Kong Chan’s home territory was located in a dead Universe World where there was a magnificent Mid-Rank Black Ink Nest. Over the years, the Black Ink Strength that had been emanating from the Black Ink Nest had enveloped everything. There were over a million Black Ink Clansmen living in this place, which was just as flourishing as Hei Yuan’s territory.
The strongest and most competent Black Ink Clansmen had left with Kong Chan to intercept the Human Army, so although there were some Feudal Lords around, the rest of them were mostly High-Rank and Low-Rank Black Ink Clansmen.
Over the past few days, a slight sense of tension could be felt among the Black Ink Clansmen in Kong Chan’s territory. Rumour had it that a Human named Yang Kai was on a killing spree in Mu Guang’s Royal Domain. He had already destroyed two Territory Lord Black Ink Nests, and his next target was Kong Chan’s.
Most of the Black Ink Clansmen didn’t believe this rumour. As far as they were concerned, even though the Humans were strong and resilient, they couldn’t resist the corruption of Black Ink Strength; therefore, they had been hiding in their Great Passes all these years. Faced with the Black Ink Clan’s soldiers, they could only defend themselves. How was it possible that a single Human had barged into the Black Ink Clan’s territory and even destroyed Black Ink Nests belonging to the powerful Territory Lords?
One day though, a 30,000-metre-long creature, which was covered in scales and radiating a golden light, arrived at this place, wielding a giant spear in its claws. The horrifying pressure this creature exuded sent chills down the spines of these High-Rank and Low-Rank Black Ink Clansmen.
The humongous creature descended from the sky and forcefully swept his spear across the Territory Lord’s Black Ink Nest.
The Black Ink Nest, which had stood in this place for tens of thousands of years, given birth to countless Black Ink Clansmen, and provided a resting place for all the Black Ink Clansmen who were born here, was cut in half with just one strike.
As the Black Ink Nest fell, Black Ink Strength gushed out of it like a flood. The Black Ink Clansmen in Kong Chan’s territory were naturally flustered.
The Feudal Lords promptly shot into the sky to repel the enemy; however, the Black Ink Clansmen, who were much larger than ordinary Humans, appeared as petite as ants in front of this behemoth.
The terrifying creature didn’t even spare these Feudal Lords a glance as he opened his mouth and spat out a horrifying flame.
In an instant, many Black Ink Clansmen were slaughtered. Kong Chan’s territory was set ablaze, and countless Black Ink Clansmen perished.
The terrifying creature flitted across the sky, and wherever he went, he easily killed all the Black Ink Clansmen within his reach. On top of that, he swept his claws across all the shops that were filled with resources. The moment his claws came into contact with the shops, they simply disappeared.
Barely a cup of tea’s time later, Kong Chan’s territory was dyed with black blood.
The Black Ink Clansmen tried their best to resist by bombarding the creature with their attacks. Their attempt wasn’t effective in the beginning, but soon, the creature grunted in pain as his blood scattered about.
The battle didn’t last for long. Only an incense stick of time had passed from when the terrifying creature appeared to when he was forced to retreat.
Despite that, over 100,000 Black Ink Clansmen had lost their lives and Kong Chan’s territory had been destroyed. Innumerable amounts of resources and manpower were lost.
What sent these Black Ink Clansmen into despair though was that Kong Chan’s Black Ink Nest was thoroughly destroyed.
Black Ink Nests were the foundation of the Black Ink Clan. It could be said that all the Black Ink Clansmen living in this place were nurtured by this Black Ink Nest. To them, Kong Chan’s Black Ink Nest was profoundly important to them, a symbol of their very lives.
But now, this Black Ink Nest was destroyed. Although it was still alive, it would inevitably wither after it was cut down by the giant creature. Soon, this Black Ink Nest would perish.
These Black Ink Clansmen were furious as they vowed to get their revenge, but how were they supposed to look for the colossal creature?
After breaking the siege, the creature abruptly disappeared.
Furthermore, after the Territory Lord’s Black Ink Nest was destroyed, all the Feudal Lord Black Ink Nests in Kong Chan’s territory died. The information network had been disabled, so their ability to coordinate their efforts was severely hampered.
Meanwhile, Yang Kai was hiding inside a Black Ink Cloud and recuperating.
In the past, he would be nervous when he recuperated as he was worried that Hei Yuan would find him; however, he didn’t have to worry about that now. In the Black Ink Nest space, he had severely injured Hei Yuan’s Soul. Just like him, Hei Yuan was probably hiding somewhere and recuperating, so he wouldn’t dare to mess with Yang Kai. He should be glad that Yang Kai stopped trying to look for him.
Without any Territory Lords around, Yang Kai wasn’t afraid of the other Black Ink Clansmen given his current strength.
In such a situation, his presence in the Black Ink Clan was like a Flood Dragon plunging into an ocean or a tiger in the mountains. He was simply unstoppable.
Several days later, Yang Kai dashed out of the Black Ink Cloud and headed straight in a particular direction. Although he ran into some Black Ink Clansmen on his way, he easily killed them off as they were no match for him.
Sometime later, he arrived at a new Territory Lord’s territory.
He had destroyed three Mid-Rank Black Ink Nests already, so the Black Ink Clansmen were obviously aware of his plans. Knowing that he had targeted the Black Ink Nests belonging to the Territory Lords, the Black Ink Clansmen resisted in an even more ferocious manner.
The instant Yang Kai assumed his Grand Dragon Form, the Feudal Lords, who had been hiding, rushed out to deal with him.
Upon seeing so many Black Ink Feudal Lords, Yang Kai counted and realised there were over 100 of them.
Despite being a Grand Dragon, Yang Kai still felt apprehensive. He was indeed powerful and able to escape from a Territory Lord as he was no match for such a Master; however, there was no way he could defeat 100 Feudal Lords in a frontal clash.
Yang Kai had no idea whose territory this was, but from the looks of it, he knew that all of the Feudal Lords who stayed behind had gathered together in this place to defend the Territory Lord’s Black Ink Nest.
It was no wonder that when he arrived at a Feudal Lord Black Ink Nest to ascertain the location of the Territory Lord’s Black Ink Nest earlier, he faced no organized resistance at all.
That was because they were all waiting for him here.
After a moment of hesitation, Yang Kai still charged at the Feudal Lords, who apparently hadn’t expected that he would be so unrelenting. Seeing that the 30,000-metre creature was coming at them with a gigantic spear, the Feudal Lords instinctively dodged.
The Grand Dragon directly ploughed through the Feudal Lords’ lines, forcefully enduring the attacks that came at him. Dragon Blood splashed everywhere and Dragon Scales were shattered and broken while some unlucky Feudal Lords were instantly killed as they came into contact with Azure Dragon Spear. With that said, the casualties were insignificant compared to the total number of Feudal Lords in this place.
Regardless, Yang Kai just had to break through their blockade. Ignoring the attacks coming from behind, he directly struck the Territory Lord’s Black Ink Nest with his Azure Dragon Spear.
After a long time of dealing with the Black Ink Clan, Yang Kai came to realise that the Black Ink Nests were actually quite frail. Basically, the Black Ink Nests were defenceless. Even if he was in his Human form, he could easily destroy a Black Ink Nest with one strike, not to mention in his Grand Dragon Form with the Azure Dragon Spear in his claws.
Therefore, Yang Kai didn’t need to get tangled up with these Feudal Lords. His target had always been to destroy the Territory Lord’s Black Ink Nest.
As a Grand Dragon with the Azure Dragon Spear, Yang Kai’s attack was unimaginably destructive. Following the strike, the Black Ink Nest collapsed to the ground.
Yang Kai didn’t even take another glance at it as he flew across the sky above the prosperous city and spat out Dragon Breath, instantly killing tens of thousands of weaker Black Ink Clansmen. The 100 Feudal Lords were relentlessly pursuing him from behind as they continuously cast violent attacks at him in an attempt to take him down.
Although Yang Kai did his best to dodge the attacks, his figure was too massive, so almost all of them struck him, causing him to tremble and roar.
In such a situation, he couldn’t possibly rob the shops as a moment of delay would greatly exacerbate his injuries.
Despite thinking that it was such a shame, he had achieved his main goal; therefore, Yang Kai did not hesitate to shoot into the sky and leave.
The Feudal Lords were still chasing after him; however, after Yang Kai returned to his Human Form, he manipulated Space Principles several times and easily shook off his pursuers.
Since Yang Kai was nowhere in sight, these Feudal Lords had no choice but to give up. They turned around and saw that the Black Ink Nest was withering and could not be saved. Although they had caused some damage to the Grand Dragon, they didn’t manage to make him stay behind and he had successfully fled in the end.
Another Territory Lord Black Ink Nest was destroyed and all of the Black Ink Clansmen in Mu Guang’s Royal Domain were alerted. No one knew when Yang Kai would jump out of nowhere and make a move on another Territory Lord’s Black Ink Nest. More importantly, no one knew which Territory Lord Black Ink Nest would be his next target.
Based on this experience though, they understood that even 100 Feudal Lords couldn’t stop Yang Kai from destroying a Black Ink Nest. It wasn’t that they were unable to defeat Yang Kai, but that he could break through their formation and head straight to the Black Ink Nest, though he would be injured in the process.
Presently, the Royal Lord and several Territory Lords were dealing with the Old Ancestor from Yin-Yang Pass while Hei Yuan had gone missing. The Feudal Lords couldn’t find anyone who could take charge, leaving the entire Royal Domain leaderless and flustered.
Now, the only thing the Feudal Lords could do was to gather together around their respective Territory Lords’ Black Ink Nests and wait. They had to prepare should Yang Kai launch a surprise attack on them all of a sudden, and they could only hope that they could stop him or kill him on the spot eventually.
Therefore, in Mu Guang’s Royal Domain, every Territory Lord Black Ink Nest now had over 100 Feudal Lords surrounding it. Through the Territory Lords’ Black Ink Nests that hadn’t been affected, they constantly exchanged information and reported on Yang Kai’s whereabouts. The Territory Lord’s territories neighbouring the Black Ink Nest that Yang Kai previously destroyed were the centre of attention.
They speculated that Yang Kai’s next target would be one of those Territory Lords’ Black Ink Nests.
Therefore, countless weaker Black Ink Clansmen were sent from these Territory Lords’ territories to search for Yang Kai. As time passed, Yang Kai was still nowhere in sight though, and the pressure on the Black Ink Clan intensified.
Based on past experiences, Yang Kai would go into hiding every time he destroyed a Black Ink Nest, but when he reappeared, he would stir up a bloody storm.
The Black Ink Clan speculated that Yang Kai was probably hiding somewhere to recuperate; after all, every time he appeared, he would be wounded. However, it wouldn’t take him a long time to recover. The Human named Yang Kai seemed to have an incredible restorative ability. Regardless of how badly injured he was, he could always recover in ten days to half a month.
Based on the information they had gathered from the Black Ink Disciples, this kind of restorative power must have something to do with his Dragon Clan bloodline. Dragon Clan members were known to be able to heal their wounds quickly.
As expected, Yang Kai reappeared half a month later. Just like the Black Ink Clan had speculated, he appeared in a neighbouring Territory Lord’s territory of the Black Ink Nest that he previously destroyed.
Although over 100 Feudal Lords were already waiting there, and they had set up a restrictive Spirit Array with the help of the Black Ink Disciples, they still couldn’t ward off the 30,000-metre-long Grand Dragon.
Just like what happened previously, the Grand Dragon destroyed the Black Ink Nest and shattered the Universe World it sat on. Although he was badly injured, he still managed to break through the siege and escape.
Another Territory Lord’s Black Ink Nest was gone for good.
This caused the Black Ink Clansmen to be furious. The destruction of the Black Ink Nests united all these Black Ink Clansmen as the Feudal Lords swore that they would kill Yang Kai for the humiliation he had inflicted upon them.
The Black Ink Clan intensified their search for Yang Kai, which made it hard for him to recuperate in peace.
Despite their best efforts though, a Mid-Rank Black Ink Nest would be destroyed by Yang Kai every half a month. Faced with the ferocious Grand Dragon, these Black Ink Clansmen didn’t have a solution as there were no powerful Masters among them who could confront the enemy head-on.
One day, when Yang Kai transformed into a Grand Dragon and arrived at a Territory Lord’s direct territory, he saw nearly 200 Feudal Lords charging towards him.
After an intense battle, he managed to kill quite a number of them, but their defence line held, so he was unable to get close to the Black Ink Nest. Faced with so many Feudal Lords, he wouldn’t dare to be reckless; otherwise, he would most likely be killed.
Left with no choice, he fled for now.
It had been about half a year since Yang Kai destroyed the first Territory Lord’s Black Ink Nest. During this period of time, he had destroyed 10 Territory Lords’ Black Ink Nests.
In the past, the Feudal Lords were unable to stave him off regardless of how hard they tried, but this time, they managed to force him to withdraw without achieving his goal.
Seeing that the Grand Dragon turned around to flee, the Feudal Lords became high-spirited and cheered in ecstasy. Some of the bold Feudal Lords even chased after Yang Kai, but they eventually lost track of him.
Although the Feudal Lords were unable to make Yang Kai stay, it was the first time they gained a victory against this opponent. With their hard work and perseverance, they saved a Territory Lord’s Black Ink Nest that Yang Kai had targeted. This was a meaningful victory for all the Black Ink Clansmen that was worth celebrating.
Unlike how joyful the Black Ink Clansmen were, Yang Kai was extremely vexed.
He had repeatedly made a move recently, and even though he had made a huge contribution by destroying quite a number of Territory Lord Black Ink Nests and killing a lot of Feudal Lords, he came to the realisation that, as time passed, he faced increasingly strong resistance.
One thing he had noticed was that the number of Feudal Lords he had to face increased each time he arrived at a new Black Ink Nest.
Furthermore, he found many of the Feudal Lords familiar. In other words, he had seen them before.
After giving it a thought, he soon realised that those familiar-looking Feudal Lords came from the other territories to help.
His target was clear, which was to destroy Territory Lord Black Ink Nests.
Usually, a territory where a Territory Lord’s Black Ink Nest was located would have 100 or so Feudal Lords inhabiting it. Once he managed to destroy the nest though, these Feudal Lords would head to the neighbouring Black Ink Nests to provide reinforcements. That was the reason he came across so many Feudal Lords on this day, and many of them looked familiar to him. It was apparent that he faced them before.
In that case, as he destroyed more Black Ink Nests, he would face stiffer resistance.
Yang Kai was unable to achieve his goal on this day as nearly 200 Feudal Lords went all out to protect the Black Ink Nest. Although he had turned into a Grand Dragon, he was still unable to break through their defences and instead, he was terribly injured.
It seemed that he had to stop this game at this point. If he still recklessly continued, an accident was likely to happen.
Fortunately, he had already destroyed a lot of Territory Lord Black Ink Nests, thus dealing a heavy blow to the Black Ink Clan. He had also snatched vast amounts of resources from several Territory Lords’ territories and killed countless Black Ink Clansmen. It could be said that he had made a huge contribution.
Despite his reluctance, Yang Kai still decided to end his actions here.
He believed that after the chaos he raised this time, the foundation of the Black Ink Clan in Mu Guang’s Royal Domain had been severely damaged. It would take them several hundred to 1,000 years to fully recover. The Black Ink Clan must be extremely vexed that 10 Territory Lord Black Ink Nests had been destroyed, which resulted in several dozen more Feudal Lord Black Ink Nests withering as well.
Since he had made up his mind, Yang Kai found a remote place to recuperate in peace.
It was destined that his journey back home wouldn’t be smooth sailing though. Other than the fact that he would run into a lot of Black Ink Clansmen along the way, he would also have to deal with the Black Ink Clan Army besieging Yin-Yang Pass.
Several days later, Yang Kai, who was recuperating, suddenly thought of something. He turned into a Soul Avatar and appeared in his Small Universe.
This was a place with lush mountains and clear rivers. The 300 Artifact Refiners that Yang Kai had kept inside his Small Universe were settled down here. In any case, other than recuperating in such a serene place, there was nothing else they could do.
This was Yang Kai’s Small Universe, after all. If they activated their World Forces as they pleased, it would cause a burden on Yang Kai. They might even damage or contaminate Yang Kai’s Small Universe.
With that in mind, they had been doing nothing recently, which was why they were quite bored.
However, after such a long time, they still had no idea what was going on in the outside world, and Yang Kai didn’t seem to have the intention of releasing them. It was expected that Wu Xing He and the others were worried about Yang Kai, and they wanted to ask him what was going on.
Therefore, the moment Yang Kai’s Soul Avatar appeared, they promptly surrounded him.
“What’s wrong, Senior Brothers?” Yang Kai asked.
Wu Xing He said, “Junior Brother Yang, haven’t we returned to the Inner Sanctum?”
Yang Kai shook his head, “Not yet. There’s been an accident. We’re still inside the Black Ink Clan’s territory.”
“We’re still in enemy territory?” Guan Ning was astounded.
Wang Si Bo asked with concern, “What kind of accident? Is there anything we can help you with?”
Yang Kai shook his head, “The Black Ink Clan’s territory is filled with Black Ink Clouds and Black Ink Strength, so it’s best you stay here lest you become corrupted again.”
Wu Xing He and the other Grandmaster Artifact Refiners had cut off large sections of their Small Universes, causing them to drop to the Sixth-Order from the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm so that Yang Kai could easily keep them inside his own Small Universe. Now that their Orders had dropped and their Small Universes were incomplete, they would easily be invaded by Black Ink Strength. The other Artifact Refiners were unable to help either because they were only in the Fifth-Order and Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm.
“As for what accident occurred… It’s no big deal. Recently, I’ve been destroying some Black Ink Nests.” Yang Kai briefly told them what he had been up to. It wasn’t that he wanted to brag, but he understood that these Artifact Refiners were apprehensive as they had been staying in his Small Universe and unable to find out what was going on in the outside world. Therefore, he decided to tell them what he had done to let them know that it wasn’t that he was unable to return to the Inner Sanctum. He just didn’t want to go back without dealing a heavy blow to the Black Ink Clan first.
Upon hearing that Yang Kai had single-handedly destroyed so many Territory Lord Black Ink Nests and killed countless Black Ink Clansmen, these Artifact Refiners were dumbfounded.
They couldn’t really believe what they had just heard.
After all, Yang Kai was just a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. Although most of the strongest Black Ink Clansmen had left the Royal Domain, even an Eighth-Order Division Commander would be unable to pull off such a feat.
However, they knew that it wasn’t necessary for Yang Kai to lie to them. In other words, such things had really happened.
Wu Xing He and the others were astonished as admiration was written all over their faces.
A moment later, Wu Xing He came to his senses and asked, “Junior Brother, you mean, after a Territory Lord’s Black Ink Nest is destroyed, all of the sub-nests that originated from that Black Ink Nest will wither as well?”
Yang Kai nodded, “That’s right.”
Wu Xing He quickly ran the numbers in his mind, “A Territory Lord’s Black Ink Nest is connected to several dozen Feudal Lord Black Ink Nests. In other words, hundreds of Feudal Lord Black Ink Nests have been destroyed as a result.”
“I think so.”
All of them gasped.
Wang Si Bo said in a shaking voice, “You’ve also injured Hei Yuan?”
Yang Kai nodded, “He wanted to fight me using only our Souls, but he had no idea that I possess the Soul Warming Lotus. He basically found the wrong opponent. Unfortunately, even though I’ve managed to wound his Soul, I have no idea where he is now. I’ve failed in my attempts to find him; otherwise, I could seize this chance and end his life.”
“The Soul Warming Lotus…” Wu Xing He muttered under his breath. He had certainly heard of this Supreme Treasure before, but it never crossed his mind that such a valuable item was in Yang Kai’s possession.
With the Soul Warming Lotus protecting Yang Kai’s Soul, it was expected that Hei Yuan would lose in such a contest.
“Anyway, the Black Ink Clan have suffered immense losses recently; however, the Feudal Lords who are still around have gathered together around the surviving Territory Lord Black Ink Nests, so I’m no longer able to keep attacking. It’s time we went home.”
Upon hearing that, Wu Xing He nodded, “You’d better keep yourself safe, Junior Brother. You’re just a Seventh-Order Master now, but you’ve managed to make such a huge contribution. When you ascend to the Eighth Order in the future, you’ll be a pillar of strength for the Human Race. You must prioritise your safety at all times.”
Yang Kai replied humbly, “Many thanks for your compliment, Senior Brother.”
“How confident are you that you can kill Hei Yuan if you find him?” Wang Si Bo suddenly asked.
After pondering on it for a moment, Yang Kai shook his head, “I have no idea; however, since Hei Yuan’s Soul is damaged, he must be significantly weakened now. If I run into him, I’ll stand a chance to end his life. Why do you ask, Senior Brother Wang?”
A hint of hesitation flashed through Wang Si Bo’s face.
Realising something, Yang Kai asked, “Do you have a way to locate Hei Yuan?”
Wang Si Bo remained silent.
Nevertheless, his silence meant that he definitely had a way to find Hei Yuan. Yang Kai promptly said, “Senior Brother Wang, if you have a solution, why don’t you tell me about it? Although I’ve destroyed a lot of Mid-Rank Black Ink Nests and severely damaged their foundation, Black Ink Nests can still be hatched again. It will just take them some time and energy to nurture these Black Ink Nests. However, it will be different if we have a chance to kill Hei Yuan, who is one of the top five Territory Lords serving Mu Guang. Killing Hei Yuan will deal much longer-lasting damage than destroying 10 Territory Lord Black Ink Nests. His death will be a severe blow to the Black Ink Clan.”
After a sigh, Wang Si Bo said, “I wouldn’t dare to say that I can definitely find him, but I can give it a try.”
Yang Kai’s eyes brightened, “I’m all ears.”
Wang Si Bo went on to say, “Hei Yuan has a defensive artifact that was made by me.”
After giving it some thought, Yang Kai soon realised what the other man was talking about, “That arm ring?”
Certainly, he was aware that there was an arm ring on Hei Yuan’s right arm; after all, he had frequently come into contact with him. Although Yang Kai knew that it was an artifact made by a Human Artifact Refiner, it never crossed his mind that it was crafted by Wang Si Bo.
As expected, Wang Si Bo nodded, “Indeed. It was an arm ring. Back then, Hei Yuan found me and told me to make a defensive artifact for him; therefore, I specifically made the arm ring for him. Although the defensive artifact isn’t very strong, it’s not weak either. It might save his life at a critical moment. Since you’ve seen it before, it means that he’s still wearing it.”
Yang Kai nodded, “En.”
“It will be easy, then,” Wang Si Bo put on a smile, “Junior Brother, you’re an Artifact Refiner yourself, so you know that we have a habit of leaving unique marks on the artifacts we make to show that they are our works.”
Certainly, Yang Kai was aware of this custom. Just like Wang Si Bo had said, many Artifact Refiners had a habit of leaving their unique mark on the artifacts they refined. Of course, they wouldn’t leave a mark on every artifact they crafted, only the special and unique ones. The reason Artifact Refiners did such a thing was that they wanted to make a name for themselves. On the other hand, an artifact with a unique mark of an Artifact Refining Grandmaster would be costly.
The marks could either be conspicuous or hidden, it was fully at the Artifact Refiner’s discretion.
In fact, Yang Kai had done such a thing as well; however, he didn’t leave a unique mark but instead a kind of hidden restriction. He left such a restriction in every artifact he refined for the Feudal Lords. When he dealt with Zha Gu, he activated the corresponding restrictions, disrupting the flow of energy in the artifacts on Zha Gu’s body, rendering them brittle and useless. That was how he managed to kill him with one strike back then.
Therefore, he could easily understand what Wang Si Bo was talking about at this moment, “Did you leave a mark in that arm ring?”
“En,” Wang Si Bo nodded. There was no doubt that the arm ring he made for Hei Yuan was valuable, which was why he left his unique mark on it, “I can make something to trace that mark. Perhaps it will allow you to find Hei Yuan. However, if he’s hiding in a Sealed World or if he’s too far away, it won’t work.”
If Hei Yuan was hiding in a Sealed Would, he couldn’t be traced as the signal from the mark couldn’t be traced across a World Barrier. On the other hand, if he was too far away, they simply would be able to connect to the mark.
With that said, it was worth giving it a try and Yang Kai promptly said, “In that case, please do what you can, Senior Brother Wang. It would be best if we can seize this chance to kill Hei Yuan, but if that’s not possible, we can just return to the Inner Sanctum.”
Certainly, Wang Si Bo wouldn’t turn him down.
However, he wasn’t able to freely use his power in Yang Kai’s Small Universe. Left with no choice, Yang Kai could only look for a safe place first.
Fortunately, there were a lot of Sealed Worlds within the Black Ink Clan’s territory. While Yang Kai was raising chaos, he discovered a lot of hidden portals to Sealed Worlds, but he didn’t have time to explore them; hence, it wasn’t hard for him to find a Sealed World now.
It only took him a day to locate a Sealed World, and after opening the portal, he entered and let Wang Si Bo out from his Small Universe. He had already prepared all the materials needed for Artifact Refining.
It wasn’t difficult to craft a tracker, but it would still most likely take Wang Si Bo several days. Yang Kai thus released Wu Xing He and the others so that they could protect Wang Si Bo while he searched around the Sealed World for any potential dangers. By doing so, he could explore this place as well.
If there were any rare Spirit Herbs or Profound Yin Spirit Fruits, he could pick them.
As he explored the Sealed World, Yang Kai pondered on where Hei Yuan was hiding.
Although Wang Si Bo could craft a tracker, it wouldn’t be useful if Hei Yuan was too far away; therefore, Yang Kai had to speculate where Hei Yuan was so that they could make better use of the tracker.
Since Hei Yuan’s Soul had been badly injured, he must be recuperating now.
A Black Ink Nest would be the best choice if a Black Ink Clansman wanted to recuperate. As a Territory Lord, Hei Yuan certainly had to go into a Territory Lord Rank Black Ink Nest to properly heal; however, Yang Kai was causing a storm in Mu Guang’s Royal Domain, targeting Mid-Rank Black Ink Nests. Hence, Hei Yuan might not have the guts to enter one. If he was cornered by Yang Kai in a Black Ink Nest, he would be in hot water.
Hence, Yang Kai was 80% sure that Hei Yuan wasn’t in any Black Ink Nest.
He believed that Hei Yuan would be hiding in a region where those Territory Lord’s Black Ink Nest had already been destroyed. That was because there were no longer Black Ink Nests in such a place. Judging from what Yang Kai had been doing, he wouldn’t revisit such a place; thus, it would be considered a safe zone for Hei Yuan.
He might even be hiding in his own territory to fool his opponent.
A few days later, Yang Kai returned from the depths of the Sealed World. There were no valuable items in this Sealed World. He had picked a few herbs, but there were no Profound Yin Spirit Fruits.
During this period of time, Wang Si Bo had finished making the tracker.
Seeing Yang Kai, he passed something that looked like a compass to him and explained, “With the help of this thing, you’ll be able to detect the arm ring as long as it’s within range. You should find Hei Yuan when you detect the arm ring’s presence.”
“Got it.” Yang Kai nodded.
“Be cautious, Junior Brother. Although Hei Yuan has been weakened, he’s still a Territory Lord. Run away if you can’t defeat him,” Wang Si Bo said with concern.
Yang Kai replied, “Don’t worry, Senior Brother. I have to bring all of you back to the Inner Sanctum, so I won’t take any big risks.”
After moving Wang Si Bo and the others back inside his Small Universe, Yang Kai left the Sealed World. Upon identifying the direction with the help of his Universe Chart, he headed straight towards Hei Yuan’s territory.
Yang Kai held the compass in his hand, and he would take a look at it from time to time. Nevertheless, it didn’t react along the way.
Whenever he ran into a group of Black Ink Clansmen, he would directly kill them all. There wasn’t even a single Feudal Lord among the Black Ink Clansmen that he came across, so how were they supposed to stop him?
It seemed that his speculation was right. All the Feudal Lords had headed to the neighbouring Mid-Rank Black Ink Nests to help and waited for Yang Kai to arrive; therefore, there wasn’t a single Feudal Lord among the Black Ink Clansmen on patrol.
Yang Kai went on a killing spree for the next seven to eight days before he arrived at Hei Yuan’s territory.
He headed straight to Hei Yuan’s home territory, since he speculated that Hei Yuan was trying to deceive him by hiding in the least likely spot for him to look. This place also made sense for Hei Yuan though as this was where his foundation was. If he wanted to recuperate without relying on a Black Ink Nest, this place would be the best choice.
However, when Yang Kai arrived at the universe fragment and took a look at the compass, he realised that there was no reaction.
[Is Hei Yuan not here?]
Yang Kai frowned.
He certainly had trust in the thing Wang Si Bo crafted. This compass wasn’t a complicated artifact and Wang Si Bo was an Artifact Refining Grandmaster, so the items he refined couldn’t possibly be useless.
Since the compass didn’t react, it suggested that Hei Yuan wasn’t here.
It seemed that Yang Kai’s speculation was wrong, so he was disappointed.
Nevertheless, since he was already here, he wouldn’t want to go back without achieving anything. As he took a glance at the shattered universe fragment, he activated the power of his Dragon Vein and roared. The next instant, he turned into a 30,000-metre-long Dragon.
Life hadn’t been peaceful for the Black Ink Clansmen living on this universe fragment.
When the Human named Yang Kai appeared as a Grand Dragon previously, not only did he destroy the Mid-Rank Black Ink Nest and kill a lot of Black Ink Clansmen, but he also shattered the universe fragment. As a result, the city was ruined, and a lot of the resources in the shops were stolen.
There was originally a Mid-Rank Black Ink Nest that continuously produced Black Ink Strength here, which was the foundation that the Black Ink Clansmen relied on to survive. Now that the Black Ink Nest was destroyed, the Black Ink Strength around the universe fragment became thinner and thinner. A long time had passed, but the injured Black Ink Clansmen still hadn’t managed to recover.
It was imaginable that the remaining Black Ink Strength would be gone for good in no time. When that happened, the situation here would only exacerbate.
On the other hand, Hei Yuan was missing. Initially, there were still some Feudal Lords in this area, but they had left soon after. It seemed that they had headed out to protect other Mid-Rank Black Ink Nests.
The Black Ink Clansmen living on the universe fragment were apprehensive about their future. Although some High-Rank Clansmen assured them that Hei Yuan wouldn’t abandon them, and that he would get another Black Ink Nest to rebuild their foundation, their efforts did little to assuage these fears.
Just as the Black Ink Clansmen on the universe fragment were lost in their own anxiety, they heard a Dragon Roar coming from the distance, and it sounded familiar.
The Black Ink Clansmen looked up and saw that there was a colossal Grand Dragon with a golden glow descending from the sky, shaking its head and flicking its tail as it swam towards them.
[Why is he here again!?]
The Black Ink Clansmen on the universe fragment were stunned. It was said that this Grand Dragon had been targeting Territory Lord Rank Black Ink Nests, but since the Black Ink Nest in this place had been destroyed, why was he here now?
Before they could figure out the reason, the Grand Dragon was upon them. Wherever he went, Black Ink Clansmen would die.
When Yang Kai arrived at this place as a Grand Dragon previously, he faced resistance from a lot of Feudal Lords; however, this time, the most powerful opponents were just High-Rank Black Ink Clansmen. Faced with Yang Kai’s intense Dragon Pressure, these Black Ink Clansmen were so terrified they ran away at first sight, not daring to clash with him.
The Grand Dragon destroyed everything in sight as though there was no one else in this place. As he breathed out his Dragon Breath, the Black Ink Clansmen screamed in terror and pain.
When Yang Kai left two hours later, the entire universe fragment was thoroughly shattered.
Countless Black Ink Clansmen had lost their lives during the carnage. It was estimated that over 100,000 Black Ink Clansmen had perished. Although there wasn’t a Feudal Lord among them, these High-Rank and Low-Rank Black Ink Clansmen were still part of the Black Ink Clan’s foundation. Their deaths could potentially affect the Black Ink Clan’s survival as a whole.
What’s more, all the resources in all the shops had been snatched up.
Although Yang Kai had previously looted several shops, he didn’t obtain everything as he was in a hurry. This time, he could pillage without any worries, so he picked the Black Ink Clan clean.
The entire universe was shattered, and innumerable Black Ink Clansmen had lost their lives. It could be said that Hei Yuan’s home territory was thoroughly destroyed.
This was probably the first Territory Lord territory to be completely wiped out by a Human in history.
Unfortunately, Hei Yuan wasn’t here.
Hei Yuan’s Soul had been damaged, so if Yang Kai could find him here, he had the confidence to kill him; however, the void was expansive, so Yang Kai wasn’t even sure where to start looking for him.
Nevertheless, there was nothing he could do at this point.
It was time he returned to Yin-Yang Pass. The Black Ink Clan’s Army was currently besieging the Great Pass, but Yang Kai had no idea about the specifics over there.
Since he had made up his mind, he headed straight towards Yin-Yang Pass. As Space Principles flared, his figure flickered. There weren’t any obstacles along the way. Perhaps the Black Ink Clansmen were too terrified of him now, so they wouldn’t dare to wander about.
Half a day later, just as he was about to leave Hei Yuan’s territory and enter another Territory Lord’s domain, the compass in his hand shook a little all of a sudden.
Although he didn’t find Hei Yuan in his home territory, Yang Kai still held out hope. Perhaps he might find a trace that would lead him to Hei Yuan on his way back, so he kept the compass made by Wang Si Bo on his person the whole time.
Hence, he was pleasantly surprised that it finally reacted.
The vibration was weak; however, Yang Kai was a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, and he had been hoping to find Hei Yuan, so he had been paying close attention to the compass. Therefore, the moment the compass vibrated, he immediately noticed it.
Yang Kai abruptly stopped in his tracks and looked down, only to see that the pointer was slightly swaying as it pointed in a particular direction.
His eyes brightened. Since the compass was reacting, it suggested that it had detected the arm ring’s presence. Hei Yuan was always wearing the arm ring on his right arm, so wherever it was, Hei Yuan should be hiding there.
The reason the pointer was swaying was that Hei Yuan was still far away. It was barely within the range where the compass could detect the arm ring, so it could only roughly point out a direction.
That was enough though.
Yang Kai was ecstatic. He initially thought that he would miss the chance to kill Hei Yuan, so he was surprised at the turn of events.
He immediately concealed his aura and charged in the direction that the compass had pointed.
There was no doubt that Hei Yuan was recuperating. Although his Soul had been injured, he was still a Territory Lord; therefore, it wouldn’t be easy to take him down. Yang Kai reckoned that his best hope was to launch a sneak attack on him.
As he got closer, the pointer gradually stabilised and eventually stopped swaying.
Half a day later, Yang Kai hid inside a Black Ink Cloud and silently examined the universe fragment in front of him.
The universe fragment was pretty huge as it was left behind from a shattered Universe World. Such universe fragments were innumerable on the Black Ink Battlefield, especially inside the Black Ink Clan’s territory. Many Feudal Lords and Territory Lords built their bases on such universe fragments.
Hei Yuan’s home territory was also built on a universe fragment.
As Yang Kai observed this place, he realised that there were no Black Ink Clansmen moving around on the universe fragment. Hei Yuan was nowhere in sight, nor could he detect his aura.
However, the compass was pointing in this direction. In other words, Hei Yuan must be hiding in this universe fragment.
After observing for a bit, he still couldn’t find Hei Yuan. Yang Kai frowned and dashed out of the Black Ink Cloud before charging towards the universe fragment.
Since he had no idea where Hei Yuan was, he could only search for him.
He did his best to conceal himself as he moved around the universe fragment like a ghost. Initially, Yang Kai was worried that his whereabouts would be exposed; after all, regardless of how well he could conceal his aura, Hei Yuan might detect his presence in such close proximity. However, after he searched around most of the universe fragment, there was still no reaction from Hei Yuan.
It was only then that Yang Kai set his mind at ease. It seemed that Hei Yuan was indeed badly injured. When a Black Ink Clansman was horribly injured, the best way to recuperate was to enter an unconscious state. In other words, Hei Yuan was probably hibernating somewhere on this universe fragment.
That would allow Yang Kai to make a move with ease.
However, after inspecting most of the places on the universe fragment, he still couldn’t find Hei Yuan. Fortunately, there came a moment when a hint of Black Ink Strength caught his attention.
In the Black Ink Clan’s territory, Black Ink Strength was practically omnipresent. Some of it had even formed into Black Ink Clouds; therefore, Yang Kai didn’t pay attention to this wisp of Black Ink Strength initially.
It wasn’t until he realised there was something off about this particular patch of Black Ink Strength that he decided to examine it.
A moment later, he noticed that the source of the Black Ink Strength was inside the universe fragment; in other words, Hei Yuan was hiding within the universe fragment.
It was no wonder that Yang Kai was unable to find him even after such a long time.
With that thought in mind, he traced the Black Ink Strength and soon found a cave that led to the depths of the universe fragment.
As he held his breath, Yang Kai snuck into the cave and descended for quite some time. The deeper he went, the thicker the Black Ink Strength was. This led him to believe that his judgment was right.
There came a moment when he saw light at the other end of the cave.
There was a huge empty space in the centre of the universe fragment, and as he looked up, Yang Kai couldn’t help but narrow his eyes.
That was because there was a several-dozen-metre tall Black Ink Nest in the centre of this universe fragment. Just like the other Black Ink Nests that Yang Kai had seen before, this one looked like a dark flower bud and as it breathed, the entire Black Ink Nest pulsated like a heart.
He was surprised that there was a Black Ink Nest in this place.
One had to know that he had destroyed Hei Yuan’s Black Ink Nest, so supposedly, all the sub-nests bred from it should have withered by now. Why was there still a Black Ink Nest here?
The only possibility was that this Black Ink Nest wasn’t a sub-nest of Hei Yuan’s Black Ink Nest, nor was it a sub-nest of any of the Mid-Rank Black Ink Nests Yang Kai had destroyed.
This might even be another Mid-Rank Black Ink Nest; otherwise, it couldn’t possibly have survived.
However, its scale wasn’t even comparable to the Low-Rank Black Ink Nests. Hei Yuan must have hatched it in a hurry to help him recuperate, so he didn’t have time to grow it yet.
As Yang Kai looked down at the compass, the pointer was pointing at the Black Ink Nest.
[Found you!] Yang Kai stored the compass and examined the Black Ink Nest in front of him.
The entire Black Ink Nest had been sealed up, so it was impossible for him to sneak inside without alerting Hei Yuan.
Nevertheless, Hei Yuan still didn’t react even though Yang Kai was in such close proximity. It seemed that he was really in a state of deep sleep.
Yang Kai took a deep breath and reached out his hand, summoning the Azure Dragon Spear into his grip. The next instant, he madly pushed the power of his Small Universe.
As a Golden Crow cawed, a Great Sun leapt up from behind Yang Kai. Fixing the Great Sun at the tip of his spear, he hurled it towards the Black Ink Nest. At the same time, Space Principles flared, turning the local space viscous, giving Hei Yuan no chance to flee.
Under the Great Sun, the several-dozen-metre tall Black Ink Nest was blown away. Right then, a roar with a hint of fury reverberated across the space. The next instant, a golden light dazzled Yang Kai’s eyes as a ring-shaped light shield appeared and blocked his attack.
It was the arm ring refined by Wang Si Bo!
Yang Kai long ago realised that the arm ring was a defensive artifact that Hei Yuan wore on his right arm. Although he had been sound asleep, he, as a Territory Lord, still instinctively reacted to the danger the moment Yang Kai launched the attack and the arm ring’s shield was instantly activated.
Wang Si Bo was an Artifact Refining Grandmaster, so the defensive artifact with his unique mark that he had personally refined certainly wouldn’t be weak when it came to its defence.
However, it wasn’t enough to withstand Yang Kai’s attack either; after all, he was significantly more powerful than an average Seventh-Order Master. Furthermore, Golden Crow Casts the Sun was a Divine Manifestation, so ordinary Secret Techniques were not comparable to it.
Under the Great Sun, the golden defence shattered and Yang Kai directly thrust his Azure Dragon Spear towards Hei Yuan’s chest.
It was expected that Hei Yuan was in a terrible mood as he was faced with such an attack right after he awakened. As his power burst forth, he forcefully threw out his fist.
In an instant, the ground cracked and rocks flew around.
The universe fragment, which had been drifting around the void in silence over countless years, was subject to a violent clash, and in the next instant, it exploded into pieces.
Two figures shot out of it. While in mid-air, Yang Kai sprayed out a mouthful of blood, his face as pale as a sheet.
He almost couldn’t bear Hei Yuan’s all-out attack. Some of his ribs were broken and his five viscera and six organs were throbbing. Just like what Wang Si Bo had said, even though Hei Yuan had been weakened, he was still a Territory Lord.
Yang Kai stabilised himself and lifted his gaze, only to see that Hei Yuan was looking furious. There was a hint of puzzlement behind his eyes, as it was apparent that he hadn’t figured out what was going on yet.
The arm ring on his right arm had turned dim with cracks all over it. Most of its spirituality had been lost.
It was only thanks to this arm ring that blocked Yang Kai’s Golden Crow Casts the Sun at the critical moment that his life was saved; otherwise, he could’ve been killed by Yang Kai in that sneak attack.
Even so, blood was still streaming from his chest at this moment as the blow had still hurt him.
A short while later, Hei Yuan figured out what was going on. As he looked up and made out the person who launched a sneak attack on him, he said through clenched teeth, “It’s you!”
Yang Kai spat out the blood in his mouth and sneered, “You’re pretty lucky.”
It was thanks to the arm ring that Wang Si Bo had made for Hei Yuan that Yang Kai could find Hei Yuan. Nevertheless, it was also because of the arm ring that his strike was rendered ineffective. His success and failure were all because of Wang Si Bo.
With that said, he had found Hei Yuan at the very least, and the battle had just started.
“How did you know that I was here?” Hei Yuan was both surprised and shocked as he couldn’t figure it out. The void was vast, and he was hiding inside an empty universe fragment to recuperate. How did Yang Kai discover him?
One had to know that he randomly chose this place to settle down for the time being. No one else was aware of his whereabouts.
Despite that, Yang Kai had still accurately located him and launched a sneak attack on him, which was inconceivable.
“Is it hard to find you?” Yang Kai sneered as he wielded his spear, “I can smell the stench coming from your body even if we’re billions of kilometres apart. So, don’t even think about hiding from me. Wherever you are, I can find you and kill you.”
Hei Yuan’s expression darkened, “Do you think you’re capable of doing it?”
“You’ll soon find out if I’m capable or not!” Yang Kai snorted, looking high-spirited as he pointed his spear at his opponent, “Don’t even think about running away, as today, either you die, or I perish, there is no third possibility!”
“Run?” Hei Yuan was so furious that he started laughing as his Territory Lord aura rose. Black Ink Strength swirled around his burly figure as he roared, “How dare a trivial ant like you challenge this Lord! You court death!”
As his horrifying pressure burst forth, space started contorting. Under the influence of his fury, Hei Yuan’s robust figure expanded and became even more intimidating.
Standing in front of Hei Yuan, Yang Kai was so petite that it was as though he was really just an ant.
In the next instant, a huge fist came at Yang Kai. Faced with such an imposing attack, Yang Kai had never been more solemn, because wherever the fist went, space would shatter apart.
This showed how powerful a Territory Lord truly was, and the situation was quite unlike what Yang Kai had imagined. The damage to Hei Yuan’s Soul didn’t seem to affect his strength at all.
This reality surprised Yang Kai, but he didn’t have time to ponder on it. Faced with Hei Yuan’s punch, he didn’t hesitate to cover himself in spear light and charge towards his opponent. As he infused his Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm World Force into the Azure Dragon Spear, he was determined to pierce through whatever stood in front of him.
As the violent forces clashed, Yang Kai felt an immense power sweeping across his figure. He almost lost grip of his spear as the force easily shattered all of his defences, causing him to see stars as he was sent flying backwards while spraying out a mouthful of blood in mid-air.
If not for the fact that he had the World Tree’s clone, his Small Universe would have turned upside down because of this one attack. Once a cultivator’s Small Universe was shaken, his power would severely weaken. When that happened, his life or death would be controlled by his opponent.
Despite the fact that Yang Kai’s Small Universe was robust, he couldn’t make up for the gap between their powers.
A relentless Hei Yuan was determined to capture Yang Kai and charged forward, throwing out his fist again.
Yang Kai raised his spear to intercept the attack, but his attempt was futile and he was sent flying away again.
*Hong hong hong…*
A violent force swept across the void with every attack that Hei Yuan launched. Despite being defiant, Yang Kai was powerless to counterattack, as though he was a mere sandbag.
Barely a moment later, he was covered in blood, looking completely battered.
Struck by Hei Yuan’s fist again, Yang Kai flew out several hundred kilometres and crashed into a universe fragment and remained there, unmoving.
Hei Yuan strode towards Yang Kai, and with every step he took, he crossed several dozen kilometres. It only took him a moment to reach Yang Kai, and as he looked down at him, he spoke in a voice so loud that it reverberated across the void, “Have you lost all hope, ant? Don’t worry. I won’t kill you, for you are still useful to the Royal Lord. I initially had no idea where to look for you, but since you’ve delivered yourself right to me, I’ll not let you go.”
Upon finishing his words, he extended his hand towards Yang Kai.
“Stop shamelessly boasting,” Yang Kai sneered as he stood straight up without a warning, the blood on his face giving him a hideous look, “Do you seriously think I’m unable to fight back? I was just trying to ascertain the gap between our strengths.”
As he spoke, Hei Yuan managed to grasp him. Yang Kai was stuck in the huge hand and was restrained by thick Black Ink Strength. Aware that Yang Kai was a Master in the Dao of Space, Hei Yuan ensured that his opponent wouldn’t be able to flee.
The calm expression on Yang Kai’s face made Hei Yuan even more furious though and he exerted more force with his grip, resulting in the sounds of bones cracking. He lifted Yang Kai and said grimly, “Have you ascertained the gap between us now?”
Yang Kai let out a breath, “En, and you’re not as powerful as I thought.”
“Now who is boasting shamelessly?” Hei Yuan growled, “You’re in my grasp now. I can squeeze you to death if I feel like it!”
Yang Kai just grinned at him though, and in the next instant, an invisible force condensed into a spike and stabbed into Hei Yuan’s forehead. An unsuspecting Hei Yuan felt that a stake had penetrated his head. He was instantly overwhelmed by excruciating pain, which caused him to flail and groan in agony.
Yang Kai, who was right in front of him, gripped his spear and stabbed it into Hei Yuan’s left eye, directly destroying it. Black Ink Strength and dark blood gushed out of the now empty eye socket and dyed Yang Kai black.
Hei Yuan roared even louder as he staggered backwards.
In excruciating pain, he instinctually tightened his grip in an attempt to kill Yang Kai. Certainly, Yang Kai wouldn’t let that happen. As he roared, he transformed into a 30,000-metre-long gigantic creature and effortlessly broke free from Hei Yuan’s grip. Yang Kai next directly struck Hei Yuan with his Dragon Tail and sent him flying away like an arrow.
Hei Yuan only managed to stabilize himself with difficulty after flying across several thousand kilometres. As he covered his wounded eye with one hand, he sported a grim expression, dark blood streaming through the gaps between his fingers.
Yang Kai had turned back into his Human Form, and with the Azure Dragon Spear in hand, he sauntered towards Hei Yuan. Although he still looked battered, he wasn’t dispirited at all; instead, he appeared condescending.
As the Human drew closer, Hei Yuan couldn’t help but step backwards, his only remaining eye filled with horror.
Yang Kai said impassively, “Do you think you can intimidate me just by showing your strength? Such a display only proves how weak you are. I guess it’s really hard to heal the damage in your Soul. Am I right, Sir Hei Yuan?”
“You knew from the start!” Hei Yuan said through clenched teeth.
Yang Kai snorted, “Of course I knew. If I wasn’t confident, I wouldn’t have looked for you in the first place. This place will be your grave. Are you ready to die, Hei Yuan?”
Upon finishing his words, he lifted his spear and vanished into thin air.
When he reappeared, he was already right in front of Hei Yuan. In an overbearing manner, Yang Kai thrust his Azure Dragon Spear towards his enemy’s other eye.
A flustered Hei Yuan extended his fist in a hurry in an attempt to intercept this attack, but in that instant, Yang Kai pushed his Spiritual Energy again and launched another attack on Hei Yuan’s Soul.
Instantly, Hei Yuan growled, feeling as though someone had stuck a knife into his head. The pain caused his figure to shudder. Just like Yang Kai had said, it wasn’t easy to heal the damage to one’s Soul, and Hei Yuan’s was badly injured during their previous confrontation in that special space. It was now a fatal weakness which Yang Kai could use against him.
If he were at his peak, Yang Kai couldn’t have easily attacked his Soul; however, given the state he was in, Hei Yuan couldn’t possibly fend off Yang Kai’s attack on his Soul.
His injured Soul was attacked once again, which caused his defence to slip and Yang Kai easily bypassed it with his spear.
At the critical moment, Hei Yuan tilted his head and saved his remaining eye from being gouged out. Although there was now a wound on his head, physically he was still fine.
Just as Yang Kai was ready to push out his spear again, Hei Yuan swung his arm out and swept him away. The next moment, he turned around and ran away at full speed.
Yang Kai couldn’t believe that his opponent had fled just like this. He had been targeting the damage in Hei Yuan’s Soul, so the latter was completely powerless to go against him. If Hei Yuan hadn’t fled, he would be doomed.
Since he didn’t want to die though, Hei Yuan could only run away.
As Yang Kai stared at his opponent’s back, he slightly lowered his head, “No one can flee from me. Don’t even dream about it, Hei Yuan!”
Saying so, he manipulated Space Principles.
Instantly, Hei Yuan’s movements became sluggish, as though he was stuck in a quagmire. But soon, a powerful force burst from his figure, which allowed him to struggle out of the constraint.
Yang Kai frowned in surprise, for this was the first time he saw that someone able to break through his Space Principles restraint with such ease.
However, Hei Yuan was still a Territory Lord while Yang Kai was just a Seventh-Order Master, so the raw power difference between them was still quite large. It wasn’t surprising that Hei Yuan could do this.
Based on Yang Kai’s observation, Hei Yuan was still able to fully utilize his strength as long as his Soul wasn’t attacked.
But when his Soul was targeted, his power would drop considerably.
Initially, Yang Kai wanted to settle this issue quickly, but now it seemed that he had to act carefully. It would be terrible if Hei Yuan became desperate and went all out against him without caring for his own life.
Yang Kai still remembered vividly that when he joined forces with Bai Yi to deal with the wounded Zhu Feng back then; they were almost killed despite the Territory Lord being terribly wounded.
At the thought of this, Yang Kai chased after his opponent and shouted, “You can’t run, Hei Yuan!”
At the same time, he struck with his spear and manipulated Space Principles to restrict Hei Yuan’s movements.
Noticing the danger coming from behind, Hei Yuan turned around and roared before pushing out his fist.
A well-prepared Yang Kai used the same trick by sending out a Spiritual Energy attack. Instantly, Hei Yuan staggered, and his punch was significantly weakened.
While enduring the attack, Yang Kai jabbed his spear into the side of Hei Yuan’s belly and madly surged his World Force. A hole was formed in Hei Yuan’s abdomen as a result.
The two of them traded injuries, and seeing how Yang Kai was forced back, Hei Yuan quickly turned around and fled.
Soon, Yang Kai caught up though and repeated the process.
Barely half a year ago, Yang Kai had been running away from Hei Yuan for such a long time that the World Force in his Small Universe had almost dried up. Now, the prey had become the hunter. He was the one pursuing Hei Yuan. It seemed that Hei Yuan had run out of luck.
Hei Yuan knew that he was unable to flee from Yang Kai as the latter was a Master of the Dao of Space; however, he didn’t lose hope. Every time Yang Kai attacked him, he would be injured as well. As they kept wounding each other, Hei Yuan hoped that Yang Kai would be the one who could no longer persevere. Only then would he stand a chance to escape.
Unfortunately for Hei Yuan, he wasn’t aware that this was the situation Yang Kai had deliberately created.
In fact, Yang Kai wasn’t unable to dodge Hei Yuan’s counterattacks at all. There were several times when he could have completely evaded such attacks, but he still chose to clash with Hei Yuan despite knowing that he would be wounded as well.
Yang Kai wanted to give the prey in front of him the illusion that he could still survive and escape.
Yang Kai’s cultivation may not be as high as Hei Yuan’s, but in terms of restorative abilities, Hei Yuan was far inferior to him. Trading injuries put Yang Kai at an advantage. Hei Yuan was destined to grow weaker over the course of this chase, and at the right time, perhaps Hei Yuan would die from exhaustion even without his intervention!
Nonetheless, Hei Yuan was not an idiot. He might not know what Yang Kai was planning, but he was still trying his very best to escape from his pursuit.
He repeatedly fled to the Fiefs of a few Feudal Lords, hoping to use the Black Ink Clansmen in those territories to stop Yang Kai.
However, the remaining Black Ink Clansmen in those Feudal Lord Fiefs were basically just the Low and High-Rank Clansmen with no Feudal Lords at all. How could they possibly stop Yang Kai?
They might delay him for a few breaths, but it was impossible for Hei Yuan to completely escape.
The chase continued across billions of kilometres and Hei Yuan’s injuries became more and more severe. He was riddled with wounds now, and not a single part of his body was left unbloodied. The fury and grievance boiling in his heart could not be expressed in words.
He was far stronger than Yang Kai in terms of raw power, but Yang Kai kept deliberately targeting his heavily injured Soul, rendering him unable to display the strength of a Territory Lord. Otherwise, why would he be in such a miserable condition?
Several times, Hei Yuan had an urge to turn around and fight to the death with Yang Kai, but in the end, he didn’t have the courage to do so. In his current state, he would not survive if he truly tried to fight to the death with Yang Kai. He wasn’t even sure that he could take Yang Kai down with him at this point.
His desire to survive pushed him to constantly flee, hoping for some miracle to happen which would help him overcome his current crisis.
Suddenly, a variable indeed appeared.
At some point, Hei Yuan suddenly felt a few familiar and powerful auras rapidly approaching him; obviously, they were other Territory Lords, existences like him! He could even ascertain the identities of these people from the auras.
Hei Yuan was overjoyed!
Currently, most of the Territory Lords in Mu Guang’s Royal Domain had basically led their respective armies to fight against the Humans from Yin-Yang Pass. Only a few Territory Lords remained to guard critical areas like the Royal City.
However, Hei Yuan also knew that the Territory Lords in the Royal City had been assisting the Royal Lord in besieging the Human Old Ancestor. Hei Yuan had been recuperating recently, so he had no idea about the current situation of the battlefield.
Since he could sense the auras of these Territory Lords appearing in the distance though, it meant that the battle between the Old Ancestor and the Royal Lord had come to an end. Regardless of what the final outcome of the battle was, these Territory Lords could provide some assistance at the front lines. And judging by the direction they were heading, it seemed that they were heading in that direction.
Running into them here was truly a stroke of luck.
Hei Yuan immediately flew in the direction of the Territory Lords without a moment of hesitation. So long as he met up with them, Yang Kai, who was chasing after him, would definitely have to act cautiously. He could even team up with the other Territory Lords and find a way to capture Yang Kai. With their help, even if Yang Kai was proficient in the Dao of Space, he might not be able to escape.
At this moment, Hei Yuan couldn’t help but recall a saying passed down in the Human Race, ‘every cloud has a silver lining.’
But right then, a petite figure appeared in his sight all of a sudden. Hei Yuan suddenly felt so cold, it was like he had been frozen solid.
When Hei Yuan sensed the auras of these Territory Lords, Yang Kai also noticed them. Even from a great distance, the monstrous auras of these Territory Lords were as clear as the bright moon in the night sky.
Yang Kai immediately became anxious.
He had originally planned to slowly exhaust Hei Yuan to death as, no matter how weakened, the latter was still a Territory Lord. If he was forced into a corner, Yang Kai had no idea what kind of methods Hei Yuan could pull out in desperation. However, the sudden appearances of other Territory Lords had thrown his plans off entirely. He could sense Mie Qiong and Qing Lei among these auras, and apart from those two, he also sensed the aura of another unfamiliar Territory Lord.
In other words, there were three Territory Lords up ahead!
[What are they doing here?] According to the information Yang Kai had received, a few Territory Lords were assisting Mu Guang in besieging the Old Ancestor. That was why, when he had severely wounded Hei Yuan’s Soul, Yang Kai had been able to continue acting freely within the Black Ink Clan’s territory. After all, there was no other Territory Lord present to stop him.
But now, three of them had appeared all of a sudden, [Has the battle between the Old Ancestor and the Royal Lord ended? Who won?]
Yang Kai had no time to give it another thought though as he only hesitated for a moment before immediately activating his Space Principles and disappearing like a ghost.
The next moment he appeared, he was not too far behind Hei Yuan. He promptly manipulated the local Space Principles to seal the surrounding space and thrust out his Azure Dragon Spear. At the same time, he fired a blast of his Spiritual Energy straight at Hei Yuan’s head while shouting, “Hei Yuan, suffer death!”
The three Territory Lords were still some distance away, so Yang Kai figured he still had enough time to escape after killing Hei Yuan.
Yang Kai was already prepared to defend against Hei Yuan’s final counterattack, but Hei Yuan appeared as if he was completely oblivious to the danger even when this fearsome spear thrust was upon him. Rather, all his attention was focused on something in front of him.
Suddenly, a glimmer of cold light flashed by as a petite figure, holding a longsword, flew past Hei Yuan. The longsword was devoid of even a stain of black blood and just so happened to collide with Yang Kai’s spear.
Yang Kai’s eyes almost popped out of their sockets at the sight of this figure and he frantically retracted his spear, but the powerful impact still caused his vitality to tumble in his chest.
The petite figure rushed to Yang Kai and asked in surprise, “Why are you here?”
Yang Kai was also stunned as he asked in a dumbfounded voice, “Old Ancestor?”
He had not expected to run into the Yin-Yang Pass Old Ancestor here. Yang Kai had been wondering about the battle between the Old Ancestor and the Royal Lord when he felt the auras of Mie Qiong and the other Territory Lords up ahead. Nonetheless, it never crossed his mind that the Old Ancestor would suddenly appear before him the next moment.
[Does this mean that the Old Ancestor was fighting Mu Guang for an entire half a year? Astonishing!]
However, now was obviously not the time to reminisce about such things. The three Territory Lords behind the Old Ancestor were relentlessly chasing after her and would be here soon. So, after the Old Ancestor finished asking, she mustered her World Force, wrapped Yang Kai in it, and shouted, “Let’s get out of here first!”
Yang Kai could only allow himself to be dragged along by the Old Ancestor, flying forward as fast as lightning.
While escaping, he took a quick look back and saw Hei Yuan’s huge body collapse into countless pieces all of a sudden.
Apparently, in the brief moment the Old Ancestor passed him by, she had ruthlessly attacked him.
Hei Yuan was already on his last legs and had no strength to take on an attack from an Old Ancestor. A load had been taken off Yang Kai’s mind when he saw this.
Hei Yuan might not have died at his hands, but in the end he didn’t escape.
“Didn’t I tell you to meet up with the Army? Why are you still here?” The Old Ancestor curiously asked as she led Yang Kai away.
Yang Kai respectfully replied, “Mu Guang’s army moved to engage the Army from Yin-Yang Pass. At first, the huge army was blocking my path, so it was difficult for me to break through alone. I wasn’t able to join up with the others. Later, something happened, so I stayed here.”
“You might be young, but your courage isn’t small,” the Old Ancestor indifferently stated. Who knows whether she was mocking him or praising him. She then suddenly asked, “Were you the one who injured that guy?”
“Hei Yuan?” Yang Kai nodded, “Yes, it was me.”
“No wonder he didn’t have any strength to resist my attack,” the Old Ancestor instantly understood, “If he was at his peak, I might not have been able to kill him in my current state.”
Yang Kai was taken aback after hearing this and immediately took a closer look at the Old Ancestor’s face, “Are you injured?”
The Old Ancestor gloomily nodded, “My injuries aren’t light.” But the next moment, she suddenly sneered, “Don’t worry, that old hag’s injuries are even worse, she’s currently unconscious inside her Black Ink Nest.”
Yang Kai’s heart was shaken. He knew that the ‘old hag’ she was referring to should be Mu Guang.
Both of them had fought countless times since they had taken command of this war zone, so a deep blood feud had already been forged between the two. Both were Supreme Masters of their respective Race and they had always been on par with each other. Since the Old Ancestor had suffered heavy injuries, Mu Guang would not have fared any better either.
Otherwise, not just these Territory Lords would be chasing after the Old Ancestor.
Just now, Yang Kai had been wondering why someone like the Old Ancestor was even being chased by a few Territory Lords, but now he knew the answer. Apparently, her injuries were quite serious.
However, there was one thing that piqued Yang Kai’s curiosity, “Old Ancestor, those Territory Lords don’t seem to be injured at all.”
The Old Ancestor pursed her lips in disdain, “These cowards were just hovering around in the background while I was fighting with that old hag. They didn’t dare to interfere, so why would they be injured? However, when I broke through the encirclement, I killed one of them; otherwise, the ones chasing after me would have been four Territory Lords. Heh heh, I’m pretty awesome, aren’t I?”
Saying so, she even winked at Yang Kai.
At that moment, Yang Kai couldn’t remain calm and the corners of his mouth twitched as he praised, “Old Ancestor is truly too amazing and awesome, your might is simply boundless!”
The Old Ancestor seemed to be quite happy to hear the praise, no matter how obviously forced it was. Quickly composing herself though, she asked, “I’m quite curious, how did you injure a Territory Lord to the point you could chase him down? You’re only in the Seventh Order, right?”
If all the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters were so powerful, the Black Ink Clan would have long been wiped out.
Yang Kai explained, “Hei Yuan dug his own grave.”
Afterwards, he briefly explained what he had done so far and how Hei Yuan had worked together with many others to set up a trap, waiting for Yang Kai to fall into it. In the end, Hei Yuan only lifted a rock just to drop it on his own foot. He failed to do anything to Yang Kai’s consciousness in that strange space and instead was badly wounded. With the help of the compass refined by Wang Si Bo, Yang Kai coincidentally found Hei Yuan’s location and engaged in a fierce battle with him before pursuing him.
The Old Ancestor’s eyes lit up as she listened, “Their Black Ink Nests actually have such a connection?”
“Did Old Ancestor really not know?”
The Old Ancestor explained, shaking her head, “The Human Race actually knows very little about the Black Ink Clan. Because of the Black Ink Strength, we are unable to explore the depths of the Black Ink Clan’s territory, let alone their Black Ink Nests. What’s more, Black Ink Nests are the foundation of the Black Ink Clan, so they naturally do not reveal secrets about them. If it weren’t for you, we wouldn’t have been able to obtain this intel at all.”
Having said so, a solemn look appeared on her face before she continued, “According to what you said, each Black Ink Nest can be counted as a sub-nest of a higher-grade Black Ink Nest. If a Territory Lord’s Black Ink Nest is destroyed, all of its sub-nest will wither as well. If that old hag’s Black Ink Nest were destroyed, wouldn’t all of the Territory Lord Black Ink Nests also wither, thereby affecting all the Feudal Lord Black Ink Nests as well?”
Yang Kai agreed with a nod, “That should be the case.”
The Old Ancestor asked again, “Then whose nest bred the Royal Lord Black Ink Nests?”
Yang Kai shook his head, “I don’t know either. According to the Black Ink Clan, a Royal Lord Black Ink Nest is the highest-grade Black Ink Nest.”
The Old Ancestor remained silent for a long time before finally adding, “There must be a source. If we can find this source, perhaps we can eliminate the Black Ink Clan once and for all.”
Yang Kai asked worriedly, “If that’s the case, doesn’t it mean there’s an even stronger Black Ink Clansman, stronger than even the Royal Lords?” Since that source could give birth to a High-Rank Black Ink Nest owned by a Royal Lord, it would naturally be guarded by an even stronger Black Ink Clansman. That was quite a terrifying prospect.
The Royal Lords were already on par with the Old Ancestors. If there really was someone even stronger, what kind of strength could they display?
“Perhaps.” The Old Ancestor couldn’t explain it either, “Right now, our understanding of the Black Ink Clan is still too limited.”
While speaking, she turned her head to look and saw that the three Territory Lords were still hot on their tails. More importantly, instead of opening up a gap, the distance between them had actually gotten shorter. A trace of murderous intent flashed across the Old Ancestor’s eyes as she muttered, “These three stalkers are a bit troublesome. I’m afraid we won’t be able to escape unless we take care of them. Do you have any good ideas?”
Yang Kai decisively shook his head, “I’m unable to take on a Territory Lord, but if it’s just escaping, it shouldn’t be a problem. That’s my forte.”
The Old Ancestor glanced at him before realization dawned upon her, “Right, you’re proficient in the Dao of Space, I forgot about that. But I want to kill them!”
Yang Kai promised upon hearing this, “I’ll help out however I can!”
The Old Ancestor nodded her acknowledgement as she stated, “We’ll act according to the situation, don’t force it!”
“Yes!” Yang Kai replied firmly.
Right then, they spotted an average-sized universe fragment floating up ahead. Who knows how long it had been drifting through the void? In the cover of the universe fragment, the Old Ancestor turned around and landed straight on the universe fragment. The next moment, she thrust her longsword out repeatedly while forming a set of hand seals with her free hand.
Yang Kai couldn’t understand what she was doing, but he knew that the Old Ancestor was probably setting up some kind of Array or trap.
She was done in the blink of an eye. Afterwards, the Old Ancestor bit her fingertip before flicking a drop of gemstone-like Blood Essence into the void. Immediately after doing this, she quickly concealed her aura.
Yang Kai understood the gist of what she was planning and hurriedly concealed his aura as well. Of course, since his cultivation was lacking compared to the Old Ancestor’s his concealment wasn’t as effective. Although the Old Ancestor was standing in front of him right now, if one didn’t use their naked eyes to observe her, they wouldn’t be able to perceive her at all. This showed just how exquisite her Concealing Technique was. Of course, this also had to do with her fantastic strength.
Just as she was finished, the three pursuing Territory Lords flew across the universe fragment.
They failed to spot the Old Ancestor ahead; however, they seemed to have noticed the universe fragment from the corner of their eyes and felt that there was something strange about it.
Mie Qiong, who was leading the group, turned his head. The next moment, he saw the Old Ancestor dressed in white standing alone on the universe fragment with her sword pointed at them with a solemn expression on her face.
Mie Qiong’s hair stood on end. He might not have any idea as to what the Old Ancestor was planning, but judging by her posture, he could tell that it was not anything good for them.
At the same time, Qing Lei and the other Territory Lord whom Yang Kai didn’t recognize also noticed this peculiarity.
The three Territory Lords had never imagined that the Human Race’s Old Ancestor, who they had been chasing all this time, would actually stop here and ambush them.
They had thought that the Old Ancestor was too seriously injured and unable to contend with the three of them, which was why they had chased after her so aggressively. All along the way, the three Territory Lords had been fantasizing about killing an Old Ancestor; after all, the death of such a powerhouse was a rare opportunity. They would have made an enormous contribution to the war if they really did kill her.
It wasn’t until this moment that the three Territory Lords realised that things were different from what they had imagined. The Human Old Ancestor wasn’t completely powerless.
Before they could react, a torrential World Force erupted from the Old Ancestor as she swung her sword.
The universe fragment exploded and was reduced to dust as a giant Yin-Yang Fish pattern appeared in the void, enveloping the three Territory Lords.
The Yin-Yang Fish was filled with endless murderous intent and, as it rotated, it seemed to transform into a giant millstone that crushed everything in its range. The three Territory Lords who were enveloped by it immediately began to bleed profusely as they howled in pain and anguish.
Immediately after, a surge of Black Ink Strength erupted from the Territory Lords. Naturally, they wouldn’t just sit back and wait for death. Each of them released a powerful burst of energy in an attempt to break free.
While they were struggling though, the Old Ancestor arrived before the three Territory Lords with her sword in hand.
No one saw when she had attacked, not even Yang Kai who was standing right next to her.
It wasn’t until a cold light flashed in front of the Territory Lord Yang Kai didn’t recognize and his giant head flew up into the void that Yang Kai came to his senses.
The Old Ancestor had decapitated a Territory Lord with one swing of her blade.
The Old Ancestor had already made her move, so how could Yang Kai stand idly by? His figure instantly teleported in front of Mie Qiong and attacked.
At this moment, Mie Qiong was preoccupied with resisting the grinding force of the Yin-Yang Fish and his entire body was covered in blood as his aura had greatly weakened in this short span.
When Yang Kai attacked Mei Qiong with his spear, the latter was unable to react and was stabbed through the chest by the Azure Dragon Spear. Although this injury was not light, it wasn’t enough to take his life.
On the other hand, the Old Ancestor swung her sword towards Qing Lei, after killing the first Territory Lord.
Qing Lei wasn’t weak though and managed to dodge the oncoming attack, preserving his life. Be that as it may, the sword light cut off one of his arms as a fountain of black blood spurted from his wound, causing him to stagger back, howling in pain.
But his howl was abruptly cut off as the Old Ancestor slashed again. This time, Qing Lei was unable to dodge and his huge body was split in two.
At the same time Qing Lei was killed, Yang Kai was also sent flying by Mie Qiong’s fist, breaking many of his bones.
Yang Kai somehow managed to stabilize himself and grit his teeth as he madly mobilized Space Principles, wrapping himself in spear light as he shot towards his enemy.
Mie Qiong let out a furious roar and ruthlessly thrust out palm. As the palm and spear clashed, Yang Kai felt as if he was struck by lightning and he could see stars circling around his eyes.
Right then, a look of horror flashed across Mie Qiong’s eyes. Yang Kai also spotted the Old Ancestor silently appearing behind Mie Qiong like a ghost. Immediately after, she swung her sword, sending a shocking sword wave down at Mei Qiong.
When the brilliant sword wave disappeared, the frozen Mie Qiong fell to pieces, literally, and scattered in all directions.
Yang Kai stared ahead in a daze, his face covered in blood and filth.
Dead!
Three Territory Lords had died in less than 10 breaths. He might have participated in the battle, but his contribution was minuscule. He had only been able to restrain Mie Qiong for a moment and had even been struck hard by the latter’s counterattack.
It wasn’t wrong to say that these three Territory Lords had all died at the hands of the Old Ancestor.
The fearsome Territory Lords, against whom Yang Kai was completely helpless, were like common chickens in front of the Old Ancestor, unable to fight back or even resist, easily killed in an instant.
Yang Kai got to witness the true strength of an Old Ancestor up close today.
Be that as it may, he was greatly puzzled by the current situation before him and immediately turned to the Old Ancestor.
The Old Ancestor put away her longsword and turned to him, worriedly asking after seeing his state, “How are your injuries?”
Yang Kai lightly coughed before replying, shaking his head, “It’s nothing serious, I can recover after a few days of rest, but Old Ancestor… I don’t understand something.”
The Old Ancestor indifferently asked, “You want to know why I let them chase me since I could have killed them at any point I wished?”
Yang Kai nodded his affirmation.
The Old Ancestor replied, “Because I only had this much strength left. If I killed them before, I wouldn’t have been able to return, but since I met you, I’ll be relying on you to take me back.”
An earnest and serious expression took over Yang Kai’s face, “I will not fail in the duty I have been entrusted with.”
The Old Ancestor suddenly clucked her tongue, “Damn it, I’m about to revert back into a child again.”
Yang Kai was confused, “Huh?”
The moment he was finished speaking, the Old Ancestor suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood as her aura rapidly weakened like a deflating balloon.
Only then did Yang Kai suddenly come to his senses. The Old Ancestor was wounded, and her injuries were not light either.
Furthermore, the Old Ancestor began to shrink with the weakening of her aura.
Originally, the Old Ancestor looked like a young woman in her early twenties, but under Yang Kai’s dumbfounded gaze, this young woman seemed to regress into a seven or eight-year-old kid in less than 20 breaths.
Her white clothes also shrank along with her figure, sticking close to her body. Obviously, this was not an ordinary piece of clothing, but a specially refined artifact.
Yang Kai’s eyes almost popped out, looking at the little girl the Old Ancestor had transformed into, “You…”
He was not just shocked by the Old Ancestor’s transformation, but also by her little girl persona.
It was the same little girl who had been pestering him in Yin-Yang Pass’ Marketplace! It was this little girl who had given him that ancient coin.
When he first met the Old Ancestor, Yang Kai found her a bit familiar, but he couldn’t remember where he had seen her before.
Now he finally understood that the Old Ancestor’s appearance was somewhat similar to that little girl’s. He had never imagined that the Old Ancestor herself was that little girl.
Suddenly, everything that Yang Kai had encountered back then which he failed to understand made sense to him.
Previously, he had been wondering why the Old Ancestor of Yin-Yang Pass hadn’t summoned him or given him any instructions before sending him on such an important mission to infiltrate the depths of the Black Ink Clan’s territory and find the Black Ink Disciple Artifact Refiners.
It wasn’t that the Old Ancestor hadn’t summoned him, but rather that she had been at his side the whole time!
The ancient coin’s origins also made sense now. How could a little girl who wasn’t even in the Open Heaven Realm steal such a precious thing from the Old Ancestor? At the time, Yang Kai had assumed the Old Ancestor had given it to her, but now it seemed that was not the case.
At this moment, Yang Kai couldn’t sense any trace of cultivation from this little girl. She was like an ordinary mortal who had never cultivated before. If Yang Kai hadn’t witnessed her transformation with his own eyes, he wouldn’t have believed that this person in front of him was actually the Yin-Yang Pass Old Ancestor!
[What the hell?] Yang Kai was more than a little confused.
“Don’t just stand there gawking, hurry up and run! Who knows when more Black Ink Clansmen might arrive to investigate.” The Old Ancestor’s face was pale and a bit of blood was trickling from the corner of her lips. Her bright eyes had gone grey and lost their shine and she looked extremely tired with her eyelids already starting to droop.
Having prompted Yang Kai, her small body staggered forward.
Yang Kai immediately reached out to support her.
“I’m a bit tired…” The little girl rubbed her eyes with her white, small and chubby baby hand, yawning, “Hurry back to the Pass, and be careful on the way.”
Saying so, she closed her eyes.
Yang Kai called out to her twice but didn’t receive any response. After he carefully examined the little girl in front of him, he found that she had really fallen asleep.
He didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. He was left with no choice but to pick up the little girl by the waist and make a beeline towards Yin-Yang Pass.
He might not have played a big role in the last battle, but he was still injured by Mie Qiong while he was holding him back. However, this kind of injury wasn’t a big problem for Yang Kai; even if he didn’t take rest, he could still recover.
He looked down at the little girl in his arms, who was curled up and sound asleep, and couldn’t help noticing her extremely pale complexion.
No one would have ever thought that such a small girl would be able to kill three Territory Lords in an instant. Her tiny body actually carried within it the apex strength of the Human Race.
When Yang Kai first met her, he had only felt the aura of an Origin King Realm cultivator from her. At that time, he could not help but wonder how such a little girl could exist in Yin-Yang Pass. She had lied to him at the time, claiming to have been born in Yin-Yang Pass, and Yang Kai believed her.
But at this moment, Yang Kai could not even feel the slightest trace of a cultivator’s aura from her. She was like an ordinary mortal now.
Yang Kai had never encountered such a situation before but he suspected that it had something to do with the Old Ancestor’s Secret Art. Perhaps when she was seriously injured, she would return to her youth to recover.
He tried to place the little girl in his arms into his Small Universe, but he found that he was unable to do so. Even if the Old Ancestor was showing no signs of cultivation right now, her Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm foundation was still present, so his Small Universe was unable to contain her.
Since he couldn’t put her in his Small Universe, he could only remain on guard and try to avoid any conflicts with the Black Ink Clan along the way as he physically carried her.
Furthermore, Yang Kai did not dare to use Instantaneous Movement unless absolutely necessary. Firstly, it would consume too much of his energy. It would have been extremely convenient for him to use Instantaneous Movement if he was alone, but bringing someone along with him would increase his consumption several times over. Secondly, the Old Ancestor’s condition really was not good and Yang Kai had no idea if Instantaneous Movement would negatively affect her.
Fortunately, Yang Kai’s cultivation was not low and his speed was not slow. Even if he flew all the way back to Yin-Yang Pass, it would only take him a month or two.
Along the way, Yang Kai avoided the scattered Black Ink Clansmen and the journey remained uneventful for the time being.
Three days later, Yang Kai suddenly felt the small figure in his arms move.
Looking down, he saw the Old Ancestor rubbing her eyes and slowly waking up.
Yang Kai was overjoyed, “Old Ancestor, you’re awake?”
The Old Ancestor’s complexion was still pale, but it had improved compared to before, albeit only slightly.
The Old Ancestor let out a muffled groan as she shifted into a more comfortable position in Yang Kai’s embrace. Having done so, she indifferently asked, “Where are we?”
Yang Kai replied, “We’re still in the Black Ink Clan’s territory, about a month away from the Yin-Yang Pass.”
“So slow,” The Old Ancestor looked displeased.
Yang Kai suddenly felt a bit awkward, “Why don’t you sleep a little longer? Perhaps we’ll arrive the next time you wake up.”
The Old Ancestor deliberately widened her eyes, shaking her head, “I’m not tired, I’m not sleeping.”
Perhaps it was because it was uncomfortable in Yang Kai’s arms, her small body adjusted and changed to other positions a few times, but she was still not satisfied. Finally, she grabbed Yang Kai’s arm, flipped her body over, and straddled his neck, finally stopping.
Yang Kai suddenly felt uncomfortable.
It wouldn’t matter if a real seven- or eight-year-old little girl was riding on his shoulders, but the issue was that she wasn’t a little girl, she was the Old Ancestor of Yin-Yang Pass!
The high and mighty Old Ancestor was riding on his shoulders like this, putting him in an awkward position. It would be quite embarrassing if someone from Yin-Yang Pass saw this.
The Old Ancestor, on the other hand, seemed quite happy. Her two little legs dangling over Yang Kai’s chest rocked back and forth as she looked around with interest, as if she was enjoying the picturesque scenery.
However, there was naturally no picturesque scenery in the Black Ink Clan’s hinterland, so after staring for a while, the Old Ancestor grew bored and patted Yang Kai’s head, “I’m hungry!”
“Ah?” Yang Kai thought he misheard her.
“I’m hungry!” The little girl bent over and shouted in Yang Kai’s ear, “I want to eat some hot steamed stuffed buns!”
Yang Kai’s eyes widened in shock, “Where would I get steamed stuffed buns here?”
There were naturally no shops in this vast void. Yang Kai had a nagging feeling that the Old Ancestor’s temperament had greatly changed after turning into a kid.
“I don’t care, I want to eat steamed stuffed buns, right now, right this instant!” The little girl kept shouting, throwing a tantrum like a real child.
Yang Kai was just about to refuse her and say that he couldn’t do anything, but he suddenly remembered that while other Open Heaven Realm cultivators might not be able to accommodate this request, he was raising a large number of Humans in his Small Universe. He could get whatever he wanted from them!
Using his Divine Sense, he immediately found a steamed stuffed bun shop in a bustling city in his Small Universe.
The next moment, a tray of steamed stuffed buns appeared with a flip of his hand before he handed it to her, “Take it.”
The little girl immediately smiled happily. She grabbed a steamed stuffed bun and took a bite, but the next moment, she suddenly spat it out as a furrow appeared on her brow, “Yuck, this tastes like poop, I want to eat delicious steamed stuffed buns!”
Yang Kai immediately had a huge headache. He suddenly understood why those Seventh and Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters in Yin-Yang Pass didn’t have the demeanour of Masters in the marketplace, and why each and every one of them was extremely unscrupulous with their business dealings.
The people of Yin-Yang Pass had to work hard in order to serve an Old Ancestor like her.
…..
Yang Kai’s Small Universe, inside the Main Conference Hall of Seven Stars Sect…
A meeting of the higher-ups was taking place.
Since the last time Yang Kai had borrowed the strength of the Emperor Realm Masters of Seven Stars Sect to kill Zhu Feng, they had gained some understanding of what was above the Emperor Realm.
Yang Kai also taught them the method to condense their Dao Seals and gave them some resources to cultivate with.
Recently, the higher-ups of the Seven Stars Sect had been working hard to break through to the Open Heaven Realm, but their aptitudes came up short. Even if they managed to break through to the Open Heaven Realm in the future, their Order would be extremely limited. They wouldn’t be of much help in the Black Ink Battlefield.
Only Miao Fei Ping had a chance of reaching the Sixth Order.
At this moment, the Emperor Realm Masters were discussing their own cultivation insights with the Sect Master, Shang Guan Ji, as the leader. Although Yang Kai had taught them the method to condense their Dao Seal, they naturally had many questions as they had never come into contact with such things before. They wanted to ask Yang Kai for some advice, but their Ancestor, Yang Kai, had always remained elusive. They were unable to find him, so left with no options, they could only try to learn by discussing with each other.
Just as everyone in the hall was locked in a heated discussion though, Shang Guan Ji suddenly jolted as he stood up straight as an attentive look appeared on his face, apparently listening to something.
His strange actions puzzled many of the higher-ups and they all focused their attention on him.
After a short while, Shang Guan Ji bowed and solemnly stated, “This Junior will obey!”
As soon as he said this, all of the Emperor Realm Masters present became excited. Elder Guan Qian Xing even asking, “Sect Master, does the Ancestor have any instructions?”
In the entire Void World, the only person who could make Shang Guan Ji act so respectfully was the Ancestor.
As he had expected, Shang Guan Ji solemnly nodded his affirmation, “Just now, the Ancestor issued a decree for my Seven Stars Sect to carry out!”
Guan Qian Xing and the others stood up together, perking up their ears!
Shang Guan Ji swept his eyes over the crowd and sonorously declared, “The Ancestor wants to eat steamed stuffed buns!”
Everyone was dumbstruck.
Guan Qian Xing thought he had heard wrong and skeptically asked, “Sect Master, what does the Ancestor want to do?”
Shang Guan Ji stared at him with a serious look on his face, reiterating, “The Ancestor wants to eat steamed stuffed buns, delicious steamed stuffed buns!”
Seven Stars Sect’s gears suddenly started fiercely turning as the Emperor Realm Masters flew about. The disciples below didn’t know what was happening and thought that something big had happened, but soon they found out that one of the Seven Stars Sect’s precious Spirit Beasts had been killed by Elder Guan Qian Xing.
The disciples were all shocked. It had to be known that Elder Guan Qian Xing had spent a great deal of effort to capture this Spirit Beast in the past. It was quite strong and intelligent. Coupled with its beautiful appearance, many of the disciples were quite fond of it. Although it had a bad temper and would occasionally injure others, when this Spirit Beast was killed, many of the female disciples broke into tears. They felt that Elder Guan Qian Xing was simply inhumane, [How could he kill such a beautiful Spirit Beast!? Rather than calling him Guan Qian Xing, we should just call him Butcher Guan…]
The disciples didn’t know why the Spirit Beast was killed, but the Elders did.
The Ancestor wanted to eat steamed stuffed buns, delicious steamed stuffed buns!
They didn’t know what kind of steamed stuffed buns the Ancestor would find delicious, so they could only try their best by using the top materials they could find.
The entire Seven Stars Sect had been mobilized, especially the disciples who were proficient in cooking.
In less than two hours, all kinds of steamed stuffed buns were served.
As soon as the steamer was opened, a basket of steamed stuffed buns strangely disappeared.
In the void, a profusely sweating Yang Kai handed the freshly baked steamed stuffed buns to the Old Ancestor, “Try this.”
The Old Ancestor took it and sniffed before gingerly taking a bite, “It’s acceptable.”
Yang Kai let out a long sigh.
The one hour before the steamed stuffed buns were prepared was definitely the most torturous hour of his life. He wouldn’t feel so tired even if he had to fight a Territory Lord one-on-one.
The tantrum-throwing Old Ancestor was simply a nightmare to deal with.
Fortunately, she had finally calmed down.
Sitting on his shoulders, the Old Ancestor was happily eating. She picked up a steamed stuffed bun and pushed it to Yang Kai’s mouth, “You eat one too.”
Yang Kai said, “I don’t need it…”
“Eat!” The Old Ancestor simply stuffed it into his mouth after throwing a word.
Yang Kai swallowed back his protests and obediently ate the bun.
The few steamed stuffed buns were quickly consumed as the two ate them one after another.
The Old Ancestor licked her little hand and casually muttered, “I also want to eat candied fruits!”
Yang Kai immediately felt as if he had been struck by lightning as a troubled look took over his face, “Old Ancestor, please wait a moment.”
In Seven Stars Sect, Shang Guan Ji stood up straight for a moment before suddenly turning to the Elders who were staring at him and speaking, “The Ancestor wants to eat candied fruits!”
I can tell you guys why the food doesn’t taste good. No MSG.
Ancestor wants to eat pancakes…
Ancestor wants to drink tea…
Ancestor wants…
Almost every other day, a new decree would be issued, sending the entire Seven Stars Sect into a flurry of activity. The Sect Master, Shang Guan Ji, was in charge of coordinating their response, leading the various Emperor Realm Elders to work together. Every time a decree was issued, all of the Sect’s manpower would be mobilized, completing the request in the shortest time possible no matter what the Ancestor demanded.
After completing several of Ancestor’s decrees, an Emperor Realm Elder suddenly asked, “Sect Master, what is the Ancestor doing?”
Shang Guan Ji’s expression turned solemn, “How can we understand the Ancestor’s thoughts? Don’t think too much about it, meticulously completing every task is more important.”
The Elder nodded repeatedly in agreement, “Naturally, we can’t fathom the Ancestor’s thoughts. It’s just that, I think that the requests Ancestor has raised aren’t something he needs personally.”
Shang Guan Ji glanced at him, immersing deep into his thoughts, “You mean…”
The Elder continued, “Sect Master, you must be aware that I became a grandfather a few years ago. My grandson is now six years old and is very playful and gluttonous. When I’m free, he makes all kinds of requests, similar to the decrees issued by the Ancestor. If this Old Master may make a bold presumption, I think that the Ancestor is doing the same thing as this Old Master… coaxing a child!”
As soon as these words left his mouth, it resonated with many of the Elders’ hearts as a few even nodded in agreement.
To be honest, many decrees had been passed down over the last few days, so everyone had been able to infer some things from them. Nonetheless, none of them had the courage to ask questions, or make any assumptions, until this Elder boldly spoke.
Shang Guan Ji raised his brow upon hearing this, “Coaxing a child? You might be right, but does that mean the Ancestor has an heir? This is joyous news!”
The Elder replied, “Of course, it’s joyous news, but if he’s really coaxing a child, we can be more proactive in supporting him. It’s extremely hard to fathom a child’s temperament, but as long as they are happy, they will become obedient.”
“What plan do you have?” Shang Guan Ji asked.
The Elder stroked his beard before replying, “If it’s regarding eating, we’ve already prepared a lot of snacks for the Ancestor, so the direction we should be focusing now should be entertainment! To tell you the truth, my grandson is very fond of a certain toy, and he enjoys playing with it quite a lot. If we can give a similar object to the Ancestor, perhaps we can resolve the Ancestor’s predicament.”
“Oh?” Shang Guan Ji became interested, “What is it?”
The Elder stroked his beard with a smile before giving its name.
Shang Guan Ji lightly nodded his acknowledgement, “An interesting proposal. In that case, we should quickly make one and hand it over to the Ancestor.”
The Elder readily accepted the order.
After the time it takes to boil a cup of tea, Yang Kai suddenly reached out as something appeared in his hand, handing it to the Old Ancestor on his neck, “Here, this is for you!”
The Old Ancestor glanced at it before smacking Yang Kai’s head and angrily asking, “Do you think I’m a child?”
Yang Kai’s neck shrank back.
Be that as it may, the Old Ancestor took the object in his hand with a light snort before she started shaking it in satisfaction.
It was a rattle-drum.
After they gifted Yang Kai the rattle drum that day, the frequency with which the Ancestor issued new decrees greatly decreased. Although they still needed to prepare some food from time to time, it was not as frequent as before. After the initial hustle and bustle, Seven Stars Sect was able to quickly and effectively complete the Ancestor’s orders.
The Ancestor was obviously very satisfied with their performance, even bestowing them with some materials and many insights about condensing their Dao Seals. The Seven Stars Sect’s higher-ups were naturally very grateful.
A month passed in the blink of an eye…
After travelling non-stop, Yang Kai was already close to Yin-Yang Pass. He didn’t run into many Black Ink Clansmen on the way, so the journey was quite smooth and uneventful.
On this day, Yang Kai saw the towering Yin-Yang Pass from afar, but just as he had expected, it was surrounded by the Black Ink Clan’s army.
It had been over half a year since the Black Ink Clan’s army had engaged Yin-Yang Pass’ army. During this time, both sides must have clashed on quite a few occasions already. When Yang Kai arrived, both sides were in a heightened state of tension, but not much fighting was happening.
This also made sense.
Every time the Black Ink Clan army besieged a Great Pass, the battle would last for an extremely long time, ranging from a decade or two to a century. During this time, the Black Ink Clan army would constantly replenish their own forces until their casualties were too many for them to bear.
When the Black Ink Clan army retreated, the Humans would finally have some precious time to rest and recover
Yin-Yang Pass was right ahead, and if Yang Kai was alone, he could have used the Universe Transference Law to return directly. Every Great Pass had four Purifying Black Ink Battleships, and all of them had a Universe Array that Yang Kai had personally installed, so it was only natural that he had left his Imprint on them.
But as he also had the Old Ancestor with him, he was unable to use the Universe Transference Law.
The Old Ancestor’s cultivation had been completely exhausted, so if she were to encounter any danger, she would be powerless to defend herself. If he wanted to return to the Inner Sanctum, he would have to plan his every step very carefully.
The Old Ancestor, on the other hand, seemed to want nothing more than to see the world plunge into chaos. She urged Yang Kai to press on. According to her, if Yang Kai were to appear, the soldiers of Yin-Yang Pass would definitely come to support him. At that time, they might find a chance to safely return to the Inner Sanctum by working together, especially since Yang Kai was proficient in the Dao of Space.
Yang Kai decisively refused the Old Ancestor’s proposal.
The child version of the Old Ancestor was too reckless. Although her proposal did have a chance of success, it carried a huge risk.
As it concerned the safety of the Old Ancestor, Yang Kai didn’t dare to be careless.
“Then, what do you suggest we do?” Having her proposal rejected, the Old Ancestor was obviously upset.
“Let’s wait. It’s impossible for the two sides to continue staring at each other peacefully. When the fighting really starts, we’ll find a place with weak defences and break through.”
It was not the first time Yang Kai had done something like this, but the last time he did it, he had hundreds of others accompanying him. This time, he could only rely on himself.
Having made his decision, Yang Kai immediately found a universe fragment and settled down.
This universe fragment wasn’t very big, and there were traces of mining on it. Possibly, Yin-Yang Pass had used Void Yin-Yang Mirrors to transport a Universe World back here, mined it, and then discarded the leftovers.
The Black Ink Clan probably didn’t expect any Humans to stop over in such a place, so they did not have any intention of investigating it.
For the next few days, although the two Races clashed with each other, it was only some small skirmishes, nothing too big.
Yang Kai patiently waited.
Finally, after half a month, Yang Kai, who was cultivating, suddenly felt powerful energy fluctuations coming from the direction of Yin-Yang Pass. When he looked up, he saw the Black Ink Clan army attacking Yin-Yang Pass in a frenzy. The entire battlefield was shrouded in rich Black Ink Strength and he could see countless Black Ink Clouds of all sizes spanning over the entire battlefield.
This was his chance!
Yang Kai stood up and started paying close attention to the battle. The Old Ancestor also climbed onto his shoulder and sat down in her special seat, staring at the battle with widened eyes.
Facing the frenzied attacks of the Black Ink Clan, the Humans basically left everything to Yin-Yang Pass’ strong defences. So long as Yin-Yang Pass remained standing, the Black Ink Clan was basically unable to do anything to the Human Race. All of their attacks were just a waste of energy.
On the other hand, the Spirit Arrays and artifacts set up around Yin-Yang Pass could effectively kill the incoming Black Ink Clan.
This assault lasted for three full days before the Black Ink Clan’s momentum weakened all of a sudden. At that moment, Warships suddenly appeared from the gates of Yin-Yang Pass one by one. Immediately after, figures charged straight at them one after another, attacking them.
The soldiers of the two Races were instantly locked into another heated confrontation on this massive battlefield. Countless Black Ink Clansmen instantly lost their lives, whereas many Human Race Warships were reduced to shambles.
“Let’s go!” Yang Kai shouted and rushed towards Yin-Yang Pass.
Riding on his shoulders, the Old Ancestor tightly gripped his hair with one hand, while pointing ahead with the other, looking all excited as she shouted, “Charge!”
In the chaotic battlefield, no one on either side noticed a pair of figures charging towards them from the rear, until a Dragon Roar reverberated across the battlefield and a golden glow flashed, followed by the majestic appearance of a 30,000-metre-long dragon.
There was a giant spear no smaller than its body in one of the Grand Dragon’s claws, and the moment it appeared, it swept this spear out along the battlefield, cleaving through the unsuspecting Black Ink Clansmen just like a violent gust of wind sweeping away fallen leaves. The Black Ink Clan suffered massive casualties in the blink of an eye and when the Grand Dragon whipped its tail, countless more perished.
On such a battlefield, the destruction a Grand Dragon could cause was simply unimaginable, not to mention the long spear held in its Dragon Claw.
Many of the Black Ink Clansmen turned pale in fright and tried to dodge, but it was still difficult for them to avoid the oncoming death.
Soon, the appearance of the Grand Dragon attracted the attention of both sides. The Masters of both Races quickly converged. One side wanted to intercept the Dragon, while the other wanted to rescue it, which naturally resulted in a fierce clash. The resulting battle shook the universe and caused the void to collapse.
The Old Ancestor’s small figure stood atop Yang Kai’s Dragon Head, rocking along the Grand Dragon’s movements. She was surrounded by intense murderous intents, storming from every possible direction, but she still remained steadfast.
Suddenly, a burly figure broke through the rows and rows of enemies and landed on the Dragon Head, bowing and cupping his fist, “Welcome back, Old Ancestor!”
The Old Ancestor lightly nodded, “You’ve worked hard!”
The person who had arrived was none other than the Southern Army Commander, Wu Qing. In the entire Yin-Yang Pass, he was the strongest Open Heaven Realm Master besides the Old Ancestor. He also possessed one of the Four Universe Pillars and was a future hope of the Human Race as rumour had it that he was not far from advancing to the Ninth Order.
If he could really break through to the Ninth Order one day, the Human Race would have another Old Ancestor!
Along with Wu Qing’s arrival, many Open Heaven Realm Masters soon gathered around the Grand Dragon. Even a few Eighth-Order Division Commanders had arrived, escorted by numerous Warships.
Surrounded by the elites of the Human Race, Yang Kai and the Old Ancestor were escorted back to Yin-Yang Pass.
The Black Ink Clan had obviously also discovered the situation here. Although they didn’t quite understand why the Humans were defending the Grand Dragon so heavily, since the enemy was paying so much attention to it, it must be important. As such, the Black Ink Clan rushed in, but no matter how many of them tried, they failed to block the Humans’ advance.
A moment later, Yang Kai and the Old Ancestor were brought to one of Yin-Yang Pass’s main gates under Wu Qing’s lead.
Wu Qing summoned his strength and wrapped it around the Old Ancestor before quickly entering the Inner Sanctum while Yang Kai turned around and joined up with the army to fight back against the Black Ink Clan.
This battle lasted for several days and, by the end, Yang Kai couldn’t maintain his Dragon Form and had no choice but to fight in his Human Form. After a few days, both sides withdrew.
The battlefield entered a rare brief period of peace. The armies on both sides focused on recuperating, but so long as the Black Ink Clan did not retreat, Yin-Yang Pass could not really rest.
Fortunately, the Old Ancestor had returned. Although the Old Ancestor had been seriously injured once again and had inevitably returned to her younger self, the news she brought back greatly boosted the morale of Yin-Yang Pass.
Mu Guang was seriously wounded in her fight with the Old Ancestor and was currently sleeping in her Black Ink Nest. In other words, Mu Guang would not appear in this battle.
More importantly, the Old Ancestor had eliminated five Territory Lords.
This was an unimaginable loss for the Black Ink Clan.
On top of that, Yang Kai had single-handedly destroyed almost 10 Mid-Rank Black Ink Nests, along with hundreds of Low-Rank Black Ink Nests. After such heavy losses, the Black Ink Clan was in a state of chaos. A large number of Feudal Lords had gathered around the remaining Mid-Rank Black Ink Nests to protect them and thus could not be deployed as reinforcements.
Such casualties had shaken the foundation of the Black Ink Clan.
In the past, the reason why the Black Ink Clan was able to besiege the Great Pass for so long was because they could constantly send reinforcements from the rear. But now that Yang Kai had dealt so much damage, the number of troops they could send would be greatly reduced. It could even be said that the Black Ink Clan would not be sending many soldiers at all in order to guard against any future problems.
In that case, the current war would end soon. Without reinforcements, how could the Black Ink Clan resist the Humans when they suffered so many casualties in battle? The Black Ink Clan would have to retreat once the situation on the battlefield became untenable.
Thus, after hearing this news, those from Yin-Yang Pass were all extremely excited.
What’s more, Yang Kai had ventured deep into the Black Ink Clan’s territory alone, destroying many Black Ink Nests, and rescued more than 300 Artifact Refiners, including three Grandmasters. He had made an enormous contribution to the Human Race.
Yang Kai had already let out Wu Xing He and the others from his Small Universe and they were now assigned to the Refining Hall to repair the Warships damaged in the battle.
Wu Xing He and the others were originally Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, but in order to assist Yang Kai, their cultivations had regressed to the Sixth-Order so that they could enter the latter’s Small Universe. Be that as it may, it wasn’t too big a deal. As long as they had a Profound Yin Spirit Fruit, they could slowly regain their original cultivation.
The war between the two races was in full swing with several dozen small skirmishes breaking out between the two armies almost every day, with a big battle occurring every 10 to 15 days.
Strictly speaking, this was Yang Kai’s first time officially participating in a battle outside a Great Pass.
Although he had participated in the battle at Blue Sky Pass last time, he had not been officially registered to Blue Sky Pass at the time. Likewise, he had been assisting in perfecting the Purifying Black Ink Battleships during the early stages of that war. When he finally managed to sneak out and participate in the fighting, it was not long before he coincidentally discovered the location of the Royal Lord, which ultimately resulted in a decisive battle breaking out. The Black Ink Clan army had suffered heavy losses because of him, giving Blue Sky Pass the chance to capitalize on the situation.
It was different this time.
Without so many twists and coincidences, although the battle was still leaning in Yin-Yang Pass’ favour, they were still a long way from completely repelling the Black Ink Clan.
Fortunately, the Royal Lord was not present on the battlefield, so the Black Ink Clan army seemed to be a bit sluggish either from lack of coordination or morale. Many Territory Lords simply lead their own armies to fight on their own, making it difficult to form an effective strategy.
Those from Yin-Yang Pass would often gain a great advantage on the battlefield using this weak point.
The entire Yin-Yang Pass had essentially transformed into a giant meat grinder.
Every time a big battle broke out, the Black Ink Clan would lose countless Masters. Although the Humans would also suffer heavy casualties, the losses were still within an acceptable range because of the protection of the Warships.
As Yang Kai was a soldier from Blue-Sky Pass, he didn’t have an official position here; however, Tang Qiu had decided to temporarily place him in Xu Ling Gong’s Squad.
As they fought, Yang Kai got to taste how truly cruel the battlefield was, though it was not like this was his first time on such a battlefield. When the Great Demon God had wreaked havoc in the Star Boundary, all the cultivators of the Star Boundary were pulled into the turmoil. That battle almost caused the Star Boundary to shatter and billions upon billions of lives were lost!
In the end, the Great Emperors stepped forward and finally put an end to the Great Demon God’s rampage.
Be that as it may, Yang Kai always found it brutal, like it was the first time, no matter how many times he experienced this kind of battle.
Yang Kai’s addition to Xu Ling Gong Squad had helped them slaughter countless enemies, earning them a massive amount of Military Merits in every battle they fought. After a long period of killing and fighting, every Human came to possess a thick killing intent. Once this killing intent broke out on the battlefield, it would often deter the weaker Black Ink Clansmen.
Fighting, recuperating, fighting, recuperating; the process was repeated over and over again.
Yang Kai had almost lost track of time as all his focus was on making use of every opportunity he could find to either heal himself or kill his enemies.
Every time he fought, he would always stand at the forefront, and every time he did so, his body would be covered in wounds. Nevertheless, as long as his injuries weren’t fatal, no matter how serious they were, he would be able to recover in short order thanks to his Dragon Vein and Wood Element.
His efforts had brought a significant boost in power and safety to Xu Ling Gong’s Squad, and even after fighting for so long, they had not lost a single member. Furthermore, most of the time, no one would even be injured other than Yang Kai. Their Squad was performing 10 times better than the other ordinary Squads.
Tang Qiu once came looking for him, taking time out of his busy schedule, and told him that he could return to Blue Sky Pass at any time he wished.
Although he could be considered half a disciple of Yin-Yang Cave Heaven, he was still formally a soldier of the Blue-Sky Pass on this Black Ink Battlefield.
Yin-Yang Pass had transferred him here mainly to gather information about the Black Ink Clan’s Warship program and the Artifact Refiners who were behind it. Now that Yang Kai had completed this task perfectly, the battle at Yin-Yang Pass technically had nothing to do with him.
If Yang Kai wanted to leave, Yin-Yang Pass naturally would not hold him back.
Of course, Yang Kai had no intention of leaving. Compared to returning to Blue Sky Pass where he would have nothing to do but cultivate in retreat, he was more than willing to stay here and kill more Black Ink Clansmen. Although the strength of a single person was meagre, as long as everyone killed a few more, the Black Ink Clan would be exterminated sooner.
The battlefield fell into turmoil again. Surges of World Force and Black Ink Strength came and went as the Human Warships and Black Ink Army fought each other.
A large-scale battle had broken out once more and the four Armies of Yin-Yang Pass charged to blunt the Black Ink Clan’s momentum.
Yang Kai, Xu Ling Gong, and another Seventh-Order Open Heaven Master, Ji Miao Tong, wandered through the battlefield in a triangle formation.
Ji Miao Tong was the Vice Squad Leader of Xu Ling Gong’s Squad and a woman. Yang Kai had met her when he was escorted by Xu Ling Gong’s Squad to intercept Hei Yuan’s retreating army. Although they weren’t close acquaintances, a bit of friendship had blossomed between the two after fighting together for so long.
Ji Miao Tong was extremely impressed by Yang Kai’s courage and strength and she even praised him in private.
Between the three of them was Xu Ling Gong’s Squad’s Warship, which had some Fifth-Order and Sixth-Order Masters operating it. Xu Ling Gong’s Disciples, Qing Kui and Su Ying Xue, were among them.
The three Seventh-Order Masters maintained a triangle formation, protecting the Warship while also borrowing its power to kill their enemies. Furthermore, if they got tired or exhausted their strength, they could even temporarily hide inside the Warship to recover.
The Human Race relied on this method in order to preserve their strength. The Human Race would not have been able to defend these Great Passes without these Warships.
This was also the reason why the Humans was so concerned by the appearance of the Black Ink Clan’s Warship. If the Black Ink Clan evened the battlefield, the Human Race really wouldn’t know how to resist in the future.
It had been half a day already since the battle broke out and Yang Kai and the others had been fighting non-stop since it began. Yang Kai’s condition was still good, but Xu Ling Gong and Ji Miao Tong both were clearly unable to continue. Although they had taken many Spirit Pills to keep their strength up, their high rate of consumption had made it difficult for them to replenish their Small Universes’ World Force.
Regardless, the Human Armies should be withdrawing their forces soon, and at that time, they could naturally return to the Inner Sanctum to rest and recover.
After such a long, fierce battle, the Black Ink Clan’s soldiers had greatly decreased and the resistance they faced was no longer as intense as before.
The Eighth-Order Division Commanders had basically been keeping a close watch on the Territory Lords, so as long as everyone was careful on the battlefield, there wouldn’t be any major problems.
At a certain point, Yang Kai thrust his spear, exploding a Feudal Lord charging at him into mist and the thick black blood splashed all over his face. It wasn’t that Yang Kai couldn’t protect his face, it was just that he was too lazy to waste his strength to do so. In any case, Black Ink Strength had no effect on him. With the World Tree clone in his possession, he wouldn’t be corrupted even if he was soaked in this black blood.
As Yang Kai was pulling back his spear, something caught his eye and he looked in a certain direction.
In his sight, the Humans and the Black Ink Clansmen were locked in a heated battle when suddenly, a nimble figure entered his sight, but it disappeared soon after.
Yang Kai raised his brow slightly, wondering whether his eyes were playing tricks on him. Nonetheless, he found this figure a little familiar.
Before he could give it another thought, another squad of Black Ink Clansmen attacked from the side. Yang Kai quickly collected his thoughts and raised his spear to meet them, leaving a mountain of corpses in his wake.
As expected, an order to withdraw came from Yin-Yang Pass soon after. Following Xu Ling Gong’s command, the Warship turned around and flew towards the Inner Sanctum. Although the Black Ink Clan pursued them, it was difficult for them to penetrate the defences of the three Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters; thus, they no longer dared to continue after chasing for a while.
Not long after, Squads flew back into the Inner Sanctum, leaving countless Black Ink Clan corpses behind on the Hellish battlefield.
“Get some rest, and be ready to fight at any moment. I’ll go get the Warship repaired,” Xu Ling Gong ordered before storing the huge warship in his Small Universe and heading towards the Refining Hall.
Although the members of the Squad weren’t injured, their Warship had suffered damage in many places and needed to be repaired by the Artifact Refiners of the Refining Hall.