Half an hour later, all the World Fruits had been harvested.
Although the fruits had been harvested cleanly, the World Tree Subtree in front of him was extremely valuable, so he naturally couldn’t miss it.
However, Zha Hu didn’t immediately put the World Fruit into his Small Universe. After a long silence, he said, “Yang Kai, take this World Tree.”
Yang Kai was stunned.
Zha Hu said, “Although this king doesn’t know what benefits this treasure will bring, since it is the World Tree Subtree and has been planted by an ancient master, it will definitely be harmless. Although you are only a Seventh Order now, the implications are too great to allow any accidents to occur. If you take this treasure, it won’t be a big deal, but if there are benefits, it will be easier for you to grow faster and you will have a stronger ability to protect yourself in this Ink Battlefield.”
Yang Kai was grateful and cupped his fists, “Many thanks, Sir.”
Zha Hu waved his hand, “The eleven Secret Realms here were all discovered by you. If it weren’t for you, we wouldn’t have obtained so much, so you should be the one to collect them. However, this king wants to make things clear to you first. Although the people in the pass won’t have any objections if you accept this treasure, this treasure needs to be exchanged for battle merits. As for how much battle merits needed, that will depend on how much benefits you can obtain after accepting this treasure. When we return to the pass, the several Regiment Commanders will naturally ask about this matter.”
Yang Kai nodded, “Of course.”
Although everything in this Secret Realm was discovered by him, in this Ink Battlefield, any harvest would have to be handed over and exchanged with battle merits. This was the rule.
“Do it yourself, I’ll go take a look over there,” Zha Hu said before walking over to the medicine garden. Most of the herbs in the medicine garden had been harvested, but there were still some that they didn’t recognize left behind. No one dared to casually pick them, lest they ruin their medicinal properties.
Standing in front of the World Tree's Subtree, Yang Kai’s Divine Sense surged and his Space Law fluctuated, causing the space around him to distort slightly.
He had originally thought that with his current strength, it wouldn’t be difficult for him to move this World Tree's Subtree into his Small Universe.
However, after carefully examining it, he found that his thoughts were too simple.
After another hour, when Zha Hu had finished picking all the remaining herbs in the medicine garden, he discovered that Yang Kai had been standing in front of the World Tree's Subtree and had not made a move. Not only that, but even Yang Kai’s face was slightly pale, obviously having consumed a lot of energy.
Zha Hu frowned and flashed to his side, quietly waiting.
After another two hours, Yang Kai suddenly opened his eyes and let out a sigh.
“What happened?” Zha Hu asked, while Bai Yi also looked at Yang Kai curiously.
Yang Kai smiled bitterly, “Sir, this World Tree's Subtree is already closely connected to the entire Secret Realm and cannot be separated.”
Zha Hu was surprised, “There’s such a thing?”
As he spoke, he also immersed himself in his Divine Sense. His strength and cultivation far exceeded Yang Kai’s, so he quickly found out that the situation was exactly as Yang Kai had said. The World Tree's Subtree aura was firmly connected to the Secret Realm, and it was completely inseparable.
This was something he hadn’t expected. When he had asked Yang Kai to collect the World Tree, he had done so for Yang Kai’s sake. Just as he had said, although he didn’t know what benefits he would gain from collecting the World Tree, he was certain it wouldn’t be a bad thing. If there were any benefits, Yang Kai would also benefit from it and grow quickly.
Although the cultivation of a Seventh Order Open Heaven master was extraordinary, it was still too weak when facing a Territory Lord. If he were to be targeted by the Royal Lord again, he wouldn’t even have the strength to protect himself.
Zha Hu also hoped that Yang Kai could raise his cultivation to the Eighth Order as soon as possible so that he could contribute more to the Human Race.
However, now that the World Tree was closely connected to the entire Secret Realm, not to mention Yang Kai, even an Eighth Order Garrison Chief like him would not be able to easily collect the World Tree.
“What a pity!” Zha Hu sighed lightly.
Yang Kai frowned, “Actually, it’s not impossible, but it will take some time.”
Zha Hu was confused at first, but soon understood the meaning behind his words, “This method is impossible, don’t even think about it.”
“Does Sir know what I’m talking about?”
Zha Hu coldly snorted, “This thing is closely connected to the entire Secret Realm. If you want to take it, you’ll have to take it into your Small Universe.”
“Exactly!” Yang Kai nodded, “There is no other way.”
Zha Hu said in a low voice, “But in this way, the various Dao Marks contained in this Secret Realm will be integrated into your Small Universe. If these Dao Marks are compatible with your Small Universe’s, it will be fine, but if they don’t, they will become impurities and will likely affect your foundation. You must know that this method is equivalent to those evil demons forcefully refining the World Force of Universe World in order to increase their strength.”
This Secret Realm was basically a Small Universe left behind by a Human Race Great Expert from ancient times. It contained the crystallization of that Human Race Great Expert's cultivation. The various Dao Marks hidden in this Secret Realm were not all beneficial to Yang Kai, and there was a high chance that they would be of great harm to him. It was for this reason that Zha Hu strongly opposed it. He wanted Yang Kai to take the World Tree's Subtree for his own good, so how could he sit back and watch him destroy his own foundation?
Yang Kai nodded and said, “Disciple naturally knows this, but don’t forget, this Disciple possesses the World Spring, the Small Universe is perfect and flawless, and is impervious to external forces. Disciple only needs to spend some time to expel the World Force and many Dao Marks in this Secret Realm, and at that time, the World Tree's Subtree will naturally remain.”
It wasn’t that Yang Kai didn’t have such experience. In the past, when he led the Void Land’s many Sixth Order Open Heaven masters to chase after Zuo Quan Hui in the new Great Domain, Zuo Quan Hui had spread out his Small Universe when he had reached the end of his road and desperately resisted. In that battle, Yang Kai had also spread out his Small Universe. Although he had killed Zuo Quan Hui in the end, after colliding with his Small Universe, Yang Kai’s Small Universe had gained a lot of Zuo Quan Hui’s energy, which was impurities.
Later on, Yang Kai had also spent some effort to remove these impurities without affecting his foundation.
At that time, he didn’t have the World Spring, so now that he had one, he naturally didn’t need to worry.
Zha Hu hesitated.
Yang Kai struck while the iron was hot and said, “Sir, even that Ink Force can’t corrode this disciple’s Small Universe, so why would he fear the power of this Secret Realm? It can be said that this disciple is the best candidate to obtain this treasure.”
Zha Hu’s expression finally relaxed, “But if that’s the case, you’ll need to spend a lot of time. What if you don’t gain anything in the end?”
Yang Kai smiled and said, “There’s no harm in trying. Even if there aren’t any benefits, Disciple can still obtain a World Tree's Subtree and raise it in my Small Universe. Perhaps in a few years, it will bear a World Fruit. Moreover, this is a World Tree's Subtree, so if Disciple can obtain it, how could there be no benefits?”
Zha Hu remained silent for a long time before finally saying, “Very well, as you say, this king will protect you. If there are any abnormalities, you must immediately give up.”
“Many thanks, Sir,” Yang Kai cupped his fists.
Since he had decided to take this entire Secret Realm into his Small Universe, there was no need to explore it any further. Under the orders of Zha Hu, all unrelated people withdrew from this Secret Realm.
Soon, only Yang Kai and Zha Hu remained in the Secret Realm.
Taking a deep breath, Yang Kai urged his Small Universe to spread.
In the next moment, the Small Universe’s territory spread out like a bolt of lightning and quickly spread out.
Zha Hu stood in the air and looked around, unable to help raising his brow.
Logically speaking, Yang Kai was a newly-advanced Seventh Order, so his foundation shouldn’t be too stable, but under his observation, Yang Kai’s foundation didn’t show any signs of instability. On the contrary, his foundation was rich, and with his Small Universe’s expansion, he was able to see all kinds of living creatures living inside his Small Universe’s territory, as well as a clear spring that connected the heaven and earth.
When his body was covered by Yang Kai’s Small Universe, he even felt a little dazed, as if even his perception had been affected.
Time Law? Zha Hu frowned.
Everyone knew that Yang Kai’s attainments in the Dao of Space were extremely high, but they had never known that he had such a cultivation in the Dao of Time.
Zha Hu was secretly shocked. How did this boy cultivate to be proficient in both the Dao of Space and the Dao of Time? It had to be known that neither of these two Great Daos was easy to master, not to mention proficient in them. Those who were able to walk one of these two Great Daos were blessed by the Heavens, and to have such attainments in both Great Daos was simply inconceivable.
As his mood sank, Yang Kai’s Small Universe had already enveloped the entire Secret Realm and showed no signs of discomfort, causing Zha Hu to relax slightly.
Suddenly, Yang Kai raised his head and looked towards him, “Sir, please temporarily withdraw!”
Zha Hu nodded slightly before transforming into a streak of light and flying towards the gate.
When Yang Kai’s Small Universe had first spread, he had no problem staying inside, but now that Yang Kai wanted to take back the Small Universe, he couldn’t stay any longer. After all, his cultivation was a grade higher than Yang Kai’s, so Yang Kai’s Small Universe’s size was not enough to take him in.
After exiting the door, Yang Kai turned his head to look back and saw that the door was rapidly shaking and emitting a faint buzzing sound. The door itself was twisting and distorting, as if it would collapse at any moment.
This situation lasted for several days, and after several days, the door disappeared and a figure suddenly appeared. It was none other than Yang Kai.
However, at this moment, Yang Kai’s face was pale and his aura was unstable, as if he had been seriously injured.
Bai Yi immediately approached while Yang Kai waved his hand to indicate that he was fine.
His current state was only because he had forcibly taken the Secret Realm into his Small Universe. The Secret Realm was also the Small Universe left behind by the ancient great expert, so forcefully taking it in would definitely cause a huge impact on his body, but if he wanted to obtain the World Tree, he had to do so.
If it was an ordinary Seventh Order cultivator doing this, they definitely wouldn’t be able to hold on for much longer, and even the Small Universe might explode. Fortunately, he had the World Spring to seal his Small Universe, so although it was difficult, it wasn’t a big deal.
TO BE CONTINUED...
Martial Peak