The dark Flood Dragon exploded and the battered Territory Lord appeared. Even though the Secret Technique was powerful, she was the one who activated it, after all. Cang managed to hijack it and send it back against her, but even though the Flood Dragon had been strengthened, it couldn’t possibly kill her.
However, it was inevitable that she would be hurt since she was caught completely off guard.
The moment she extricated herself, a Great Sun exploded in front of her and made her unable to open her eyes. At the same time, she was engulfed in a great sense of danger.
Instantly, this Territory Lord screamed as her Black Ink Strength madly left her body and was dispelled by the Purifying Light.
As though having a spirituality of its own, the white light streamed into her body through her seven orifices and freshly opened wounds. In an instant, her expression turned hideous and she howled in agony.
At that moment, she did not only feel that her Black Ink Strength was being destroyed as though it had come across an archnemesis, but also that her very body was melting like snow under a scorching Sun. Her alluring face literally began to warp like a burning candle.
Just then, the Azure Dragon Spear stabbed right between her eyes. Black blood spattered as she instinctively threw a palm on Yang Kai’s chest.
Yang Kai didn’t bother to dodge it, taking the blow directly as he infused all of his strength into the Azure Dragon Spear and thrust it forward, “Fall!”
The spear penetrated the Territory Lord’s head and a violent World Force exploded, causing her skull to shatter to pieces.
At the same time, Yang Kai was sent flying away as he plunged back beside Cang and gasped, clearly in pain.
Cang looked down at him, and upon seeing his chest caved in, he was surprised as he commented, “You were almost killed!”
In that moment earlier, the Territory Lord didn’t just land a palm on Yang Kai once. In fact, she had struck him several dozen times on the same spot; otherwise, he wouldn’t have been so horribly injured given the fact that he had an extremely powerful Dragon Vein.
Any other Seventh-Order Master would have lost their life if they were in Yang Kai’s shoes as not just anyone could kill an opponent that was far more powerful than themselves.
In Cang’s eyes, the battle between Yang Kai and the Territory Lord was no different from two small children fighting with each other, but to those involved, given their powers, it was truly a life-and-death contest.
The moment the Territory Lord suffered a backlash of her own Divine Ability, Yang Kai directly charged forward, which went to show how determined he was. When he saw a chance, he did not hesitate to seize it.
Not many could be as determined and ruthless as he was. Any hesitation at that moment would have cost him the chance to kill his enemy.
Even faced with the counterattack of an enemy much stronger than he was, he didn’t back down and instead risked being further injured in order to end the enemy’s life, which showed how ruthless he was to both his enemies and himself.
Even though the process was short, it was a life-and-death moment that even somewhat surprised someone like Cang.
Yang Kai sat down with his legs crossed and spat out a mouthful of blood before grinning, “I certainly had to do my best to kill the enemy. If the Human Race had backed down at any point, we would’ve lost the fight long ago.”
Then, he gulped down some healing pills and started recuperating. The reason he came to Cang’s side was to seek his refuge and restore some strength. It never crossed his mind that the Territory Lord would be so relentless, or Cang would create a chance for him to turn things around.
Cang had never expected that his nonchalant move would lead to such an outcome. Upon hearing Yang Kai’s words though, he turned to look at the battlefield in silence. Everywhere on the battlefield, he saw Human soldiers clashing with the Black Ink Clan, the auras of Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters spreading across the void, and even the Ninth-Order Masters fighting with everything they had.
They were all risking their lives to destroy the enemy. At that instant, Cang fell into a dazed state, [They’re the Humans of the current generation.]
It was because of their willingness to sacrifice themselves that they managed to reach this place. Cang had been waiting for millions of years, and only this generation of Humans allowed him to see the silver lining.
The battlefield was filled with chaos, and with every breath there would be powerful auras withering. Both the Humans and Black Ink Clan suffered immense losses.
Even some of the Royal Lords lost their lives. Earlier, several Royal Lords were killed the instant they left the gap, not because they were weak, but because of the circumstances they had to deal with. If they wanted to escape out of the gap, they had to bear the attacks from the Ninth-Order Masters lying in ambush for them.
In such a situation, it was expected that some Royal Lords were killed; however, once they managed to leave the gap, they became much harder to kill. Even so, as the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters joined forces, they managed to kill four more Royal Lords.
However, the situation didn’t change at all. After four Royal Lords were killed, another four Royal Lords appeared from the gap to replace them. There were no longer any more Ninth-Order Masters outside the gap, so the Royal Lords could leave at will.
At this point, the Human Race Masters realised that Mo was trying to maintain balance on the battlefield. There were surely even more Royal Lords hiding in the darkness; however, Mo didn’t release them all at once. Instead, it had been replacing the dead Royal Lords with new ones in an attempt to make it look as though both sides were equally matched.
Regardless, even Cang was unable to figure out Mo’s intention, let alone the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters. Fortunately, this was the situation they hoped to see. If the Black Ink Clan soldiers were so powerful that the Humans were unable to deal with them, it was bad news to the Human Race as a whole.
Cang had been paying close attention to the movements in the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction. He was wary of Mo’s plans, thinking it must be up to something; however, he was unable to figure out what since it wasn’t the right time yet. Now, he could only keep his guard up. If something went wrong, he would immediately seal the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction and stop Mo from getting out of the trap.
“Heaven Devouring Battle Law?” Yang Kai turned to Cang with a doubtful expression. While Yang Kai was restoring his energy, Cang wasn’t just sitting idly by either.
Previously, Yang Kai had passed him a lot of resources to recuperate, and Cang had been refining them in order to replenish his losses this whole time.
Cang was able to refine resources extremely quickly, which was understandable as he was a powerful cultivator, but the real crux of the matter was that Yang Kai detected traces of the Heaven Devouring Battle Law in the way the old man refined the resources.
Yang Kai had cultivated the Heaven Devouring Battle Law before; however, he hadn’t mastered this Secret Art, so he wasn’t comparable to Wu Kuang in this regard. With that said, he understood this Evil Art more than anyone else aside from the latter.
Therefore, the moment he detected similar traces of it, he was stunned.
Initially, Yang Kai thought that he was mistaken, but as he observed Cang for a while longer, he confirmed that the latter was indeed using the Heaven Devouring Battle Law. If that wasn’t the case, even though Cang was a Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, he couldn’t have refined resources so quickly.
Moreover, he wasn’t just refining the resources that were given to him. If one paid close attention, they would realise that Cang was even devouring the Black Ink Strength left behind by the nearby dead Black Ink Clansmen.
Upon that realization, Yang Kai was flabbergasted.
The Heaven Devouring Battle Law was a Secret Art that Wu Kuang had personally created, and it was probably the most extraordinary and evil one in history, so why was Cang able to use it?
Hearing Yang Kai’s words, Cang was also startled for a moment before a look of pleasant surprise appeared on his face and he asked, “Do you recognise this Secret Art?”
Yang Kai replied with uncertainty, “Perhaps I’m mistaken.”
There were countless Secret Arts in this world, and even though Heaven Devouring Battle Law was quite possibly the evilest Secret Arts in existence, Cang was someone who had lived for millions of years, so it shouldn’t be surprising that such an unrivalled Master knew some amazing Secret Arts. Perhaps his Secret Art only shared some similarities with Heaven Devouring Battle Law.
Cang said, “It’s fine. Look closely.”
Saying so, he openly used his Secret Art again. In order to let Yang Kai see clearly, he exhibited the movements of his aura and the fluctuations of energy in detail.
Yang Kai’s expression turned more and more stunned as he watched.
Although this Secret Art was slightly different from the one he knew, it was indeed the Heaven Devouring Battle Law. The two Secret Arts shared more than 90% of the same circulation paths while the remaining 10% seemed to be due to some kind of personal abstrusity that he couldn’t quite grasp.
A puzzled Yang Kai asked, “Why does Senior know the Heaven Devouring Battle Law?”
He was even more perplexed at the fact that Cang appeared so thrilled at this moment. [What’s so exciting about it? He didn’t seem this exhilarated even after so many Royal Lords were killed.]
Instead of answering his question, Cang asked, “You call this ‘Heaven Devouring Battle Law’? Who do you know who uses this Secret Art?”
After giving it some thought, Yang Kai replied, “There’s an old fart named Wu Kuang who cultivates this Secret Art. As far as I knew, he was the creator of this Secret Art. I had a chance to cultivate this Secret Art in the past and even did so for a time in a sense, though not anymore. Supposedly, there should be no one else who has cultivated it. Oh, I also taught the Stone Spirit Clan this Secret Art long ago.”
The Heaven Devouring Battle Law was too wicked and even though it could help a cultivator increase their strength rapidly, its drawbacks were simply unbearable for most people. Even Yang Kai was unable to resolve those drawbacks; therefore, the moment he realised something was wrong back then, he stopped cultivating it.
Wu Kuang was different, for he had the Flawless Purifying Golden Lotus, so he could recklessly devour external powers without worrying about any backlash. However, there was only one Flawless Purifying Golden Lotus in existence, so no one else could imitate him; hence, there was only one Heaven Devouring Great Emperor in the World.
The reason the Stone Spirit Clan members were able to cultivate the Heaven Devouring Battle Law was that their physiques were unique. Their bodies were not made from flesh, and they had an innate ability to refine and expel all kinds of impurities; therefore, they were best suited to cultivate the Heaven Devouring Battle Law.
“Wu Kuang…” Cang muttered, “Tell me more about that guy.”
Although Yang Kai was puzzled at the fact that Cang seemed interested in Wu Kuang, he still told him everything he knew. Honestly, he had mostly learned about Wu Kuang through rumours and stories.
Yang Kai hadn’t even been born when Wu Kuang was first active, so he wasn’t sure of the details of the war in the Shattered Star Sea back then. He only knew that many Great Emperors of the Star Boundary were killed in that clash while they managed to ‘kill’ Wu Kuang in the end.
In truth, Wu Kuang faked his death and escaped. Then, he waited for a chance to resurrect.
It took 20,000 years or so, but Wu Kuang’s wish was eventually granted. Although he had managed to escape from the Shattered Star Sea, his cultivation had plunged. At that time, he occupied Bustling World Great Emperor’s body and spent quite a long time sharing it with the body’s original owner, Duan Hong Chen.
Then, Wu Kuang appeared on Dragon Island and kicked up a storm before vanishing into thin air again. When he reappeared, it was when the Great Emperors of the Star Boundary joined forces to deal with Great Demon God.
The Star Boundary was almost destroyed in that war, and after the death of Great Demon God, Mo Sheng, Wu Kuang seized the former’s body and fully resurrected. Then, he broke free of the Star Boundary’s restraints and headed out into the Outer Universe to seek greater heights in the Martial Dao.
Yang Kai had no idea what Wu Kuang went through after the latter left the Star Boundary.
Yang Kai knew that he could cultivate pretty quickly, but Wu Kuang wasn’t any slower. When they met again after that day, both of them were in the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm. Then, Wu Kuang hid inside the New Great Territory for a while before Yang Kai brought him to the Shattered Heaven.
Someone like Wu Kuang could only be in his own skin in a place such as the Shattered Heaven. After that, Yang Kai never heard from him again.
Sometimes, Yang Kai wondered what would have happened if he hadn’t defeated Blood Crow, who was later brought away by the Fisherman Uncle from Bright King Cave Heaven. He imagined that when Wu Kuang arrived at the Shattered Heaven, there would have been a fierce battle between two evenly-matched opponents.
Both the Heaven Devouring Battle Law and the Grand Evolution Immortal Blood Light Scripture could absorb and refine other people’s powers, so they shared some similarities. It would surely be an interesting fight if Wu Kuang and Blood Crow encountered one another.
In a straightforward comparison, there was no denying that the Heaven Devouring Battle Law was more powerful as there was nothing that the Heaven Devouring Battle Law could not refine as long as it had some energy.
On the other hand, even though the Grand Evolution Immortal Blood Light Scripture could devour another person’s strength, it was mainly focused on refining their Blood Essence. In that sense, it was inferior to the Heaven Devouring Battle Law.
With that said, Blood Crow had been subdued and brought back to Bright King Heaven a long time ago. When Wu Kuang arrived at the Shattered Heaven, only the stories of Blood Crow remained.
Yang Kai reckoned that if the two of them ever met, there was no doubt Blood Crow would be at a disadvantage. Several hundred years had passed since then, and he wondered how Wu Kuang had been doing in the Shattered Heaven. Given the wickedness of his Secret Art, he must be the focus of much ire and contempt.
At that moment, Yang Kai even felt a bit sorry for him.
“Wu Kuang…” Cang muttered before he started guffawing. He appeared so exhilarated that he almost broke into tears of joy as he chanted, “Wu Kuang!”
Yang Kai was astounded, “You know Wu Kuang, Senior?”
Cang shook his head, “Nope. It’s the first time I’ve ever heard his name.”
At that, Yang Kai was baffled. [Since you don’t know Wu Kuang, why are you so happy to hear about him?]
Unbeknownst to him, even though Cang wasn’t aware of who Wu Kuang was today, he knew someone else similar to him. In fact, the Heaven Devouring Battle Law was the primary Secret Art that other person cultivated.
There was no denying that this Secret Art was evil. With that said, there was no such thing as right or wrong when it came to Secret Arts, only people who could be divided into good and evil. Whatever Secret Art it was, the person using it would determine whether it was just or malevolent.
[Part of Shi’s plan succeeded! Otherwise, the Heaven Devouring Battle Law wouldn’t have been passed down to someone else. However, looking at the matter from another perspective, his plan also seems to have failed.]
Although Cang had never come into contact with Wu Kuang, through Yang Kai’s words he could tell that Wu Kuang never inherited all of Shi’s memories.
Perhaps after Shi left this place back then, his Soul was gradually worn down after encountering many different crises. As such, Wu Kuang had no idea what had happened in his previous life, he only retained knowledge of the wondrous Secret Art named the Heaven Devouring Battle Law.
Regardless, this was the best news Cang had heard in the past few millions of years.
“Have you been to the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary?” Cang suddenly asked.
Yang Kai was caught off guard by the sudden change of topic, but he was even more astounded by the old man’s question and couldn’t help asking, “How do you know, Senior?”
Cang replied with a smile, “I can feel the World Tree’s aura coming from you.”
Only then did Yang Kai understand.
“I saw you running around the battlefield without worrying about getting corrupted by Black Ink Strength. It’s apparent that you have a World Tree clone protecting your Small Universe.”
Yang Kai nodded, “You have sharp eyesight, Senior. There’s indeed a World Tree clone in my Small Universe, but I didn’t get it from the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary. I acquired it from a Universe Cave Heaven that was left behind on the battlefield.”
The World Tree clone he had obtained from Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary was planted in the Star Boundary, an action that saved the Star Boundary from collapsing and also transformed it into the Open Heaven Realm Cradle it was today.
Then, Yang Kai realised something and asked in shock, “The World Tree and the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary existed in your era, Senior?”
Cang had been guarding this place and separated from the outside world for millions of years, so it surprised Yang Kai that he was aware of the World Tree and the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary.
Cang chuckled, “The World Tree and Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary are far more ancient than you think. I heard that the World Tree was born the moment Heaven and Earth split apart.”
[It was born with the Universe itself…] Recently, Yang Kai had learned quite a number of secrets that were previously unknown to him.
“As for the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary…” Cang frowned, “No one knows how exactly it was formed. I told you all that in the Late Ancient Era, a mighty force realised that the Humans were suffering in hardship, so it gathered together 10 Humans to spread the Martial Dao. Only then did the Human Race truly learn to cultivate.”
Yang Kai nodded as Cang had told them about it before. Cang and the other nine Martial Ancestors were those 10 people who had created the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction. Millions of years had passed since then, and the other nine people had all passed away. Only Cang was left guarding this place.
At that time, an Old Ancestor asked what the mighty force was, but Cang only replied with a smile that it was the Will of the Heavenly Way.
Presently, the battlefield was in chaos, but the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction was completely unaffected. The Black Ink Clansmen didn’t bother to attack the two of them because they knew they were unable to break the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction.
Cang went on to say calmly, “The 10 of us managed to ascend to the Open Heaven Realm after we were swept into the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary.”
Hearing that, Yang Kai was astounded.
“Before that, even though the Humans could gain some power through simple cultivation, we could only reach somewhere below the Open Heaven Realm. At that time, the realm below the Open Heaven Realm was the end of Martial Dao.”
Yang Kai hurriedly straightened his back. He had a feeling that he was about to hear some incredible secret.
“The 10 of us were not born in the same place. Rather, we all came from different Great Territories. We managed to gain the acknowledgement of our homelands and became Venerables in our own lands. Only then were we able to shake off our Universe World’s restraints and head out into the vast void to explore a higher Martial Dao.”
He went on to say, “At that time, Monster Beasts were everywhere with all of them possessing the bloodlines of Divine Spirits, though the purity of those bloodlines varied greatly. Their cultivation was unhindered as the powers of their bloodlines alone allowed them to grow into formidable beings. The Humans were unable to defend themselves from the Monster Beasts. In order to solve this crisis, we had to seek a higher Martial Dao. However, no one managed to succeed.”
After a pause, he continued, “One day, I was swept away by a rolling fog and brought to the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary. In that place, I came across the other nine and became friends with them. Just like me, they had left their homelands in search of a higher Martial Dao. A long time has passed, so I can’t remember many of the details, but with that said, I will never be able to forget the strangeness of the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary. While we were there, we experienced countless crises, but by working together, we eventually resolved all of them. Looking back now, I realize that those were all trials for us. In the end, we arrived at a place where there was an enormous tree, the World Tree.”
Yang Kai nodded, for he had seen the World Tree as well, though it wasn’t a pleasant encounter. Still, he had gained some benefits from the World Tree; otherwise, the Seventh Order would have been his limit in this lifetime.
“The tree gave us one fruit each.”
Hearing that, Yang Kai was surprised, “The World Tree was so generous?”
At that time, he had gone through the trials of different Worlds before he acquired some Low-Rank and Mid-Rank World Fruits, and the only reason he obtained a root was because the World Tree sacrificed it to throw him out.
However, Cang and the other Martial Ancestors were just given World Fruits without doing anything. What’s more, the achievements of Cang and the others suggested that the World Fruits they had acquired were High-Rank World Fruits. Perhaps they were even superior to High-Rank World Fruits.
In comparison, what Yang Kai had obtained was nothing worth noting. He had the urge to head to the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary again and rob the World Tree.
Cang went on to say, “After we consumed the fruits, we were able to open Small Universes in our bodies and step into the Open Heaven Realm. Only then did we comprehend the cultivation method of the Open Heaven Realm. After leaving the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, we taught everyone this cultivation method, and the Humans were finally able to oppose the Monster Beasts.”
Yang Kai said solemnly, “It was thanks to Sir and the other Seniors that the Human Race was finally able to cultivate. Your contributions should be remembered by all.”
With a smile, Cang waved his hand, “The reason I’m telling you all this is that over the years, I’ve faintly detected something.”
“Please enlighten me, Senior.”
After a moment of deliberation, Cang continued, “Back then, we came from different Great Territories and Universe Worlds, but we were swept into the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary by the rolling fog all at the same time. The crises we faced seemed to be the trials to test our temperaments. In the end, the fruits given to us seemed to be the World Tree’s rewards.”
He paused for a moment, “Initially, we didn’t read too much into it. Since we had acquired greater powers, we decided to teach the other Humans how to do the same so that we all had the capital to gain a footing in the vast universe. Later, we created the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction and confined Mo to this place. Only then did we have time to ponder on certain issues. The World Tree’s existence seems to have something to do with the entire 3,000 Worlds. To be precise, the World Tree might be the source of the 3,000 Worlds.”
Yang Kai was astounded, “You mean… the 3,000 Worlds are just a reflection of the World Tree’s power?”
Cang shook his head, “That’s not what I meant. There’s a reason the tree is named the World Tree and it must have something to do with the 3,000 Worlds. The 10 of us were swept into the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary and given the fruits by the World Tree, thus allowing us to create a complete Martial Dao system. Rather than saying it was our opportunity, it was more like a method the 3,000 Worlds used to help itself.”
“Help itself?” Yang Kai muttered, “You mean the 3,000 Worlds has a consciousness of its own?”
“Perhaps not a consciousness, or at least one that we would understand. Think of it as there being some ‘rules’ that we’re unable to comprehend,” Cang explained, “At that time, Mo’s sentience had just awakened, and Black Ink Strength started spreading across the Great Territories. If left unhindered, the entire universe would have been taken over by Black Ink Strength. Therefore, someone had to stop it. Even if it was not us, there would have been another 10 to take up that role.”
Cang stared fervently at Yang Kai, “What’s more, there must have been more than one attempt to help itself. The World Tree gave you a clone. If I’m not mistaken, you’re also one of the ones selected by these ‘rules’.”
It was because of that realization that Cang paid extra attention to Yang Kai and sent a transmission to him, telling him to seek refuge next to him when he fell into danger. It was also because of this realization that Cang told Yang Kai so many things.
In the Late Ancient Era, Cang and the other nine were just a means the ‘rules’ tried to use to save themselves. Now, Yang Kai could very well be those same ‘rules’ trump card.
Yang Kai fell into a dazed state.
Even though the clone he had obtained in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary was subsequently planted in the Star Boundary, he inadvertently acquired another to shelter his Small Universe at a later point. Rather than it all just being a big coincidence, Cang’s speculation made more sense.
Was Yang Kai also one of the ways the unfathomable ‘rules’ tried to save themselves?
As Yang Kai looked back, he realised it was inconceivable that he even managed to snatch a root from the World Tree. At that time, he was pretty weak as he wasn’t even an Open Heaven Realm Master yet. He had only condensed his Dao Seal and had yet to even refine all the necessary Powers.
On the other hand, the World Tree was an ancient existence born with the Universe. As time passed, it must have developed spirituality of its own and grown into a powerful being.
How was an Emperor Realm Master supposed to snatch a root from the World Tree? After he acquired the root, the World Tree just swept him to a faraway place, which showed that it was fully capable of dismissing him, it just didn’t bother to do so until after the fact.
If Cang’s speculation was right, Yang Kai was also one of the ways the unfathomable ‘rules’ tried to save themselves, which explained everything. The Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary was where the trials took place, and the root and the World Fruits were the rewards granted by the World Tree.
Millions of years ago, Cang and the other nine Martial Ancestors were selected and given World Fruits by the World Tree, thus allowing them to enter the Open Heaven Realm and teach the others how to do the same. When the Humans grew stronger, they were able to fight against the Monster Beasts and Mo itself.
Millions of years later, Yang Kai arrived at the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary and obtained a root from the World Tree. Even though the outcomes were different, they were both methods the 3,000 Worlds used to help themselves when they found themselves in crisis.
In that case, the original owner of the World Tree clone in Yang Kai’s Small Universe was likely also one of the ways the rules had selected to save themselves. Unfortunately, that Senior passed away on the Black Ink Battlefield, and his or her Small Universe was left behind as a Universe Cave Heaven. Countless years later, Yang Kai had the opportunity to enter it and obtain the World Tree clone.
Perhaps there were other people just like them over the eons; however, Yang Kai didn’t have a way to find out who they were, nor did he know whether they were even still alive.
Cang’s words were too shocking, but believable; after all, he had lived for millions of years and his life in this place gave him ample time to ponder on some deeper issues. Even though Yang Kai found his words inconceivable, it could very possibly be the truth.
“You must be careful,” Cang suddenly said.
A puzzled Yang Kai asked, “What do you mean, Senior?”
With a solemn expression, Cang explained, “Many years have passed, and Mo might have also realised what I’ve come to understand. Perhaps it even knows things that I don’t. If my speculation is right, you are in a perilous situation.”
Yang Kai was startled for a moment, but he soon realised what Cang meant.
If he was indeed one of the ways the ‘rules’ had selected to save themselves, he must be special in some way. As long as Mo noticed his presence, he wouldn’t let him off.
“You swaggered around the battlefield without worrying about getting corrupted by Black Ink Strength, so perhaps you’ve already caught Mo’s attention.”
Yang Kai replied, “The Four Universe Pillars are also able to protect one’s Small Universe and fend off Black Ink Strength. It might not realise that I have a World Tree clone.”
Cang nodded, “You have a point, but you still have to be careful. Also, even though you have the World Tree clone, which makes you immune to the Black Ink Strength of ordinary Black Ink Clansmen, that might not be able to drive off Mo’s Source Strength. Its strength is far greater than that of ordinary Black Ink Clansmen. Perhaps it might be able to break through the barriers of your Small Universe.”
Yang Kai said with a smile, “With you around, Mo won’t be able to get out of the trap, so how is it going to make a move against me? If even Senior is unable to suppress Mo, the Human Race won’t be far from extinction either way.”
Cang replied solemnly, “I’ll do my best.”
The next moment, Yang Kai got to his feet and lifted his Azure Dragon Spear, “I’ve gotten enough rest, Senior. I’ll kill some more enemies before coming back to chat with you.”
Then, he directly charged towards the battlefield.
Half a day later, Yang Kai returned, covered in blood. The Territory Lords chasing after him appeared furious, for the moment Yang Kai landed beside Cang, they had no choice but to leave. This time, he was in a better state than before, so it took him less time to recover.
After getting some rest, Yang Kai continued battling against the enemy. As he repeated this over and over again, the Black Ink Clansmen grew annoyed. Some of the Territory Lords now directly waited outside the safe zone on the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction so that they could kill Yang Kai the moment he left Cang’s shelter.
However, Yang Kai was a Master of the Dao of Space, so as long as the space around him wasn’t sealed, these Territory Lords had no way to capture him. Eventually, the Black Ink Clan stopped bothering with him, and without any restraints, Yang Kai was able to kill even more enemies.
Nevertheless, he was the only one capable of such things, as the other Humans were unable to imitate him. As they were not experts in the Dao of Space, they couldn’t cross the vast battlefield quickly and safely; therefore, only Yang Kai could run to Cang’s side to seek refuge and recuperate. Although he had made significant contributions, he was unable to single-handedly change the tide of battle.
Several months had passed since the war started, and 30% of the original 2 million Human soldiers had been killed in action. In other words, some 600,000 Human soldiers had lost their lives, all of them in the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm and above. The losses they had suffered were simply staggering.
There was no denying that the losses that the Black Ink Clan had suffered were dozens of times greater than those of the Humans as innumerable Territory Lords and Royal Lords had lost their lives. Still, even more Black Ink Clansmen continuously poured out from the opening and entered the battlefield to make up for the losses.
All the Humans were exhausted, and even the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters appeared weary. The two Races had been fighting against one another on the Black Ink Battlefield for many years, and although some wars lasted for months or even years, it was always a process of intense battles, followed by a period of rest and recovery before they clashed once again.
This time was different as the two Races had never stopped fighting since the war started. The chaos on the battlefield was constant. Fortunately, the various Army Commanders had already expected that this war would be a long one, so the 2 million soldiers were divided into two groups that took turns to battle the enemy. If not for this rotation of troops, the Humans would have been defeated by the Black Ink Clan long ago.
At this point, the Black Ink Clan had gained the upper hand. Although it wasn’t conspicuous, they were indeed in a favourable position. This was the balance Mo had been trying to sustain. Had it recklessly released all its servants to the battlefield, the Humans would’ve been defeated long ago.
Cang’s expression became increasingly solemn as he felt that it was time to seal the gap in the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction. If this dragged on and the Humans were routed, the situation would surely get out of hand.
After months of releasing Black Ink Strength, he could feel that the pressure within the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction had been alleviated somewhat. Although it wouldn’t be as much as he hoped for if he stopped now, it was still acceptable. At the thought of this, he hesitated no more. As he performed a different hand seal, the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction started vibrating.
All of a sudden, Mo, who had remained silent all along, said, “I thought you were going to wait for a while more.”
Cang snorted, “You’d better quickly show us what tricks you still have; otherwise, you won’t have the chance to do so soon.”
Since the beginning, Cang had realised that Mo must have been holding something back; otherwise, it wouldn’t have tried to maintain the balance of powers between the two sides. It knew that once the balance was broken and the Humans were defeated, Cang would immediately seal the gap, giving it no chance to escape.
While the balance was being sustained, Cang was more than happy to weaken Mo’s power. It could be said that the situation on the battlefield was a tacit coordination between the two Races with the 2 million Human soldiers and the tens of millions of Black Ink Clansmen serving as chess pieces.
Cang also knew that once he started sealing the opening, there was no way Mo would sit idly by. There was bound to be a fierce fight where both sides did everything they could to gain the upper hand.
“You’ve grown old, Cang,” Mo let out a sigh of pity.
Even a cultivator as powerful as Cang had grown old after staying here for millions of years. As Mo recalled the days when it and the 10 Humans were still friends, it couldn’t help but feel rueful.
Those were the best days of its life. It could talk with his friends, travel with them, and share tea and wine together. It was carefree. Those days were gone for good once it was confined to this place. There wouldn’t be another Mu or Cang in this world.
It was fully aware that they didn’t hold any malicious intent trapping it in this place, but it was unresigned. It was born the way it was, it didn’t acquire its strength through cultivation. Since the Heavens had given it a power to turn others into the same beings as it, it was destined to rule over the Universe.
As all its friends were gone for good, so it stopped having any pity for this world. Everyone was bound to be subservient to it.
“All of you have underestimated me!” As Mo roared, an immense force burst out of the endless darkness. A magnificent aura spread out and shocked both the Black Ink Clansmen and the Humans on the battlefield. It was a power that was so overwhelming that even the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters were dazed by it.
Cang’s expression changed, for he realised that the resistance coming from the opening was making it impossible for him to reseal it for the time being. With that said, he wasn’t flustered. He wouldn’t think that Mo didn’t even have the capabilities to do such a thing. Everything was well within his expectations. This wasn’t Mo’s trump card, he must have another trick up his sleeve.
All of a sudden, Cang had a bad premonition. After several months of intense fighting, countless Black Ink Clansmen had lost their lives on the battlefield. Black blood, Black Ink Strength, and severed limbs were everywhere in the void.
The moment Mo’s Will spread out, these miscellaneous scraps on the battlefield started squirming and shooting towards the same place as though they had been guided by a mysterious force.
The expressions of all of the Humans changed. That was because these miscellaneous things were moving towards the opening.
In just a moment, the black blood, Black Ink Strength, and the hashed flesh left behind from fallen Black Ink Clansmen formed a colossal dark tide. The dark tide crossed the battlefield, and along the way, some Human soldiers were accidentally swept into it and killed.
The entire universe trembled as the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction shook. Even more dark blood, Black Ink Strength, and smashed meat joined the dark tide and fortified it.
Besides that, even the Black Ink Clansmen, who had been dealing with the Humans, abandoned their opponents and dashed towards the dark tide before disappearing. The turn of events stunned the Humans. They had been in a disadvantageous position on the battlefield when they suddenly lost their opponents.
“Damn!” Cang exclaimed as he hadn’t expected that Mo was able to use such a move. In fact, even though the 10 of them were close friends with Mo in the past and they subsequently confined it to this place for millions of years, they didn’t really know its capabilities very well.
Cang had never seen Mo use this Secret Technique before, nor could he figure out what the other party was about to do. With that said, he finally realised why Mo had been trying to sustain the balance on the battlefield, even letting so many of its servants get killed. It had all been to prepare for this moment.
Despite not knowing what Mo was about to do, Cang reckoned that he had to immediately stop it; otherwise, the Humans would be in grave danger. He madly surged his power in an attempt to reseal the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction; however, from the depths of the darkness a violent force burst forth to resist it, stopping the gap from closing.
As this competition unfolded, Cang eventually gained the upper hand because he had the restriction’s help, but even though the gap was closing, it was extremely slow.
“Kill!” A Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master’s roar reverberated across the entire battlefield. Everyone knew that they had reached the most critical moment. Regardless of what Mo was up to, if they couldn’t stop him, they would lose the war.
Several hundred thousand Human soldiers who had been recuperating in the Great Passes charged towards the battlefield. All the Human soldiers were ready to strike. Even the soldiers guarding the arrays drove their Warships towards the battlefield. In an instant, the 106 Great Passes became empty.
The Black Ink Clan soldiers also divided into two groups, the first group leaving to intercept the Humans while the other group joined the dark tide to strengthen it.
The competition between Cang and Mo was still ongoing. Having said that, Cang was apparently in an advantageous position as the speed at which the opening of the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction was closing had increased.
Just then, a force that was as immense as a tidal wave gushed out from the depths of the darkness and penetrated the gap before joining the squirming dark tide. Then, the dark tide contorted and wiggled before forming into an arm.
The arm was made from countless limbs, black blood, and Black Ink Strength, but it wasn’t engulfed in Death Qi at all. Instead, it was as vibrant as a real arm. The bulging muscles of the arm suggested that it was full of strength. It was so gigantic that everyone could see nothing else and the aura billowing from it shook all beholders to the core.
The arm was connected to the force coming out from the gap. Looking from afar, it was as though a giant was sticking a hand out from the opening.
In fact, Cang could indeed feel a horrifying aura coming to life from the darkness where a giant was rapidly taking shape. The arm that penetrated the gap became a force that stopped the restriction from sealing.
Cang’s expression changed drastically as he exclaimed, “Have you reached that realm?”
The realm that was beyond the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm!
In the past, Cang and the other nine had been trying to ascend to that realm, but none of them succeeded. Even though Cang was more powerful than the average Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, he still hadn’t broken free from the Open Heaven Realm.
He believed that beyond the Open Heaven Realm was the Creation Realm that no Humans had ever reached.
However, Mo’s voice sounded dispirited, “That realm? Maybe… I don’t know. Do you think I’ve reached that realm? I don’t think so.”
Cang was flabbergasted as he recalled the turmoil that took place in the restriction back then. At that time, Mo almost managed to break free from the trap. It seemed that Mo had already reached the Creation Realm at that time as in the endless darkness, it had created a lot of powerful beings.
After giving it some thought though, Cang realised it wasn’t surprising. Mo was able to create innumerable servants. All the Black Ink Clansmen were created from its Black Ink Strength and given its innate power and years of accumulation, it shouldn’t be shocking that it had reached the Creation Realm.
In truth, Mo didn’t directly create Black Ink Clansmen. It was fundamentally the initial darkness of the Heavens and Earth. What it had created were the Black Ink Nests, and all the Black Ink Clansmen were nurtured in those Black Ink Nests. It was Mo’s innate ability. However, this time, this powerful being in the darkness was indeed created by Mo.
All of a sudden, Cang turned calm and let out a sigh, “Mo, you were born alongside the Universe with unrivalled gifts and incredible capabilities. You’re supposed to be free from any restraints, but your strength dictates that you’ll not be accepted by everyone else.”
Mo asked hesitantly, “What are you trying to do?”
Cang replied impassively, “Millions of years have passed, so this matter should come to an end. I’m worried that my friends have grown anxious from waiting for so long.”
All of a sudden, Mo had a bad premonition and shouted, “Don’t do anything silly!”
Cang guffawed, “You’re the one who’s doing something silly.”
Saying so, he flicked his fingers as a ray of light broke through the air. Wherever the light went, it penetrated the Black Ink Clansmen and destroyed them.
Previously, he told Yang Kai that while he was part of the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, he could only make a move within the restriction; he was unable to have a hand in the affairs outside the Grand Restriction. That wasn’t a strict rule though, but there was a huge price to pay for breaking it. In order to send this ray of light out of the restriction, he had no choice but to put himself at stake.
The moment he made a move, the entire Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction seemed to have become unstable. Seizing the chance, Mo exerted more force to expand the gap. The arm that spanned the gap was shaking in an attempt to enlarge the opening.
“Stop it!” Mo’s Divine Sense spread across the void. Even though it had no idea what the ray of light was, it couldn’t let Cang achieve his goal at this point.
A Royal Lord extended his hand to catch the ray of light, but before he could even grasp it, his arm exploded. The power within the light was unimaginably horrifying.
Seeing that, the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, who had been chasing after this Royal Lord, immediately summoned his Divine Manifestation that turned into a hideous giant beast and swallowed the Royal Lord whole. Then, the Ninth-Order Master cast several seals at the Royal Lord and directly refined him.
Driven by Mo, the other Black Ink Clansmen along the way tried to stop the ray of light; however, even a Royal Lord was unable to intercept it, so how were the other Black Ink Clansmen supposed to achieve anything?
The ray of light crossed the void and left behind a vacuum in its wake before it actually penetrated Yang Kai. Upon impact, Yang Kai’s figure shook, and before he could figure out what was going on, he saw countless Black Ink Clansmen savagely coming at him from all directions. He promptly retreated and dashed towards the place where the Human Race soldiers gathered together.
The Black Ink Clansmen chased after him, but they were soon intercepted. Both parties clashed in the void as their blood spattered.
On the other hand, after casting that ray of light, Cang extended his hand into the void and pulled out a rough, uncut jade.
“Mu!” Mo exclaimed. It could feel Mu’s aura coming from this uncut jade. This was definitely something Mu had left behind after her death.
Among the 10, Mo was most fond of Mu, and it was also closest to her. However, in the end, it was confined to this place because of her. Millions of years had passed, but it didn’t hold hatred for her. Nevertheless, when it felt the familiar aura again, it couldn’t help but have conflicted feelings.
Mo soon pulled itself together and roared in a voice that still sounded childlike, “Ah! What do you plan to do, Cang!?”
As it spoke, another hand stuck out from the opening and clenched the edge. The other arm that had originally penetrated the gap retracted and grasped the other side.
Both hands exerted themselves and pushed the gap open as though they were opening a door. A horrifying aura streamed out of the gap, and at the same time, a gigantic head stuck out from the chasm. Its dark eyes reflected the entire battlefield, as though it was going to devour everything in sight.
The world trembled as the universe seemed to have been turned upside down and countless cracks started appearing in the Void.
“I don’t know what is going to happen either,” Cang’s voice sounded helpless.
His words sounded perfunctory, but he indeed had no idea what was about to happen. The uncut jade was the last testament left behind by Mu. She told them that they just had to summon this uncut jade at the most perilous moment.
Back then, Mu entered the Grand Restriction and arrived at the depths of the endless darkness. When she returned, she was already on her last breath. After passing the uncut jade to them, she blended herself into the restriction to fortify it.
She didn’t explain anything about the uncut jade; however, Cang and the others never doubted her decision or judgement. Now, it had come to the most perilous moment just like what she had said. Perhaps she had seen something in the darkness back then and expected this day to come.
After the uncut jade was summoned, it rose into the sky and shone brightly. From the light, a slender figure appeared. The figure was so colossal that she seemed to cover the entire sky, but no one could make out her face. Nevertheless, the moment she appeared, she became the centre of the universe.
Everyone stopped fighting on the battlefield as their attention was drawn to her. It was the most immaculate figure in the world, as though everything good and beautiful had been condensed within her. No one would ever have any evil thoughts about her.
“Mu!” Cang looked up with a conflicted gaze.
“Mu!” Mo muttered.
There seemed to be a smile on Mu’s face as she spoke in a gentle tone, “We haven’t met for ages, Mo.”
“Are you still… alive?” There was a hint of pleasant surprise in Mo’s voice.
Mu shook her head, “I’m dead. You know that I passed away a long time ago.”
Mo let out a sigh and replied in a dejected tone, “Yes, I know. I thought you were still alive, but since you’re dead, what are you trying to do now?”
All of a sudden, Mu said in a mischievous tone, “I’m going to play your favourite game with you for the last time.”
Mo was torn between tears and laughter, “You’re such a good friend.”
Mu refuted, “Call me Big Sister. I’m not that old.”
Saying so, she swept her hand across the darkness and muttered under her breath, “There, there. When you wake up, there’ll be games to play and food to have.”
Following her movement, the entire Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction started shining brightly and pulsing rhythmically. On the battlefield, both the Humans and Black Ink Clansmen became sluggish as a sense of sleepiness washed over them, making them feel dizzy.
Besides the Fifth-Order, Sixth-Order, and Seventh-Order Masters, even the Eighth-Order and Ninth-Order Masters were unable to fight off the sleepiness.
At that instant, a strange scene appeared on this violent battlefield. The weaker soldiers of both Races fell into a peaceful sleep all of a sudden. In general, the Black Ink Clansmen were most heavily affected as the Humans had their Warships’ protection, so they still had some power to resist the mysterious force.
Yang Kai was sleepy as well. He felt his eyelids threatening to shut against his will, but at the most critical moment, a sense of coolness coursed through him, making him come back to his senses. It was the Soul Warming Lotus.
Even though he had no idea what move Mu had used, it was apparently a technique that affected the Soul, so the Soul Warming Lotus’ protection helped him endure it.
Without hesitation, Yang Kai stimulated his Dragon Source and transformed into a 70,000-metre Ancient Dragon. He then swiped his Dragon Claw in a particular direction.
Over there, a Royal Lord was staggering while exchanging moves with an equally sleepy Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. Unlike the violent fight earlier, they now looked like two kids haphazardly slapping at each other.
Yang Kai directly grasped the Royal Lord in his claw and clenched.
The Royal Lord’s figure was huge, but while he was in Yang Kai’s claw, only his head was shown outside the iron grip.
The Royal Lord struggled hard but couldn’t get out of the trap. As he felt intense pressure from all directions, his bones cracked and his dark blood gushed out of his body.
“You’re pretty tough,” Yang Kai grumbled; after all, this was a powerful Royal Lord. Yang Kai was unable to squeeze him to death and hadn’t even managed to severely injure him. At most, he had slightly wounded the Royal Lord.
As a sharp pain shot through him, this Royal Lord showed signs of regaining his senses.
Instantly, Yang Kai felt an immense force of resistance coming from his grip and his claw was forced to expand as the Royal Lord was about to free himself.
At the critical moment though, a flash of sword light repeatedly cut across the Royal Lord’s throat.
His head was sent flying away and dark blood spurted out of his neck as his vitality swiftly drained away.
The Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master struggled to keep himself awake as he smugly lifted his sword and said to Yang Kai, “Kid, you’re still too weak.”
Yang Kai refuted through clenched teeth, “You’d better not fall asleep, Senior.”
This person was none other than the Ninth-Order Old Ancestor from Blue Sky Pass, so Yang Kai was naturally familiar with him.
The Old Ancestor had been tangled up with the Royal Lord for a long time, with neither side able to deal critical damage to the other party, but with Yang Kai’s help, the Old Ancestor finally managed to kill his opponent.
Hearing Yang Kai’s mockery, the Old Ancestor did his best to stay awake as he retorted, “Why would I fall asleep? Are you mocking me?”
Saying so, he turned into a sword light and dashed towards the battle between a nearby Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master and a Royal Lord.
Yang Kai shook his head and charged towards the vast battlefield.
Presently, both the Humans and the Black Ink Clansmen, regardless of their cultivation, had been affected by Mu’s Soul Technique and their combat effectiveness plummeted while Yang Kai was safe and sound with the Soul Warming Lotus’ protection.
On the entire battlefield, he was probably the only one who was still wide awake and fully able to use his power; therefore, it was time for him to deal a fatal blow to the enemies.
As he let out a Dragon Breath, his Dragon Form zigzagged across the battlefield. He wielded his Dragon Tail and easily slaughtered countless Black Ink Clansmen along the way.
Soon, he approached the battle between a Royal Lord and a Ninth-Order Master. With the previous experience, he directly extended both claws this time and shouted, “I’m here to assist, Old Ancestor!”
As the Royal Lord saw the claws closing in on him, he felt his face twitching. He wanted to dodge, but he realised that the Space around him had become viscous. Unable to escape, he was grasped by Yang Kai with both claws, leaving only his head exposed outside the grip.
The Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master’s eyes brightened when he saw this and immediately launched a series of Divine Abilities.
Upon impact, the Dragon Scales on Yang Kai’s claws were blown off and his skin started bleeding. He was in so much pain that he roared at the top of his lungs.
…..
Above the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, Mu’s colossal figure shone even more brightly, as though she was radiating the last gleam of light in her life. She was singing a song in a language no one could understand.
No one knew what the lyrics meant, but as they listened to it, they realised they could barely keep themselves awake.
While still singing, Mu suddenly turned to Cang and said, “Thanks for everything.”
Cang let out a sigh. At this point, he finally figured out what Mu’s plan was. He replied, “Don’t mention it. I’m finally able to feel relieved. It’s a shame that you passed away so early.”
Mu’s talent was unfathomable. Among the 10 of them back then, even though she was the only woman, none of the other nine were comparable to her.
If not for the fact that she passed away so early on, given her intelligence and skill, she may very well have come up with a real solution to the problem.
Mu replied with a smile, “The moment we were chosen back then, the outcome was determined. There’s nothing to feel regretful about. We’ve done our best, and the rest is beyond our control.”
All of a sudden, she turned to the battlefield, her eyes reflecting the 70,000-metre Ancient Dragon, “Is he also a chosen one?”
Cang nodded.
A glint flashed across Mu’s eyes, “He’s not bad.”
Despite her seemingly perfunctory remark, Cang knew that she had acknowledged Yang Kai to be a capable youth.
“All of you are so noisy…” Mo muttered under its breath from the darkness, as though it was talking in its sleep. It seemed to have returned to millions of years ago when it was taking a nap on Mu’s lap, but it was helplessly disturbed by the discussion among them, “You’re making it hard for me to fall asleep.”
Mu said gently, “We’ll be quiet.” Then, she turned to Cang, “We’re still not there yet. I need to borrow some power.”
Cang nodded solemnly, “I’ve been waiting for this moment.” Saying so, he performed a different hand seal and yelled, “Take my body and strengthen the restriction!”
Following that, all the power in his body dissipated as he assimilated his very essence into the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction. The restriction was originally invisible and intangible, but after it absorbed Cang’s power, the barrier became obvious to all.
The barrier covered a radius of hundreds of millions of kilometres and didn’t seem to have an end to it, while inside was only endless darkness.
Cang’s aura gradually withered and eventually disappeared. Even his figure turned into motes of light and dissipated.
Above the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, Mu’s figure solidified to the point where one could almost see her unrivalled beauty.
The vitality she had hidden within the restriction many years ago exploded at this moment. With the help of Cang’s power, it infused into her illusory phantom, making her look vivid and lifelike, as though she had really resurrected.
She turned to look at the void with her dark gaze, as if she was trying to take in the entire universe. The next instant, she leaped into the darkness.
“I can finally have a good sleep…” Mo muttered from the darkness, which shook all of a sudden. There seemed to be an ominous monster hidden within the darkness that turned over in its sleep, and a hush fell abruptly.
The void trembled as though it was mourning for the death of these powerful beings.
The moment Mu leaped into the darkness, all the Humans and Black Ink Clansmen, who had been affected earlier, snapped back to their senses in an instant.
The battlefield, which had become calm due to Mu’s Soul Technique, turned violent instantly.
However, everyone sensitively detected that two powerful beings’ Wills were missing. One of them was Mo, and the other was Cang.
With that said, there was now another powerful Will.
In the darkness, the enormous creature was still prying open the edges of the gap with half of his body having been revealed.
Even though it hadn’t fully revealed itself, even half of his body was enough to give off indescribable pressure.
Mu’s Soul Secret Technique had a huge impact on this giant as well and it had stopped moving earlier; however, the moment Mu leapt into the darkness, the influence of her Secret Technique disappeared. As though having received an order, the giant struggled even harder to get out of the darkness.
But it was too late. Cang had sacrificed himself to strengthen the restriction, and Mu had used a trump card she had left behind years ago. Not only had Mo fallen asleep, but the gap of the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction was closing rapidly as well.
Regardless of how hard the giant tried, he was unable to stop the gap from closing. In just three breaths of time, the wide gap was shut.
However, the giant still hadn’t fully crawled out of the gap. The Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction was like a razor-sharp blade that cut across the giant’s waist, splitting him in half.
No black blood streamed out of his body, only Black Ink Strength gushed out of his wounds. The dark giant roared in pain as his voice spread across the universe.
Yang Kai took a glance at the giant and became startled, “A Giant Spirit God?”
Earlier, he had been assisting the Ninth-Order Masters to kill the Royal Lords, so he didn’t have time to look at the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction. Now, he was stunned by what he saw.
The dark giant was actually a Giant Spirit God!
[Were Giant Spirit Gods created by Mo? No!] Yang Kai soon dismissed the idea, for the creature was not a real Giant Spirit God. He believed that it was a creature that Mo had created based on the Giant Spirit Gods. The giant had the size and appearance of a Giant Spirit God, and perhaps even the power of one, but he certainly wasn’t a member of the amiable Giant Spirit God Clan.
Yang Kai couldn’t help but recall the Black Ink Giant Spirit God that he came across in the Black Ink Sealing Land in the Divine Spirit Ancestral Land.
Back then, he thought that a Giant Spirit God had been corrupted by Black Ink Strength. Now, it seemed to him that it wasn’t the case. Perhaps that Black Ink Giant Spirit God was also created by Mo.
At the thought of this, Yang Kai felt a crawling sensation on his scalp.
Giant Spirit Gods were incredibly powerful beings that even the Divine Spirits were no match for. He had also personally witnessed a Giant Spirit God’s power. In the past, Ah Er brought him to barge into the Chaotic Dead Territory, but despite being surrounded by mortal danger, Ah Er was completely at ease.
The Chaotic Dead Territory was a place where even Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters were unable to remain for long.
In other words, Giant Spirit Gods were more powerful than Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters. Perhaps they were as strong as Cang and the other Martial Ancestors.
The Heavens didn’t give the Giant Spirit God Clan a very high level of intelligence, but with that said, they were gifted with unrivalled powers.
Now, Yang Kai wondered how powerful this Black Giant Spirit God was.
What made him relax slightly was that the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction had cut this giant figure in half, causing his strength to plummet.
On the battlefield, more auras soon disappeared for good.
In the short moment when Mu’s Secret Technique had affected the entire battlefield, Yang Kai had helped the Ninth-Oder Open Heaven Realm Masters kill five Royal Lords.
Initially, after five Royal Lords were killed, there supposedly would be another five Royal Lords who would step out of the darkness to make up for the losses; nevertheless, the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction had been closed, and Mo was now sound asleep. There wouldn’t be any new Royal Lords.
In the battles between the Ninth-Order Masters and the Royal Lords, the Humans had gained the upper hand and as time passed, this advantage would be increasingly enhanced until the Black Ink Clan were no longer able to resist.
If not for the Black Ink Giant Spirit God’s appearance, the Humans would be guaranteed to win this war.
However, with the Black Ink Giant Spirit God’s existence, no one could tell what the outcome would be.
Following a roar, the Black Ink Giant Spirit God stuck out a hand and grasped somewhere on the battlefield. Faced with the giant hand, both the Human Warships and Black Ink Clansmen found it hard to dodge.
Warships exploded apart, and before the Humans could even flee, they were vaporized by the impact. It was the same case for the Black Ink Clansmen. Without any Warships to protect them, they were killed even before the Humans.
The hand then swept across the void, and although it seemed sluggish, that was only because it was too colossal.
Space itself was torn apart wherever the hand swatted.
A Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master who happened to be available activated his World Force and transformed into a giant.
However, this giant still looked like a child in front of this Black Ink Giant Spirit God; there was that huge of a difference between their sizes. Even as the giant rained attacks on this Black Ink Giant Spirit God, he was unable to harm the other party at all. On the other hand, the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master trembled after he was struck by the Black Ink Giant Spirit God.
In the far ancient past, a single Black Ink Giant Spirit God had wreaked havoc on the Divine Spirits in Ancestral Land. In the end, it was the Dragon Emperor and Phoenix Empress of that generation who made use of the Sacred Treasures of the different Clans, along with burning their entire Blood Essence and vitality to finally suppress and seal the rampaging Black Ink Giant Spirit God.
This resulted in the Dragon Emperor and the Phoenix Empress passing away, and as the Void itself collapsed, the Dragon Emperor Source and the Phoenix Empress Source were lost for millions of years, eventually being acquired by Yang Kai and Su Yan.
Since they were both Black Ink Giant Spirit Gods, they were supposedly equally powerful; however, the one before their eyes only had half of his body left after the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction sliced him in two. As such, he wasn’t nearly as powerful as the one who had kicked up a storm in Ancestral Land in the past.
Even so, a single Ninth-Order Master still wasn’t a match for him.
Although the Black Ink Giant Spirit God didn’t have a lower body, he was still pretty agile. Soon, he left the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction and barged into the battlefield to begin a slaughter.
In his eyes, there were no friends or foes. Be it the Humans or the Black Ink Clansmen, as long as they were in his way, they were targets to be destroyed.
Within moments, many from both Races lost their lives while the flesh and blood of the dead Humans and Black Ink Clansmen, as well as the Black Ink Strength on the battlefield all seemed to be drawn to his figure. As he absorbed more and more, the Black Ink Giant Spirit God’s lower body showed signs of taking shape again.
He was already so overwhelmed with just his upper body, so if he managed to form a complete lower body, the situation would only become more dire.
More Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters charged towards him, but it wasn’t until the 13 Old Ancestors joined in that they managed to pin down the Black Ink Giant Spirit God, an almost inconceivable reality.
For a very long time, the Ninth-Order Masters were thought to be the most powerful beings in the world that only the Royal Lords were a match for. Now, it required 13 of them to stop a Black Ink Giant Spirit God who was missing half a body. It was unimaginable how powerful he would be if his body was whole.
The Humans had initially gained the upper hand in the battles between the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters and the Royal Lords; however, with 13 Old Ancestors needed to restrain the Black Ink Giant Spirit God, the momentum of the battle had shifted again.
Many Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters had to deal with two Royal Lords on their own while some of them even had to fight three at once. Only by doing so could they stop the Royal Lords from slaughtering the Human soldiers.
The appearance of a Black Ink Giant Spirit God with only half a body destroyed the advantage that the Humans had accumulated. Even though the Humans were still in an advantageous position in the battles below the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm, their edge would disappear if this dragged on.
Yang Kai had kept his Dragon Form and returned to his Human Form. With the Azure Dragon Spear in his hands, he charged around the battlefield.
The turn of events at the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction happened too suddenly. Cang wanted to seal the restriction, but his actions triggered Mo’s trump card in the process. Then, Mu, who passed away eons ago, appeared and sang an unknown lullaby as she stimulated the restriction’s power.
Now, Cang’s figure was nowhere to be found, and the auras of Mu and Mo had disappeared. The Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction had become as flawless as it used to be.
Yang Kai knew that Cang had passed away, Mu was gone for good, and Mo had fallen into a state of deep sleep. Now, the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction had been resealed, which meant that there would be no more Black Ink Clansmen leaving it.
The ones left on the battlefield were all the soldiers that the Black Ink Clan had. As long as the Humans could wipe out these Black Ink Clansmen, they would win the war.
However, that was an extremely difficult task. Besides the Black Ink Giant Spirit God that was able to go against 13 Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters at the same time, it was also hard to kill the remaining Royal Lords.
In fact, quite a number of Royal Lords had been killed so far. Since Mo had deliberately tried to sustain the balance on the battlefield, the Humans managed to destroy a lot of Royal Lords. Before the Black Ink Giant Spirit God’s appearance, at least a dozen Royal Lords had lost their lives.
On the other hand, the Humans had also paid a huge price as several Old Ancestors had fallen in battle.
When everyone on the battlefield was affected by Mu’s Soul Secret Technique earlier, several Royal Lords were suppressed by Yang Kai and subsequently killed by the Old Ancestors, leading to there being more Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters than Royal Lords.
Nevertheless, the Black Ink Giant Spirit God’s appearance negated that advantage and even reversed it.
With that said, none of the Human soldiers backed down as they still fearlessly clashed with the enemy. All of them knew that if they couldn’t win this war, there wouldn’t be another chance for them.
All the Ninth-Order, Eighth-Order, Seventh-Order, Sixth-Order, and Fifth-Order Masters were going all out. They didn’t care if their Warships were shattered as they could summon their spare Warships and continue fighting. Even if all their Warships were destroyed, they would clash with the enemies and kill as many as they could before their death.
There was no time for rest or recuperation. If they held back any of their powers, they would fall into the abyss.
Yang Kai darted around and killed all the enemies he could with his Azure Dragon Spear, sending black blood splattering everywhere. He was looking for Dawn; however, the battlefield was chaotic, so it was hard to find anyone.
A while later, Yang Kai finally spotted Dawn as a large, swirling Blood Sea was a clear sign of Blood Crow’s presence.
Before he could even get near them though, Yang Kai felt alarmed all of a sudden. The next instant, he detected a violent force coming at him from the side. Before he knew what was happening, Yang Kai coughed up a mouthful of blood and was sent flying away.
He still hadn’t gotten out of danger though. As he extended his spear to the back, a Golden Crow cawed and a Great Sun leaped into the air before it shone brightly.
Then, a hand gently gripped the Great Sun and extinguished it. The next instant, a fist came at Yang Kai.
Flabbergasted, Yang Kai lifted his spear to parry the attack. The next moment, he shook as if struck by lightning before he was sent flying again. While tumbling, he sprayed out more blood.
It wasn’t until this moment that he made out the person who was attacking him. It was a Royal Lord with a sheep head and Human body. Just like Mo Zhao from Great Evolution Theatre, this Royal Lord had a pair of dark wings extending from his back.
As their eyes met, a hint of surprise flashed across the Royal Lord’s eyes. He hadn’t expected that he wouldn’t be able to kill Yang Kai after striking him twice. Although he hadn’t used his full power, he was certain Yang Kai wouldn’t stand a chance to survive given the fact that the latter was just a Seventh-Order Junior. Regardless, that was indeed what had happened.
On the other hand, Yang Kai felt a metallic taste in his mouth as he choked down the blood in his throat. While bearing the pain, he kept his guard up. He had just escaped from death’s door! The moment he detected danger earlier, he drew upon his Dragon Source madly and covered himself with Dragon Scales. If not for that, he would have exploded upon impact.
Even though his Dragon Scales were sturdy though, they were still smashed through after being struck twice.
What he had been most worried about eventually happened. Since 13 Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters had to deal with the Black Ink Giant Spirit God, the Humans, who were in a favourable position earlier, had completely lost the advantage.
Some of the Royal Lords were now available to deal with the weaker Human soldiers, and this particular Royal Lord had set his eyes on Yang Kai.
Having said that, Yang Kai wasn’t surprised that he was being targeted. Cang had told him to be careful because he had been charging around the battlefield without worrying about getting corrupted by Black Ink Strength, perhaps drawing Mo’s attention.
What’s more, in his last moments, Cang had cast a ray of light which then penetrated Yang Kai’s body. The Black Ink Clansmen all saw this and were certainly concerned about what that ray of light was. Since this Royal Lord was unrestrained, he naturally had to hunt Yang Kai down and find out what the ray of light was.
Yang Kai released his Divine Sense and scanned his surroundings. He realised that all the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters were already locked in intense battles with the Royal Lords and the Eighth-Order Masters were occupied with the Territory Lords. All the Warships were dilapidated, and the Fifth-Order and Sixth-Order Masters on the vessels were in danger of dying at any moment while the Seventh-Order Masters around the Warships were soaked in blood.
Meanwhile, the Black Ink Giant Spirit God’s aura seemed to be growing with each moment. His lower body continued to absorb the Black Ink Strength from the battlefield and showed signs of taking shape.
Suddenly, Yang Kai let out a long sigh. He gave up on the idea of seeking help from the Ninth-Order Masters or the other Humans. As he wielded his spear, he bolted towards the Royal Lord.
A hint of contempt and mockery flashed across the Royal Lord’s eyes as he extended his hand towards Yang Kai. His nonchalant manner made it look as though he was trying to swat dead an insect.
As a Royal Lord, he indeed didn’t have to exert himself to deal with a Seventh-Order Human. Even though he didn’t manage to achieve his goal earlier, he had severely injured the other party. This time, he had the confidence to kill Yang Kai.
All of a sudden, he was dazzled by a pure white light, which expanded and dispelled the Black Ink Strength around them before it engulfed the Royal Lord.
The sheep-headed Royal Lord was enraged. He was certainly aware of the Purifying Light, which was the archnemesis of Black Ink Strength, but all else aside, he was still a Royal Lord. Even though the Purifying Light could harm him, it couldn’t kill him.
Therefore, the instant he realised Yang Kai’s intention, he didn’t dodge the attack and instead directly extended his hand into the Purifying Light.
Yang Kai skirted past the Royal Lord whose black blood spattered from a wound on his face. The Royal Lord turned around and saw the battered Yang Kai running away. Without hesitation, he raced after him.
While coughing up blood, Yang Kai felt that he had never been so severely injured before. After he was struck by the Royal Lord three times, half of his bones were broken, and his five viscera and six organs were a mess. If not for the fact that he had a potent Dragon Vein, he would have already been killed.
On a nearby battlefield, when a Ninth-Order Master saw that Yang Kai was in danger, he intended to lend him a hand; however, his opponent suddenly flared up and held him down. Left with no choice, the Ninth-Order Master could only watch as Yang Kai fled.
Along the way, several Ninth-Order Masters wanted to save him, but the Royal Lords turned even more ferocious and refused to allow them to do so.
All the same, Yang Kai never intended to seek the Ninth-Order Masters’ help. He had seen the big picture after scanning the battlefield and knew if he lured the Royal Lord behind him to any Old Ancestor, the latter would be at risk of losing their life. It wasn’t fun dealing with two equally powerful opponents on your own.
Yang Kai couldn’t pin his hopes on the Eighth-Order Masters either. Perhaps they couldn’t even persevere as long as he did; therefore, he could only find a way to save himself.
He had no idea if he could escape from a Royal Lord, but Yang Kai knew that the Humans were now in a disadvantageous position on the battlefield. As such, he couldn’t bring trouble to the top Masters.
Furthermore, if he could lure a Royal Lord away, he could lift some pressure off the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters despite not being able to influence the war in any way.
Two figures dashed across the bloody battlefield that looked like a living Hell. While Yang Kai never stopped fleeing, the Royal Lord relentlessly chased after him.
Just a moment later, the distance between them shortened and without hesitation, Yang Kai manipulated Space Principles and disappeared from the spot.
The sheep-headed Royal Lord behind him was evidently startled. He had lived his entire life inside the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction. Even though he was able to learn about the Humans through the Black Ink Nests, he had never come across an opponent like Yang Kai, so it was the first time he witnessed a Space Secret Technique.
Soon, he detected Yang Kai’s aura and turned to look in a different direction. Over there, a blood-soaked Yang Kai appeared inside a Human Great Pass. While standing on the wall, he eyed the Royal Lord from across the battlefield and pointed his spear at him in a provocative manner.
Running away wasn’t his sole intention. On such a vast battlefield, Yang Kai couldn’t just focus on his own safety. Since this Royal Lord had set his eyes on him, Yang Kai had to come up with a way to lure him away from the others.
He had no idea which Great Pass he was in as all the Humans had left to attack the enemy, so all the Great Passes were empty with not even a single person remaining behind. Therefore, he didn’t have to worry about luring the Royal Lord to this place.
Seeing how smug Yang Kai looked, the Royal Lord was enraged and charged towards him.
On the wall, Yang Kai settled his spear on the floor and sat down on a large array. The Array Core was an artifact that looked like a giant crossbow. Usually, it required three Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters to activate such an array.
At this moment, Yang Kai turned his hands into Dragon Claws and clutched the giant crossbow before madly infusing his World Force into the array. The patterns on the array lit up, and all the energy entered the crossbow. Despite being strong, Yang Kai realised he almost couldn’t control this crossbow. He activated his Divine Sense and locked onto the Royal Lord with his aura, a hideous expression on his face.
Following a buzz, the entire wall started shaking and the next moment, a gigantic light column condensed into an arrow and shot towards the Royal Lord. This violent attack was equivalent to an Eighth-Order Master’s all-out strike.
There were only a small number of arrays of such powers in the Great Passes and they were the most powerful and lethal ones the Humans could refine. Most of the artifacts and arrays could only cast attacks that were equivalent to a Seventh-Order Master’s attacks.
The arrow formed from the light column was not only intimidating but also rapid. In the blink of an eye, it was about to strike the Royal Lord; however, he didn’t seem to have the intention of dodging it. The black wings on his back folded in front of him to cover his body as he withstood the light arrow and dashed towards the Great Pass before shattering the array and artifact on the wall with a punch. A large part of the wall collapsed and as his force spread, levelling many buildings in the Great Pass.
It didn’t matter if the attack was equivalent to an Eighth-Order Master’s strike, he was a Royal Lord, so why would he be afraid of such a blow? However, he soon frowned as Yang Kai was nowhere in sight.
In fact, right after Yang Kai fired the arrow, he disappeared.
Detecting something, the Royal Lord turned to look at a nearby Great Pass and saw Yang Kai standing on the wall. Again, he was trying to activate the power of an artifact.
Enraged, the Royal Lord pounced on his opponent once again.
The same thing happened again; however, this time, what shot out of the Great Pass wasn’t a light arrow but a rain of sword waves.
The Royal Lord surged his Black Ink Strength and blocked all the sword waves. Seeing that Yang Kai was about to jump to another Great Pass, he locked onto him with his aura, which then burst and caused Yang Kai to stagger as he fell out of the Void.
Yang Kai clenched his teeth as he retreated and concealed his aura. He directly entered the Great Pass and used the buildings as cover.
Booms were continuously heard from behind him as the Royal Lord hunted him down and destroyed countless buildings along the way. The entire Great Pass soon turned into ruins.
Finally, Yang Kai found a chance to manipulate Space Principles and escape.
The moment he reappeared, the Royal Lord locked his aura onto him and pursued him like maggots on rotting bones.
Yang Kai’s expression darkened as he realised he couldn’t go on doing this. The Royal Lord hadn’t dealt with someone who was a Master of the Dao of Space before, which was why Yang Kai managed to escape from him earlier.
Now that the Royal Lord had a way to deal with him though, Yang Kai was no longer able to use Instantaneous Movement as he pleased. At this rate, he would be cornered sooner or later. After glancing at the chaotic battlefield, Yang Kai grit his teeth, turned around, and charged towards the depths of the void.
It had come to a point where the Ninth-Order Masters were all engaged in life-and-death battles against the Black Ink Clan Masters. With that said, the Human Race Masters below the Ninth Order still had a slight advantage against the Black Ink Clan. As long as they could enlarge that advantage, they would be able to influence the battles between the Ninth-Order Masters and the Royal Lords.
When the Eighth-Order Masters were free from restraints, they would be able to lend the Ninth-Order Masters assistance.
Nevertheless, it remained hard to deal with the Black Ink Giant Spirit God. All the same, this wasn’t a problem that Yang Kai could solve. He was in a perilous situation himself, so he had to focus on staying alive first.
Yang Kai’s action surprised the Royal Lord. As he looked in the direction Yang Kai was fleeing, he hesitated for a bit before chasing after him.
Even though no one knew anything about the ray of light that Cang had cast into Yang Kai at the last moment, it was obviously something important. That was why the Royal Lord decided to personally deal with him.
He initially thought that he could easily achieve his goal, so it surprised him that there were so many twists and turns. Certainly, he wouldn’t let this Seventh-Order brat flee from the battlefield as the latter clearly intended.
The black wings on his back flapped before he turned into a flash of light and shot towards Yang Kai.
On the battlefield, when the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters saw this, they wanted to help, but they were unable to shake off their opponents. Only a few Eighth-Order Masters managed to break free from their entanglements and rushed towards Yang Kai from different directions.
While running across the void, Yang Kai stuffed a handful of Spirit Pills into his mouth and even consumed a Low-Rank World Fruit that he had kept in storage for years.
At this point, nothing else mattered than restoring his reserves. He had consumed too much of his World Force, and only a bit of power was left in his Small Universe. It was inefficient to refine Open Heaven Pills, so he needed a World Fruit to replenish his energy quickly.
He knew that this was a life-and-death tribulation for him. Everything would be fine if he managed to shake off this Royal Lord; however, if he was captured, he would be doomed despite being able to transform into an Ancient Dragon.
In fact, he wasn’t sure if he could escape; after all, the Royal Lord could move much faster than he did. The only thing he could rely on was Space Principles.
Yang Kai had quite several experiences when it came to fleeing from Masters who were more powerful than him, but in such a situation, he could only do his best and let the Heavens decide his fate.
He was aware that several Eighth-Order Masters were trying to aid him; however, they were no match for a Royal Lord. Once both parties clashed, those Eighth-Order Masters would certain die; therefore, he wouldn’t dare to stop.
Yang Kai madly pushed his World Force and Dragon Clan Secret Techniques as he moved across the void at the speed of lightning, soon leaving the battlefield behind as he escaped further and further away.
However, the threat behind him was only getting closer. In less than an incense stick worth of time, Yang Kai was engulfed in a great sense of crisis. This sense of danger suggested that he was already within the range where the Royal Lord could strike him.
He wanted to manipulate Space Principles to teleport away, but the Royal Lord had locked his aura onto him. Once he made a move, that aura would explode and destabilize the surrounding Void. When that happened, his Instantaneous Movement would be disrupted and he would be killed.
Silently, he flicked a bead out as he wanted to use a Space Beacon to save his life; however, the Royal Lord was extremely vigilant and didn’t even let something as small as a Space Beacon off. From a distance, he cast an attack and destroyed the Space Beacon.
Yang Kai secretly cursed at the Royal Lord. Since he was unable to make use of Space Beacons, he could only try to cut off the aura on him if he wanted to make use of Space Principles.
After giving it some thought, Yang Kai decided to engulf himself in Purifying Light. There was no doubt that Purifying Light was the archnemesis of Black Ink Strength, but he wasn’t sure if this power could cut off the Royal Lord’s aura.
Aura was invisible, but strictly speaking, it was also a form of Divine Sense. Since Purifying Light could restrain the Black Ink Clan’s power, it could also theoretically cut off a thread of aura.
What disappointed Yang Kai was that as he was covered in the Purifying Light, the aura wasn’t thrown off. However, he was pleasantly surprised at the fact that even though the aura locked onto him, he was able to isolate himself from it temporarily.
The next moment, he pushed Space Principles and disappeared from the spot. At the same time, a brutal force came at him from a distance. Apparently, the Royal Lord wanted to kill Yang Kai upon seeing that the latter was about to flee.
When a battered Yang Kai reappeared in a place that was a few million kilometres away, he sprayed out a mouthful of blood.
He was hampered at the most critical moment of activating Instantaneous Movement and failed to cross a distance that was as far as he’d hoped and instead landed in the wrong place. Even though he was injured, he had gotten rid of the threat for now at the very least.
However, before Yang Kai could catch a breath, the Purifying Light around him dissipated. As soon as that happened, the Royal Lord’s aura locked onto him again.
“Bastard!” Yang Kai cursed. He felt his own aura trembling and his power becoming intermittent. At that moment, he was unable to manipulate Space Principles again, so he had no choice but to fly forward.
He had suffered several setbacks because of this Royal Lord, and even though he had consumed a lot of Spirit Pills, his wounds had only gotten worse.
Fortunately, being an Ancient Dragon, he had a robust body. Given enough time, his injuries would heal themselves.
A moment later, the small advantage he had gained by using Instantaneous Movement to move across millions of kilometres was wiped out. The distance between them was shortening fast.
Feeling the Royal Lord’s Black Ink Strength undulating behind him, as though a Secret Technique was about to be cast, Yang Kai once again engulfed himself with Purifying Light and isolated himself from the other party’s aura. Then, he did the same thing by activating Instantaneous Movement.
The Royal Lord had no choice but to stop using his Secret Technique and detonate the aura which was near Yang Kai, forcing the latter from the Void a few million kilometres away.
Again, Yang Kai sprayed out a mouthful of blood.
The same thing repeatedly happened to the point where Yang Kai was infuriated. On the other hand, the Royal Lord, who had been relentless, was also cursing non-stop. He had never expected that despite being a Royal Lord, it would be so hard for him to end the life of a puny Seventh-Order Human.
Before this war, the sheep-headed Royal Lord had never dealt with Humans, so his knowledge of them was limited to what he had gathered from the Black Ink Nest Space.
After leaving the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, he immediately engaged in an intense battle with a Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. It was a fight between two equally matched opponents and in fact, he found himself at a slight disadvantage almost from the start, so he truly admired that Ninth-Order Master’s power.
But what was happening now? He felt disgusted by having to chase after Yang Kai, unlike his fight against the Ninth-Order Master a while back. When dealing with the Ninth-Order Master, he just had to exert all his strength in a life-and-death struggle; however, when pursuing this Seventh-Order Master, he felt helpless despite having far greater strength.
As such, there was an awkward scene in the void where a Seventh-Order Human was unable to get rid of a Royal Lord, who, on the other hand, couldn’t capture the Seventh-Order Human.
Initially, the Eighth-Order Masters coming from the battlefield could still see some traces and follow them. Nevertheless, barely a day later, they had completely lost track of Yang Kai and the Royal Lord.
One repeatedly manipulated Space Principles while the other could move extremely quickly. Eighth-Order Masters like them were unable to catch them.
One of the Eighth-Order Masters who had tan skin said grimly, “Damn it! Little friend Yang is in danger.”
If they were able to reach the two of them, they might have been able to help Yang Kai; however, given their strength, the most likely outcome would be their deaths. Since Yang Kai and the Royal Lord were nowhere to be seen though, how were they supposed to find them in this vast void?
Without their help, could a Seventh-Order Junior like Yang Kai even hope to get rid of a Royal Lord’s pursuit? Despite being a Master of the Dao of Space, he couldn’t possibly persevere for long.
The others remained silent, but they shared the same sentiment. After they exchanged glances, another Eighth-Order Master sighed, “Perhaps this is his fate. Let’s go back.”
The war was still raging, and as Eighth-Order Masters, they had to return to make some contributions. Doing nothing in this place was meaningless.
Being Eighth-Order Masters, they were all decisive people. Since they were unable to save Yang Kai, they wouldn’t force themselves, so they returned to the battlefield.
On the other hand, Yang Kai kept activating Purifying Light to separate himself from the Royal Lord’s aura before using Instantaneous Movement to widen the gap between them. When the gap shortened to a certain point, he would do it again.
By doing so, he could ensure his safety with some difficulty; nevertheless, it was impossible for him to completely get rid of this Royal Lord.
Aware of this fact as well, the Royal Lord relentlessly pursued him. Regardless of how hard Yang Kai tried, he was unable to escape this Royal Lord.
Having witnessed Yang Kai’s methods, the Royal Lord soon acclimatised himself to the strangeness of Space Principles. Although he was indeed unable to stop Yang Kai from using Instantaneous Movement after the latter used Purifying Light to block his aura, he could still bombard the Void itself from a distance the moment Yang Kai activated his Space Secret Technique.
Without much effort, he could harass and disrupt Yang Kai.
By doing so, he could ensure that Yang Kai wouldn’t be able to move across a long distance by using Instantaneous Movement, and Yang Kai would always arrive at a place that was different from what he had expected.
On Yang Kai’s end, he knew that his current method of escaping was dangerous. Since he was unable to determine where he would re-appear after using Instantaneous Movement, he was taking a chance with his life each time he teleported; however, he couldn’t care less at this point as stopping would mean certain death.
He could risk using Instantaneous Movement or die. By using the Instantaneous Movement, he stood a chance to survive, and as long as he wasn’t too unlucky, he wouldn’t come across any real danger. Also, he had figured out the Royal Lord’s plan.
The Royal Lord must have figured it was fine if he couldn’t capture his target for now. As long as he relentlessly chased after Yang Kai and made sure the latter was within his detection range, Yang Kai would eventually exhaust his strength.
Regardless of how ample the heritage of a Seventh-Order Human’s Small Universe was, there was a limit to it. Even though this Human brat could replenish his energy with pills, he should only be capable of persevering for a while longer.
On the other hand, the Royal Lord was barely expending any of his strength or stamina, so he had ample time to hunt down Yang Kai.
Realizing the other party’s thought process, Yang Kai secretly sneered. If this was indeed the Royal Lord’s plan, he was bound to be disappointed.
During the war some time ago, Yang Kai had indeed exhausted himself, but after he consumed a lot of Spirit Pills and a Low-Rank World Fruit, the heritage in his Small Universe had mostly been restored. Furthermore, as the living beings in his Small Universe went through the vicissitudes of life, they continuously helped increase his heritage.
Having said that, he would eventually run out of energy if this dragged on for too long. All the same, he had more than one Low-Rank World Fruit, and although he didn’t have many of them, they could allow him to persevere for a while longer.
Once again, Yang Kai was disturbed while using Instantaneous Movement. When he abruptly appeared somewhere, his five viscera and six organs weltered and he started seeing stars. To say that he was feeling uncomfortable would be a gross understatement.
Before he could pull himself together though, a remnant Divine Ability came at him from a nearby place.
An astounded Yang Kai hurriedly dodged.
Fortunately, the Divine Ability was quite weak, so despite looking magnificent, it wasn’t lethal and Yang Kai quickly evaded it.
He had arrived at the Late Ancient Era battlefield. Basically, he had rushed back along the route the Human Race Army had used on the crusade and made it past the region that could be considered the Spiritless Land.
When they initially arrived here, the Humans had no idea why this vast area of void was a Spiritless Land. It wasn’t until Cang explained to them that it was the Black Ink Clan’s doing to prevent him and the other Martial Ancestors from replenishing their energy.
After crossing the vast Spiritless Land, one would arrive at the Late Ancient Era battlefield.
In the Late Ancient Era, the Humans and the Black Ink Clan fought for 10,000 years without pause, causing countless people to lose their lives. As such, there were a lot of hidden dangers on this battlefield. Many restrictions and Divine Abilities remained dormant, but they would explode if someone approached them. The Great Passes had suffered miserably when they passed this area.
Yang Kai knew that he was no match for the sheep-headed Royal Lord, and he couldn’t even get rid of him using Space Principles; therefore, he decided to make use of this Late Ancient Era battlefield.
Although he had to be careful as well, it was better than letting the other party keep chasing him. Perhaps he could make use of the hidden dangers in this place to shake off his pursuer.
The Divine Abilities and restrictions in the periphery were weak, so Yang Kai ignored them and charged towards the battlefield’s depths. Wherever he went, the dormant Divine Abilities and restrictions would be triggered. Like cats that caught a whiff of fish, they all came alive and pounced.
A few Divine Abilities and restrictions were triggered the moment Yang Kai arrived, striking at him almost instantaneously.
Fortunately, he was able to run swiftly. As a result, those Divine Abilities and restrictions turned into flashes of light that relentlessly followed after him.
It was not long before there seemed to be a tail of colourful lights behind Yang Kai. After moving across some distance, the energy of some lights was used up as they dissipated; however, even more Divine Abilities and restrictions joined, so the light tail only enlarged.
As for the majority of the Divine Abilities and restrictions, they were sluggish to react as they had remained dormant for far too long. They were only activated a short time after Yang Kai brushed past them. As a result, the Royal Lord, who was chasing after Yang Kai, became the target of these Divine Abilities and restrictions.
A short time later, there was a longer and more brilliant tail of lights that was behind the Royal Lord.
Initially, the Royal Lord wasn’t concerned about the light tail behind him. He was one of the most powerful Masters in the world, so why would he be bothered by these worn-out Divine Abilities and restrictions?
However, as time passed, the light tail grew and grew. The innumerable restrictions and Divine Abilities intertwined with each other. Some of them clashed and wore each other down, but others synergized and merged, evolving into something entirely different from their original form. At this point, even a powerful Master like him felt threatened.
Therefore, the Royal Lord hastened his pace as he knew that he would be in trouble once the light tail caught up with him.
On the other hand, Yang Kai was running as fast as he could. Even though the light tail behind him was smaller than that of the Royal Lord, he was much weaker than the other party, so it was still lethal to him.
As time passed, the distance between them shortened again.
All of a sudden, the Royal Lord recalled that this guy named Yang Kai was able to leap across the Void and wondered, [What would happen to the light tail behind him if he uses that teleportation technique?]
Before he could figure it out, he saw Yang Kai turning to look at him with an eerie grin. He had been chasing after Yang Kai for quite a while, but it was the first time he had a bad premonition.
The next instant, the power of Space Principles undulated and without hesitation, the Royal Lord pointed at his opponent and struck from afar.
Yang Kai disappeared from the spot, but the next moment, he reappeared in a place that was a couple million kilometres away.
Initially, even if he was interrupted by the Royal Lord when using Instantaneous Movement, he could cross a distance of roughly 10 million kilometres; however, he only managed to traverse some 3 million kilometres this time. It went to show how chaotic the space and energy in this Late Ancient Era battlefield was.
Still, it was enough, as after losing Yang Kai, the light tail that had been chasing him started showing signs of becoming dormant again, only to become attracted to the Royal Lord’s aura a moment later.
With a livid expression, the Royal Lord watched as the light tail, which was initially chasing after Yang Kai, turned around and came at him.
Enraged, the Royal Lord madly activated his Black Ink Strength and swelled up into a giant. As a roar reverberated across the void, he punched out and destroyed the light tails in front of and behind him.
When Yang Kai saw that from afar, he couldn’t help but shudder.
In the end, he was still a Royal Lord. It was naive of Yang Kai to think that he could make use of these dormant Divine Abilities and restrictions on this Late Ancient Era battlefield to deal with this kind of opponent. Left with no choice, he could only keep running for his life.
After suffering such a setback, the Royal Lord became even more ruthless as he shattered all the Divine Abilities and restrictions along the way so that they wouldn’t gather together to pursue him.
On the other hand, Yang Kai did his best to quicken his pace.
The Royal Lord was furious. Perhaps he had become irritated from chasing after his prey for so long. If Yang Kai was captured by the Royal Lord in such a situation, he reckoned that the other party would certainly torture him to death.
After moving around the Late Ancient Era battlefield for a month, Yang Kai dismally realised that he had become lost.
His initial plan was simple. Since he wasn’t a match for this Royal Lord, he could make use of the restrictions and Divine Abilities on the Late Ancient Era battlefield to distract him. By doing so, he would stand a chance to shake him off his trail.
Even if he couldn’t achieve his goal by making use of the Late Ancient Era battlefield, he could still cross this place and head to the No-Return Pass,
The Dragon and Phoenix Clans were standing guard at the No-Return Pass, and with a Divine Dragon and Divine Phoenix who were even more powerful than Ninth-Order Masters, if this Royal Lord chased him all the way to the No-Return Pass, he would be doomed.
Certainly, there was a huge risk to take, for it would take Yang Kai a long time to arrive at the No-Return Pass.
Back then, after the Humans set off on the crusade, it took them several years to arrive at Mo’s whereabouts. Even though Yang Kai was a Master of the Dao of Space, which allowed him to move extremely quickly, in his current battered state, and not fully able to make use of his Space Principles, he estimated it would take him about a year to reach the No-Return Pass.
Yang Kai wasn’t even sure if he could survive a Royal Lord’s pursuit for several months, let alone a whole year; however, it was already the best solution he could think of. Regardless, his plan had been derailed, for he had lost his way.
Everywhere he looked on this vast Late Ancient Era battlefield, everything looked the same, so he couldn’t tell where he was or where he should head. Initially, he was still confident he was moving in the right direction, but he had been interrupted by the sheep-headed Royal Lord on several occasions when using Instantaneous Movement, which resulted in him reappearing in random places. Now, he wasn’t even sure which direction the No-Return Pass was in.
Left with no choice, he could only keep activating his Space Secret Technique to run for his life, for the other party seemed determined to destroy him.
Nevertheless, things were only getting worse. As Yang Kai traversed this Late Ancient Era battlefield, regardless of how careful he was, he couldn’t avoid getting hurt by the dormant restrictions and Divine Abilities. For the past month, he kept getting injured, so instead of healing from his wounds, his injuries had turned worse.
As though realising that Yang Kai was at a dead end, the Royal Lord became even more ruthless.
Yang Kai knew that if this dragged on, he wouldn’t be able to persevere for long; however, it was unlikely that he could get rid of this Royal Lord. As he was running away, he gritted his teeth and looked in a particular direction.
Over there, a gigantic cloud of fog covered a vast region of the Void. Although Yang Kai was many millions of kilometres away, the fog bank still looked enormous.
It was a Celestial Phenomenon!
Years after the Humans set off on their crusade, they came across a lot of different Celestial Phenomena that came in a myriad of forms and sizes. Regardless, all of them shared a common trait; they gave off a dangerous vibe.
Yang Kai had not explored any of those Celestial Phenomena. On the other hand, Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao had barged into one on a whim a while back, but when she returned, she refused to say what she had seen inside. She only said that it was extremely dangerous and even a Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master like her was at risk of losing her life if she remained inside.
Therefore, as those from Great Evolution Pass crossed this place, they would always make a detour whenever they came across a Celestial Phenomena lest they fall into mortal danger.
No one knew how these Celestial Phenomena were formed. Perhaps it had something to do with the clash between the Humans and the Black Ink Clan in the Late Ancient Era, or perhaps they were naturally born.
The Humans knew little about this area of the void behind the Royal Cities.
The Celestial Phenomenon that looked like a fog bank was the only one Yang Kai could see right now and he had no idea how dangerous it was; however, it wasn’t like he had a choice now as he was pursued by a Royal Lord. If he couldn’t find a way to turn things around, he would just be waiting for death. Even if there were some dangers within the Dense Fog Celestial Phenomenon, they were the least of his concerns.
Apparently, the Royal Lord saw the Dense Fog Celestial Phenomenon as well and there was a hint of doubt behind his gaze.
Yang Kai had seen quite many Celestial Phenomena, but it was the first time the Royal Lord came across one, so he had no idea what it was.
Regardless, when he saw Yang Kai heading towards the Dense Fog Celestial Phenomenon all of a sudden, he understood the latter’s intention. As he quickened his pace, the distance between them shortened.
However, the Seventh-Order boy was just too slippery. When his opponent was close enough, he teleported and disappeared once again, widening the gap between them.
After using the same trick several more times, Yang Kai reached the Dense Fog Celestial Phenomenon.
When he scanned the Celestial Phenomenon with his Divine Sense, Yang Kai was surprised, for he couldn’t feel any danger from this dense fog. It was very strange indeed. The Celestial Phenomena he had seen in the past all exuded dangerous auras, but this Dense Fog Celestial Phenomenon appeared somewhat special.
At that instant, he wasn’t sure if he should be worried or happy. If there was really no danger in the Dense Fog Celestial Phenomenon, it would be safe for him to enter it; however, he also wouldn’t be able to make use of this Celestial Phenomenon to eliminate the Royal Lord.
With that said, things had come to such a point where there was no turning back. Having made up his mind, Yang Kai crashed into the Dense Fog Celestial Phenomenon.
Following that, he realised that something was off. He couldn’t detect any danger when he was outside the Celestial Phenomenon, but once he was inside, he immediately found himself in a perilous situation.
An ominous aura engulfed him, like death itself. At that moment, all his hair stood on end as he activated the power of his Small Universe and raised his guard as high as it would go.
Outside the Celestial Phenomenon, the Royal Lord was stunned. That was because he lost track of Yang Kai the moment the latter entered the Celestial Phenomenon.
The brat named Yang Kai seemed to have entered another world as even his Divine Sense was unable to penetrate the fog and find out what was going on inside. After a moment of hesitation, he, too, dashed inside.
The next instant, he was baffled by what he saw. Yang Kai was indeed in the fog, but at this moment, he seemed to be battling against an invisible enemy.
His World Force burst forth, and his Golden Blood spattered. Within a breath, he was completely battered. As a Dragon Roar reverberated, Yang Kai even transformed into his 70,000-metre Ancient Dragon Form. Still, he was unable to ward off the danger within the fog as even his Dragon Scales were being blown off.
The Royal Lord was perplexed as he had no idea what was going on.
However, he didn’t have time to ponder on it. Just like Yang Kai, the moment he stepped into the fog, he was deluged with an enormous sense of crisis that came at him from all directions, which prompted him to madly push his Black Ink Strength.
Soon, he realised what Yang Kai was fighting against. There seemed to be immense pressure that was intent on crushing him to death.
Certainly, he wouldn’t stand idly by and wait for death to come. He immediately activated his power to push back against the fog. At the same time, he tried to leave this area.
What shocked him was that, even though he had moved backwards a long distance, he still couldn’t escape the fog.
He had just entered this Dense Fog Celestial Phenomenon, so he should have been able to leave by taking a single big step back; however, as though a mysterious force had sealed off this space, he was unable to escape.
The pressure around him intensified, and left with no choice, he could only surge his power to resist it. From the corner of his eye, he could see that the 70,000 metres Ancient Dragon had stopped moving and now hovered in the distance. Half of his Dragon Scales were gone, and his entire figure was soaked in blood, making him look totally battered.
Seemingly having lost consciousness, Yang Kai reverted from a Dragon back into a Human.
[Is he dead?] The Royal Lord found it hard to believe. He had been chasing after this Human for so long but hadn’t managed to kill him; yet now, this brat had lost his life just like that. At that instant, the Royal Lord had some conflicted feelings.
Regardless, he wasn’t in the mood to find out whether Yang Kai was dead or alive because he realised he had come across the biggest crisis of his life. If he couldn’t find a way out, and soon, he would be accompanying this Human to the Yellow Springs.
…..
A long time later, Yang Kai finally regained consciousness and immediately realised some energy fluctuations were coming from a nearby place.
Instantly, he recalled what he had gone through before he blacked out. To shake off the Royal Lord’s pursuit, he barged into a Dense Fog Celestial Phenomenon and faced a mysterious attack. He tried his best to resist the pressure coming from all directions, but in the end, he was in so much pain that he passed out.
He still hadn’t figured out what it was in the fog that had attacked him. Although he was equally puzzled why he was still alive, he hurriedly circulated his power and kept his guard up. The next instant, his expression darkened, [Here it comes again!]
Just a dozen breaths later, he once again passed out due to the pressure coming from all directions.
Before that though, Yang Kai caught a glimpse of the battered Royal Lord who was not far away. He seemed to be fighting against an invisible enemy as well, the energy fluctuations Yang Kai felt earlier obviously coming from him.
[He’s a Royal Lord, after all. I’ll pass out again soon, but this guy is still engaged in an intense battle. He’s simply more powerful than I am!]
…
When Yang Kai woke up for the second time, he once again felt energy fluctuations nearby, and they were even more violent this time. He hurriedly turned his head and saw the Royal Lord casting a Divine Ability. Black Ink Strength billowed from his body and turned into a gigantic illusory phantom before it covered him like a protective film.
At this moment, the Royal Lord was in a sorry state. He was badly wounded and his aura was unstable while he was covered in dark blood.
Seeing that, Yang Kai snickered. It was indeed embarrassing that he had blacked out twice, and he didn’t even know who his enemy was; regardless, it seemed he had made the right decision by diving into this Dense Fog Celestial Phenomenon.
At the very least, the Royal Lord had also suffered a setback.
But soon, Yang Kai became doubtful. He had passed out twice, so if there was really an invisible enemy in the fog, why hadn’t it seized the chance to kill him?
Moreover, as he carefully reviewed what he had gone through, Yang Kai found that the odd pressure didn’t feel like a kind of attack. Instead, it was like an automatic response, similar to the effect of some arrays.
Quite a number of arrays could do the same by reflecting one’s own strength to wound them.
After giving it some thought, Yang Kai decided to not immediately make any moves. He just secretly activated his power and kept his guard up.
Just like what had happened previously, he felt pressure coming from all directions. The last time, he subconsciously tried to resist and push the pressure away, but this time he didn’t make a move and instead let the pressure do as it pleased.
He still felt some discomfort, but it was bearable. Still, even this mild force had irritated his wounds, causing him to gasp.
After remaining still for a moment, Yang Kai realised the pressure didn’t intensify. As he pondered on it, he stopped circulating his World Force entirely and completely relaxed.
Just like he had expected, as his power dissipated and he became at ease, the pressure coming from all directions diminished and eventually disappeared.
Upon that realization, Yang Kai was dumbstruck. There was no invisible enemy in this fog; in fact, he was his own enemy. Although he had no idea how this Dense Fog Celestial Phenomenon was formed, he believed that it was similar to a powerful Reflection Array.
The pressure that came at him was actually caused by him. As he let his power go, the pressure also vanished. Yang Kai was torn between tears and laughter as he realized that he had blacked out twice because he was essentially bludgeoning himself.
As he glanced at the Royal Lord, who was still fighting against the Dense Fog Celestial Phenomenon, Yang Kai felt a bit better about himself. At least he wasn’t the only idiot in this place.
Upon figuring out the Dense Fog Celestial Phenomenon’s secret, Yang Kai darted his gaze around while continuing to lie in the same position. As he never activated his power, the fog around him remained calm. Next, he examined his body and couldn’t help feeling sorry for himself.
In summary, his condition was terrible.
Before he was hunted down by this sheep headed Royal Lord, he was already badly injured; then, during the pursuit, he was repeatedly struck by this Royal Lord and his injuries exacerbated after he entered this Dense Fog Celestial Phenomenon.
His five viscera and six organs were a mess as they all nearly ruptured exploded. About 70% of his bones were broken and there were even sharp bones stuck out from his flesh here and there.
Half of his Dragon Scales, which were originally hidden under his skin, were gone. If he transformed into his Dragon Form now, he would be half-naked.
Fortunately, despite his serious injuries, he wasn’t at risk of losing his life. Coupled with his own restorative power and his potent Dragon Vein, he was actually on the mend.
He stealthily stuffed some Spirit Pills into his mouth and took a glance at the Royal Lord, only to see that the other party was still engaged in an intense fight. Amazing Divine Abilities and Secret Techniques were cast from the Royal Lord’s hands as he his fight against the fog seemed to have turned the entire universe upside down.
[That guy is really dumb!] Yang Kai was gleeful; however, it wasn’t until he blacked out twice that he realised the secret behind the fog. The Royal Lord still hadn’t passed out after persevering for such a long time, so it wasn’t surprising that he hadn’t discovered the truth yet.
Anyone who fell into danger would instinctively counterattack to save themselves. Who would have thought that in this Dense Fog Celestial Phenomenon, doing nothing was the best way to protect oneself? The more one attacked, the more perilous their situation became.
[Maybe he’ll exhaust himself to death!] Yang Kai hoped.
However, his wish wasn’t to be granted. Just like what happened to him previously, the Royal Lord was unable to fend off the pressure despite going all out. He kept roaring and releasing his Black Ink Strength until he had no more energy left and finally passed out several days later.
As soon as he became unmoving and all the noise in the Dense Fog Celestial Phenomenon died down.
Staring at the unmoving Royal Lord, Yang Kai knew that the other party wasn’t dead, so he was naturally disappointed. Nevertheless, he soon pulled himself together and gazed fervently at the Royal Lord. His eyes were filled with murderous intent.
[Since this guy is unconscious and exhausted, maybe I can kill him now!] As soon as Yang Kai began gathering his power though, he realised he felt the pressure coming from the fog again. The more he exerted himself, the more powerful the pressure became.
Soon, he released his power, as he realised his idea wasn’t feasible. The Dense Fog Celestial Phenomenon was extremely sensitive to any foreign power. Before Yang Kai could gather the necessary strength to kill the Royal Lord, he would pass out again.
Left with no choice, he could only gather his World Force on his palms and test the response from the fog. He tried to adjust his energy fluctuations to reach a kind of balance. Then, he slowly wriggled his arms as though he was swimming towards the sheep headed Royal Lord.
However, Yang Kai found himself to be outrageously slow. Two whole hours passed, but he only managed to cross half of the distance between them.
Another two hours later, Yang Kai arrived at a place that was 100 metres away from the Royal Lord. He slowly summoned his Azure Dragon Spear and pointed it at the Royal Lord’s neck. Then, he squirmed and stealthily inched closer to him.
During the process, the balance he had been trying to sustain was almost shattered. Fortunately, he managed to dispel his power in time and let the fog calm down. He then approached his target again.
Watching as the Azure Dragon Spear was about to stab into the opponent’s neck, Yang Kai felt his heart thumping in his chest. Perhaps the Royal Lord was shocked by the murderous intent or he indeed had an incredible restorative power, but he opened his eyes all of a sudden.
Seeing that, Yang Kai forcefully extended his spear.
Black blood spattered as the razor-sharp Azure Dragon Spear was even able to penetrate a Royal Lord’s robust body. His spear jabbed right into the opponent’s throat and was about to stick out from the other side, but just then, the Dense Fog Celestial Phenomenon launched a counterattack.
Instantly, Yang Kai felt immense pressure coming at him. His wounds split open, and as he faced enormous resistance, unable to extend his spear one bit.
He couldn’t help but curse.
As a sharp pain shot through him, the Royal Lord came to his senses and turned his head, only to see Yang Kai stabbing a weapon into his throat.
[This brat is still alive!?] The Royal Lord was startled. When he saw Yang Kai looking battered and unmoving earlier, he thought he had died. To his surprise, not only had Yang Kai survived, but he had also seized this chance to try to kill him while he was unconscious.
If the Royal Lord hadn’t woken up in time, he very well might have lost his life. Enraged, the Royal Lord released his aura as his Black Ink Strength burst forth.
“Wai…” Before Yang Kai could even get a word out, his expression had darkened as the pressure coming from all directions intensified many times, causing all the bones in his body to crack. He couldn’t help but spray out a mouthful of blood, and following that, he blacked out and lost consciousness.
The Royal Lord extended his hand in an attempt to kill him, but his hand was forced to stop just a metre away from Yang Kai, and he was unable to push it any further.
His expression changed. Ignoring Yang Kai, he surged his power in an attempt to shake off the restrictive force; however, the force became so immense that he soon fell into a state of despair. Three breaths later, his eyes rolled back into his head and he too passed out.
Without the disturbance of foreign powers, the fog soon calmed down.
When Yang Kai awakened, he saw the Royal Lord hovering somewhere near him. This guy had passed out, but his hand still remained stretched out towards Yang Kai. Seeing that, Yang Kai knew what the other party intended to do after he blacked out.
After hesitating for a bit, he gave up on the idea of killing this Royal Lord.
The Royal Lord indeed looked like he was powerless to resist now, but based on the previous experience, Yang Kai believed that the Royal Lord would regain consciousness the moment he made a move against him.
A Royal Lord’s sense for danger was extreme, so any external threat would undoubtedly wake him up.
Moreover, the reflective power in this Dense Fog Celestial Phenomenon was savage. Yang Kai had to activate his power if he wanted to kill the Royal Lord, but if he did that, he would be the one who would suffer. Before he even managed to kill the Royal Lord, he would pass out upon getting squeezed by the pressure.
In this damned place, neither one of them could kill the other. In that case, Yang Kai reckoned that his best option for now was to flee.
Since the Royal Lord was still unconscious, he had to try to leave the Dense Fog Celestial Phenomenon. Perhaps he could return to the battlefield and join the war again. Making use of his previous experience, Yang Kai carefully activated his power and infused energy into his hands. Then, he flailed about as he awkwardly swam away from the Royal Lord.
Half a day later, the Royal Lord also regained consciousness. This time, he didn’t immediately make a move; instead, he remained still and fell into his thoughts.
It wasn’t until Yang Kai blacked out twice that he found out the Dense Fog Celestial Phenomenon’s secret. Since the Royal Lord was not a fool, he certainly could do the same.
If there was really an invisible enemy in this fog, the two of them would have died after falling unconscious. Since he and the Human brat were still alive, something was obviously off.
A moment later, the Royal Lord also figured out the secret behind this Dense Fog Celestial Phenomenon. As he scanned his surroundings, he soon spotted Yang Kai swimming away from him. After giving it some thought, he imitated Yang Kai and infused some of the power into his arms. Then, he started swimming in this fog.
Detecting something, Yang Kai turned his head and saw the Royal Lord running after him. He couldn’t help but curse, “You’re a stubborn one aren’t you!?”
Both of them were in a sorry state, yet this guy hadn’t given up on the idea of killing him, leaving Yang Kai vexed.
The Royal Lord snorted as his eyes reflected Yang Kai’s figure. Slowly, he followed behind Yang Kai.
“Haa… even if we get into a life-and-death battle here, it won’t affect the war between the two Races. I’m just a Seventh-Order Human, so it’s pointless for you to kill me. Why don’t we bid each other farewell here? We’ll meet again if fate brings us together in the future.”
With a cold expression, the Royal Lord remained unfazed.
Yang Kai kept persuading him by saying, “You’re a Royal Lord, so what’s the point of you making things difficult for me? If you spare my life now, I’ll spare yours in the future. Who knows? We might even be friends.”
However, the Royal Lord remained silent.
“It’s not like you’ll be able to reach me, so stop wasting your time. I can see that you’re horribly injured, so why don’t you recuperate now to prevent your injuries from becoming worse?”
Seeing that the other party totally ignored him and refused to back down, Yang Kai grew incensed and said through clenched teeth, “Injured Black Ink Clansmen have to recuperate inside Black Ink Nests. You’re badly wounded now, so I guess you can only use half of your strength right now. On the other hand, I’m different. My wounds are healing quickly, and I’ll be energetic again in a few days. Chase after me all you like, when we leave this place, let’s see which one of us will die!”
When the Royal Lord heard that, his expression changed slightly.
Yang Kai had a point. The Royal Lord indeed needed a Black Ink Nest’s help to recuperate, and given how wounded he was, using half his strength would really be his maximum. He was already unable to capture Yang Kai when he was at the peak of his power, so now that he only had half of his strength left, he probably wouldn’t have a way to deal with this tricky opponent.
Nevertheless, he was still a Royal Lord. He had personally made a move against a single Seventh-Order boy, yet after such a long time, he was the one who ended up in a horrible state. He was simply unresigned.
As for Yang Kai’s threat, that didn’t bother him one bit. Even though he was only left with half of his power, that was still significantly more than a Seventh-Order Human could hope to handle. He could even deal with an Eighth-Order Master with ease in his current state.
If Yang Kai had the guts to make a move on him, he would be the one who would suffer.
As the Royal Lord squinted his eyes, he said, “Pass me the last thing Cang gave you and I’ll leave.”
A helpless Yang Kai sighed, “Will you believe me if I say that old man never gave me anything? That was his way of diverting all your attention away from him so he could use that strange jade. It’s laughable that you all believe it to be true.”
The Royal Lord sneered while relentlessly pursuing him.
A frustrated Yang Kai roared, “It seems that you don’t believe me. Forget it! It’s not like there’s anything I can do about it. Just chase after me all you like.”
Without speaking further, he tried to control his power and strike a balance with the fog. As he waved his hands, he swam further away.
Somewhere behind him, the Royal Lord imitated him and pursued him, the two of them swimming forward ever so slowly.