The fact that the Black Ink Clan had arranged for the Battleship to be developed in this Secret Realm was Yang Kai’s greatest blessing, giving him space to carry out his plan.
Just as he had said, there was no Black Ink Nest in this Secret Realm, nor was there the constant envelopment of Ink Force, so as long as Wu Xinghe was careful, there was no risk of him being Inked.
If it was a place like the Black Ink Clan’s territory, it would be impossible. No matter which Black Ink Clan’s territory it was, it would be filled with Ink Force. Even if Yang Kai used the Purification Light to help Wu Xinghe dispel the Ink Force in his body, he would quickly be turned by the Ink transformation again. At that time, Yang Kai would definitely be exposed, so how could he carry out his plan?
“Senior Brother Wu, I came from Yin Yang Pass and was entrusted by several Regiment Commanders to find you Artifact Refiners who are refining the Black Ink Clan’s Battleship, cutting off the possibility of the Black Ink Clan’s Battleship appearing on the battlefield. Senior Brother Wu, you are the first breakthrough point I have chosen, so the following plan will require Senior Brother Wu’s full cooperation. Qing Lei has just left the Secret Realm, but according to past experience, he should return within half a day, so we only have half a day at most.”
Wu Xinghe’s expression became solemn, “What kind of plan do you have that requires my cooperation?”
Yang Kai said, “First of all, I need Senior Brother Wu to lure Senior Brother Wang and Senior Brother Guan here. I will help them purify the Ink Force in their bodies and restore them to their original state. Although the two Senior Brothers are both Seventh Order, they have been focusing on Artifact Refining all year round, so their battle technique has long since become unstable. If you and I join forces to launch a sneak attack, there shouldn’t be any problems. After that, I need the three Senior Brothers to gather all the Artifact Refiners in one place. I will once again disperse the Ink Force in their bodies and allow them to return to their original nature.”
Among the many Artifact Refiners, Wu Xinghe and the other two were not only Grandmaster Grade Artifact Refiners, but their personal cultivations had also reached the Seventh Order. The other Artifact Refiners were much weaker. Not only were their Artifact Refining skills inferior to theirs, but their cultivations were basically all at the Fifth or Sixth Order, so as long as they dealt with Wu Xinghe and the other two first, the remaining Artifact Refiners would not be a problem.
Wu Xinghe nodded slightly, “And then? Even if your plan goes smoothly and is not discovered by the Black Ink Clan, how are you going to leave this Secret Realm? Although Qing Lei is not here, Mie Qiong has been guarding the entrance. If you can’t get past him, you won’t be able to leave this Secret Realm, not to mention you have to bring so many of us with you.”
Yang Kai said, “Other than the three Senior Brothers, I can take the others into my own Small Universe and take them with me. However, the three Senior Brothers are of the same rank as me, so I can’t take them into my Small Universe, so I need the three Senior Brothers to part with their Small Universe until they fall to the Sixth Order.”
Hearing this, Wu Xinghe was startled, “You want to rush out alone?”
Yang Kai said seriously, “Besides me, none of you can resist the corrosion of the Ink Force. Only by staying in my Small Universe will you be truly safe.”
Wu Xinghe frowned and said, “But this burden is too great for you.”
More than three hundred Artifact Refiners were equivalent to more than three hundred Open Heaven masters. If all of them were taken by Yang Kai into his Small Universe, it would definitely put a huge burden on his body and affect his combat strength.
In terms of grade, he was already a level lower than Mie Qiong Territory Lord. If his combat strength was also affected, it would be impossible for him to escape from Mie Qiong’s hands.
Yang Kai said, “If it’s three hundred people, I should be able to handle it, it won’t be too big of an impact. As for Mie Qiong, it’s a bit troublesome, but he’s guarding the gate closely, so other than forcing my way through, there’s nothing else I can do. Of course, if I can trick him into opening the gate and letting me leave, it’s also possible, but if I cause too much of a ruckus here, it will definitely attract the attention of the patrolling Black Ink Clan, so there’s no way I can conceal myself.”
Wu Xinghe nodded slightly, “So your plan is to take all of us Artifact Refiners away to cut off any hope of the Black Ink Clan building a Battleship.”
“It’s a bit simple, but it’s also the best way to take drastic measures,” Yang Kai sighed, “Is there a problem?”
Wu Xinghe looked at him and said, “There is one big problem.”
Yang Kai naturally knew that his plan had some kind of problem, but he was alone in this Secret Realm, surrounded by enemies from all sides. Even the many Artifact Refiners here could be considered the Black Ink Clan’s spies, so if anything happened, they would be exposed in advance, but he really couldn’t think of a better way.
So when Wu Xinghe said that there was a problem with this plan, he wasn’t surprised and instead asked humbly, “What problem?”
Wu Xinghe said, “Even if you successfully take all of us Artifact Refiners away, you won’t be able to cut off the Black Ink Clan’s hope of building a Battleship.”
Yang Kai frowned, “Why?”
Wu Xinghe said, “Because the ones who refined that Battleship weren’t us at all. Although Wang Sibo, Guan Ning, and I contributed to the process of refining that Battleship, we were only assistants. The one who really managed the refinement of the Battleship was someone else.”
Yang Kai was shocked, “Someone else? Who? Aren’t you the only Grandmasters Artifact Refiners here?”
Wu Xinghe sighed and said, “That person’s name is Nie An. In terms of Artifact Refining, he’s slightly better than me, Wang Sibo, and Guan Ning. He’s only a step away from becoming a Great Grandmaster.”
Yang Kai couldn’t help being confused, “Nie An… how come I’ve never heard you mention this person before?”
He had been in this Secret Realm for three years, and although he had obtained a lot of information from his daily interactions with the Black Ink Disciple, he had never heard of this Nie An. He had always been in charge of refining Battleships with Wu Xinghe and the other Grandmasters, but if it was someone else instead of them, then Yang Kai’s plan would not work.
Just as Wu Xinghe had said, even if he really took away all the Artifact Refiners here, he wouldn’t be able to stop the Black Ink Clan from refining their Battleship, because the most important person was Nie An, whom he had never met before.
If it weren’t for the fact that he was preparing to implement his plan today, Yang Kai probably wouldn’t have known about it.
“He’s not in this Secret Realm, who would tell you about him?”
His original plan had been completely disrupted, but Yang Kai quickly calmed down, because his original plan had many uncertain factors that required him to adapt to the situation at random. Now, it was just a variable like Nie An.
“Who is this person?” Yang Kai asked curiously.
Among the names Tang Qiu had given him, Wu Xinghe, Wang Sibo, and Guan Ning were all listed, but this Nie An was not even on the list. Where did this guy come from?
“I don’t know exactly where he came from,” Wu Xinghe shook his head, “Although we’ve known each other for many years, we haven’t had much contact with each other. Other than when we were refining artifacts, we haven’t had much contact at all. This person is a proud and arrogant person, even I am not worthy of his attention. However, it is said that the Black Ink Clan’s plan to refine a Battleship was initiated by him.”
“It’s this person?” Yang Kai immediately gnashed his teeth in hatred. However, this person had been reduced to a Black Ink Disciple and the Black Ink Clan stood above all others. From a different perspective, Yang Kai couldn’t blame him for being a traitor.
“It’s said that this person’s talent wasn’t very high and was corroded by the Ink Force. When he became Black Ink Disciple, he wasn’t highly regarded by the Black Ink Clan and was brought to the battlefield by them several times. Before he became Black Ink Disciple, he had never touched the Dao of Artifact Refining. When he came to the Black Ink Clan, he saw that Artifact Refiners were highly valued, so he began studying Artifact Refining. His cultivation talent was average, but his talent in Artifact Refining was extremely high. In a short period of time, his Artifact Refining skills improved greatly and he reached the Grandmaster level. Afterwards, he launched a plan to refine a Battleship and was greatly supported by the Black Ink Clan. However, even though he was a Grandmaster, it was still quite difficult for him to refine the Palace Artifact. As you can see, the Palace Artifact is incomparable to the one inside the pass.”
Yang Kai nodded slightly, “Since that thing was refined by him, where is he? How come I haven’t seen him for three years?”
Wu Xinghe said, “He broke through. His talent in Artifact Refining is enough for him to reach the Great Grandmaster level, but you also know that the Great Grandmaster level not only has a high requirement for Artifact Refining skills, it also has a requirement for one’s own grade. Only an Eighth Order Grandmaster can become a Great Grandmaster.”
“He went to break through to the Eighth Order?” Yang Kai was shocked.
Wu Xinghe nodded lightly, “Yes! I don’t know if he will succeed or not, but in fact, a year before you came here, he was taken away by the Black Ink Clan and was preparing to break through to the Eighth Order.”
Although the environment of this Secret Realm was not bad, it was still a Secret Realm after all. If Nie An really wanted to break through to the Eighth Order, it would definitely be inappropriate for him to stay here, which was why he had left so early, causing Yang Kai to mistakenly think that only Wu Xinghe and the other Grandmasters were managing this Battleship.
This misunderstanding is troublesome…
Yang Kai was also helpless, but no one had ever mentioned Nie An’s name to him, so how could he know that this guy was the key to the Black Ink Clan Battleship?
“Senior Brother Wu just said that Nie An’s talent isn’t very high?” Yang Kai suddenly remembered something.
“Yes, when he left, his cultivation was at the Seventh Order, but that was because of the Ink Force, his limit was only at the Sixth Order,” Wu Xinghe nodded.
Yang Kai was dumbfounded.
His limit was only a Sixth Order. In other words, when this Nie An reached Open Heaven, he was only a Fourth Order. Such talent was only average in the Cave Heaven Paradise.
On the other hand, the Ink Force was able to help Open Heaven cultivators break through their shackles. Nie An, who was originally only a Sixth Order master, was now a Seventh Order master when he left this Secret Realm, perhaps even an Eighth Order!
No wonder Wu Xinghe said this person had an unruly temperament. According to Yang Kai’s understanding, any Open Heaven cultivator who had broken through their shackles due to the Ink Force would have their body and mind distorted, just like Gui Liao's subordinate, Liu Zian.
Moreover, when the Black Ink Disciples broke through their own shackles, they would have to bear a huge risk, and if they were not careful, their bodies would explode.
Yang Kai had personally witnessed such a thing in the Black Prison.
Nie An being able to break through to the Seventh Order was already a fluke, yet he still wanted to break through to the Eighth Order. This was simply courting death.
TO BE CONTINUED...
Martial Peak