Martial Peak

Chapter 5762: Entering the River

Following his senses, Yang Kai fled in the direction he thought the Infinite River was, but he couldn’t catch any sign of it no matter how far he flew. This made him doubt himself and wonder whether he had gotten the direction wrong.

But if the Infinite River truly did run through the entire Universe Furnace World, then it wouldn’t matter which direction he went in. He would eventually find it.

All of a sudden, a buzzing sound broke through the world and the Grand Dao shook. The Universe Furnace was evolving again…

[How many times has it been now?]

Yang Kai was starting to lose count. He had no idea whether this was the sixth time or the seventh time.

He quickly stopped in place and calmed his mind to perceive the changes happening around him.

Each evolution was a process of the Grand Dao changing from chaos to order. After nine times, the Shattered Dao Essence that filled the Universe Furnace World would no longer exist, and everything here would no longer be any different from the outside world.

It was a miraculous process, and Yang Kai had a feeling that if one were able to see through the secrets of this evolution, it would come with great rewards for any cultivator, and perhaps even an unimaginable pleasant surprise.

He had calmed his mind to pay attention to the evolutions before, but he was unable to gain anything from them, let alone this time when he was in bad shape and on the run.

Very soon, the evolution was over.

The sense of chaos in the Universe Furnace World had definitely become less apparent, and the Shattered Dao Essence had also grown much thinner. Now, some new pure Grand Dao had even emerged.

The invisible fog that enveloped the entire Universe Furnace was being lifted gradually as the Grand Dao evolved!

It was at that moment that two Divine Senses emerged from the void and probed his position.

Yang Kai’s face turned dark and he quickly manipulated Space Principles to escape. As the chaotic energy grew thinner, it also made it easier for one to scan their surroundings.

A few moments later, two Territory Lords rushed over to this place from different directions, but there was no trace of Yang Kai. However, the lingering fluctuations of Space Principles left behind told a clear story. They hastened to send out messages through their Black Ink Nests in all directions to gather in this direction.

On the other side, Yang Kai appeared with Thunder Shadow, exhausted beyond measure.

He had never tried using Instantaneous Movement so many times with a companion in the same realm before, and it was several times more tiring than if he were to do this alone.

While he was mulling over what to do next, Yang Kai sensed something and sent out his Divine Sense to check in one direction.

In the next moment, the sound of water emerged, splashing deep within his mind.

[The Infinite River!]

Yang Kai was overjoyed. It seemed that his memory had been correct and he was indeed moving in the direction of the Infinite River. Now, he was finally getting closer.

He quickly moved towards the Infinite River with Thunder Shadow and soon saw the magnificent current that looked like it had no source nor end again.

Now that he had found it, Yang Kai started to feel a little hesitant. There was no doubt that hiding in the Infinite River was the only choice he had left. With the Black Ink Clan gathering to search for him, and with him in his current condition, he would sooner or later be surrounded if he did not get a chance to properly recover. When that happened, he would get no response even if he cried out to the Heavens for aid.

However, if he really did enter the Infinite River, Yang Kai had no idea what he would encounter there. The large river was not safe after all.

Unfortunately, he had no other choice right now.

Yang Kai grit his teeth and circulated his power to protect himself and the dazed Thunder Shadow who was on his shoulder. He then leapt into the river, which remained completely silent without even the slightest splash.

The Humans had a lot of information regarding the Universe Furnace World in their hands, of which included information about the Infinite River that was all provided by Blood Crow; however, even though the Infinite River was mentioned in that information, there was nothing said about what would happen if one was to fall into it.

Yang Kai speculated that Blood Crow had neither considered the possibility, or that anyone who fell into the river had died, and that was why no information about it was available.

Yang Kai speculated entering the river was a risky move, and the moment he did he confirmed that theory.

As soon as he fell into the Infinite River, he could feel rich Shattered Dao Essence corroding his body from all directions. It felt as if countless Chaos Entities were attacking him at the same time!

In fact, that was indeed what was going on.

Chaos Entities were formed from Shattered Dao Essence to begin with, so being surrounded by Shattered Dao Essence was no different than being attacked by the Chaos Entities.

Even though Yang Kai had already taken precautions, his body still felt weak in an instant and he could hardly muster any strength while he sank. His mind was even being flooded with all sorts of inexplicable emotions that made him feel pessimistic, despate, and distracted.

The Black Ink Clan was so powerful, could the Human Race really resist them?

Even though it seemed like the both sides could compete as equals, the Black Ink Clan still had Masters on their side that had not been deployed yet. Moreover, there was still Mo, who was sealed in the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction.

Even if the Humans exterminated all of the Black Ink Clan in the 3,000 Worlds and the Black Ink Battlefield, it was still impossible to end this war that had started in the early Ancient Era without a way to deal with Mo.

That was an opponent that not even the 10 Martial Ancestors like Cang were able to solve…

So, why was he doing so much to seize the Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pill? Now, he had gotten himself surrounded from all sides, chased down by his enemies until he had nowhere to go.

With so many gloomy thoughts pounding on his mind, Yang Kai couldn’t help but feel tempted to just sink down and stop caring about all the annoying things happening outside. Becoming a part of this Infinite River did not seem all that bad either…

Suddenly, he realized why Blood Crow’s information did not include anything about what happened when one fell into the river; most likely, all who had fallen in had died!

A touch of coolness spread out in his head like the Sun rising into the sky. Under its impact, all of those distracting thoughts disappeared into nothingness.

Yang Kai quickly circulated his power to stabilize his sinking body and he couldn’t help but break out into a cold sweat.

As he expected, the Infinite River was extremely strange. If the Soul Warming Lotus had not protected him in that moment, then he might truly have met his demise.

The Shattered Dao Essence that was gushing over from all directions contained all sorts of mysterious powers that was simply not something a Human could withstand. That power had the ability to influence the most minute and imperceptible flaws deep within a person’s heart and magnify them infinitely. It was not a power that merely confused a person, but rather a mysterious part of the Grand Dao.

Yang Kai was instantly on alert and took the initiative to circulate the Soul Warming Lotus’s power in order to protect himself.

Turning his head over, he could see a peaceful look on the face of Thunder Shadow, who was perched on his shoulder, his eyes looking blank and hollow. It was apparent that he had also been affected, and even his flesh was showing signs of disintegration.

If one’s body were to disintegrate in this kind of place, then the only result would surely be a death without a burial.

Yang Kai raised his voice at once and shouted, “Thunder Shadow!”

Thunder Shadow turned his head languidly to look at him, but he did not show any signs of responding in the slightest, as if he had already accepted his fate…

Yang Kai panicked. He had the Soul Warming Lotus to protect himself, so he was temporarily able to stabilize his mind, but Thunder Shadow didn’t have that advantage. If this situation continued, then it would not take long before Thunder Shadow really died!

Shattered Dao Essence was scouring them from all directions, and it was because of its influence that both he and Thunder Shadow were acting so strangely.

In that case, the only thing Yang Kai could do was to find a way to shield themselves from the Shattered Dao Essence.

Yang Kai immediately circulated his Dao Strengths of Space and Time to summon his own Space-Time River, coiling it around their bodies and protecting both Thunder Shadow and himself while pushing away the Infinite River’s water.

In the next moment, Thunder Shadow abruptly came to his senses and his eyes were filled with fear at what he’d just experienced, “This river is too strange!”

Not only strange, it was simply evil. Even a Master of Yang Kai’s calibre had fallen prey to it momentarily, so there was no need to even mention how ordinary Eighth-Order Masters and Territory Lords would react.

Even those Pseudo-Royal Lords would likely not have gotten out safely if they fell into the river; however, he had no idea whether Ninth-Order Masters or Royal Lords could withstand the river’s corruption or not.

“En,” Yang Kai answered with a grunt and gritted his teeth, examining his own Small Universe.

He had not paid too much attention to it before, but when he brought out the Space-Time River, he realized that something unusual was happening to his Small Universe.

The Infinite River’s water was not only corrupting his flesh and mind, but also his Small Universe.

At this moment, the World Tree’s clone was swaying in his Small Universe, its gigantic canopy forming a layer of protection like an umbrella, blocking the Shattered Dao Essence’s encroachment.

The realization was fearful to Yang Kai. If the World Tree’s clone had not been here to shield and isolate his Small Universe, then even if he could shake off the influence on his mind with the help of the Soul Warming Lotus, his Small Universe would still have been polluted.

Once the Infinite River’s water encroached upon his Small Universe, it would definitely be filled with great amounts of the chaotic and disorderly Shattered Dao Essence. At that point, he would surely be greatly affected by it. If that were to happen, then not to mention maintaining his original strength, even just keeping his Order from regressing would have been a great outcome.

The dangers of this Infinite River were truly unpreventable.

Yang Kai was now certain that even if a Ninth-Order Master were to fall into this place, they would not have fared well. Even if they were able to withstand the river’s corruption for a time, the integrity of their own Small Universe would still be affected.

The Soul Warming Lotus and the World Tree clone had helped Yang Kai greatly this time around.

He was fine for now, but the need to protect Thunder Shadow with the Space-Time River was a huge drain to his Dao Strengths.

However, it was not too much of a problem for him. Yang Kai carefully adjusted his Space-Time River, reducing its size and volume so as to reduce the consumption.

He only stopped once the Space-Time River was barely enveloping Thunder Shadow. As for himself, he did not need its protection. The Soul Warming Lotus and the World Tree clone were enough.

Even though it was a bumpy process, they had still escaped that situation without much harm in the end. It seemed like jumping into the Infinite River was the right decision.

Without the Black Ink Clan to disturb him, Yang Kai said, “Let’s recuperate for now.”

Thunder Shadow nodded and silently took out a Space Ring before fetching some healing pills and swallowing them.

Though he was from the Monster Race and some Spirit Pills refined by Humans were not usable for him, healing pills were still fine. He had been beaten senseless previously and was now greatly in need of recuperation.

Yang Kai also took out some healing pills and gulped them down, then he silently shut his eyes and began adjusting his breathing.