Martial Peak Chapter 5741: Another Path

Chapter 5741: Another Path

The Universe Furnace produced many Ordinary Grade Open Heaven Pills, but only nine Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pills were created.
Yang Kai had left a mark on all nine Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pills in advance, and by using his Great Sun and Moon Marks, he could sense where these pills were once they were within a certain distance from him.
Thus, he figured that as long as he was not completely down on his luck, he should be able to make this a fruitful trip, though he could not be certain how many Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pills he would ultimately get.
Nevertheless, he did not expect it to be this easy for him to get the first Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pill. All he had done was tail a Territory Lord in secret, and not only did he get one of the pills, but he even reunited with his Monster Self.
All he needed now was to reunite with his Human Self as well. Once all three of them were together, they would even have a fighting chance against a Pseudo-Royal Lord.
Inside the Universe Furnace, the only ones who posed a threat to Yang Kai were the Pseudo-Royal Lords and the Chaos Spirit Kings. The latter was more powerful than the former as their strength was equivalent to that of a true Royal Lord or Ninth-Order Masters.
However, the Humans did not know for certain whether Chaos Spirit Kings existed as the information they had came from Blood Crow, and it was only a guess of his.
Either way, Yang Kai now had two goals to accomplish inside the Universe Furnace. The first was to carry on searching for Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pills, and the second was to find his Human Self.
He next quietened down and studied the item in his hand.
The Spirit Pill had an extraordinary appearance. The multi-coloured light glowed freely but the Dao Currents were subdued. [It’s a valuable treasure, alright. It deserves its reputation as the most precious opportunity.]
Even though Yang Kai had witnessed the birth of the Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pills, he could not move at the time and could not use his powers freely either, so he did not know much about these pills. They had scattered into the distance the moment they were created, and Yang Kai’s hopes of getting an early advantage had been dashed.
Thunder Shadow was also studying it carefully out of curiosity. Yang Kai’s thoughtful expression was reflected in Thunder Shadow’s amber eyes, and the latter reminded worriedly, “This isn’t something to be eaten. It needs to be absorbed into the Small Universe and refined.”
He was afraid that Yang Kai did not know how it worked, and it would be hugely ironic if Yang Kai ended up swallowing the Spirit Pill just like that.
According to information provided by Blood Crow, the Open Heaven Pills created inside the Universe Furnace differed from the ones Humans made. The latter was created to mimic the former as the Humans had studied the medicinal efficacies and found a way to create Open Heaven Pills after countless years of trials and experimentations. However, at the end of the day, the Open Heaven Pills created by the Human Race were still completely different from the ones created by the Universe Furnace.
The Open Heaven Pills made by the Humans were consumed and refined. It would then provide a boost to the heritage of an Open Heaven Realm Master’s Small Universe. That was not the case for the ones from the Universe Furnace.
Those needed to be absorbed into the Small Universe and the cultivators would need to rely on the strength of their Small Universe to refine them.
Yang Kai was now at the peak of his Martial Dao and his Small Universe was wrapped inside an invisible layer of shackles that made it impossible to grow any bigger.
However, with the help of the Spirit Pill in his hand right now, those shackles would disappear and his Small Universe could continue expanding again.
As one’s Small Universe grew larger, one’s heritage would also increase. This was the right way to use the Innate Open Heaven Pills from the Universe Furnace, and this was why the pill could help an Open Heaven Realm Master break through their natural limits.
Yang Kai had already read about these things from the jade slip Liao Zheng had given him earlier, so he knew better than to make a reckless attempt.
“Then again, does it work on you?” Thunder Shadow asked.
Yang Kai sighed, “I don’t think so.”
Although he had not refined the Open Heaven Pill, he had a feeling that it would not do him any good. Even if he did absorb it into his Small Universe, it would not be able to help him reach the Ninth Order.
Despite holding this Open Heaven Pill in his hand, the barrier around his Small Universe did not react at all. If the Spirit Pill did work on him, then this invisible layer would show some kind of reaction in response to the Spirit Pill’s aura.
Perhaps this had something to do with the disadvantages of the Open Heaven Realm Method and the Three Selves Source Reconstitution Art that Wu Kuang gave him.
The Open Heaven Realm Method was flawed, but the Martial Ancestors were not to blame for this. They had relied on the World Tree to gain enlightenment about the Open Heaven Realm Method before teaching it to the rest of the Human Race, which allowed the Humans to have a fighting chance against the Monster Race and the Black Ink Clan all those years ago. The Humans of today would not exist in the same way if it had not been for Cang and the other Martial Ancestors.
Nevertheless, the Martial Ancestors failed to achieve full enlightenment of the Martial Dao as there was one part that was hidden inside the Universe Furnace from then, making it impossible to comprehend outside.
A Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pill was able to make up for the imperfections of the Open Heaven Realm Method and complete one’s Martial Dao, which allowed a cultivator to break through their limits.
However, the Three Selves Source Reconstitution Art that Wu Kuang taught Yang Kai was a result of Shi’s many years of hard work and effort in his attempts to comprehend the limitations of the Open Heaven Realm Method. Out of the ten Martial Ancestors, Shi’s ability to formulate Secret Arts and Techniques was the best. If it had not been for that, the sinister, heaven-defying ability of Heaven Devouring Battle Law would not exist.
He was the one who came up with the Three Selves Source Reconstitution Art to deal with the imperfections of the Open Heaven Realm Method; thus, once Yang Kai chose this path of cultivation, his Martial Dao had been set and it differed from those that cultivated strictly using the Open Heaven Realm Method.
Thus, the Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pill, which was able to complete the Martial Dao of the Open Heaven Realm Method, was meaningless to him.
Once Yang Kai realised this, he did not know whether to laugh or cry. He wondered if this meant that Wu Kuang had screwed him over.
If Yang Kai had not cultivated the Three Selves Source Reconstitution Art and created his Human Self and Monster Self, then he would have been able to become a Ninth-Order Master by simply looking for a safe place to absorb and refine this Spirit Pill he had with him now. Once that happened, his heritage would be enough for him to march through the Universe Furnace World without a care in the world. Neither Pseudo-Royal Lords nor Chaos Spirit Kings would pose any threat to him.
Yet now, despite having such a treasure with him, he could not do anything with it.
That being said, Yang Kai knew he had chosen this path himself. At the time, this path was fraught with risks as no one had ever walked it before, but it still represented hope, so he had unhesitantly stepped onto it.
No one knew when the Universe Furnace would surface again and the Human Race greatly needed Ninth-Order Masters to secure their future. Yang Kai was stuck at the peak of the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm and could not break through his limits. Since there was a possible solution, he had to try it.
Wu Kuang had meant well.
No one could be blamed for this situation. It was simply one of life’s cruel jokes. Who would have thought that the Universe Furnace would show up at such a crucial point in time and that Yang Kai would obtain a Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pill so easily?
Yang Kai sighed and took out an exquisite wooden box. He stored the Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pill inside and placed several restrictions to keep it sealed up before carefully putting the box away.
After taking a look around and seeing the swarm of jellyfish-like Chaos Entities who seemed to be floating along unconsciously, Yang Kai used Space Principles to gather them.
Thunder Shadow quietly took this all in as it wondered who the unlucky person would be.
He had also gotten a taste of these jellyfish-like Chaos Entities’ strange attack, and although it was not life-threatening, anyone who touched them would suffer a shock to their Soul.
Most importantly, it was impossible to detect them when they took on an invisible state. This made them an excellent weapon to use in stealth attacks or ambushes.
Yang Kai had already been tempted to take the grey fog that contained a sea of stars inside it when he ran into it earlier, but he could not accomplish that. Now that he ran into these jellyfish-like Chaos Entities, he was not going to hesitate.
While collecting them, he began chatting with Thunder Shadow.
Although Thunder Shadow was Yang Kai’s Monster Self, due to the uniqueness of the Three Selves Source Reconstitution Art, Thunder Shadow was also an independent living being. After all, he had been born and had grown up just like any ordinary living being. He possessed all the same qualities as an independent existence had.
However, as Thunder Shadow’s strength grew, the seal that Yang Kai had placed on the various pieces of information inside Thunder Shadow’s Soul slowly lifted, so he knew who he was and what his mission in life was.
This was the same with Fang Tian Ci who had long since become an Eighth-Order Master, which meant that he knew everything he had to know.
Right now, Fang Tian Ci was most likely searching for the whereabouts of Yang Kai and Thunder Shadow.
In all honesty, Yang Kai did find it a little strange to be chatting with his Monster Self, but if he treated Thunder Shadow as an independent entity, then it no longer seemed odd.
After becoming a Great Emperor, Thunder Shadow spent a long time cultivating inside the Myriad Monsters World. That was because it was the only place that allowed it to use his Great Emperor status to rapidly grow stronger.
This continued until nearly 1,000 years ago when his strength hit a ceiling. That was when he came out and joined the battlefield to hunt down enemies. Thunder Shadow spoke mostly of Qin Xue as he undoubtedly cared a lot about the Seventh-Order Master who took care of him when he first started out. He was constantly worried that something bad might happen to her during the imminent battle ahead of them.
All of a sudden, Thunder Shadow asked, “Will the Three Selves Source Reconstitution Art really allow you to become a Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master?”
Yang Kai continued gathering the jellyfish-like Chaos Entities as he said, “No one has ever tried before, so there’s no way of knowing whether it will work. However, since it’s something that Shi derived back then, it should work.”
“Wu Kuang’s no saint…” Thunder Shadow scoffed.
Yang Kai chuckled, “My trust isn’t in Wu Kuang or Shi, but in myself! Even though the three Selves have not reunited yet, I can sense that once that happens, it will indeed help me break through my limits.”
“When the time comes, your Human Self and I will disappear for good.”
“You are me. I am you. Combining as one doesn’t mean you will disappear.”
“You’re wrong. You’re you, your Human Self is you, and I am you, but you are not us. There’s a difference.”
Yang Kai frowned.
Thunder Shadow licked his paw, “What’s the matter? Is this topic too heavy for you? Relax. The Human Self and I both understand our purpose. When the time comes, neither one of us will hesitate.”
“That’s not it…” Yang Kai sighed and closed the portal to his Small Universe, “These jellyfish-like Chaos Entities are polluting my Small Universe. I can’t keep too many of them.”
He had been too simplistic in his thinking. After entering his Small Universe, the jellyfish-like Chaos Entities kept giving off that strange energy to attack his Soul.
Yang Kai had the Soul Warming Lotus for protection so he was not afraid of that; however, these Chaos Entities were made up of chaotic Shattered Dao Essence, and to Yang Kai, that was like the harshest of impurities that could contaminate his Small Universe. If he took in too many of these Chaos Entities, it would affect his Small Universe’s stability.
He had been thinking about taking in all of the jellyfish-like Chaos Entities here, but from the looks of it now, he had to reluctantly abandon that idea. Yang Kai thus only kept the small number that he was still able to suppress as it would be hard for him to carry on doing so if he took in any more of them.