Dizzy and bleary-eyed, Yang Kai was seeing stars but still gave off an aggressive air for he knew that if he were to show even the slightest sign of weakness, then the Remnant Army would surely be wiped out today.
He had no choice but to use a fourth Soul Rending Thorn, which was really his limit.
Even with the Soul Warming Lotus, he could not use another Soul Rending Thorn.
Fortunately, the Territory Lords were so frightened they could not see through the strong front that he put up. The might of this Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master had seeped deep into their hearts. In the opening moments of the battle, he was able to cut down three Territory Lords alone, then two more with an astonishingly powerful attack, and just now he had slaughtered another with one blow. Not a single one of them was able to see how he was doing this.
The Territory Lords were hesitant, but the Remnant Army was not. With this display of intimidation from Yang Kai, the struggling Remnant Army finally found the opportunity they were looking for and broke through the Black Ink Clan Army, forcing them back. The lights shooting out from the Purifying Black Ink Battleship and the surviving Warships never ceased as they charged ahead.
Within that short period, all of the Human soldiers gave it their all.
When a Warship exploded, the unprotected soldiers would give their lives to kill the nearby enemies. Even if they had to die, they would do so honourably.
However, the gap in real fighting strength between the two forces could not be closed so easily.
Without mentioning the Black Ink Clan Army of over 1 million soldiers, just the remaining Territory Lords overseeing the pass still numbered nearly 20.
Yang Kai was able to cut down three of the first ten Territory Lords who came at them with the help of the Soul Rending Thorns, and another two with his Sun and Moon Divine Wheel, which left five more from the first wave. However, before the Remnant Army could catch its breath, the Royal Lord had personally made a move, while another six Territory Lords rushed over as reinforcements.
One had to know that these were all Innate Territory Lords who were nearly as powerful as Che Kong.
Excluding the Territory Lord that Yang Kai killed just now, there were still a full 10 Territory Lords engaging the Remnant Army, whereas the Remnant Army only had four Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters.
Even with Ou Yang Lie and the others taking on two enemies at once, they were stretched to the breaking point.
The decline of the Remnant Army’s momentum was evident in the eyes of the Black Ink Clan, while the deterrent effect from Yang Kai’s move earlier also quickly faded.
The more the Remnant Army advanced, the more difficult their situation became. There were constantly Black Ink Clansmen rushing over to surround them from all directions, while the Territory Lords did not rush in lest they were caught off guard by Yang Kai and killed. Instead, they hid behind their Armies and relied on their subordinates to wear down the Humans, occasionally sending out Secret Techniques to blow apart vulnerable Human Warships.
Yang Kai’s eyes were bloodshot with rage. He would want nothing more than to cut down all of the Territory Lords before him with his spear, but his head was throbbing, as if it was going to tear open. It was impossible to do anything against the remaining Territory Lords hiding at the back.
Yang Kai also did not dare to leave the battleship recklessly, for if he did, the Territory Lords would surely come to attack, and the Purifying Black Ink Battleship might not be able to withstand it.
The Remnant Army’s pace became slower and slower, as if they had fallen into a quagmire. Finally, less than 100,000 kilometres away from the No-Return Pass, the Remnant Army was completely surrounded by the Black Ink Clan.
When they looked at the Territory Gate that seemed so close, everyone felt despair in their hearts.
They just had to pass through that portal and they would be able to return to the 3,000 Worlds. Even though they had no idea what the situation there was like, it was still their homeland; however, this short distance seemed like an entire Universe away at this moment.
Nobody was disheartened by this reality, for when they decided to attack the No-Return Pass, they all anticipated that this would happen, including Yang Kai.
It was just that even including him, the soldiers subconsciously held onto a faint glimmer of hope and expectation.
More than anything else, they didn’t want to live hiding like rats on the Black Ink Battlefield, constantly being hunted down by the Black Ink Clan.
They would rather die in battle than waste away their lives in this forsaken place.
“Kill!”
When their hope of returning home was shattered, the Humans suddenly became calm, as if they had completely let go of something.
Shouts rang out across the void as killing intent rose like a tide. The Remnant Army which was encircled by the Black Ink Clan Army and could barely move suddenly burst out with astonishing power. The lights from many Secret Techniques and artifacts shot in all directions.
In that instant, it was not known how many arrays and artifacts dulled and were destroyed due to the sheer overload of World Force pumped into them.
The Seventh-Order Masters emerged from the Warships that protected them and summoned their artifacts for battle.
The Four Symbols Formation with the Purifying Black Ink Battleship at its Core rapidly fractured as more and more Warships were being blown apart.
The Remnant Army’s sudden outburst was difficult for even the Black Ink Clan Army to withstand, and in just a short dozen breaths of time, it was not known how many of them fell. Even a Territory Lord was severely injured under Ou Yang Lie’s life-forsaking battle style and was forced to retreat.
This was the last struggle of the Remnant Army.
Yang Kai had also let go of his shackles. Since he was destined to die here, then he might as well kill freely before he did.
However, before he could leave the Purifying Black Ink Battleship, he heard the bellow of an ox from the void!
There was a disturbance among the Black Ink Clan Army surrounding the Remnant Army. Countless auras vanished all at once, and Yang Kai turned his head only to see an enormous Black Bovine charging through the Black Ink Clan’s lines, Monster Qi turbulently erupting from his figure. Under its hooves, countless Black Ink Clansmen were reduced to minced meat.
As it lowered its head and charged over, nothing could obstruct its path. Even a Territory Lord was sent flying after being rammed, blood spraying out as he tumbled through the void.
“Boys, keep up!” The Ox Monster spoke as it dashed past the Remnant Army, breaking open the path ahead.
Everyone felt their spirits soar, and the soldiers in charge of piloting the Warships quickly spurred them off to follow the Ox Monster’s lead.
On orders from the Territory Lords, the Black Ink Clan soldiers all came forth to stop the Ox Monster when they saw it approaching, releasing one Secret Technique after another, flaying open its skin and flesh.
However, no blood spilled out.
It had died long ago, and only through the profound methods of the Azure Void Old Ancestor was it able to fight on even after death, so why would it have to fear being injured now?
When a Territory Lord saw this, he tried to block it but was sent flying by the Ox Monster’s broken horns. When the other Territory Lords saw this, they no longer dared to act rashly.
Yang Kai had also just realized how strong this Ox Monster actually was. Even though he had seen it twice in the past, it was just grazing leisurely in the green hills and blue rivers like an ordinary bull.
But now, it seemed that this Ox Monster was as strong as a peak Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, perhaps even stronger!
100,000 kilometres was crossed in the blink of an eye and very soon, the Remnant Army was right in front of the Territory Gate.
Right behind them was the pursuing Black Ink Clan Army. In a flash, the Ox Monster arrived behind the Remnant Army and shook its head, “Go! Niu Niu will stop them!”
Its huge body became a shield, protecting the Remnant Army like a great mountain. Countless attacks landed on its body in that instant, causing it to shake from the impact.
Yang Kai’s eyes reddened as he somehow maintained the Four Symbols Formation and led the Remnant Army towards the portal.
The Territory Gate at the No-Return Pass originally wasn’t very large. Last time Yang Kai saw it, it was even smaller than a normal Territory Gate; the Black Ink Clan had torn apart the portal by some unknown means since occupying this place so it could facilitate the invasion of their Army.
The Purifying Black Ink Battleship was not small, but it was still tiny compared to the current Territory Gate.
However, just as the Purifying Black Ink Battleship was about to pass through, the exalted roar of a Dragon suddenly rang out from within the No-Return Pass.
Startled, Yang Kai looked down and his pupils shrank.
Above the square where the Dragon Pool was opened back then was a dense Black Ink Cloud, and within it, the form of an Ancient Dragon could faintly be seen.
“Ji Lao San!” Yang Kai was extremely shocked, for he never expected to see Ji Lao San here.
And, from the looks of things, Ji Lao San had been captured by the Black Ink Clan, but they did not kill him. Instead, they confined him here and enveloped him in a Black Ink Cloud.
Yang Kai had no idea what sort of wicked plans the Black Ink Clan had for him, but from what he saw, it seemed like they were trying to corrupt Ji Lao San. However, they didn’t seem to be having much luck.
Divine Spirits had some level of immunity towards Black Ink Strength thanks to their powerful Bloodlines.
According to the information that Yang Kai received from Cang, supplemented by his own speculations, the Burning Light and Serene Glimmer were inextricably linked to the Primordial Light, and the Primordial Light was capable of completely nullifying the existence of Mo.
Purifying Light, which was created by fusing the powers bestowed by the Burning Light and Serene Glimmer, could completely purify and dispel Black Ink Strength.
These two were the original ancestors of the Divine Spirits, and so the Divine Spirits had naturally inherited some of that power. As the leaders of the Divine Spirits, the immunity possessed by the Dragon Clan from their Dragon Veins was particularly evident towards Black Ink Strength. This was something that Yang Kai could feel even without the World Tree clone, but with the World Tree clone to protect his Small Universe, Yang Kai had never felt bothered by Black Ink Strength.
Ji Lao San was not particularly strong among the Dragon Clan. During his previous Dragon Pool cultivation, he had advanced from being a Grand Dragon to an Ancient Dragon, but his Dragon Form was still only 55,000 metres long, noticeably smaller than Yang Kai’s 70,000 metres.
However, he was still an Ancient Dragon. In terms of Order, he was equivalent to an Eighth-Order Human Master.
Yang Kai had no idea how Ji Lao San ended up being captured alive by the Black Ink Clan, but he had apparently sensed something unusual occurring in the No-Return Pass and let out a roar.
However, Yang Kai was powerless to help at this moment. If it were any other time, he may have been able to save Ji Lao San, but the Black Ink Clan Army was currently in pursuit of them while the Territory Gate was right in front of their eyes. Yang Kai couldn’t abandon the Remnant Army, so he could only turn around and pretend to have seen nothing.
In the next instant, the Remnant Army rushed through the portal.
With a twist of its rump, the Black Bovine put itself directly in front of the portal with its body, its loud moo shaking the Heavens.
No matter how the Black Ink Clan lay their attacks on it, it refused to budge.
On the other side, the Void spun as the Remnant Army suddenly appeared in an empty Great Territory. After being disoriented for a moment, everyone was on alert again.
Though they had made it past the No-Return Pass, nobody dared to relax.
That was because they knew that the crisis was far from over. Breaking through the No-Return Pass was just the beginning.
Over the past few days, Yang Kai and the others had been guessing what the situation beyond the No-Return Pass would be and trying to figure out how they should deal with whatever they were going to encounter.
Now that the Black Ink Clan had taken over the No-Return Pass, it was inevitable that they would assemble their troops and try to establish a forward position beyond the Territory Gate, so if they really managed to rush through, then the worst-case scenario they could encounter would be plunging headlong into an endless horde of Black Ink Clansmen. If that were to happen, then there would be no possible way for the Remnant Army to survive. Right now, everyone could only carry the idea of killing one to break even and killing two to gain a profit, intent on fighting the Black Ink Clan to death.
Yang Kai may be able to escape, but there was no hope for the rest.
However, according to Ou Yang Lie, that situation was unlikely.
It wasn’t that their predecessors from the Cave Heaven and Paradises never contemplated what would happen if the No-Return Pass was to be breached by the Black Ink Clan, so countermeasures had naturally been put in place long ago.
The current Black Ink Battlefield was created from the many Great Territories occupied by Mo in the Early Ancient Era, and was also carved out by the hands of Cang and the other Masters of that time.
The purpose was to prevent Black Ink Strength from encroaching onto other Great Territories.
The Black Ink Battlefield and the 3,000 Worlds were now connected by only a single Territory Gate, so as long as that gate was well guarded, the Human Race would be able to seal off Black Ink Strength in the Black Ink Battlefield.
However, this was not a foolproof solution. Mo was such a bizarre and powerful existence that the ancestors of the Human Race, after the era of Cang and the other Martial Ancestors, wondered on more than one occasion what would happen if the Territory Gate connecting the 3,000 Worlds and the Black Ink Battlefield were to be broken through by the Black Ink Clan.
If they were unprepared, then the Black Ink Clan would be able to charge straight into the 3,000 Worlds and quickly build up their strength by ravaging one thriving Great Territory after another. When that time came, the mighty force of the Black Ink Clan would surely snowball in strength until the Human Race could no longer stop them!!
So, in order to deal with this possibility, their ancient ancestors completely cleared out the Great Territory that the Black Ink Battlefield was connected to.
Thus, the Great Territory was named the Barren Territory!
If the Black Ink Battlefield was the First Battlefield between the Human Race and the Black Ink Clan, then the Barren Territory would be the Second Battlefield as imagined by the Ancient Ancestors.
In other words, there was, in actual fact, more than one strategic point between the 3,000 Worlds and the Black Ink Battlefield. Besides the No-Return Pass, there was the Barren Territory.
The Barren Territory was where one ended up after passing through the Territory Gate.
There were originally several Territory Gates connecting to many other Great Territories from the Barren Territory, but as it could hypothetically become the Second Battlefield, then it was naturally better not to leave too many Territory Gates behind.
The Ancient Ancestors destroyed or sealed most of the Territory Gates while leaving only a single one intact, and the Great Territory that gate connected to was the Shattered Heaven!
Yang Kai only learned about this from Ou Yang Lie and the others when they were planning their attack on the No-Return Pass; after all, he didn’t enter the Black Ink Battlefield through the usual route. Yang Kai had followed a Void Corridor from Black Territory to the Blue Sky Theatre back then.
Any cultivator entering the Black Ink Battlefield would have to first transit through the Shattered Heaven and the Barren Territory before arriving at the No-Return Pass, so it was natural that one would learn of these secrets then.
Now that the No-Return Pass had been breached, the Humans had to defend the Barren Territory no matter the cost, so they naturally made many arrangements in this place to set up an ambush for the Black Ink Clan.
This Great Territory was very different from all others because every Great Territory had, more or less, their own Universe Worlds, which gave the void vitality and life.
However, there was nothing in the Barren Territory; it was as empty as its name implied.
That was because they had to prevent the Black Ink Clan from harvesting resources and creating even more clansmen, which led the Ancient Ancestors to destroy or remove all of the Universe Worlds in this Great Territory when they were setting up the Barren Territory.
The only things that existed here were fortifications that the Human Race had built up over countless years. There existed in this place a defence line even more extensive than that of any Great Pass on the Black Ink Battlefield.
That was why Ou Yang Lie guessed that while the No-Return Pass breach may have come as a result of the Black Ink Clan’s power, it was also possible that the Humans had given up the Pass voluntarily.
After all, after evacuating and withdrawing from outside of the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, if the Humans fell back to the Barren Territory, they would be in a better position to engage the Black Ink Clan there with the arrangements they had made beforehand.
It was because of such speculation that Ou Yang Lie believed that it was unlikely that the Remnant Army would end up surrounded by the Black Ink Clan Army if they were to pass through the No-Return Pass.
Here in the Barren Territory, it was more likely they would find the Humans and Black Ink Clan engaged in a fierce war, and if that was the case, then the Remnant Army would have a hope of rejoining the Human Army.
Now that the Remnant Army had broken through the No-Return Pass and arrived at the Barren Territory, the first thing Yang Kai did was check for movement in all directions.
What he saw allowed him to breathe a sigh of relief.
The worst had not yet happened!
However, this situation was not ideal either.
As they expected, both the Human Race and Black Ink Clan were engaged in a brutal battle in the Barren Territory. There were fights taking place practically everywhere in the vast expanse of the void, with Human Warships flying everywhere, either chasing Black Ink Clansmen or being chased by them.
There were also violent aftershocks from great clashes radiating out from each direction.
One particular set of shockwaves had even surpassed the level of a battle between the Old Ancestors and Royal Lords.
Yang Kai turned his head over instinctually and was taken aback by what he saw.
There, in the far distance, two enormous figures were clashing with each other. Their movements looked clumsy with each of them exchanging punches and kicks in a juvenile manner, like two small children randomly flailing at each other, but each of these attacks carried Heaven-destroying, Earth-shattering might. Even a fully intact Universe World would not be able to withstand a single blow from such a clash.
It was the fight between two Giant Spirit Gods!
One of them was the one that Yang Kai saw at the Late Ancient Era battlefield. Currently, his body was enveloped in Black Ink Strength, covering his figure in a dark colour.
The other Giant Spirit God was different, however. He had a tuft of black hair atop his head which looked rather comical.
Ah Er!
It was the same Ah Er that carried Yang Kai into the Chaotic Dead Territory!
Yang Kai had a deep impression of the tuft of black hair on his head. Ah Da’s head was completely bald with nothing on it, but Ah Er had a very conspicuous characteristic that allowed Yang Kai to recognize him at a glance.
Ah Er was here, fighting against the Black Ink Giant Spirit God.
Giant Spirit Gods were an ancient and extremely rare Race, while the Black Ink Giant Spirit God was a creation of Mo, designed based on the Giant Spirit Gods and not truly one of their kind.
These two were, in fact, very different beings; however, even if it was not a real Giant Spirit God, the Black Ink Giant Spirit God’s power was not lacking in comparison to Ah Er. It was not known how long these two behemoths had been fighting for, but they kept on exchanging blows without rest, leaving each other bruised and battered.
Neither the Humans nor the Black Ink Clan dared to even approach their battlefield.
[Since Ah Er is here… What about Ah Da?]
Yang Kai looked around, but there was no sign of Ah Da, so he could not ascertain whether he was here or not.
However, he did see the remains of another Black Ink Giant Spirit God. This Black Ink Giant Spirit God had come out from the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, but with the hidden hand left behind by Mu, Cang had forcibly closed the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, cutting off its body before it could fully emerge, so it was easily identifiable.
At this moment, it was not known how the Black Ink Giant Spirit God had been cut apart, but only half of its body, which was originally already lacking parts, remained.
Yang Kai calmed down. The strongest forces on the Black Ink Clan’s side were undoubtedly the two Black Ink Giant Spirit Gods, and the No-Return Pass’ collapse definitely had something to do with them.
Now that one of them had been cut down, and the other was being dealt with by Ah Er, the pressure on the Human Race was greatly reduced.
Apart from the battlefield of the two Giant Spirit Gods, Yang Kai also saw Dragons and Phoenixes soaring through the void. There were also other Divine Spirits of all shapes and sizes in their true forms, fighting bloody battles in every direction.
Yang Kai did not have time to keep observing the situation though as there were already gazes locked onto him from all directions.
The sudden emergence of the Remnant Army from the No-Return Pass naturally attracted attention, especially from the Black Ink Clansmen nearby who rushed over in droves. They were surprised, but they had no time to think about what had happened at the No-Return Pass.
There was one source of headache for the Remnant Army however, and that was the presence of a Royal Lord.
The Royal Lord overseeing the No-Return Pass had the fallen Azure Void Pass Old Ancestor to stop him, but nobody was here to block this one.
When he saw the Royal Lord approaching, Yang Kai made a quick decision to lead the Remnant Army off in a different direction. However, their attack on the No-Return Pass had not been easy, resulting in many Warships, arrays, and artifacts being heavily damaged. So, with their speed greatly reduced, how were they supposed to outrun a Royal Lord?
From a distance, the Royal Lord used his Black Ink Strength to create a Black Ink Cloud that enveloped the Remnant Army. He did not kill them yet, though. He wanted to capture a few of them alive to ask about the situation at the No-Return Pass; however, even though he was only making a casual blow, with the state of the current Remnant Army, many would surely be injured or killed.
Almost half of the 5,000-strong Remnant Army were lost during the attack on the No-Return Pass, so they now number slightly less than 3,000. If they were to fight a Royal Lord here, they would surely lose several hundreds more.
At the critical moment, a young man in white robes suddenly appeared above the Remnant Army. Nobody knew how he arrived there as it was almost like he had been standing there the whole time.
Faced with the approaching Black Ink Cloud, the young man’s body flickered before he suddenly transformed into a 100,000-metre-long Dragon.
Intense Dragon Pressure filled the void!
The Dragon had a flawless snow-white body, which made for a bright and dazzling sight on this chaotic battlefield.
Yang Kai raised his brows as he recognized who this Dragon was.
[Fu Guang!]
It was the Ancient Dragon that he saw at the bottom of the Dragon Pool.
Before Yang Kai entered the Dragon Pool, Fu Guang had been in retreat inside the Dragon Pool for 5,000 years in order to break through to become a Divine Dragon.
The strength division of the Dragon Clan was simple. Once one reached 10,000 metres, they were a Grand Dragon, 50,000 metres, an Ancient Dragon, and 100,000 metres, a Divine Dragon.
And, the most powerful among Divine Dragons was the Dragon Emperor.
Not all Divine Dragons were Dragon Emperors, but every Dragon Emperor was an extremely powerful Divine Dragon of their generation.
In the Dragon Pool, Yang Kai helped Fu Guang with his Great Sun and Moon Marks, which resulted in immense gains for both of them. Now, it seems like the latter had successfully advanced to become a Divine Dragon!
Yang Kai never thought that Fu Guang would suddenly come to their rescue at such a crucial moment.
In fact, Fu Guang had been hiding on the battlefield, waiting for an opportunity to kill one or two Royal Lords. After becoming a Divine Dragon, Fu Guang had become significantly stronger than an ordinary Royal Lord, so if he was able to catch one by surprise, he might actually succeed in killing them.
Only, the sudden appearance of the Remnant Army disrupted Fu Guang’s plans, so he had no choice but to reveal himself.
After assuming his Dragon Form, Fu Guang charged straight towards the Royal Lord, which shocked the latter. He had suffered a loss at Fu Guang’s claws before and knew just how powerful this White Divine Dragon was. Simply put, in a one-on-one fight, he was not Fu Guang’s opponent. So, how would he still be in any mood to pick a fight with the Remnant Army? He immediately turned around and fled.
Fu Guang naturally gave chase, and using a number of Dragon Clan Secret Techniques, he was able to beat the Royal Lord into a miserable mess.
The fight lasted only a few moments before another Royal Lord charged over and joined hands with his companion to resist Fu Guang. Still, the White Divine Dragon was undaunted. Opening his mouth, a river suddenly burst forth. Caught off guard, the two Royal Lords were swept into this river, their bodies instantly freezing.
Fu Guang also dove in and fought the two Royal Lords inside the river, gaining the upper hand even against two enemies.
One could tell from this display alone that the power of a Divine Dragon was far greater than an ordinary Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master.
An ordinary Old Ancestor would not be able to gain the advantage against two Royal Lords.
If it were a one-on-one fight, then Fu Guang might have the opportunity to cut down a Royal Lord, but that was basically impossible if he had to deal with two of them. He knew that, in this fight, he would only be able to deal damage to the enemy, so his attacks grew less calculated and more ruthless. Even if he could not kill a Royal Lord, he intended to beat these two half to death.
With Fu Guang’s help, the Remnant Army led by Yang Kai escaped its immediate crisis. A large Human army in the distance also noticed the commotion and was quickly making their way over to support them.
With a thought, Yang Kai sent a transmission to Ou Yang Lie and the others, “I’ll leave the rest to you.”
Ou Yang Lie, who was bringing up the rear, was startled and quickly asked, “What are you going to do?”
However, Yang Kai was no longer aboard the Purifying Black Ink Battleship when he looked over. Apparently, he had disappeared as soon as he left those words.
Ou Yang Lie frowned slightly. He could vaguely guess what it was Yang Kai planned to do. He was a little worried about it, but there was no point in fretting now. Yang Kai had already run off and he could not stop him either. Helpless, he had no choice but to hurry over to assume command of the Purifying Black Ink Battleship in Yang Kai’s place, continuing to lead the Remnant Army towards the approaching Human Army.
After killing several Black Ink Clansmen who were blocking the way, the two Human Armies met and the Eighth-Order Masters in charge communicated with each other through their Divine Senses. The Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master was both surprised and delighted to hear of Ou Yang Lie’s retelling of the Remnant Army’s origins.
Everyone knew that there were survivors still trapped on the Black Ink Battlefield, but they couldn’t rescue those remnant soldiers. They never thought that these rag-tag soldiers they believed were destined to perish under siege by the Black Ink Clan would actually be able to break through the No-Return Pass.
Only now could the Remnant Army be considered safe, unlike the precarious situation they were facing before.
Looking back, Ou Yang Lie did not see any sign of Yang Kai, but he knew he must have headed back towards the Territory Gate.
At the same time, on another battlefield far away in the Barren Territory, several women were positioned in a Battle Formation, their graceful bodies shuttling back and forth like a spinning whirlwind, a seemingly uncountable number of Black Ink Clansmen perishing at their hands as they continued charging forward.
Their strength wasn’t particularly impressive, all of them only being in the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm; however, after spending countless years together, they had created a tacit bond with each other and were also imparted a profound Formation from a Senior Expert, allowing them to even resist Territory Lords if they combined strength.
One white-robed woman among them wielded a crystal sword, her own temperament cool like ice itself. Suddenly, she raised her hand, holding her chest as she looked in a certain direction.
“Elder Sister, what happened?” Asked a woman in green robes anxiously, thinking that the white-robed woman was injured.
“Husband…” The white-robed woman muttered softly.
In that instant, she got a feeling she had not felt in a very long time.
It had been more than 1,000 years since she felt it, but it pulled at her heart just as before.
Though her voice was soft, the contents of her muttering cracked like the sound of thunder in their ears. All the women looked shocked, and the beautiful eyes of one whose enchanting body was covered in Demon Qi lit up at the sound of it, “Which direction?”
The white-robed woman immediately pointed to the depths of the void.
“Let’s go!” As the Demonic woman’s voice sounded, she led the others off. She served as the Formation Core of their Battle Formation, so as soon as she moved, everyone followed along with her.
All of their hearts were burning with anticipation and anxiety.
The unnatural movement on their side immediately caught the attention of a certain person.
That person moved over to block the womens’ path, frowning, “What are you doing? It’s dangerous over there.”
Each group had its own region to defend, so if they left and were unable to obtain reinforcements, then there was a high possibility of them falling into the danger of being encircled by the Black Ink Clan Army.
The Demonic woman in the lead gave this person who was blocking their way a deep look before not sparing her any semblance of respect as she gritted her teeth and shouted, “He has returned!”
“Who?” The person blocking the way asked with a frown; then, as if realising something, her spirits were roused, “Yang Kai has returned?”
“Yes!” The Demonic woman responded.
The person blocking their path was both shocked and delighted, “How did you find out?”
Even she had no idea of the full situation on this chaotic battlefield, so how did these women obtain such shocking news?
What was more, she and the other Old Ancestors had already speculated that Yang Kai had fallen; after all, there was no word from him for over 500 years after he was pursued by the powerful Royal Lord, so how could he have survived?
It was only after returning to the Barren Territory and obtaining some information from the members of Void Land that they concluded that Yang Kai was actually still alive. Only, nobody knew where he was.
The Demonic woman had no patience to explain; however, she knew that she had no choice but to do so at this moment, “He and Su Yan have cultivated a profound Dual Cultivation Art for many years, so they have formed a connection between their Souls. It allows them to sense each other as long as they are not too far away.”
The person blocking the way immediately turned towards the white-robed woman and asked, “You felt his presence?”
Su Yan nodded and pointed in a certain direction, but just as she was about to speak, she suddenly frowned, “He’s gone again!”
The Demonic woman was furious and ground her teeth at the person who was blocking their way, “If it turns out you made us lose our man again, you must compensate us!”
Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
She had heard similar words many times over the past few centuries, despite her being a powerful Ninth-Order Old Ancestor. She had spent countless years overseeing the Black Ink Battlefield, rendering meritorious service. All of her Juniors and subordinates always treated her with the utmost respect, but this woman from the Demon Race showed no such inclination. When she learned that Yang Kai had been serving under her all this while for so many years but ended up missing, she made a huge uproar about making her compensate for this.
But, what kind of compensation could she possibly offer? She did not even have the slightest idea where Yang Kai was.
The battle on the Barren Territory was currently raging. The Human soldiers from the Great Passes had suffered heavy casualties; so, after retreating to the Barren Territory, they had a discussion with the Cave Heavens and Paradises and decided to recruit soldiers from the Second Class forces to form a new Army to bolster their ranks.
There were countless Second Class forces in the 3,000 Worlds, and there were many Masters among these great forces who were in the Fifth and Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm. All of them were qualified to join the battle against the Black Ink Clan.
In the past, these Second Class forces were kept from this war because the Cave Heavens and Paradises were there to oversee the Black Ink Battlefield.
Now that the Black Ink Battlefield had been lost to the enemy, the Barren Territory had become their last line of defence. If they failed to defend even here, then the 3,000 Worlds were doomed.
Facing such a crisis, the Cave Heavens and Paradises had to abandon their old conventions.
Void Land was also considered a Second Class great force; so naturally, it was unavoidable that some of them would be conscripted.
With her connection to Yang Kai, Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao took command of Void Land’s Open Heaven Realm Masters, intending to shelter them as best she could.
Yet, she never expected that this Wife of Yang Kai’s would be so bold.
Even more difficult for Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao to understand was how much of a womaniser that little bastard actually was. To have attracted so many women to his side, yet all of them were so attached to him, Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao was stupefied, but more so, impressed.
To be honest, when Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao found out that Yang Kai’s Wives, plural, were coming to the Barren Territory to join the fight, she was quite surprised. Without thinking much of it, she immediately took the reinforcements sent from Void Land under her wing.
However, when these alluring women came to report to her, Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao was flabbergasted.
1, 2, 3, 4, 5… There were a total of 9 women!
Human, Demon, Monster, Divine Spirits… A variety of Races were included among them.
[That brat! He is truly uninhibited! How was he able to bear such a load?]
But what made Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao even more speechless was the fact that apart from the 9 Wives who had already married him officially, there seemed to be a good many women still back in Void Land who shared an ambiguous relationship with him.
At first, Old Ancestor thought that there must have been a mistake, but upon closer questioning, she realized that there was no mistake at all.
She suddenly felt as if her understanding of Yang Kai was lacking.
That brat gave the impression of an upstanding and earnest man all those years on the Black Ink Battlefield. She had never seen any semblance of such philandering from him. Even Feng Ying and Bai Yi, two women of exceptional beauty and strength, who were in his Squad, were only regular comrades to him.
Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao could not help but criticize him inwardly. Sure enough, one cannot judge a book by its cover! If one were to peel back that bastard’s prim and proper skin, then one would surely find a flowery bunch of innards inside.
“Compensate us!” The Demonic woman was still shouting, while the other women wore indignant expressions on their faces.
Helpless, Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao turned her head and looked in that direction. After some thought, she turned to ask Su Yan, “Could there be any mistake with your senses?”
Su Yan replied coldly, “I have never been mistaken.”
“In that case, what would the sudden loss of that sensation imply?” Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao then asked.
Su Yan explained, “He has either died or left the range of our connection. I cannot sense him across Great Territories or over extremely large distances. However, my cultivation is now far higher than it was before. As long as he remains in the Barren Territory, I should be able to sense him.”
Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao nodded, “That direction is where the Territory Gate is located. He must have fought his way here from the Black ink Battlefield. Since you lost the connection, then he must have gone back. I will go and check it out. None of you are allowed to make any rash moves while I am gone.”
Saying so, she dashed off in that direction.
The women were left to look at each other, not knowing what to do.
Xue Yue looked at Yu Ru Meng, “Elder Sister, what should we do?”
Yu Ru Meng’s face was gloomy for a while before she grit her teeth and shouted, “We wait!”
Just now, she had been too agitated and was about to lead her Sisters over in the heat of the moment, but even though they were no longer as weak as they were in the past, it was still not wise for them to run around on such a chaotic battlefield.
All these years, they never knew what happened to Yang Kai until the Human Race Army retreated to the Barren Territory. Only then did they hear about Yang Kai from some of the soldiers who fought alongside him.
All of them were heartbroken and wished for nothing more than to fight side by side with their Husband.
Now that their Husband had finally returned, as the Eldest Sister, Yu Ru Meng would not be able to explain to Yang Kai if anything were to happen to any of them.
Even though she wanted to rush over to see what the situation was herself, she had no choice but to resist that urge. Clenching her fists, she led the others towards a group of Black Ink Clansmen, venting their endless rage on them. The Black Ink Clansmen that they fought were filled with grievances, wondering just what had come over these madwomen for them to act so viciously.
On the other side, Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao transformed into a stream of light that swept across half of the battlefield, heading straight for the Territory Gate.
Her ostentatiousness naturally attracted the attention of many Royal Lords.
Neither the Old Ancestors nor the Royal Lords would move casually on this battlefield, forming a kind of mutual restraint towards each other.
A rash move from either side could precipitate a major battle.
However, Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao couldn’t care less about the bigger picture at this moment. Frankly, she blamed herself for losing Yang Kai, and she had been feeling guilty about it all these years.
However, with so many soldiers dying on the battlefield, she had no way of protecting all of them even if she was in the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm.
There was no helping it if there was no news of Yang Kai, but now that she had a solid lead, she naturally wanted to look into it.
Before Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao could reach the Territory Gate though, a Royal Lord swooped in to stop her. Naturally, the two of them promptly engaged in a shocking battle.
At that moment, Yang Kai had already passed through the Territory Gate.
He did not encounter any obstacles along the way, both because he had used his Space Principles to merge with the Void to hide his aura, making it difficult for the Black Ink Clan to notice him, and because the portal was being guarded very closely.
The Black Ink Clan had already begun their attack on the Barren Territory. This was their battlefield against the Human Race, and as long as the Human defence lines here were completely destroyed, they would be able to conquer the entire 3,000 Worlds. When that time came, with the insidious nature of Black Ink Strength, the Black Ink Clan’s strength would snowball and grow to the point where the Human Race couldn’t fight back.
Therefore, it did not matter to them whether they guarded the Territory Gate or not. The Humans would not think about capturing the portal since their goal was the same as the Black Ink Clan. Only by fighting here could they be rid of them once and for all.
As for capturing the Territory Gate, nobody had even thought about it since it was a senseless endeavour.
As such, Yang Kai had no difficulty crossing the portal.
When Su Yan sensed him, he had also sensed her and raised his head in a hurry, but he could not catch Su Yan in his sight.
They were simply too far apart!
It was surprising to him that Su Yan had also joined the fight.
When he entered the Black Ink Battlefield, Su Yan, Shan Qing Luo, and Zhu Qing were still in the Divine Spirit Ancestral Land to cultivate. More than 1,000 years had passed since then.
Since Su Yan was participating in the war, then the Divine Spirits of the Divine Spirit Ancestral Land must be participating as well. Yang Kai understood the crux of the matter instantly. It was no wonder he saw so many Divine Spirits on the battlefield just now.
It was impossible to say that he was not worried. Even though it had been more than 1,000 years, he was still not sure to what extent Su Yan could grow in that period. What’s more, on this chaotic battlefield, even Eighth-Order and Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters could fall.
However, as things had already come to this point, worrying was pointless.
The battle for the Barren Territory was one that concerned the entire 3,000 Worlds. If the fight here was lost, then the 3,000 Worlds would be doomed.
After tossing aside the miscellaneous thoughts weighing his mind, Yang Kai tried to forcibly suppress the head-splitting pain from using four Soul Rending Thorns. If he wanted to recover from this, then he would likely have to wait for the Soul Warming Lotus to slowly mend his Soul.
When he stepped into the portal, Yang Kai’s Space Principles flared and the seemingly short distance between the endpoints of the Territory Gate seemed to stretch infinitely rather than send him back to the Black Ink Battlefield immediately.
Instead of fully going through, Yang Kai actually remained inside the portal.
An ordinary person couldn’t do this as anyone who passed through a Territory Gate would definitely reemerge in the Black Ink Battlefield or the Barren Territory.
However, Yang Kai was a Master of the Dao of Space and had already reached the level of Summiting the Peak. So, with a clever use of Space Principles, it was easy for him to stretch the space inside the portal.
He was in no hurry to return to the No-Return Pass. Instead, he wanted to seal the Territory Gate completely!
Just like he did back then when he went from the Black Territory to the Black Ink Battlefield.
The Barren Territory was the Second Battlefield imagined by the Ancient Ancestors, and they had long emptied up that territory. In other words, it was simply impossible for the Black Ink Clan to obtain any resources from the Barren Territory. Without resources, the Black Ink Clan would not be able to breed new Clansmen.
The Black Ink Clan was now completely dependent on the No-Return Pass for reinforcements and supplies.
Tens of thousands of Black Ink Clan teams were sent to harvest resources across the Black Ink Battlefield and deliver them to the Black Ink Nests, where new Clansmen were bred. At this moment, all of the High-Rank Black Ink Nests were located in or around the No-Return Pass, even using the destroyed Great Passes as platforms.
As such, as long as the Territory Gate connecting the Black Ink Battlefield to the Barren Territory was closed, the flow of supplies and reinforcements to the Black Ink Clan would be cut off.
Without reinforcements, one more death on the battlefield would mean one less Black Ink Clansman to deal with. Sooner or later, they would be wiped out by the Human Race.
Even if all the Black Ink Clansmen in the Barren Territory were wiped out, it would be difficult to say that the scourge of the Black Ink Clan was completely dealt with, but at the very least, the 3,000 Worlds could be kept safe, and the situation would basically return how it was to before the No-Return Pass was lost.
With that logic in mind, Yang Kai knew he had to seal the Territory Gate connecting the No-Return Pass and the Barren Territory.
No one else had the means to achieve this.
Currently, the Clan Leader of the Phoenix Clan may have the necessary skills to achieve this as well, but she was far too big of a target. As a Master on par with the current Dragon Clan Leader, she was under constant watch by at least two Royal Lords, making it impossible for her to move as she pleased.
As early on as when he decided to attack the No-Return Pass, Yang Kai had this idea in mind. Only, he never mentioned it to anyone.
If the Remnant Army managed to break through the No-Return Pass, then it would be just as Yang Kai hoped, while if all seemed lost, he could still take the opportunity to rush towards the Territory Gate alone while the Remnant Army held off the Black Ink Clan.
Originally, Yang Kai planned to seal the Territory Gate as they passed through it; however, what he saw in the No-Return Pass made him change his mind slightly. Right now, the Remnant Army had already arrived at the Barren Territory, and a large Human Army had rendezvoused with them, temporarily putting them out of danger. Only now did Yang Kai turn back to the portal.
As Space Principles fluctuated, the Territory Gate began to shrink and flicker.
Yang Kai had done something similar more than 1,000 years ago, so he naturally had no difficulty now.
As soon as the sealing process began, its visual manifestation in the Barren Territory began showing signs of distortion. The portal, which was originally a giant, churning tear in the Void, now seemed as if an invisible force had smoothed out its chaotic lines.
The speed of rotation gradually decreased, and the torn traces were rapidly healing over.
At first, the Black Ink Clan did not notice anything, but soon enough, they detected the abnormality of the Territory Gate.
Even though they had no idea what this occurrence meant, they relied on the Territory Gate to provide support and reinforcements to their Army so they dared not be careless. At once, a Royal Lord went forward to investigate.
What the Black Ink Clan could notice, the Humans naturally noticed as well.
In particular, the Phoenix Clan who were proficient in the Dao of Space could tell what the source of the portal’s change was, and a loud Phoenix Cry was soon sent out in all directions.
When the Human Masters learned that someone was sealing the Territory Gate, all of their spirits were lifted and they all rushed towards the location of the portal to stop the Black Ink Clan from disturbing the process.
The two Armies immediately engaged in a brutal fight to the death around the Territory Gate, with Masters from both sides falling frequently. Even the powerful Divine Spirits were not spared from the carnage.
Inside of the Territory Gate, Yang Kai pushed his Space Principles to the limit. He knew that as soon as he made his move, the Black Ink Clan would definitely notice, so he had to act quickly to avoid being stopped by them.
Shuttling through the Void from the Barren Territory to the Black Ink Battlefield, Yang Kai not only sealed the corridor, he also filled the Void around him with violent turbulence wherever he passed, adding to the blockage.
This blockage was not permanent or foolproof by any means. If there existed a Master as skilful as him in the Dao of Space, then the blocked Territory Gate could be reopened and the turbulence cleared out in short order.
Only, there were no individuals among the Black Ink Clan who were proficient in the Dao of Space.
It did not matter even if they forced their way through as they would just be swept up by the chaos and forced to aimlessly wander the Void forever.
In just a dozen breaths of time, the portal in the Barren Territory had become as smooth as a mirror, its manifestation disappearing completely.
All the Humans were shocked to see this. How could they not know that their side had succeeded?
Some of the Black Ink Clansmen were unconvinced and rushed towards where the portal was originally located, yet there was no sign of them being transported at all. It was as if they were just traversing past ordinary space.
This made all in the Black Ink Clan’s hearts sink.
Being cut off from their rear support by the Humans was going to be disastrous for them.
They needed to act quickly…
Otherwise, their troops would be eradicated, and they would have no chance of turning the tides anymore.
Once Yang Kai blocked up the entire corridor and returned to the No-Return Pass, he immediately saw Niu Niu fighting against several Territory Lords.
It had been less than a half cup of tea’s time since Niu Niu stopped their pursuers, allowing Yang Kai to lead the Remnant Army to the Barren Territory, and his subsequent return alone.
In just a short half a cup of tea’s time, Niu Niu had already been beaten beyond recognition. Countless pieces of his body were torn to shreds and he was now practically a broken skeleton that barely managed to maintain its original shape.
The Ox Monster was certainly very strong, but it was still no match for a dozen Innate Territory Lords combined.
In a few more moments, it would surely be torn completely to shreds.
Yang Kai could not bear to watch this scene any longer, but he had no intention of helping either. Niu Niu was already dead and was now shining his final light. If he tried to help, he would only be throwing himself into a trap.
The Old Ancestor of Azure Void Pass was the same. On another battlefield, the Old Ancestor stood alone, fighting against the Royal Lord there as well as several Territory Lords. It was clear that his energy was already close to being exhausted.
After returning to the No-Return Pass again, Yang Kai raised his hand and summoned his Azure Dragon Spear before rushing straight to the Central Square.
Niu Niu was about to give up resisting, but when he noticed Yang Kai’s aura, he immediately became energized and mooed to the sky, desperately distracting his opponents lest they cause trouble for Yang Kai instead.
The Old Ancestor acted similarly.
Even though they noticed that Yang Kai had come back, the Territory Lords were unable to extricate themselves from their current battles. They could only scream and shout for their subordinates to stop him.
But how could such dregs stop Yang Kai, whose current strength was sufficient to easily kill an Innate Territory Lord with just one Soul Rending Thorn? Even without a Soul Rending Thorn, he could similarly kill Innate Territory Lords quickly while only paying a small price.
The Feudal Lords were simply unable to block his way, and any who tried simply turned into broken corpses.
After cutting through the Black Ink Clan’s Army in a reign of terror, Yang Kai descended upon the square with great momentum.
With just one sweep of his Divine Sense, he found the aura of Ji Lao San, who was heavily suppressed and imprisoned. Even with the power of a Divine Spirit to protect him, he was already showing signs of being corrupted after being in contact with Black Ink Strength for who knows how long.
Ji Lao San’s Dragon Form was also locked in place firmly by a type of black chain.
He no longer had much power to resist.
Without hesitation, Yang Kai’s body erupted in a golden light, and following a Dragon Roar, he instantly transformed into a 70,000-metre-long Ancient Dragon.
He grabbed the black chains holding Ji Lao San down and his Dragon Force burst out.
Ji Lao San knew what Yang Kai was trying to do, and under their combined efforts, the chains were swiftly snapped.
“Transform into your Human Form!” Yang Kai roared at him.
Ji Lao San reacted quickly and shrank down, assuming a Human shape.
Yang Kai grabbed him with his claws and with a swing of his giant body, wiped out the Black Ink Clansmen around him. Amid a loud Dragon Roar, he disappeared towards the depths of the void without looking back.
From the distance, a loud Dragon Roar resounded, “I’ve blocked the Territory Gate and cut off the supplies to the Black Ink Clan on the other side. Victory will surely be ours!”
The Azure Void Pass Old Ancestor, who was fighting the Royal Lord silently and without rest, suddenly grinned at his words and shouted, “Good boy!”
In the next moment, his old flesh completely transformed into a sword light. Man and sword merged into one and slashed out at the Royal Lord, horrifying the latter!
Yang Kai had already disappeared with Ji Lao San, so he was unable to see the glory of the Old Ancestor’s final attack. Naturally, he also had no idea that the Royal Lord at the No-Return Pass had nearly been cut in half by this shocking move.
As the sword light disappeared, so did the Old Ancestor. Only an everlasting Sword Intent remained behind, cleaving open countless cracks in the Void.
The slash also left a three-metre-long gash through the front of the Royal Lord’s chest where his flesh could be seen turning inside out from which Black Ink Strength constantly spurted. With a look of shock still on his face, the Royal Lord turned in Yang Kai’s direction and shouted through gritted teeth, “Follow him!”
In the next instant, eight Territory Lords soared towards the depths of the void in the direction Yang Kai escaped to.
The Royal Lord’s face was incredibly gloomy. Despite him personally overseeing this place, a small Human Army was still able to break through their blockade and pass through the No-Return Pass, which was a great shame to his name.
But what made him feel even more indignant was the Eighth-Order Master from earlier.
That Human was too strong. In just this battle alone, that one Eighth-Order Master had cut down six Territory Lords. The Royal Lord made a move personally to exterminate this threat, but he did not expect a Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master to come out to hinder him at the critical moment.
Worse yet, that Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master came back and rescued the Dragon imprisoned by them in the No-Return Pass after so much difficulty, delivering another slap to his face.
In a fit of rage, the Royal Lord’s body flickered and appeared in front of Niu Niu, who had been beaten to pieces. With just a single punch, the still-defiant Ox Monster was reduced to paste.
“Wastes! All of you!” The Royal Lord roared. Even with several Territory Lords uniting their strengths, they were held up by a literal dead thing until now, which made him extremely dissatisfied with their performances.
The Territory Lords felt ashamed after being criticized, but they did not dare to retort.
At this time, a Feudal Lord came forward to give a report, “Sir Royal Lord, there’s something unusual happening to the Territory Gate on this side. Please inspect it, Sir.”
The Royal Lord’s heart clenched at those words and he turned back to look at the portal, a single glance being enough to send a chill down his spine.
He hadn’t noticed the changes in the Territory Gate before, but now that he looked over, he saw that the portal was gone!
He quickly rushed over to try and pass through the gate, but it was useless. He tried a few more times, but it still did not work. Only then did he realize that the Humans had somehow closed the Territory Gate leading to the 3,000 Worlds by some unknown means!
The Royal Lord became even more livid, and when the eight Territory Lords who had gone to chase after Yang Kai returned empty-handed, his rage reached a peak.
…..
Yang Kai had escaped from the pursuit of a Royal Lord when he was only in the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm, so now that he was in the Eighth-Order, what could a few Territory Lords do even if they tried to catch him?
His Dragon Form made him an extremely conspicuous target, so not long after leaving the No-Return Pass, Yang Kai returned to his Human Form and wrapped Ji Lao San with his power. With a few successive Instantaneous Movements, the pair left the Territory Lords chasing them far behind.
But Yang Kai did not stop immediately and instead continued escaping towards the depths of the void.
It was not until half a month later that he found a barren Universe World to settle down on and recuperate.
While moving deeper into the Universe World, Yang Kai opened up two shelters for them and told Ji Lao San, “Rest by yourself for now. I need to heal my wounds.”
Ji Lao San nodded with a complicated expression on his face, remaining silent.
Yang Kai headed to his spot and sat down cross-legged before taking out a large handful of pills and stuffing them into his mouth.
The injuries he suffered from this battle were not light, not to mention the damage he incurred to his Soul from using four Soul Rending Thorns. As the one leading the Remnant Army, Yang Kai had stood at the vanguard, and so he was also the one who received the most pressure for the majority of the battle.
In particular, the World Force from his Small Universe was severely depleted, so he was in desperate need of time to properly recuperate.
Right now, Yang Kai no longer had complete sets of cultivation materials on hand so he could only rely on Open Heaven Pills to restore himself. Fortunately, the time flow inside of his Small Universe was seven times faster than that of the outside world, and the bustling vitality of the living beings in his Small Universe was also providing him with fresh World Force every moment.
That was why recovering was not a difficult task for him.
After a month or so, Yang Kai had just about recovered all of his depleted energy. Other than the damage to his Soul, which still required some more time to heal, he was generally fine.
The wounds on his Soul did not need him to sit in meditation to recover because he had the Soul Warming Lotus, which would automatically nourish and repair it.
Yang Kai got up and went to where Ji Lao San was resting, and when he heard the noise, Ji Lao San, who was circulating his Dragon Force and recovering his energy, opened his eyes and got up, “Many thanks for this life-saving grace, Brother Yang.”
Looking at the spirited Yang Kai, Ji Lao San could not help but recall the scene from back then when Yang Kai had just arrived at the No-Return Pass all those years ago. At that time, he still looked down on this guy and would repeatedly seek trouble with him. Who would have thought that hundreds of years later, it would be this guy who would save his life?
“I’ve troubled you this time, Brother Yang,” Ji Lao San was no longer the haughty Dragon from back then. Clearly, the shocking events at the No-Return Pass had allowed him to mature a lot.
However, it was not only those events that made him change. Yang Kai was part of it, too.
Even though Yang Kai was a Human who chanced upon a Dragon Source, allowing him to acquire a Dragon Vein, the Source he possessed was actually from the Third Generation Dragon Emperor.
This point alone made it so that no Dragon would dare to underestimate him.
Furthermore, the Dragon Clan’s Elders had intended for Yang Kai to record his name in the Dragon Tome back then at the No-Return Pass.
The Dragon Tome was a Sacred Treasure to the Dragon Clan, which had existed since their founding. It could be said to be one of the Dragon Clan’s most important possessions, on par with the Dragon Pool itself.
There were countless Dragonkin in the 3,000 Worlds, but only True Dragons who were recognised by the Dragon Clan had the qualifications to record their name in the Dragon Tome. Furthermore, Yang Kai was the first Dragonkin to become a True Dragon and gain this qualification since ancient times.
The Elders even promised to record his name with his own surname. If that truly were to happen, then a new lineage would be born in the Dragon Clan. Since the beginning of history, the feat of ancestral establishment was achieved by only three members of the Dragon Clan, resulting in the current Fu, Zhu, and Ji Families. If Yang Kai had agreed at the time, then a new Yang Bloodline would have been born in the Dragon Clan.
However, due to the Bloodline Great Oath from the ancient past, Yang Kai refused the kindness of the Elders and chose not to record his name in the Dragon Tome even though the benefits of doing so were not small…
Even without recording one’s name, Yang Kai had already become a Pureblood Dragon after advancing to become an Ancient Dragon. It could be said that there was no difference between him and Dragons like Ji Lao San, who were born and raised as Dragons. In fact, thanks to his Source, he was even more powerful.
The Dragons would not so much as spare a glance at the Dragonkin of mixed Bloodlines, but how could Ji Lao San act recklessly in front of his own kin?
Not to mention, he just received Yang Kai’s life-saving grace.
Upon hearing Ji Lao San’s words, Yang Kai knew that he had misunderstood him and tried to explain, “I didn’t return to the No-Return Pass just for you, Brother Ji. The main reason was to seal the Territory Gate.”
Ji Lao San was stunned when he heard what Yang Kai said, but then he looked delightfully surprised in realization, “The portal has been blocked?”
He had been confined this whole time and enveloped by a thick Black Ink Cloud, so he was completely oblivious to outside matters.
Yang Kai nodded, “I came from the Barren Territory and blocked the portal using my Secret Technique. The Black Ink Clan should not even think about opening the portal again unless they have a Master as skilled as me in the Dao of Space.”
Ji Lao San was ecstatic, “This way, our side only needs to take care of the enemies in the Barren Territory, and the Black Ink Clan’s plan to invade the 3,000 Worlds will be completely crushed.”
He had been in the No-Return Pass for a long time, so Ji Lao San naturally knew about the Barren Territory. Every so often, he would even use a Soul Clone to run around the Barren Territory when he was bored. Only, the Barren Territory was quite literally barren, with only the necessities left behind by the Human ancestors to wage war. Ji Lao San only went a few times before losing interest.
Rather than go to that damned place, he might as well stay in the No-Return Pass and quarrel with the Phoenixes.
With his spirits raised, Ji Lao San thought of something again and mentioned tentatively, “But blocking the Territory Gate doesn’t mean the war will end.”
Yang Kai was surprised, “Why do you say that?”
Rather than answer his question, Ji Lao San asked, “I heard that the Humans encountered an extremely ancient Master during a previous crusade called Cang?”
Yang Kai nodded.
Ji Lao San said, “Truthfully, the ancient books of the Dragon Clan do have some records about this, but only in scattered fragments. Perhaps it may have something to do with the Dragon Clan’s decline at the time.
Yang Kai nodded thoughtfully.
Based on what Cang told him back then, the Divine Spirits were active during the Primordial Era, the era in which they ruled over the vast Universe. It was just that their vicious battles against each other caused many Divine Spirits and their Clans to go extinct. By the time the Early Ancient Era arrived, it was the Monster Races that assumed dominance.
During the Early Ancient Era, Monster Beasts ran rampant and the Human Race were put in a difficult position. Under the influence of some sort of mysterious power, Cang and the other nine Martial Ancestors entered the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, and with the power of the World Tree, gained enlightenment to the path to the Open Heaven Realm. It was only after this that the Human Race was able to slowly rise.
During the age when the Humans were rising up, the Divine Spirits had already begun to decline, and the Dragon Clan spent all their time in the Ancestral Land, so they did not know much about the outside world.
However, they still had some records from that time.
“Does Brother Yang Know how the Black Ink Battlefield was formed?”
Yang Kai nodded, “Senior Cang told me about it. It was the ten Martial Ancestors that carved out the battlefield.”
Ji Lao San corrected, “What they carved out was merely the Great Territories that had already been taken over by Black Ink Strength. A boundary was built between those Great Territories and those not occupied by the Black Ink Clan!”
After a pause, Ji Lao San said, “Let’s put this another way. Does Brother Yang know why the Black Ink Battlefield is so vast and expansive?”
Yang Kai said hesitantly, “I heard that it was made up of a fusion of many Great Territories.”
Ji Lao San nodded, “Exactly. Then, why did these Great Territories fuse together?”
Yang Kai’s expression changed as he realized what Ji Lao San was trying to say now.
Ji Lao San sighed, “Black Ink Strength is an extremely sinister power. Not only can it corrupt the bodies and Souls of living beings, it can even erode the boundaries between Great Territories. Once the density of Black Ink Strength reaches a certain point in a Great Territory, the boundary wall will disappear, and without that barrier, the Great Territories will naturally fuse into one.”
Yang Kai exclaimed, “The Barren Territory!”
He finally understood why Ji Lao San said blocking the portal would not end the war.
He had indeed sealed off the No-Return Pass from the Barren Territory for now, but if the boundary walls of the Barren Territory were to be eroded, then it would fuse with the Shattered Heaven. If that were to happen, the defensive line constructed by the Humans in the Barren Territory would become meaningless.
Ji Lao San went on, “You don’t have to worry too much though, Brother Yang. Even though the Black Ink Clan is strong right now, without any supplies, it will become difficult for them to produce more members or Black Ink Strength. The Barren Territory is not small by any means, so it would be unfeasible for the Black Ink Clan to try and erode the boundary walls using just the Black Ink Strength available to them. I’m only telling you this in case you suffer a loss due to something similar happening in the future.”
Yang Kai nodded, “Many thanks for the lesson!”
Ji Lao San added, “Besides, if I know about this, then the Elders of my Dragon Clan and the Phoenix Clan should know about it too. They will take the necessary precautions. No matter what, the Black Ink Clan has already lost half the battle since the Territory Gate has been blocked by you, Brother Yang.”
During the Late Ancient Era, the reason why the boundary walls between the Great Territories eroded so easily was mainly because of Mo.
Mo was the origin of Black Ink Strength and its power was incredibly pure and powerful. Most of the boundary walls between the Great Territories occupied by the Black Ink Clan were personally eroded by its hands.
The boundary walls were a real existence; only, it was difficult for ordinary people to even perceive them.
The places where the Territory Gates were located were essentially gaps in the boundary walls, as well as the portals that connected two Great Territories.
In fact, boundary walls were incredibly sturdy existences; otherwise, it would be impossible for the Humans to confine the Black Ink Clan inside the Black Ink Battlefield. Trying to erode the boundary wall with Black Ink Strength alone was a difficult feat to achieve.
Now, Yang Kai had sealed the Territory Gate between the No-Return Pass and the Barren Territory, cutting off the Black Ink Clan’s supply line, but he was powerless to do anything more.
He asked more about the No-Return Pass, and learned from Ji Lao San that the Pass’ fall was attributed to the two Black Ink Giant Spirit Gods just as he expected.
The Human Race Army retreated all the way from outside of the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction to the No-Return Pass, suffering countless casualties along the way. Somewhere between 20 and 30 of the Great Passes were destroyed in the process, while even more Ninth-Order Old Ancestors died in battle.
The casualties they sustained could be described as unprecedented since the Late Ancient Era!
Even though the Black Ink Clan also sustained their fair share of casualties, they were much less significant when compared to the Humans; after all, the two Black Ink Giant Spirit Gods were far too powerful.
After retreating to the No-Return Pass and receiving the support from the Dragon Clan and Phoenix Clan, the two sides fought a brutal war around the No-Return Pass.
In the end, the Human Army and its allies were unable to hold. The No-Return Pass was broken through and for the first time in history, it became engulfed in the flames of war. Half of this result was because they were truly helpless to fend off the enemy, but the other half was intentional. The united Army of the Humans and the Divine Spirits executed a coordinated retreat to the Barren Territory to use the Second Battlefield to continue their war against the Black Ink Clan.
Ji Lao San had gone too deep into enemy lines while fighting and was surrounded by the Black Ink Clan, resulting in him being unable to return to the No-Return Pass in time to join the evacuation. In the end, he was captured by a Royal Lord in the final battle.
The Black Ink Clan did not kill him though. They placed Divine Spirits in high regard, so the Royal Lord imprisoned him in the No-Return Pass and surrounded him in a cloud of Black Ink Strength, seemingly in an attempt to study the innate resistance of Divine Spirits towards their Black Ink Strength. It was to find a way to corrupt them quickly through research.
If the Royal Lord had not had such intentions, then Ji Lao San would not have survived after being captured.
His 55,000-metre-long Ancient Dragon body was comparable to an Eighth-Order Master in strength; however, an Ancient Dragon could hardly make any waves in front of a Royal Lord.
Over the years, it had become increasingly difficult for Ji Lao San to persevere. Fortunately, his Dragon Vein was quite pure, giving him fairly high resistance to the corruption of Black Ink Strength. However, if another decade or so had passed, even he could not be sure whether or not he would be corrupted by Black Ink Strength.
If he really were corrupted, then he would surely become a stain on the Dragon Clan’s pride.
That was why Ji Lao San was so grateful to Yang Kai for saving him. He had saved not only his life, but protected the honour of the entire Clan.
Ji Lao San still had some Black Ink Strength lingering in his body, so Yang Kai gave him some Purifying Black Ink Pills to finally eliminate this hidden danger.
Freed from the Black Ink Strength’s shadow, Ji Lao San’s body felt light and he heaved a long sigh in his hiding place before asking, “Brother Yang, what do you plan on doing next?”
“I’m going back!” Yang Kai had already made up his mind.
Ji Lao San did not understand, “The portal has already been blocked though, how will you return? You’re not thinking of reopening it, are you?”
That would be a bad idea. Yang Kai was able to catch the enemy by surprise when he sealed the Territory Gate the first time, but if he were to try it again, the Black Ink Clan would surely respond more quickly and forcefully, making it questionable whether he could succeed or not.
If things progressed as expected, the Black Ink Clan would have already tightened their guard around where the Territory Gate used to be while they looked for a way to reopen the portal.
“That won’t be necessary,” Yang Kai shook his head, “I know a passage that leads to the 3,000 Worlds. We can use that path.”
His words shocked Ji Lao San. To think that the Black Ink Battlefield actually had another passage that led to the 3,000 Worlds! This was big news, and if the Black Ink Clan were to ever learn about it, they would surely rejoice.
The passage that Yang Kai spoke of was the one he used to get to the Black Ink Battlefield from Black Territory back then.
Since he could come from Black Territory to the Black Ink Battlefield at that time, he would naturally be able to do the opposite. He just had to reopen the passage, which would not be difficult for the current him at all.
Now, of course, the existence of the passage was quite peculiar in itself. Based on Yang Kai’s speculation, it may be a special type of Territory Gate, or it may be a weak point in the boundary walls. In ancient times, a Royal Lord somehow found her way into the Black Territory through this passage and was suppressed and sealed by Human Race Masters of the time before a Super Array was set up to suppress her and the Void Corridor.
Countless years later, Yang Kai shook the foundation of the Grand Array while mining the resources in Black Territory and almost allowed the Royal Lord to escape. Fortunately, she had been imprisoned for an incredibly long time, so her strength had declined greatly. Otherwise, with the lineup that the Humans had at the time, they would have suffered far heavier losses in order to deal with that Royal Lord.
The Void Corridor was located in the Blue Sky Theatre, which was quite far from here.
Yang Kai took out his Universe Chart and ascertained the direction before flying side by side with Ji Lao San, occasionally using Space Principles to speed up their journey.
If he was alone, Yang Kai could have just repeatedly used Instantaneous Movement to dramatically reduce the amount of time the journey required, but it was hard to do so with Ji Lao San tagging along, as the latter was an Ancient Dragon, meaning he could not be ‘carried’ by Yang Kai so easily.
Along their journey, the scenery in the vast void all looked the same.
They passed through several Theatres, which used to be defended by the Great Passes, and took nearly 10 years to finally reach the Blue Sky Theatre.
Blue Sky Pass, which had guarded this stretch of void for aeons, was long gone. Yang Kai did not even know whether it had been completely destroyed or not. There were 70 to 80 remnant Great Passes floating outside of the No-Return Pass, all of them shrouded by Black Ink Clouds, making it hard to identify them.
From Yang Kai’s perspective, it had been several thousand years since he came here, but he still remembered how he had sealed up the Void Corridor along his way after departing from Black Territory until he suddenly stepped into a Sealed World.
The Void Corridor in Black Territory was connected to that Sealed World.
The Sealed Worlds of the Black Ink Battlefield were basically the Universe Paradises and Universe Cave Heavens left behind after the fall of High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters from ancient times.
The Universe Cave Heaven encompassing the passage connecting Black Territory and the Black Ink Battlefield should not have appeared there as an accident, but rather been placed there by artificial intervention.
The owner of the Universe Cave Heaven clearly knew about the existence of this Void Corridor, and so they took the initiative to leave their Small Universe behind, enveloping the passage and hiding it from the eyes and ears of all others.
Doing so meant sacrificing one’s lifetime of cultivation, as well as their life itself.
Their ancestors sacrificed their lives for the sake of peace for the Human Race. Countless years later, their descendants still upheld this philosophy.
That was why Meng Qi, whom Yang Kai encountered in the Sealed World, willingly sacrificed himself without a single word of complaint in order to keep the Void Corridor a secret.
The sacrifice of this unnamed ancestor was worth it. Countless years went by yet the Black Ink Clan never learned of the existence of a Void Corridor that connected straight to the 3,000 Worlds. If Yang Kai had not come over from Black Territory, then he would not have triggered the abnormality in the Universe Cave Heaven, and then it would naturally not have been noticed by the Black Ink Clan.
It was because of his actions that the Universe Cave Heaven’s location was exposed, and only then did several Feudal Lords come over to investigate.
Fortunately, the passage had been sealed shortly after it opened, so the Feudal Lords couldn’t have detected anything.
There were several Feudal Lords and their subordinates, as well as other High-Rank Black Ink Clansmen who came to investigate the Sealed World. Regardless of whether or not they could find anything good in the Sealed World, the World Force that existed there in itself was the favourite food of the Black Ink Clan.
World Force was the foundation that maintained the existence of a Sealed World. Even though the Sealed World’s owner died long ago, as long as the Small Universe remained intact the World Force would not dissipate.
However, after being devoured by the Black Ink Clan, the World Force was gone, and without that foundation, the Sealed World would naturally collapse into nothingness, never to be found again.
It took a decade for Yang Kai and Ji Lao San to arrive at the Blue Sky Theatre, and another 2 years to locate the original location of the Sealed World, not because Yang Kai was incompetent, but because it was difficult to find a single spot in the vastness of the void.
Fortunately, he had specifically noted down the location in his mind back then; otherwise, he might have come up empty on this trip.
Standing at a certain point in the void, Yang Kai silently sensed his surroundings for some time before he was certain that this was where the Sealed World collapsed, and the Void Corridor was hidden.
If anyone else were to come here, they would naturally be helpless in the face of this situation, but Yang Kai had great attainments in the Dao of Space. Even in such a case, he could find the Void Corridor’s entrance, he just needed to spend some time and effort on it.
So, for the next few months, Yang Kai used Space Principles to probe for the Void Corridor over and over again while Ji Lao San sat silently.
Until one day, he suddenly raised his brow and called out to Ji Lao San who was a short distance away, “Brother Ji, come quickly!”
Ji Lao San’s spirits were lifted and he came over in a flash, “Did you find it?”
Yang Kai nodded, “We must connect our auras together. Remember to follow me closely lest you get lost in the Void Crack. If that happens, even I may not be able to find you.”
Ji Lao San laughed, “No need to go through such trouble.”
While saying so, his body flickered and he took on his Dragon Form; only this time, rather than a 55,000-metre-long Ancient Dragon Form, he transformed into a tiny Dragon, no longer than an ordinary snake…
This was also one of the Dragon Clan’s Secret Techniques, allowing even a Dragon that could cover the sky to become as small as a mustard seed.
Yang Kai knew this Secret Technique too; however, he could not shrink himself as small as Ji Lao San could. Currently, his Dragon Form could range between 70,000 metres and 70 metres long.
Seeing this display, Yang Kai decided in his heart that he had to properly cultivate this Dragon Clan Secret Technique once he returned; after all, sometimes, it was quite inconvenient for him to fight when his body was too large.
The snake that Ji Lao San transformed himself into, wrapped itself around Yang Kai’s arm…
Yang Kai could not help but chuckle. Then, while madly surging his Space Principles, a ripple appeared in the Void in front of them. A short while later, the sealed portal slowly revealed hints of itself.
Yang Kai was the one who sealed off this Void Corridor nearly 1,000 years ago, so it was naturally no problem for him to open it again.
However, not only did he have to open the Void Corridor today, but he also had to seal it behind him as he passed through, so he still faced some difficulty.
This was also the reason why Yang Kai had not brought the Remnant Army back to the 3,000 Worlds via this particular route.
After gathering the Remnant Army, they numbered almost 5,000. There were simply too many of them. In a unique environment like this Void Corridor, Yang Kai was only capable of protecting one or two people at most; thus, he could not bring all of them with him. If they were caught up in the Void Turbulence, they were bound to be swept away into the Void Crack, never to find their way out again.
Thinking about the Remnant Army, Yang Kai couldn’t help feeling depressed. 5,000 of them had attacked the No-Return Pass, but less than 3,000 made it through. Not to mention, that was with the assistance of the Old Ancestor and Niu Niu holding back their enemies. Without their help, all 5,000 of them would have died that day.
Composing himself, Yang Kai concentrated on forging a path forward.
The Void Corridor to Black Territory was much longer than the one at the No-Return Pass. At present, he had to open a path in front of him while simultaneously closing it behind him; therefore, it was a huge challenge to his mastery of the Dao of Space.
Ji Lao San, who had transformed into a small Dragon resembling a snake, had wrapped himself tightly around Yang Kai’s arm. Looking around at the dangerous Void Turbulence swirling around them in all directions, he secretly felt speechless.
It was his first time entering a place like the Void Crack. In the past, he had heard from the Phoenix Clan at the No-Return Pass that Void Cracks were extremely dangerous and the slightest negligence could cause a person to lose their way forever. Nevertheless, he did not truly understand the risks since he only heard stories but never experienced them in person.
He once asked one of the Phoenix Clan members to bring him deep into the Void Crack so that he could experience the environment for himself, but that Phoenix Clan member had sternly reprimanded him for making such a request. After all, though the Phoenix Clan was proficient in the Dao of Space, most would rather choose not to venture deep into a Void Crack for no reason, much less bring another person along with them.
Yang Kai’s movements had a sense of rhythm and order to them, even though he looked like he was struggling somewhat.
[This guy’s attainments in the Dao of Space are probably higher than most of the Phoenix Clan members’!] Ji Lao San secretly speculated in his heart. Not only was Yang Kai an Ancient Dragon, allowing him to be proficient in the Dao of Time, but he also had such profound attainments in the Dao of Space. Just what kind of a freak was he…
On the other hand, Yang Kai did not know what nonsensical thoughts were running through Ji Lao San’s head as he was focused solely on passing through the Void Corridor safely.
It was impossible to tell how much time had passed when the obstruction ahead finally vanished without warning and he abruptly found himself standing in the vast void. An irregular portal filled with chaos and nihility remained open behind him. He quickly turned around, reached out his hand in a swiping motion, and manipulated Space Principles to make the portal vanish out of sight. It was not until he finished hiding the entrance to the Void Corridor that he finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Looking around, Yang Kai did not see any scenery that was familiar to him, there was only pitch-black darkness that seemed darker than certain areas on the Black Ink Battlefield. Be that as it may, he knew that he had arrived at Black Territory!
In the past, he had entered the Void Corridor that brought him to the Black Ink Battlefield from this very spot.
Without further delay, he immediately consumed some Open Heaven Pills to replenish the energy he had used up and quickly set off towards the Territory Gate.
More than 10 years had passed since Yang Kai led the Remnant Army to the Barren Territory, so there was no way to know what the situation there was now. For that reason, he pressed down the urge to return to the Star Boundary. Even though he wanted to go back and check on the Star Boundary, he knew that now was not the right time to return. His greatest priority at the moment was to rush towards the Barren Territory as soon as possible.
If he wanted to reach the Barren Territory, then he would first need to head towards the Shattered Heaven. He took out a Universe Chart of the 3,000 Worlds and quickly figured out his direction, then he hurried on his way.
Ji Lao San seemed to have gotten used to this travelling method and did not change back to his original form, simply choosing to remain wrapped around Yang Kai’s arm. If one did not observe carefully, one would have assumed that Yang Kai was wearing a fancy bracelet.
To arrive at the Barren Territory as soon as possible, Yang Kai pushed his speed to its limits as he travelled through Great Territory after Great Territory. It was fortunate that he had left his Imprint on a large number of Universe Temples, allowing him to save a significant amount of time.
One day, Yang Kai’s figure appeared atop a Universe Temple’s Universe Array of a certain Great Territory before he immediately flew out.
The cultivator guarding the Universe Temple didn’t even have the time to check Yang Kai’s identity before the latter disappeared without a trace. Hence, he was stunned by the strange and fleeting incident.
The Universe Temples located in each Great Territory had been left behind by the Human Race in ancient times and were presently under the joint control of the Cave Heavens and Paradises.
Most Great Territories had a Universe Temple, with the rare exception of several Great Territories located in extremely remote regions. For example, the Great Territory in which the Star Boundary was located had not contained a Universe Temple originally. That was because the Martial Dao in that particular Great Territory was too backward, and there were no cultivators who could shuttle through the void.
Guarding the Universe Temple could be considered a kind of training for the disciples of the various Cave Heavens and Paradises; however, the task was boring since fighting was forbidden inside the Universe Temples. That was why very few disciples from the Cave Heavens and Paradises would willingly volunteer to guard these places.
Most of those assigned to these posts had relatively low cultivations. Aside from the mandatory Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master presiding over the Universe Temple, the rest were either in the Fifth-Order or below. Not to mention, their numbers were not high.
Yang Kai was currently in the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm, which would make him a Supreme Elder or Ancestor-level character in any Cave Heaven or Paradise. How could these guards in the Fourth and Fifth Order possibly trace his whereabouts?
In any case, he had no plans to stay here for long because he had to continue on his journey; however, today, he noticed a battle between cultivators right outside the Universe Temple. Two Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters and a Seventh-Order Master were locked in an intense fight for some reason.
Although there was a clear gap in their cultivations, the two Sixth-Order Masters were holding their own against their opponent in a two-against-one battle. That was an unusual sight indeed as a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master was considered a High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master. How could two Sixth-Order Masters be a worthy opponent for such a foe?
Yang Kai observed for a while and soon figured out the reason!
The two Sixth-Order Masters were clearly disciples from the Cave Heavens and Paradises, so the artifacts in their possession were excellent, and their Secret Techniques were powerful. They were most likely peak Sixth-Order Masters.
On the contrary, the Seventh-Order Master’s aura was clearly unstable. It looked like not much time had passed since he broke through to the Seventh Order. Which great force he came from was unknown, but he clearly did not originate from any of the Cave Heavens or Paradises.
Yang Kai couldn’t help feeling surprised.
According to convention, any Seventh-Order Master who did not come from any of the Cave Heavens or Paradises in the 3,000 Worlds was absorbed into the Cave Heaven or Paradise closest to them. They would also be given the position of Guest Elder without any real responsibilities.
Take the Great Battle Heaven for example. They were affiliated with more than 10 Great Territories. If a cultivator within any of these Great Territories advanced into the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm, they would then be absorbed into Great Battle Heaven.
However, all the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters who became Guest Elders of the Cave Heavens and Paradises in this manner would vanish without a trace soon after. There were no exceptions to this unspoken rule since time immemorial.
As a result, the general public in the 3,000 Worlds had various misunderstandings towards the Cave Heavens and Paradises. The general assumption was that the Cave Heavens and Paradises were using their authority to suppress all other great forces to prevent any unaffiliated cultivators from reaching the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm, lest the foundation of their ruling position be shaken. That was why they immediately captured and subdued any cultivator who was discovered to have advanced to the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm.
Of course, the truth of the matter was that most of those cultivators who advanced to the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm were sent to the Black Ink Battlefield. As for the others, they simply entered seclusion in the Cave Heavens and Paradises.
It was not that the Cave Heavens and Paradises were trying to suppress the other great forces; on the contrary, they wanted more Seventh-Order Masters to appear as such cultivators could not be considered weak. They were qualified to become Squad Leaders and Vice Squad Leaders on the Black Ink Battlefield. For countless years, the Cave Heavens and Paradises had nurtured countless disciples who were then dispatched to the Black Ink Battlefield. As a result, they suffered countless casualties as the same cycle repeated generation after generation.
If Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters were born from other great forces, then they should also do their part to maintain the peace of the 3,000 Worlds; however, participation was not mandatory.
The Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters who were welcomed into the Cave Heavens and Paradises would be told about the secret of the Black Ink Battlefield by the Sect Master in person; then, they were given the choice to enter the Black Ink Battlefield and contribute to the safety of the Human Race or remain within the Sect for the rest of their lives.
Information regarding the Black Ink Clan and Black Ink Strength could not be leaked to the public; therefore, the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters who were aware of this secret could only remain within the confines of the Cave Heavens and Paradises.
Consequently, only the Cave Heavens and Paradises could be ranked as First Class forces. No matter how large or powerful other great forces became, they could only be considered Second Class because no Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters were overseeing them.
Due to these circumstances, many Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters in the Second Class great forces did not dare to advance into the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm even though they had the heritage and capital to do so as they were worried that they would suffer at the hands of the Cave Heavens and Paradises if they did so.
It was not that these great forces were too weak and could not produce Seventh-Order Masters, but that the cultivators simply did not dare to advance to that Realm.
That was also how some Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters and Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters eventually found themselves hiding in Shattered Heaven. They secretly snuck into the Shattered Heaven before reaching the Seventh-Order or Eighth-Order in order to avoid the pursuit of the Cave Heavens and Paradises. Although they seemed free and relaxed, only they knew about the pain and suffering they endured; after all, the Shattered Heaven was not a pleasant place.
Even though this practice of the Cave Heavens and Paradises caused great dissatisfaction among the countless Second Class great forces, there was nothing that could be done. They could not allow the information regarding Black Ink Strength to become common knowledge. If that were to happen, those with immoral intentions would inevitably take the initiative to seek out Black Ink Strength.
Even Vice Sect Master Yuan Du of Lang Ya Paradise could not resist the temptation of Black Ink Strength. He had actively sought out Black Ink Strength and absorbed it into his body before spreading it to a number of elite disciples, transforming them into Black Ink Disciples.
It had to be said that Yuan Du was a Vice Sect Master belonging to one of the 72 Paradises. If even such a character could not resist temptation, how were others with lower strength, status, and talent do so? Most cultivators would gain the courage to break the rules and make some unexpected choices when faced with the limitations of their Martial Dao.
Over the years, the Cave Heavens and Paradises might have made mistakes in other aspects. Nevertheless, there was no denying that they had performed splendidly in terms of protecting the 3,000 Worlds!
Outside this Universe Temple, the two Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters were fighting a newly advanced Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. Yang Kai only needed a single glance to determine that the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master had come from one of the Second Class great forces and not one of the Cave Heavens and Paradises.
There was also a large ship outside the Universe Temple with several Fifth and Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters standing on the deck, observing the battle.
The Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master was an old man with a white head of hair and beard. After advancing to the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm, he thought that he could easily escape the two Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters from Golden Antelope Paradise, but it wasn’t until they started fighting that he realised how powerful these two were.
He could only lament the fact that it had not been long since his advancement, so he could not bring out the full strength of a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. If he had the opportunity to cultivate in retreat for several dozen to 100 years to consolidate his cultivation and familiarize himself with it, then two trivial Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters would have been nothing to him.
Seeing that he could not escape, the old man shouted, “The Cave Heavens and Paradises have been gathering Fifth and Sixth-Order Masters from the Second Class great forces in every Great Territory recently, it’s obvious that they are planning to destroy the foundation of all Second Class great forces to prevent their ruling authority from being shaken! They have revealed their wolfish ambitions! How long are the rest of you going to stand there and watch the show!?”
The expressions of the Fifth and Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters standing on the large ship changed drastically upon hearing those words.
It was just as the old man had said. They were cultivators from various Second Class great forces in this Great Territory which was under the jurisdiction of Golden Antelope Paradise. In recent years, Golden Antelope Paradise had gone around gathering Fifth and Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters from various Second Class great forces. It was just that they had not explained the purpose of their actions, so many people became uneasy about the situation.
It was not strange for the old man to have such thoughts. Too many rumours and misunderstandings about the Cave Heavens and Paradises had propagated over the years. Many had the same thoughts as the old man but did not dare to voice their opinions.
The old man continued, “Yan Yi! 1,800 years ago, the Former Temple Master of Golden Light Temple advanced to the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm and was taken away by Golden Antelope Paradise. Have you heard from him since then!?”
A scholarly Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master stood on the large ship with a gloomy expression. He was none other than Yan Yi of Golden Light Temple, whom the old man had addressed.
The old man then shouted, “Bian Yuan Shan! 3,200 years ago, your Ancestor showed outstanding talent and advanced directly to the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm. He was expected to advance to the Eighth Order one day, but more than 3,000 years have passed since he was ‘recruited’ by these people! Have you seen or heard from him even once!? The Bian Family has repeatedly gone to the Golden Antelope Paradise to request a meeting with him, but they were always refused, isn’t that right?”
A middle-aged man standing beside Yan Yi on the large ship looked bitter. He was Bian Yuan Shan, the person whom the old man had called out in his speech.
The Bian Family was not particularly outstanding in this Great Territory; nevertheless, it was true that an exceedingly talented Ancestor who was born to them around 3,000 years ago.
In addition to outstanding talent, that Ancestor was also blessed with great luck. He had managed to obtain a complete set of Sixth-Order materials from somewhere and advanced directly to the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm. With the limited financial resources of the Bian Family, it would have been impossible for him to obtain a complete set of Sixth-Order materials for his advancement otherwise.
Unfortunately, he was taken away by the Masters of the Golden Antelope Paradise not long after he ascended to the Open Heaven Realm.
After that incident, the Bian Family had gone to the Golden Antelope Paradise on numerous occasions to meet their Ancestor; however, it was just as the old man had mentioned. Their attempts had been fruitless to date.
This incident had been a painful thorn in their hearts since then. The descendants of the Bian Family had never forgotten that a mighty individual, who had advanced directly into the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm with the expectation to one day become an Eighth-Order Master, had been born from their humble family.
Judging by the talent of their Ancestor, he should have advanced to the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm by now since more than 3,000 years had passed.
Bian Yuan Shan naturally felt bitter and depressed to be reminded of this incident. If the Bian Family had received the protection of a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, they would not have fallen into such desolation.
The Seventh-Order old man had clearly lived for a very long time; therefore, he was extremely knowledgeable about the secrets of the nearby Great Forces. He called out to each person and mentioned various incidents that were related to them, causing many Fifth-Order and Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters on the large ship to become furious.
He called out to six people in quick succession, all of whom were similar to Yan Yi and Bian Yuan Shan. Their Ancestors or Elders had either shown outstanding talent or advanced to the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm. Consequently, they were taken away by Golden Antelope Paradise and disappeared without a trace.
The Second Class great forces had always harboured some resentment towards the Cave Heavens and Paradises. It was just that they buried these feelings in their hearts and did not dare to express them out loud. Now that the old man had flamed these resentments though, hostility began to bubble to the surface.
When the two Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters fighting the old man saw where the situation was going, one of them shouted, “Jiu Yan, stop talking nonsense! We can still resolve this issue if you stop now! If you insist on being stubborn, then don’t blame us for showing no mercy!”
The old man called Jiu Yan coldly snorted, “This Old Master is speaking nonsense? You should know well just how many dirty things the Cave Heavens and Paradises have done over the years! This Old Master is simply revealing the truth! Don’t even think about capturing and imprisoning this Old Master! Now that this Old Master is in the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm, I can just kill you both here and then escape to the Shattered Heaven to live freely!”
The other Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master shook his head, “Jiu Yan, the truth is different from what you believe. Golden Antelope Paradise has indeed acted a bit ambiguously over the years, but we had no other choice. If you wish to know the truth, then please stop resisting. The truth will naturally come to light once my Senior Brother guides you to a certain place!”
Jiu Yan sneered coldly, “This Old Master has lived for so many years. I am not a three-year-old child. How can I be deceived by such nonsense?”
While speaking, his attacks became more and more ruthless as he addressed the people on the ship once more, “Why aren’t you doing anything!? Are you truly planning to follow in the footsteps of your ancestors?”
The people on the large ship had seemingly been bewitched and were eager to take action. The expressions of the Golden Antelope Paradise disciples, who were tasked with the responsibility of guiding these people, changed drastically at those words and raised their vigilance significantly.
Needless to say, there were more than just the two Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters among the Golden Antelope Paradise disciples here. There were several other Fifth-Order Masters on the ship, but their numbers were not high; after all, the battle in the Barren Territory was currently in an extremely dangerous state. The Cave Heavens and Paradises simply could not afford to spare much manpower. If it really came down to a fight, they might not be a match for the people gathered here. In the worst case, they might even lose their lives.
“Kill them all! This Old Master will bring you to the Shattered Heaven! We will never be controlled by others again!” Jiu Yan yelled. At this moment, he spotted an opening and slammed his palm towards one of the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters. World Force surged madly from the palm of his hand, enveloping it in an unstoppable force.
The Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master turned pale with fright. He had been distracted for a moment just now, and that momentary distraction had given Jiu Yan an unexpected opportunity. That palm strike was not something he could bear. If he was struck by that blow, then he would either end up dead or heavily injured. At that point, his Junior Brother would be forced to confront Jiu Yan by himself, which was clearly impossible.
When the other Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master saw that his Senior Brother was in danger, he tried to help; unfortunately, there was not enough time. In his desperation, he could only roar at the top of his lungs, “Jiu Yan, stop!”
Not only did Jiu Yan refuse to stop, but he channelled even more strength into his attack.
His palm was about to land on the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master’s forehead when all of a sudden, a hand appeared out of nowhere and lightly grabbed Jiu Yan by the wrist. Jiu Yan’s aura that was flaring madly suddenly withered like a deflated ball.
Jiu Yan was horrified, but when he tried to withdraw his hand, he discovered that he could not move a muscle. His body seemed to be imprisoned in place. Shifting his eyes, he saw a tall and handsome young man had appeared in front of him at some point. Although the young man was simply looking at him indifferently, those eyes seemed to contain a mysterious power that prevented him from shifting his gaze away. It felt as though his entire soul was sinking into the depths of those eyes.
In the blink of an eye, Jiu Yan’s arrogance and boldness vanished. His entire body trembled in fear under that gaze. Fortunately, the young man did not do anything to him and soon looked away, allowing him to feel a sense of relief, as though he had been granted mercy from the Heavens.
After a brief pause, the two Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters from Golden Antelope Paradise recovered from their shock and realized that the young man in front of them had saved their lives.
Nevertheless, they exchanged an astonished glance with each other. Blocking Jiu Yan’s attack so easily was definitely not something a Seventh-Order Master could do. Moreover, the faint aura emanating from this young man indicated that he was an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master!
“Golden Antelope Paradise’s Fan Nan/Xi Yuan greets Ancestor!” They quickly bowed in unison.
Yang Kai nodded lightly before glancing over at the large ship. The people who were eager to take action after being incited by Jiu Yan’s provocation hurriedly lowered their heads, terrified of being singled out by the Master who appeared out of nowhere.
On the other hand, the Golden Antelope Paradise disciples on the boat were ecstatic. With the arrival of an Eighth-Order Ancestor, their troubles were no longer troubles. Their anxious feelings were finally relieved.
Fan Nan was the Eldest Senior Brother here, so he hesitantly asked, “From which Cave Heaven or Paradise does Ancestor hail?”
There were many Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters from the Cave Heavens and Paradises, and although he did not recognise all of them, he could recognise many of them. Even for the ones he could not recognise, he would have heard most of their names before. Be that as it may, none of those names or descriptions matched this young man. He couldn’t help feeling curious and quietly wondered to himself. [Could it be that the situation in the Barren Territory is so desperate that even the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, who had not come out for such a long time, are required to take action?]
Yang Kai waved dismissively, “I am not from any Cave Heaven or Paradise.”
Both Fan Nan and Xi Yuan were shocked.
[Is there an Eighth-Order Master who does not come from any of the Cave Heavens or Paradises?] For a time, their heads buzzed with various thoughts and they couldn’t help forming many misunderstandings about the situation.
Fortunately, Yang Kai quickly added an explanation, “Lord of the Star Boundary, Yang Kai.”
He did not mention Void Land as although Void Land was the great force he established with his own hands, it could not compare with the fame of the Star Boundary thanks to the World Tree clone. Many people in the 3,000 Worlds had heard of Void Land, but absolutely everyone who had any form of strength knew about the Star Boundary.
Naturally, Fan Nan and Xi Yuan knew of the Star Boundary. They had even heard of Yang Kai; thus, they immediately looked surprised and asked, “Senior Yang, didn’t you head to… that place?”
The incident in Black Territory had caused a huge uproar back then. To deal with the Super Array that covered the entire Black Territory, the Cave Heavens and Paradises had dispatched many people to harvest the Ore Stars which made up the Array Nodes.
It was not a secret that Yang Kai had left Black Territory for the Black Ink Battlefield. Even Fan Nan and Xi Yuan were aware of his departure.
Yang Kai casually explained, “I just came back from there.” Then, he inquired further, “Are you escorting these people there?”
Fan Nan hurriedly said, “That’s right, but… we encountered some trouble. I apologise for troubling you with this.”
Yang Kai shook his head, “It is related to the survival of the 3,000 Worlds. You’ve worked hard.”
Upon receiving the affirmation of an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master like Yang Kai, their grievances immediately dissolved. They had not been able to explain anything even though Jiu Yan had been accusing them of many heinous crimes. Combined with the risk of life and death looming over them, the pressure and stress on their shoulders had been as heavy as a mountain.
Fortunately, Yang Kai had suddenly appeared and took control of the situation.
Yang Kai suddenly turned to look at one of the people on the ship, “Yan Yi!”
On the large ship, the person named Yan Yi, who was previously addressed by Jiu Yan, hastily bowed in greeting, “Golden Light Temple’s Yan Yi greets Senior.”
Yang Kai felt slightly speechless… Now that he had advanced to the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm, everybody immediately called him ‘Senior’; however, he was probably much younger than all the people in front of him.
Too lazy to correct them, Yang Kai simply continued indifferently, “I don’t know about what happened to Golden Light Temple. In fact, I’ve never even heard of this name before, but I do have a few questions for you. Did your Golden Light Temple suffer any harsh treatment after its Former Temple Master advanced to the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm and was taken away by Golden Antelope Paradise?”
Yan Yi answered honestly, “Never.”
“Did you receive extra care?”
Yan Yi nodded, “After the Former Temple Master was taken away, Golden Antelope Paradise indeed provided our Golden Light Temple with generous compensation. They not only bestowed us with some Secret Arts and Techniques, but also deliver many precious cultivation resources to the Sect every year.”
Yang Kai stretched out a finger and pointed at Yan Yi, “Those are the rewards that the Former Temple Master of Golden Light Temple received in exchange for his life!”
Yan Yi’s expression changed slightly. It was obvious that he had misunderstood Yang Kai’s meaning.
Yang Kai was in no hurry to explain anything though and instead turned to look at the other person, “What about the situation in your Sect, Bian Yuan Shan? Is the situation similar to the Golden Light Temple? Or, has the situation remained unchanged?”
Bian Yuan Shan pursed his lips and shook his head, “Reporting to Senior, there have been no changes in our Family’s situation.”
He was now quite confused. Golden Light Temple had received increased protection and support from Golden Antelope Paradise after the Former Temple Master of the Golden Light Temple was taken away; however, his Bian Family had not received any kind of compensation at all even though the Ancestor had also been taken away. Was there some sort of difference between them?
Yang Kai glanced at the third person, “What about you?”
That man raised his head and replied, “We have a similar experience with Golden Light Temple. After the Ancestor was taken away, Golden Antelope Paradise would deliver various cultivation resources to the Sect every year. Furthermore, Golden Antelope Paradise Masters would come to guide the Sect’s disciples in their cultivation at regular intervals over the years.”
Yang Kai nodded lightly and continued questioning several others who were called out by Jiu Yan earlier.
The great forces that these people came from could generally be divided into two categories. One type did not experience any changes, while the other type received extra care from Golden Antelope Paradise. Not only were they bestowed with Secret Techniques and Secret Arts after their Ancestors, Elders, or Seniors were taken away, but they would also receive various cultivation resources every year. These cultivation resources made things much more convenient for the disciples of these great forces to cultivate.
The great forces that received extra care had always kept their special treatment a secret, lest they attract the jealousy and hatred of the other great forces, which was why nobody was aware that they were not the only great force to receive the favour of Golden Antelope Paradise.
Nevertheless, the fact that Yang Kai was questioning them regarding these matters at this time clearly indicated that there was a deeper meaning behind the situation.
“Do you know why Golden Antelope Paradise treats your great forces so differently?”
Everyone fell silent. Some seemed pensive, but they did not dare to voice their opinions arbitrarily; after all, there was a chance of saying the wrong thing. Who would dare to speak nonsense in the presence of an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master?
Regardless, Yang Kai had no intention of waiting for a response from them and promptly answered his own question, “Every one of you lives in the 3,000 Worlds. Although there are some disagreements and the occasional fight between the many great forces, these are nothing more than minor disputes, quarrels involving grievances and grudges over various issues. But there is a vast battlefield in a distant place that remains unknown to most of the world; moreover, that battlefield is the site of an ancient and ongoing war involving the very survival of the Human Race!”
Everyone aboard the ship couldn’t help feeling surprised.
Hearing the words ‘survival of the Human Race’ from the mouth of an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, anybody would immediately realise the seriousness of the situation; however, just what kind of battlefield would involve such high stakes? Not to mention, he also used the word ‘war’… and not the word ‘battle’.
Fan Nan couldn’t help exclaiming in shock, “Ancestor Yang… this…”
Yang Kai raised a hand to interrupt Fan Nan, “You’re already planning to bring them there in the first place. Under the current circumstances, they will surely resist if we don’t explain the situation to them clearly. Besides, what’s the difference between learning the truth now and a few days from now?”
Fan Nan thought about it and realised that Yang Kai was right. The Cave Heavens and Paradises had restricted the information regarding Black Ink Strength in the past because they were afraid that some people would not be able to resist its temptation. However, the current situation in the Barren Territory was so dire that the Cave Heavens and Paradises were forced to recruit Fifth and Sixth-Order Masters from the Second Class great forces for support. If these people were sent to that battlefield, then the existence of the Black Ink Clan and all that entailed would soon be revealed anyway.
After this realization, he did not object again.
“You might think that I’m simply trying to frighten you, but this King would like to ask one question. Over the years, have you never wondered why the heritage of the Cave Heavens and Paradises is so feeble despite having an inheritance that spans hundreds of millennia? True, compared to the Second Class great forces, the Cave Heavens and Paradises are unshakeable behemoths; nevertheless, where are all the Sixth, Seventh, and even Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters that they nurtured over the aeons? It is impossible for all of them to just remain in secluded retreat inside their Sects.”
These doubts had plagued Yang Kai himself before, so he did not believe that these people had never wondered about it.
Compared to their long years of inheritance, the strength the Cave Heavens and Paradises showed to the 3,000 Worlds was far too weak.
“Open Heaven Realm Masters have incredibly long lives, and anyone who breaks through directly to the Fifth Order has hope to advance to the Seventh Order. Among the disciples of the Cave Heavens and Paradises, the number who advance directly to the Fifth Order can be counted in the hundreds per century. Over the years, they should have accumulated so many Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters that meeting one would be considered common. At the very least, there should be several tens of thousands of them per First Class great force, but have you ever seen so many Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters in any of the Cave Heavens or Paradises?
“Simply put, those Seventh-Order Masters are not in the Cave Heavens or Paradises as most of them have been dispatched to that far-off battlefield! They have been fighting an enemy that you know nothing about for hundreds of thousands of years, and the vast majority of them have died in battle as a result.”
“There are also no Ninth-Order Masters in the 3,000 Worlds because any Eighth-Order Ancestor who has the qualifications to break through to the Ninth-Order is sent to that battlefield as well to fight our enemies!”
“The Cave Heavens and Paradises have played a pivotal role in maintaining the safety and tranquillity of the 3,000 Worlds. The peace you all enjoy is built upon countless generations of blood and sacrifice.”
“This… is the truth you have never been told.”
Yang Kai’s speech caused the expressions of Yan Yi and the others to change greatly. They seemed doubtful, but it was easy to understand their feelings. If Yang Kai himself had been in their position, he would also have had trouble believing something so shocking without witnessing the tragic situation on the Black Ink Battlefield with his own eyes.
The Cave Heavens and Paradises that they silently resent and hate turned out to be the guardians of the vast universe known as the 3,000 Worlds. Moreover, it was only thanks to the silent efforts of the Cave Heavens and Paradises behind the scenes that their Great Territories could remain so prosperous. That completely overturned their understanding of the Cave Heavens and Paradises.
Yan Yi of Golden Light Temple mustered his courage to ask a question, “Senior, who is the enemy that the Cave Heavens and Paradises are fighting?”
“The Black Ink Clan!”
They were of course confused by the answer.
Yang Kai explained, “For countless years, the Cave Heavens and Paradises have restricted information regarding the Black Ink Clan, so it is only natural that you have never heard of them. All you need to know is that they are an enemy who are bent on completely annihilating the Human Race! 200 years ago, they broke through the first line of defence that the Cave Heavens and Paradises were guarding and are currently ravaging the second line of defence located in a place known as the Barren Territory which lies just beyond the Shattered Heaven. That is also the final line of defence for the Human Race. The Black Ink Clan breaking through the Barren Territory means the Cave Heavens and Paradises have ceased to exist, and the 3,000 Worlds will be no more. Naturally, none of you will survive either.”
Jiu Yan, who was being restrained by Yang Kai, seemed rather unconvinced. It might be that he realised Yang Kai’s temperament was mild and not prone to violence; hence, he boldly protested, “That’s just empty words coming from you. How will we know the truth?”
Yang Kai turned to look at Jiu Yan.
Jiu Yan’s expression immediately changed drastically, and he hastily averted his gaze.
On the other hand, Yang Kai abruptly raised his hand and a stream of Black Ink Strength suddenly wrapped around Jiu Yan.
Jiu Yan nearly died of fright, thinking that Yang Kai was trying to kill him, but to his surprise, he did not show any signs of injury when the Black Ink Strength wrapped around him. Nevertheless, his expression soon changed.
“That is the power of the Black Ink Clan. Black Ink Strength is extremely invasive. Once contaminated by the Black Ink Strength, it will not take long for you to become completely corrupted by it. Then, you will be reduced to a Black Ink Disciple whose loyalty is sworn only to the Black Ink Clan!”
While Yang Kai was speaking, Jiu Yan had already noticed that something was wrong. The others might not understand the dangers he was facing, but how could he remain ignorant when he could personally feel the malevolence of Black Ink Strength? It was just as Yang Kai had said. Wrapped in that pitch-black energy, he could feel his entire body and mind being corrupted by it.
“Senior, mercy! I was wrong!” Jiu Yan panicked in fear.
Yang Kai ignored Jiu Yan outright and continued leisurely, “When one’s Small Universe is invaded by Black Ink Strength, a High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master can protect themselves by sacrificing a part of their Small Universe. Unfortunately, those below the High-Rank Open Heaven Realm have no such option. Once a person is completely corrupted by Black Ink Strength, they will be transformed into a Black Ink Disciple. Although nothing about their outward appearance changes, their hearts are completely warped and they become slaves who worship the Black Ink Clan above all else!”
“S-Senior…” Jiu Yan cried in horror. It had not been long since he advanced to the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm so his foundation was unstable and his Small Universe was still weak. How could he resist the invasion of Black Ink Strength? In the time it took for Yang Kai to speak a few sentences, he discovered that 10% of his Small Universe had already been corrupted.
Although Yang Kai had mentioned that he could sacrifice a part of his Small Universe to protect himself, how could he bring himself to do something so drastic? If he were to do that, then he would surely regress to the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm. More importantly, he would never be able to advance to the Seventh Order again.
“Countless Open Heaven Realm Masters have been corrupted by Black Ink Strength on that battlefield. Converted to serve the Black Ink Clan instead, they turned their blades upon their former comrades! Have you ever experienced the pain and helplessness of having to kill your loved ones on the battlefield?”
Witnessing Jiu Yan’s suffering and listening to Yang Kai’s explanation, the people on the ship felt their blood run cold in fear.
Even the two Sixth-Order Masters from Golden Antelope Paradise, Fan Nan and Xi Yuan, shuddered at those words. Although they knew about the Black Ink Clan to a certain extent, they had never stepped foot on the Black Ink Battlefield. It was only natural that they were ignorant about the cruelty of the situation there.
At the same time, Yan Yi and the others finally understood why Yang Kai had claimed that the Black Ink Clan was an enemy that could destroy the entire Human Race. This Black Ink Strength… was simply too evil!
Even a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master was having such a difficult time trying to resist the Black Ink Strength, so what need be said about Fifth-Order and Sixth-Order cultivators like themselves? Wouldn’t they be doomed the moment they were contaminated by Black Ink Strength?
A low roar escaped from Jiu Yan’s throat, making him seem like an injured beast. Wisps of the Black Ink Strength slowly seeped out of his body, and darkness flickered in the depths of his eyes from time to time.
Yang Kai raised a hand and tapped Jiu Yan on the chest.
Jiu Yan involuntarily opened his mouth, and a Purifying Black Ink Pill was tossed into it.
“Carefully refine that pill,” Yang Kai commanded.
Jiu Yan seemed to wake up from his nightmare and hurriedly sat down cross-legged to refine the medicinal efficacies of the Purifying Black Ink Pill.
Yang Kai turned back to Yan Yi and the others, “The Cave Heavens and Paradises have protected the 3,000 Worlds for hundreds of thousands of years. They have been doing so since their Sects were first established. Over the years, innumerable outstanding disciples have lost their lives on that battlefield. Even the Ninth-Order Old Ancestors are no exception. Every one of them is a hero!”
“Restricting the information regarding Black Ink Strength is a necessity. Be that as it may, those from the Second Class great forces who advanced to the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm must also bear some of the burden in this war. Among the people who were taken away, those who are willing to fight the Black Ink Clan and protect the Human Race will be sent to the battlefield. As for those who are unwilling to do so, they will simply remain in Golden Antelope Paradise for the rest of their lives!”
The realisation suddenly dawned upon Yan Yi and the others. They finally understood why the treatment from Golden Antelope Paradise was so different even though all of them had the same experience where their Ancestors and Seniors had been taken away.
Those who were willing to enter the Black Ink Battlefield and fight the Black Ink Clan to protect the futures of their descendants would naturally receive better treatment. How could those who were too cowardly to fight the enemy and simply chose to remain in Golden Antelope Paradise for the rest of their lives receive any kind of support? It was only natural that Golden Antelope Paradise would not give such people any special treatment.
Yan Yi suddenly recalled that Yang Kai had pointed at him and claimed that the special treatment Golden Light Temple received was obtained in exchange for the Former Temple Master’s life. He had misunderstood the meaning behind those words earlier, but he now understood clearly.
“Originally… these matters would not have fallen upon your shoulders. Unfortunately, the situation on the battlefield has changed greatly over the past few hundred years. We are in the middle of a war for the survival of the Human Race. That is why we need your support on the frontlines! The Human Race will be able to rest easy if we win this battle. But, if we lose…” Yang Kai sighed softly. If they lost the battle, then the 3,000 Worlds would be engulfed in the flames of war. At that point, how many people would be able to survive?
Yan Yi felt his blood boiling and immediately shouted, “Golden Light Temple is willing to fight to the death for the Human Race!”
With Yan Yi taking the lead, Bian Yuan Shan also cupped his fist, “The Bian Family is also willing to fight for the Human Race!”
The remaining representatives of the great forces quickly followed suit. Regardless of whether they were truly sincere, who would dare to act presumptuous in front of an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master who had earnestly explained so many things to them? It was only natural for them to express their respective attitudes.
“Good!” Yang Kai shouted, adopting the posture of a senior expert, “Unity is strength! With your determination, the 3,000 Worlds will not need to fear the Black Ink Clan!”
Among all the people present here, nobody knew better than him about the brutality of fighting the Black Ink Clan. When these people stepped onto the battlefield, chances are most would not return alive. Unfortunately, he could only speak such encouraging words under the current circumstances.
Then, he turned back to look at Jiu Yan and said calmly, “As for you…”
Jiu Yan had just managed to purge the Black Ink Strength in his body. Seeing Yang Kai looking at him, he immediately panicked, “Jiu Yan is willing to fight for the Human Race! I will not hesitate to die for this noble cause!”
Yang Kai coldly snorted, “Inciting rebellion for your own selfish interests and shaking the morale of the Army… If this was any of the Great Passes, your death would not be worth pitying. However, the Human Race desperately requires manpower at this moment. As a Seventh-Order Master, you don’t deserve to die by my hand. Go to the battlefield and atone for your crimes!”
Hearing the first half of Yang Kai’s speech made a chill run through Jiu Yan’s body. He thought that he was about to die for certain. The only reason he had tried to incite the others and resist his capture was that he had been unwilling to be controlled by the Cave Heavens and Paradises. Who could have thought that an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master would happen to pass by and capture him instead?
After listening to the rest of Yang Kai’s speech though, he finally breathed a sigh of relief. He had been saved. As for atoning his crimes on the battlefield, there was nothing he could do to escape such a fate; therefore, he could only grovel gratefully, “Many thanks for your mercy, Senior!”
Yang Kai raised a hand and placed several restrictions on Jiu Yan’s body. The restrictions sealed Jiu Yan’s cultivation to prevent him from causing further trouble along the road. Yang Kai then instructed Fan Nan and Xi Yuan, “This matter cannot be delayed any further. You should continue on your journey as soon as you’ve finished your preparations here. The Shattered Heaven is still some distance from here so the earlier you arrive, the sooner you can provide support to the situation there.”
“Yes!” Fan Nan and Xi Yuan quickly responded.
Yang Kai nodded, then with a shift of his figure, he vanished from sight.
He was also heading towards the Shattered Heaven; however, it was inconvenient for him to bring these people along with him despite heading in the same direction.
What’s more, he was planning to stop at Void Land along the way. On the way to the Shattered Heaven, he would only need to travel through two additional Great Territories to arrive at Void Land. Such a detour would not take much time.
However, the previous incident made him realise something. The situation on the battlefield in the Barren Territory must be highly unfavourable for the Human Race; otherwise, the Cave Heavens and Paradises would never be forced to gather support from the 3,000 Worlds.
If this was the case for Golden Antelope Paradise, then the other Cave Heavens and Paradises were surely doing the same. The Human Race might just need to gather all the available manpower in the 3,000 Worlds to stand a chance against the Black Ink Clan.
He couldn’t help feeling worried. Although he had sealed the Territory Gate leading to the Black Ink Battlefield from the Barren Territory and severed the flow of reinforcements and supplies to the Black Ink Clan, that did not mean the Black Ink Clan forces were weak.
During his brief exposure to the situation in the Barren Territory, the number of Royal Lords he detected clearly outnumbered the auras of the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters. This gap between the top Masters was likely to affect the dynamic of the entire war.
Shaking his head, Yang Kai cleared out such distracting thoughts as he hurried onward with all his strength.
It took a whole month of travel before he finally passed through the Territory Gate and arrived in Void Territory. Unfortunately, he was in no mood to admire and appreciate the familiar scenery as he immediately sped forward in the direction of Void Land.
Thanks to the development over the past 1,000 years, Void Land had transformed from a little-known Spirit Province to become famous across the 3,000 Worlds, even possessing several Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters!
The Cave Heavens and Paradises had acquiesced to the existence of the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters in Void Land, unlike in other Second Class great forces where such Masters would be taken away as soon as they reached such a level, leading to rumours that Void Land was the strongest great force below the Cave Heavens and Paradises!
And those claims were undoubtedly true. Void Land’s situation was unique among the Second Class great forces as none of them had Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters.
What’s more, the Void Land’s Sect Master was also the Lord of the Star Boundary. By joining Void Land, one could gain an advantage that would give them a higher chance of being sent to the Star Boundary for cultivation as long as they performed well enough!
The Star Boundary was now a true Open Heaven Realm Cradle. Even the Cave Heavens and Paradises were scrambling over themselves to send their outstanding disciples there to reap benefits from the mysteries of the World Tree clone’s nourishment. Be that as it may, the Cave Heavens and Paradises were also limited by certain quotas, so only their most elite disciples would be sent there.
It was precisely due to these benefits that countless people tried to send their disciples with outstanding aptitudes to Void Land for cultivation. In response, Void Land accepted all who came without rejecting anybody.
Nowadays, the disciples in Void Land no longer consisted of just those who were brought out by Yang Kai from the Star Boundary back then. It was not an exaggeration to say that they now included people from hundreds of Great Territories.
There were as many as 300,000 disciples in Void Land, a number that could only be described as shocking. Few Second Class great forces in the entire 3,000 Worlds had so many disciples.
What’s more, each of these disciples had outstanding aptitude which only improved further after they were sent to the Star Boundary for cultivation in their youth. These disciples demonstrated extraordinary talents and performed far beyond their peers. As long as they did not perish as they walked their Martial Dao, they would surely become pillars of Void Land and the Star Boundary in the future.
It was just that too little time had passed, so the potential of these disciples had not been fully realised yet.
At this moment, on top of a mountain peak in the middle of Void Land. A hunch-backed and stooped old man was playing chess with a fat and bloated middle-aged man dressed in elegant robes.
The battle in the Barren Territory was raging, and almost all the great forces in the 3,000 Worlds had been mobilised; yet, for some reason, this scene was so leisurely and elegant. It was truly a rare sight nowadays.
The hunch-backed old man had long, white eyebrows that hung down his face. On the other hand, the fat man sitting on the opposite side resembled a literal meatball. His bloated face was squeezed together so much that there were only slight gaps where his eyes were located. If he smiled, then even those gaps would be lost in the dense mass of flesh.
At this moment, the fat man held an absolute advantage in the chess game. He had set up an encirclement around the chess pieces of his opponent and only needed a few more moves before his victory would be set in stone; therefore, he was looking extremely triumphant.
Leisurely sipping on his tea, he watched the gloomy old man in front of him and did not pester his opponent to hurry up; after all, the old man was getting on in years, so it was only natural for the fat man to be more tolerant.
Besides the chess players, there were also two children standing to the side. One was a boy dressed in black, and the other was a girl dressed in red. The girl had delicate features that made her seem as though she had been carved out of jade. On the other hand, there were no words to describe the boy who was dressed in a simple black shirt. Leaving aside his fangs and sharp teeth, he would also drool for no reason. Furthermore, his saliva would corrode large holes in the ground whenever it dripped.
Although the little girl kept wiping his mouth for him, there seemed to be no end to his drool. It was obvious that the potholes dotting the entire mountain were caused by this boy.
A long time passed, but the stooped old man did not place his piece. The fat man smiled and joked, “Old Man, it’ll be getting dark soon if you don’t hurry up and make your move… Old Man?”
After repeatedly calling out to the old man but receiving no response, the fat man took a closer look. The old man’s eyes were slightly closed, and there was a slight snoring sound coming from him.
The fat man immediately became speechless as he muttered, “Old Man, do you have to pretend to fall asleep every single time?”
Similar situations had happened more than once or twice; in fact, it happened every single time, so it was almost something of a routine.
Just as the fat man was just about to call out again, the old man opposite him abruptly opened his eyes, looked up into the sky, and uncharacteristically shouted, “He’s back!”
The fat man followed the old man’s gaze but saw nothing; thus, he couldn’t help wondering, “Who’s back?”
When he turned back though, the chessboard in front of him was a total mess and the previous game could no longer be discerned. The old man had clearly flipped the board at some point in time.
“Old Man, you…” The fat man didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
However, the old man ignored the fat man and raised his hand above his head. He made a pushing motion as though he was opening a door and the Nine Heavenly Layers Grand Array that covered the entire Void Land instantly split to the left and right.
At the same time, the fat man seemed to sense something and hastily looked back up into the void. With just one glance, he gave a little scream and rushed out at a speed that did not match his bloated body. He immediately went to welcome Yang Kai, who was leisurely strolling towards them.
Before he even approached Yang Kai, the fat man became emotional and wept bitterly, “Sect Master! You’ve finally returned! This subordinate has been waiting for you for 1,000 years! To think that today is finally that day!”
Yang Kai watched as the massive meatball charged towards him while wailing and blubbering; moreover, its eyes, which had been squeezed shut by the fleshy meat until only a tiny slit remained, were desperately trying to open wide at this moment. It was as though the massive meatball was trying to reveal its bloodshot eyes to demonstrate its utmost loyalty and longing.
Yang Kai immediately shuddered in horror and raised his hand to stop the massive meatball. He shouted, “What is this monster!?”
The fat man froze on the spot as if struck by lightning. A while passed before he raised his hand and parted the fringe covering his forehead to the sides. He pushed his fleshy face nearer and squeezed out a smile, “Sect Master, it’s me! It’s the fatty who holds the greatest loyalty for you!”
Yang Kai finally noticed certain familiar features on that fat face and his brow twitched involuntarily at the realization, “Fatty!? Why have you gotten so fat!?”
Chen Tian Fei had always been obese, but after not seeing him for 1,000 years, he had gotten even more bloated than before. He had practically turned into an actual meatball at this point.
“Please don’t tease me, Sect Master. This subordinate will work hard to lose my body fat tomorrow, no, today!” Chen Tian Fei vowed harshly.
“Forget it!” Yang Kai waved dismissively. He knew that Chen Tian Fei did not become fat because he was lazy. Chen Tian Fei’s Secret Art was simply unique, which resulted in his extremely bloated body. If he lost his fat, then his strength would also be greatly reduced.
Chen Tian Fei immediately seized the opportunity to profess his loyalty again. Smiling brightly, he proclaimed, “You are kind and sympathetic indeed, Sect Master. This subordinate is willing to die to repay your great kindness, Sect Master!”
Yang Kai sighed.
After being away for more than 1,000 years, the first person he met as soon as he returned to Void Land was actually Chen Tian Fei. Nevertheless, it was this particular flattering attitude that made him feel a bit warm and fuzzy inside. Thinking back, it had been a wise decision to accept Fatty Chen into the Loyalty List.
Yang Kai was feeling quite happy at the moment, so unable to help himself, he tapped the belly fat on Chen Tian Fei’s stomach. Although the flesh looked bloated, it felt soft and tender to the touch. It was a very comfortable feeling. He joked, “Did you have a comfortable life?”
It was easy to tell at a glance that Chen Tian Fei had advanced to the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm!
Back when Chen Tian Fei offered up the Loyalty List and signed it to preserve his life, he had only been in the Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm. That was very different from his current cultivation. However, the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm was his limit. He had initially advanced directly into the Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm, so his cultivation could no longer advance any further.