When the five Territory Lords in the distance unleashed their attacks, the Heavens shuddered and the Earth shook. Everybody aboard the Warship immediately noticed the commotion and turned to look in that direction.
Among the five youths was a young man dressed in all-white clothes. Even his hair was snow white. His expression became solemn, “A Master from the Black Ink Clan is attacking somebody. Moreover, this aura… It’s a Territory Lord!”
Standing next to him was a young woman. She was also dressed in white, but her hair was black. She nodded at his words, “More than one at that. I believe there are at least three of them, possibly even more.”
The black-haired young woman had a sweet appearance that was somewhat similar to Yang Kai’s.
“Were the whereabouts of a roaming Hunter exposed?” Among the five youths, a simple-looking young man approached the side of the Warship with a vague look of worry on his face.
Over the past few days, the whereabouts of several Hunters hidden in the vicinity had been exposed. The exposure of their whereabouts had naturally attracted the pursuit of the Black Ink Clan; however, the strongest among those Black Ink Clansmen were mere Feudal Lords. Although the people aboard this Warship had rescued many Hunters from the grasp of the Black Ink Clan recently, it was their first time seeing a Territory Lord here, not to mention that there was more than one.
“It will be difficult for them to escape seeing as a Territory Lord is personally attacking them,” standing beside the simple-looking young man was a woman with a cold and sharp expression, making her seem extremely unapproachable. It was only when her gaze landed on the simple-looking young man that a glimmer of warmth entered her eyes.
“Should we rescue them?” Out of the five young people, the last person was a young man with bowl cut and an eager expression, “We’ve never fought a Territory Lord. Eldest Senior Brother, let’s go save them!” His last sentence was directed at the simple-looking young man.
The small Stone Man who had been staring into the void in boredom all this while suddenly leapt up and climbed to the top of the bowl-cut young man’s head. Hammering his chest with his fists, he let out a battle cry. He was clearly very excited, and his fighting spirit was overflowing.
“Let’s save them!” The simple-looking young man announced with a determined expression, “Senior Bi Xi, turn around! We’re going to rescue them!”
Of course, Bi Xi’s Soul Clone ignored the simple-looking young man as he scoffed to himself, [Your Honoured Master is there, why would he need you to save him? We should leave Acacia Territory as soon as possible before he discovers the situation here. If he learns that the little ones are here, this Old Master will be in trouble.]
He thus remained unmoved by their pleas.
Seeing that Bi Xi’s Soul Clone not only showed no interest in rescuing those people but was also moving further and further away instead, the simple-looking young man quickly yelled, “Senior Bi Xi, it’s not this way! The other way!”
While the simple-looking young man was yelling at Bi Xi’s Soul Clone, the cold and arrogant young woman simply leapt off the Warship and sped towards the direction of the commotion.
The bowl-head young man immediately panicked and shouted, “Wait for me, Second Senior Sister!”
Then, he chased after the young woman, his speed quite extraordinary. The small Stone Man tried to grab at the bowl-headed young man’s hair to steady himself, but there wasn’t much to cling onto. With no other choice, he held onto the youth’s ears instead to prevent himself from being thrown off.
“Don’t be reckless!” The simple-looking young man hastily yelled after them; however, his Junior Brother and Junior Sister had already flown off into the distance. With a frustrated grunt, he hurriedly gave chase.
“Little Aunt, let’s go!” The white-haired young man dressed in white shouted. Then, he floated off the Warship hand in hand with the young woman beside him.
The Ominous Beast that had been resting with its eyes closed abruptly stood up while the little girl who was stroking his fur immediately got on his back. In the next moment, flames appeared at the feet of the Ominous Beast and he leapt into the void without hesitation.
Before leaving, the little girl did not forget to reach out and grab the pair of children to bring them along.
In the blink of an eye, there was nobody left on the Bi Xi Battleship.
“I… You…”
Bi Xi’s Soul Clone was desperate to cry, but was unable to shed any tears. He had planned to sneak the little ones back to the Territory Gate and quietly leave Acacia Territory as soon as possible. Who could have known the little ones would be so reckless?
[This is bad! This is bad! I knew I should never have brought them out of the Star Boundary!] He deeply regretted being so indulgent towards them and believing in their promises of just coming out to see a bit of the world. Look at the situation now! They had deserted him and left him alone in the void.
He couldn’t help feeling extremely worried about them, so with no other choice, he quickly turned around and chased after the little ones. While chasing after them, he sent a transmission to his other Soul Clone, “How is the situation on your side? Why did you suddenly start fighting?”
The other party replied, “We encountered five Territory Lords, but it’s nothing to worry about!”
He was shocked by the response and asked, “Five Territory Lords!? How is that nothing to worry about!? Hurry up and hide! The Territory Lords are not to be trifled with. Not to mention, they are Innate Territory Lords. Every one of them is comparable to a peak Eighth-Order Master in strength.”
“No need to worry, it’s just five trivial Territory Lords after all!”
Those words stunned him as he secretly thought to himself, [I don’t have the habit of boasting. What is with my other Soul Clone? There are five Territory Lords! How is that trivial?]
From the way the other party was talking, he did not seem to think much of the five Territory Lords. It had to be said that even Bi Xi’s true body could only handle one Territory Lord at a time. If two Territory Lords were to cooperate against him, he would surely be at a serious disadvantage. Needless to say, Bi Xi had an extraordinary defensive strength, so while he might not be able to defeat two Territory Lords, protecting himself wouldn’t be a problem.
Bi Xi’s Soul Clone had no time to ponder on the issue though, so he could only inform the other party, “The little ones have gone there. Don’t let anything happen to them.”
The other side inquired, “How many little ones came?”
He sighed and helplessly said, “Yang Xiao, Yang Xue, Yang Kai’s three Disciples, Xiao Xiao, Qiong Qi, Liu Yan, Xiao Hong, and even Xiao Hei.”
The other side was clearly shocked, “Did all of them come here?”
These were all the little ones who were left behind in the Star Boundary.
He helplessly replied, “I know. If anything were to happen to them, we won’t have any way to explain the situation to Yang Kai… Ha…”
The little ones had charged forward, so they were bound to run into Yang Kai; therefore, Yang Kai would surely question the reason they were in Acacia Territory. How was he supposed to explain the situation once that happened?
The more Bi Xi’s Soul Clone thought about the situation, the wearier he became. He was such an old man, yet he had to take care of the children of others. The most important point was that he failed to take good care of them.
However, his other self clearly did not have such reservations and became excited instead, “Great timing. Tell them not to expose their whereabouts. We might need their help to kill these Territory Lords.”
He exclaimed in astonishment, “Kill the Territory Lords?”
[When did my other Soul Clone pick up such a terrible habit? Who did he learn it from?]
Although the little ones were undeniably strong, even if all of them worked together, they could only handle one Territory Lord at most. However, the enemy was five Territory Lords! It was only natural to flee as fast as possible when faced with this many overwhelming enemies.
“En. We’re going to kill these Territory Lords! Just trust me,” The other Soul Clone sounded confident and calm.
Bi Xi’s Soul Clone was at a loss for words. They were both Soul Clones of the true body, so there was no differentiating between them in terms of sense or strength, so he could not figure out the reason for the other Soul Clone’s confidence.
Now that things had reached this point though, he could only choose to trust in the other party… which was himself.
As for how to call the little ones back… That was simple. They did not know that the commotion ahead was caused by Yang Kai and simply assumed that one of the Hunter Squads had been exposed. As long as he told them the truth, they would come back immediately.
To prevent them from exposing their whereabouts, he quickly sent a Divine Sense transmission and sure enough, the figures charging forward hastily came to a stop and returned to the Warship.
The white-haired Yang Xiao who was dressed in all white exclaimed in astonishment, “Senior Bi Xi, is Adoptive Father really up ahead?”
The honest-looking Zhao Ye Bai was extremely excited, “Is it really Honoured Master?”
Although the others did not ask any questions, their eyes were filled with pleasant surprise and anticipation.
“That’s right. Yang Kai is there. The Territory Lords are chasing him,” Bi Xi’s Soul Clone replied.
The cold and arrogant Zhao Ya immediately summoned a long spear. Her long hair flew in the wind as her murderous intent flared, “Bold! I must go assist Honoured Master!”
Xiao Xiao, who was standing on top of Xu Yi’s head, also became impatient. He jumped up and down on top of Xu Yi’s head, causing the latter to become somewhat dizzy as a result.
Seeing that Zhao Ya was about to rush off again, Bi Xi’s Soul Clone hurriedly called out, “Calm down. Yang Kai does not want you to expose your whereabouts yet. He might need your help to kill the enemies later!”
Those were the words of the other Soul Clone. It was just that he was not in the position to explain too much under the current circumstances, so he simply took those words as Yang Kai’s. In any case, he believed that his other Soul Clone would inform Yang Kai about the situation and then get back to him.
Zhao Ya did not dare to disobey the orders of her Honoured Master, so after hearing those words, she slowly withdrew her murderous intent and turned to look into the distance. It felt as though the commotion in that direction was getting bigger and bigger.
Liu Yan, who was riding on top of Qiong Qi, frowned and asked, “Senior Bi Xi, although Master has reached the Eighth Order, there are quite a lot of Territory Lords there. Can he… handle them all?”
They knew that Yang Kai had become an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master; after all, he previously stopped to visit Bi Xi’s true body on his way back from the Black Ink Battlefield.
Afterwards, the news spread to the people of the Star Boundary when Bi Xi’s true body retreated there with the cultivators from Void Land.
What they did not know was Yang Kai’s feats over the last several dozen years, including his battle record of killing three Territory Lords in Profound Nether Territory. It had not been long since that incident took place. Besides, the Hunters were scattered across the various Great Territories which made it difficult to keep up with the latest news.
Bi Xi’s Soul Clone coughed lightly, “Don’t you know the strength of your Master? Judging by what he said, I’m sure he has his means.”
Liu Yan considered for a moment before agreeing. Since her Master was acting in such a manner, then he must have his own reasons. There was no need for her to overthink the situation, she only needed to obey his orders.
The whole group immediately calmed down while Bi Xi’s Soul Clone exhaled a sigh of relief, [Thank goodness I managed to fool them for now. As for what happens after this… That’s not up to me anymore.]
Activating a Secret Technique, he concealed his aura and secretly moved forward.
Bi Xi not only had an outstanding defence, but his ability to conceal his aura was also unmatched. Otherwise, it would have been impossible for so many Masters to fail at detecting his presence despite passing by Void Land for so many years. It was not until Yang Kai took over Void Land and Zhu Jiu Yin went on a rampage that the sleeping Bi Xi awakened and made his presence known.
One of the reasons why this group of youths could leisurely wander around the various Great Territories for so many years was undeniably thanks to their outstanding strength, but the other reason was that they had Bi Xi’s protection.
After killing Black Ink Clansmen, they would only need to hide deep within the void. Even if the Black Ink Clan mobilised a large force to search the area, they would have a hard time locating a lone Warship.
At the same time, far off in the void ahead, Dawning Light and the Bi Xi Battleship carrying Yu Ru Meng and the others were being bombarded indiscriminately by the Territory Lords.
Fortunately, both Dawning Light and the Bi Xi Battleship had extraordinary defensive capabilities. As long as they did not suffer an endless barrage of attacks from the Territory Lords at close range, they would be fine for some time.
Bi Xi’s Soul Clone avoided the attacks from the pursuing Territory Lords while at the same time, he sent a secret Divine Sense transmission to Yang Kai and told the other party about the situation on the other side.
[Yang Xiao, Yang Xue, my three Disciples, Xiao Xiao, Liu Yan, Qiong Qi, Xiao Hong, and even Xiao Hei are in Acacia Territory?]
When Yang Kai received the news, he was so shocked that he nearly revealed his aura. Fortunately, he managed to regain his composure quickly.
At this point, he had no time to question why all the little ones were in Acacia Territory. In any case, it would not be too late to question them later. His top priority at the moment was to slaughter these Territory Lords.
After pondering for a moment, he sent a Divine Sense transmission, “Senior Brother Bi Xi, how strong are they now?”
He had not gone back to the Star Boundary since his return from the Black Ink Battlefield, so aside from meeting Xiao Hong and Xiao Hei in Void Land previously, Yang Kai had not seen the others in close to 1,000 years. Hence, he truly did not know their current cultivation level.
However, they were bound to have a certain level of strength if they were courageous enough to become Hunters, and that was especially true for his three Disciples. Therefore, he had great confidence in them.
Bi Xi’s Soul Clone sent a transmission, “After Yang Xiao followed the Dragon Clan to the Divine Spirit Ancestral Land, he returned as a Grand Dragon. Yang Xue has been in the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm for many years and should be at the very peak by now. As for your three Disciples… All of them advanced directly to the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm.”
Although all the cultivators who came from the Void Dao Temple in Yang Kai’s Small Universe more or less received some inheritance from him, only Zhao Ye Bai, Zhao Ya, and Xu Yi could be regarded as his Legacy Disciples.
Those three little ones had respectively inherited his three Grand Daos, namely the Dao of Space, the Spear Dao, and the Dao of Time.
Among his three Disciples, his Second Disciple Zhao Ya was undoubtedly the most talented in terms of aptitude. Her cultivation speed could be said to progress at 1,000 kilometres a day. Back when she had been cultivating in his Small Universe, Yang Kai had instructed her to suppress her cultivation at all times lest it advance too quickly. Otherwise, she would not receive the full benefits of the feedback from the World Tree clone when he transferred her to the Star Boundary.
Many cultivators originated from the Void Dao Temple, and about 10% of them advanced directly to the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm. However, Yang Kai had yet to meet another cultivator who could compare with Zhao Ya in terms of cultivation aptitude.
She was the kind of individual who was inherently suited to cultivation. No matter the Secret Art or Secret Technique, she would quickly attain mastery over it; hence, she was truly extraordinary even among the myriad geniuses out there.
Xu Yi came next. Although he was not as good as Zhao Ya, his aptitude was undeniably good. His most commendable aspect was that he had great compatibility with the Dao of Time.
Zhao Ye Bai had the worst aptitude by far among the three. To put it nicely, he was average, but to put it bluntly, he was slow.
However, Yang Kai was the most optimistic about Zhao Ye Bai out of his three Disciples.
Being average and mediocre meant that Zhao Ye Bai would work harder and build a stronger foundation. As the saying went, ‘All buildings began from the ground’. The more solid the foundation, the greater the heights one could ascend to.
Zhao Ye Bai might be slow-witted, but he had an extremely keen perception towards the Dao of Space.
Yang Kai sent his three Disciples back to the Star Boundary before he departed for the Black Ink Battlefield; thus, they not only received feedback from the World Tree in the Star Boundary for many years but also enjoyed large amounts of cultivation resources provided by High Heaven Palace. Thanks to these factors, his three Disciples had successively advanced directly to the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm several hundred years ago.
In the past, they would have been treated like the most precious of treasures by the various Cave Heavens and Paradises. As candidates to become future Ninth-Order Old Ancestors, any one of them would have been raised as the future successors of their Sects.
It was just that the powerful feedback from the World Tree in the Star Boundary had resulted in the constant emergence of Juniors who advanced directly to the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm nowadays, which made these future Ninth-Order Old Ancestor candidates less rare in comparison.
Even so, any cultivator who advanced directly into the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm would receive the highest level of attention and resources from the Cave Heavens and Paradises because they were the future hope of the Human Race.
Liu Yan, Xiao Xiao, and Qiong Qi had Divine Spirit Bloodlines and Sources, and had cultivated in the Divine Spirit Ancestral Land for many years. Now that their Bloodlines had been further purified, they were each comparable to Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters in strength. Since they were also experienced Divine Spirits, they were most likely stronger compared to the average Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters.
As for Xiao Hong and Xiao Hei, they were unqualified to enter the Divine Spirit Ancestral Land because their Bloodlines were too impure. They had been cultivating by Bi Xi’s side all this time though, so while their strength was slightly inferior, it was still comparable to the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm.
Out of the 10 people aboard the Warship, there were as many as seven on par with the Seventh Order and three on par with the Sixth Order! If they included Bi Xi’s Soul Clone, they could even put up a fight against an Innate Territory Lord!
They had been Hunters for more than 10 years now. It was partly thanks to the protection they received from Bi Xi’s Soul Clone that they remained safe and sound for so long, but their immense strength also played an important role.
The foundation of anyone’s strength was themselves. If one’s strength was not enough, then one would remain weak and useless no matter how much protection they received from others.
How could Bi Xi fail to see through their intentions when he initially agreed to bring them out? He too believed that flowers grown in a greenhouse would not grow strong enough to withstand wind and rain. Blindly cultivating behind closed doors would not bring about much progress now that the world was in chaos.
Wandering around and fighting the Black Ink Clan would undoubtedly serve as an excellent training experience; unfortunately, the enormous battles between the two Races’ Armies had too many uncontrollable variables. On the contrary, one would have more freedom and convenience as a Hunter.
After learning about the growth of the little ones from Bi Xi’s Soul Clone, Yang Kai couldn’t help feeling amazed. Not only was he growing stronger, but the little ones were also growing stronger. The entire Human Race was working hard to increase their respective strengths. The future of the Human Race was certainly promising!
With the sudden appearance of such a powerful and still hidden reinforcement, Yang Kai realised that he could make some changes to his original plans. He might be able to take this opportunity to let the little ones experience the strength of an Innate Territory Lord directly; after all, none of them had fought such an enemy before.
As soon as the thought crossed his mind, he sent out a Divine Sense transmission.
In the next moment, the two Warships immediately separated and fled in different directions, seemingly escaping in a panic.
Seeing this, the five Territory Lords chasing behind the Warships immediately split up and continued their pursuit without any hesitation. Two Territory Lords went after the Bi Xi Battleship and three went after Dawning Light.
To the five Territory Lords, the two Warships before them were undoubtedly big fish. Although an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master was protecting the two Warships, they did not think much of her. Only one Territory Lord was needed to restrain that Eighth-Order Master, while the others could easily slaughter the remaining Humans.
That was exactly what the five Territory Lords planned to do. Everything was within their calculations.
Gradually, the distance between them closed to just over 100,000 kilometres. The speed of the two Warships might be fast, but they could not escape from the pursuit of the Territory Lords.
The Human cultivators aboard the Bi Xi Battleship evidently realised this fact. After suffering another round of attacks from the two Territory Lords, countless cracks appeared on the Warship’s shields, and the defensive light barrier seemed ready to collapse at any moment.
When one of the Territory Lords saw the opportunity, he did not hesitate to stretch out a large hand to grab at the Bi Xi Battleship. Black Ink Strength surged and the universe went dark.
In that moment, the Bi Xi Battleship that was escaping in a hurry abruptly turned around and brazenly charged towards the two Territory Lords.
The Territory Lord who attacked just now gave a cold snort, “Overconfidence!”
He then slammed his palm down hard.
These Human cultivators clearly knew that it would be difficult for them to escape their current crisis and had prepared themselves to fight back like a cornered beast.
Numerous Secret Techniques and Divine Abilities blasted out from the Bi Xi Battleship, slamming towards the two Territory Lords. It was just that their attacks seemed weak and pointless to the Territory Lords.
These Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters seemed ridiculously weak. If all the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters were only at this level of strength, then they wouldn’t even be difficult for a Feudal Lord to defeat.
Black Ink Strength gathered in the enormous palm as it pressed down on the Bi Xi Battleship. The Warship shuddered violently under the impact. Yu Ru Meng and the others who were standing on the deck lost their balance, looking extremely miserable, their expressions turning ugly.
The Territory Lord abruptly clenched his large hand as if to grab hold of the entire Bi Xi Battleship, laughing loudly as he increased his strength to completely crush its defences. Once the shields were broken, his Black Ink Strength would be able to penetrate the Warship directly.
He had no intention of killing these Humans. Regardless of how weak they were, they were still 10 Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters. If he could convert them into Black Ink Disciples by corrupting them with the Black Ink Strength, they would become his pawns. He could order them to disguise themselves as Hunters and then kill or lure out others, making his next mission easier.
Due to the scheming thoughts in his head, he held back the strength of his attacks, but it was at that moment that a sense of crisis suddenly washed over him, causing him to panic for some inexplicable reason. He immediately focused his mind and glanced in the direction of the Bi Xi Battleship, hoping to see why these ants were now giving him such a strong sense of terror.
Before he could get a good look though, a flash of Spiritual Energy appeared next to him. Immediately after that, the defences of his Soul were ripped open and he felt as though something was stabbing into his mind, giving him a splitting headache. He howled from the pain, and the Black Ink Strength coming from his large hand that was restraining the Bi Xi Battleship immediately dispersed.
At the same time, a ripple emerged in the Void beside him and a humanoid figure stepped without any warning, thrusting a spear towards him in a slow manner. Both space and time seemed to warp at that moment as many different Dao Strengths fluctuated and wove together as they pierced out.
The spear stabbed out at a speed that could not be considered fast. The Territory Lord suffering from the splitting headache saw the spear heading towards him and tried to avoid the attack; however, to his astonishment, he discovered that he could not avoid the spear no matter what he did.
At that moment, all his senses and reflexes seemed to have been dulled.
The other Territory Lord, who stood beside him but had not made a move so far, gave a loud yell, “Watch out!”
Among the two Territory Lords chasing after the Bi Xi Battleship, one had attacked while the other had held back to monitor the situation.
When Yang Kai attacked, the Territory Lord he targeted suffered heavy damage to his Soul. Although the first Territory Lord could not save himself, the second one quickly recovered from the shock and retaliated. He opened his mouth, and a whip-like black light blasted towards Yang Kai.
It was too late to save his companion, so he could only choose to attack the enemy instead. At this moment, he suddenly discovered that their ambusher was an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master!
[Two Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters! One of them drew our attention while the other lurked in the shadows!]
All five Territory Lords had been distracted by the two Warships and failed to detect the hidden Eighth-Order Master. This was probably not a premeditated plan, but one that they had come up with at the last moment after their whereabouts were exposed.
Although the Territory Lord did not think much of this newly appeared Eighth-Order Human, he did not hold back in his attacks. If the other party did not wish to die, then he would need to withdraw his spear to defend himself. In that way, his companion Territory Lord would survive, but in the next moment, he discovered that he was mistaken.
Despite facing a Territory Lord’s all-out attack, the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master who suddenly emerged from the shadows showed no intention of dodging or even responding. The spear in his hand stabbed forward firmly, and he looked as though he was determined to drag his enemy down with him even if he were to die as a result.
[What a fierce and merciless Human! He is not only merciless towards the Black Ink Clan, but also towards himself!]
The Territory Lord was horrified. Nevertheless, this situation was favourable to him. Even though his companion might be heavily injured or even killed by this Eighth-Order Human, he would be able to take down the latter in return. It was not a bad deal. In any case, he was not the one who would die.
Life and death became apparent in an instant!
The Soul Rending Thorn was a double-edged sword that harmed both the enemy and the user. The impact of the attack was enormous, but Yang Kai had experienced the same pain many times before, so he had gotten somewhat accustomed to his Soul being torn apart. Any enemy who was struck by the Soul Rending Thorn would instantly suffer pain worse than death.
In the next instant, the targeted Territory Lord died! The moment his powerful aura swelled up before withering into nothing, the abrupt change was felt in all directions.
The little ones aboard the second Bi Xi Battleship, who were secretly but rapidly approaching the battlefield, were shocked.
After they were told to assist Yang Kai in killing the enemy by Bi Xi’s Soul Clone, they prepared themselves for a difficult, possibly life-threatening battle. Contrary to their expectations though, a Territory Lord was slain as soon as the confrontation began in earnest!
The burst of power that erupted from that direction was too fierce and profound and contained a myriad of Dao Strengths like the Dao of Time, Dao of Space, and Spear Dao. How could Yang Xiao and the others fail to perceive these energy fluctuations?
Many of them were experiencing Yang Kai’s true strength for the first time in their lives! Even if they only perceived the burst from afar and did not witness the scene with their own eyes, that level of strength was enough for them to admire and worship him!
On the battlefield, the Territory Lord who made the first move lost his life on the spot. Similarly, Yang Kai grunted in pain and spat out a mouthful of blood.
To kill the first Territory Lord in a single blow, he had abandoned all forms of defence during his attack. As a result, his flesh was pierced by the black light that the second Territory Lord spat in his direction. Dense Black Ink Strength lingered around his wound, quickly corroding his flesh.
The Territory Lord was filled with a mixture of astonishment and delight. He had known that his companion would suffer a miserable fate. Being ambushed by an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master at such a close distance, even an Innate Territory Lord would suffer grave injuries if he survived at all. Nevertheless, he couldn’t help feeling taken aback to see how easily his companion was slain.
It was fortunate that he had injured the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master with his counterattack.
Taking advantage of Yang Kai’s vulnerability, he threw his palm out at Yang Kai once more. He was merciless in his attack since he had no intention of trying to corrupt an Eighth-Order Master with Black Ink Strength.
An Eighth-Order Human was not easy to corrupt. During all the years of war between the Black Ink Clan and the Human Race, the number of Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters who were corrupted by Black Ink Strength could be counted on one hand. Moreover, most of them were only successfully corrupted because a Royal Lord had personally used the Royal Lord Secret Technique on them.
The Territory Lords might be powerful, but they could not corrupt an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master with their Black Ink Strength unless they continuously used it to corrode a Human that was completely restrained.
[I have to kill this Eighth-Order Human quickly!] Losing a fellow Territory Lord was not a glorious thing, but killing this Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master would be enough to make up for the loss.
At the same time that the Territory Lord attacked, the other Humans aboard the first Bi Xi Battleship sent out a barrage of Divine Abilities and Secret Techniques, accompanied by the momentary emergence of Dragon and Phoenix phantoms. The imposing Dragon Roar and striking Phoenix Cry sliced through the void with unparalleled speed and momentum.
One such attack might be nothing to a Territory Lord, but 10 was another story. Even an Innate Territory Lord would not dare to look down on the combined attacks of 10 Seventh-Order Human Masters, much less if there were several powerful Divine Spirits among them.
[These Humans… were feigning weakness earlier!] The Territory Lord suddenly had a realization.
He previously felt that these Seventh-Order Humans were ridiculously weak, far more so than he had anticipated, but at this moment, he suddenly realised the truth. It was not that these Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters were weak, they were just acting on purpose so that he and his dead companion would drop their guard.
This was a trap all along!
The Territory Lord felt a chill shoot up his spine. Faced with the 10 Secret Techniques and Divine Abilities blasting towards him, he did not dare to be negligent in his defence and hastily took action to intercept these attacks. He had no time to bother about the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master whom he injured earlier as, in reality, he did not know whether he could kill the other party even if he attacked again.
That was because the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master’s expression did not change in the slightest even though his flesh had been pierced by a bolt of Black Ink Strength. There was only a look of cold indifference on his face. In the next moment, the spear in the Eighth-Order Humans’ hands transformed into a barrage of spear shadows that covered the entire sky as they rained down on the Territory Lord.
Under normal circumstances, an Innate Territory Lord would be strong enough to defend against the joint attack of 10 Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters; however, defending would be difficult if there were several powerful Divine Spirits among those 10 Masters.
If an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master were to join in, then even the strongest Innate Territory Lord would panic.
A violent force spread out in all directions, causing the void to distort and eventually shatter. Following the brief moment of confrontation, the 10 figures aboard the Bi Xi Battleship were brutally shaken and even the Bi Xi Battleship itself was thrown backwards by the impact.
Yang Kai was also forced back, blood spurting wildly from his wounds.
Likewise, the Territory Lord was in no better condition. After the violent barrage of attacks, his tall figure was left in tatters with countless wounds all over his body and Black Blood trickling from his wounds.
His expression was terrified.
The strength of these Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters exceeded his expectations, and the strength of the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master was extremely tyrannical.
This Human was no ordinary Eighth-Order Master, but instead one of their peak Masters!
Despite it being such a brief confrontation, the Territory Lord realized that he might not be able to defeat his opponent in a one-on-one battle, much less when the other party had 10 powerful Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters assisting him.
[I have to flee as soon as possible. If not, I will definitely suffer a disastrous fate!] The Territory Lord turned and sped towards his three other companions who were chasing after the other Warship. Only by joining up with them as soon as possible could he escape his imminent death and retaliate against the enemy.
In that fleeting moment, the Territory Lord decided to flee. Taking advantage of the moment when the Bi Xi Battleship and Yang Kai were thrown backwards by the clash, he transformed into Black Ink Cloud with a shift of his body and tried to escape.
“Solidify!” Yang Kai’s gaze remained cold, and following his shout, the surrounding space solidified, causing the speed of the Black Ink Cloud to plummet, as if the Territory Lord was now trying to trudge through a quagmire.
At the same time, aboard the Bi Xi Battleship, the shadow of an enormous spider appeared behind Shan Qing Luo. Moreover, there was a conspicuous crescent Moon on the spider’s forehead.
Heavenly Moon Demon Spider!
When she opened her mouth, a spider web spewed forth to cover the Territory Lord. Numerous bursts of energy that were invisible to the naked eye simultaneously emerged in the surroundings. The energy radiated in all directions and quickly formed a shockingly large net with the Territory Lord in the centre.
The Territory Lord was already being restrained by Space Principles, so stuck in the spider web, he instantly felt excruciating discomfort as he struggled to escape with all his might. Before he could break free from the shackles though, several figures charged towards him from different directions. Meanwhile, the Dragon Roar and the Phoenix Cry became louder!
…..
At the same time, a battle broke out on Dawning Light’s side as Dawn couldn’t escape with three Territory Lords pursuing them.
The reason why three Territory Lords had split chased after Dawning Light was because there was an Eighth-Order Master aboard this Warship.
At this moment, Feng Ying had left Dawning Light to engage one of the Territory Lords in a one-on-one battle. Unfortunately, she had only advanced to the Eighth Order recently, so her heritage was not very strong. A short battle was already enough to push her into a dangerous situation.
Dawning Light was in an even more perilous state. With the strength of Dawn and the abilities of Dawning Light, they would stand a chance of repelling a single Innate Territory Lord, but that was still nothing more than a chance. Now that two such Territory Lords were besieging them, they were no match whatsoever.
The light of the Warship’s shields was becoming increasingly dim, and without its protection, Dawn would immediately be exposed to the attacks of the Territory Lords. The Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters might be able to flee, but those below the Seventh-Order were doomed to die.
Fortunately, Dawn knew that they were not the main force in this operation, so there was no need for them to fight the Territory Lords in desperation. They only needed to buy some time. The speed of the Warship had already been pushed to its limits. Controlled by a group of Open Heaven Realm Masters, the Warship was as agile as a fish in water, constantly changing directions to avoid the incoming attacks. Nevertheless, they could not escape the fate of being pummelled by the enemy.
30 breaths!
That was the maximum amount of time that Dawning Light could hold out against the pursuit of two Innate Territory Lords. Once 30 breaths were up, Dawn would be at risk of total annihilation.
At the 15-breath mark though, the commotion caused by the death of a Territory Lord spread out without warning. The members of Dawn were overjoyed knowing that Yang Kai had made his move.
On the other hand, the expressions of the two Territory Lords chasing after Dawning Light changed drastically and they turned to look in the direction where their companion had fallen, giving Dawning Light some time to catch their breath.
The same was true for Feng Ying. She was at a complete disadvantage, so she had been struggling just to preserve her life. She even had the feeling that the time she could last against her enemy was shorter than Dawning Light. For an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master like her who advanced less than 600 years ago, the gap in strength between her and an Innate Territory Lord was simply too great. Although she would not be killed instantly, she was bound to die in a one-on-one battle.
When Yang Kai made his first kill though, the Territory Lord attacking Feng Ying was also affected.
The three Territory Lords were shocked as they all wondered, [What is happening over there?]
It had not been long since they split up, so how did one of their companions die? Immediately after that, they detected the fallout of a fierce battle coming from that direction and the aura of another Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master.
But… Even if it was another Eighth-Order Master that made a move, it should have been impossible for them to slaughter a Territory Lord in such a short time. Even an ambush would not work!
[What waste!]
Be it Feng Ying’s opponent or the two Territory Lords chasing after Dawning Light, they cursed soundly in their hearts and after a brief moment of shock, their subsequent attacks became more ruthless.
Their companion was dead, so there was nothing they could do even if they rushed over. If their other companion wasn’t a fool, then he would now be making his way towards them, there was no need to go and meet up with him. Besides, it was more important to deal with the Humans before them.
Just 10 breaths later though, the fallout caused by the death of another Territory Lord appeared.
The three surviving Territory Lords were now completely stunned.
The death of their first companion might have been caused by carelessness, but what did the death of their second companion signify? What’s more, the time between the deaths of their two companions was too short.
Just who could have such impressive strength? Was it a Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master? But, they did not detect the aura of a Ninth-Order Human, only a single Eighth-Order Master.
A powerful enemy!
When Mo Na Ye asked them to come to Acacia Territory as reinforcements, he mentioned that he was planning to deal with a ‘powerful enemy’.
The five Territory Lords had not paid much attention to the issue, believing that the so-called ‘powerful enemy’ was most likely just one of the strongest Eighth-Order Human Masters. After all, it was not like they had never fought such enemies before. They believed that Mo Na Ye was just worrying for nothing. There were already five Territory Lords in Acacia Territory, so how could they not deal with a single Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master?
It was not until this moment that the three surviving Territory Lords understood the gravity of the situation. This was truly a powerful enemy indeed, one that could even frighten Territory Lords like themselves!
[Should we fight? Or, should we flee?]
This new Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master had slaughtered two Territory Lords in a very short time, so it was obvious that he was far stronger than any other Eighth-Order Human they had ever met. However, he was bound to have paid a heavy price to achieve this; hence, now might be the best time for them to eliminate him.
Before the three Territory Lords could come to a decision, the Territory Lord fighting Feng Ying suddenly felt the space in front of him turning hazy for a moment as a blood-stained young man with a cold expression emerged before him!
The murderous intent radiating from this Human Race Master was practically tangible; moreover, the spear in his hand was clearly stained with the fresh blood of a Black Ink Clansman.
[This aura… Isn’t this the aura of the Eighth-Order Human I sensed just now?] The Territory Lord fighting with Feng Ying turned pale with shock, [How did he arrive here so quickly?]
Despite his surprise, there was one thing that gave him a slight sense of relief. The other party seemed to be quite seriously injured.
Yang Kai was indeed heavily wounded. For the sake of ending the previous battle as quickly as possible, he had ambushed and used a Soul Rending Thorn on the first Territory Lord. Unfortunately, he was pierced by a ray of Black Ink Light shot by the second Territory Lord while he was focused on his first target. It was only thanks to his intrepid physique that Yang Kai remained standing. If it had been an ordinary Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master instead, they would have lost most of their combat ability by now.
Afterwards, he cooperated with Yu Ru Meng and the others to slaughter the second Territory Lord in just 10 breaths of time. However, killing the second Territory Lord in such a short time was not without a cost.
He did not use a Soul Rending Thorn to defeat the second Territory Lord, relying solely upon his immense strength in addition to the support of Yu Ru Meng and the others to restrain the enemy. As a result, Yu Ru Meng and the others were wounded in the battle.
Likewise, Yang Kai received additional injuries on top of his previous ones. It was fortunate that such wounds were not critical, and with his recovery abilities, they would not hinder him as long as he did not suffer a fatal blow.
Yang Kai had experienced countless battles of such intensity over the years, and one of the reasons he survived until today and managed to slaughter so many powerful foes was that he often was even more unrelenting and ruthless than his enemies!
The second Territory Lord could be said to be very unlucky. A Territory Lord was hard to kill, and an Innate Territory Lord was even harder to kill. If he had encountered another Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master cooperating with Yu Ru Meng and the others instead, he would have had the chance to escape even if he could not defeat them. Even a Master like Xiang Shan might not be able to stop an Innate Territory Lord like him if he was determined to escape. Unfortunately for him, the person he encountered was none other than Yang Kai, who was proficient in the Dao of Space. Under the effects of the space solidification, the Territory Lord had no hope of escaping, so what else was there for him other than to die in battle?
Yang Kai knew Dawn could not hold out for long, which was why he decided to end the battle as quickly as possible and without any regard for the cost.
He could only unleash three Soul Rending Thorns in a row as it was too risky for him to do so a fourth time, but with the appearance of five Territory Lords, he became greedy and wanted to end all of their lives here today. That was why he refused to use his Soul Rending Thorns unless there was no other choice.
Nevertheless, now was the right time to strike. Yang Kai leapt across the Void and arrived in a flash, then immediately unleashed a Soul Rending Thorn while the Territory Lord facing Feng Ying remained in shock.
The Territory Lord’s Soul was instantly pierced, causing him to howl like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. Furthermore, he was struck by the combined attacks of Yang Kai and Feng Ying during the brief moment when the defences of his Soul were ripped apart.
Feng Ying’s Divine Manifestation emerged, and the Myriad Swords Dragon enveloped her body. An overwhelming Sword Intent subsequently pierced towards the Territory Lord while a myriad of Dao Strengths intertwined and interlaced around the Azure Dragon Spear in Yang Kai’s hand.
These two attacks practically blew apart the Territory Lord’s body; however, he did not die. The death of his two companions might have caused him to be more vigilant, so he managed to survive even under such dire circumstances. Nonetheless, his aura weakened significantly.
Yang Kai was genuinely surprised as this was the first time he failed to kill his enemy after unleashing a Soul Rending Thorn, but regardless, he did not have the luxury to ponder over this anomaly. Dawn was in great danger at the moment, and if he did not head to their rescue soon, Dawning Light would be at risk of being blown to pieces.
With a shift of his figure, Yang Kai left the half-dead Innate Territory Lord to Feng Ying and appeared in front of Dawning Light.
At that very moment, the defensive light barrier around Dawning Light shattered to pieces. Led by Shen Ao and the other Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, the members of Dawn assembled on the deck and prepared themselves to fight the two Territory Lords to the death.
Yang Kai’s arrival was just in time.
Faced with the powerful joint attack of the two Territory Lords, Yang Kai could not dodge as Dawning Light was right behind him. If he evaded the attacks, then the members of Dawn would surely suffer severe casualties.
A Great Sun leapt into the sky as a Golden Crow cried out. Immediately after that, the Full Moon rose up as moonlight illuminated the void.
Time Principles and Space Principles wove together as the Sun and Moon shone simultaneously, causing profound Space-Time Strength to permeate the world.
The Sun and Moon immediately began to spiral forward like a giant top towards the two Territory Lords and swiftly enveloped them. In the next moment, a violent force erupted and regardless of whether it was the two Innate Territory Lords, Yang Kai, or Dawning Light, all of them were overwhelmed by the explosion.
Aboard Dawning Light, every single member of Dawn spat out a mouthful of fresh blood and their expressions became sluggish. Likewise, Yang Kai’s complexion turned as pale as a sheet.
The two Territory Lords were in a state of utter shock. They had never seen such a mighty Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master before. Even though the other party was also wounded, their combined attack containing their full power was still blocked by the other party.
The power of the Divine Ability unleashed by the other party earlier… was so overwhelming that it simply seemed impossible to believe. Not just the raw force behind this attack, but the profound effect it had on both them and the world around them was beyond their ability to comprehend.
Even after the shockwave had faded, the mysterious Space-Time Strength lingering around their bodies left them feeling extremely uncomfortable.
[Do we fight? Or, do we flee?]
This newly appeared Human was too strong. If they could kill him here, then all the sacrifices they made in this battle would be worthwhile. Be that as it may, the other party did not seem like an easy target, and they were not sure if it was him or them who would die if they fought here today.
At this moment, the two Territory Lords were certain that this person was the powerful enemy that Mo Na Ye mentioned; hence, they couldn’t help cursing the latter in their hearts. Mo Na Ye only mentioned that a powerful enemy might appear in Acacia Territory but failed to give them any specifics. It was his fault that two of their companions had been killed!
If Mo Na Ye knew what they were thinking, he would have roared at the injustice!
Information about Yang Kai had come directly from Profound Nether Territory where he had slain three Territory Lords in a single battle. It was later confirmed that he was the same Human who caused a huge disturbance at the No-Return Pass.
In response to this information, Mo Na Ye decided to err on the side of caution and made an immediate request for five additional Territory Lords to be sent as reinforcements. He thought that 10 Territory Lords gathered together would be enough to defeat Yang Kai, but who could have imagined that those five Territory Lords who came as reinforcements would encounter Yang Kai before they even had the chance to meet up with the others? The fact that five Territory Lords would be killed one after another in this intense battle was a situation that the Black Ink Clan never even dreamed of.
Just as the two Territory Lords were hesitating over their decision, the commotion caused by the death of a third Territory Lord came from nearby.
It was Feng Ying who had slain her opponent.
The third Territory Lord was struck by Yang Kai’s Soul Rending Thorn just now and also suffered a joint attack from Yang Kai and Feng Ying that blasted half his body away. Although he managed to survive that initial barrage, his strength had plummeted to the point where he had essentially lost all combat capability.
Yang Kai had to rescue Dawning Light, so he did not bother to stick around until the end of the battle. Naturally, Feng Ying exerted her full strength after his departure. She had been suppressed by her opponent and forced into a precarious situation earlier; however, the Territory Lord was no longer a match for her. There was no helping it as his injuries were too severe. It was already impressive that he could bring out half of his full-strength
Under Feng Ying’s fierce onslaught that completely disregarded the damage she sustained, the third Territory Lord only managed to hold out for several breaths of time before he was slaughtered by her!
This was her first time killing a Territory Lord with her own hands after she advanced to the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm! However, it was not that impressive a feat as without Yang Kai laying the foundation for her, she was the one who would have suffered a disastrous fate by now.
Feng Ying did not stop there though. Clad in a layer of sword light, she immediately spun around after defeating her opponent and rushed towards Yang Kai.
The two remaining Territory Lords, who had been waffling over their decision to fight or flee, did not hesitate for a moment longer. They were not confident about defeating Yang Kai in the first place, but not only was there another Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master coming to join the fight, they also sensed the other Warship rapidly closing in on them. Things would not end well for them if they were encircled by the enemy; hence, they immediately came to a decision. Their figures flashed, and they fled into the distance.
Yang Kai had taken precautions against their escape though, and seeing them flee, he surged his Space Principles and solidified the local space again. Unfortunately, his injuries were too severe now and he was unable to smoothly mobilize his strength.
If it were just one Territory Lord, he might have been able to restrain his opponent; however, the two Territory Lords cooperated and quickly broke open the blockade to escape.
Yang Kai grit his teeth and raised his spear to pursue. It was not easy to come across the opportunity to slaughter a Territory Lord, so how could he give up so easily? Now that three out of five Territory Lords were dead, killing the last two Territory Lords would be much easier.
Feng Ying followed closely behind while Yu Ru Meng and the others, who were rushing to provide support, also hastily adjusted their course. Aboard Dawning Light, the members of Dawn quickly followed suit after suppressing their injuries.
The two figures and two Warships doggedly moved to intercept the two Innate Territory Lords and in the blink of an eye, they had already crossed a million kilometres.
The persistence of their pursuers enraged the two Territory Lords. They had never suffered such humiliation in all the years since they left the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction.
[It’s all the fault of that damn Mo Na Ye for giving such an unclear message! We will make him pay for this!] The two Territory Lords vowed in their hearts, but then, their expressions abruptly stiffened as they looked up and stared into the distance.
There… seemed to be an ambush in that direction! Numerous Human Race Masters were waiting up ahead for them!
At the same time, a majestic palace soared through the void. The palace was extremely simple looking but had an ancient air about it. Moreover, there was a plaque above the main gates of the palace with the characters ‘Flowing Time’ emblazoned on it. Two figures stood in front of the palace gates, a young man and woman both dressed in white.
The young man and young woman stared at the approaching Innate Territory Lords, but not only did they seem unafraid, they even seemed excited. It was almost as though they had caught a big fish in their net.
They had clearly cultivated the same Secret Art, and under their joint efforts, the flow of time in the local region became distorted. From the enormous palace, 10,008 glowing grains of sand shot out and the two figures disappeared. The grains of sand flew towards the two Territory Lords and enveloped them, causing their sense of time to dramatically slow.
It was the work of Yang Xiao and Yang Xue!
They were the Inheritance Disciples of the Flowing Time Great Emperor, and ever since they inherited the Flowing Time Temple, they had been cultivating the Dao of Time diligently. In particular, the Dao of Time was Yang Xiao’s Bloodline Talent as he was part of the Dragon Clan. He could gain twice the result with half the effort when cultivating the Dao of Time, and thanks to his careful teaching and her innate talents, Yang Xue also shone brilliantly in this extremely esoteric Grand Dao. At present, their attainments in the Dao of Time had reached an incredible height.
Nevertheless, they were not arrogant or overconfident. They knew that they were no match for a Territory Lord, so they did not attempt to actually harm the two Territory Lords. The gap in their strength was simply too wide for that to be a realistic plan. On the contrary, their goal was only to hinder the escape of the two Territory Lords. Even if they could only delay them for a single breath, it would be enough!
If it were an ordinary Black Ink Clansman, they would have had a hard time defending against such a mysterious Secret Technique; however, the strength of the two Innate Territory Lords was enormous. There was no need for them to search for flaws in this Secret Technique to break through, they simply surged the Black Ink Strength in their bodies as they threw out a punch in unison. In the face of overwhelming force, all tricks and tactics become meaningless!
With a single blow, the flying sand that covered the entire area abruptly recoiled and the giant palace which had seemingly vanished reappeared and was sent tumbling through the void. Under the violent impact, the Flowing Time Temple rumbled loudly as countless cracks appeared all over it. Simultaneously, both Yang Xiao and Yang Xue who were standing at the palace gates coughed up a mouthful of fresh blood.
“Impudence!” One of the Territory Lords was livid. [How dare a mere pair of Humans in the Seventh and Sixth-Order block our way just because they have the support of mysterious Secret Techniques?]
Even if they did not dare to confront the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master from earlier, how could they fail to defeat a Seventh-Order and a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters?
Just as they were about to unleash a barrage of ruthless attacks, a Warship emerged from behind the Flowing Time Temple and Zhao Ya’s beautiful figure charged out. With an ice-cold expression on her face, she unleashed a barrage of spear shadows that pierced forward with an indomitable spirit.
To her left, the honest-looking Zhao Ye Bai channelled Space Principles into the spear, causing it to become even more blurred and unpredictable. From the right, Time Principles surged and gathered around Xu Yi’s body before he channelled them into Zhao Ya’s spear like Zhao Ye Bai had.
Instantly, Time Principles merged with Space Principles to form a brand-new form of strength.
The three Disciples were highly accomplished in their respective cultivation, and even though each of them had inherited a different Grand Dao from Yang Kai, the long years they spent together gave them an innate understanding and familiarity with each other’s strengths. In turn, this allowed them to work together and achieve the perfect combination attack. This was a Secret Technique that the three of them developed to merge their strengths and defeat more powerful enemies.
The burst of power unleashed by these three Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters was comparable to the attack of an ordinary Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. Furthermore, the spear technique had a clear semblance to the one Yang Kai had used.
The two Territory Lords were horrified. Yang Kai’s Sun and Moon Divine Wheel had injured them earlier, and the Space-Time Strength from that attack lingered around their bodies even now. Therefore, it came as a great shock for the combined attack of these three Seventh-Order Humans to contain a trace of that same mysterious Space-Time Strength.
[These three must be related to that Eighth-Order Master from earlier! They are most likely Master and Disciples!]
They immediately made a swift decision in their hearts and unleashed a barrage of ruthless attacks. Under the effect of the violently surging Black Ink Strength, Zhao Ya, Zhao Ye Bai, and Xu Yi convulsed as though struck by lightning. Their complexions turned deathly pale in an instant, and they each spat out a mouthful of blood.
Without waiting for the enemy to strike again, Zhao Ye Bai made a decisive move, wrapping his Space Principles around his Junior Brother and Junior Sister, then forcefully teleporting them 100,000 kilometres away. The Secret Technique unleashed by one of the Territory Lords blasted out only to hit empty space. Nevertheless, the fallout still swept over the trio and sent them flying even further away.
At that moment, three more figures rushed out from behind the surging Black Ink Strength. One of them was a small Stone Man. Leaping through the Black Ink Cloud, he hammered his chest with his fists and gave a deafening roar. At the same time, his small body swelled rapidly and abruptly transformed into a towering giant.
Divine Spirit, Tai Yue!
Xiao Xiao swiped at the two Territory Lords but failed to grab them in his hands, though the reckless effort caused countless broken pieces of rock to tumble down his massive arms.
This attack was followed up by a piercing Phoenix Cry as a scorching flame spread across the void. A Fire Phoenix emerged out of nowhere and opened its mouth to spew burning flames towards the two Territory Lords, warping the surrounding space with the intensity of their heat.
Qiong Qi also charged forward, his figure darting about as his claws slashed out.
Aboard the Bi Xi Battleship, Xiao Hong and Xiao Hei used various Secret Techniques to bombard the enemy from range, while even Bi Xi’s Soul Clone charged forward menacingly.
The two Territory Lords were absolutely incensed now.
This annoying band had hit them with a rapid succession of attacks, and as a result, they did not have time to catch their breath, annoying them greatly. Under normal circumstances, these attacks would not have fazed this pair in the slightest, but what was the current situation? They were desperately fleeing for their lives with two Eighth-Order Masters and two incredibly powerful Warships chasing after them. If they did not escape now, they would soon follow in the footsteps of their three other companions.
“Scram!” One of the Territory Lords roared, causing a violent force to spread out in all directions.
Xiao Xiao, Liu Yan, Qiong Qi, and even Bi Xi’s Soul Clone were instantly sent flying and became dizzy from the impact.
Although none of them were weak, there was still a significant gap between them and an Innate Territory Lord; hence, the all-out assault of the Territory Lords wiped out all their attacks in an instant and even struck them hard.
Nevertheless, that was enough.
In the brief moment their Squad held back these two Territory Lords, Yang Kai, Feng Ying, Dawning Light, and the other Bi Xi Battleship arrived and immediately surrounded the two Territory Lords from all sides.
A huge battle immediately broke out with countless Secret Techniques and Divine Abilities blasted forth. Groans of pain could be heard among the numerous explosions as this confrontation was an all-out life-and-death battle where no one held anything back.
All of a sudden, a hole opened in the encirclement. The two Territory Lords did not hesitate to seize the opportunity and escape through the gap. One of them fled so swiftly that he was a mere dot on the horizon in the blink of an eye. Even Yang Kai failed to stop his escape. On the other hand, the second Territory Lord was one step slower and Yang Kai’s spear swept towards him before he could rush through the opening.
“Stay behind!”
A violent force erupted, forcing the Territory Lord to retreat helplessly in a fit of anger and frustration. He was instantly surrounded again.
Yang Kai did not waste his time on this Territory Lord and hastily sent a Divine Sense transmission to Feng Ying, “I’ll leave things here to you!”
Then, he chased after the Territory Lord who fled earlier.
With the combination of Feng Ying, Dawn, Yu Ru Meng’s Squad, and the group of little ones, they were enough to compete against this Territory Lord. Besides, Yang Kai did not expect them to kill him, just keep him trapped here. He was going to kill the escaped Territory Lord first, then return to deal with the last one.
Space Principles fluctuated wildly as Yang Kai quickly closed in on the escaped Territory Lord; however, his expression changed drastically before he could attack the other party. At the edge of his Divine Sense’s perception range, he detected five mighty auras approaching rapidly from afar.
[There are five more Territory Lords here!?] Yang Kai was thoroughly shocked.
He had initially assumed that the five Territory Lords he encountered were the main force of the Black Ink Clan in Acacia Territory. Even if the five Territory Lords did not make up the entire force, they should account for most of it; after all, there were only so many Territory Lords so they could not be mobilised easily. Who could have known that there would actually be 10 Territory Lords here? Yang Kai never even dreamed that Mo Na Ye, the Territory Lord who oversaw Acacia Territory, would think so highly of him.
After learning that Yang Kai had left Profound Nether Territory and might be heading to Acacia Territory, Mo Na Ye immediately called for reinforcements, but the five Territory Lords who came were extremely unlucky. Before they could meet up with Mo Na Ye, they encountered Yang Kai along the way. As a result, three of them were dead and the other two were wounded.
While Yang Kai was stunned, Mo Na Ye was on the verge of spitting blood.
If Mo Na Ye could gather the strength of 10 Territory Lords, then Yang Kai would not have been able to cause much trouble regardless of his immense strength. Information about Yang Kai came from Profound Nether Territory, and after analysing it, Mo Na Ye did not hesitate to double the number of Territory Lords for this mission. Unfortunately, the five Territory Lords who came as reinforcements seemed to be rather ignorant about Yang Kai; otherwise, they would not have suffered such heavy casualties.
As soon as Mo Na Ye detected the traces of battle in this direction, he immediately led the four other Territory Lords over to provide support. He did not bother to bring any of his subordinates as, in a battle of this level, anybody who was not a Territory Lord would only end up dead.
It was a pity that the commotion caused by the death of the third Territory Lord spread out before they could arrive. There were now just two Territory Lords from their reinforcements left!
From a distance, Mo Na Ye could see the distressed figure of the fleeing Territory Lord.
Yang Kai’s appearance was just as miserable as the fleeing Territory Lord, but the death of the latter’s three companions left him with no courage to fight back alone. Who knows whether this Human was deliberately acting weak to seek an opportunity to kill him?
Upon detecting the auras of Mo Na Ye and the other Territory Lords, the fleeing Territory Lord was overjoyed and rushed towards them with all his might.
“Protect your Soul!” Mo Na Ye shouted a warning hastily.
According to initial speculations, the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master named Yang Kai had a Secret Technique that could severely injure his opponent’s Soul in an instant, allowing him to finish a one-on-one battle against a Territory Lord in a single move. Faced with an enemy like Yang Kai, it was vital for them to protect their Souls in order to survive.
The fleeing Territory Lord was no fool, so after hearing Mo Na Ye’s warning, he recalled the scenes of his three companions’ deaths earlier. Realisation struck him suddenly, and he quickly surged his Spiritual Energy to protect his Soul.
[Bastard!] Yang Kai cursed in his heart.
It would seem that he had used his Soul Rending Thorns too many times, which caused the Territory Lords to notice the flaw in this method. This was within his expectations though. Although the Soul Rending Thorn itself was practically invisible once activated, the large fluctuation of Spiritual Energy could not be hidden from those who were paying attention.
Not only did he use his Soul Rending Thorns to consecutively kill so many Territory Lords, he also activated this Secret Technique right in front of the Royal Lord at the No-Return Pass. If the Black Ink Clan failed to notice anything after so long, then something must be wrong with their heads.
It was just that the Soul Rending Thorns were extremely overpowering because they were fueled by the sacrifice of part of Yang Kai’s Soul. Even if the Territory Lords defended themselves, they could not block out the effects completely.
Nevertheless, Yang Kai no longer had the confidence to swiftly slaughter this fleeing Territory Lord. If he could not kill his opponent in one move, then his opponent would only need to restrain him for a moment before the other five Territory Lords arrived as reinforcements. Once that happened, the one stuck in an unfavourable situation would be him.
After a moment of hesitation, Yang Kai thrust out his spear one last time before turning around without looking back. Since he could not slay his enemy, he decided to give up. Besides, there was another Territory Lord who was trapped behind him. Killing that Territory Lord would be good enough.
The fleeing Territory Lord guarded his Soul carefully after receiving Mo Na Ye’s warning, but contrary to his expectations, it was Yang Kai’s spear that stabbed forward and made a mess of his back. He cursed angrily in his heart, not knowing whether to thank Mo Na Ye or scold him.
Mo Na Ye roared from the distance, “Stop him!”
How could he bear to watch Yang Kai escape? Three Territory Lords had been killed in such a short time, so it would be difficult for him to explain the situation to the higher-ups if they failed to kill Yang Kai here.
Unfortunately, they were still some distance away; as such, he could only call out to the lone Territory Lord who was being chased by Yang Kai.
That Territory Lord naturally ignored Mo Na Ye. It had not been easy for him to escape alive, so his top priority was to join up with his allies as quickly as possible. Staying alive was his primary objective now. If he turned around and pursued Yang Kai instead, he might find himself in a precarious situation if the latter was forced into a corner. Mo Na Ye and the others would not be able to rescue him in time.
A short while later, the six Territory Lords gathered together and Mo Na Ye was practically spitting fire from his eyes. Glaring fiercely at the Territory Lord who looked scared after narrowly escaping death, he roared, “You Gong, are you deaf!? I told you to stop him!”
The Territory Lord called You Gong sneered coldly in response, “If I had tried to stop him, I’d be dead by now!”
[It’s because you didn’t see how easily he killed the others that you can even say something so stupid! If you saw what I saw back there, you’d run even faster than I did!]
Mo Na Ye ground his teeth in frustration; nonetheless, now was not the time to quarrel among themselves. There was still the aura of another Territory Lord coming from up ahead and they had to rescue him as soon as possible, or it would be too late.
“Follow him!” He shouted before leading the other five Territory Lords and rushing forward.
On the other side, the trapped Territory Lord was filled with rage. The people who had trapped him in this place could not be considered very strong. There was only one Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master among them, and she was clearly not his opponent at all.
Unfortunately, the other side had a massive numerical advantage, with almost 30 enemies on par with Seventh-Order Masters alone, many of whom were powerful Divine Spirits.
Two other Warships did not resemble ordinary Warships. On the contrary, they seemed to be the incarnation of a Divine Spirit with extremely thick skin. Thanks to their strong defence, most of the attacks from the Territory Lord were successfully blocked by these two Warships.
As the saying went, ‘A cornered beast will undoubtedly fight back’. That was the best portrayal of the Territory Lord in his current situation. His numerous attempts to break free had been stopped by the forces surrounding him; hence, he was feeling very vexed. He initially rushed here in high spirits as reinforcements only to fall into such a miserable state not long after he arrived at Acacia Territory.
It would have been one thing if his opponent was a Human Race Master he could not defeat. There was nothing much to complain about if his skills were inferior to the enemy. However, the key point was that these people were not such opponents. He could easily kill any one of them in a single blow if they were on their own, but they were extremely hard to handle when they teamed up against him. At this moment, he truly understood the meaning behind the Human saying, ‘Two fists cannot not block four strikes’.
While he was fighting, he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his head. It felt as though his Soul had been sliced open by a mysterious force. The agony was not something he had ever experienced in his life and for a time, he lost control of his strength entirely.
[Shit!] The Territory Lord was panicking now. Any careless mistake could lead to eternal doom in a life and death battle, what more a sudden loss of strength due to damage to his Soul. He knew that he had been ambushed, but he could not figure out how.
In the next moment, countless attacks rained down on him from all directions, and under the violent and chaotic storm, his aura abruptly vanished without a trace! The fourth Territory Lord was dead!
Only a cup of tea’s time had passed since Yang Kai began his assault, but in that short span, the fallout caused by the death of four Territory Lords had already spread throughout Acacia Territory.
“Damn!” Mo Na Ye, who was pursuing Yang Kai, nearly went mad with rage. He had requested five Territory Lords as reinforcements, confident that 10 of them would be enough to defeat Yang Kai. However, he never imagined that You Gong would be the only survivor out of the five sent in such a short time.
For a time, he couldn’t help feeling vexed. If he had known earlier, he would have brought the other Territory Lords to meet their reinforcements immediately. He had not expected Yang Kai to arrive so quickly, or for the five Territory Lords he invited to die so easily.
You Gong also had an ugly expression on his face, but a greater part of him was filled with relief. If not for his swift escape just now, the one being killed right now would have been him instead.
[That Human… How can he be so strong?]
All the current Innate Territory Lords came directly from the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction. Seeing as every one of them was exceedingly powerful, they were confident and arrogant about their strength. They did not think highly of the Eighth-Order Human Masters, so only the Ninth-Order Old Ancestors could frighten them.
It was not until today that You Gong finally learned something new. The Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters were not the only ones who could kill them. There was also an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master whose strength was beyond imagination!
“Let’s go!” On the battlefield ahead, Yang Kai’s complexion was deathly pale. He gave a low roar and activated Space Principles to envelope a large part of the void before hurriedly bringing the others with him in a quick escape. They had to flee now; otherwise, the tides would turn on them and the situation would be reversed.
Although they had not suffered any casualties so far, every single one of them had been wounded in the battle and they could no longer exert their full strength. It was mostly thanks to fortuitous timing that they managed to slaughter four Territory Lords in a row, with the other reason being that these five Territory Lords had been overly careless. If they had not split up to chase after Dawning Light and the Bi Xi Battleship, Yang Kai would not have had the opportunity to make a move.
With the deaths of four Territory Lords serving as an example, the other six would no longer be so easy to handle.
If those six Territory Lords caught up to Yang Kai and the others, Yang Kai was the only one with the confidence to escape alive. The others would most likely lose their lives here; therefore, they had to escape immediately. The faster they fled, the better!
Yang Kai’s head was aching after unleashing three Soul Rending Thorns in a row and fighting four Territory Lords to varying degrees, so it was very difficult for him to perform consecutive Instantaneous Movements with three whole Squads in tow. Not to mention, the Dawn was a Special Operations Squad, so instead of a dozen members, they had 50. The more people there were, the greater Yang Kai’s burden. If not for the time constraints, he would have preferred to open his Small Universe for the rest to enter as that would have made things more convenient for him to escape.
Fortunately, he was not the only person who was proficient in the Dao of Space in this group.
Zhao Ye Bai was Yang Kai’s First Disciple. Having been born in Void World, he boasted an inherently high affinity with the Dao of Space. Now that he was in the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm, his attainments in the Dao of Space were considered extraordinary even if he could not compare with his Honoured Master.
With Zhao Ye Bai’s support, Yang Kai’s burden was reduced significantly.
Even though it was a long-awaited reunion between Master and Disciple, they were forced to flee for their lives before they could even reminisce about the past. In addition, Yang Kai was severely wounded in the previous battle, so it was only natural for Zhao Ye Bai to step up and contribute under such circumstances. Thus, he mustered all his strength and pushed his Space Principles to the limit.
During the cat-and-mouse chase, they travelled across several tens of millions of kilometres.
Behind them, Mo Na Ye and the other Territory Lords were furious! They initially assumed that it would be easy for them to hunt down the weakened and injured Humans, but who could have known that they would be left behind in the dust of their opponents instead?
The Royal Lord was right. Yang Kai’s ability to escape was unparalleled. It was no wonder that the Royal Lord himself was helpless against Yang Kai at the No-Return Pass.
“They are trying to escape from the Great Territory!” One of the Territory Lords shouted.
The direction in which Yang Kai and the others were escaping was obvious. They were heading towards one of the Territory Gates in Acacia Territory, and their intentions were as clear as day.
This was the most logical choice. With so many injured and six powerful Territory Lords chasing them from behind, it was only natural for Yang Kai’s group to find a quiet place to reorganise themselves as soon as possible. Leaving the Great Territory was the best option as it would not be too late for them to return for revenge after they had recovered.
Seeing as Yang Kai managed to kill four Territory Lords this time, he would surely have another opportunity to kill a few more once he was back at his peak. How many more Territory Lords in the Black Ink Clan would he kill after that? By the time he finished terrorising the Black Ink Clan, the situation in Acacia Territory would fall apart on its own.
“In your dreams!” Mo Na Ye coldly snorted and hurriedly sent out a message.
A short while later, a Feudal Lord with an impressive aura stood in front of the Territory Gate and shouted at the top of his voice, “Sir Mo Na Ye has issued a command! Several Human Race Masters are heading in this direction, and we must stop them at all costs!”
The Black Ink Clan Army of a million troops responded fervently and swiftly got into formation.
This Territory Gate was the same one that Bi Xi’s Soul Clone had wanted to escape with the little ones through, but what none of them knew was that the Black Ink Clan had swiftly deployed an army of a million troops to block this Territory Gate after Yang Kai entered Acacia Territory.
An hour later, a group of people swiftly approached the Territory Gate. Yang Kai looked up and saw a sea of Black Ink Clansmen spreading out into the horizon. The Black Ink Clan Army stood strong outside the Territory Gate, forming a tight barricade around it. Looking at the scale, Yang Kai judged there to be at least a million troops.
Yang Kai could not help cursing at the sight as he wondered why there were so many Black Ink Clansmen here.
An army of a million was certainly not small. Even if he did not detect the aura of a Territory Lord coming from that direction, it would not be easy for him to break through such a blockade. Besides, the Black Ink Clan Army was practically burning with fighting spirit. It was obvious that they had prepared themselves for an intense battle. The Territory Lords chasing from behind must have given them an order to fight to the death to stop them.
[We can’t head this way anymore.]
Under normal circumstances, it would not have been difficult for Yang Kai to break through the Black Ink Clan Army’s barricade, even if they had a million troops on their side. He had the confidence to succeed, eventually, but the circumstances this time were different. Six Territory Lords were chasing after him, so even a slight delay would lead to a disastrous end.
[Damn it, why are there so many Black Ink Clansmen in Acacia Territory instead of on the front lines of the war!?] Helpless, Yang Kai could only change direction and speed towards the next nearest Territory Gate.
One day later, Yang Kai nearly thought that he had gone back to the same Territory Gate when he arrived at the second one and saw another million-strong Black Ink Clan Army.
[What’s going on? It’s just Acacia Territory. Isn’t this an insignificant place? Even if there are Human Race survivors trapped here, is there a need for the Black Ink Clan to mobilise so much manpower? Or, could it be because of me?]
At this moment, Yang Kai had the vague realization that the unexpected incidents in Acacia Territory were related to him, and he was correct.
In the beginning, the Black Ink Clan only planned to use the Human refugees trapped in Acacia Territory to lure out some Hunters and did not deploy many troops or Masters here. After all, 100,000 troops was more than enough to block a Territory Gate as the Human Masters they were expecting to face weren’t that strong or united.
After receiving the news from Profound Nether Territory though, Mo Na Ye deduced that Yang Kai would most likely appear in Acacia Territory. Hence, he hastily mobilised the armies from the nearby Great Territories and invited five additional Territory Lords over as reinforcements. That was how the current line-up was formed.
It would now seem that he indeed had great foresight. With a million troops guarding each Territory Gate, even Yang Kai would not dare to force his way through under the current circumstances.
There were five Territory Gates in Acacia Territory, but based on the situation at the two consecutive Territory Gates he visited, Yang Kai felt there was no need to check the situation at the three other Territory Gates. It was almost a given that the Black Ink Clan would also have heavy defences around those Territory Gates.
At this point, Yang Kai was barely holding on, while Zhao Ye Bai was about to reach his limits. He was wounded in the first place, so after supporting Yang Kai for so long, the burden was too much for him. It was just that he had a stubborn personality, so even though he was as pale as a sheet, he did not utter a single complaint.
“Hurry up and enter my Small Universe!” In the middle of their escape, Yang Kai shouted and opened the portal to his Small Universe.
At this point, he had no choice but to gamble. Once Zhao Ye Bai became exhausted, he would have to facilitate the escape of so many people with his strength alone. Under those circumstances, it would only be a matter of time before their enemies caught up to them.
When Yang Kai opened the portal to his Small Universe, the others did not hesitate and quickly poured inside.
During this brief delay, the six Territory Lords pursuing them quickly closed the distance with Mo Na Ye looking overjoyed as he roared, “Humans! Today you die!”
Immediately after that, the six Territory Lords joined forces and attacked in unison.
The surging Black Ink Strength caused both Yang Kai and Feng Ying to cough up blood. Even Yang Kai’s Small Universe was shaken by the aftermath because he failed to close the portal in time.
Fortunately for him, nothing serious happened since there was a World Tree clone in his Small Universe to shelter it from external forces. Otherwise, the impact would have been enough to put his Small Universe at risk of destruction.
The others, including Bi Xi’s Soul Clone, could enter Yang Kai’s Small Universe to hide, but Feng Ying could not. That was because she was also in the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm, the same as Yang Kai.
Yang Kai and Feng Ying’s injuries became increasingly severe, but before the six Territory Lords arrived, Yang Kai grabbed Feng Ying and vanished from the spot with a flash. It was a pity they could not run very far before the Territory Lords would track down their location and pursue them again.
Yang Kai swore fiercely in his heart, [Just you wait. I will definitely pay you back for this humiliation one day!]
Seeing as the Black Ink Clan Army had blockaded two Territory Gates, the same was most likely true for the remaining three. In other words, there was no way for them to leave Acacia Territory. In addition to the pursuit of the six Territory Lords, they were in a desperate situation indeed.
At this moment, there was only one place left for them to go.
Upon making his decision, Yang Kai focused on making his escape. Compared to how mighty he seemed earlier when he slaughtered those Territory Lords, he was now fleeing with his tail between his legs. It truly was the perfect example of karmic retribution. Now that the tides of fortune had turned on him, he was helpless.
“They’re heading towards the Universe Cave Heaven!” One of the Territory Lords quickly figured out Yang Kai’s intentions.
The two Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters were heading towards the location of a Universe Cave Heaven in Acacia Territory. It was also the place where the other Human refugees in Acacia Territory were hiding at the moment.
The Black Ink Clan only came across this place by accident. The main reason was that the Human Race Masters left the Universe Cave Heaven to investigate the situation in Acacia Territory and accidentally revealed their whereabouts. That was how they were targeted by the Black Ink Clan.
A Universe Cave Heaven was generally hidden in the Void, so if one did not know its precise location and the method to open its portal, it was very difficult for an ordinary person to discover. Even a Territory Lord was no exception to this rule.
Back on the Black Ink Battlefield, there were numerous Universe Paradises and Universe Cave Heavens scattered around each Great Pass thanks to the innumerable Human Race Masters who died in battle. It was a pity that nobody could open these Universe Paradises and Universe Cave Heavens.
In the end, Yang Kai took matters into his own hands and opened these portals. His actions allowed various Great Passes such as Blue Sky Pass and Yin-Yang Pass to set up traps and ambushes in these locations. It was thanks to this method that they massacred large numbers of Black Ink Clansmen.
At present, a Black Ink Clan Army was standing guard outside the Universe Cave Heaven. They had no intention of attacking, only forming a siege around the trapped Humans inside to lure out Hunters who came here to rescue them.
The Humans hiding in the Universe Cave Heaven did not dare to emerge carelessly; after all, there was no particularly strong Master among their ranks. Now that they were besieged by the Black Ink Clan, they could only wait for their deaths; thus, they passed each day in fear and anxiety.
If the location of the Universe Cave Heaven had not been exposed, then they would not have faced any trouble whatsoever. No matter how many Black Ink Clansmen there were, the enemy would not be able to figure out the location of the Universe Cave Heaven if they were not proficient in the Dao of Space. Unfortunately, the location of the portal had been exposed, so it was now very easy for the Black Ink Clan to attack them. They only needed enough Black Ink Clansmen to unleash a fierce onslaught in the direction of the portal to shatter the Void and force it open.
There was no need for too many Black Ink Clansmen. In fact, if two Innate Territory Lords joined forces, it would only take them about half a day to forcefully break open the portal. At that time, none of the Humans hiding within would survive. It was only because the Black Ink Clan wanted to use these Humans here as bait to lure out as many Hunters as possible that those inside the Universe Cave Heaven hadn’t been wiped out a long time ago.
The Black Ink Clan Army was heavily guarding all five Territory Gates in Acacia Territory at the moment. In addition, there were Six Territory Lords doggedly chasing after Yang Kai and Feng Ying.
For Yang Kai, there was only one place they could go to seek shelter under these circumstances.
He knew about the location of this Universe Cave Heaven as, before departing for Acacia Territory, he had already gathered all the necessary information regarding the situation here.
However, he only knew the general position and not the exact location of the Universe Cave Heaven. That was not a problem though for he was a master of the Dao of Space.
Besides, if his guess was right, there would be a Black Ink Clan Army standing guard outside the portal. He only needed to find the location of that Black Ink Clan Army to find the location of the portal. Right now, he could only hope that there were not many enemy troops stationed outside the Universe Cave Heaven. If the Black Ink Clan had another army of a million troops waiting there, he would be in trouble.
Regardless, Yang Kai had no time to consider these matters. His greatest priority was figuring out a method to create some distance from their pursuers. He would need some time to open the portal when he arrived there, so if the Territory Lords chasing him were too close, he would not have enough time to work.
As soon as that thought crossed his mind, an idea formed in Yang Kai’s heart.
He excelled at shaking off pursuers. Back when he caused such a huge commotion at the No-Return Pass, even a Royal Lord could not do anything to him, so what were a few Innate Territory Lords worth? It was just that his injuries made manipulating Space Principles difficult. Otherwise, with only Feng Ying travelling with him, he could have flung off his pursuers a long time ago.
A short while later, Yang Kai and Feng Ying abruptly split up and fled in two different directions. The six Territory Lords chasing behind them were momentarily stunned by the sudden turn of events before Mo Na Ye gave a low roar, “Split up and chase them!”
The two Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters were heavily wounded, so Mo Na Ye refused to let a single one escape alive.
You Gong suddenly noticed that the scene in front of him felt very familiar, and upon further consideration, he realised something. [Isn’t this the same situation I encountered when I was travelling with the five Territory Lords who came here as reinforcements?]
At the time, the two Warships abruptly separated and escaped in different directions. The five Territory Lords responded by dividing their forces and giving chase. In the end, Yang Kai hid in the shadows and took the opportunity to ambush them.
[It’s the same thing all over again! This must be part of that Human’s schemes!]
After suffering a terrible loss earlier, You Gong was very wary of Yang Kai; thus, he immediately objected, “We must not split up! We will be defeated by that Human one by one if we do so!”
Mo Na Ye glanced over at You Gong coldly, disdain overflowing from his eyes. [How dare he question my decision at such a critical juncture!?]
“Split up and give chase! Protect your Soul so that you don’t end up being ambushed by him!”
Time was running out, so Mo Na Ye had no time to waste on You Gong and simply repeated his orders with greater emphasis. Yang Kai’s strength was terrifying indeed, but even he had his limits. As long as they took the necessary precautions, it would not be difficult to deal with him.
As soon as the words left his mouth, the six Territory Lords divided into two groups. One group chased after Yang Kai while the other pursued Feng Ying.
You Gong stuck tightly to Mo Na Ye’s side. Among all the Territory Lords present, Mo Na Ye was the strongest. If any unexpected situations were to occur, he was certain that staying by Mo Na Ye’s side would be the safest option.
How could Mo Na Ye fail to realise what You Gong was thinking? The very thought enraged him. [Has You Gong been scared out of his wits!? How is he also considered an Innate Territory Lord!? How embarrassing!]
However, now was not the time for internal squabbles. Their top priority was to eliminate the two Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters. As for You Gong… He would be sent back to the No-Return Pass to receive his punishment after this incident. Territory Lords were also needed to oversee the Black Ink Clan’s new conquests, so with You Gong being heavily injured, it would be just right for him to be stuck with such a tedious mission.
Observing the figure that flickered around from time to time in a frantic attempt to escape, Mo Na Ye’s expression turned gloomy. How could he fail to see that Yang Kai was heavily injured?
That might be the reason why Yang Kai could not completely escape their pursuit; after all, according to the information from the No-Return Pass, he was perfectly capable of escaping the pursuit of the Royal Lord. There was no reason why he would have such a hard time with the pursuit of mere Territory Lords.
[This time… We might have the chance to eliminate him once and for all! No, we must get rid of him now! If we miss this opportunity, then we will never have such a good opportunity again!] Mo Na Ye made a swift decision and put more effort into chasing Yang Kai.
10 breaths later, both parties travelled several hundred thousand kilometres when all of a sudden, Yang Kai’s fleeing figure distorted and disappeared without any warning. This situation had already been repeated many times, so Mo Na Ye did not panic. He immediately released his Divine Sense and investigated his surroundings. It didn’t take long before he found Yang Kai’s whereabouts, but frowning, he turned to look in a certain direction and discovered that Yang Kai had joined up with that woman again.
[What the Hell is he doing? If he wants to flee separately, then why did he meet back up with her? Unable to understand Yang Kai’s intentions, he could only lead You Gong and the other Territory Lords in that direction.
Mo Na Ye could not understand Yang Kai’s intentions, but for Yang Kai, the truth was simply that he could not remain separated any longer. Feng Ying would be in danger if he did not return.
He could make use of Space Principles which allowed him to swiftly escape, but Feng Ying could not. Her strength was inferior in the first place, and her speed could not compare with the three Territory Lords pursuing her.
In just a few breaths of time, the distance between Feng Ying and the three Territory Lords chasing behind her was already at the limits. If Yang Kai did not return, she would have been in trouble by now.
When Yang Kai returned to Feng Ying’s side, he immediately surged his World Force to wrap around her; then, he continued running forward with her. After running together for some time, they separated again.
This time around, the three Territory Lords chasing behind them were dumbfounded.
When Yang Kai and Feng Ying separated for the first time, the six Territory Lords had no trouble splitting up to give chase; however, there were only three of them here right now. How were they supposed to divide their forces? Faced with an opponent like Yang Kai who could cut down a Territory Lord as though he was reaping wheat, who would dare to act alone? Whoever dared to move alone was bound to die.
They finally figured out Yang Kai’s plan at this moment. Even Mo Na Ye, who was rushing over in a hurry, realised what Yang Kai was aiming for and shouted from afar, “Forget Yang Kai! Chase the woman!”
There were two Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, but while Yang Kai was difficult to handle, could the same be said for the Human woman? They only needed to keep a close watch on the woman; after all, Yang Kai would never choose to escape alone. As long as they caught up to her, then she was as good as dead!
The three Territory Lords stopped hesitating and immediately chased after Feng Ying; meanwhile, Mo Na Ye changed directions and went after Yang Kai instead.
A short while later, Yang Kai joined up with Feng Ying again and desperately escaped with her, but it was not long before they went their separate ways once more.
“Paltry tricks!” Mo Na Ye coldly snorted. He firmly believed that Yang Kai was doing this in an attempt to separate them. Under these circumstances, there was no need to bother about Yang Kai though, it was enough for them to just pursue the woman.
[Yang Kai must be out of tricks. How can he keep repeating such obvious and childish tactics? It’s not like I’m a fool. How could I fail to notice what he was up to?]
The same situation repeated a few more times. Be that as it may, the two groups of Territory Lords maintained their targets without wavering. One group of three chased after Feng Ying while the other chased after Yang Kai.
An hour later, Yang Kai suddenly stopped and turned to look back at his pursuers after repeatedly separating from and meeting back up with Feng Ying over a dozen times.
[Is he not escaping anymore? He must be unable to run any further!] The Territory Lords were overjoyed. If they had to be honest, it was extremely exhausting for them to chase after somebody like Yang Kai, who was so excellent at escaping. The most important point was that they couldn’t even catch him, which was an extremely annoying and vexing situation.
However, Yang Kai was no longer trying to run. What did that mean? That meant that he no longer had the strength to flee and was preparing to fight to the death.
Were the Territory Lords afraid of him? If they were alone, then they had to admit that they were scared of him; after all, it only took a moment for Yang Kai to slaughter a Territory Lord. His explosive power was terrifying.
But now, there were six Territory Lords in two groups of three. What was there to fear? As long as they guarded their Souls carefully, then Yang Kai was no match for them whatsoever. Compared to the endless cat-and-mouse chase, they preferred to fight Yang Kai face to face!
The distance between both parties closed swiftly, but be that as it may, Mo Na Ye did not relax his vigilance. While gathering his power, he sent a Divine Sense transmission to the other Territory Lords, “Remain cautious! We should attack in unison. It would be best if we could kill him in one blow!”
The rest of the Territory Lords nodded in agreement and quietly prepared themselves.
In the void up ahead, Yang Kai looked at the two groups of Territory Lords approaching him from both sides and snickered, “See you later!”
After saying that, the space around him warped.
[Is he running again?] Furious, Mo Na Ye roared, “Attack!”
Six mighty attacks blasted towards Yang Kai from two different directions. Black Ink Strength surged as it reached its target, erupting with a violent explosion.
Without waiting for the dust to settle, Mo Na Ye spread out his Divine Sense and investigated the surroundings, but found nothing at all. He had previously been able to locate the other party’s whereabouts almost immediately after Yang Kai escaped, but this time, there was no trace of him or his female companion at all.
Mo Na Ye looked up again and saw that the Void in the direction they had attacked had collapsed. The destructive power of the joint strike of six Territory Lords was overwhelming. Even a Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master would not choose to take such an attack directly. It was not that an Old Ancestor could not withstand such a blow, but that they did not need to do such things. As for an Eighth-Order Human, this impact was more than enough to destroy their body.
“Is he dead?” You Gong murmured under his breath in disbelief.
Yang Kai and that woman had completely vanished without a trace. Even expanding his Divine Sense to its limits, he could not sense the slightest trace of aura from them.
[Did that powerful Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, who killed four out of five Territory Lords in less than a cup of tea’s time, die just like that? Is he really dead? Was he blown apart to the point where not a single bone remained?]
“That can’t be right!” He suddenly realised something. The death of an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master was bound to cause a large disturbance.
Having killed countless Human Race Masters on the battlefield, You Gong knew that upon death, the Small Universe of an Open Heaven Realm Master violently ruptured more often than not, and the greater their strength, the greater the commotion caused by this explosion. Even if their Small Universe did not rupture though, it would still appear briefly before burrowing into the Void and becoming a Universe Paradise or a Universe Cave Heaven.
It was true that Yang Kai and the woman had vanished without a trace, but there were no accompanying signs to indicate their deaths. Even You Gong had figured out this point, so naturally the others had their doubts as well.
Mo Na Ye’s expression was extremely solemn. His Divine Sense spread out like a tidal wave, constantly exploring into the distance, yet he still failed to detect Yang Kai’s whereabouts. There were only two possibilities that could explain this situation. The first possibility was that Yang Kai was dead, but that was extremely unlikely. The second possibility was that Yang Kai was outside his detection range.
One of the Territory Lords stepped forward to examine the scene, and it didn’t take long before he shook his head and announced, “There are no signs of blood. He probably survived!”
At this moment, Mo Na Ye sensed something. Turning his head to look in a certain direction, he cursed vehemently, “Bastard!”
He finally discovered some unusual spatial fluctuations that were very familiar to him at an extremely distant point. They were the traces left behind whenever Yang Kai activated Space Principles.
[How did he teleport that far?] He simply could not understand. Having seen the way Yang Kai escaped earlier, Mo Na Ye could tell that Yang Kai was heavily wounded. The distance Yang Kai’s figure could teleport had also been quite limited all this time; however, now, Yang Kai had managed to flee to a place that was beyond his detection range in a single leap. That was why he failed to detect the other party’s whereabouts immediately.
[He’s heading towards that Universe Cave Heaven again!]
“After him!” Mo Na Ye was livid. Rallying the other Territory Lords, he sped in the direction where the Universe Cave Heaven was located. At the same time, he sent a message to the Black Ink Clan Army and ordered them to form a heavy guard around the portal. No matter what, he could not allow Yang Kai to enter that Universe Cave Heaven.
At this moment, Yang Kai was urging his power to wrap around Feng Ying while fleeing desperately. He even coughed up blood from time to time. His injuries were severe in the first place, and after the latest battle of wits, his wounds had only worsened. It was lucky that he managed to escape the pursuit of the six Territory Lords with the help of a Space Beacon; otherwise, he would have been in deep trouble by now.
Mo Na Ye had wrongly assumed that Yang Kai was trying to divide the Territory Lords by repeatedly separating and meeting back with Feng Ying. The truth was far from that. After suffering the previous losses, how could the Territory Lords dare to act alone so easily? Yang Kai was simply heading off to secretly place Space Beacons.
The tiny Space Beacons were very difficult to detect unless one was carefully searching for them. Back at the No-Return Pass, Yang Kai had used a Space Beacon to escape the pursuit of the Royal Lord and even wheel around to attack again. His actions had thrown the entire No-Return Pass into a fog of gloom. He had used the same trick today and successfully escaped from the six Territory Lords pursuing them.
Nevertheless, time was short as Territory Lords had great speed. If Yang Kai failed to enter the Universe Cave Heaven before the six Territory Lords caught up again, the situation would become dire.
At the moment, he might not have the strength to kill a Territory Lord even if they met alone. If he disregarded the consequences and used a fourth Soul Rending Thorn, he might stand a chance; however, the greater likelihood was that he would become delirious. He could not take such a huge risk; therefore, he had to enter the Universe Cave Heaven to recuperate as soon as possible.
As to whether or not he could successfully enter the Universe Cave Heaven… Yang Kai himself was not confident; after all, he did not know how many troops the Black Ink Clan had stationed there! He could only hope that there were not too many.
An hour passed, and from a distance, Yang Kai saw a Black Ink Clan Army forming a tight blockade around a certain spot in the void. Moreover, the auras of numerous Feudal Lords flared majestically.
[It’s here!] They had finally arrived at the location of the Universe Cave Heaven in Acacia Territory!
What gave Yang Kai a sense of relief was that not too many Black Ink Clan troops had been deployed here, only 100,000 or so. Although there were many Feudal Lords, it was still a far cry from the million-strong force posted at the five Territory Gates.
In truth, Yang Kai had already guessed that not many Black Ink Clan soldiers would be stationed here. The Black Ink Clan wanted to use the trapped Human refugees here as bait to lure out as many Hunters as possible, so they had put on a good show. If there were too many troops stationed here, then the Hunters would not take the bait. 100,000 troops was neither too many nor too few. Be that as it may, it was enough to build a solid defence around the Universe Cave Heaven yet still tempting enough for the courageous and daredevil Hunters to risk the danger.
Unbeknownst to Yang Kai, if news of his departure from Profound Nether Territory had not spread, then only 600,000 Black Ink Clan troops would have been stationed across the entire Acacia Territory. The initial deployment was 100,000 troops at the Universe Cave Heaven and another 100,000 at each of the five Territory Gates.
It was Mo Na Ye who immediately mobilised all the available troops from the surrounding Great Territories after hearing that Yang Kai might come to Acacia Territory. That was the reason why there were armies of at least a million standing guard at the Territory Gates.
The individual strengths of the Black Ink Clansmen here varied greatly, but most of them were nothing more than cannon fodder. If not for their overwhelming numbers, it would be impossible for them to stop the advance of a vicious fiend like Yang Kai.
Furthermore, Mo Na Ye made sufficient preparations. Not only did he mobilise the nearby armies to increase his available forces, but he also requested the support of five additional Territory Lords including You Gong. It was a pity he failed to predict that You Gong and the others would have such poor luck. All the reinforcing Territory Lords besides You Gong were killed almost as soon as they arrived in Acacia Territory, and You Gong was now essentially traumatized by the enemy.
The Black Ink Clan Army of 100,000 had received the message from Mo Na Ye in advance, so they knew that two Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters were coming to attack. As a result, the Feudal Lords in the lead were extremely nervous. If not for fear of being held responsible for this incident, they would have fled by now.
At this moment, Yang Kai and Feng Ying were charging forward with a ferocious momentum, so how could the Black Ink Clan fail to notice them? Fortunately, there were only two of them…
They might not be worthy opponents, but Mo Na Ye had ordered them to keep the enemy busy at all costs. Six Territory Lords would arrive soon! An army of 100,00 trying to hold back two heavily injured Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters… should not be an issue! Probably!
Without waiting for Yang Kai and Feng Ying to approach, one of the Feudal Lords in the lead gave a loud shout, “The Humans are coming! Stop them!”
The words had just left his mouth when the two Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters in the distance suddenly appeared right in front of him. The man covered in bloodstains reached out a hand and grabbed him. Before he could react, he felt the world spinning around him and his vision turning upside down.
Yang Kai held up the Feudal Lord’s head and tossed it aside with a cold snort. It was bad enough that he was being chased by six Territory Lords, but how dare a mere Feudal Lord challenge him? Who else was he supposed to slaughter if not that particular Feudal Lord?
Beside Yang Kai, Feng Ying summoned her Divine Manifestation as 10,000 sword waves gathered and transformed into the Myriad Swords Dragon. Unleashing her power in all directions, she massacred countless Black Ink Clansmen in an instant. While she might be inferior to an Innate Territory Lord, an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master would have no problem dealing with these Black Ink Clansmen that were no stronger than Feudal Lords.
A portal to Yang Kai’s Small Universe appeared behind him, and the three Warships he sheltered inside sailed out grandly.
“Kill!” Shen Ao yelled from where he stood on the battered Dawning Light. Following a slash of his sword, Blood Crow and the others attacked in unison.
The other two Warships had already received instructions from Yang Kai in advance and split up and moved in two different directions, decimating the Black Ink Clansmen and preventing any chance of them coordinating their response.
Since the Black Ink Clan Army was stationed here, then the portal to the Universe Cave Heaven must be located somewhere nearby. As for the exact location, Yang Kai would need some time to search; after all, he had never been here before.
The three Warships contained nearly 30 Seventh-Order level Masters. Combined with Feng Ying, they surrounded Yang Kai and massacred all the enemies within range. The Black Ink Clan Army were mowed down like wheat in a field, and even the Feudal Lords were rapidly being culled.
The sudden outbreak of battle stunned the numerous figures who were hidden in the void. These people were the Hunters who had been lured over. They formed groups of around five people each, with the largest being ten people in total.
The Black Ink Clan’s plan was very successful. When they actively leaked the news about the trapped Humans in Acacia Territory, many Hunters from the nearby Great Territories snuck in in hopes of rescuing their trapped compatriots.
Before Yang Kai’s arrival, many battles had already erupted across Acacia Territory. Leaving aside others, even Yang Xiao’s Squad had encountered several Black Ink Clan patrols. They had killed numerous enemies and even rescued a few Hunters whose whereabouts had been exposed.
Despite these losses, Mo Na Ye and the other Territory Lords had remained in hiding, causing the Hunters to mistakenly assume that there were no Black Ink Clan Masters in Acacia Territory. Hence, they quickly gathered around the vicinity of the Universe Cave Heaven.
Nevertheless, a Black Ink Clan Army of 100,000 was quite a large force, too much for a few lone Hunters to oppose, so they had been trying to make contact with those hiding in the Universe Cave Heaven. If they could coordinate a joint attack with the Humans inside the Universe Cave Heaven, they might be able to destroy the blockade and seek a way out.
Unfortunately, their efforts had shown no progress after so long. Not daring to act recklessly, these Hunters had remained in hiding and waited for an opportunity. In the end, they managed to wait until Yang Kai arrived!
As soon as the battle broke out, the Black Blood flowed like rivers. The Hunters hidden in the shadows were surprised and excited by this sudden development. What surprised them was that somebody had dared to charge into battle against the Black Ink Clan Army of 100,000! On the other hand, what excited them was that the power emanating from the attacking party was very high. This kind of strength could only be shown by an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master!
For a time, various messages spread across the void.
Most of the Hunters were in contact with each other already, but they had not gathered together out of fear that they might be completely wiped out by the Black Ink Clan. If they were scattered around, the risk of annihilation was lowered. It would not matter too much if one of their parties were found by the enemy as the others could take that opportunity to ambush their enemies and provide support.
“What’s going on? Why did a battle break out without any warning? Did you detect the energy fluctuations of an Eighth-Order Master?”
“There is indeed an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master there. A Division Commander must have come forward. The news about what happened here must have spread to the outside.”
“I knew the Supreme Headquarters would not ignore the situation in Acacia Territory. They must have sent some experts to rescue them.”
“Could this be part of the Black Ink Clan’s schemes? It’s strange that there are trapped Humans in Acacia Territory. If this is all a big conspiracy, then they must be tempting us to reveal ourselves.”
“Bullshit. What schemes are you talking about? Even an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master has made an appearance. How can you claim that it’s a conspiracy? Don’t tell me you’re insinuating that the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master is a Black Ink Disciple.”
“It’s not impossible… The Black Ink Clan has one remaining Royal Lord. The Royal Lord Secret Technique is not something an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master can resist.”
“They are people from the Star Boundary! I saw Yang Xiao and the others! Do you see that White Dragon? That’s Yang Xiao! He is part of the Dragon Clan!” One of the Hunters who was previously rescued by Yang Xiao and the others sent the voice transmission.
“The High Heaven Palace Squad? Is it really them!? In that case, there’s no problem!”
The Hunters were not completely isolated from each other and many even kept in contact, and among them, the High Heaven Palace Squad was quite famous.
The Star Boundary was currently the most important stronghold of the entire Human Race. Likewise, High Heaven Palace was also very well-known. Yang Xiao and the others, who came from High Heaven Palace, were extremely strong, so they were naturally famous among the Hunters. Not to mention, quite a lot of the Hunters hiding in the shadows here had been rescued by the High Heaven Palace Squad in the past.
After realising that the attacking party was none other than the High Heaven Palace Squad, the hidden Hunters no longer hesitated.
“Everyone, when else will we fight if not now!?” One of the Hunter Squads leapt out impatiently. It was hard to tell which Great Force the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master in the lead came from, but he gave a loud shout and rushed ahead with his companions, evidently planning to help out in the battle.
It was certainly impossible for stray soldiers like themselves to contend against the Black Ink Clan Army of 100,000; however, the current situation was different. Two Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters were taking the lead, and three extremely powerful Squads were with them. If they stepped forward at this time, they would be just in time to help. They had been waiting for so many days just for the sake of an opportunity like this after all.
“Kill!” With someone taking the lead, others quickly followed.
In an instant, numerous Hunter Squads revealed themselves from the shadows. Some raised their arms above their heads and shouted with great fighting spirit. Some remained silent, but their murderous intent blazed around them.
“What a bunch of fools!” One of the other Hunters lamented, “Why are they making such a racket!? Isn’t it better for us to sneak up and catch the enemy by surprise?”
This person was clearly used to acting stealthily; thus, he was very annoyed by the actions of the other Squads who revealed their whereabouts. Despite his complaints, he also rushed forward with the rest of them. There was no helping it. Everybody had already revealed themselves, so there was no point if he alone remained hidden.
Out of the Black Ink Clan Army of 100,000, more than 10% of them died in just 10 breaths of time. Leaving aside an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master like Feng Ying, the other three Squads were also filled with talented people and there was no lack of Seventh-Order level Masters among them.
On the other hand, there were no Territory Lords in this Black Ink Clan Army. The Feudal Lords were their strongest Masters here, so faced with so many Human powerhouses, they could only wait to be slaughtered despite having the absolute advantage in terms of numbers.
It was important to note that this situation was playing out under the premise that everybody was already injured. If they were at their peak strength, then they would have butchered the Black Ink Clansmen even faster.
Yang Kai did not make a move as he had to find the location of the portal to the Universe Cave Heaven as soon as possible and open it. Only then could he enter the Universe Cave Heaven to recuperate from his injuries.
The energy in the surroundings was extremely chaotic, which made it slightly harder for him to search for the portal. Fortunately, his attainments in the Dao of Space were extraordinary, so it was not difficult for him to find what he was looking for as long as he concentrated.
A short while later, Yang Kai figured out the general location of the portal. The next steps were simple as he only needed to manipulate Space Principles to force open the gateway. Having done similar actions many times in the past, this was not difficult for Yang Kai.
Before he could open the portal though, he suddenly perceived something and turned to look around. Streams of light were rushing over from all directions. Some of them were yelling loudly while others were unleashing fierce murderous intent.
[Hunters?] He quickly figured out their identity.
These Hunters had been hiding in the shadows, but seeing the battle break out, they immediately revealed themselves. It was clear that they were here to help. Moreover, their numbers were not low. There were at least 1,000 of them altogether. With so many people whose strengths were fairly impressive, they were enough to form a Battalion on their own.
They had chosen not to enter the formal Army, refusing to fight the Black Ink Clan on the dozen or so frontline Great Territories. This was not due to their fear of death though; if they feared death, they would not have chosen to become Hunters. The dangers that Hunters faced were no less than the dangers of fighting on the front lines. In fact, fighting on the front lines was not very dangerous as long as the Army did not collapse. On the other hand, Hunters were bound to die if they accidentally encountered a large Black Ink Clan Army or a Territory Lord.
It was just that everybody had their own way of living. Some preferred a life of excitement, some were not suitable for large-scale military operations, and some believed that Hunters had higher chances of obtaining more resources to increase their strength. There were many different reasons for their choices, but regardless of their motives or methods, they were fighting the Black Ink Clan and contributing to the future of the Human Race.
At this moment, these Hunters leapt out from the shadows just when Yang Kai and Feng Ying were leading their three Squads against the enemy. It could be said that their arrival was extremely timely.
A short while later, the Hunters who rushed out from all directions joined the battle. The situation of the Black Ink Clan Army became worse and worse as a result, and the 100,000 troops reduced in numbers at a speed that was visible to the naked eye.
Yang Kai ignored the massacre around him. At this moment, he was manipulating Space Principles to forcibly open the portal of the Universe Cave Heaven. Thanks to his efforts, a spinning vortex gradually appeared in the Void. The vague aura of another world wafted from within. The vortex seemed slightly turbulent when it first appeared; however, it did not take long for it to stabilise completely.
“Yang Xiao, enter!” Yang Kai shouted.
“Yes!” Yang Xiao, who was killing an enemy, quickly agreed before he rushed into the portal.
At the same time, the trapped Humans inside the Universe Cave Heaven were staring at the vortex that was gradually emerging in the Void with solemn expressions.
The portal was being forced open! For them, that was extremely bad news. The reason they were safe and sound was that the portal to the Universe Cave Heaven had remained closed all this time. They had a chance of survival if they remained hidden inside the Universe Cave Heaven, but the Black Ink Clan would surely pour into the Universe Cave Heaven now that the portal was forcibly opened. How many of them would survive if that were to happen?
With several Squads in the lead, Warships floated in the air. Meanwhile, Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters stood at the ready and communicated with each other through their Divine Senses. Regardless of the circumstances, if the portal was forcibly opened, then their only option was to fight!
Soon, there were faint traces of somebody trying to enter the portal, so they immediately gathered their strength to teach him a harsh lesson as soon as they appeared.
In the next moment, a voice came from the outside and entered the Universe Cave Heaven.
“I am Yang Kai of the Star Boundary. Please do not panic!” The striking voice reverberated throughout the Universe Cave Heaven.
Hearing those words stunned many of the Humans gathering their strength, and then they became overjoyed. That was especially true for those standing on the Warships as they all looked pleasantly surprised.
Yang Kai was here! No wonder the portal was being forcibly opened. They initially thought that it was the work of the Black Ink Clan, but it turned out to be the work of Yang Kai.
Out of the 10,000 Humans hidden here, most of them had heard of Yang Kai’s name. Nevertheless, only those on the Warships had a deeper understanding of his strength. That was because they were warriors who had come from the Black Ink Battlefield!
These Squads were responsible for gathering and evacuating the Humans in Acacia Territory. Unfortunately, they were unlucky and failed to leave in time several decades ago. With no other choice, they could only remain hidden inside this Universe Cave Heaven.
Yang Kai was highly proficient in the Dao of Space, which was not a secret on the Black Ink Battlefield. He once opened countless Universe Cave Heavens and Universe Paradises scattered outside Blue Sky Pass, Yin-Yang Pass, and Myriad Demons Pass, allowing a large number of traps and ambushes to be set inside that killed many Black Ink Clansmen.
If it was truly Yang Kai, then it was not strange for him to be capable of forcing open the portal here.
In the next moment, Yang Xiao rushed out of the vortex in bloodied white clothes. He did not know that a Yang Kai had already sent a voice transmission through, so he hurriedly shouted as soon as he appeared, “I am Yang Xiao of the Star Boundary. I am not part of the Black Ink Clan! Everyone, please do not attack!”
It was not hard to guess the thoughts of those hiding inside the Universe Cave Heaven, which was why he immediately revealed his identity as soon as he entered. It was to prevent himself from being mistaken for a Black Ink Clansman and then being bombarded from all sides. Even if he was part of the Dragon Clan, he would not get away unscathed if he was attacked by a massive, desperate mob.
After revealing his identity, he immediately activated his power to protect himself. In fact, he would have revealed his Dragon Form if not for the fear that he might cause further unnecessary misunderstandings.
Looking around, he saw a large group of people staring at him from all directions. He even sensed the energy fluctuations coming from those who had gathered their World Force and his heart pounded in anxiety. Still, he quickly composed himself and cupped his fist, “Star Boundary’s Yang Xiao greets Fellow Brothers and Sisters.”
He couldn’t help feeling a sense of lingering fear. [Thank goodness for my quick-wittedness. If I had not introduced myself immediately, I would have been beaten to a pulp by now. How can Adoptive Father do this to me? How can he ask me to carry out such a dangerous task? Doesn’t he cherish me?]
One of the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters came forward and cupped his fist, “Red Sun Army’s Li Zi Yu greets Fellow Daoist Brother. What is the current situation outside?”
Li Zi Yu of the Red Sun Army was also a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. Although Yang Xiao looked young, they were both Seventh-Order level Masters, so it was not wrong for him to address the latter as ‘Fellow Daoist Brother’.
Yang Xiao hastily answered, “My Adoptive Father was ordered to come and rescue all of you. The Black Ink Clan Army is currently laying siege outside the Universe Cave Heaven, and Adoptive Father is confronting the enemy.”
Li Zi Yu was very doubtful, but that could not be helped; after all, Yang Xiao was covered in blood. Not only were his injuries severe, but it was also evident that he had gone through a tough battle as his aura was fluctuating a bit unstably.
Be that as it may, Li Zi Yu raised his arms above his head and shouted, “Everyone, reinforcements have arrived to rescue us! Follow me onto the battlefield!”
10,000 people immediately cheered in excitement.
They had been trapped in here for several decades now. With the Black Ink Clan Army laying siege outside, they did not dare to leave arbitrarily; however, they knew they were not safe despite hiding inside this Universe Cave Heaven. If the Black Ink Clan forcefully shook the nearby Void, there was a chance that they might discover the portal and the people hiding within. As a result, these people had been living in dread and anxiety over the past few decades. It was only natural for them to be overjoyed upon hearing that rescue had arrived.
When Li Zi Yu raised his arms above his head and shouted, he immediately received an overwhelming response.
“Wait! Wait!” Yang Xiao hurriedly stopped them, “Adoptive Father is planning to enter soon. Please don’t be so impatient.”
Li Zi Yu immediately objected, “They can’t come in! If they come in, then we’ll all become turtles hiding in our shells! While Brother Yang is fighting the enemy outside, we should take this opportunity to rush out and support him. That’s the only method to escape being trapped inside here!”
Having been stuck in here for several dozen years, they knew the pain of being trapped inside such a small place. That was why it was not a wise move for Yang Kai to enter the Universe Cave Heaven. On the contrary, that would be equivalent to binding his hands and feet. It was easy enough to enter, but extremely difficult to leave.
Yang Xiao sighed. How could he not know something as simple as that? But…
“The situation is complicated. Er… Territory Lords are pursuing us. In addition, Adoptive Father and the others are severely injured. They need to come inside and recuperate first.”
“Territory Lords!” Li Zi Yu’s expression changed slightly.
After the crusade, all the Territory Lords at the time were slaughtered, so the current Territory Lords were all Innate Territory Lords who came directly from the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, each one of them possessing extremely high strength.
If Yang Kai was being chased by Territory Lords, then he probably came here to escape danger.
During their conversation, a constant stream of people rushed in through the vortex. As many as several dozen people emerged in the blink of an eye.
Yang Xiao looked over but did not recognise any of them, figuring they were the Hunters who had appeared out of nowhere earlier.
Some of the Hunters were acquainted with Yang Xiao, so they enthusiastically exchanged greetings.
Yang Xiao responded with a smile.
Meanwhile, Li Zi Yu and the others beside him turned ashen. They initially thought that Yang Kai’s arrival would allow them to escape this place; however, it turned out that Yang Kai was being hunted by Territory Lords. Where could they escape? Not only were they doomed, but even Yang Kai and the others were doomed. For a time, they couldn’t help feeling heartbroken.
Inside the Universe Cave Heaven, Li Zi Yu and the others were gloomy and depressed. Yang Xiao seemed rather carefree and nonchalant in contrast. As the Hunters poured through the portal, he greeted those he knew and made arrangements for the Hunters to wait by the side.
The number of Hunters who came forward to provide support was not low. There were at least 1,000 of them. Although the portal was open, it would take some time for all of them to pass through it.
Outside the portal, Yang Kai wielded Space Principles to maintain the operation of the portal while he killed some stray enemies from time to time. He was secretly rejoicing over the fact that he had built up such a large amount of buffer time; otherwise, it would have been difficult to deal with these Hunters who appeared out of nowhere. They only came to help after all, so it was inappropriate for him to rush into the portal by himself and ignore them. He had to make sure that they entered before him.
The six Territory Lords were not here yet, but they were bound to arrive soon as he could already vaguely sense their powerful undulations approaching.
The entire Black Ink Clan Army of 100,000 had basically been decimated at this point. With enough time, the Human Race Masters here could have wiped out the Black Ink Clan Army entirely. Unfortunately, it would seem that they had run out of time.
One after another, the Hunters rushed into the portal and vanished out of sight. It did not take long before all of them were gone.
From a distance, Yang Kai vaguely saw the figures of the six Territory Lords, their arrival just a moment too late.
“Everyone inside!” Yang Kai yelled.
As soon as the words left his mouth, the group of little ones from the Star Boundary quickly plunged into the portal without hesitation. Once they were gone, Dawn Squad finally began to make their retreat while Yu Ru Meng and the others brought up the rear.
Before Yu Ru Meng and the others finished entering the Universe Cave Heaven, Mo Na Ye’s furious voice burst out from the turbulent Black Ink Cloud in the distance, “Stop them!”
His words were directed at the remnant Black Ink Clan Army, of which less than 30,000 troops remained of the original 100,000. The Black Ink Clan Army had suffered heavy casualties during that brief massacre, and the surviving troops were terribly frightened. The space surrounding Yang Kai was also notably empty as nobody dared to approach within 100,000 kilometres of where he stood. Nevertheless, with Mo Na Yu’s order, they had no choice but to charge towards Yang Kai despite the crippling fear in their hearts.
Yang Kai coldly snorted as the space around him shattered like a mirror, causing innumerable tiny Void Cracks to spread out into the surroundings. The Black Ink Clansmen rushing towards him were all sliced to pieces before they could even approach, with only a few Feudal Lords being lucky enough to survive.
Be that as it may, it seemed that he was really an arrow at the end of its flight. When he unleashed the Shattered Void Mirror Secret Technique, the portal also showed signs of instability.
“Courting death!” Mo Na Ye was filled with a mixture of rage and joy. He was furious that Territory Lords like themselves were being toyed around with by Yang Kai. On the other hand, he was overjoyed because Yang Kai truly seemed to be on his last legs.
When the words left his mouth, Mo Na Ye raised his hand from a distance and slammed his palm towards Yang Kai. The power of an Innate Territory Lord swept out in all directions and the shockwave was enough to destroy all the Void Cracks around Yang Kai.
Yang Kai’s expression became gloomy. Not daring to be neglectful, he responded by raising his hand and throwing his palm out as well.
A violent burst of energy erupted, causing Yang Kai’s figure to sway unsteadily. He coughed up a mouthful of Golden Blood, and his complexion turned as pale as a sheet.
Likewise, Mo Na Ye’s figure was forced backwards slightly, which astonished him greatly. The fact that Yang Kai could still be so ferocious even with such severe injuries was nothing less than shocking. [No wonder he managed to kill so many Territory Lords, his strength truly isn’t ordinary.]
This was the first time he confronted Yang Kai directly, and although it was only an exchange of blows from across a vast distance, he could grasp the depths of Yang Kai’s true strength. [This person is too terrifying! If we fail to kill him here, there is no saying how many other Territory Lords will die by his hands in the future!]
Near the portal, Yu Ru Meng’s Squad, which had been bringing up the rear, had almost finished evacuating. The last to leave was Yu Ru Meng herself. When she saw that the six Territory Lords were about to reach them, she shouted anxiously, “Husband, let’s go!”
Yang Kai nodded and gave Mo Na Ye a vicious look. The look in his eyes was cold, almost as though he wanted to memorise the other party’s appearance. Only then did he slip into the portal.
Following his entry, the opened portal slowly began to close.
Mo Na Ye roared, “After him!”
The look Yang Kai gave him just now frightened him; thus, he became even more determined to kill him. Seeing that the portal was about to close though, he couldn’t help becoming anxious.
Mo Na Ye could sense that Yang Kai was an arrow at the end of its flight. After all, a person couldn’t remain at their peak after killing so many Territory Lords in quick succession. No amount of strength could hold out after such energy-consuming feats.
This was their best chance to kill Yang Kai. If he allowed him to escape into the Universe Cave Heaven and recuperate, then killing him would undoubtedly become very difficult. No matter what, they couldn’t give him a chance to heal himself!
If not for the exchange of blows with Yang Kai earlier that had delayed his pace slightly, Mo Na Ye would have been the first to charge into the portal. Unfortunately, the brief delay caused by Yang Kai’s counterattack had allowed the other five Territory Lords to rush ahead of him.
After hearing Mo Na Ye’s roar, the three leading Territory Lords plunged into the portal without any hesitation.
In the next moment, the portal that had been closing slowly abruptly slammed shut and vanished without a trace! The two Territory Lords following closely behind simply passed through the empty void.
The situation made Mo Na Ye’s heart clench up tight, [Damn it! We’ve been tricked again!]
It turned out that the portal could have immediately been closed… However, Yang Kai made a show of closing the portal slowly to entice the Territory Lords into believing that they could take advantage of the situation. This clearly revealed the other party’s intentions.
[He still has the strength to scheme against us at a time like this!?] Mo Na Ye was filled with disbelief.
At this moment, Yang Kai stood inside the Portal Corridor and cursed vehemently, [Why are there three Territory Lords here!?]
He had only planned to lure one of the Territory Lords inside, but three had managed to plunge in together. This situation was difficult, because his current condition was extremely poor. Although he could deal with one Territory Lord, dealing with three… was impossible.
In the next moment, Yang Kai kicked one of the Territory Lords with a ferocious roar. Space Principles fluctuated wildly in response, “Get out!”
Outside the portal, the two Territory Lords who passed through the empty Void quickly came back to their senses. Among them, You Gong had a frightened expression on his face. He was secretly glad that he had been injured previously, which slowed his speed slightly. If he had been at the front, then he would have been the one to rush into the portal instead.
Thinking back to the tragic deaths of his four companions from before, he couldn’t help shuddering in fear.
At that moment, the portal that had been closed opened up once more and a figure flew out with a muffled grunt of pain. The opened portal slammed shut again in the next instant. Everything happened so quickly that nobody could react in time.
Mo Na Ye was stunned, “You…”
The Territory Lord clutched at his chest with a furious expression, “I was kicked out by him!”
Mo Na Ye’s expression became extremely hideous at those words!
Three Territory Lords had plunged into the portal, but one of them was kicked out by Yang Kai. What did that say about the situation? Yang Kai’s actions confirmed that he was indeed a lamp running out of oil. He was no longer confident about dealing with three Territory Lords at once, so he could only retain two of them. It might be that he couldn’t even handle two Territory Lords at once!
“Break the Void and open the portal by force!” Mo Na Ye gave a low roar.
It was not that they could not open the portal to the Universe Cave Heaven before now; rather, they simply didn’t since they were planning to use the Human refugees trapped within as bait. However, they could no longer delay opening the portal at this moment. If they missed this golden opportunity, they would never receive a better one again.
Mo Na Ye was the first to take action as he slammed his strength into the position where the portal appeared just now. The other three Territory Lords did not dare to hold back and quickly joined Mo Na Ye, and for a time, the Void shuddered and twisted under the immense force.
As Territory Lords, it was easy for them to shatter space. Be that as it may, even they would take some time and effort to force open a portal that was buried so deep within the Void, and it was not like the portal would simply emerge just because the surrounding Void had been shattered, that would take even more effort to achieve.
Mo Na Ye did not know how long it would take for them to force the portal open, but he was determined to kill Yang Kai here!
With four Territory Lords attacking with such ferocity, their power was extremely terrifying. The Portal Corridor and the Void Turbulence had been stirred up as a result, causing the originally stable tunnel to warp and distort fiercely.
Yang Kai was limping painfully. At this moment, he was an absolute mess. It was true that he had kicked one of the Territory Lords out of the portal, but the other party’s last-moment counterattack had also broken one of his leg bones in the process.
He could not perceive the situation outside the portal, but the effects inside the corridor were as clear as day. Suppressing his pain, he manipulated Space Principles to calm the Void Turbulence in his surroundings. Despite his miserable condition, Yang Kai was still able to control his surroundings so that he remained as motionless as a mountain.
The two Territory Lords nearby were not nearly as lucky. Currently, they felt as though their bodies were being torn apart by the Void Turbulence, losing almost any ability to stabilize themselves.
After seeing Yang Kai’s pathetic condition, they had planned to charge at him and quickly finish him off; unfortunately, the actions of Mo Na Ye and the others from the outside left them in an awkward situation. The impact from countless Void Turbulence caused their bodies to tremble violently. It felt as though they were trapped in a quagmire and continuously sinking into the abyss. The more they struggled, the more unbearable they felt.
Under such circumstances, it was an amazing feat just to keep themselves safe, so where would they find the extra strength to attack Yang Kai?
[Mo Na Ye, you idiot!] The two Territory Lords cursed in their hearts.
On the other hand, Yang Kai laughed wildly, [The Territory Lords outside are such good people.]
He felt a twinge of regret about kicking out the third Territory Lord now. If he had known things would develop into this situation earlier, he would have kept him here too. Nevertheless, he knew that he would be in great danger if he had kept the other party here. There was no denying that his current condition was simply too poor to take such risks. He could figure out a way to deal with two Territory Lords, but he probably wouldn’t even have the chance to make a move against three of them.
The disturbance in the Portal Corridor was getting stronger and stronger as the Territory Lords outside were probably increasing the intensity of their attacks.
Mo Na Ye and the others could not be blamed for their actions. There was no denying that Innate Territory Lords were immensely powerful, but they were completely ignorant about the Dao of Space. Even if they were familiar with passing through Territory Gates, from their perspective, they would simply enter from one side and exit on the other, not understanding any of the mysteries behind the workings of the Void Corridor itself.
On the other hand, Yang Kai, who was proficient in the Dao of Space and constantly travelled across the Void, could not be more familiar with this kind of environment.
Inside the Portal Corridor, the two Territory Lords had to exert all their efforts to keep themselves from being swallowed by the Void Turbulence, with no spare strength to deal with anything else.
Yang Kai abruptly made a bold move. It didn’t matter that one of his legs was crippled because he had the Azure Dragon Spear. Summoning the spear, he formed an overwhelming number of spear shadows that rained down on one of the Territory Lords. The power behind his attack was extremely violent and brutal.
The Territory Lord gave a loud roar and tried his best to fight back, but blood just gushed out from his entire body after being stabbed repeatedly by Yang Kai.
When the other Territory Lord saw what was happening, he did not dare to hesitate and immediately stepped forward to help. For a time, the aftermath of the battle spread out across the entire Portal Corridor. The Void Turbulence became increasingly violent and unpredictable as a result.
All of a sudden, Yang Kai quickly retreated. Spitting out a mouthful of Golden Blood, he glared furiously at the two Territory Lords. He had never fought in such a place before, so he was shocked to discover that the Portal Corridor was showing signs of instability after just one exchange of blows with the enemy.