test you after that was just to be on the safe side. Please forgive me, Junior Sister.”
“Even so, you should check properly. The power of the Black Ink Clan is extremely treacherous. Only by seeing with your own eyes can you be certain that you will be safe!” While saying so, she proactively opened the portal to her Small Universe.
Helpless, he could only probe her Small Universe with his Divine Sense.
She was a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, but her situation was different from his. Her Small Universe had not transformed from immaterial to corporeal, so there was no actual substance in existence. Nevertheless, the inside was filled with abundant World Force.
A short while later, Yang Kai retrieved his Divine Sense and nodded his head at her, “It’s fine.”
Gu Pan closed the portal to her Small Universe and cleaned up the shattered table before she asked, “Senior Brother, just what is going on?”
Yang Kai sighed and told Gu Pan about how Shi Zheng had invited him for a private meeting previously.
Gu Pan’s expression became increasingly solemn as she listened. She never imagined that a foreign affairs envoy and Inner Elder of her Sect would turn out to be somebody who was corrupted by the Black Ink. In fact, if Shi Zheng had not tried to corrupt Yang Kai with the Black Ink, his identity would not have been exposed.
The World Spring was extremely rare; therefore, Shi Zheng never planned for the possibility that Yang Kai had refined one. That was what prevented the invasion of the Black Ink Insect and caused the attempt to corrupt Yang Kai with the Black Ink to fail. In addition, Yang Kai had already become a Grand Dragon, so there was no way to silence the witness to the crime.
Furthermore, as long as Yang Kai was in High Heaven Territory, he could borrow the might of the Star Boundary to immediately warn the others stationed there. Once the High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters arrived at the battlefield, Shi Zheng was cornered. His only option was suicide! Even if he could have stayed and fought to the death, the final outcome would not have changed at all under those circumstances. He might even end up being captured alive. In that case, a swift death was the best option available to him.
“After discovering Shi Zheng’s identity as somebody who had been corrupted by the Black Ink, we guessed that there might be more people who have been corrupted inside Lang Ya Paradise. There might even be a pure Black Ink clansman hiding in this place. The Seniors intended to come straight to Lang Ya Paradise to investigate everyone one by one; however, I believed that we would only alert the enemy by doing so. That is why I volunteered to take the initiative and see if I could infiltrate the ranks of those who have been corrupted by the Black Ink. If I can figure out who is an enemy and who is a friend, then I might be able to uncover the hiding place of the true Black Ink clansman. That would be the ideal outcome.”
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Many thanks for the chapter, always.