Chapter 5497: A Scourge Last 1,000 Years After some time, Yang Kai had finally tossed all 2,000 or so World Beads to the World Tree for safekeeping. What surprised Yang Kai was that after obtaining these 2,000 or so World Beads, the World Tree’s condition seemed to have improved a little, but he was not sure, it might have just been his imagination. On top of that, Yang Kai was also concerned about the still intact World Fruits on the World Tree. The World Fruits corresponding to the Universe Worlds he had refined were intact because they were saved and not corroded by Black Ink Strength, but in addition to those World Fruits, there were several dozen more that were still completely healthy. These fruits were not showing any features similar to the other ruined fruits, neither were they emanating any Black Ink Strength. Yang Kai even had a special connection with one of these fruits, feeling very close to it. This feeling greatly surprised him. It was just a World Fruit, so how could he feel close to it? After examining it for a moment though, Yang Kai raised his brow and asked, “Is this the World Fruit of the Star Boundary?” He was a Great Emperor recognized by the Star Boundary’s Will, so the World Fruit corresponding to the Star Boundary naturally gave him a different feeling from the rest. This World Fruit was a Mid-Rank World Fruit. In other words, if one ate it, it could allow a cultivator in the Third-Order to the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm to advance an Order, and allow them to have better future prospects by increasing their innate limit. But correspondingly, the Star Boundary would have to pay a huge price. Perhaps its Martial Dao level would be greatly affected and its World Principles would be damaged. Yang Kai’s heart clenched as he recalled the Low-Rank World Fruits and Mid-Rank World Fruits he had obtained. Back then, he had obtained more than a dozen or so fruits from the Old Tree, causing harm to some Universe Worlds. As if the World Tree sensed his thoughts, it swayed again. Although the World Tree did not speak or transmit anything via Divine Sense, Yang Kai could clearly tell what it wanted to say. The corresponding Universe Worlds of the World Fruits he had taken back then didn’t have any highly sentient lifeforms on them, so his actions didn’t cause much harm overall. At most, it would have delayed the development and evolution of those Universe Worlds by a few thousand years. Knowing this, Yang Kai felt less guilty. But very soon, he had another feeling. By using this World Fruit corresponding to the Star Boundary as a beacon, he might be able to create a passage to the Star Boundary and return to it! Yang Kai’s heart skipped a beat as he hurriedly checked the other World Fruits that were still intact. After checking them with his Divine Sense, he discovered that his guess was right on mark; he could indeed open a Void Corridor with the help of these World Fruits and arrive directly at the Universe Worlds corresponding to these fruits. He could even tell which Great Territory these Universe Worlds were located in by observing the void around them through this link. Yang Kai’s expression changed as he couldn’t help but ask, “Old Tree, could this place be considered a transit point for 3,000 Worlds?” The World Tree’s body swayed again as if saying it was a given. This was not surprising though. The World Tree was the physical manifestation of all the Universe Worlds in 3,000 Worlds, with each of its fruits corresponding to a Universe World. It was closely connected to all the Great Territories and Universe Worlds in this way. It was no wonder that the Great Ancient Ruins Boundary was so ethereal, and why the rolling fog through which one could enter the Great Ancient Ruins Boundary was able to appear in any Great Territory. Because theoretically speaking, one could enter the Great Ancient Ruins Boundary through any Universe World, depending on whether this Old Tree was willing to let them in or not! With this discovery, Yang Kai’s interest was immediately piqued as he carefully examined the intact World Fruits. These fruits corresponded to the Universe Worlds in the Star Boundary’s Territory, while another dozen or so were linked to the Universe Worlds in New Great Territory which was adjacent to the Star Boundary. The New Great Territory was something Yang Kai had inadvertently discovered when he was fighting with Zuo Quan Hui of Thousand Cranes Paradise. No one from the 3,000 Worlds had stepped foot in it before. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂 The Small Stone Race was also brought out from the New Great Territory. Apart from those, there were about 30 more intact World Fruits, which meant that there were an equal number of Universe Worlds in 3,000 Worlds that had not been occupied by the Black Ink Clan, scattered across various Great Territories. Realizing this, Yang Kai quickly requested, “Old Tree, please assist me!” Saying so, Yang Kai’s figure flickered as he shot towards one of the World Fruits. This fruit was only the size of a baby’s fist, but at this moment, it suddenly enlarged in Yang Kai’s eyes, allowing him to enter. The moment he entered the World Fruit, Yang Kai immediately sensed the corresponding Universe World’s location. Space Principles flared and a Void Corridor leading to a distant Great Territory was opened with help from the World Tree. In a flash, Yang Kai shuttled through the Void and appeared in the vicinity of the Universe World. The Universe World was both big and beautiful, but it probably hadn’t been long since it was born. Its environment could not be considered good either. It was suitable for inhabitation, but its Principles were still relatively lacking. In other words, if the Martial Dao evolved here, its level would be extremely low. Scanning it with his Divine Sense, Yang Kai didn’t find any Humans, just some low-level creatures. He took out his Universe Chart and checked its location, soon concluding that the reason it was not occupied by the Black Ink Clan even after 20 years was because it was located in a remote region. It was quite likely that the Black Ink Clan had simply not discovered its existence, which had allowed this place to escape disaster. Otherwise, the Black Ink Clan would have definitely not let go of a Universe World like this. Without further delay, Yang Kai quickly began refining it. After having refined over 2,000 Universe Worlds, he was now quite familiar with this process. After a couple of days, this Universe World was refined into a World Bead and collected by Yang Kai. This time, he didn’t even have to ask the Old Tree to pick him up; rather, Yang Kai opened a Void Corridor with the help of the connection between the World Bead and World Tree before stepping inside. When he reappeared, he was already standing beneath the World Tree. Yang Kai didn’t even stop to catch his breath, he simply handed the new World Bead he had refined to the World Tree for safekeeping before identifying another intact World Fruit and setting off. At this moment, he couldn’t help but feel a little frustrated. Had he known that the World Tree could connect to the various Great Territories and Universe Worlds, he would have contacted it long ago. He could have easily travelled to other Great Territories with the help of World Tree, saving him massive amounts of time. Had he done so earlier, he might have been able to save even more Universe Worlds. It was just that he had no idea about the World Tree’s stance, so he didn’t dare to rashly disturb it. It was only after he had refined more than 2,000 Universe Worlds and was closely connected to the World Tree that he called out to it. 30 Universe Worlds were not that many, and Yang Kai could refine a Universe World in just a few days now. These Universe Worlds were all quite remotely located, which was why they were never discovered by the Black ink Clan and thus avoided being poisoned by Black Ink Strength. Most of the Universe Worlds did not have any Humans, only seven or eight in total, but their Martial Daos were not very high. Even when Yang Kai was refining the entire Universe World, the Human inhabitants never noticed a thing. Today, Yang Kai arrived in the vicinity of another Universe World with the help of the World Tree, but just as he started refining it and reached a critical point, he noticed fluctuations of battle coming from the distance. Yang Kai was quite taken aback by this discovery and could not understand why someone was fighting in such a remote location. Logically speaking, the Humans had already evacuated from the greater 3,000 Worlds. Those who should have left had already left, and those who hadn’t were doomed. There should not be anyone in such a remote place, but the commotion caused by the battle was quite obvious. Furthermore, the person who was fighting was quite strong, at least in the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm. [Who could it be?] Yang Kai’s heart was filled with suspicion. Although he was alone, he wasn’t worried about being disturbed; after all, he still had some 10 million Small Stone Race soldiers on him. If any enemy was to come here, even if he could not divert his attention, Yang Kai could just summon a Small Stone Race Army to protect himself. He paid no heed to the battle and decided to only take a look after he had refined the Universe World before him. But contrary to his plans, the battle was getting closer and closer, as if both sides of the battle were approaching him. Yang Kai still ignored it. The other party’s approach shouldn’t be intentional, but it was still good news for him. The only ones who could be fighting at this time would be Humans and Black Ink Clansmen. If they were to approach him, he might be able to provide some assistance to the Human side. About half an hour later, the sounds of the battle really grew closer and now, a strange look appeared on Yang Kai’s face because he felt a familiar aura! Yang Kai was immediately overjoyed. [What a coincidence… I was planning to look for him after finishing with this business, but who would have thought that I would run into him here.] [As the old saying goes, a good man does not live long, but a scourge lasts 1,000 years! Guess that makes this bastard immortal!] The next moment, Yang Kai sent a message to the other party via Divine Sense. The Human who was fighting with the Black Ink Clan was momentarily taken aback, but was soon overjoyed and quickly started approaching Yang Kai’s position. From the distance, he saw Yang Kai using some kind of strange technique, causing the Universe World in front of him to twist and distort like a reflection in the water, which greatly surprised him, “What are you doing?” Yang Kai snapped back, “Why do you care? What are you doing here?” It was none other than Wu Kuang, his entire body covered in blood, cutting quite a sorry figure. Wu Kuang broke into carefree laughter after hearing Yang Kai’s question and replied, “I’m currently being pursued by a team of Black Ink Clansmen!” He was acting smug, as if being chased around was something to boast about. Yang Kai also admired his shamelessness before glancing behind Wu Kuang and frowning slightly, “Is there a Territory Lord?” Wu Kuang was a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, and had mastered the Heaven Devouring Battle Law. It was a simple matter for him to deal with ordinary Feudal Lords. Since he was being pursued and in such a sorry state, obviously, a Territory Lord must have taken action. Wu Kuang secretly circulated his strength, preparing to flee at any moment, “If you can’t fight, then it’s better to run away; otherwise, there will be no one to even collect your corpse.” He could also tell that Yang Kai was currently doing something important, and got worried that he wouldn’t be able to help. Yang Kai smiled proudly, “It’s just a Territory Lord, don’t worry and take a rest, just wait and watch how I take care of him!” [‘Just’ a Territory Lord…] Wu Kuang was beside himself in shock, unable to believe that such arrogant words were coming from Yang Kai’s mouth. He then scanned Yang Kai with his Divine Sense before his expression changed greatly, “You’ve reached the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm?”