The Ninth-Order Old Ancestors were shouting frantically, losing their prudence, as if they were actually a bunch of immature youngsters who were oblivious to the immensity of Heaven and Earth.
Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao on the other hand just smiled and brushed a lock of hair back behind her ear, “You old farts, acting like a bunch of immature brats here. Only Wu Qing and I could be counted as youths in terms of age, how could you be considered young now that you’ve all got one foot in the grave already?”
Wu Qing, the former Yin-Yang Pass Southern Army Commander, who ascended to the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm about 1,000 years ago, had succeeded Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao in guarding Yin-Yang Pass. Only then did Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao have the opportunity to lead the Great Evolution Army to recapture the Great Evolution Pass.
If there wasn’t a new Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master to take over, Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao would never have been able to leave Yin-Yang Pass.
Upon hearing her remarks, Wu Qing, who was pale-faced and injured, nodded, agreeing with her that he was indeed the youngest member of all the Ninth-Order Old Ancestors. Regarding Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao’s age, while it was unclear whether she was the second youngest or not, who would have the audacity to argue with a woman about her age?
Immediately, another Old Ancestor laughed and said, “Xiao Yue Ya is right. We are indeed all old. You young people are our hope and future, so you and Wu Qing should stay back.”
The smile immediately vanished from Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao’s face as she protested angrily, “Why?”
The oldest Pure Yang Cave Heaven Old Ancestor responded with a smile, “Someone must remain to provide the youngsters with a protector and give them time to mature, or are you going to depend on us old men to do so if you two don’t stay back?”
Displeased, Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao remarked, “Never mind about Wu Qing. I won’t stay back.”
The Old Ancestor of Great Battle Cave Heaven shook his head, “The future of the Human Race lies with the Star Boundary and Yang Kai. Among all Old Ancestors, you are the closest to him, so it only makes sense for you to remain behind and watch over him and the Star Boundary.”
Saying so, he transformed into a streak of light and headed towards the Black Ink Giant Spirit God as the sword in his hand shook slightly, not wanting to wait for Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao’s response.
Just as Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao was about to object, another Old Ancestor walked past her and patted her on the shoulder, “I will leave those useless disciples of Xuan Yuan Cave Heaven to you.”
Then, he transformed into a bird of light and flashed away.
“Why not give us old folks one last opportunity to shine?” Another Old Ancestor grinned and added.
While laughing, he proceeded to chase after the two Ninth-Order Old Ancestors.
Like moths to a flame, the Ninth-Order Old Ancestors rushed by Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao and Wu Qing one after another as they charged straight in the direction of the Black Ink Giant Spirit God boldly, showing no signs of hesitation or regrets.
In an instant, Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao’s vision blurred. Her body trembled, as if she was attempting to go after them; however, her feet appeared to be weighted down, preventing her from moving.
After all, the Old Ancestor of Pure Yang Cave Heaven was right; someone had to stay behind to protect the young ones. Wu Qing was selected by the Ninth-Order Old Ancestors because he had just ascended to the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm, whereas Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao was chosen because of her relationship with Yang Kai.
There was no prior discussion, simply an agreement made by all the other Old Ancestors in the moment.
There was also no room for refusal or objection.
She and Wu Qing were forced to carry this burden by the older ones, leaving them no chance to argue.
After the Ninth-Order Old Ancestors left, Dragon roars and Phoenix cries resounded throughout the void as a majestic and awe-inspiring sight appeared before everyone’s eyes. Surging with the might of Divine Spirits, the leaders of the Dragon Clan and Phoenix Clan unleashed their might as they soared over, causing both Time and Space to contort.
By now, Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao’s eyes were utterly soaked in tears.
Wu Qing, whose face was no less wet, cupped his fist and shouted loudly, “This Junior will not disappoint your expectations!”
Without looking back, he turned and ordered, “Withdraw the Army!”
At this moment, ‘crippled and defeated’ was the most straightforward way of describing the Human Army.
Outside the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, the Humans were defeated for the first time and forced to retreat to the No-Return Pass.
At the No-Return Pass, they were again defeated and retreated to the Barren Territory.
This time was their third defeat!
It wasn’t that Wu Qing and Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao didn’t want to stand and fight to the bitter end, nor did the Human Race Army want to retreat; however, even if they desired to do so, the only option they had at this moment was to withdraw to the 3,000 Worlds.
Simply put, dying in battle might be glorious and honourable, but what about the day after? Should the future be buried along them as well? Admitting defeat and escaping was certainly shameful, but only by living on could hope endure.
In the present situation, living was undoubtedly the more difficult choice. Perhaps death in battle could be a relief to them, ending all their troubles. The survivors, on the other hand, would have to bear heavier burdens.
To preserve hope for the future, it did not matter if they had to endure this humiliation.
As a result, Wu Qing decisively ordered a full withdrawal of the Army. The fact that the Black Ink Clan Army was pouring into the Wind Mist Territory from the Territory Gate and invading the 3,000 Worlds could not be reversed. Instead of allowing the Human Race’s current limited strength to be completely destroyed on this battlefield, it was wiser to live with this humiliation and blood feud. One day, sooner or later, they would make the Black Ink Clan experience 100 times the pain they endured today.
Nobody knew how much it pained Wu Qing to order this retreat, but if one had looked closely, they would see his fist clenched so tightly that fresh blood was drawn from his palms.
Although the fighting spirit and determination of the Army had been reignited by Yang Kai, the Army Commanders did not let the blood rush to their heads and swiftly organized the march to the Territory Gate leading to the Shattered Heaven under the command of Wu Qing. The Black Ink Clan did not pursue them either because there was simply no need to. All they had to do now was to rush into Wind Mist Territory and then wreak havoc.
Chaotic energy impacts and violent shockwaves stuck from the armies’ backs, yet nobody dared to turn around to witness the heartbreaking scene.
Regardless, they could all feel the withering of extremely strong auras without having to turn to look.
With the exception of Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao and Wu Qing, all 35 of the remaining Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters of the Human Race died in battle that day.
Both the Dragon Clan and Phoenix Clan leaders of this generation died as well.
The Barren Territory was filled with mournful Dragons and Phoenixes’ cries.
However, such devastating losses were not in vain.
In that great battle, 44 Royal Lords of the Black Ink Clan perished, along with several million Black Ink Clansmen.
As for the Black Ink Giant Spirit God holding open the Territory Gate, it was also severely injured, its infuriated roars ringing so loudly that they could clearly be heard in neighbouring Wind Mist Territory.
It could be said that the war for the Barren Territory was the most tragic battle between the two Races.
Even though the two Races suffered heavy losses in both the battle outside the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction and at the No-Return Pass, this was undoubtedly the most tragic one. One after another, the injured Ninth-Order Masters and the Royal Lords fell. Never before had there been so many lives of such powerful Masters lost in such a short time.
After the dust settled, Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao and Wu Qing were the only Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters of the Human Race that remained.
On the Black Ink Clan side, only two Royal Lords remained. One guarding the No-Return Pass, while the other had charged into Wind Mist Territory before the final battle.
All the Ninth-Order Masters entered this final battle to drag down the Royal Lords with them.
They understood that in order to give the youngsters an opportunity to grow, there couldn’t be too many top Masters on the enemy’s side; however, in order to kill the Royal Lords, they had to put their lives on the line.
With such a mentality, and knowing what the end result would be, they still went forth boldly without hesitation or regrets.
The outcome was indeed quite fruitful. Even though they were outnumbered, the Old Ancestors struck with such speed and ferocity, catching the enemy completely off guard, that they managed to eliminate almost all of the Royal Lords. In fact, if not for the Black Ink Giant Spirit God, at least 10 of them could have survived.
All of the Ninth-Order Masters that went to war that day, however, perished due to the Black Ink Giant Spirit God’s interference.
After that battle, the Black Ink Clan and the Human Race both had essentially depleted their top combatants.
Besides the Old Ancestors and the Royal Lords, the Human Race still had Ah Er, a Giant Spirit God, Fu Guang, the Divine Dragon who became the new leader of the Dragon Clan, and another Giant Spirit God, Ah Da, whose current whereabouts were unknown.
On the other hand, the Black Ink Clan was left with two Royal Lords, one of which was seriously injured, and two Black Ink Giant Spirit Gods, again one of which was badly injured.
It could be said that the majority of challenges that the Human Race would face in the immediate future had been eliminated by the sacrifice of the Ninth-Order Old Ancestors. As for the longer future, the youngsters would have to take care of that for themselves.
The Barren Territory was a battle of significant impact, a battle that changed the status quo of both the Human Race and the Black Ink Clan. After this war, word about Black Ink Strength could no longer be kept a secret and quickly spread throughout the Great Territories, sparking terror for some time. Fortunately, the vast Human Army had retreated from the Barren Territory. Under the command of Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao and Wu Qing and soon split up into numerous Divisions that were deployed to the various Great Territories to maintain control of the situation and begin evacuations. Even the Great Territories occupied by the Cave Heavens and Paradises would soon be emptied out.
At this point, Wu Qing’s decision to withdraw the Army had proven to be the correct one, because enough troops had been preserved to implement this mass-migration.
Since all these cultivators had personally taken part in the battle against the Black Ink Clan and were aware of how bizarre and difficult to handle Black Ink Strength was, none of them slacked or dallied in this task, working as swiftly and diligently as possible.
Three months later, a few hundred Masters returned from a bloody journey to Void Territory.
Among these people, led by the Heavenly Moon Demon Spider Zhu Jiu Yan, were people like Yang Kai’s Wives Yu Ru Meng and Su Yan, Great Emperors like Iron Blood Zhan Wu Hen, rising stars like Li Wu Yi, and Yang Kai’s friends who he met in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary like Xiang Ying, Fang Yue, and Yang Kai’s subordinates like Hui Gu, Luan Bai Feng, and more.
Even the Dragon Clan members from the Star Boundary’s Dragon Island returned for the first time since they left for the Divine Spirit Ancestral Land to cultivate.
Because these individuals shared the same origin, they were all integrated into the Great Evolution Army by Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao before being divided into various Divisions and Battalions on the Barren Territory battlefield.
Divisions like theirs could be found throughout the Great Territories now.
Old Man Bi Xi could feel the aura of these people soon after they entered Void Territory and so he swiftly opened the Nine Heavenly Layers Grand Array to let them in.
After learning the result of war in the Barren Territory from Zhu Jiu Yin, Old Man Bi Xi sighed heavily, “Yang Kai’s words were prophetic indeed. This day has really come.”
Then, Yu Ru Meng asked in surprise, “Senior, you spoke with that little bastard?”
Old Man Bi Xi nodded, “Yang Kai once returned and told me to take care of it if Void Land needed to be relocated.”
He did question Yang Kai about the severity of the situation on that day, but the latter simply said it was a precaution.
But, looking back, Yang Kai probably had a vague premonition of what was going to happen today, or else he wouldn’t have made such a solemn request.
Turning his head, Old Man Bi Xi said to Xiao Hei, “Tell Lu Xue and Chen Tian Fei to prepare.”
Xiao Hei nodded and left upon hearing this command.
With Yang Kai’s previous warning, Void Land had gotten adequately prepared, so when the time came to evacuate, they could depart at a moment’s notice, bringing along those from Void Star City and even the other Great Forces from Void Territory.
Gritting his teeth, Yang Kai fled through the void as Space Principles undulated.
Behind him was a Royal Lord who was hot on his heels, attacking Yang Kai with various Secret Techniques, forcing him to dodge from side to side.
Yang Kai was unaware of the state of the battle in the Barren Territory and was also unaware that the last of the Ninth-Order Old Ancestors died with the Royal Lords of the Black Ink Clan to pave the future pathway for the Human Race. The only remaining Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters were Wu Qing and Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao.
He didn’t even know that the Human Army had evacuated from the Barren Territory as he was currently running for his life!
Previously, he was single-handedly intercepting and killing the Black Ink Clansmen flooding out from the Barren Territory battlefield into Wind Mist Territory. Under his attacks, Heaven and Earth quivered, and the blood of his enemies flowed and pooled into an ocean.
The Black Ink Clan was naturally enraged by his actions, and immediately, a Royal Lord passed through the passageway and entered Wind Mist Territory.
Yang Kai dared not hesitate once he sensed the Royal Lord’s aura, so without pause, he turned and fled.
Although he had killed the sheep-headed Royal Lord by himself outside the Great Sea Celestial Phenomenon, Yang Kai knew that was due to the multiple coincidences and accidents that aided him.
Even so, Yang Kai had to use four Soul Rending Thorns in quick succession in that battle, which caused his consciousness to become vague and blurry, so he wasn’t even sure how he killed the sheep-headed Royal Lord. All he knew was that when he regained his senses, he was already holding the head of the sheep-headed Royal Lord.
Although his strength had significantly improved since then, Yang Kai understood that he was still not capable of defeating a Royal Lord in a conventional battle.
When he was young and weak, he had experienced being hunted down by Masters far stronger than him, but what frustrated him so was that even after reaching the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm, and becoming extremely powerful, he was still being chased after and hunted by more powerful Masters.
At this point, only Royal Lords and Black Ink Giant Spirit Gods were strong enough to defeat Yang Kai, but he had actually experienced such situations twice in just a few hundred years.
As he was escaping this time, Yang Kai secretly swore that after he ascended to the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm, he would hunt down lone Royal Lords and give them a taste of their own medicine!
While he was still a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, he could barely escape from the sheep-headed Royal Lord with the aid of Purifying Light, but now that he was in the Eighth-Order, his situation was significantly better, even without the assistance of Purifying Light.
In other words, though he might not be the Royal Lord’s opponent, without the strength or ability to isolate space, it would purely be a dream for such a Master to want to kill Yang Kai.
‘Flee if unable to put up a fight’ was a principle Yang Kai had been living by and implementing throughout his entire life.
However, it was still difficult to shake off a Royal Lord. Without the aid from the Purifying Light, there was no way for Yang Kai to isolate himself from the Royal Lord’s aura with his strength alone.
That was not to say he couldn’t escape, but Yang Kai had some reservations about doing so. The current situation was not only because he was not as strong as the opponent, but also because he had other intentions as well.
What worried Yang Kai was Wind Mist Territory. Although he had previously stopped and slain numerous Black Ink Clansmen, many more managed to escape.
Now that he was gone, the Black Ink Clan Army would undoubtedly charge right in.
He knew that Wind Mist Territory was likely to fall in short order, and the catastrophe would subsequently expand to the nearby Great Territories.
Yang Kai could only hope that the Human Race would be able to react quickly and effectively as he no longer had any control over problems relating to the survival of the entire Race.
In the midst of fleeing and dodging attacks, Yang Kai took a glance back and noticed that this Royal Lord was nearly as strong as the sheep-headed Royal Lord he previously met. Both of them were Innate Royal Lords directly created by Mo, unlike Mo Zhao from Great Evolution Theatre, who cultivated to that realm step by step.
The strength of this sort of Innate Royal Lords was exceedingly strong from the moment they were born, equivalent to the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters; however, the one drawback was that their strength was essentially fixed at birth, unable to develop any further.
Both the Innate Royal Lords and Innate Territory Lords were the same.
It could be said that all Innate Territory Lords had no possibility of ascending to become Royal Lords. Although they were born with the combat power on par with the strongest Eighth-Order Human Masters, they did not have the chance to advance further.
One would know that just by observing Territory Lord Che Kong, who was an Innate Territory Lord killed by Yang Kai. Che Kong had been born hundreds of thousands of years ago, yet he remained a Territory Lord.
Everything had its pros and cons. Even an ancient supreme entity like Mo could not resolve such issues.
This Royal Lord was not particularly large, so if it weren’t for the surging of Black Ink Strength from him, he would not appear much different from an ordinary Human.
He attacked Yang Kai the moment he emerged from the Territory Gate on the command of the Black Ink Giant Spirit God. Initially, this Royal Lord thought this would be a simple task, but he never expected that this Eighth-Order Human would be as slippery as an eel, with each of his attempts to capture Yang Kai failing miserably.
The Royal Lord raged after some time of pursuing Yang Kai, vowing in his heart to rip this annoying Human to pieces the moment he caught him.
Yang Kai had no idea how the battle in the Barren Territory was progressing, but neither did the Royal Lord. He had no idea that pursuing Yang Kai actually helped him escape death.
Because it was only moments after he crossed the boundary wall that the Ninth-Order Old Ancestors of the Human Race launched their attack and killed off all other Royal Lords!
Great Territory after Great Territory, he pursued Yang Kai.
The Royal Lord couldn’t help but marvel as he passed through the flourishing Great Territories where he beheld the stunning and picturesque sights.
Since the day he was born, he had lived inside the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, where there was only endless Black Ink Strength and darkness. Afterwards, despite the Black Ink Clan Army’s entry into the Barren Territory, it was completely empty with not even a dead Universe World to be seen.
He had never witnessed a spectacle as breathtaking as this.
Particularly in those Universe Worlds, where the World Force was exceedingly rich. The World Force in those Universe Worlds was nothing less than the most delectable banquet for a Royal Lord like him. The aroma of it wafted from afar to his olfactory senses, tempting him to rush over to devour it.
But, he suppressed his inner thrills and continued to pursue Yang Kai all while picturing the wonderful scenario in his head of when the Black Ink Clan Army eventually conquered the 3,000 Worlds.
With these many prosperous Great Territories serving as their base, the Black Ink Clan would undoubtedly grow rapidly, and by that time, the whole 3,000 Worlds would transform into a strong source of nourishment for the Black Ink Clan.
After the Humans had been entirely defeated and the number of Royal Lords had reached a certain number, they could return to the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction to free Mo.
However, finishing the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master under his nose was currently the most urgent issue. The Royal Lord’s icy eyes glared at the fleeing figure in front of him, and his pace increased by another 30% as his Black Ink Strength surged.
Yang Kai seemed to flee like a stray dog being chased, but in reality he could keep pace with the Royal Lord quite easily. Space Principles flared from time to time as he travelled through the Territory Gates and Great Territories one after another while leading the pursuer behind him.
After a year, Yang Kai finally slowed down, much to the joy of the Royal Lord, who had been pursuing him day and night as he assumed that Yang Kai had finally run out of energy.
Over these days of pursuit, the Royal Lord had used up a lot of his energy too, so nothing more need be said about a mere Eighth-Order Human.
In fact, it was astonishing that Yang Kai could persist for so long.
The distance between them continued to narrow before a Territory Gate came into view. The Royal Lord judged from the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master’s direction that he intended to cross this Territory Gate next.
The Royal Lord had had enough of this chase, so he pushed his strength and unleashed a Secret Technique, allowing him to condense a hand from pure Black Ink Strength that reached out to seize Yang Kai from a distance.
Soon after, Yang Kai was tightly gripped in the palm of the powerful hand.
The screams of that Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master were like music to the ears of the Royal Lord, but suddenly, the Human sprang up and broke free from the black gigantic hand as a burst of light blazed. Immediately after, Yang Kai flashed away into the Territory Gate in front of them.
The Royal Lord was furious as his prey managed to escape again, despite having been captured. Unable to tolerate it, he followed Yang Kai and recklessly plunged into the Territory Gate.
The Royal Lord had experienced such situations many times along the way. He was initially extremely cautious since he was afraid that Yang Kai would ambush him on the other side of the Territory Gates, but since that had never happened, he was no longer on alert.
Because there was a significant strength disparity, plotting an ambush was pointless; the only sensible course of action was to flee.
This time, however, after entering the Great Territory on the other side of the Territory Gate, the Royal Lord immediately sensed something strange.
There were extremely violent energy fluctuations clashing with one another here. Two types of energy appeared to have very different Elements. They continually clashed and ground against each other in a seemingly endless struggle.
The Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master that he had been pursuing was nearby too, looking a little stunned.
And Yang Kai was indeed stunned.
The reason he led the Royal Lord who was chasing him all the way here from Wind Mist Territory was not because he was escaping randomly, but rather because there were allies here who could bring down this Royal Lord.
Two of them, in fact!
This was the Chaotic Dead Territory, the home of the Burning Light and Serene Glimmer.
Yang Kai originally intended to come to the Chaotic Dead Territory to request Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan to descend the mountain and help save the 3,000 Worlds, but since a Royal Lord had been pursuing him, Yang Kai felt the best place to lead him was here.
However, Yang Kai was shocked by what he discovered when he arrived at the Chaotic Dead Territory.
Two gigantic armies were battling against one another in the endless void, fighting a war that was no less intense than the battle between the Humans and the Black Ink Clan on the Black Ink Battlefield. Each Army here had millions of soldiers and their clash was so intense that space itself shook, seemingly on the verge of breaking apart, leaving behind endless fields of corpses.
The two armies appeared to be stone-like statues rather than living beings of flesh and blood, very different in both size and strength compared to the Small Stone Race Yang Kai was familiar with.
Among them were the top combatants, whose auras were actually on par with Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters! These giant stone figures each had a body no less than 1,000 metres tall, making them exceptionally conspicuous on the battlefield.
Although these two grand armies appeared to be of the same Race and shared a similar appearance, the energy and power they wielded were diametrically opposed.
The power held by one of the grand armies was blazing hot; the moment they lifted their hands, it was like a flaming Sun had risen into the sky, shining with such blazing heat that the void seemed to melt under it. The other army held a power that was icy cold and as they activated their Secret Techniques, a crescent Moon appeared and cast its frigid glow onto the void, acting as the nemesis of that flaming Sun.
Both the blazing Suns and the crescent Moons melted into nothingness one after another, creating an endless cycle that was both shocking and breathtaking.
The two armies fighting each other were also quite distinct. Each had a different emblem on their chests, one was a Sun and the other a crescent Moon, which perfectly corresponded to their respective strengths.
When Yang Kai entered this place and saw these two strange armies, his mind went completely blank.
[What the Hell are these things? When did the Chaotic Dead Territory come to have these things?]
[Where is Big Brother Huang? Where is Big Sister Lan?]
Upon closer inspection though, Yang Kai could actually find some resemblance between the Small Stone Race and the soldiers of these two armies. But compared to the Small Stone Race he had raised in his Small Universe, the ones in front of him were undoubtedly larger and their strength was also incomparable.
[Could…could they be the Small Stone Race I left behind?]
Yang Kai found it a little hard to believe.
When Yang Kai had visited the Chaotic Dead Territory in the past, he gifted some of the Small Stone Race in his Small Universe to Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan so they could use them to resolve the dispute that had plagued them since the dawn of their existence, who was the Big Brother or Big Sister. Instead of fighting personally, the two supreme existences would raise armies of Small Stone Race and then have them battle it out to determine the winner and loser between them.
Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan found this solution very appealing and over several years, the two had both racked up numerous wins, earning the privilege of being the older sibling until they were defeated.
Yang Kai too had gained quite a lot from this experience. The Yellow and Blue Crystals he had taken to the Black Ink Battlefield had all been obtained from the Chaotic Dead Territory, and over the years, he had used Purifying Light condensed from those crystals to save countless Human soldiers who had been corrupted by Black Ink Strength.
If it weren’t for the fact that he had spent a decade escaping a Royal Lord, and then another 4,000 years in the Great Sea Celestial Phenomenon cultivating, the Yellow and Blue Crystals he had would not have been used up so quickly.
To Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan, the battle between millions of the Small Stone Race was nothing more than a simple game, a way to more peacefully and conclusively settle their issues.
But now, after 1,000 years, these Small Stone Race members seemed to have undergone some kind of inexplicable change.
Looking at the Small Stone Race members raised in his Small Universe, and then at the two armies of Small Stone Race members currently engaged in an epic war that spanned as far as they could see, Yang Kai really wanted to ask those two how they raised them.
Among the Small Stone Race in Yang Kai’s Small Universe, the strongest ones were only about the height of an ordinary Human and had the strength of an Initial Element or Qi Transformation Realm cultivator, certainly more powerful than a mere mortal, but still an ant compared to true Masters. On the other hand, the most powerful beings here were more than 1,000 metres tall and every part of their body was emanating a fierce and majestic might that was in no way inferior to an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master.
If these two armies were to leave this place on a mission of conquest, no single Sect in the 3,000 Worlds would be able to stop them, not even the Cave Heavens or Paradises. In fact, these armies would even be able to put up a fight against a Black Ink Clan Army of similar size.
But after recalling how the true source of the Yellow and Blue Crystals, Yang Kai no longer found it strange for the Small Stone Race under the Burning Light and Serene Glimmer to undergo such a transformation.
Yang Kai first discovered the Small Stone Race in a New Great Territory connected to the Star Boundary. It was a Race that no one had ever seen before.
The Small Stone Race were very similar to ants in that they had a strict and clear hierarchy. As long as there was an existence similar to an ant queen and ample resources, this Race could rapidly multiply and flourish.
Their demand for resources was extremely low as well as anything with energy could become food for them.
The reason why Yang Kai had raised many Small Stone Race members in his Small Universe was because the benefits each individual of this Race provided in terms of generating World Force were about 10 times the benefits of an ordinary Human.
The time flow of his Small Universe was much faster than the outside world. In other words, if he raised many Small Stone Race, it would save him a lot of time in cultivation and allow his strength to rapidly increase.
After ascending to the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm, Yang Kai broke through to the Seventh-Order in only about 300 years, with a lot of credit being due to the Small Stone Race.
In fact, his breakthrough to the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm was not only because of the Great Sea Celestial Phenomenon but also because of the proliferation of the Small Stone Race.
Be that as it may, Yang Kai didn’t dare to allow the Small Stone Race to develop too much. The Small Stone Race in his Small Universe had always been maintained in a stable range, because once their numbers reached a certain limit, the demand for resources would become too much to bear and some thinning would be required.
Such a problem was obviously non-existent for Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan.
In terms of resources, the Chaotic Dead Territory was the most abundant place in the 3,000 worlds, with Yellow and Blue Crystals literally floating around the void as they were simply the remnants formed from the clash between the Burning Light and Serene Glimmer’s energy.
In other words, if these two were willing, they could allow the Small Stone Race to expand almost without end. Clearly, after 1,000 years of such rapid evolution, the Small Stone Race in the Chaotic Dead Territory had developed to the point where elites comparable to Eighth-Order Masters had emerged from their ranks.
Yang Kai had come to the Chaotic Dead Territory for two reasons. Firstly, to ask Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan to leave the Chaotic Dead Territory, and secondly, to deal with the tail chasing him.
But as soon as he entered this place, the sight of two Small Stone Race armies fighting with each other really caught Yang Kai by surprise.
[By the looks of it, Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan’s game is still ongoing, and it has already developed to such a ridiculous state.]
By the time he figured out the reason behind these changes, the Royal Lord had caught up to him.
Just as Yang Kai was about to continue fleeing though, a sudden and unexpected change occurred.
The two Small Stone Race armies that were engaged in a fierce battle suddenly all stopped fighting the moment the Royal Lord appeared. All of the Small Stone Race members, regardless of their height or strength, turned their eyes towards the Royal Lord, as if they were drawn in by some kind of irresistible force.
The next instant, the 1,000-metre tall Small Stone Race members roared angrily towards the sky and beat their chest with both hands, sending pieces of rocks flying off everywhere, before charging straight towards the Royal Lord.
Yang Kai could clearly see unbridled hatred burning in the Small Stone Race’s eyes.
The two armies instantly converged into two torrents of Yin and Yang that crashed into the Royal Lord.
The Royal Lord was enraged.
He was already in a foul mood after having failed to catch Yang Kai time and time again for over a year, so when the two Small Stone Race armies started pestering him for no reason, how could he tolerate it?
A thick wave of Black Ink Strength surged from him, transforming into a vast Black Ink Cloud that covered a massive stretch of the void. The wave of Black Ink Strength ripped the Small Stone Race members to pieces. Even the Small Stone Race members that were 1,000 metres tall couldn’t withstand this kind of force for more than a few breaths before they were broken apart.
Nonetheless, the two armies courageously pressed forward like moths to a flame, soon surrounding the Black Ink Ocean in multiple layers, as if they were not afraid of death.
From the start, the Small Stone Race didn’t fear death. Firstly, they didn’t have the cognizance to do so as their intelligence was too low for that and this trait seemed to have remained unchanged, even if the strength of the Small Stone Race in the Chaotic Dead Territory far exceeded that of their ordinary clansmen. Secondly, this kind of slaughter was just a day-to-day occurrence to them.
Normally, the Small Stone Race armies would keep fighting and never retreat a single step unless Big Brother Huang or Big Sister Lan gave the order to withdraw.
Even when they were facing the Royal Lord right now, the thought of backing down never crossed their minds.
More and more Small Stone Race members were sent flying as bits and pieces of rock almost filled the entire void.
The fearless charge of the Small Stone Race members sent the Black Ink Clan Royal Lord into a fury and he kept attacking them without mercy. Amid this fierce battle, he tried using his Black Ink Strength to corrupt these strange creatures and turn them into his slaves, but after a few attempts, he was shocked to discover that Black Ink Strength, which had terrorized the Human Race for millions of years, was completely ineffective against these ignorant creatures.
This left the Royal Lord perplexed, wondering what the Hell these things were.
Much to his shock and dismay, there were living beings in this world who could completely ignore Black Ink Strength! Even Divine Spirits like the Dragons and Phoenixes only showed a strong resistance against Black Ink Strength, but could not totally disregard it.
These creatures had wildly varying strength, and they looked as if they were made from stone and had no flesh or blood.
The Royal Lord even saw many Small Stone Race members cannibalizing the corpses of their fallen comrades, grabbing bits and pieces of rocks and tossing them into their mouths before chewing and swallowing. Soon after, the aura of those particular Small Stone Race members grew stronger…
Yang Kai was somewhat surprised by the actions of the two Small Stone Race armies until suddenly, he recalled his second visit to the Chaotic Dead Territory.
At that time, he had come here in hopes of finding a solution to the corruption of Human cultivators by Black Ink Strength. It was then that he had obtained the Great Sun and Great Moon Marks. Using these two marks on the backs of his hands, Yang Kai could extract the power of the Yellow and Blue Crystals to create Purifying Light.
Back then, Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan showed obvious looks of disgust when they sensed Black Ink Strength.
Back then, Yang Kai had not come into contact with many ancient secrets as his strength was low. He did not have a clear idea of the situation back then, but now he had some idea.
If the Burning Light and Serene Glimmer really were related to the Primordial Light, it was only natural for them to hate and reject Black Ink Strength, as Black Ink Strength was the Primordial Darkness opposite the Primordial Light. Basically, Black Ink Strength and Purifying Light, which was based on Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan’s power, opposed and countered each other.
This was probably the reason why Purifying Light could dispel Black Ink Strength.
The Small Stone Race, which had inherited these two strengths, naturally had an instinctive hostility towards Black Ink Strength. That was why, the moment the Royal Lord appeared in the Chaotic Dead Territory, the two Small Stone Race armies, who were locked in a fierce battle against each other, stopped fighting and attacked the Royal Lord, driven by their instincts.
After sacrificing many of their companions, the two armies split up and surrounded the Royal Lord.
Furthermore, as these two armies had inherited the power of Burning Light and Serene Glimmer, from a distance, it looked as if they had transformed into a giant Yin-Yang symbol that enveloped the massive Black Ink Cloud.
Be that as it may, these two armies couldn’t stop this Royal Lord, and if given enough time, the latter would surely be able to wipe these Small Stone Race members eventually.
At this moment, Yang Kai suddenly felt the back of his hands become hot. When he looked down, he saw that the Great Sun and Great Moon Marks that generally remained hidden had appeared on their own.
At this moment, Yang Kai had a stroke of inspiration.
The next instant, he fiercely stretched his hands out. A wave of World Force fluctuations spread out from him as two enormous illusory palms emerged from his hands. As he curled his fingers and pulled his hands closer, causing the two enormous palms to mimic his actions, enclosing the battlefield in the centre.
Great Sun and Great Moon Marks had also appeared on the back of the giant palms, and each mark was equally massive.
The Yin-Yang fish that had enclosed that enormous Black Ink Cloud also changed at this moment. Under the guidance of the two marks, streams of energy emerged from the Small Stone Race members before fusing together.
The next moment, an extremely pure white light began to bloom within the darkness. In an instant, the white light lit up the entire void like it was high noon.
Purifying Light!
Usually, Yang Kai displayed Purifying Light that could disperse Black Ink Strength by drawing on Yellow and Blue Crystals with the help of the two great marks.
Although he didn’t have any Yellow or Blue Crystals with him now, the Small Stone Race members on the battlefield were equivalent to pieces of the Yellow and Blue Crystals.
Yang Kai had never used Purifying Light on such a huge scale. With the support of the Yin and Yang Elements of the two Small Stone Race armies, this Purifying Light seemed capable of illuminating the entire Chaotic Dead Territory.
The thick Black Ink Cloud began to rapidly evaporate under the brilliance of the pure white light, revealing the hidden Royal Lord whose face was filled with shock, obviously unable to understand what just happened.
The unstoppable Black Ink Strength that struck terror into the hearts of the Human Race and all other living beings was actually restrained by some other force!
The Royal Lord was immediately struck with panic.
Under the guidance of the Great Sun and Great Moon Marks, the two armies of different attributes interweaved together, chasing after each other in a circle like a giant millstone. Every time the Yin-Yang Millstone completed a circle, Black Ink Strength surrounding the Royal Lord’s body would be ground away.
As a large part of the energy was drained from the Small Stone Race members, they quickly shrunk back to their normal size.
The Royal Lord, on the other hand, increased the pace of his merciless onslaught. No Small Stone Race member was able to approach within a 100-kilometre radius of him, owing to his surging Black Ink Strength.
But after a short while, the Royal Lord felt his strength rapidly depleting. Only now did he catch sight of Yang Kai in the distance and understand that he was behind all of this.
This sent the Royal Lord into a frenzy. He let out a fierce roar as his Humanoid body suddenly ballooned into a hideous giant. The next moment, he forcefully broke out of the encirclement of the two Small Stone Race armies by relying on his profound strength and charged straight towards Yang Kai.
Be that as it may, his aura was unstable at the moment, clearly having taken a huge hit under the Purifying Light.
Nonetheless, Yang Kai had no intention of fighting him to the death. When he saw the Royal Lord break out of the encirclement, he simply turned around and ran while shouting, “Big Brother Huang, Big Sister Lan, your Little Brother is in danger! Save me!”
The relentlessly pursuing Royal Lord furrowed his brow after hearing this. He had no idea what was so special about this ‘Big Brother Huang’ and ‘Big Sister Lan’ that Yang Kai was requesting for their help, but anger was now blinding him so the only thing on his mind was to catch Yang Kai and tear him to pieces to calm his rage.
In the Chaotic Dead Territory, it wasn’t just two armies that were fighting each other, there were in fact many other armies fighting each other as well.
These armies varied in size and numbers, ranging from a few thousand to even a few million. It was just that the two armies that Yang Kai saw just after entering the Chaotic Dead Territory were comparatively larger.
At first, Yang Kai was already surprised by the fact that Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan had raised armies like these two, but to his astonishment, he learned that what he saw was just a small part of their forces.
By the looks of it, the entire Chaotic Dead Territory was engulfed in the war of the Small Stone Race, rendering Yang Kai speechless at the sight.
Furthermore, every single Small Stone Race member would immediately stop and attack the Royal Lord the moment they sensed his aura.
Be that as it may, they were unable to stop the Royal Lord. Even if Yang Kai used their energy to create a mass of Purifying Light, he could only delay the pursuing Royal Lord for a moment, that was all.
Yang Kai had no intention of fighting the Royal Lord head-on so he kept rushing to the depths of the Chaotic Dead Territory, shouting non-stop.
Only when he suddenly felt two shocking auras approaching him did he finally stop and call out, his face beaming with joy, “Big Brother Huang, Big Sister Lan, your Little Brother has come to see you!”
The pursuing Royal Lord behind Yang Kai also sensed the Burning Light and Serene Glimmer’s auras and his complexion immediately changed. Abruptly coming to a halt, he focused his senses for a moment before hurriedly turning around and fleeing.
Obviously, he had noticed the strength of the Burning Light and Serene Glimmer and also understood why Yang Kai had lured him here. It was to seek help from these two beings.
However, just as the Royal Lord was trying to escape, a golden chain appeared behind him all of a sudden. The chain was emanating an extremely rich Yang Element aura; obviously, it was created from Big Brother Huang’s strength.
The chain wrapped around the Royal Lord like it had a mind of its own.
The Royal Lord was quite strong too and his Black Ink Strength surged as he tried to shake off the chains. But suddenly, a small head popped out of the chain. Who knows when Big Brother Huang hid in this chain, but when he did appear, he just lightly blew at the Royal Lord.
This action might have seemed ordinary, but it sent the Royal Lord tumbling through the void.
By the time he regained his balance, a little girl in a light blue dress happened to be standing in front of him, gazing down at him with an innocent and pure gaze.
Enraged, the Royal Lord punched straight at her.
The little girl raised her skirt with both hands and gently lifted her foot, kicking the oncoming fist lightly.
Oddly though, the little girl’s figure remained motionless while the Royal Lord was sent flying like an arrow fired from a bow.
The Royal Lord was completely terrified!
[Who the Hell are these two!?] Much to the Royal Lord’s shock, the two ‘Humans’ were tossing him like he was a piece of trash. What terrified the Royal Lord even more was the fact that he had a faint instinctual fear towards these two insignificant Humans.
The Royal Lord tried his best to regain his footing, but right then, Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan shot towards him, leaving two trails of light, one yellow and one blue. The two circled around the Royal Lord and at first, he could still make out their figures, but gradually, he lost sight of them as his vision filled with streaks of yellow and blue light slowly forming a huge net around him.
Yang Kai heard the Royal Lord’s roars and snarls.
The next moment, the yellow and blue colours fused together, transforming into a pure white light. Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan also simultaneously stopped and drifted away.
In Yang Kai’s sight, the Royal Lord’s figure was no longer visible, leaving only a white cocoon that was radiating a pure and gentle light.
This light had the same aura as the Purifying Light he used, but it was many, many times stronger and more intense than his own Purifying Light.
This wasn’t a surprise though, as Yang Kai condensed Purifying Light from mere remnants of the Burning Light and Serene Glimmer’s strength, while this Purifying Light was directly condensed by the two supreme beings.
With a deafening bang, the cocoon of light exploded into countless wisps of light. As for the Royal Lord who should have been trapped in this cocoon of light, he simply vanished.
Yang Kai was even unable to sense remnants of his aura!
Yang Kai was bewildered at the sight of this as he inwardly praised Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan as truly being worthy of being the ancestor of all the Divine Spirits. Even a Master as strong as a Royal Lord was disposed of with ease by the two of them.
If he could persuade them to come forward, there would be no need to fear the Black Ink Clan again!
Yang Kai estimated that these two would even be able to kill the Black Ink Giant Spirit Gods without much difficulty.
Yang Kai then enthusiastically greeted the two, “Big Brother Huang, Big Sister Lan, long time no see. Your Little Brother has missed you very much all these years. Now that I’ve seen your noble bearing once more, this Little Brother’s longing for you has finally been quenched.”
Big Brother Huang completely disregarded his flattery as a furrow appeared at his brow and he asked, “Where did that foul thing come from?”
Big Sister Lan rebuked, pursing her lips, “Had you not been chased by him, why would you even think of us? You didn’t even come to play with us all these years. I think you must have forgotten about us.”
Yang Kai put on an earnest look as he defended himself, “Of course not, your Little Brother has been thinking about you two day and night ever since we parted. Unfortunately, this Little Brother was dispatched to a distant battlefield and was unable to return. However, the moment I came back, I immediately came here to see you.”
Big Brother Huang lightly snorted, “You also brought an enemy with you and asked for our help, am I right?”
Yang Kai stated, embarrassed, “Little Brother’s skills are lacking. As I was not his opponent, I had no choice but to turn to you. It’s only natural for Big Brothers and Big Sisters to take care of their Little Brothers.”
Yang Kai’s face was filled with flattery when he was in front of the Burning Light and Serene Glimmer, which suddenly made him realize how Chen Tian Fei must have felt when facing him.
[That Fatty is still quite good, I should treat him better when I return and stop trying to scare him…]
Big Brother Huang stated, waving off, “Forget it, we Big Brother and Little Sister can’t win against you in a war of wor…”
Before he could finish, the nearby Big Sister Lan shouted, “Big Brother and Little Sister? Humph! It’s Big Sister and Little Brother!”
Big Brother Huang shot a disdainful glance at her, “Wait until you have defeated me in this battle. We are Big Brother and Little Sister until it is over.”
Big Sister Lan suddenly became a little dispirited and depressed. Apparently, she had lost the last round.
As someone who had accompanied these two for a few years, Yang Kai was not surprised by this familiar sight.
Big Brother Huang then turned to Yang Kai and asked, “Tell me, what made you come here this time?” Before Yang Kai could say anything, he interrupted, “Don’t say it’s because you really missed us.”
Yang Kai first smiled in embarrassment before he quickly cupped his fist and requested, “The Black Ink Clan has invaded the 3,000 Worlds and is about to wreak havoc upon all the innocents living in it. Little Brother earnestly requests you two descend the mountain and help resolve the Human Race’s crisis!”
Big Brother Huang slightly frowned, “The Black Ink Clan? Like the one who died just now?”
Yang Kai nodded his affirmation, “Indeed. He was a Royal Lord of the Black Ink Clan, equivalent to a Human Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master.”
“How many Royal Lords like him are there?”
Yang Kai answered, “Originally, there were 200 or so, but now there are only a few dozen left. But the biggest danger posed by the Black Ink Clan is not how many Royal Lords they have, but rather the unique characteristics of their Black Ink Strength. You two must have seen it, so you should know how peculiar it is.”
Big Brother Huang nodded his acknowledgement.
Yang Kai continued, “The Black Ink Clan uses something called Black Ink Nests to create more clansmen. So long as they have ample resources, they can keep creating more soldiers. Originally, the Humans tried to eliminate them on the Black Ink Battlefield, but unfortunately, we were defeated and our defences were breached a year ago. Now, the Black Ink Clan has broken through the boundary walls and invaded the 3,000 Worlds. If we don’t find a way to stop them, the Human Race will be finished and we will have no place left in this world! The Humans can take care of the Black Ink Clan Army, but the Black Ink Clan has two Black Ink Giant Spirit Gods, whose strength is too much for us. Unless Big Brother and Big Sister take action, there will be no way to stop them.”
Having finished speaking, Yang Kai cupped his fist again, “I earnestly request that the two of you come out of seclusion and save the 3,000 Worlds, saving the Human Race from this crisis!”
Big Brother Huang let out a long sigh, “Things have become so grim?”
Yang Kai nodded, “It will only get worse from here.”
When he escaped from Wind Mist Territory, the passageway had already been fully opened. A year had already passed by now, so he had no idea about the situation in the 3,000 Worlds.
Big Sister Lan, who had been silent all this time, suddenly stated, “But we can’t leave here.”
Yang Kai was taken aback, “Even now?”
Big Sister Lan explained, “Since you know our identities, I believe you’ve also heard the rumours about us from the Humans, and those rumours are not exaggerated. We are physical representations of death and destruction. We’ve told you this before. It’s fine if we are in the Chaotic Dead Territory as it has no vitality… but wherever we go, every place will become part of the Chaotic Dead Territory.”
Naturally, Yang Kai had heard of these rumours before and understood what the consequences of them taking action would be.
Big Brother Huang heaved a long sigh, “Originally, the Chaotic Dead Territory wasn’t so big, it was only the size of an ordinary Great Territory, but later it became this…”
Big Brother Huang started speaking but hesitated to continue. As such, Big Sister Lan took over, “Long ago, our consciousnesses were muddled, which resulted in the destruction of many Great Territories, and that’s how the current size of the Chaotic Dead Territory came to be. After we gained sentience, we no longer dared to freely wander about, so we stayed here to avoid harming other places.”
[This sounds a little familiar…]
Suddenly, Yang Kai recalled that the formation of the Black Ink Battlefield was quite similar to the Chaotic Dead Territory, both were the fusion of many Great Territories. However, the Black Ink Battlefield was the result of the wanton release of Mo’s Black Ink Strength, whereas when the Burning Light and Serene Glimmer came to realize the dangers of their power, they chose to remain isolated in the Chaotic Dead Territory.
“I see… Is there really nothing we can do about it?” Yang Kai was puzzled.
Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan looked at each other before answering in unison, ““It’s because we can’t control our own strength.””
Yang Kai was dumbstruck by this revelation for a moment, but then, he recalled the scene when he first came to the Chaotic Dead Territory and realization instantly dawned upon him, “That makes sense; after all, there were so many Yellow and Blue Crystals here!”
The first time he came to the Chaotic Dead Territory, things were not as peaceful as they were now.
At that time, the Chaotic Dead Territory was filled with the energy leaking out of the Burning Light and Serene Glimmer. The Yin and Yang Element energies manifested into a myriad of strange avatars that kept clashing with each other everywhere in the Chaotic Dead Territory, literally shaking the void.
Had Giant Spirit God Ah Er not accompanied him at that time, how would Yang Kai, who was just in the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm, have survived unscathed? He would have died the moment he entered, leaving not even a trace of his existence behind. This was a place where even the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master could not survive for more than a few breaths.
The entrance to the Chaotic Dead Territory was always guarded by the Cave Heavens and Paradises, with an Eighth-Order Ancestor and several Seventh-Order Masters stationed all year around. It was a mission assigned to Eighth-Order Masters in turn. Normally a dozen Masters would be present at the entrance, tasked with monitoring the Chaotic Dead Territory and the movements of the Burning Light and Serene Glimmer.
This mission was both wonderful and terrible. It was terrible because it was very dangerous. Even though the Chaotic Dead Territory did not expand often, sometimes remaining unchanged for thousands of years, and the Burning Light and Serene Glimmer never came out, if someday these two Supreme Beings got bored and decided to take a walk, the Masters monitoring the entrance would be the first to suffer.
On the other hand, the reason why it was wonderful was that the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters stationed here would have the opportunity to collect some Yin and Yang Element materials at the outskirts of the Chaotic Dead Territory. If they were in luck, they could easily harvest some Seventh-Order or even Eighth-Order materials.
Yang Kai had visited the Chaotic Dead Territory twice and had met the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master guarding the entrance both times, but he had not seen anyone this time. Similarly, there was no trace of the cultivators he left behind last time to help serve as Generals for these two’s war games. Most probably, they had already left to fight against the Black Ink Clan.
It was precisely because of the dangers of the Chaotic Dead Territory that there was such a shortage of Yin and Yang Element materials, despite the entire Chaotic Dead Territory being absolutely filled with Yellow and Blue Crystals.
If the Burning Light and Serene Glimmer could perfectly control their own strength, there would be no Yin and Yang avatars to confront each other, and neither would there be any Yellow and Blue Crystals.
It was precisely because they couldn’t control their own strength that their energies would leak from their bodies, which would cause all other things.
Later on, when Yang Kai left the Small Stone Race in the Chaotic Dead Territory, the two had tried to directly channel their energies into the Small Stone Race, which ultimately caused the Small Stone Race to mutate.
It didn’t make sense that Yang Kai’s Small Stone Race still remained the same after tens of thousands of years in his Small Universe, while the Chaotic Dead Territory’s Small Stone Race had undergone an astonishing transformation. Surprisingly, even members comparable to Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters had been born here, but when the pure energy of the Burning Light and Serene Glimmer were taken into account, it was only natural for evolution to occur.
The continuous fights between the Small Stone Race were mainly driven by the characteristics of their race, as well as by the Burning Light and Serene Glimmer’s energies.
It could be said that the confrontation between the Yin and Yang in the Chaotic Dead Territory had never stopped. Only the way they were clashing had changed, and the reason for this change was because it was deliberately directed by Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan.
Naturally, Yang Kai already knew of this.
It was just that he couldn’t understand how beings as powerful as Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan couldn’t control their own strength. Logically speaking, the stronger one was, the greater the control they had of their own strength, but when it came to Burning Light and Serene Glimmer, it was the exact opposite.
Nonetheless, if what they said was true, the destruction they would cause might be even worse than the Black Ink Clan.
Yang Kai really wanted these two to leave the Chaotic Dead Territory to deal with the Black Ink Giant Spirit Gods, but by the looks of it, this was just wishful thinking on his part.
Unwilling to give up though, Yang Kai asked, “Are you two completely unable to restrain your strength?”
Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan both vigorously shook their heads like rattle drums.
Yang Kai rubbed his aching brow and asked, “Have the two of you ever tried to fuse together?”
“Like this?” Big Brother Huang sent a wisp of his Great Sun Force.
Big Sister Lan didn’t say a word as she also sent a wisp of her Great Moon Force.
The two wisps of energies of two different colours slowly converged together and quickly fused into a flash of white light…
Yang Kai stated, “I don’t mean merging your energies, but you two merging together?”
The Burning Light and Serene Glimmer both stared at him in a perplexed manner, “How do we merge?”
For a moment, Yang Kai didn’t know how to explain. All he could do was elaborate, “There is a Black Ink Battlefield just outside of the 3,000 Worlds, which is the front line where various Cave Heavens and Paradises resisted the Black Ink Clan. The Humans and Black Ink Clan have been fighting on that battlefield for countless years. Little Brother went to the Black Ink Battlefield more than 1,000 years ago, and about 500 years ago, the Human Race Army embarked on a grand crusade to the source of the Black Ink Clan, where I met an ancient Supreme Master and came to learn of some ancient secrets.”
Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan didn’t interrupt him, rather both of them summoned a ball of energy that transformed into a mat. They sat down on their respective mats and stared at Yang Kai with great interest; their eyes were filled with anticipation as if they were waiting for him to continue.
It had always been just the two of them in the vast Chaotic Dead Territory, so it was quite boring for them. They rarely got to hear something interesting about the outside world, so naturally, the two were quite happy and excited.
Yang Kai shot a profound stare at them, “Some of these things may have something to do with you two.”
“En en,” Big Sister Lan repeatedly nodded while Big Brother Huang listened attentively.
Yang Kai couldn’t help but feel as if he was storytelling, with two loyal listeners sitting in front of him…
“Rumor has it that, when the Chaos separated into Heaven and Earth, the first Primordial Light appeared in the World, along with its counterpart, the Primordial Darkness …”
When he reiterated everything he had heard from Cang about the first ray of light and darkness, nothing was exciting about it, it was just going back in time.
Big Brother Huang clucked his tongue and rebuked, furrowing his brow, “Not interesting!”
Big Sister Lan also nodded in agreement.
Both of them felt that if they kept listening to Yang Kai’s nonsense anymore, they would be bored to death.
Yang Kai helplessly stated, “You two, it’s not a question of whether it is exciting or not, don’t you have any ideas?”
Big Brother Huang voiced his thoughts, “According to that old man named Cang, Mo is the manifestation of Primordial Darkness. If we want to eliminate him, do we need to find the world’s first light, the Primordial Light?”
“Yes!”
Big Sister Lan asked, “Do you suspect we are born from the Primordial Light?”
Yang Kai nodded, “Purifying Light is the nemesis of Black Ink Strength, and Purifying Light is the result of the fusion of your energies. I can’t help but think they are related.”
Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan glanced at each other before the former sighed, “I didn’t expect that after hiding for so many years, it would still be discovered.”
Big Sister Lan also sighed and added, “There’s nothing we can do if we’re discovered.”
“You two really are born from the Primordial Light?” Yang Kai was overjoyed.
Yang Kai’s eyes were filled with anticipation. If Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan were really born from the Primordial Light, then he had found a way to deal with Mo, the source of the Black Ink Clan. As long as he could solve the problem of the source of the Black Ink Clan, sooner or later, the entire Black Ink Clan would be wiped out. At that time, peace would return to the 3,000 Worlds.
“What should we do?” Brother Huang looked at Big Sister Lan.
“We can only do that,” Big Sister Lan replied solemnly.
Yang Kai watched as these two spoke in riddles. He was afraid that they would try to silence him; fortunately, the Burning Light and Serene Glimmer didn’t have such intentions. After exchanging a few words, the two of them stood up and, just like when they had killed the Royal Lord, their figures intertwined with each other, swirling in the void.
Yang Kai clenched his fists, his face filled with excitement and anticipation.
As expected, these two were born manifestations of the Universe’s Primordial Light, but somehow separated into two entities. However, the Burning Light and Serene Glimmer were seemingly able to fuse into one body at critical moments!
The Black Ink Clan crisis could be resolved with the Primordial Light! Even Mo, the source, could be eliminated!
The two small figures intertwined faster, the yellow and blue colours quickly fused together and transformed into a dazzling white light. Soon, Yang Kai saw the light cocoon again.
Earlier, the Royal Lord had been wrapped in this white cocoon of light, and when it shattered, the Royal Lord had simply vanished into nothingness.
Now that this light cocoon had reappeared, Yang Kai’s heart was rapidly pounding in excitement.
After a while, the light cocoon completely stabilized and floated in front of Yang Kai like a real cocoon.
Yang Kai called out a few times, but there was no response from Big Brother Huang or Big Sister Lan, so he gently stretched out his hand and touched the cocoon.
It was like a solid object, soft and supple, as if he was touching the skin of the most tender baby in the world.
Yang Kai couldn’t help but reach out and gently pinch it…
With a bang, the cocoon of light blew up into countless wisps of light. There was no aura. Nothing. As though it had never existed.
Yang Kai’s entire body went completely cold as if he had fallen into a frozen river before he panicked.
[Exploded!?]
[I pinched it casually, but it blew up!?]
[The cocoon of light exploded… did I just destroy the Primordial Light? Impossible…]
[Am I going to become the eternal sinner of the Human Race…?]
In the future, whenever someone mentioned Yang Kai’s name, they would say that it was he who had destroyed the light cocoon and destroyed the world’s Primordial Light, causing the Human Race to lose the means to deal with the Black Ink Clan.
In an instant, all kinds of thoughts flashed across Yang Kai’s mind like lightning, filling his chest with regret and indescribable pain, but the next moment, he was completely dumbstruck.
Two small figures appeared from behind these glowing specks of light. Big Brother Huang asked with a huge smile, “Are you surprised?”
Big Sister Lan excitedly asked, “Are you surprised?”
The two of them had a look of joy on their faces, like their prank had succeeded.
In that moment, filled with both relief and rage, the veins on Yang Kai’s forehead bulged and he unconsciously raised his fist and socked two naughty children over the head.
Of course, after his fist landed on their heads, Yang Kai abruptly came back to his senses. How could these two… be so easily beaten by him? Even with his current strength, if either of these two even sneezed too hard at him, he would be vaporized.
Yang Kai’s head was filled with indignation and anxiety at that moment and acted without thinking, only wanting to teach these brats a lesson.
Naturally, Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan were also struck dumb by this and both of them stared blankly at Yang Kai, holding their heads.
This was probably the first time someone had ever knocked on their heads.
Yang Kai had also fallen into a daze. Looking at their figures before him, he suddenly recalled that while he might address them cordially as Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan, they were two of the most powerful Masters to have ever lived. Of course, they were still children at heart.
The ancient Supreme Masters Mo was also childlike, so how could the Burning Light and Serene Glimmer, who were from the same era and possessed the same level of strength, not be similar. It could be that countless years of isolation from the outside world had prevented them from maturing. Or, it might just be the Universe trying to achieve some kind of balance.
Yang Kai had placed all his hopes of defeating Mo on them, and had even asked for them to merge together, yet he had never asked their opinion.
[Right now, they are Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan, but what if they really merged? What would become of them?]
Feeling somewhat guilty, Yang Kai sighed and gently rubbed their heads.
Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan seemed to have sensed the change in Yang Kai’s mood. Big Brother Huang tilted his head to avoid his hand and stated, “If we really could merge, we would have discovered it long ago. Why would we wait for you to remind us?”
Big Sister Lan also nodded, but she didn’t avoid Yang Kai’s hand, rather her eyes became slightly narrow as a look of enjoyment appeared on her face.
“But…” Big Brother Huang’s tone suddenly changed, “We sensed something strange over the years.”
“Like what?” Yang Kai asked.
Big Brother Huang thought about it for a moment, as if he was trying to sort out his words. After a while, he finally replied, “We have a vague memory from the time when our consciousnesses were not fully developed. It’s as if we Brother and Sister, once existed together somewhere, but one day we suddenly left that place and appeared in the Chaotic Dead Territory.”
Yang Kai’s eyes lit up after hearing this, “What kind of place was that?”
Big Brother Huang shook his head in response, “We were ignorant at that time and we only have some vague memories of it now.”
Big Sister Lan added, “I think it’s not that we left, but rather that we were abandoned.”
“Abandoned?” Yang Kai was shocked. [These two were already among the strongest beings in existence the moment they were born, so how could they have been abandoned?]
Nonetheless, the only thing he was certain of now was that Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan were deeply related to the Primordial Light, or else their combined strength would not have been able to restrain the Black Ink Strength so easily.
The Primordial Light and Black Ink Strength were basically complete opposites.
According to Cang, the Primordial Light should have gained sentience a long time ago and now, it might not be in the form of a simple light. It could be a tree, a flower, or anything else in this World.
Combined with what Big Sister Lan had said, Yang Kai suddenly had a bold guess.
[Could it be that after the Primordial Light gained sentience, it stripped away the Great Sun Force and Great Moon Force from its body? That Great Sun Force eventually became the Burning Light, and the Great Moon Force turned into the Serene Glimmer. But in that case, where is its main body?]
Perhaps, Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan’s inability to control their own strength was related to this, because they themselves were only two parts of that Primordial Light. Currently, they are damaged and incomplete, so naturally, they are unable to control their strength, leading to the continuous confrontation between their innate Forces.
But in that case, why did Primordial Light strip these two from its body? What form did it take afterwards?
Unable to figure anything out, Yang Kai suddenly thought of something else and asked, “The World reveres the two of you as the ancestors of all Divine Spirits, but did the two of you really give birth to the Divine Spirits’ Bloodlines?”
Big Sister Lan immediately blushed red, “We’re still children, what nonsense are you spouting?”
Big Brother Huang also stuttered, “Don’t talk nonsense, we’re Brother and Sister.”
Sister Lan corrected him, “Sister and Brother, it’s Sister first then Brother!”
…..
The two of them began arguing like usual while Yang Kai stroked his chin thoughtfully. Before he had met Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan, he had not given much of a thought to the fact that the Burning Light and Serene Glimmer were progenitors of all Divine Spirits, but after meeting these two and getting to know them, he became highly suspicious of this claim.
How could these two give birth to the Divine Spirits? Moreover, there were so many different types of Divine Spirits, so was it even possible for them to be the common ancestors to all of them.
By the looks of it, these two being the so-called Divine Spirit Progenitors was also just a misunderstanding. However, the reason why Yang Kai’s Dragon Vein could improve so quickly was because of the energy bestowed by them all those years ago.
From this, it could be seen that they had some kind of close relationship with the Divine Spirits, but it no longer seemed like they were the legendary ancestors.
History was shrouded in multiple veils of ancient secrets that had been obscured over millions and millions of years. If one did not belong to that era, there was simply no way to uncover the truth anymore.
Yang Kai couldn’t be bothered to think about such matters now though. The main reason he had come here was to ask these two to descend the mountain and deal with the Black Ink Giant Spirit Gods. Now that he knew they couldn’t control their own strength though, his plan had failed before even beginning.
However, since he was here, he naturally couldn’t just return empty-handed.
With this thought in mind, Yang Kai cupped his fist and requested, “Big Brother, Big Sister, the Humans’ entire existence is at stake. The Purifying Light created by merging your energies is the nemesis of Black Ink Strength, so Little Brother must earnestly request that the two of you bestow upon us some Yellow and Blue Crystals to prepare for battle.”
Hearing this, the two of them stopped arguing and Big Sister Lan agreed, nodding, “No problem, how much do you want?”
Yang Kai solemnly answered, “The more the better! Also, is there a way for you to allow me to bestow the Great Sun and Great Moon Marks to others?”
Without these two seals, the Yellow and Blue Crystals were just cultivation materials. Only by activating these two marks could the Yellow and Blue Crystals fuse into Purifying Light that could counter the Black Ink Clan.
But Yang Kai had come here alone and didn’t know what he should do to carry the Great Sun and Great Moon Marks and bestow them to someone else. It would be great if Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan had a solution to this problem, but if they did not, he would have no choice but to ask someone else to come to the Chaotic Dead Territory and leave them to Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan.
He was considering this now because he was currently the only one who could create Purifying Light. Even if he had enough Yellow and Blue Crystals, the efficiency was still quite low while the risk was also quite high. If more people had the Great Sun and Great Moon Marks though, things would be much simpler.
Big Brother Huang explained, “These two marks are formed from our Source Strength, so while we can bestow a few more to you, it can’t be too many. Moreover, these two marks can only be borne by one with a Divine Spirit Bloodline. You must remember this, for if one doesn’t have the body or Bloodline of a Divine Spirit, they will die trying to refine our two marks.”
Yang Kai repeatedly nodded.
Big Brother Huang continued, “We’ll get you some Yellow and Blue Crystals first.”
Saying so, Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan’s figures flickered before a boundless pressure emanated from them. Even though Yang Kai was already an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, he still felt completely insignificant before them as his heart clenched tight.
The next moment, surging waves of energy gushed out from their bodies, transforming into enormous yellow and blue clouds.
The moment these two clouds appeared, they immediately flew at each other and collided non-stop as powerful energy fluctuations began spreading throughout the Chaotic Dead Territory.
As they collided, the two clouds constantly scattered and re-condensed, creating massive amounts of Yellow and Blue Crystals of various Orders.
Nonetheless, Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan didn’t stop. They constantly pushed their strength as clouds of various sizes appeared, one after another, flying off in different directions.
It was true that these two were unable to control their own strength, so once they clashed with the energy in their bodies, they were simply unable to direct the result. Their energies would automatically clash once unleashed.
Be that as it may, their strength seemed to be limitless. The entire void was filled with clouds of various shapes and sizes in just a few days, and soon after that, Yellow and Blue Crystals were floating everywhere. All the Yellow and Blue Crystals varied in sizes and qualities; some were as small as beads while some were as large as mountains.
Since Yang Kai didn’t stop them, they had no intention of stopping.
While Big Brother Huang kept pushing his strength, he also taught Yang Kai a set of Secret Techniques. According to him, Yang Kai could create Great Sun and Moon Marks by activating this Secret Technique with his Divine Spirit Source, supplemented with part of their Source Strength.
Yang Kai was naturally overjoyed by this, and carefully memorized this Secret Technique.
After Yang Kai had completely mastered this Secret Technique, Big Brother Huang stretched out his hand and pointed towards him as an orange-yellow bead appeared before him.
Big Brother Huang pointed 10 times, for a total of 10 beads.
Each bead was created using his Source Strength and was also the foundation for cultivating the Great Sun Mark.
On another side, Big Sister Lan also followed suit, creating 10 blue beads.
After they had done this, Yang Kai could clearly feel that Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan were a bit exhausted. Obviously, extracting so much of their Source Strength was detrimental to them.
Putting away the 20 beads, Yang Kai wore an earnest look and thanked the two, cupping his fist, “Little Brother thanks Big Brother and Big Sister on behalf of the Human Race and all living beings in the 3,000 Worlds!”
Big Brother Huang stated, shaking his head, “We can’t help you much. This is all we can do.”
Big Sister Lan exhorted, “You must be careful, don’t die so easily.”
Yang Kai grinned, “Don’t worry, how could your Little Brother die so easily if the Black Ink Clan is not destroyed?” Changing the topic, he pointed towards the distance and requested, “Little Brother also has another request, can I take some of your Small Stone Race armies?”
The Small Stone Race in the Chaotic Dead Territory had been raised so well by Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan that even 1,000 metres tall clansmen comparable to Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters had appeared. It would be a waste to leave them here just to kill each other. The Small Stone Race were unafraid of the corruption of Black Ink Strength, so they could become a force to be reckoned with on the battlefield.
How could Yang Kai miss this opportunity?
Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan were both a bit speechless as they felt that Yang Kai’s visit this time had nearly emptied out their entire family’s fortune. He had asked for Yellow and Blue Crystals, and also requested the Great Sun and Great Moon Marks, and now, he was even coveting their Small Stone Race Armies.
Yang Kai quickly proposed, “I also have many Small Stone Race members with me, I can exchange them with you two.”
Although his Small Stone Race looked weak, if they were trained by these two, presumably they would turn into an elite army in a few hundred years at most.
“Forget it,” Big Brother Huang snapped, he could see through Yang Kai miles away, “The Small Stone Race multiplied rapidly. As long as there are Stone Kings, they won’t be exterminated, so there’s no need for you to exchange them for yours.”
He might have seemed reluctant, but Big Brother Huang still gave him permission, “Go collect them yourself.”
Yang Kai was moved to tears, “Many thanks!”
A moment later, Yang Kai came back flying in helter-skelter. There was a massive Small Stone Race Army chasing behind him as blazing Suns and crescent Moons kept flying at him one after another, pushing him into a corner.
The Small Stone Race lacked intelligence, only knowing how to act according to their instincts. Normally, they would fight each other because of their different natures, but when Yang Kai tried to collect them, he broke this balance, inviting their wrath.
Worse, Yang Kai couldn’t fight back; after all, they were going to be his allies in the fight against the Black Ink Clan. He wanted to collect them, not kill them.
As such, it didn’t take long for him to be pushed into dire straits.
“Big Brother, Big Sister, do you two have any good ideas?” Yang Kai hurriedly asked. It was quite interesting that though, as he flew over to Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan’s side, the pursuing army behind him stopped in their tracks. Obviously, they had sensed Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan’s auras.
As far as the Small Stone Race was concerned, the Burning Light and Serene Glimmer were the source of their creation and strength, so naturally, they couldn’t act presumptuously before these two.
Big Brother Huang snapped, “Are you stupid? Don’t you know how to use the Great Sun and Great Moon Marks?”
Yang Kai came to a sudden realization. The Great Sun and Great Moon Marks were created from the Burning Light and Serene Glimmer’s Source Strength; so, if he wanted the Small Stone Race to obey him, using these two marks was naturally the best option.
Previously, Yang Kai had used these two marks to draw energy from the two Small Stone Race armies and fuse them into a Purifying Light to deal with the Royal Lord, which was a similar kind of act.
Having obtained the answer, Yang Kai turned around and rushed towards the two Small Stone Race armies. He activated the Great Sun and Great Moon Marks before even reaching them and, as expected, the armies did not attack him and he was able to smoothly pull them into his Small Universe.
To prevent them from causing trouble in his Small Universe, Yang Kai had deliberately set up two regions and sealed the Small Stone Race with his World Force. One region was used to house Big Brother Huang’s Great Sun Small Stone Race, while the other was used for Big Sister Lan’s Great Moon Small Stone Race.
After several months of hard work, one Small Stone Race army after another was taken in by Yang Kai, their total number crossing into the millions.
Among them, there were 100 or so 1,000-metre-tall Small Stone Race Masters that were comparable to Eighth-Order Humans.
There weren’t many of such Small Stone Race members as only an army of a million Small Stone Race would have one or two.
At first, Yang Kai was a bit worried that his Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Small Universe wouldn’t be able to accommodate these Small Stone Race members; after all, if they were true Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, he wouldn’t be able to put them into his Small Universe at all.
Everyone’s Small Universe had a limit, and higher Order Open Heaven Realm Masters could only take in lower Order Open Heaven Realm Masters. If they tried taking in someone of the same Order, they would be helpless.
But after giving it a try, Yang Kai found that it was not a problem to take in the 1,000-metre-tall Small Stone Race members.
Giving it another thought, he realized that these 1,000-metre-tall Small Stone Race members were not true Open Heaven Realm Masters. They might be as strong as Eighth-Order Masters, but that was just raw strength. They could not be lumped together with true Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters who had vast Small Universes.
By the time Yang Kai was done, he had collected almost all of the Small Stone Race forces in the Chaotic Dead Territory.
A few months later, when Yang Kai came to bid farewell to the Burning Light and Serene Glimmer, Big Brother Huang shooed him away before Yang Kai could say anything, “Get out of here.”
Yang Kai’s first two visits could be considered acceptable, even mutually beneficial, but this time, he had basically emptied the entire Chaotic Dead Territory. Even Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan felt their hearts bleed witnessing such wanton plundering.
Putting everything else aside, it took them over 1,000 years to raise their current Small Stone Race Armies, so it would naturally take them just as long to nurture another such army.
Yang Kai also knew that he had gone too far this time, yet he had no choice but to be this shameless for the sake of the Human Race. After a moment of silence, he stated, “I’ll come visit you when I have the time.”
Big Brother Huang rolled his eyes, “I’d rather you not.”
An embarrassed but polite smile appeared on Yang Kai’s face, but just as he was about to leave, he suddenly asked, “By the way, do you know how to find the Giant Spirit Gods?”
There were two Giant Spirit Gods he knew of, one was Ah Da who had appeared outside the Star Boundary all those years ago, and the other was Ah Er who had led him into the Chaotic Dead Territory.
Ah Er was previously seen in the Barren Territory, battling with the Black Ink Giant Spirit God, but there was no news of Ah Da.
The Black Ink Clan had two Giant Spirit Gods, and as Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan couldn’t descend the mountain, Yang Kai felt that it would be best if he could find Ah Da so that the Humans could make up for the lack of top Masters among their ranks.
Hearing this, Big Brother Huang, and Big Sister Lan both shook their heads.
But Big Sister Lan added, “If it’s the Giant Spirit Gods, you don’t need to look for them. If the Black Ink Clan is as you say, then no matter where the Giant Spirit Gods are hiding, they will be provoked by the Black Ink Clan sooner or later.”
Yang Kai pondered for a moment before realizing that this was indeed the case. He cupped his fist and bade his farewells, “Little Brother understands. Big Brother, Big Sister, please take care, this Little Brother will take his leave now!”
Turning around, he transformed into a streak of light as he flew straight towards the Territory Gate.
A few days later, Yang Kai finally exited the Chaotic Dead Territory. He then immediately took out his Universe Chart, and after confirming his route, he made straight for the next Territory Gate.
Although he didn’t know the current situation on the Barren Territory battlefield, he knew it was now connected to Wind Mist Territory thanks to the Black Ink Giant Spirit God.
The appearance of this gap in the boundary walls meant that the Human Race had suffered a strategic defeat on the Barren Territory battlefield!
Regardless of what advantages the Humans might be able to gain on the main battlefield, the fact that they were unable to stop the Black Ink Clan from invading the 3,000 Worlds could only be considered a complete failure.
The main forces of the Human Race were all gathered in the Barren Territory, while the Black Ink Clan had invaded Wind Mist Territory through the newly opened Territory Gate. In other words, the Human Race could no longer contain them.
It had been roughly a year and a half since the Black Ink Clan Army broke out of the Barren Territory, so it was hard to say what the current situation of the 3,000 Worlds was.
Yang Kai was not worried about the Star Boundary, as with the World Tree Clone present there, the Star Boundary would be the foundation of the Human Race’s future. If he was right, the Cave Heavens and Paradises would protect the Star Boundary at any cost, because only by protecting the Star Boundary would there be hope for the Human Race.
If Yang Kai was one of the Old Ancestors of the Cave Heavens and Paradises, he would definitely have the remnants of the Human Race retreat to the Star Boundary and use High Heaven Territory as the final pure land to resist the Black Ink Clan, defending it at all costs while they waited for the younger generations to grow!
There was no need to worry about Void Land either as, before all this, he had warned Bi Xi. With a Mature Divine Spirit like Bi Xi around, it should not be too dangerous for Void Land if they wanted to evacuate.
As both the Star Boundary and Void Land were safe and sound, the most pressing issue right now was to assess the current situation of the 3,000 Worlds!
Yang Kai quickly found his bearings and flew in a certain direction. In less than a day, a beautiful Universe World appeared in his sight. From afar, this Universe World looked like a sapphire gem floating in the void, radiating a mesmerizing lustre.
But quickly, Yang Kai noticed that something was amiss. He could feel the fluctuations of someone fighting coming from the periphery of this Universe World.
A furrow appeared on his brow as he sped up. Soon, he arrived at that side of the Universe World and, as he had expected, he found a battle taking place.
On one side were obviously cultivators of some Sect in this Universe World. Their cultivations were quite varied, and many were even First and Second-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, but their opponents were actually the Black Ink Clansmen.
Having said that, the Black Ink Clansmen here were not strong either, probably just a detached squad from the main Black Ink Clan Army. The Black Ink Clansman leading this squad was only a High-Rank Clansmen, equivalent to a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master.
Obviously, the Human side held the advantage in numbers, but the situation was extremely dire for them.
Nothing was surprising about this as the peculiarities of Black Ink Strength forced Human cultivators into a difficult position. These cultivators had clearly never come into contact with the Black Ink Clan before and didn’t know how difficult it was to deal with them, so by now, many of their weaker disciples had already been turned into Black Ink Disciples.
How could the other cultivators, who had never heard of Black Ink Strength, bear to kill their fellow disciples, who were fighting alongside them just moments ago? On the other hand, Black Ink Disciples had no scruples about slaughtering their former Brothers and Sisters and even focused their attacks on their vitals, pushing them into dire straits.
Many had lost their lives, and the survivors were completely dispirited; mourning cries could be heard everywhere.
Yang Kai’s heart sank at the sight of this.
This was a Great Territory adjacent to the Chaotic Dead Territory, far, far away from Wind Mist Territory, yet the Black Ink Clan had already reached this far?
Clearly, the Black Ink Clan could no longer be contained.
Probably, Black Ink Clansmen or Black Ink Disciples could be found in almost every Great Territory of the 3,000 Worlds by now. Suddenly, Yang Kai felt his chest tighten up as an uncomfortable feeling surged in his heart.
The Cave Heavens and Paradises had been doing everything they could to stop the invasion of the Black Ink Clan on the Black Ink Battlefield for countless millennia. Countless heroes had laid down their lives, their corpses piled up into countless mountains, yet all their efforts had now proven futile.
A single misstep had led to their defeat. The Black Ink Clan Army had invaded every Great Territory, and many Universe Worlds had been reduced to barren wastelands, while countless people must have lost their wives, their sons and daughters, their entire family!
Was the crusade a mistake?
No!
Every generation had taken the complete eradication of the Black Ink Clan as their goal, so the crusade was a must. Even if no crusade was carried out in this generation, one would have been launched by the next. It would have happened no matter what. This generation was the closest to success, but also the one who had sacrificed the most.
The only mistake was that the Human Race’s understanding of Mo was simply too low. No one had expected Mo to be so powerful, or that the Black Ink Giant Spirit Gods were actually Soul Clones created by Mo. Even the Black Ink Giant Spirit God killed countless eons ago by the Divine Spirits of the Ancestral Land and the one on the Late Ancient Era Battlefield had been awakened by Mo.
Only after uncovering this information did the Humans finally have some understanding of the Ancient Supreme Being that was Mo.
However, despite things not currently looking bright for them, the Humans would definitely be able to completely annihilate the Black Ink Clan and drive them out of the 3,000 Worlds one day.
Yang Kai firmly believed this.
The Old Ancestors who had fought to the death in the Barren Territory firmly believed this as well, which was why they had gone forth without hesitation.
Everyone’s efforts and sacrifices would not be wasted, they would only serve as the foundation for the future victory!
The day the Black Ink Clan was destroyed, the 3,000 worlds would finally regain its peace and prosperity!
The Profound Abundant World was nothing when compared to the entire Swallowing Seas Territory.
For instance, there were quite a number of Universe Worlds like Profound Abundant World in this Great Territory. The development of these Universe Worlds’ Martial Dao differed, with some being strong and some being weak. The stronger Universe Worlds had given birth to some Open Heaven Realm Masters, while the weaker Universe Worlds were like the Star Boundary in the past, where cultivators couldn’t even escape from the World’s shackles.
The Profound Abundant World could be considered average and was the homeworld of Profound Abundant Sect. According to the classification of various Sects in the 3,000 Worlds, Profound Abundant Sect could barely be considered a Second Class Great Force with three Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters assuming command.
Such a force could be found anywhere in the 3,000 Worlds. They were neither at the top of the ladder nor were they at the bottom, most of the time having to rely on the stronger Second Class Great Forces to survive.
The most powerful force in the entire Swallowing Seas Territory was undoubtedly the Swallowing Seas Sect, hence the name for this Great Territory.
Nearly a month ago, Swallowing Seas Sect announced that the Black Ink Clan had invaded the 3,000 Worlds on a massive scale. As the hegemon of Swallowing Seas Territory, the Swallowing Seas Sect ordered all the great forces, whether they were big or small, to immediately make preparations to evacuate.
When the news came out, everyone in the Profound Abundant Sect was completely dumbfounded.
Naturally, they were confused as to what the Black Ink Clan was. They had never even heard of this Clan before, and now they were invading?
After asking around a bit, Profound Abundant Sect eventually came to learn that the Human Race had an ancient enemy, the Black Ink Clan. The Masters of the Cave Heavens and Paradises had been trying to stop the invasion of the Black Ink Clan in a place known as the Black Ink Battlefield for countless millennia; but unfortunately, the Human Race had suffered a great defeat a few years ago and their defensive lines were broken one after another, giving the Black Ink Clan the chance to invade.
As for the conscription order issued by the Cave Heavens and Paradises a few hundred years ago, that was to summon every Open Heaven Realm Master available to the battlefield to provide reinforcements.
During that conscription period, two of the three Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters of Profound Abundant Sect had been taken away, leaving only Zhu Ge Xing Wei, the Vice Sect Master, to oversee the Sect.
Zhu Ge Xing Wei found himself under a lot of pressure, finding it extremely hard to handle everything all on his own.
When the Swallowing Seas Sect sent word about the Black Ink Clan, Zhu Ge Xing Wei gathered all the Open Heaven Realm Masters in the Sect in the conference hall to discuss the matter. Profound Abundant Sect was a little lost as to what to do when they received the order to evacuate and relocate.
This was no simple task. Open Heaven Realm Masters could cross the void and escape from Swallowing Seas Territory, but what about Profound Abundant Sect’s disciples who had yet to reach the Open Heaven Realm?
What about all the living beings in the Profound Abundant World?
This was the place where almost all of them had been born and raised. It was always difficult to leave one’s homeland, and no one wanted to abandon their foundation and family. Who would be so cruel-hearted to do so without even trying to resist?
What’s more, if they left, who would protect the Profound Abundant World?
Furthermore, these Open Heaven Realm Masters here did not have high cultivations, with the strongest of them being in the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm, not having the ability to take away all the mortals from Profound Abundant World. With the Black Ink Clan about to arrive, anyone left behind would undoubtedly die.
The Open Heaven Realm Masters of the Sect were quickly divided into two camps. One side prioritized their own safety, with the opinion that only by surviving could one still have hope. They believed that since a powerful enemy like the Black Ink Clan was upon them, they should quickly follow Swallowing Seas Sect’s orders.
The other side felt that they should defend Profound Abundant World to the death and resist the Black Ink Clan to the end.
The Open Heaven Realm Masters of both sides kept endlessly arguing, with neither of them able to convince the other. Watching this, Zhu Ge Xing Wei had a huge headache. He was only a Vice Sect Master. Generally, it was the Sect Master who made decisions of this gravity, but now that the Sect Master and the other Vice Sect Master had been sent to the frontlines, it was a little difficult for him to bear the weight of Profound Abundant Sect alone.
As such, he remained silent, not giving his opinion.
Before Profound Abundant Sect could come to a decision though, a disciple suddenly rushed in, reporting that the enemy was already here. Shocked, Zhu Ge Xing Wei led the other Elders of the Sect to investigate, encountering a squad of Black Ink Clansmen just outside Profound Abundant World and immediately getting into a fight with them.
Human Squads were basically composed of 10 to 15 soldiers, but the Black Ink Clan’s squads were different, numbering anywhere from several dozen to over 1,000 members. Compared to the Human Race, the Black ink Clan always had dominance in number.
This time, not many Black Ink Clansmen had come to Profound Abundant World, only numbering about 70.
Although Profound Abundant Sect wasn’t big, they still had some 200 Open Heaven Realm Masters, but most of their Orders were quite low with few real Masters among them.
200 Open Heaven Realm Masters versus 70 or so Black Ink Clansmen. At first, Profound Abundant Sect did not feel any kind of pressure, but after noticing the peculiarity of the Black Ink Strength, everyone began to panic, especially the disciples who were now being attacked by their fellow disciples who had been corrupted. They found this whole scenario hard to come to terms with.
When the High-Rank Black Ink Clansmen leader in the rear revealed his powerful aura, Profound Abundant Sect finally realized how dangerous the enemy they were facing was.
The Black Ink Clan squad leader was comparable to a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master.
In the entire history of Profound Abundant Sect, there had never been a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master!
Fortunately, this Black Ink Clansman didn’t seem to have any intention of personally participating in the battle. Rather, he seemed intent on remaining on the sidelines and simply observing the situation, as if he was afraid that something unforeseen could happen, allowing Profound Abundant Sect disciples to hold on until now; otherwise, they would have already lost.
Zhu Ge Xing Wei was filled with sadness. [Sect Master entrusted Profound Abundant Sect to me before he left. Will the Sect fall today?]
[How can I face the ancestors of Profound Abundant Sect?]
He even tried to sneak attack that High-Rank Black Ink Clansman, but though he managed to close in on him, he had been sent flying by that Black Ink Clan Master with a single slap. Not only had he failed, but he was even contaminated by some of the Black Ink Strength.
At this time, nearly 30% of the many Open Heaven Realm Masters in Profound Abundant Sect had been turned into Black Ink Disciples, 20% had died, and another 30% or so had been contaminated by Black Ink Strength. From the looks of it, they wouldn’t be able to last much longer.
Everyone was filled with despair. At this point, even if they tried to escape, they would not be able to. The only thing waiting for them was either being turned into Black Ink Disciples or being killed on the battlefield, there was no third option.
At that moment, a streak of light flew over from afar, drawing the disciples’ eyes as someone shouted, “Elder Pang has returned!”
The original low morale was suddenly uplifted.
Elder Pang’s cultivation wasn’t high, just Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm, but he had been sent by Zhu Ge Xing Wei to seek help from the Swallowing Seas Sect.
When Zhu Ge Xing Wei noticed that things were not looking good, he sent Elder Pang straight to the Swallowing Seas Sect, which had Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters assuming command. Zhu Ge Xing hoped that with the help of a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, the tide could be turned.
Hearing this, Zhu Ge Xing Wei, who was in the midst of a fierce battle, turned his head in the direction of Swallowing Seas Sect and saw Elder Pang’s approaching figure.
Despite that, Zhu Ge Xing Wei didn’t show any signs of relief, because Elder Pang had returned alone, without any reinforcements!
Elder Pang was a courageous and stalwart man. Although he had cultivated for many years, he had not lost his drive to improve. At this moment, he charged straight at the High-Rank Black Ink Clansman.
Be that as it may, a Fourth-Order cultivation was too weak. The moment Elder Pang arrived in front of the High-Rank Black Ink Clansman, he was lifted high up by the neck by the Black Ink Clansman.
“Elder Pang!” A disciple called out.
Elder Pang’s face turned red as the rich Black Ink Strength began corroding his Small Universe, only able to roar, “Run! Swallowing Seas Sect is besieged by the Black Ink Clan Army, they can’t even defend themselves, let alone send help here!”
The reason he had risked his life to rush back here was to convey this message to his Sect so that they wouldn’t wait for anything.
His words sent chills down every Profound Abundant Sect disciple’s spine.
Originally, they had hoped that Swallowing Seas Sect would be able to come to their aid and save them from this crisis, but with the Black Ink Clan Army attacking them too, how could they possibly send support?
In fact, Elder Pang wasn’t the only one who had gone to ask for help. Another Elder had gone to another Sect that was on good terms with Profound Abundant Sect. That Sect was very close to the Profound Abundant Sect, so logically speaking, they should have arrived to help long ago.
After hearing Elder Pang’s words, how could Zhu Ge Xing Wei not know that the situation of that Sect was likely the same as theirs? Even the Elder who had gone to seek help had most likely died.
Profound Abundant Sect was really going to be exterminated today, and Profound Abundant World… would also be destroyed!
In fact, the entire Swallowing Seas Territory was about to be conquered by the Black Ink Clan!
In such a desperate situation, Zhu Ge Xing Wei suddenly didn’t feel anxious anymore, as if he had just thrown away some kind of burden. The long sword in his hand shook as he prepared to charge the leading High-Rank Black Ink Clansman.
Even if they were to die here today, they could not allow the Black Ink Clan to look down on Profound Abundant Sect!
But, before he could do anything, he suddenly felt that something was amiss. The next moment, the surrounding space started to distort as Void Cracks began to emerge like the cracks on a mirror.
The next moment, the Black Ink Clan squad that made the entire Profound Abundant Sect helpless was sliced into pieces by the innumerable cracks.
Zhu Ge Xing Wei clearly saw a crack appear on the neck of the High-Rank Black Ink Clansman, cutting right through it.
The enemy leader’s face was filled with shock. Obviously, he still could not understand what just happened. Immediately after, a fountain of Black Ink blood spurted from his neck as his head separated from his body.
Elder Pang, whose neck had been squeezed to the point where he could barely breathe, finally managed to extricate himself. He instantly shot a palm at the High-Rank Black Ink Clansman’s corpse, blowing it to pieces, while he became completely drenched in Black Ink Blood.
This sudden change shocked everyone.
In the blink of an eye, all of the Void Cracks disappeared and space returned to normal, leaving behind bits and pieces of Black Ink Clansmen floating in front of everyone. All the Black Ink Clansmen had been killed on the spot, leaving only the Black Ink Disciples behind. Be that as it may, this shocking turn of events left everyone perplexed, unable to understand what just happened.
Zhu Ge Xing Wei, on the other hand, seemed to have noticed something. He suddenly turned his head, and saw a young man slowly approaching. His aura wasn’t obvious, so Zhu Ge Xing Wei couldn’t determine his cultivation either, but the only thing this Vice Sect Master of Profound Abundant Sect was certain of was that the one who had saved them and killed the Black Ink Clansmen was this young man!
[He should be at least a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master!]
Zhu Ge Xing Wei was overjoyed. As far as he was concerned, a Cave Heaven or Paradise Master had appeared.
The next moment, he saw the opposite party bring his hands together before a pure and gentle white light enveloped the entire battlefield. The pure white light rapidly dispelled the Black Ink Strength wherever it passed. Even the Black Ink Disciples who had been corrupted by Black Ink Strength let out miserable screams as black wisps of energy emerged from their bodies and rapidly vanished into nothingness.
When he was on the Black Ink Battlefield, Yang Kai was quite conservative and restrained when using Purifying Light; after all, he didn’t know how long he would be on the Black Ink Battlefield and the Yellow and Blue Crystals could only be produced in the Chaotic Dead Territory. If all of them were used up, he would be unable to replenish them.
But Yang Kai had just cleaned out the entire Chaotic Dead Territory now, nearly emptying out all of Big Brother Huang’s and Big Sister Lan’s possessions, leaving him with dozens of mountains worth of Yellow and Blue Crystals in his Small Universe. His current stock of resources was so rich that he no longer needed to mind this kind of extravagant expenditure.
Soon, all of the Black Ink Strength was dispersed by Purifying Light.
Just as Zhu Ge Xing Wei was about to thank Yang Kai, his figure flickered before it vanished from Zhu Ge Xing Wei’s sight. Only a voice could be heard from afar, “I’m heading to Swallowing Seas Sect. You should heal yourself first, we’ll talk later.”
A load was immediately lifted off everyone’s mind.
They might not know where this High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master appeared from, but he had obviously heard what Elder Pang had said and was planning to assist the Swallowing Seas Sect.
Swallowing Seas Sect should be safe and sound with the appearance of this Master, and so should Swallowing Seas Territory.
Zhu Ge Xing Wei was about to lead his disciples back to the Sect to rest and recover when he suddenly heard someone break into loud sobs. He immediately looked over and saw a disciple surnamed Zhou holding a woman’s corpse in his arms. The disciple, who was usually stoic and rigid, was now weeping mournfully, his face was filled with incomparable grief.
Profound Abundant Sect wasn’t very big; as such, Zhu Ge Xing Wei knew all of the Open Heaven Realm Masters here and recognized this disciple at a glance.
This disciple surnamed Zhou was corrupted by that strange Black Ink Strength, and turned traitor during the battle. The woman in his arms was his Dao Companion whom he had been together with for hundreds of years. They were completely in love with each other, but in the battle, he had killed her, showing no mercy!
Even though this was the first time they had fought the Black Ink Clan, the first time they had faced Black Ink Strength, this scene made everyone understand just how treacherous it was.
This was an energy that could completely warp a cultivator’s mind and will!
Once they were completely corrupted by this energy, they would no longer recognize their friends and family.
It wasn’t just the disciple surnamed Zhao who had switched sides and killed his fellow disciples. At this moment, many other disciples’ faces were filled with pain and guilt.
As for the rest, they were vigilantly staring at these people and maintaining a certain distance from them, as if they were afraid their fellow disciples would attack them again.
Zhu Ge Xing Wei believed that this was highly unlikely; after all, that High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master had just used some kind of Secret Technique to dispel all the Black Ink Strength, but he still didn’t know how to resolve this situation.
Friends and families had turned against each other, and an air of distrust filled the surroundings.
Zhu Ge Xing Wei had deeply experienced the terror of the Black Ink Clan today!
Their strength was not just reflected in their combat power, but also in the insidious nature of Black Ink Strength!
“Senior Brother Zhou!” Someone suddenly shouted in panic.
Zhu Ge Xing Wei’s expression changed as his figure shot towards the disciples surnamed Zhou before coming to a stop as a heavy sigh escaped his lips. The disciple surnamed Zhou, who was holding his sweetheart, let out a heart-wrenching cry before he shattered his own Small Universe. His World Force swiftly leaked out and his aura started to rapidly wane, even his vitality began to decrease with the dissipation of his aura.
Obviously, the cultivator surnamed Zhou couldn’t bear the guilt of killing his beloved with his own hands, so he ended his life to accompany her to the next life.
On the verge of death, the teary-eyed disciple surnamed Zhou turned to Zhu Ge Xing Wei and begged, “Vice Sect Master, please bury us in the apricot forest…”
Profound Abundant Sect had an apricot forest, which was the place where he and his companion first fell in love.
Zhu Ge Xing Wei reluctantly nodded his assurance, “This Old Master will!”
A smile finally appeared on the disciple surnamed Zhou’s face, “Many thanks, Vice Sect Master…”
Just like that, he passed away!
Tears welled up in everyone’s eyes.
Zhu Ge Xing Wei quickly stated, “All of you follow me back to the Sect, we’ll wait for that Senior’s return.”
He was truly worried that the other disciples wouldn’t be able to bear the guilt in their hearts and chose to end their own lives like the disciple surnamed Zhou, so he immediately mustered his strength and wrapped everyone in it before flying towards the Profound Abundant Sect.
…..
As the hegemon of Swallowing Seas Territory, the Swallowing Seas Sect was quite powerful, almost comparable to the Void Land of 1,000 years ago. After many years of accumulation, they had seven Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, two of whom had the qualifications to break through to the Seventh-Order; however, as were they scared of what might happen, and lacked the necessary resources, they did not dare to casually attempt a breakthrough and had languished in the Sixth-Order until now.
Previously, half of the Swallowing Seas Sect Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters had left under the Cave Heaven and Paradises’ conscription order. Two months back, a Squad claiming to belong to the Mo Sha Western Army arrived at Swallowing Seas Sect, asking them to send a message to all the Sects in the Great Territory to prepare for evacuation and relocation.
The Black Ink Clan Army was approaching!
Swallowing Seas Sect had never heard of the Mo Sha Western Army, they only knew of Mo Sha Heaven, which was one of the 36 Cave Heavens. Swallowing Seas Territory itself fell under the loose jurisdiction of Mo Sha Heaven.
One of the members of the Squad belonging to the Mo Sha Western Army was a Sixth-Order Elder who had been recruited from their Swallowing Seas Sect. This Elder had participated in the battle against the Black Ink Clan in the Barren Territory and was the last surviving Sixth-Order Elder who had been recruited from the Swallowing Seas Sect.
The other three Sixth-Order Elders, including one of their Vice Sect Masters, had all died in battle!
After this Elder, who was originally from Swallowing Seas Sect, explained everything, Swallowing Seas Sect quickly understood the dire crisis they were facing. How could they dare to be negligent after hearing straight from one of their own Elders? Disciples were quickly sent out to the various great forces to relay the evacuation orders while the Sect actively prepared to withdraw.
Unfortunately, the Black Ink Clan Army arrived before they could depart.
Worse, they were faced with a true Black Ink Clan Army. Although no Territory Lord was overseeing this Army, there were a dozen Feudal Lords and some 50,000 Black Ink Clan soldiers.
Swallowing Seas Sect’s entire roster did not exceed 3,000, of which only about 10% were Open Heaven Realm Masters. How could they be a match for such a powerful enemy?
Fortunately, the Squad belonging to the Mo Sha Western Army was quite strong. They had a total of 13 soldiers, of which two were Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters. They also had a somewhat functional Squad-Class Warship. Much to everyone’s shock, this Squad actually charged the Black Ink Clan Army, killing one of the Black Ink Clan Feudal Lords and injuring another.
Be that as it may, two fists could not block four palms, and the Squad was forced to withdraw.
Their Warships had suffered serious damage during the battle in the Barren Territory, and after going through another deadly conflict, it was all but scrapped now.
Without the help of a Warship, the Squad’s combat effectiveness dropped dramatically and they were left with no choice but to retreat to Swallowing Seas Sect to take advantage of their Sect Defending Array to contend with the Black Ink Clan.
Swallowing Seas Sect’s Sect Defending Array was also quite extraordinary as over the millennia it had been reinforced and enhanced by the Sect’s Array Masters. Although it was not impregnable, it would not be a problem to hold on for three to five months.
The difficult part was how to break out of this encirclement. One day, the Array would be broken, and if the Swallowing Seas Sect had not managed to escape before then, they would all die.
But now, 50,000 soldiers of the Black Ink Clan Army had surrounded the Spirit Province where the Swallowing Seas Sect was situated. Basically, they had no route to escape!
At this moment, Swallowing Seas Sect Master Yang Qing looked towards the rioting Black Ink Clan Army outside the Grand Array with a worried frown.
Standing not far from him was the Squad Leader of the Mo Sha Western Army’s Squad, Wang Xuan Yi.
According to the Elder who had evacuated with this Squad, their mission was to assist in the evacuation of Swallowing Seas Territory’s cultivators.
Many Squads like them were dispatched to different Great Territories of the 3,000 Worlds. The evacuation and migration was not only limited to Swallowing Seas Territory, but rather included all other Great Territories.
Yang Qing had also asked where they should retreat to. Wang Xuan Yi had told him that their destination was the Great Territory where the Star Boundary was located!
The two remaining Old Ancestors of the Human Race, Xiao Xiao and Wu Qing, felt that the Star Boundary was the foundation and hope for the revival of the Human Race, so it had to be protected no matter what!
That place would be the last pure land for the Human Race to survive in.
At first, Yang Qing was a little reluctant to part with Swallowing Seas Sect and its 10,000-year foundation, but Wang Xuan Yi, on the other hand, gave him a wry smile. The 10,000-year heritage of Swallowing Seas Sect was light compared to the millions of years of inheritance the Cave Heavens and Paradises would be abandoning in the current situation.
Yang Qing felt a little better after hearing this.
If even behemoths like the Cave Heavens and Paradises were forced to retreat, how could Swallowing Seas Sect escape the calamity?
At this point though, the question was no longer whether to retreat or not, but whether they could retreat or not!
Turning around, Yang Qing asked, “Squad Leader Wang, will there be no other reinforcements from the Army?”
Wang Xuan Yi slowly shook his head in response, “The Human Race Army suffered heavy casualties on the Barren Territory battlefield. Although Old Ancestors Xiao Xiao and Wu Qing promptly ordered our forces to retreat, the number of troops who maintained combat effectiveness was still insufficient. Everything related to Swallowing Seas Territory will be handled by our Squad. Our original plan was to rush to the Mo Sha Territory Universe Temple within three months, where we would rendezvous with people from other Great Territories before heading to the Star Boundary. If we don’t arrive at Mo Sha Territory Universe Temple in time though, no one will wait for us.”
Yang Qing’s face turned slightly pale.
He was well aware of the heavy losses that Wang Xuan Yi had mentioned. Although he had not gone to the Barren Territory to participate in the battle, Swallowing Seas Sect had sent four Sixth-Order Elders, but only one of them had returned alive while the other three had died after just a few years of fighting.
Yang Qing could imagine how intense the battle was from this fact alone.
It would be impossible to break out of this encirclement without reinforcements, so most probably, a horrible end was waiting for Swallowing Seas Sect.
Before Yang Qing could ask any more questions, Wang Xuan Yi flicked his sleeve and stepped forward, “I will lead my Squad to launch another attack. If we can kill a few of the Feudal Lords, Swallowing Seas Sect’s crisis will be easily resolved. The chances of that happening aren’t high, but in the worst-case scenario, my men and I will try our best to create an opening in their lines. Sect Master Yang, at that time, lead your men and rush out… take as many as you can!”
Yang Qing raised his hand, wanting to say something, but eventually swallowed the words hanging on the tip of his tongue.
A deep sense of respect welled up in Swallowing Seas Sect Master’s heart at the sight of Wang Xuan Yi’s departing figure.
For countless years, he had never had a good impression of the so-called elites who came from the Cave Heavens and Paradises. He felt they were just luckier and had a better background. If he was also from the Cave Heavens and Paradises, he might have been able to reach the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm.
But now, after learning that the Cave Heavens and Paradises had sacrificed so much to protect the Human Race for hundreds of thousands of years on the Black Ink Battlefield, Yang Qing couldn’t help but feel ashamed.
At this moment, even though Wang Xuan Yi knew that facing tens of thousands of Black Ink Clansmen would only result in death, he still stepped forward!
Could Wang Xuan Yi escape? With his Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm cultivation, if he really tried to flee, the Black Ink Clan probably wouldn’t be able to stop him.
Nonetheless, he didn’t run and instead chose to fight to give the Swallowing Seas Sect even a small chance to survive.
People, who had no connection with the Swallowing Seas Sect, were sacrificing themselves for their Sect. Yang Qing’s heart, which had turned to stone after cultivating for many years, could not help but start beating once more, truly touched.
Facing the departing figure, Yang Qing kowtowed and didn’t get up for a long time.
He believed just like Wang Xuan Yi here, hundreds of thousands of others just like him were working to save the various Sects of all the other Great Territories!
Swallowing Seas Sect was located on a Spirit Province, which was the foundation of their Sect. As the hegemon of Swallowing Seas Territory, the Swallowing Seas Sect was not like Profound Abundant Sect which was situated on a Universe World with many mortals.
Swallowing Seas Sect was similar to Void Land in this respect.
Void Land was also located on a Spirit Province, though that Spirit Province was actually formed atop Bi Xi’s shell.
At this moment, the 3,000 disciples were gathered in one spot within Swallowing Seas Sect, ready to leave at a moment’s notice. Many of the young and tender faces were filled with restlessness and nervousness while many of the women were softly sobbing, helpless and panic-stricken.
Just now, the Sect’s higher-ups had ordered the entire Sect to prepare to evacuate.
Be that as it may, how could it be that easy to evacuate when the Black Ink Clan Army still surrounded Swallowing Seas Sect? These disciples might not have gone through the fires of war before, but that did not mean they were fools. They knew that few, if any of them would survive this evacuation.
But if they didn’t try, only death awaited them.
Meanwhile, every remaining Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters in the Sect, along with Yang Qing, looked up. The other disciples could not clearly see what was happening outside due the Sect Defending Array around them, but Yang Qing and the others could.
Under everyone’s attentive gaze, Wang Xuan Yi’s Squad bravely charged the Black Ink Clan Army in their half-destroyed Warship. One after another, Secret Techniques and artifacts lit up the void, killing and injuring the Black Ink Clansmen in their path.
This was a veteran Squad that had gone through countless fights, with every member having fought at least 100 battles against the Black Ink Clan. How to draw out the most strength to cause the most damage in this dire situation was something their Squad knew better than anyone.
They also understood that this would be their final battle!
As such, they unleashed their strongest attacks without holding anything back, determined to go out in a blaze of glory, taking as many enemies with them as possible!
The brazen attacks of the Human Squad quickly drew the ire of the Feudal Lords, and it was not long before 10 Feudal Lords surrounded them from all sides.
These Feudal Lords also knew that this Squad was the only real combat force the Humans had here. As long as they had eliminated this Squad, the rest would be nothing more than fish on the chopping block, completely at their mercy!
Therefore, the Feudal Lords reached a consensus to concentrate all their power to kill this Squad as quickly as possible.
The Feudal Lords immediately launched a joint attack, their powerful energy fluctuations clearly felt by everyone back in the Swallowing Seas Sect.
Yang Qing and the others couldn’t help but become nervous, their eyes cracked wide open as they stared fixedly without even daring to blink.
The Warship, which was already not that far from being sunk, exploded under the bombardment and several Squad members were heavily injured.
Even Wang Xuan Yi and his Vice Squad Leader were thrown out by this powerful wave of attacks, their responses becoming more and more sluggish.
Furthermore, the Feudal Lords launched another salvo of attacks before they could recover.
Wang Xuan Yi’s expression became grim as he shouted, “Formation!”
In the blink of an eye, the 13 members of the Squad moved closer, standing in a criss-cross manner as their auras linked with one another. In the blink of an eye, the 13 soldiers formed a rudimentary Battle Formation with the two Seventh-Order Masters acting as the Core.
As everyone simultaneously circulated their World Force, a dazzling flash of light blinded everyone outside. The next moment, the thirteen figures were nowhere to be found, in place of them was a monstrous sword!
The might of this enormous sword was simply otherworldly, and its Sword Intent rippled across the open sky. Nonetheless, when the attacks of the Feudal Lords and Black Ink Clansmen rained down on it, its aura rapidly began to dwindle as groans and the sound of someone coughing up blood came from inside.
Obviously, some of the Squad members were critically wounded.
Still, the giant sword condensed of pure World Force managed to maintain coherence before flying straight at the two nearest Feudal Lords.
Seeing this, the two Feudal Lords quickly tried to retreat and hide behind the Army they commanded to move forward, but for some unknown reason, they suddenly felt as if a mountain was pressing down on them and they were simply unable to move.
The next moment, the enormous sword of light brushed past the two Feudal Lords, splitting them in half like tofu. The two Feudal Lords’ eyes bulged in shock and disbelief, as if they were unable to understand how they died.
Inside the giant sword, Wang Xuan Yi was also slightly taken aback. Although the Battle Formation they had assumed was good, it should not be this strong.
Nonetheless, the current situation was critical so he did not have time to dwell much on it and simply assumed that these two Feudal Lords had been overconfident and careless. As such, the sword of light spun around and flew towards the next closest Feudal Lord.
The dissipation of the two Feudal Lords’ auras could clearly be felt through the Sect Defending Array of Swallowing Seas Sect. Such an obvious movement was noticed even by the disciples of lower cultivation.
This immediately sent many disciples into a panic, having no idea whether the ones who had fallen were friends or foes.
Sensing the restlessness among his disciples, Yang Qing raised his arm and shouted, “Don’t panic, our Seventh-Order allies just killed two of the Feudal Lords!”
Swallowing Seas Sect had a rough understanding of the classification of the Black Ink Clan through Wang Xuan Yi and the others’ explanations over the past few days. As such, they knew that the so-called Feudal Lords were on par with the Seventh-Order Master!
As far as Swallowing Seas Sect was concerned, Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters were unreachable existences, yet now, two such Feudal Lords had been killed!
How long had it been since the battle began?
After hearing this news, the taut nerves of the disciples relaxed significantly. Although they couldn’t see anything, everyone still turned their eyes towards the outside, hope and expectation returning to their faces!
As soon as Yang Qing’s voice fell, everyone could feel the dissipation of another Master’s aura.
Immediately after, they felt another!
And another!
The disciples were completely dumbstruck, completely oblivious to what was happening outside, all of them turning to Sect Master Yang Qing, hoping for an explanation.
Yang Qing’s face flushed red as he shouted, “Five of the Feudal Lords have been killed! Team Leader Wang and his men’s might is truly unparalleled!”
The other Sixth-Order Elders around him nodded in agreement.
At this moment, everyone wondered if the Feudal Lords were just weak. If not, how could they be killed like chickens by Wang Xuan Yi’s small Squad of 13?
This didn’t make sense though, as the strength the Feudal Lords had displayed earlier was quite amazing.
Could it be that Wang Xuan Yi and the others had been hiding their true strength all along? Was this the full extent of their power?
Whatever may be the case, the death of five Feudal Lords was good news for Swallowing Seas Sect. They were already prepared for the worst, so they never expected Wang Xuan Yi’s Squad to be so fearsome.
Half the Feudal Lords had already been killed, so if just a few more could be killed, the Black Ink Clan Army’s leadership would completely collapse. Without a Master to organize them, Wang Xuan Yi’s Squad would have no trouble routing the common Black Ink Clan soldiers.
Soon, everyone could sense the Feudal Lords’ auras dissipating one after another.
Yang Qing and the others couldn’t help but marvel in their hearts. [The Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters of the Cave Heavens and Paradises are astonishing! They can easily kill Black Ink Clansmen of the same realm like they are slaughtering pigs and dogs!]
On the other hand, Wang Xuan Yi was also dumbstruck, along with all the members of his Squad.
Yang Qing and the others might be unaware of how strong Feudal Lords were, allowing them to think that while they had a high realm, their strength was severely lacking, but how could an experienced Squad be so ignorant?
Although a Feudal Lord was indeed weaker than the average Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, that did not mean they were easy to kill.
If the Feudal Lords were really so worthless, the Human Race wouldn’t have suffered so much damage over the years.
But now, their Giant Sword Formation had become completely unstoppable, and all the Feudal Lords here were basically powerless to resist even a single blow.
The Squad members’ excitement was through the roof, but Wang Xuan Yi and the other Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master keenly noticed that something was strange about this entire affair.
It did not take long before they realized that some Master was secretly helping them. It wasn’t that the Feudal Lords weren’t trying to dodge or resist, rather they were simply unable to do so as some powerful force was locking them in place. This was the reason why they were succeeding so easily.
Understanding this, Wang Xuan Yi no longer had any scruples. Controlling the Giant Sword Formation with his Vice Squad Leader, they raced back and forth across the Black Ink Clan Army, killing all in their path without any resistance!
In short order, all the Feudal Lords were killed and the remaining Black Ink Clansmen broke into pandemonium.
Immediately after, an even bigger commotion could be heard from the outer edge of the Black Ink Clan Army.
At some point in time, the sounds of battle rang out from the periphery as numerous blazing suns and crescent moons rose into the sky one after another, illuminating the entire void.
Wang Xuan Yi was now at a loss as he had no idea what was going on. He immediately drove the Giant Sword Formation towards the periphery of the Black Ink Clan Army to investigate, but when he reached there, he was left completely dumbfounded.
Much to his surprise, he was greeted by the sight of numerous strange creatures engaged in a fierce battle with the Black Ink Clan Army. The sighting of blazing suns and crescent moons was caused by these creatures.
Wang Xuan Yi had never seen such creatures before. All of them looked quite gruff and even a bit simple, like they did not have any sentience. What’s more, it was like their entire body was made up of rocks.
He even saw one of them being torn apart by a Black Ink Clan soldier, but instead of blood flowing out, it was simply reduced to a pile of rubble!
[What are these things?]
He might not have any idea where these creatures popped out from, but they were currently attacking the Black Ink Clan Army. The Black Ink Clan Army of 50,000 soldiers, which had completely surrounded Swallowing Seas Sect, was now surrounded by these strange-looking creatures.
It was exactly as the old adage goes, ‘life is full of ups and downs’.
These creatures looked quite naïve, but when they fought the Black Ink Clan, they were both ruthless and fearless! Furthermore, the Black Ink Strength which the Black Ink Clan was so proud of was completely useless against them.
Wang Xuan Yi wanted to take a closer look, but he quickly noticed that the Giant Sword Formation’s momentum was growing noticeably weaker.
While carrying out the previous attack, not only had his Squad members consumed too much World Force, but many of them had also suffered injuries, making it difficult to maintain the Formation.
When he set out earlier, he had done so with the determination to die in battle, but it seemed his predestined time had not yet arrived. The sword of light turned around as Wang Yuan Yi led his Squad back to Swallowing Seas Sect, sending a Divine Sense transmission from afar, “Sect Master Yang, please open the Array!”
Yang Qing didn’t dare to be negligent and hurriedly formed a hand seal before pointing towards the Grand Array. The next moment, a gap cracked open in the shield, allowing the Giant Sword Formation to rush inside like a bolt of lightning, falling onto the main square of Swallowing Seas Sect. The dozen or so Squad members were no longer able to maintain the Formation and immediately sprawled out on the ground, gasping for breath like fish on the verge of death.
Yang Qing and the others came to greet them, and when he saw the pale faces of Wang Xuan Yi and the others, as well as the blood dripping from the corners of their mouths, his eyes immediately turned red as he respectfully bowed, “Many thanks for your life-saving efforts.”
Waving them off, Wang Xuan Yi and his Squad members took out pills and swallowed them before sitting down cross-legged to adjust their breathing.