Yang Kai was flying through the vast void of the New Great Territory, accompanied by Hua Qing Si.
There was no one else apart from these two.
Since he had decided to create another Star Boundary, Yang Kai naturally would not dawdle. He was now the Commander of the Profound Nether Army, so he could not stay away for an extended period of time.
High Heaven Territory did not have suitable Universe Worlds, so he could only search the New Great Territory.
“The New Great Territory has many Universe Worlds, but only 12 are habitable, and basically, all of them are overcrowded,” Hua Qing Si reported while pointing forward, “That’s Tranquil Blue World, Humans of 100 Great Territories have migrated here.”
Yang Kai looked ahead and saw a faint blue Universe World. In the vast and endless void, this Universe World could not be considered big, but it was quite beautiful.
At first, this Universe World was only habited by living creatures of low sentience, but after the migration of over 100 Great Territories, the entire Tranquil Blue World was bustling with activity and buildings of all shapes and sizes could be seen everywhere.
Humans were quite a tenacious race. Although they had to part with their homeland and settle on this Strange Universe World, the flames of the Human Race’s development had spread throughout the entire Universe World.
Tranquil Blue World’s Grand Dao was not very strong, but it was not that low either. It was not a problem for a cultivator to advance to the Emperor Realm here, and the capacity of this Universe World was enough to support the birth of several Great Emperors.
Yang Kai did not stay here for long though and continued to explore with Hua Qing Si.
As Yang Kai and Hua Qing Si travelled to one Universe World after another, he gradually gained a better understanding of the New Great Territory’s situation. Indeed, as Hua Qing Si had mentioned, there were 12 habitable Universe Worlds in the New Great Territory, and Humans who had migrated from other Great Territories had more or less settled down on all of them. Furthermore, as there were too many Humans, some of these Universe Worlds were as crowded as the Star Boundary.
“Are there any other Universe Worlds?” Yang Kai asked. It was actually quite simple to create a second Star Boundary; he just had to pick one from these 12 Universe Worlds and plant the World Tree clone on it. Then, after a few centuries, it would naturally turn into a second Star Boundary.
In the beginning, the Star Boundary was almost shattered, but after the World Tree clone was planted on it, it became an Open Heaven Realm Cradle. On the other hand, these 12 Universe Worlds were completely intact and even flourishing.
Be that as it may, Yang Kai had his own plans.
“Palace Master, what kind of Universe World are you looking for?” Hua Qing Si did not know what Yang Kai had in mind, “There are three more Universe Worlds besides these 12 habitable Universe Worlds, of which two World’s Grand Daos are incomplete. It would not be a problem for ordinary mortals to migrate to those Worlds, but if cultivators live on them, their cultivation would progress very slowly.”
“What about the third one?” Yang Kai asked.
“There is also a Universe World whose Grand Dao is quite strong, but its environment is a bit special. Great Monsters run rampant there. Furthermore, there are many Great Monsters at the peak of the Emperor Realm, so it would be quite dangerous for Humans to reside on it without any protection from powerful Masters.”
It was not that High Heaven Palace was unable to exterminate these Great Monsters; if a few Open Heaven Realm Masters were deployed, the Monster Race would not be able to mount any resistance. It was just that it was their territory to begin with. If High Heaven Palace really did this, it would be inhumane and go against the Heavens’ Will. So, when they arranged for the Humans to relocate to the New Great Territory, this Universe World was not taken into consideration and simply left alone.”
Yang Kai’s eyes lit up after hearing this, “Let’s go take a look.”
Hua Qing Si quickly led the way.
The two arrived at the periphery of a Universe World half a day later. Hua Qing Si pointed at the giant Universe World and introduced, “This is it. Senior Martial Beast named it the Myriad Monsters World. When we discovered this place, Senior Martial Beast personally entered it to inspect it, and subdued a few Great Monsters. Now, those Great Monsters are subordinates of Senior Martial Beast.”
High Heaven Palace did not try to subdue the Myriad Monsters World, firstly, because it was inhumane and counter to the natural order, and secondly, it was because of Marital Beast Great Emperor.
Martial Beast Great Emperor’s Grand Dao was about controlling and taming Beasts. He was naturally very fond of a place like the Myriad Monsters World.
Yang Kai looked around and immediately understood why Hua Qing Si said that this World’s environment was quite special. This World was filled with an extremely ancient and savage aura. It was no wonder that the Monster Race ran rampant here, and Great Monsters could be found everywhere. This environment was perfectly suitable for the Monster Race.
Yang Kai was overjoyed.
He was unaware that there was such a World in the New Great Territory. It must have been discovered by High Heaven Palace after he entered the Black Ink Battlefield.
“Let’s go down and take a look,” Yang Kai beckoned, leading Hua Qing Si into the Myriad Monsters World.
As soon as Yang Kai and Hua Qing Si entered the Myriad Monsters World, Great Monsters with higher cultivations seemed to have sensed something as they raised their head, looking towards the void. But how could these Great Monsters see him when Yang Kai had deliberately hidden his whereabouts?
Myriad Monsters World was quite large, bigger than any of the other 12 Universe Worlds Yang Kai had investigated before. Covering the entire Myriad Monsters World with his Divine Sense, Yang Kai could indeed detect the aura of many Great Monsters here, every one of them at the peak of the Emperor Realm. With such powerful cultivation and the tyrannical physique of the Monster Race, their strength was quite impressive.
Be that as it may, as these members of the Monster Race had no contact with the outside world, they only relied on their instincts to cultivate. The peak of the Emperor Realm was basically their limit; they could not advance any further.
The current cultivation path of the Human Race was passed down by Cang and other nine Martial Ancestors, which allowed them to open up a Small Universe in their bodies and break through the shackles of their Universe Worlds, allowing them to attain far greater strength.
The Divine Spirits’ cultivation mainly focused on purifying their bloodline. The purer one’s bloodline was, the stronger they would be.
As for the Monster Race, their cultivation method depended mainly on taking Human Form and then using the Human’s Open Heaven Realm cultivation method to break through from their equivalent of the Emperor Realm to the Open Heaven Realm.
The Monster Race of the Myriad Monsters World had never even seen Humans before though, so how would they assume Human Form? Therefore, no matter how profound their cultivation was, they had always maintained their Monster Form. Some of them were incomparably massive and looked quite magnificent from a distance.
In fact, when the Monster Race ruled the Universe in the Early Ancient Era, they had their own cultivation methods that did not involve taking Human Form to constantly improve their strength.
However, the Monster Race’s cultivation method was lost with the destruction of the Early Ancient Era.
Whether it was the Early Ancient Era’s cultivation method, or the Open Heaven Realm method of the Human Race, the Monster Race of the Myriad Monsters World knew nothing about them. Thus, they only maintained their Monster Forms and the peak of the Emperor Realm was their limit. This was the World’s shackles on them, the constraints of this World’s Grand Dao.
The Monster Race on the Myriad Monsters World had quite a huge population. There were quite a lot of Great Monsters here, but none of them were able to break their shackles without a proper cultivation method. This problem had plagued the Great Monsters of the Myriad Monsters World for countless eras. They had tried to solve this problem, but had never been able to.
As Yang Kai continued to investigate the Myriad Monsters World, every Great Monster on it started to become restless. Although they were unable to detect Yang Kai or his aura, they still instinctively felt that a great catastrophe was looming over their heads. The Monster Race’s instincts had always been quite sharp, so the strongest among them could faintly feel that someone had entered this World, someone whom they could not resist.
It was not like this had never happened before though. Several hundred years ago, when Martial Beast Great Emperor had entered the Myriad Monsters World and subdued a few of the strongest Great Monsters, he too had given them a similar feeling.
The surviving Great Monsters had personally witnessed this strange individual’s strength. The strongest of the Great Monsters were unable to fight back against that tiny figure.
That same feeling had once again descended today.
All the Great Monsters began to lie low for fear of being targeted. They were also unaware of what fate befell those Great Monsters who were taken away by that ‘Human’, but they were unwilling to hand their life and death over to others.
The movements of these Great Monsters naturally could not escape Yang Kai’s investigation, who actually found it quite funny, [These Monster Beasts’ instincts are quite sharp.]
Be that as it may, he had not come here to subdue these Great Monsters. Although the Monster Race here was quite amazing, he did not attach any importance to them.
At some point, Yang Kai came to a stop as a smile appeared on his lips. The next moment, his Divine Sense flooded the Myriad Monsters World like a tide, completely enveloping it.
Immediately after, the Great Monsters who were hiding in their lairs heard a loud sound like a bell tolling in their minds.
The sudden intrusion of that sound immediately made the Great Monsters panic, but very soon, they discovered that the sound that had appeared was not lethal or anything of the sort, just rather noisy.
Furthermore… that undulating sound seemed to be subtly guiding them.
Immediately, the intelligent Great Monsters calmed their minds and began carefully comprehending it.
The Great Monsters relied completely on their instincts to cultivate, but those who could cultivate to the peak had naturally opened up a degree of sentience that vastly exceeded that of common Monster Beasts.
After this enlightenment, some Great Monsters went wild with joy, as if they had seen the road ahead in their ever-stagnant cultivation.
After half a day, in a mountain valley filled with flowers, a Great Monster spat out its Monster Core and followed the guidance of the sound in its mind, carefully tempering it.
In another place, on some mountain peak, another Great Monster similarly spat out a vibrant five-coloured Monster Core before its Blood Essence started surging and Monster Qi filled the surroundings.
In the middle of the sea, a giant whale emerged from the water, its Monster Core hovering over its head.
In the middle of a forest, on the plains, on the snowy mountains, Great Monsters spat out their Monster Cores after seeing the light in the darkness, and began cultivating with all their heart.
In an instant, Monster Qi filled the Myriads Monsters World as powerful auras began to suddenly emerge one after another.
Hua Qing Si’s mouth went agape at the sight of this and she immediately turned to Yang Kai and asked, “Palace Master, what did you do?”
She had no idea what Yang Kai had done, all she noticed was his Divine Sense surging, stirring the calm Myriad Monsters World the next moment.
Yang Kai replied with a smile, “I taught them a cultivation method.”
Hua Qing Si was shaken up by this revelation. Yang Kai’s words might be simple, but she knew that this cultivation method was definitely far from ordinary, otherwise, it would have been impossible to see such changes so rapidly in the Myriad Monsters World.
Currently, the Monster Race relied on the Human Race’s Open Heaven Realm cultivation method, but judging by the momentum of Myriad Monsters World’s Great Monsters, they wanted to break through with their Monster Forms alone.
How could such a Secret Art be simple?
This was definitely an extremely profound and ancient method.
In fact, Hua Qing Si’s guess was correct. What Yang Kai had passed down was indeed an ancient cultivation method used by the Monster Race in the Early Ancient Era. This ancient method was long lost with the destruction of the Early Ancient Era.
However, in this Universe, if anyone knew this ancient method, that would be Wu Kuang!
When Yang Kai and Wu Kuang parted ways at the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, Wu Kuang had taught him the Monster Race’s ancient cultivation method. It was not that Wu Kuan foresaw the existence of the Myriad Monsters World; rather, if Yang Kai wanted to advance to the Ninth Order, he needed this ancient Monster Race cultivation method.
Inside the Myriad Monsters World, Great Monsters began to cultivate after receiving the ancient cultivation method, causing the entire Universe World’s World Force to thrum.
Meanwhile, Yang Kai found a Spirit Peak and began setting up a Universe Array.
He had left multiple Universe Arrays in the New Great Territory, mainly to facilitate High Heaven Palace disciples’ exploration, but there were none in the vicinity of the Myriad Monsters World.
Although Hua Qing Si did not know Yang Kai’s intentions, she did not ask any questions either. Her Palace Master always had his reasons for doing things, all she needed to do was assist him; there was no need to ask any question.
Half a day later, a new Universe Array was finished. After which, Yang Kai started building a sturdy Universe Temple around it together with Hua Qing Si.
At this moment, the Monster Qi of the first Great Monster to start cultivating using the ancient method suddenly soared. Immediately after, lightning started flashing in the clear sky before a thick purple bolt suddenly emerged out of thin air, striking straight towards the Great Monster. The next moment, a towering wave of flame spread from the location of the Great Monster, burning everything in its path. The flames were so hot that even the local space began to crack.
Immediately, a beastly roar resounded throughout the sky.
Yang Kai looked up, immersed in his thoughts.
By the looks of it, if the Great Monsters wanted to break their shackles, they would also need to go through some suffering, but it was not that it was unexpected. The Human Race’s advancement to the Open Heaven Realm was not a smooth path either. Although Humans did not have to face Heavenly tribulations when they merged Yin, Yang, and the Five Elements into one before splitting Heaven and Earth apart in their bodies, they would face many internal troubles, and the slightest mistake would result in death.
This Lightning and Fire Tribulation was probably a test from the Heavenly Way. If the Great Monsters weathered it, they would have a wider world ahead of them, but if they couldn’t, they would perish on the spot.
Be that as it may, the Great Monsters of the Myriad Monsters World were bound by the shackles of the Grand Dao here, and without a suitable cultivation method, they had tempered their bodies for many, many years after reaching the peak of their current Realm. It should not be difficult for them to overcome this Lightning and Fire Tribulation.
Yang Kai had no intention of lending a hand. In any case, one had to depend on themselves in such matters, outside intervention would ultimately be counter to the natural order.
The Lightning and Fire Tribulation became fiercer and fiercer, and the beastly roars became louder and louder. Finally, after several hours, things slowly calmed down.
Things might have calmed down in the original spot, but there were still many Great Monsters trying to overcome their own Lightning and Fire Tribulation in the Myriad Monsters World.
The Universe Temple was also finished on the Spirit Peak by now. With two powerful Open Heaven Realm Masters working together, it was a simple matter to build a Universe Temple.
Suddenly, a fearsome aura rapidly approached from the horizon. Hua Qing Si and Yang Kai both looked up before Yang Kai proposed with a smile, “Let’s go meet our new friend.”
Walking out of Universe Temple, Yang Kai spotted a big and strong snow-white Tiger. The enormous Tiger was some 70 to 80 metres tall and radiated an intense Monster Qi. Its massive body was giving off quite a huge pressure.
Its eyes alone were as big as a water tank, but because it had just gone through the Lightning and Fire Tribulation, it also looked quite miserable.
The giant Tiger’s eyes flashed with vigilance at the sight of Yang Kai and Hua Qing Si as it instinctively took two steps back.
Yang Kai sized it up from top to bottom before lightly nodding his acknowledgement, “Not bad.”
It had just weathered the Lightning and Fire Tribulation, but it was radiating a pressure comparable to a Third-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. Given time, this Great Monster’s achievements would not be too low.
Humans’ Open Heaven Realm cultivation method had its own advantages and disadvantages. The advantage was that those with great aptitude could reach the sky in a single bound. For instance, the seedlings who could advance straight to the Sixth Order or Seventh Order would immediately possess such strength the moment they ascended from the Emperor Realm.
The drawback was that the advancement to the Open Heaven Realm came with an innate shackle. The lower one’s aptitude was, the lower would one’s future limit be. It was for this reason that every Seventh-Order elite was extremely treasured by the Human Race.
On the other hand, Divine Spirits had no such shackles, and neither did the Monster Race.
The Divine Spirits’ advancement depended on their Bloodline Power. The purer one’s bloodline was, the stronger one would be.
The Monster Race’s ancient cultivation method focused on tempering one’s Monster Core. A Monster Beast relied on their Monster Core to improve. The giant Tiger had just broken through, but it was already as strong as a Third-Order Open Heaven Realm Human, but this did not mean that its limit would be the Fifth-Order. As long as it diligently polished and tempered its Monster Core, with ample opportunity and aptitude, advancing to the Sixth-Order, Seventh-Order, Eighth-Order, or even Ninth-Order equivalent was not impossible.
In a sense, the Human Race’s Open Heaven Realm cultivation method could be said to be flawed, or at least incomplete. Yang Kai had only recently understood this. Even if he had noticed it though, he was unable to do anything about it. The Open Heaven Realm cultivation method was passed down by Cang and the other Martial Ancestors from the Late Ancient Era. Millions of years had already gone by since then, and the Human Race had always relied on this cultivation method to grow stronger.
Without the Open Heaven Realm cultivation method, Humans would have been stuck in the Emperor Realm still, never having achieved the greatness they had today.
“Don’t be afraid, this King has no malicious intentions. I just have some matters to discuss with you and the other Great Monsters,” Yang Kai looked at the giant Tiger with an amiable look on his face.
The giant Tiger let out a growl as the vigilance in its eyes became even stronger. Who knew if it understood Yang Kai or not.
Realization suddenly dawned upon Yang Kai as he muttered, “I forgot that you have never communicated with Humans before.”
Saying so, he stepped forward, stretching his hand towards the giant Tiger’s forehead.
The giant Tiger was startled and instinctively tried to dodge, but how could it? It helplessly watched Yang Kai’s fingertip grow closer and closer before touching its forehead. Its fur all stood on end in fright.
But very soon, it realized that Yang Kai had no intention of harming it; instead, many strange things appeared in its mind.
Yang Kai floated back as he spoke to the giant Tiger with a smile on his lips, “Now we can communicate.”
The giant Tiger’s eyes widened in shock. At this moment, it suddenly discovered that it could understand Yang Kai. What’s more, if it wanted to, it could speak with the opposite party.
It tried to open its mouth, asking in somewhat broken Human language, “W-Who… you?”
Yang Kai replied, smiling, “I am the Palace Master of High Heaven Palace, Yang Kai.”
How would the giant Tiger know what this High Heaven Palace was? Quickly assimilating the new language it had been taught, it asked again, “What you do here?”
Yang Kai answered, “Today, I have come to your precious land to teach you a cultivation method and help you escape from the shackles of this Universe World’s Grand Dao. In exchange, I will send a few people here to cultivate. I hope all of you will restrain the other Monster Race members and not harm these Humans.”
The giant Tiger had some difficulty understanding everything that was said, but it ultimately comprehended Yang Kai’s intentions and angrily proclaimed, “This place… is mine!”
The Monster Race was extremely territorial. When it heard that Yang Kai wanted to send Humans to cultivate here, it naturally was not too happy about it.
Yang Kai responded with a smile, “It used to be.”
The giant Tiger was momentarily taken aback before asking, “What about the future?”
“This World is mine from now on!”
The giant Tiger understood Yang Kai’s words and immediately growled, “Why?”
Yang Kai thought for a moment before replying, “Because I’m stronger than you!”
The giant Tiger appeared to have something to say, but it did not know how to put it into words, so it simply chose not to say anything. It leapt up and bit towards Yang Kai, “Die!”
Yang Kai simply flicked his finger towards the giant Tiger’s head, sending it tumbling back. It was immediately hit with a fit of dizziness and shook its head for a long while, but was still unable to stand up. Only now did it realize that the tiny ‘Human’ before him was extremely strong, so strong that it could provoke him.
Yang Kai jumped up and landed on its head before lowering his head and asking, “Is this territory yours, or mine?”
The giant Tiger’s eyes took a moment to focus before it replied, “I… can’t say!”
The giant Tiger’s territory was just a small portion of the vast Myriad Monsters World and there were naturally others who occupied other territories.
Yang Kai immediately understood. The next moment, Space Principles started undulating as he stretched his hand out and clasped it.
What happened next completely horrified the giant Tiger as Great Monsters of all shapes and sizes suddenly appeared out of thin air and were thrown in front of it.
The giant Tiger recognized some of these Great Monsters, while some were unfamiliar, though it seemed to know about most of them at least.
All these Great Monsters were scattered throughout the Myriad Monsters World and were the strongest members of the Monster Race.
But now, all of them have been captured and brought here by Yang Kai.
With the sudden change in their surroundings, all the Great Monsters were a little absent-minded, unable to understand how they suddenly appeared here.
Yang Kai ordered the giant Tiger, “Pass on my words, and see who dares to refuse.”
The giant Tiger was filled with incomparable anguish, but under Yang Kai’s strong-arming, it had no choice but to communicate with the other Great Monsters and convey Yang Kai’s intentions.
While the Great Monsters were conversing, they would look towards Yang Kai with eyes filled with dread.
At this moment, they also came to know who imparted to them the ancient cultivation method. Furthermore, when someone as strong as the giant Tiger was unable to resist the opposite party, how could the other Great Monsters dare to cause trouble?
They simply could not afford to provoke this Human.
The next moment, all the Great Monsters withdrew their auras as if they had reached some consensus.
Yang Kai was satisfied with this.
The giant Tiger suddenly started speaking, “Those two… don’t agree, they want to eat you!”
Saying so, it stretched out its claws, pointing towards two Great Monsters.
The two Great Monsters who were being pointed at, instantly had their hair stand on end and the hedgehog-like Great Monster of the two angrily shouted, “Non, non, non…nonsense! We… agree?”
Originally, the Tiger wanted to bully these two Great Monsters he had a grudge with. Thinking they did not understand Human language, they would be unable to refute, but much to its surprise, they could speak the Human tongue as well.
The giant Tiger realized that when this Human had captured and brought these Great Monsters here, he must have secretly done something.
Yang Kai jumped down from its body and patted its massive head, stating, “Good, since everyone has agreed, this Myriad Monsters World will be this Yang’s territory from now on. In the future, I will send some Humans to cultivate here. I hope that everyone can restrain your subordinates and stop them from attacking those Humans.”
Yang Kai really found the giant Tiger’s antics quite funny. The giant Tiger was quite the schemer, actually trying to murder with a borrowed knife. He wondered what kind of grudge those two Great Monsters had with the giant Tiger.
One of the black-furred Great Monsters, who looked like a jackal, asked, “What happens if… they harmed?”
Yang Kai slightly smiled, “What do you think?”
Although Yang Kai’s tone was quite light, as if he was joking, all the Great Monsters had a chill run down their spine. They realized that this Human was not joking. If such a thing really did happen, the Monster Race member who attacked the Humans would definitely be killed.
Another Great Monster asked, “What if Humans… hurt us?”
Yang Kai assured, “Don’t worry, I will also make it clear to the Humans who are sent here to cultivate that they are not to harm the Monster Beasts of the Myriad Monsters World. Anyone who dares to break this rule will be killed as well!”
The Great Monsters looked at each other before nodding lightly.
It was only fair that both sides were not allowed to harm or kill at will. If the Humans could attack them at will but they could not even retaliate, then they could never agree.
By the looks of it, this Human was quite fair.
“Alright, this matter is settled. Everyone, please return.” Yang Kai waved off. It was not that hard for him to subdue the entire Monster Race of the Myriad Monsters World. Perhaps he could use gentler methods to accomplish this, but Yang Kai did not have the time to do so. When even the Divine Spirits of the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary were beaten into submission by him, what would Monster Beasts of the Myriad Monsters World count for?
The Great Monsters left one after another. Very soon, beastly roars could be heard coming from everywhere on the Myriad Monsters World. Obviously, the Great Monsters were passing down Yang Kai’s decree.
Hua Qing Si walked to Yang Kai and asked, confused, “Palace Master, are you sending someone here to cultivate?”
Yang Kai nodded his agreement, “Yes.”
“But the Myriad Monsters World’s Grand Dao is tailored towards the Monster Race’s cultivation, so it might not be suitable for Humans.”
Previously, High Heaven Palace had also considered whether they should arrange for some Humans to settle down on the Myriad Monsters World, but the population of the Monster Race on this world was huge, and if they allowed Humans to settle here, there would definitely be some conflicts every now and then. More importantly though, this World’s Grand Dao was far more suited for the Monster Race. If Humans cultivated here, they would have to work twice as hard for half the results.
However, Yang Kai stated mysteriously, “It might not have been suitable in the past, but that may not be so in the future.”
Saying so, he took out a small sapling and made his way to the utmost top of the Spirit Peak before carefully planting it.
A look of suspicion appeared on Hua Qing Si’s face as she vaguely found this small sapling a little familiar, but at the same time, she failed to recognize it. While she was still mulling over the issue though, she saw the little sapling’s branches sway before it started growing at a speed visible to the naked eye. In the blink of an eye, it had become a towering tree.
But it did not end there. The Myriad Monsters World’s Grand Dao appeared to be fiercely undulating along with the growth of the little sapling and Hua Qing Si could clearly feel the little sapling drawing a vast and seemingly limitless energy from somewhere beyond the Void which then integrated into the Myriad Monsters World.
In less than a dozen or so breaths, the Myriad Monsters World’s Grand Dao had undergone some obvious changes, becoming stabler and clearer.
A look of astonishment blanketed Hua Qing Si’s face as she blurted out, “A World Tree clone!?”
She finally understood why this little sapling was giving her a strange sense of familiarity. Obviously, this was another World Tree clone!
The Star Boundary had such a clone, but it was unbelievably massive now; therefore, she could not relate the two right away.
However, what else could make a Universe World stabler and cause such massive changes to it in such a short period of time besides a World Tree clone?
It never crossed Hua Qing Si’s mind that Yang Kai would actually have another World Tree clone sapling on him.
[No wonder Palace Master insisted on sending people to the Myriad Monsters World to cultivate. With a World Tree clone here, no matter what the Myriad Monsters World’s Grand Dao was like before, it will soon be akin to the Star Boundary’s. All living beings residing in this World will benefit greatly from it!
The Myriad Monsters World would definitely become a second Star Boundary!
If the rest of the Human Race came to know about this, it would surely cause a huge stir!
Currently, the Star Boundary could no longer accept any more outsiders. Even the Cave Heavens and Paradises only had a few quotas while most of the cultivators who had migrated from the various Great Territories could only eye it from a distance, never to step foot on it.
If word of the Myriad Monsters World were to disseminate though, everyone would definitely flock to this place with countless people wanting to settle here.
The Myriad Monsters World would not just ease some of the dissension in the Human refugees however, it would surely lead to some new problems.
In an instant, many thoughts flashed in Hua Qing Si’s mind as she asked, “Palace Master, do we need to classify all information regarding the Myriad Monsters World?”
If need be, she would immediately return to High Heaven Palace to pick a few people and seal off this World to prevent others from noticing anything.
Yang Kai already had a plan in his mind though and refused, shaking his head lightly, “No need! From the start, I planned to open the Myriad Monsters World to all the forces of the Human Race, but not just anyone will be allowed to enter this place. After you return, deploy some men here to guard this World and seal it off. No one is allowed to enter the Myriad Monsters World for now. In addition, send word to all parties that the Myriad Monsters World will open in 50 years, with Humans being allowed to settle on it then. Anyone who wishes to enter the Myriad Monsters World must purchase a spot with Military Merits without exception, including those from High Heaven Palace! As for the Military Merits required to buy a spot… the Supreme Headquarters will announce it in the future!”
The Myriad Monsters World should have stabilized somewhat after 50 years. Since the World Tree clone had just been planted, the effects of its feedback would not be that obvious, but they should become noticeable after 50 years. Furthermore, 50 years would be enough time for the various forces of the Human Race to finish their preparations.
Exchanging settlement quotas for Military Merits was also a due consideration to the Human soldiers who were fighting the Black Ink Clan on the front lines. Similarly, it was a stimulus to push more Masters, who were so far unwilling to take risks, into the war.
Who did not have descendants or Disciples? Who did not want their Juniors to have a brighter future? Although they were unable to enter the Star Boundary, the Myriad Monsters World was open to all. All one needed was enough Military Merits to buy a spot. It was quite likely that the various forces of the Human Race would be more than happy about this arrangement.
The Myriad Monsters World was definitely going to cause a sensation.
Hua Qing Si praised with admiration, “Palace Master has thought everything through!”
Yang Kai did not say anything in return, he just turned around and stated, “Let’s head back to the Star Boundary!”
The World Tree clone had been planted, but the effects of the feedback would not be seen in a short time. Since he was finished with this matter, Yang Kai had no intention of remaining here.
He had left a Universe Temple and Universe Array on the Myriad Monsters World, so it would be easy and convenient for Humans to travel here in the future.
After returning from the New Great Territory, Hua Qing Si hurried to High Heaven Palace and prepared the necessary people to guard the Myriad Monsters World. On the other hand, Yang Kai flew off to the Demon Realm.
In High Heaven Territory, the only world buzzing with activity other than the Star Boundary was the Demon Realm.
There were still a large number of Demon Race survivors on it, and Embodiment had always been stationed here as well.
The Demon Realm was shattered to pieces in the past, but in the end, Yang Kai used his Embodiment and the Heaven Devouring Battle Law to piece it back together. This had the effect of tying Embodiment and the Demon Realm together.
After 1,000 years, the Demon Realm’s shattered Grand Dao had started showing signs of healing, and the Demon Race living on it also slowly regained their vitality. Now, the Demon Realm not only had the Demon Race, but also many Humans who cultivated Demon Techniques.
Myriad Demons Heaven disciples especially liked coming to the Demon Realm because the environment here was particularly suitable for their cultivation.
Yang Kai still had a World Tree clone in his possession. If he planted the clone here, the Demon Realm would definitely prosper in a short time, but he had no plans to do so. The Humans already had the Star Boundary, and would also have the Myriad Monsters World in the future, that was already sufficient. He had other uses for the final clone.
Today, he did not come here to check the Demon Realm, but rather for Embodiment.
Ever since he left it here, his Embodiment had been sleeping in the depths of the Demon Realm while remaining connected to it.
Yang Kai did not need to summon it, as the moment he appeared on a mountain peak in the Demon Realm, the sleeping Embodiment immediately woke up and appeared in front of Yang Kai.
The Embodiment’s true form was a Stone Spirit Clansman. It could be considered Xiao Xiao’s clansmen, but when it was hatching, it failed to gain sentience. Yang Kai didn’t know why at the time, but later found out there could only be a maximum of 10 Stone Spirit Clansmen at any given time, and the maximum had been reached. Yang Kai had placed his Soul Clone in it at that time, turning it into a kind of avatar.
In the past, Embodiment had saved Yang Kai during many crises.
Although they had not seen each other for 1,000 years, Yang Kai did not feel any unfamiliarity; after all, Embodiment was a part of him, only, it was a different existence that carried a piece of Yang Kai’s Soul.
“As expected, I’ve become quite strong,” the Embodiment marvelled, looking Yang Kai up and down.
Yang Kai grinned, “There are no outsiders here, there is no need to toot your own horn.”
Compared to the true body, Embodiment was far weaker. Yang Kai felt that it was only as strong as a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, which was nothing before the current Yang Kai who had killed many Feudal Lords and Territory Lords.
Because it was one with the Demon Realm, it was impossible for Embodiment to actively cultivate and grow stronger. Instead, the more perfect the Demon Realm’s Grand Dao was, the stronger it would become, and vice versa.
The strength Embodiment could show was basically equivalent to the strength of the Demon Realm’s Grand Dao.
In other words, the combined World Force of the Demon Realm was equivalent to that of a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master’s Small Universe.
Compared to the Star Boundary, the gap was simply enormous.
Furthermore, the Embodiment also had another huge limitation. Ever since it had used the Heaven Devouring Battle Law to rebuild the Demon Realm, it couldn’t go far from it.
It could be said that the current Embodiment was not much help to Yang Kai anymore.
Yang Kai stretched out his finger, laying it on Embodiment’s forehead. The next moment, a variety of information was instantaneously transferred to the Embodiment’s mind.
When Yang Kai withdrew his finger, the Embodiment nodded his understanding, “So that’s how it is, this technique is indeed quite profound.”
Yang Kai added, sighing, “Shi is truly amazing to have created this Secret Art, but no one has ever attempted to cultivate it before, so it’s hard to say if it will succeed.”
“At the end of the day, it represents hope. Even if it doesn’t succeed, we won’t suffer much of a loss.”
Yang Kai refuted, shaking his head, “If we’re not careful, it might backfire on me.”
Embodiment asked with a smile, “Do we have a choice?”
Helplessness immediately took over Yang Kai’s face as he shook his head, “I’m afraid not.”
Embodiment continued, “Then what is there to hesitate about? We can’t wait for the Universe Furnace to just show itself, right? Who knows how long that will take.”
Saying so, Embodiment approached Yang Kai, “Today, you and I will become one once more. We’ll advance to the Ninth Order and vanquish Mo!”
As Embodiment approached, his figure became more illusory and transparent before merging into Yang Kai’s body.
Yang Kai’s body trembled slightly as lightning appeared in the sky above his Small Universe. At this moment, the World Force became richer and denser. Embodiment’s energy was Yang Kai’s energy, so now that the two were rejoined, all its strength became Yang Kai’s strength, increasing his cultivation.
Be that as it may, as Embodiment was not that strong, this increase was not that obvious.
When Embodiment merged with Yang Kai, nearly 1,000 years of his memories also integrated with Yang Kai’s mind, but as Embodiment had been asleep this whole time, those memories were quite simple.
By the time Yang Kai came to his senses, Embodiment’s figure was no longer before him, only a gust of wind blowing up some loose sand.
At this moment, all the living creatures on the Demon Realm looked towards the sky one after another. They could vaguely feel that the Demon Realm had changed somehow, but they were unable to tell how.
Another gust of wind blew up as Yang Kai disappeared from his spot.
More than a month later, a piece of news spread from High Heaven Palace. High Heaven Palace’s Palace Master, Yang Kai, had created three Sealed Worlds in the vicinity of the Star Boundary using his own strength. These Sealed Worlds were known as Space Dao Sealed World, Time Dao Sealed World, and Spear Dao Sealed World. These three Sealed Worlds contained the profundities of these three Grand Daos, and anyone could enter them to comprehend these Grand Daos after passing a few tests.
As soon as this news was disseminated, the entire Human Race became abuzz with activity. Countless young geniuses scrambled to enter these Sealed Worlds, and in a flash, the surrounding void of these three Sealed Worlds was constantly crowded with people.
The Spear Dao was one thing, but the Dao of Time and Dao of Space had always been the most abstruse and esoteric of Grand Daos. Since ancient times, very few cultivators had been able to cultivate them. Only the Dragon and Phoenix Clans could dabble in these two Grand Daos relying on their Bloodline Talents.
Yang Kai’s strength was obvious to all. Although he was also an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, others in the Eighth-Order would find it difficult to fight against a single Innate Territory Lord. On the other hand, the number of Innate Territory Lords who had died at Yang Kai’s hands needed more than two hands to count. He even managed to escape from the pursuit of Royal Lords. It was all thanks to his mastery over these two Grand Daos.
Now, he had created three Sealed Worlds using his Grand Daos as the basis. It was a given that people would flock to them.
Putting everything else aside, so long as they could inherit some of Yang Kai’s legacy, they could enjoy endless benefits.
In a flash, countless cultivators flocked towards the vicinity of the Star Boundary to explore the three Sealed Worlds. Unfortunately, only a few of them had any real gains. The Dao of Time and Dao of Space were indeed too obscure and difficult to understand. Even if many people believed themselves to be quite talented, they still found it extremely hard to comprehend the mysteries of these two Grand Daos.
On the other hand, the Spear Dao Sealed World benefited many people. Compared to Dao of Time or the Dao of Space, the Spear Dao was undoubtedly more common and easier to comprehend.
Everyone believed that Yang Kai had left these Sealed Worlds for the betterment of the Human Race, but only a few knew that he had actually created them for the disciples who had come out of the Void Dao Temple. If others could gain anything from these Sealed Worlds, it was naturally better, but it was also fine for them to obtain nothing.
There were quite a lot of disciples who had come out from the Void Dao Temple. As they were born and raised in Yang Kai’s Small Universe, many of them had inherited his talent in one or two of his primary Grand Daos. For instance, Wan Le Shan, whom Yang Kai encountered in Acacia Territory was proficient in the Dao of Space.
There should be many disciples like Wan Le Shan, many of whom Yang Kai did not even know the names of.
Although these disciples had inherited some talent in Yang Kai’s three Grand Daos, their attainments were generally not that high. Without anyone guiding them, their future cultivation would be thorny and they would have to take many detours.
There were many disciples like this, and there might be even more in the future; how could Yang Kai have the time to guide them one by one? After thinking about it for a while, he decided to leave three Sealed Worlds for them to comprehend on their own.
The three Sealed Worlds were built using Yang Kai’s comprehension and life experience in the three Grand Daos. So long as one was not too dull, they would be able to gain some benefits from them.
Even Yang Xiao, Yang Xue, as well as Zhao Ye Bai, Zhao Ya, and the others were thrown into the three Sealed Worlds to cultivate.
The three Sealed Worlds caused quite a stir, but that was nothing compared to what came next, for the Human Race Supreme Headquarters soon after released a piece of sensational news.
50 years from now, a second Universe World with a World Tree clone would open. At that time, anyone who wanted to send their descendants or disciples to this new Universe World to cultivate could purchase a spot with Military Merits.
This news not only created a buzz among the Human’s refugees, but even made the soldiers on the frontline feverish.
Currently, the Star Boundary was the most important base of the Human Race. It was also the only Open Heaven Realm Cradle in existence. The Star Boundary had given birth to countless elites and geniuses over the last 1,000 years, producing geniuses who advanced straight to the Sixth Order and even Seventh Order in massive quantities, but why was this?
It was all thanks to the World Tree clone’s feedback!
The Star Boundary itself was nothing out of the ordinary; in fact, there were many Universe Worlds like or even better than the Star Boundary in the past. All of its glory and prosperity was thanks to the World Tree clone.
It could be said that the Star Boundary had become an Open Heaven Realm Cradle in the current age because of the World Tree clone.
Who would not want to reside in the Star Boundary? Who would not want to send their disciples and descendants to cultivate in this miraculous Universe World?
A disciple, who only had the aptitude to advance to the Fourth-Order, might be able to break through directly to the Fifth-Order or Sixth-Order after cultivating in the Star Boundary. It was just a gap of one Order, but it would set one’s future achievements worlds apart.
Be that as it may, the Star Boundary was overcrowded already and it was very difficult for ordinary people to enter and settle down there. Even the Cave Heavens and Paradies had few quotas every year, so it was even more impossible for other forces to set foot there.
But now, the Supreme Headquarters had announced that a second Universe World with a World Tree Clone would be open for settlement 50 years from now!
What did this mean? It meant that a second Star Boundary would be born, meaning that more Humans could benefit from the World Tree’s feedback. It meant that those who had been yearning to enter the Star Boundary but were unable to do so would have a chance to fulfil this dream!
This news immediately created a huge sensation throughout the Human Race. Many people tried to check how reliable this news was, but with the announcement coming straight from the Supreme Headquarters, how could it be false?
As for why 50 years later, the Supreme Headquarters also answered this question.
The World Tree clone was provided by Yang Kai and had just been planted in a certain Universe World. The feedback would only begin to take noticeable effect in 50 years. As for which Universe World it was, the Supreme Headquarters did not disclose.
It was Yang Kai again!
Yang Kai’s name was almost present in all the major events that had happened in the Human Race over the past few years. All the Human cultivators, whether they were weak or strong, had heard his name at least once. At present, Yang Kai was the most famous person in the entire Human Race.
In any event, the Supreme Headquarters’ answer reassured the Humans who still had doubts. The World Tree clone’s feedback indeed needed time to take effect, something that had been confirmed in the Star Boundary many years ago.
50 years was more than half a lifetime to ordinary mortals who had never cultivated, but to Human Masters who had achieved higher cultivation, it was like a snap of a finger.
They could afford to wait!
As for the condition of exchanging settlement quotas with Military Merits, it also caused the Human Race to cheer.
Currently, the Star Boundary’s territory was carved up by the Cave Heavens and Paradises, and the local forces. It had already been years since this balance was established, so it was almost impossible for the other forces to interfere.
However, the second Star Boundary that would open 50 years from now was different. It was a Universe World untouched by Human hands, which would give many people a chance.
Buying a spot using Military Merits was undoubtedly a fair and reasonable proposal.
Some people inquired about how many Military Merits would be required to buy a spot, but the Supreme Headquarters only said that it had not been decided yet and that they would set a number when the Universe World opened.
Although this answer was unsatisfactory to many, no one pestered the Supreme Headquarters again. Was it difficult to obtain Military Merits? For those who were too afraid to enter the battlefield, it was indeed difficult. As for the soldiers who were fighting the Black Ink Clan on the frontlines, every Black Ink Clan member was a living, breathing Military Merit to be reaped.
All one needed to do to gather sufficient Military Merits to buy a spot was make a few trips to the battlefield.
Not everyone dared to enter the battlefield and fight the Black Ink Clan. There were always some who gave all kinds of excuses to stay behind.
Currently, the Human Race Army was composed of the surviving soldiers of the Black Ink Battlefield’s various Great Passes as the framework, with the disciples of Cave Heavens and Paradises as the main body and with conscripts from various Second Class Great Forces making up the rest of the numbers.
Depending on the size and strength of a Sect, different numbers of people were conscripted from them. Naturally, some people at the Supreme Headquarters had planned this.
Every time there were some serious casualties on the battlefield, they would conscript further reinforcements.
This kind of recruitment was a bit forceful, but since the enemy had already invaded, if they were defeated on the frontlines, the Human Race would likely be wiped from existence. So, it made no difference whether it was forceful or not, stabilizing the frontlines was the priority.
In addition, the casualty rate on the frontline was quite high. This caused many people to try to avoid joining the war. Although some were quite strong in their own right, they would rather hide in the rear where it was safe.
Some were afraid and avoided the battle, while some were eager to join the fight.
The Supreme Headquarters had set up a Recruitment Hall in the Star Boundary’s Star City, and anyone who wished to join the war effort could register there before being deployed to various battlefronts to fight the enemy.
Nonetheless, few had come knocking on the door of the Recruitment Hall in the last few decades; after all, there were not many people who were willing to enter the battlefield. Even those who did wish to fight normally preferred to work as Hunters as they were not used to the strict military discipline.
Now, however, the Recruitment Hall was bustling with activity as countless Open Heaven Realm cultivators, who had received the news, rushed over to enlist in the Army.
This sudden turn of events made the head of the staff of the Recruitment Hall grin from ear to ear. They had put in a great deal of effort to enlist more cultivators over the years, making appeals to various minor and major Sects of the Human Race. If it were not for the higher-ups not sanctioning it, they would have likely used even more forceful or even coercive means to gather recruits.
Unfortunately, it was to no avail; after all, only a small number of cultivators were willing to fight while most were more than happy to let others stand on the frontline and risk their lives.
Who would have thought that news of the second Star Boundary opening in 50 years would bring such a change?
This was especially so for some of the older Open Heaven Realm cultivators, who felt that their days were numbered and wanted to create a better cultivation environment for their disciples and descendants before their death. All of them came forward to enlist, causing the people working at the Recruitment Hall to dance with joy.
In less than a month, more than 100,000 Open Heaven Realm cultivators had come to enlist. Although most of them did not have high cultivation, their numbers made up for that. On the battlefield, higher cultivation was naturally better, but that did not mean having a low cultivation made one useless.
The survival of the entire race was hanging on this war, so every little contribution would bring some subtle change to the course of the war.
Yang Kai was completely oblivious to the buzz in the Human Race’s rear for the time being. After returning from the Demon Realm and creating the three Sealed Worlds, he led Dawn and Yu Ru Meng’s Squad on a journey back to Profound Nether Territory, arriving half a month later.
When Wei Jun Yang received the news, he hurriedly rushed over to investigate.
Wei Jun Yang and the others had been on edge for the last half a year, unable to eat or sleep in peace. Yang Kai led two Squads to Acacia Territory to rescue some refugees trapped there. The Black Ink Clan obviously would not leave them alone. They had no way of obtaining any news from Acacia Territory, but some Hunters had relayed a message to the Supreme Headquarters that they had noticed signs of the Black Ink Clan mobilizing a massive amount of troops. A rough estimate put some three to four million additional Black Ink Clan soldiers and several Territory Lords heading to Acacia Territory.
Millions of Black Ink Clansmen and several Territory Lords was anything but a weak force.
Although Yang Kai brought two Squads with him, he and Feng Ying were the only Eighth-Order Masters, so things were really not in their favour. It was hard to predict what the outcome of this conflict would be.
If the Black Ink Clan sealed the entire territory with millions of soldiers, and the Territory Lords attacked Yang Kai and his team together, the latter would surely be in grave danger.
If something happened to Yang Kai, it would be a great loss to the Human Race. Before, it would not have shaken the roots of the Human Race; however, it was different now. As Army Commander of the Profound Nether Army, if anything happened to Yang Kai, the entire Profound Nether Territory would fall into chaos and the damage might be irreversible.
Acacia Territory had millions of Black Ink Clansmen, as well as a large number of Territory Lords. Such a lineup was definitely not for setting up a trap for the Hunters. Wei Jun Yang and the others reckoned that the Black Ink Clan had predicted Yang Kai would travel to Acacia Territory, and that was why they had made such arrangements.
The entire Acacia Territory was like a Dragon’s den.
But by the time the Human Race received this news, it was already too late, Yang Kai should have already entered Acacia Territory. There was no way to even send a warning anymore.
Wei Jun Yang and the others were on tenterhooks, afraid that some misfortune would befall Yang Kai in Acacia Territory.
The Supreme Headquarters had no way of obtaining accurate news from Acacia Territory either. Some Hunters tried to enter Acacia Territory through the Territory Gates to investigate things, but they never returned. Obviously, the Black Ink Clan was using its Army to seal off the gate. Even the Hunters who had entered Acacia Territory to investigate things must have encountered some kind of accident.
Not only that, but the peace in Profound Nether Territory was also broken.
The reason why Profound Nether Territory had been able to remain peaceful was because the Territory Lords were afraid of Yang Kai’s unpredictable killing methods. They did not dare to make a rash move with him around, but now that they had received accurate reports that the Profound Nether Army Commander, Yang Kai, was trapped in Acacia Territory, why would they need to be afraid?
Wei Jun Yang, Ou Yang Lie, and the others were strong, but the Territory Lords could still deal with them; Yang Kai was the one who gave them a splitting headache.
The Black Ink Clan immediately mobilized their troops and began attacking the Human Race on all fronts. Both sides seemed to have returned to the old days where they fought constantly.
So, when the news spread that Yang Kai had returned to the Star Boundary, Wei Jun Yang and the others found it very hard to believe. They thought of it as nothing but unfounded rumours.
Even if Yang Kai had mastered the Dao of Space and managed to escape from Acacia Territory, he couldn’t return to the Star Boundary, as he would first have to pass through at least one of the Great Territory battlefields.
While they were still investigating where the rumours had come from though, someone reported that the Army Commander had returned.
Wei Jun Yang, who happened to be fighting on the front lines, quickly rushed back to the main camp to check the validity of this report. Surprisingly, he was greeted by Yang Kai when he arrived.
Wei Jun Yang was dumbfounded.
Not only Wei Jun Yang was dumbstruck, but even Kong Cheng De, who was currently in charge of the overall situation in Profound Nether Territory, had a look of disbelief on his face. When Yang Kai appeared, Kong Chen De almost thought that he was hallucinating.
Strength-wise, Wei Jun Yang and Ou Yang Lie were undoubtedly the strongest among the Eighth-Order Masters in Profound Nether Territory, but both of them were more fond of fighting on the front lines than sitting in the rear. If they were asked to devise a strategy in the tent to win the war from a million kilometres away, they would be a little hard-pressed.
On the other hand, Kong Cheng De of Nine Stars Paradise was a far better strategist than the other Eighth-Order Masters present. He had been the brains behind all the major Human deployments in Profound Nether Territory all these years. He was the one who formulated the battle plans against the Black Ink Clan, assisted by the other Eighth-Order cultivators and a dozen or so Seventh-Order staff.
“Sir!” Wei Jun Yang stepped forward, staring blankly at Yang Kai, “Wasn’t Sir trapped in Acacia Territory? We received news that millions of Black Ink Clan soldiers and a dozen or so Territory Lords were deployed to Acacia Territory by the Black Ink Clan. How did Sir return?”
Yang Kai affirmed with a nod, “That’s indeed true, but I have my own means of escaping.”
He did not say that he could use the World Tree to instantly arrive in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary or to any still living Universe World. It was best if fewer people knew about this ability because of the existence of Black Ink Disciples. If one day someone who knew about this ability was turned into a Black Ink Disciple, his secret would be exposed.
Wei Jun Yang breathed a sigh of relief.
He was really afraid that Yang Kai would fall in Acacia Territory, so it was naturally great news that he managed to escape safely. Better yet, the Black Ink Clan in Acacia Territory were unaware of this fact, so they should still be searching for him.
If not, the Black Ink Clan in Profound Nether Territory would not have started another war so easily.
Considering all this, Wei Jun Yang suddenly felt some pity for the Black Ink Clan, who were going through so much trouble for someone who was no longer there.
Very soon though, his eyes lit up, “Sir, you’re right on time. The Black Ink Clan doesn’t know anything about this, so you can take this opportunity to kill a few more Territory Lords and raise our Army’s prestige.”
The Black Ink Clan still believed that Yang Kai was trapped in Acacia Territory, so they had started a grand war in Profound Nether Territory. Since Yang Kai was already back though, he could conceal himself and secretly hunt a few Territory Lords.
Yang Kai nodded and agreed, “I had the same idea and was about to discuss it with Senior Brother Kong.”
As soon as he returned, Yang Kai discovered that another battle had broken out in Profound Nether Territory. He vaguely understood what the Black Ink Clan was thinking, so he did not reveal himself immediately. Instead, he went to the frontline camp and looked for Kong Cheng De, who was in command of this place, to ask for his opinion.
Yang Kai wanted to ask where the resident strategist felt it would be best for him to act.
Last time, when Yang Kai had killed three Territory Lords, it had forced the Black Ink Clan into a complete retreat from the main front. This was a rare opportunity, and might be the last.
So long as he was in Profound Nether Territory, the Black Ink Clan would be on guard against him.
Soul Rending Thorns were not flawless. The experiences in Acacia Territory made Yang Kai realize that if the Territory Lords guarded their Souls diligently, the effect of the Soul Rending Thorn’s might would be greatly reduced. If two Territory Lords acted together and were on guard against him, it would be difficult for him to eliminate them in one blow.
If he was unable to kill the Territory Lords in a single surprise attack, his current strength made it almost pointless to simply fight it out with them instead.
In the tent, the entire Void Map of Profound Nether Territory was laid before Yang Kai and the others. This map was jointly created by Artifact Refiners and Array Masters in the Army and gave a detailed overview of the entire Profound Nether Territory. It was extremely intuitive to use and clear to understand.
There were three Territory Gates on the map. The Human Race and Black Ink Clan occupied one each, and the last one was ownerless. The two sides had been fighting for control of this final Territory Gate, but neither of them was able to occupy it for long so it had changed hands multiple times over the past few decades.
Yang Kai was appointed the Army Commander of the Profound Nether Army in a rather rushed manner, and immediately after, he had left for Acacia Territory to save the Humans trapped there. So, he was not too knowledgeable about Profound Nether Territory’s current situation.
It would not have mattered if he was just an ordinary Eighth-Order Master as all he would have to do was follow orders. But now, he was the Army Commander in charge of overseeing the entire Profound Nether Territory. It would be improper and a dereliction of duty for him to be ignorant of even the basic situation.
After listening to Kong Cheng De’s presentation, Yang Kai had a first grasp of the strength of the Profound Nether Army, the number of High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters available for deployment, and the distribution of the Eighth-Order Masters.
The Profound Nether Army might have anecdotally been called a million-strong force, but that could not be farther from the truth. Perhaps, they might have had that many soldiers in the past, but after several decades of constant war, the Army had suffered massive casualties. Now, the entire the Profound Nether Army only totalled some 650,000 soldiers.
As for the main battlefield, almost half of the Army was deployed there as it was the primary focus of the Black Ink Clan. So long as they could defeat the Humans on the main battlefield, they would have a chance to occupy the Territory Gate that was currently being controlled by the enemy, and then they could continue to mop up the rest in the Profound Nether Territory.
The main battlefield had the most soldiers and almost half of the Eighth-Order Masters were deployed there, guarding against the various Territory Lords.
Apart from the main battlefield, there were four auxiliary fronts, one of which was the battlefront for determining the owner of the third Territory Gate. About 100,000 soldiers were deployed there, along with several Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters.
The entire Profound Nether Army had about 50 Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters.
That was not an insignificant number, and the other Great Territory battlefields all had a similar number of Eighth-Order Masters overseeing them.
Be that as it may, when Yang Kai heard this number, his heart became a little heavy. It could not be helped either, as compared to the hundreds of thousands of years of accumulation by the Cave Heavens and Paradises, 50 Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters per battlefield was quite low!
The Cave Heavens and Paradises had existed for millennia, and even if Eighth-Order Masters were rare, after so many years of accumulation, each Cave Heaven and Paradise should have produced over 1,000 Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters at least.
Unfortunately, the upper echelons of the Human Race had suffered massive casualties in the never-ending war against the Black Ink Clan. Not to mention those in the Eighth-Order, one or two of the original 100 plus Ninth-Order Masters remained today.
In comparison, the number of Territory Lords was much higher.
Almost all of the Human Race’s available forces were concentrated on a dozen or so battlefields, but what about the Black Ink Clan? They had many Territory Lords on the primary battlefields, as well as a fair number patrolling the various occupied Great Territories. There were also many Territory Lords stationed at the No-Return Pass.
The reason why the Human Race had been able to hold on for so long was mainly because they were willing to fight to the death!
If a Territory Lord was heavily injured, they would need to fall dormant in a Black Ink Nest to recover. The Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, on the other hand, did not need such a cumbersome healing process. As such, even if there were far more Territory Lords than Eighth-Order Masters, the Humans could barely hold on. Of course, this kind of status quo was extremely tenuous and the Human Race was at a disadvantage on most fronts.
The Human Race needed the younger generation to mature in order to produce more Masters, only then could they fill the gap between top combatants.
“The Territory Lord Commander of the Black Ink Clan in Profound Nether Territory is called Six Arms, yes?” Yang Kai suddenly asked. He still had some impression of Six Arms as last time, when he had borrowed the Territory Gate occupied by the Black Ink Can, it was Six Arms who had come forward to discuss it with him.
Wei Jun Yang nodded before quickly realizing Yang Kai’s intention, “Sir, do you want to set up prestige by taking out Six Arms?”
Yang Kai did not deny it, “If I can kill Six Arms, the Black Ink Clan should be docile for a while.”
Wei Jun Jang, however, rejected this suggestion, shaking his head, “Six Arms won’t be easy to kill. He is a very cautious foe. Once, I and Ou Yang Lie had tried to take him out, but we failed in the end. Furthermore, he rarely comes out to fight personally and usually acts as a rear guard only.”
Yang Kai furrowed his brow, “He’s actually so cautious?”
He could not understand why, but he had a feeling that most of the Territory Lords were very afraid of death. You Gong, the one he had run into in Acacia Territory, was also like this.
These Innate Territory Lords were directly created by Mo, so logically speaking, they should be the most zealous among the Black Ink Clan.
[Could it be that Mo also fears death greatly, and these Territory Lords were affected by it unconsciously?]
Yang Kai shook his head, collecting his thoughts.
“Furthermore, even if we kill Six Arms, it won’t have a fatal impact on the Black Ink Clan. There is not much difference in strength between Territory Lords, so even if Six Arms dies, the Black Ink Clan would soon elect another Commander,” Kong Cheng De added.
Yang Kai looked at him, “Then Senior Brother Kong, where do you think I should start?”
Kong Cheng De smiled and pointed towards a certain spot, “Here!”
Yang Kai raised his brow slightly, “Why here?”
The location Kong Chen De pointed at was one of the auxiliary fronts, which surprised Yang Kai a little, as his original idea was to create some chaos on the main battlefield.
Kong Cheng De quickly explained, “Five Territory Lords are overseeing this front. With Sir’s lightning speed, you should be able to quickly kill one or two Territory Lords, and if you cooperate with the Eighth-Order Masters there, we may be able to kill all five of them.”
“This is a rare opportunity. Since Sir wants to launch a sneak attack, you should naturally choose the best method to kill as many Territory Lords as possible.” Kong Cheng De pointed towards the main battlefield, “There might be many Territory Lords on the main battlefield, but each of them is coordinating with the others from a distance. Once Sir makes a move, the other Territory Lords will definitely be on guard. By then, it will be difficult to achieve anything significant.”
Yang Kai pondered for a moment before nodding and agreeing, “You’re right.”
The main battlefield was undoubtedly the most important, but the war in Profound Nether Territory was not something that could be ended in one or two battles. The Human Race could not hope to defeat the Black Ink Clan in a short period of time either. This was a war that was destined to last decades, if not centuries.
Just as Kong Cheng De had stated, Yang Kai might really be able to kill a Territory Lord in a flash with his elusive methods, but it would be difficult for him to gain any more kills after that on the main front.
The auxiliary fronts were different as there were not that many Territory Lords overseeing each of them. Even if Yang Kai was exposed, it would be extremely difficult for the Territory Lords to escape as they would first have to fight off the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters standing in their way. At that time, so long as the Eighth-Order Masters kept them pinned down somehow, Yang Kai would be able to break the balance of the battlefield, and turn the tide in their favour.
“Then it’s decided,” Yang Kai pointed towards that defensive line before he turned around and left, his voice echoing in Kong Cheng De’s ears, “I’ll have to trouble Senior Brother Kong to send a message to the Division Commanders to make preparations.”
Kong Cheng De cupped his fist and replied, “Yes Sir!”
The nearby Wei Jun Yang breathed a light sigh, looking at Yang Kai’s departing figure, “I really want to see him advance to the Ninth Order. That would really be something.”
As someone who had killed many Innate Territory Lords as an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, if Yang Kai could break through to the Ninth-Order, he would naturally be able to suppress the Royal Lords. In that case, the pressure on the Human Race would be significantly reduced.
At present, the top forces of both Races were keeping each other in check. The Human Race had two Ninth-Order Masters and a Giant Spirit God, while the Black Ink Clan had two Black Ink Giant Spirit Gods and a Royal Lord. This status quo could be said to have been deliberately created by the Human Race, while the Black Ink Clan went along with it.
This situation was advantageous to the Black Ink Clan, because whether it was the number of Territory Lords or the size of the Army, they held an edge over the Humans.
The Human Race was barely able to maintain the current situation by stubbornly holding on to a dozen or so Great Territory Battlefields. What they were waiting for was a chance, a chance for the younger generation to grow.
Currently, many good seedlings had advanced straight to the Sixth and Seventh Orders, and someday, they would be able to rise to the Eighth Order and Ninth Order.
But as the Human Race would grow, so too would the Black Ink Clan.
If a new Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master was born in the Human Race, why wouldn’t a new Royal Lord appear in the Black Ink Clan? At that time, the Human Race would not be able to do anything if they didn’t already have some kind of advantage in the war.
As such, a Master whose strength far exceeded his peers was of paramount importance. If such a Master was born, he or she would serve as a great deterrence to the Black Ink Clan.
In the entire Human Race, Yang Kai was the only one who could assume that role. When he was a Seventh-Order, he could kill Feudal Lords like they were fish on a chopping board, and now when he was an Eighth-Order Master, he could kill Territory Lords all on his own. If he really managed to break through to the Ninth Order, he would definitely be able to kill a Royal Lord just as easily.
Unfortunately, things never went exactly as one wished. The Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm was far out of Yang Kai’s reach.
Wei Jun Yang strode out of the tent, “I’ll go confront the enemy.”
Things were quite tense on the main battlefield, and he had only returned after hearing the news of Yang Kai’s arrival. Now that the battle plan had already been devised, how could he remain here? The number of Territory Lords were far more than Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters. If he was not there, the Eighth-Order Masters on the main battlefield would be under a great deal of pressure.
After he left, Kong Chen De turned to a nearby Seventh-Order Master and ordered, “Inform Chen Yuan that the Army Commander will be arriving soon, and they need to cooperate with him to kill the Territory Lords.”
“Yes, Sir!” Accepting the order, the Seventh-Order Master immediately took out a Communication Bead as his Divine Sense started surging.
Somewhere in Profound Nether Territory, the Black Ink Clan Army was attacking at full swing. On the other side, the Human Army of tens of thousands of soldiers had split up into various groups as they surrounded an enormous Universe Fragment and guarded it tightly.
Warships flew about, providing cover to the exposed soldiers. All kinds of offensive and defensive Arrays and artifacts had long been set up on this Universe Fragments, which greatly contributed to the battle. The dark and endless void was lit up with dazzling flashes of lights as Secret Techniques and Divine Abilities were fired here and there.
This was one of the several auxiliary fronts in Profound Nether Territory. The Human forces tasked to defend this place were not that big, just 50,000 soldiers strong. In addition, there were four Eighth-Order Masters permanently stationed here.
Nearly 100,000 soldiers had sacrificed their lives on this auxiliary front alone in the last few decades, and even an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master had fallen here.
Nonetheless, no matter how grim the battle was, the Humans had been able to hold on. Just like on the Black Ink Battlefield, the Human Race Army was specialized in fighting while being significantly outnumbered. The Human Race’s Warships provided the Army with great mobility and defense, and if one did not count the very top Masters, the Human Race’s overall strength here was higher than that of the Black Ink Clan. This was the reason the Humans had been able to hold their ground.
Such a battle had been raging for decades now, and seemed like it would continue for some time.
The lengthy battle had left everyone exhausted. Before Yang Kai returned, whether it was Profound Nether Territory or the other Great Territory Battlefields, the Human Race’s defensive lines were all in imminent danger.
Yang Kai’s return had greatly eased this crisis though as he had brought a fresh supply of Purifying Light with him.
Thanks to the Purifying Light, the Humans were able to fight with the Black Ink Clan without fear of being corrupted by Black Ink Strength. In the past, after the Purifying Light was exhausted, the Human Race always had to act with caution. It was as if their arms and legs were tied, making things extremely difficult.
Now, they no longer had to worry about this.
Yang Kai had distributed 10 sets of Great Sun and Moon Marks, and also given out a massive amount of Yellow and Blue Crystals. There was no shortage of Purifying Light on the various battlefields of the Human Race and every Purifying Black Ink Battleship had a large amount of Purifying Light sealed in it. Anyone contaminated by Black Ink Strength just had to enter a Purifying Black Ink Battleship and he or she would be totally safe and sound.
With ample Purifying Light, the Evil Purging Divine Spears that had once shone brilliantly during the Human Race’s crusade were also resurrected!
This was a weapon created by the combined efforts of Grandmaster Ma Fan and Yang Kai and was extremely effective against the Black Ink Clan. Once the Purifying Light sealed inside an Evil Purging Divine Spear erupted inside a Black Ink Clansman’s body, their Black Ink Strength would be greatly reduced, and in worst scenarios, they might even die on spot.
Be that as it may, there were not many Evil Purging Divine Spears in each Army due to the short timeframe. As such, the available Evil Purging Divine Spears were all in the hands of the strongest Human Race Masters for emergency use only.
Nevertheless, large quantities of this mighty artifact would definitely be disseminated to the various Armies soon. At that time, it would become the Black Ink Clan’s nightmare. Perhaps, the Humans might be able to offset the disadvantage of top combatants using this sharp tool.
A Seventh-Order Open Heaven Master was moving to and fro around the Universe Fragment, observing the entire battlefield carefully. Suddenly, he felt something and quickly took out a Communication Bead. After receiving the message, a look of joy brightened his face as he immediately shouted to a nearby companion, “Senior Brother Lu, hold on for a moment, I’ll be right back.”
Saying so, he ordered a dozen people to follow him and boarded a Warship, flying away the next moment, leaving Senior Brother Lu dumbfounded at the whole ordeal.
The ship flew out of the Universe Fragment that they were defending as a large number of Black Ink Clansmen swarmed towards it. Nonetheless, the Warship paid no heed to the oncoming assault and sailed heading towards the most intense battle at full speed.
The destination of the ship was the battlefield between the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters and the Territory Lords.
The Warship blazed its way through all manner of obstacles and finally managed to break through the Black Ink Clan’s encirclement, entering into the fierce battlefield.
On the other end of the void, four Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters and five Territory Lords were locked in a heated battle. All of them were old rivals by now who had fought each other countless times over the last few decades.
In the past, the four Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters had always been at a disadvantage when facing these five Territory Lords. There had even been quite a few instances where an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master would come this close to dying; after all, they were one man short of their opponent. Moreover, their enemies were all Innate Territory Lords.
But the situation this time was a little different. The Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters were able to put up a good fight even in a four vs five situation. The aura of one of the Territory Lords was quite weak, making it obvious he was heavily injured. He didn’t dare to confront the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters head-on and could only roam around the periphery, looking for opportunities to strike.
Division Commander Chen Yuan was a little annoyed. If he had taken advantage of the situation just now, he might have been able to kill the Territory Lord; unfortunately, the situation was pressing, and he did not have the room to pay attention to everything, which made him miss this opportunity.
Now, the Territory Lords were on guard and it would be difficult for them to find another chance.
As the battle raged on, Chen Yuan noticed a Warship rapidly approaching, and a familiar figure standing on its deck.
Chen Yuan recognized this man. He was a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master who was responsible for communication with the main battlefield.
Chen Yuan knew that his appearance must be related to a message from the front lines of the main battlefield, and as expected, a message was quickly sent to his ears!
Chen Yuan’s heart skipped a beat in joy, but he did not let it show on his face. He simply nodded imperceptibly to indicate that he understood.
After passing the message from afar, the Seventh-Order Master on the deck let out a sigh of relief, [Fortunately, I did not fail my mission. Since the Eighth-Order Division Commanders know about the Army Commander’s situation, the situation in this battle should change a little.]
“Sir, a lot of Black Ink Clansmen are chasing us, are we going back?” Someone suddenly asked.
The Seventh-Order looked back, and when he saw a large group of Black Ink Clansmen chasing after them, his expression immediately changed, “Run, run!”
After breaking out of the encirclement, almost all of their defensive Arrays were on the verge of failing. If he ordered them to return, it would be tantamount to committing suicide. Although he wasn’t afraid of death, his death should at least be a meaningful one.
Furthermore, he wanted to see how many of the Territory Lords here would survive after the Army Commander took action.
As a result, the Eighth Order and Territory Lords witnessed an extremely strange sight. While they were engaged in an earth-shattering battle, a Human Warship was fleeing in a wide circle around them with a large group of Black Ink Clansmen hot on its tail.
Although the Warship was temporarily safe, anyone with a discerning eye could see that it would be destroyed sooner or later if it kept fleeing like this.
The Territory Lords paid no attention to this matter as their enemies were the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters only. Killing these opponents was far more important than one Human Warship, and even if one of their Territory Lords was seriously injured, they still held the advantage so they intended to press it.
At one point, Chen Yuan suddenly summoned something.
It was a spear-like artifact, but it did not look like anything special. The Human Race’s Secret Techniques and Artifacts were varied, but after decades of war, the Black Ink Clan had seen most of them by now.
However, when Chen Yuan took out this artifact, the Territory Lords stared at him with solemn expressions, as if they were facing a formidable enemy. They even slowed down their attacks and focused more on defence.
It was an Evil Purging Divine Spear!
The Evil Purging Divine Spear had once shone its brilliance in the war outside the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction. In that war, many Territory Lords and even Royal Lords who had emerged from the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction had suffered losses.
The Black Ink Clansmen, who were originally evenly matched with their opponents, were suddenly struck by an Evil Purging Divine Spear and their strength had taken a serious hit. Even if they didn’t die, they would lose all combat effectiveness.
Against an artifact that could suppress their Black Ink Strength, the Black Ink Clan couldn’t help but be wary.
That war was too horrifying. The Black Ink Clan suffered massive casualties, and so did the Human Race. Even the Evil Purging Divine Spears were completely exhausted in that battle.
Refining Evil Purging Divine Spears themselves wasn’t difficult, but just refining them wasn’t of any use as they still needed to have Purifying Light sealed into them to pose any real threat to the Black Ink Clan.
The Human Race Army fought several wars over the next few centuries, even exhausting almost all of the Purifying Light sealed in the Purifying Black Ink Battleships. So, how could they even create new Evil Purging Divine Spears? Furthermore, Yang Kai, the only person who could create Purifying Light, had disappeared after the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction war, pushing the Human Race into a difficult situation.
The Evil Purging Divine Spear was basically never used after the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction War. This was also the reason why the No-Return Pass was quickly overrun. At that time, the No-Return Pass might not have been lost if they had a supply of Evil Purging Divine Spears; after all, there were a lot of powerful Divine Spirits stationed there, led by Dragons and Phoenixes. Even if they lost, they would have at least been able to hold on for longer.
The Human Race was currently in a state of decline with more than 90% of the 3,000 Worlds being occupied by the Black Ink Clan. All they could do was gather all of their remaining forces and tightly defend a dozen or so Great Territory Battlefields. Facing the constant attacks of the Black Ink Clan Armies, the Human Race Armies defending various Great Territory Battlefields were thoroughly exhausted. They were walking on the edge of life and death where even the slightest mistake could send them tumbling to their doom.
After decades of gruesome battles, the Black Ink Clan witnessed the tenacity of the Human Race and also all kinds of bizarre methods employed by them. The Black Ink Clan originally thought that they already knew the Human Race’s limits.
Until Chen Yuan took out an Evil Purging Divine Spear.
Hundreds of years ago, the Evil Purging Divine Spears had struck terror into the hearts of the Black Ink Clan in the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction War. Today, its brilliance shone once more as it severely wounded one of the five Territory Lords with just one strike.
The Territory Lords fighting the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters turned pale with fright as they instantly recognized this spear as the artifact that turned the tides at the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction.
All the Territory Lords were struck with terror.
Fortunately, the Human Race no longer showed any intention of using the Evil Purging Divine Spears in the ensuing battle. The Territory Lords guessed that the Human Race didn’t have many such weapons, otherwise, they would not have been so sparing in using them.
In fact, the current number of Evil Purging Divine Spears was indeed not high; after all, it had only been less than a year since Yang Kai had returned. So, even if the Human Race refined Evil Purging Divine Spears as quickly as possible, they could only produce so many.
Of course, the main reason they did not use another spear was because the Territory Lords were already on guard. Chen Yuan and the others didn’t have any confidence in succeeding, which was why they had been exercising more patience.
Sometimes, trump cards didn’t necessarily need to be used to intimidate others.
At the very least, after a Territory Lord was injured in the initial strike, the remaining Territory Lords were no longer as aggressive as before, giving the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters a lot more room to breathe.
After receiving the message from the Seventh-Order communications officer though, Chen Yuan immediately summoned his own Evil Purging Divine Spear. His World Force started surging as the Evil Purging Divine Spear before him started slightly trembling. It was ready to shoot at any moment.
The Territory Lords started to have a headache, especially the Territory Lord who was facing Chen Yuan. His eyes were glued onto the Evil Purging Divine Spear hovering in front of Chen Yuan as he pushed his strength to the limit, ready to resist at any moment.
After witnessing the fate of his companion, this Territory Lord knew that if he couldn’t block this artifact’s attack, he would be seriously injured if not dead.
His entire attention was focused on dealing with the incoming attack.
The Warship that had come to deliver the message was fleeing around in the vicinity, with countless Black Ink Clansmen in close pursuit. By the looks of it, the Warship would meet a tragic end in a short while.
At some point, the Warship had started flying randomly while paying no heed to where it was, panicking and even rushing straight towards the battlefield of the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters and Territory Lords.
The Territory Lords were enraged when they noticed this. If this was any other time, just a casual blow from them would have been enough to send this Warship and everyone aboard it to eternal damnation, but with the threat of the Evil Purging Divine Spear looming over their heads, none of them dared to be distracted.
The Evil Purging Divine Spear hovering before Chen Yuan started vibrating even more violently, giving the impression that it would shoot off at any moment.
The tattered Warship was now very close to the Territory Lords and the fear and panic on the faces of the dozen or so soldiers aboard it was apparent as the threat of impending death gripped their hearts.
Right then, a powerful Spiritual Energy fluctuation suddenly flared, distracting the Territory Lord who was fighting Chen Yuan. The next moment, he felt a sharp force tear through his Soul. The sudden excruciating pain caused him to instantly falter and lose concentration.
The Territory Lord was horrified as, although he didn’t know what just happened, how could he not understand that he was ambushed?
[Who? Who could manage to do this?]
He had been keeping a close eye on Chen Yuan’s movements and the other Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters had also been pinned down by his companions, while the Territory Lord had not noticed any signs of another Human approaching.
The Territory Lord was unable to fathom how he could be ambushed under these circumstances.
Regardless of how it happened, he did not have any time to give it much thought as the instant that burst of Spiritual Energy appeared, the Evil Purging Divine Spear hovering before Chen Yuan was also activated and shot towards his chest, leaving a dazzling trail of light behind it.
The Evil Purging Divine Spear might be effective against the Black Ink Clan, but it also had its drawbacks; after all, it was just an artifact in the end. If the Black Ink Clansmen were on guard against it, it might not necessarily be effective.
That was why Chan Yuan had not made a move after summoning the Evil Purging Divine Spear, he was waiting for the right opportunity.
Chen Yuan’s patience was rewarded at this moment.
The Territory Lord was already in a state of shock and was unable to defend against Chen Yuan’s attack at all.
The Evil Purging Divine Spear exploded after it pierced into the Territory Lord’s chest. In an instant, a small pure white Sun suddenly appeared in the void and enveloped the Territory Lord, melting away the Black Ink Strength in his body.
The Territory Lord was unable to endure the twin attacks on his Soul and body and let out a miserable cry.
Chen Yuan, on the other hand, didn’t pause for even a moment. After launching the Evil Purging Divine Spear, he charged towards the Territory Lord, brandishing his sword.
A cold gleam flickered across the long sword in his hand as it cut across the Territory Lord’s thick neck.
A frigid look blanketed Chen Yuan’s face as they passed each other. The next moment, the Territory Lord’s head shot into the sky behind him as a fountain of black blood gushed out from the severed neck. The long sword was so sharp and cut so swiftly that the wound on the Territory Lord’s neck was as smooth as a mirror.
A Territory Lord had fallen.
Only at the moment of his death did the Territory Lord vaguely catch sight of an elusive figure flying out from the shadow of the tattered Warship, one he had not noticed the figure before now.
He finally understood where this sneak attack had come from, but unfortunately, he no longer had the strength to warn his companions. The pair of eyes on his massive head remained open, angrily glaring in some direction. It gave the impression that he had been unresigned in his death.
Compared to the Territory Lord’s anguish, Chen Yuan was feeling quite satisfied.
He was also a veteran Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master with impressive strength. Although he was not as extraordinary as Xiang Shan, he was almost on par with Ou Yang Lie. In fact, in the past, he too was an Army Commander.
Be that as it may, even a veteran Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master like him felt powerless in the current war against the Black Ink Clan.
In the past, the battles on the Black Ink Battlefield were slightly easier. Although the Territory Lords were still greater in number, most of them were weaker than the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, not to mention veterans like him.
He had also killed some Territory Lords in the past.
Things changed after the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction War. Before then, all the ordinary Territory Lords were wiped out, while the newly appeared Territory Lords were all Innate Territory Lords who came directly from the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction. Each and every one of them was far stronger than the Territory Lords of the past.
After hundreds of years of fighting, Chen Yuan had only managed to kill three Territory Lords. Moreover, each time he had to team up with others to score a kill. Each battle was extremely arduous and he had put his life on the line several times to achieve such results.
Today, he finally managed to vent all the frustrations in his heart. He finally got to enjoy the feel of killing a Territory Lord with a single slash of his sword.
Even though the success of his attack was not entirely due to his own efforts and more so because of Yang Kai’s sneak attack, he was the one to take the Territory Lord’s head. That was more than enough for him.
While he was still immersed in his flurry of emotions, the other four Territory Lords’ expressions changed drastically.
The originally tense situation suddenly turned into a battle where life and death could be decided at any moment, making the Territory Lords shocked and apprehensive. They could not understand what just happened.
Not just them, but even the other Eighth-Order Human Masters were confused as to why Chen Yuan suddenly became so fierce.
But soon, they understood the root of everything, Yang Kai had arrived!
After shooting a Soul Rending Thorn, Yang Kai could not hide his tracks any longer. As such, he simply chose to come out from the bottom of the Warship and fire another Soul Rending Thorn, targeting another Territory Lord.
After firing the first Soul Rending Thorn, Yang Kai did not pay any attention to Chen Yuan’s opponent. If Chen Yuan was unable to finish his opponent even with the help of a Soul Rending Thorn and an Evil Purging Divine Spear, his years of arduous cultivation would be a waste.
What Yang Kai needed to do now was to kill as many of these Territory Lords as quickly as possible. If he hesitated for even a moment, these Territory Lords might escape.
This was a rare opportunity as the Black Ink Clan in Profound Nether Territory was under the impression that he was still trapped in Acacia Territory, and thus, had wantonly launched an assault on the Human Race. They had no idea that Yang Kai had already escaped. This was a huge oversight.
Nonetheless, it could not be blamed on the Black Ink Clansmen in Acacia Territory; after all, how could they have known that Yang Kai could freely use the World Tree to travel to the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary and then to other Universe Worlds?
Only a small number of Humans knew about this secret.
A war was not just about differences in strength, information also played a crucial role in determining the course of battle.
While the members of both races were still reeling from shock, Yang Kai had already fired a second Soul Rending Thorn, making a defenceless Territory Lord cry in pain as he staggered unsteadily.
Yang Kai didn’t stop there and immediately fired a third Soul Rending Thorn at the next closest Territory Lord.
The Soul Rending Thorns carried impressive destructive might, but they were also quite simple to defend against. As long as one shielded their Soul diligently, it would greatly weaken the Soul Rending Thorn’s effectiveness. Yang Kai could not give these Territory Lords any chance to mount a defence.
With another set of miserable screams, two Territory Lords were heavily injured by the Soul Rending Thorns and staggered as their auras started fluctuating wildly.
There were five Territory Lords here, of which one was seriously injured while the other four were completely unharmed. They had the absolute upper hand against the four Eighth-Order Human Masters presiding over this front.
But the tides had turned in an instant. One Territory Lord was decapitated in a single stroke, and another two were injured and had their auras plummet. So, including the one who was already seriously injured, only one Territory Lord was currently left unscathed.
From the moment Yang Kai had hidden himself under the Warship and used it to approach the battlefield, to when Chen Yuan beheaded the Territory Lord in one attack and Yang Kai’s successive Soul Rending Thorns, only three breaths had elapsed, that’s all.
This sudden turn of events caught both the Territory Lords and Eighth-Order Masters off guard.
Nevertheless, the Eighth-Order Masters came to their senses the next moment and hurriedly summoned their own Evil Purging Divine Spears before hurling them at their opponents.
The two Territory Lords who had been injured by the Soul Rending Thorns were completely unprepared.
It was not because their responses were slow, but because they were on the verge of losing consciousness. The Soul Rending Thorn was too insidious, able to heavily injure both stealthily and soundlessly, causing not just extreme pain, but also dizziness and disorientation.
Only Yang Kai, who had experienced this kind of pain many times, was now a little accustomed to it. Any enemy hit by a Soul Rending Thorn would be in so much agony that they would temporarily be dazed.
Deafening explosions rang out one after another as small pure white Suns manifested in the void, their pure light roasting the Territory Lords alive. Immediately, the Territory Lords started howling as their auras plunged.
Having been presented with such a great opportunity, the Eighth-Order Masters went all out, using their strongest Divine Abilities or even their Divine Manifestations as they charged at their respective opponents.
Their fates were already set in stone.
Meanwhile, the unharmed Territory Lord, having barely regained his composure, promptly dodged the oncoming Evil Purging Divine Spear.
There were a total of five Territory Lords on this auxiliary front, out of which one was grievously injured from the start. Yang Kai had incapacitated three others using three Soul Rending Thorns, but he was unable to do anything about the last one.
This last Territory Lord was quite decisive, so when he witnessed one of his companions being killed and two others being ambushed, he immediately turned into a Black Ink Cloud and fled towards the horizon.
At that moment, Chen Yuan had just decapitated his opponent and was still relishing in the aftermath. When he saw the Territory Lord flee though, how could he let him go? He flicked his sword before giving chase.
“Help kill them, I’ll stop him!” Yang Kai suddenly shouted as he summoned his spear and stepped in front of the Black Ink Cloud, enduring the excruciating pain in his Soul as he unleashed a flurry of spear shadows.
Even though Chen Yuan was quite strong, it would be difficult for him to stop a Territory Lord who was determined to escape. He would most likely return empty-handed.
Since Yang Kai had decided to attack this front, how could he allow any of the Territory Lords here to escape from right under his nose? He wanted to eliminate all of them today!
A flurry of spears filled the void, distorting the local space and causing the Territory Lord to be unable to tell up from down for a moment. Helpless, he had no choice but to reveal himself and fight Yang Kai.
On the other side, Chen Yuan and the other three Eighth-Order Masters were currently facing three injured Territory Lords, two of whom had critical injuries to both their bodies and Souls.
The die was cast.
When the four Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters surrounded the three Territory Lords, the latter knew that they would not be able to escape today.
However, as the saying went, a beast is most dangerous when cornered. The desperate situation brought out the innate savagery and viciousness of the Territory Lords who let out loud war cries and all attacked in one direction together. So long as they could create an opening, they might still have a chance to escape.
But the next thing they saw left them in despair. Each of the four Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters had summoned another Evil Purging Divine Spear and hurled them out without a moment of hesitation.
Previously, Chen Yuan and the others had not done so because they didn’t have many Evil Purging Divine Spears on hand. They were not willing to waste these valuable tools unless necessary. In addition, the Territory Lords had been on guard against them, so even if they used them earlier, they would not do much damage.
The current situation was different. They could not hold back against these trapped Territory Lords, as the enemy would surely struggle with reckless abandon. As for whether it would be wasteful or not…
Once they won the battle, would they still need to worry about the lack of Evil Purging Divine Spears with Yang Kai here?
If they were parsimonious with external tools, and that allowed the Territory Lords to break out of their encirclement and escape, or if they lost an Eighth-Order Master to a final life-or-death struggle, it would be a far greater loss that would be impossible to rectify.
The Eighth-Order Masters could easily evaluate the situation and make appropriate decisions.
One after another, small Suns exploded again, bathing the void in pure white light. It did not matter whether or not the Evil Purging Divine Spear hit the Territory Lords directly as just the radiant Purifying Light would be enough to give them a hard time. The pure light would constantly melt away their strength, weakening and injuring them further.
The Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters did not drop their guard though. Even if they had the absolute advantage, they didn’t try to force a quick end to the battle with the Territory Lords, instead choosing to seal off all escape routes before slowly chipping away at the enemy’s strength.
In less than the time it takes one to boil a cup of tea, another Territory Lord had fallen.
A moment later, another!
And then another!
After finishing the three Territory Lords, Chen Yuan immediately ordered, “Jing An, Zhou Heng, you go take care of the leftover trash. Dao Hong, come with me to assist the Army Commander!”
The sudden change in the highest-level battlefield had a massive impact on the Armies of the two races. Originally, the Humans could only passively defend against the continuous attacks of the Black Ink Clan Army. This kind of defense had lasted for several decades and the soldiers had already grown accustomed to it.
But today, when the first Territory Lord fell and the three heavily injured Territory Lords were surrounded by Chen Yuan and the others, the Black Ink Clan Army was thrown into confusion.
Every member of the Black Ink Clan Army knew that even if they held a great advantage over the Human Race in terms of numbers, once the Territory Lords were all defeated, they would be mercilessly slaughtered by the unencumbered Human Masters next.
Thus, many Feudal Lords instantly led their subordinates to try to rescue the trapped Territory Lords, but unfortunately, these Black Ink Clan reinforcements did not even manage to get close to the battlefield. The rich Purifying Light blocked most of the Black Ink Clansmen’s advance, and even if some of the Feudal Lords still tried to rush in fearlessly, they were easily taken out by Chen Yuan and the others.
The Eighth-Order Masters might struggle against the Innate Territory Lords, but slaughtering Feudal Lords was a simple matter for them.
As a result, the pressure on the Human Race’s defensive line was greatly reduced. When Territory Lords fell one by one, the Black Ink Clan Army besieging the Human base knew that the tides of war had turned against them, so how could they dare to remain here? They immediately fled in a helter-skelter.
On the other hand, the morale of the Human Race Army soared as they charged out. Assisted by two Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, Jiang An and Zhou Heng, countless Black Ink Clansmen’s corpses were left floating across the void as the Humans hunted down the routed enemies.
By now, Chen Yuan and Dai Hong had already converged with Yang Kai and the three of them were attacking the fleeing Territory Lord together.
To be honest, this Territory Lord was quite shrewd. When he saw that the situation wasn’t looking good, he immediately tried to escape, and he would have gotten away had Yang Kai not been here.
Trying to escape from a Master of the Dao of Space was nothing more than a futile dream.
In the entire Universe, if Yang Kai declared he was second when it came to escaping, no one would dare claim to be first. Throughout his life, he had been chased by countless powerful enemies and faced innumerable near-death situations, but he had managed to escape all of them by relying on his Space Secret Techniques.
The Territory Lord wanted to escape from right under Yang Kai’s nose, but his skill was lacking to achieve such a feat.
Quickly realizing he couldn’t escape, he could only fight with his life on the line. This Territory Lord was originally quite wary of Yang Kai; after all, when the latter appeared in Profound Nether Territory a few months ago, he had taken out three Territory Lords on his own in a single battle. Furthermore, it was reported that multiple Territory Lords had also died under his spear at the No-Return Pass.
But after fighting with Yang Kai for real, he discovered that although Yang Kai was strong, he was not strong enough to crush a Territory Lord head-on. At the very least, he could still handle him.
Suddenly, he remembered the information he had received from the No-Return Pass. The Royal Lord had speculated that the Human named Yang Kai had the means to severely wound his enemies’ Souls, because every time a Territory Lord died at his hand at the No-Return Pass, their deaths were preceded by a flash of Spiritual Energy. Ordinary Black Ink Clansmen were unable to sense this, but everything was clear to the Royal Lord.
It was through this method that this Human was able to kill Territory Lords so easily.
Since this means of attack was so strong though, it seemed to put a great burden on the Human. In other words, he wouldn’t be able to use it too many times in quick succession.
Remembering the Royal Lord’s speculation, the Territory Lord had been extremely wary of this method, but after fighting for a while, Yang Kai did not seem to have any intention of using it. How could the Territory Lord not realize that the Royal Lord’s guess was correct?
[This Human should not be able to use that strange method for the time being.]
Nonetheless, he was still having a hard time dealing with Yang Kai. He had fought many Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, but those that were as strong as the one before him were extremely rare. All of Yang Kai’s methods were extremely bizarre, and his spear skills were superb, making it all but impossible to guard against.
After a short exchange, both sides had suffered heavy losses. The Territory Lord was in a sorry state, but the same went for Yang Kai. Both their bodies were covered in blood.
Strictly speaking, the injury Yang Kai had received to his Soul from using the Soul Rending Thorns in Acacia Territory had not fully healed yet; after all, only a few months had passed since then. Even if he had spent some time resting in the Star Boundary, the Soul Warming Lotus was still unable to completely repair his Soul in such a short time.
After using three Soul Rending Thorn just now, Yang Kai felt like he had hit his limit and could lose consciousness at any moment.
Even so, he had to stop this Territory Lord from escaping.
Fortunately, Chen Yuan quickly rushed over with Dai Hong to assist Yang Kai, attacking the Territory Lords from all sides.
The situation had been decided!
Four of the five Territory Lords had been killed on this auxiliary front, and the last one remaining was besieged by three Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, so it was certain he would also die sooner or later.
Whether it was Chen Yuan or Dai Hong, both of them felt extremely satisfied.
They had been posted to this front for several decades now and had fought with the Black Ink Clan Army countless times, but every time they clashed, they would be forced to passively defend themselves. The few times they had taken the initiative to attack they were quickly repelled.
They had killed a lot of Black Ink Clansmen, but not a single Territory Lord had fallen in this decades-long war. This left these Eighth-Order Masters very discouraged. They had been painstakingly cultivating for thousands of years, but they felt powerless in the face of the current situation.
Today, however, four Territory Lords had died at their hands in less than an incense stick worth of time, and the fifth one would join his comrades on the journey to the Yellow Springs soon!
All of this was thanks to Army Commander Yang Kai.
Originally, the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters were apprehensive when they heard about Yang Kai being appointed as the Army Commander from the Supreme Headquarters. After all, Yang Kai was far inferior to the other Eighth-Order Masters both in terms of age and seniority. Yang Kai’s personal strength might be great, but strength alone was not enough to lead an entire Army, one must also have the skills to break the deadlock and show the Army a path towards victory.
Previously, when Yang Kai left with two Warships through the Black Ink Clan’s Territory Gate under the watchful eyes of many of the Territory Lords by himself, many Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters admired him, but some felt he was being impetuous and reckless. If the Territory Lords were to suddenly attack him at that time, it would lead to terrible consequences. Taking such risks as the Army Commander was truly unwise.
Fortunately, Yang Kai had returned safely.
Now, when Yang Kai led these Eighth-Order Masters to kill several Territory Lords in succession with unstoppable force, Chen Yuan could not say anything about others, but he and his comrades were totally convinced.
No matter whether this newly appointed Army Commander was young and impetuous, just his overwhelming personal strength alone put him ahead above the other Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters.
They had never fought side by side with Yang Kai before, so although they knew he was strong, they didn’t know how strong exactly.
Until today.
Although the last surviving Territory Lord was going all out, he was still suppressed by Yang Kai to the point where he could not even catch a breath. Chen Yuan and Dai Hong basically did not need to put their guard up, all they had to do was keep attacking the Territory Lord with their strongest methods. They found this battle quite cathartic.
With someone so powerful overseeing Profound Nether Territory, everyone’s future would be much brighter.
On the auxiliary front, the Black Ink Clan Army collapsed like loose sand following the fall of the Territory Lords. The Black Ink Clan soldiers panicked and fled, allowing the tens of thousands of Human soldiers to relentlessly chase after them.
The situation on the main battlefield was originally extremely tense; furthermore, the Black Ink Clan held the upper hand. However, when the first Territory Lord fell in the distant void, the hearts of all the Territory Lords on the main battlefield skipped a beat. No one had any idea what happened, but a Territory Lord undoubtedly died.
Although it was quite far away, and the disturbance was very faint, all the Territory Lords had sharp senses and naturally, the death of another Territory Lord did not go unnoticed by them.
It had to be known that not many Territory Lords had fallen in Profound Nether Territory, only five over several decades, three of which were killed by Yang Kai last time. If these three were excluded, the Profound Nether Army had only managed to kill two Territory Lords in several decades.
Innate Territory Lords were not easy to kill, especially when the Black Ink Clan had the overall advantage in terms of numbers.
The Human Race had paid a great price just for this.
But today, another Territory Lord was killed.
Six Arms, who was overseeing this place, stared into the distance as a deep furrow appeared on his brow, seemingly wanting to see through the void and determine what was happening.
Unfortunately, the distance was too great and he had no idea what was going on. All he could do was ask a subordinate Feudal Lord to send a message to inquire about it. There was a Black Ink Nest on the auxiliary front, and although it was only Low-Rank, it was enough for the Black Ink Clan to quickly gather information.
The death of a single Territory Lord was not a critical blow to their Army, but it was not a small matter either. Just as Wei Jun Yang had said, however, Six Arms was an extremely cautious Territory Lord, so he immediately wanted to inquire about the situation of the auxiliary front.
While waiting for the report, Six Arms looked towards the raging battlefield as his gaze swept over the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters one by one, like a poisonous snake staring at its prey.
If any of the Eighth-Order Masters showed any signs of weakness, he would make a move.
He had done this multiple times over the past few decades, and many Eighth-Order Masters had fallen victim to his ploys. So, all the Eighth-Order Masters in Profound Nether Territory were extremely wary of him.
It would not have been a big deal if he really fought with the Eighth-Order Masters head-on, the problem was that not only was Six Arms powerful, he was also cunning and insidious.
Therefore, every time he appeared on the battlefield, the Eighth-Order Masters would have to divert part of their attention to guard against him. As a result, he alone was able to restrain many Eighth-Order Masters.
This was an open scheme and Six Arms did not attempt to conceal himself as he kept a hawk eye from the edge of the battlefield. The Human Race Army was helpless about this though, as the Eighth-Order Masters were fewer in number than the Territory Lords so they could not spare one to especially guard against Six Arms.
One time, Ou Yang Lie had taken a risk to act as bait, feigning injury to make it appear he was no match for his opponent, enticing Six Arms into attacking him. In the end though, he was almost beaten to death by Six Arms, leaving Ou Yang Lie fuming in anger. He had sworn that he would tear Six Arms to pieces to soothe his rage.
As the battle continued, Six Arms patiently waited for an opportunity.
At a certain moment, his eyes lit up as he spotted an Eighth-Order Master being besieged by two Territory Lords. Just as he was about to make his move though, his head suddenly swivelled as he stared off into the void.
Spreading from that direction were the undulations of another Territory Lord’s fall.
[Another one?]
Six Arm’s expression now became solemn.
The death of a single Territory Lord was not that big of a deal. The situation on the battlefield was constantly changing, and if a Territory Lord showed the slightest neglect, the Eighth-Order Human Masters would seize the opportunity to kill. But now, two Territory Lords had fallen in quick succession, which was highly abnormal.
[Did a Human Race Master come to help!?]
In the direction he was staring was one of Profound Nether Territory’s auxiliary fronts. According to the intelligence Six Arms had gathered, four Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters were stationed on that front, while the Black Ink Clan had five Territory Lords. The Territory Lords had always maintained an upper hand all these years, so the known Eighth-Order Humans couldn’t kill a Territory Lord.
[Why has the situation changed so suddenly today? Could Xiang Shan have come?]
A possibility crossed Six Arms’s mind. If there was any Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master he feared, it was Xiang Shan. Xiang Shan had been moving between the various Great Territory battlefields, his whereabouts always elusive. He would suddenly appear and attack a Territory Lord while the battle was raging before slipping away, only to reappear on a distant battlefield sometime later.
Quite a lot of Territory Lords had fallen at the hands of Xiang Shan over these past years, and many more were injured.
Be that as it may, even if a Territory Lord had fallen victim to Xiang Shan’s ambush, another couldn’t fall! The Territory Lords were not stupid and would promptly raise their guard or even flee upon noticing that the tides were not in their favour.
Six Arms suddenly felt uneasy.
He had always been a cautious individual and could not tolerate any surprise or situation which he had no control over, so having no information on what was going on at that auxiliary front was giving him a headache.
The deaths of two Territory Lords did not go unnoticed by the other Territory Lords either.
This left every Territory Lord confused and even a bit nervous. Even their suppression over the Eighth-Order Masters had weakened, allowing the Human Masters to catch their breath.
Many Territory Lords who were engaged in fierce battles shot a questioning glance at Six Arms, who slowly shook his head in response. He was completely oblivious to what was happening on the auxiliary front, the only thing he was certain of was that something highly unexpected had happened there for the things to have changed so suddenly.
The Feudal Lord, who was responsible for relaying intelligence, had yet to report back, causing Six Arms to grow even more restless. Originally, his entire focus was on finding a flaw in the Eighth-Order Masters’ defences, waiting for an opportunity to strike. But now, he was in no mood to do so.
When he sensed the demise of the third Territory Lord, Six Arms’ face turned ashen.
[Xiang Shan! It’s definitely Xiang Shan!]
Xiang Shan was the strongest of the Eighth-Order Human Masters, and he appeared and disappeared mysteriously. The Humans couldn’t kill three powerful Innate Territory Lords in a short time without his help. However, Xiang Shan alone could not achieve such a feat. The Humans must have deployed more reinforcements to the auxiliary front!
Before Six Arms could finish speculating though, he felt the passing of a third Territory Lord followed soon after by the fourth. The two deaths happened so close together they practically occurred at the same time.
[The auxiliary front has been lost!]
The interval between the Territory Lords’ deaths became shorter and shorter, indicating that the Human Race’s advantage was getting bigger.
Nonetheless, what Six Arms failed to understand was how all five Territory Lords could be so stupid. Even if the Humans had received powerful reinforcements, why did the Territory Lords not run when they could not defeat them? Innate Territory Lords were quite strong, and if they were determined to flee, no Eighth-Order Master could stop them.
Unless the Humans had somehow sealed the entire battlefield.
But how could the Human Race have such ability? If they wanted to seal off the entire battlefield, they would need many, many Eighth-Order Masters, a force that they simply did not possess.
Six Arms didn’t consider the possibility of a Ninth-Order Master appearing, because the only two Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters were pinned down in Wind Mist Territory. They couldn’t leave.
Of the five Territory Lords on the auxiliary front, four were already dead.
Six Arms blew his top as he silently cursed those Territory Lords for being foolish and useless.
Gloom filled his eyes as he stared into the depths of the void with regret, but ultimately, he could only raise his hand and shout, “Retreat!”
Originally, they planned to make the best of the absence of the Profound Nether Army Commander, who was trapped in Acacia Territory, but unbeknownst to them, the Humans seemed to have already made arrangements. Not only had they failed to achieve their original objective, but they had also lost four Territory Lords, forcing Six Arms to withdraw their forces.
The auxiliary front had collapsed, and the Human Race’s reinforcements would surely be arriving soon. Before that happened, the Black Ink Clan had to withdraw before they were flanked and overwhelmed.
The Black Ink Clan Army slowly started retreating under Six Arm’s command. The Territory Lords who were fighting against the Eighth-Order Masters also gradually left the battlefield.
The Human Race had no intention of pursuing them as the situation on the main battlefield was different compared to the auxiliary front. The Territory Lords on the auxiliary front had been defeated and the enemy army routed, so it was only natural for the Humans to give chase. On the contrary, the Black Ink Clan here was retreating on their own initiative, in an orderly manner, so chasing them was risky.
The Eighth-Order Masters gradually gathered around. Everyone’s body was riddled with wounds, but fortunately, most of them weren’t seriously injured. They would recover after some rest. Some of the injuries were serious, but they were not fatal. Only, they all had grim looks on their faces.
This was the greatest advantage the Humans had over the Black Ink Clan.
When a Human was injured, they could take healing pills to recover from their injuries. Whereas if Black Ink Clansmen were injured, and the injuries were not light, they would need to enter a Black Ink Nest to recover.
That was why there were so many Territory Lords hibernating in the Black Ink Nests at the No-Return Pass. It could even be said that the only reason the Humans had been able to hold on for so long was because of this advantage. If the Black Ink Clan could use Spirit Pills to heal themselves, the Humans would have been facing at least 30% more Territory Lords on every battlefield. That kind of pressure was definitely not something the Human Race could bear.
Although the Territory Lords were greater in number than the Eighth-Order Masters, the Human Race was still able to barely hold their ground because the Eighth-Order Masters were willing to exchange injuries with injuries during their battles. As long as a Territory Lord was seriously injured, they would have to go to the No-Return Pass to rest for several years if not decades.
Ou Yang Lie was drenched in blood, and his face was pale.
He was a valiant man who fought with all his might in every battle, so his injuries were not light at all. Be that as it may, he would go all out again in the next battle, no matter how serious his injuries were.
The Territory Lords in Profound Nether Territory found Ou Yang Lie to be a pain to deal with. Although Ou Yang Lie had not killed any Innate Territory Lords over the last few decades, he had forced at least seven of them back to the No-Return Pass.
So now, every time the Black Ink Clan fought, two Territory Lords would join forces to pin him down, making Ou Yang Lie feel helpless and angry.
He felt like he was being targeted.
Gazing in the direction the Black Ink Clan Army was retreating, Ou Yang Lie asked, frowning, “What’s going on at the auxiliary front? How did four Territory Lords die? Has Big Head Xiang come?”
His questions were naturally directed at Wei Jun Yang.
In Ou Yang Lie’s opinion, this sudden unforeseen change on the auxiliary front was most likely related to Xiang Shan. It wasn’t as if this had never happened before. Xiang Shan had a few times snuck into a Great Territory Battlefield and then suddenly attacked, beheading a Territory Lord and turning the tide in the Human Race’s favour.
There were several peak Eighth-Order Masters like Xiang Shan attached to the Supreme Headquarters. They were not deployed to any particular Great Territory Battlefield, but they could suddenly appear anywhere, knocking the Black Ink Clan’s advances on their head.
It was partly thanks to these peak Eighth-Order Masters that the Humans had been able to maintain the frontlines in various Great Territories at critical moments over the years.
Without their assistance, the Humans would have at least lost two or three Great Territory Battlefields.
But soon, Ou Yang Lie shook his head, “That’s not right, even Big Head Xiang wouldn’t be able to do something like this.”
The deaths of four Territory Lords had not gone unnoticed by any of the Masters here. There were only a total of five Territory Lords on that auxiliary front, and by the looks of it, they were about to catch all of them in one net.
Ou Yang Lie had worked with Xiang Shan for many years and was well aware of what the latter was and wasn’t capable of. He didn’t believe that Xiang Shan had the strength to kill four Territory Lords in a row. Even if he was helped by other Eighth-Order Masters, that was simply an impossible feat.
As soon as he finished speaking, Ou Yang Lie sensed the death of the fifth Territory Lord.
Ou Yang Lie was stunned for a moment before grinning ear to ear, [Good, now that all the Territory Lord there have been wiped out, the Profound Nether Army detachment should be able to completely occupy that auxiliary front!]
“Has the Army Commander returned?” Fei Yong Ze suddenly glanced at Wei Jun Yang and asked.
Xiang Shan might not be able to accomplish this, but that didn’t mean that no one in this world could. In fact, among all the Eighth-Order Masters alive today, there was only one person who could make this impossible feat possible!
Profound Nether Army Commander, Yang Kai!
The last time he appeared in Profound Nether Territory, Yang Kai managed to kill three Territory Lords all by himself, so it would not be impossible for him to kill five with the help of four other Eighth-Order Masters.
The other Eighth-Order Masters were astounded after hearing this.
[The Army Commander is back? Wasn’t the Army Commander trapped in Acacia Territory? How did he return?]
The Territory Gates in Acacia Territory had been blockaded by millions of Black Ink Clan soldiers and at least a dozen Territory Lords had also been deployed there. No matter how strong Yang Kai was, he probably would not be able to break out of such an encirclement.
Immediately, someone anxiously asked, “Senior Brother Wei, has the Army Commander really returned?”
Wei Jun Yang slightly nodded in agreement, “Yes, the Army Commander is back. He also took charge of that auxiliary front.”
“No wonder!” Realization suddenly dawned on everyone. They had at first thought that it was Xiang Shan’s handiwork, but apparently, it was Yang Kai’s doing.
“How did he return? Did he kill his way out in Acacia Territory?” Ou Yang Lie looked confused. He had been quite worried when he heard that Yang Kai had been trapped in Acacia Territory; after all, the Black Ink Clan had deployed a massive force to keep him trapped. Yang Kai was responsible for rescuing the Human refugees trapped in Acacia Territory, so he was surely encumbered by a huge burden. Ou Yang Lie was afraid that Yang Kai wouldn’t be capable of taking the ruthless path and instead decided to live and die together with the trapped cultivators. That would be incredibly foolish. However, who would have thought that Yang Kai had already returned?
It was too strange.
Moreover, the war broke out in Profound Nether Territory because the news of Yang Kai being trapped in Acacia Territory had spread, allowing the Black Ink Clan to act fearlessly.
Did the Black Ink Clan not know that Yang Kai had escaped?
Ou Yang Lie was confused, and it wasn’t not just him; all the other Eighth-Order Masters had similar doubts.
Wei Jun Yang replied, shaking his head, “I don’t know how the Army Commander managed to escape, you can try asking him yourselves if you’re curious.”
Saying so, he stared into the depths of the void. The deadlock at the auxiliary front had been broken with the fall of the five Territory Lords stationed there. The Human Army should be able to eradicate the Black Ink Clan Army before long.
This was a huge win for Profound Nether Territory, enough to set everyone’s heart aflame.
The Human Race was currently lacking such victories. After continuously fighting for decades, everyone, from the higher-ups to the lowest-level soldiers, was mentally and physically exhausted, and with so little good news coming from the various battlefields, everyone had started to lose hope.
But now, perhaps there would be a new light!
At the same time, the Territory Lords were also looking in the direction of the auxiliary front. When they sensed the passing of the fifth Territory Lord, resentment took over the Territory Lords’ faces.
The Black Ink Clan had held the superior position on the Profound Nether Territory Battlefield for years and had not suffered any significant losses during that entire time, but ever since Yang Kai came, they had suffered two consecutive defeats.
The first time, he had killed three Territory Lords, and this time, five had perished. Furthermore, the Black Ink Clan still had no clear idea what happened at the auxiliary front.
“Sir Territory Lord!” A Feudal Lord hurriedly rushed over and saluted him, panic clearly visible on his face. It was the very same Feudal Lord who was sent by Six Arms to inquire about the auxiliary front’s situation. The Black Ink Clan could quickly gather information throughout the entire Profound Nether Territory with the help of their Black Ink Nest network.
The Feudal Lord hurried over to Six Arms, who asked him in a deep voice, “What happened at the auxiliary front? Is Xiang Shan here?”
A look of fear covered the Feudal Lord’s face as he shook his head and reported, “It’s not Xiang Shan, it’s that Human named Yang Kai! Some Feudal Lords witnessed him suddenly appear and kill the Territory Lords one by one!”
“What!?” The Territory Lords were greatly taken aback.
Six Arms also had a serious look on his face, “Yang Kai!? Are you certain?”
The Feudal Lord replied, “That is what the reports said.”
“Impossible!” One of the Territory Lords firmly shook his head, “Mo Na Ye in Acacia Territory sent word that Yang Kai was still trapped and there hasn’t been any movement on that side, so how could he appear here?”
The other Territory Lords also felt that it was impossible. Even if Yang Kai was somehow able to kill his way out of Acacia Territory, he would not have been able to return to Profound Nether Territory in such a short time. Everyone felt that the information from the auxiliary front was wrong.
“Check it again! Also, send a message to Mo Na Ye in Acacia Territory to ask about the situation over there,” even though Six Arms himself didn’t believe it, this was a critical matter, so he had no choice but to be prudent.
The Feudal Lord received the order and hurriedly flew towards the Black Ink Clan’s base camp. There was a Mid-Rank Black Ink Nest at the camp that could communicate with all the other Black Ink Nests in Profound Nether Territory.
“Sir, how about I go take a look personally?” One of the Territory Lords asked.
Six Arms pondered for a moment before refusing, shaking his head, “There’s no need, that front… has already fallen into enemy hands. It’s pointless to go there now. On the contrary, you might fall victim to the Human Race’s ambush. Go back and rest.”
He looked around and noticed that two Territory Lords’ auras were in disorder. Obviously, they were seriously injured. He could not help but lightly sigh in his heart. These two probably wouldn’t be able to participate in the war for quite some time as they would need to return to the No-Return Pass to heal their wounds.
He didn’t know if the No-Return Pass would be able to transfer more Territory Lords here as recently, the Territory Lords in Profound Nether Territory had suffered quite a few casualties. If there were any more losses among the top ranks, the Black Ink Clan might not be able to maintain pressure on the Human Race.
At the same time, a sense of unease gripped Six Arm’s heart, [Has Yang Kai really returned and made an appearance at the auxiliary front? But that shouldn’t be possible…]
Meanwhile, Yang Kai, leading four Eighth-Order Masters and tens of thousands of soldiers, was chasing after the Black Ink Clan. Chen Yuan and the others were on a rampage.
It had been a few decades, no, several centuries since they had been able to kill Black Ink Clansmen so easily and freely after the great crusade.
For the past few hundred years, every time they fought, their opponents would be the powerful Innate Territory Lords.
But now, with all five Territory Lords in the vicinity dead, there were no more Black Ink Clansmen who could match them. Once they started the bloodbath, none among the Black Ink Clan here could stop them. Even the Feudal Lords were being taken down in one attack.
A million-strong Black Ink Clan Army lost countless soldiers under this pursuit and the Human Race Army soon killed their way to the enemy’s camp, a Universe World where dozens of Low-Rank Black Ink Nests had been planted.
In just the time it took to burn a stick of incense, these dozens of Black Ink Nests were completely destroyed and ransacked. Although the quality of resources looted from these Black Ink Nests was not that great, they won out in quantity.
Half a day later, the battle came to an end. The Black Ink Clan were wiped from this Universe World and the Human Race Army that had chased them all the way here let out a thunderous cheer.
After several decades, the Black Ink Clan at this auxiliary front had finally been purged. This also meant the Human Race would no longer need to deploy significant forces here in the future and could instead send more troops to the main battlefield.
Now that the battle was over, everyone started cleaning up the battlefield and collecting the corpses of the fallen soldiers. Everything proceeded in an orderly fashion.
Yang Kai did not immediately leave and instead lay in ambush on the Universe World with Chen Yuan and the other Eighth-Order Masters. He was not sure if the Black Ink Clan would send someone to check up on the situation here, so he was just taking a chance.
If a Territory Lord came to investigate this place, it would be an unexpected bonus.
Unfortunately, there was still no movement even after waiting for several days. Yang Kai did not want to waste his time waiting here any longer so he immediately ordered the troops to return to camp.
Leaving the aftermath to Chen Yuan and the others, Yang Kai flew alone to the frontline camp.
The Eighth-Order Masters were waiting for him, and when they saw him, they all cupped their fists in greeting. Yang Kai returned the gesture to everyone one by one. When he saw that most of them were injured, especially Ou Yang Lie and several other Eighth-Order Masters, who were seriously wounded, he couldn’t help but ask, “Why aren’t you all healing?”
Ou Yang Lie explained, grinning, “Old Wei said you’re back, but we could not believe him. We wanted to see it for ourselves.”
It wasn’t that they didn’t trust Wei Jun Yang, but this matter was simply too bizarre.
The Black Ink Clan started a war in Profound Nether Territory because they wanted to take advantage of Yang Kai being trapped in Acacia Territory and inflict heavy casualties on the Profound Nether Army. Unexpectedly, the information was wrong, and the Profound Nether Army took advantage of the situation to deal a heavy blow to the Black Ink Clan.
Yang Kai stated with a smile, “You’ve all fought hard, please go and heal your injuries.”
Everyone quickly dispersed.
Yang Kai also wanted to leave, but was stopped by Wei Jun Yang, “Sir, hold on a moment.”
“What’s the matter?” Yang Kai curiously asked.
Wei Jun Yang stated, “Although we have won, our Profound Nether Army has also suffered some casualties. Sir, as the Commander of the Profound Nether Army, it is only right for you to coordinate the entire army and have a grasp of the Profound Nether Army’s information so that you can deal with the next battle.”
Yang Kai immediately felt a headache coming on, “There’s no need for that, you and Senior Brother Kong can take care of it.”
Wei Jun Yang shook his head in response, “Brother Kong and I are just assisting Sir; after all, the Profound Nether Army is still under Sir’s command.”
Yang Kai sincerely stated, “I trust my two Senior Brothers.”
“This isn’t about trust…”
Before Wei Jun Yang could say anything else, Yang Kai raised his hand and prevented him, “Senior Brother Wei, my injuries are serious and I urgently need to recuperate. I’ll have to trouble you and Senior Brother Kong to manage the Army.”
Wei Jun Yang sized up Yang Kai from head to toe as a look of ridicule appeared on his face.
Yang Kai earnestly added, “It’s an internal injury. My Soul is currently unstable, I feel like I’m about to pass out.”